The bond

13. Midoria

"The very man I have been trying to protect you from is here pulling all the strings." Aiden says through gritted teeth as he paces the floor throwing his hands in his hair, my heart is pounding in my chest at his words.

"What do you mean?" I ask, Aiden looks at me noticing he has said something he was not meant to, he sighs.

"When you were twelve, the night I took you to the crystal cave." he starts...

"You mean the night where you pushed me into the portal?" I ask sharply.

"Yes." Aiden replies cautiously raising an eyebrow.

"I did that because I snuck into the castle to see you as I always did and overheard your father talking about taking your life to feed a power sauce that would destroy all magic, leaving light magic to rule over the remnants of land, and now you're right back where he wants you." he admits to me.

That's why he did all this, to keep me close, he thought fake bonding me with Aiden and knowing how much he hates light magic, he figured I would be safer as his bonded, this would also stop me from being tossed out or killed on sight or even taken by another man that would have me. But he didn't know Aiden and I knew each other as children.

"What do we do now?" I ask, Aiden still lost in his own thoughts, doesn't seem to hear me.

"Aiden." I say again, he finally looks at me.

"Father...... I mean your father has said all his trips have been to sort kingdom affairs with my uncle, I think we should start there." he says.

"Ok, so to your uncle it is, how do we explain our leaving?" I ask.

"I don't know." Aiden admits.

I don't know what to say, this new information has my head spinning. Aiden notices my desperate need for answers about my father, and that night.

"I'm sorry I don't know much more. I was only a boy myself but all I know is it scared me and I wanted nothing more than to protect you." he says caressing my hand as he sits beside me.

"I promise I'll protect you, together we will find the answers and stop it ever happening. All I know is things can't be good if he's here in my father's place just when you come back." he adds trying to comfort me.

The following morning Aiden takes me out to the Lillulian orchard, my excitement is bursting out of me. Lillulian's are the fruits Madeline packs in my lunches I take every day to the bloom tree.

Madeline knows it's my favorite, the fruit is a small yellow and orange grape size fruit that opens like a banana and tastes like a cherry mango.

The carriage ride is breathtaking with all the Lillulian trees lining the road, there big and the fruit drapes from the trees like grapes hanging from a vine and beautiful flowers that remind me of a very colorful passionflower, dot the trees, but when we get further down my excitement is taken from me rather abruptly.

When we arrive, there is a mass of people waiting for us, they race over to Aiden, they all try talking to him at once.

"ENOUGH!" Aiden bellows, they all quiet down and take a step back from us.

"Ok, now one at a time. What is all the fuss about?" he asks calmly.

"It's the Lillulian trees!" one worker replies.

"Yeah, there is something wrong with them." another continues.

"Come see!" we are pushed deeper into the orchard and it is not hard to see what all the fuss is about, the further we go the worse it gets, the trees seem to be infected.