Light from the Shadow

Chapter 32

Kuan was surprised to see Rishi in his room. "How did you get here?" There should be guards in front of the room placed by his brother.

"Didn't we train together when we were young? Against Tehra soldiers?" The librarian chuckled. He had fought against the Mehari knights as part of his training when he was still living his life as the crown prince. That was why he could easily read all of Helten's men's moves back in the mountain.

"Don't worry. I just knocked them out."

Kuan sighed. "Really? It looks like I am too soft on them." The former captain smiled.

Rishi told him about Ayna being missing.

"Where could she have been..." Kuan was reminded about when Ayna being missing inside the palace previously.

"I don't know. Jyaga is looking for her right now."

"We need to find her fast. I'm worried about her." What if someone tried to attack her again like before?

The librarian nodded. "Me too. Let's get out of here."

***

"The Remblan librarian is missing?" Helten asked when his knights came to report. They had just come back from the second prince's residence.

The knights nodded. "We didn't find the princess and her escort too."

"So why are you still here? Look for them and bring them to me!" The crown prince shouted.

The knights quickly left again.

"Calm down, Helten. They must still be within the palace grounds." The emperor said.

Helten turned to his father. "I can't calm down before I see him dead!"

"Look for the princess."

"What?"

"Look for the princess. We will lure him out using her." The emperor smiled at his son.

***

"Can't you do it faster?" Ayna tapped her foot on the ground repeatedly, starting to lose her patience.

The blacksmith looked at her with tired eyes. "What do you expect, my lady?? You suddenly brought this old rusty sword late at night and asked me to repair it back to its original state! I'm tired after working all night, you know???!!!" The young apprentice grumbled. When he was about to close the shop last night after his master had left, a young woman suddenly stepped into the shop and handed him an old sword, demanding to have it repaired right away. He had wanted to refuse but the lady offered him a large sum of money he could not refuse. The young man sighed. He wondered if his master would arrive soon.

"Well???? I see your hand is not moving, Mr. Blacksmith??"

The young blacksmith was about to shout at his customer when he heard the front bell rang.

"What happened here?" His master came! The student cried in delight.

"Master, I've told the lady here that repairing a sword..." His master ignored his explanation. He glanced at the sword his student was holding and his expression changed instantly. He pushed the tired student to the side and looked carefully at the sword. He turned to Ayna.

"Young lady, where did you get this from??!!" The master asked.

"Urm... I bought it...?" Ayna was puzzled by the blacksmith's intense gaze.

"Where???! When??? Did you buy it from the owner??? Did you meet him??" The master was now attacking her with questions.

Owner?? Did he mean the shopkeeper? The shopkeeper's father? Or the person who sold the sword to the shopkeeper's father? Or was it someone else entirely??

"Hold on!!!!" Ayna raised her hands.

"You need to tell me now!!" The master's face was just inches away from hers that she could smell his breath.

The student was puzzled. He had worked for his master for a few years but he had never seen him this excited before. What was this sword he had been handling since last night?

Ayna closed her eyes. "Let's sit somewhere, shall we? I have things I want to ask too."

***

"You mean this sword used to be the emperor's sword?" Ayna was dumbfounded. This old rusty sword? A national treasure?

The master nodded his head repeatedly. "Mehari Emperor to be exact."

"Mehari... the fallen empire?" Ayna asked.

The master nodded again. "I've never thought I'll see this again. The family, their possession. We thought they were all burnt to the ground that night." His hand slowly touching the sword. His eyes looked sad.

Mehari... Rishi's family... Ayna learned about his true identity after Kuan and Ares told her the other night. She remembered what Qwentine told her when he insisted to buy this sword for Rishi. So Qwentine knew too...

"That bastard general! I will never forgive him!!" The master sounded angry now.

"Were you the one who made this?" Ayna asked, pointing at the sword.

The blacksmith shook his head. "No. I could never. This sword is unique. It was not made in Mehari. I think it was a gift."

"A gift?" Ayna knitted her brow.

The master nodded his head. "I don't know who gave it to the late emperor. But it was meant as a ceremonial sword. It had never been used in battlefield." He showed her the grip of the sword. A decorative sun emblem was attached on it. She wondered if it was gold.

"This is the symbol of the House of Mehari. Everyone believe that descendants of Mehari was the children of the sun god because of their rare golden eyes." He said proudly. "I've seen the late emperor carried this sword on his waist every time he visited the town. I remembered it well." His hand moved to the blade. He paused. "What is this?"

"Ah.. the weird writing? No idea what they are. I saw them too when I was trying to get rid of the rust." The student chimed in.

"I've never noticed this as His Majesty never took the sword out of its sleeve in front of the people." The master mumbled.

"What is it?" Ayna moved her head closer to the sword. Her gaze fell on the engraved writings pointed by the blacksmith. A gasp escaped her lips. "That..." Her heart throbbed. She recognized the writing. She could even read it!

"To Children of the Sun. May This Sword Protect You All."

It was written in the ancient writing of magi.