Sorceress of the Void

Chapter Five - The Druids

Chapter Five

The Druids

This made both Eira and Collan keep quiet. Why would she have seen the man before? He was not someone that stood out, though his manner and personality seen as of yet was certainly something to behold. Eira could not help but wonder if Mindarie had spotted him by the river as well, but quickly shook the thought as soon as it came. She couldn't have, otherwise she would never have let Eira live the encounter down. 

Much to her surprise, the knight's eye caught Mindarie's, but he said nothing. Instead, he continued. "Do you know who has attacked Arnelia?"

"No sir, we did not see them. Whoever they were, they were powerful sorcerers," said Treyan. 

"Hmm." Was all there was in response. The knight looked upward at the sky, seeming to be in thought. Rain hit his sun tanned face, but he paid it no mind. "There is a druid encampment down the path. It is protected with the strongest magic wards possible, you should find a safe respite there for the night." 

"We are indebted to you." Treyan turned on his heels and faced them. "Make haste to the camp. 

And so they were off again, this time with an accompaniment of a dozen horses and knights, one of which Mindarie was still gawking at. 

"Knock it off will you?" Collan pulled lightly at her dress, fully annoyed at her behavior, which had somehow included her ignoring him. She spared a look in his direction and he was silenced. Eira knew they had their own secret language that consisted of just their expressions, but this was ridiculous. She could only guess at what had just transpired between the cryptic prince and princess of Arnelia. 

Eira had also been glancing at the man, albeit much more subtly. He was riding his horse with a straight back, like he was expecting people to stare at him anyway. It was a far cry from the wide eyed, innocent looking man she first saw. The transformation was jarring, but not unexpected.

 A knight was held to the highest of standards, meant to be the perfect rendition of what their whole country represented as a whole--loyalty, bravery, camaraderie, and chivalry. These men owed it to these attributes for their knighthood and guarded them with a sacred oath.

Rowin got her attention, successfully breaking her train of thought by poking her shoulder from behind. Turning, she found him with a smug look on his face. This immediately worried her, as for the short time she had known him, being smug did not bode well. 

He pointed to the twins, who were talking animatedly under their breaths, but she couldn't hope to hear them over the sound of the horses trampling down the path. 

They almost seemed to be arguing, but the twins never argued over more than who got the last piece of cake. This seemed to be an excited chatter between them, a multitude of expressions crossed each ones face for a mere second before morphing into another. Mindarie seemed to be indignant, then frustrated, then she went on to roll her eyes and grin. Collan was a little less flighty, but the same sort of expressions came and went in the same way. Both constantly looked up at the black haired knight.

Eira's curiosity was ever building, wanting to know what in the world they were talking about. Mindarie had said she had seen him somewhere before, but had she remembered where? By the look on Collan's face, it seemed that he did not believe a word she said. 

"I think the royal terrors are having a spat." Rowin shrugged his bag laden of not so poisonous berries further up his shoulder. "It's kinda amusing."

A sigh came from Eira. "Whatever it is, they'll work it out themselves. They always do."

And so, they walked behind them silently watching their exchange. Agitated gestures came from the girl, growing in urgency while Collan continued walking and waved her off. Mindarie froze in place, body trembling as she took long, deep breaths in a swift bout of barely contained rage.