Chapter 19: Chapter 19
Shia felt speechless. ‘It’s him!’ she thought excitedly.
As far as Shia could remember, he – this tall, red-headed, muscular man – was the actual stuff that made up her father’s stories and legends! All of her father’s tales were just about how good and great this commander was and how he had rescued him and formed a friendship with him when he was just a small lad in Tightwater. Now, Shia cannot believe that she is face to face with the great commander of the Red-Headed Knuckles himself. Shia could not stop grinning from ear to ear from her excitement.
The great commander took Shia’s right hand and acted as if he was about to give it a kiss. Before this could be done, however, Shia felt an arm come around her back while another hand snatched her hand from the commander’s grip almost immediately.
“She is not the one I told you about, Sir Rus. She is my wife,” the prince exclaimed in an icy, formal tone.
Almost simultaneously, Shia and Khailis’ eyebrows shot in the air, and they chimed in unison, “Wife?!”
Perhaps feeling a little bit embarrassed with how they reacted, his majesty’s ears turned red, but his face remained as undisturbed as it was before.
“This is my soon-to-be wife, commander. Her name is Shia.” He turned to her with ears that were redder than ever, “Shia, meet Commander Rus. He is -”
“The leader of the Red-Headed Knuckles!” Shia finished his sentence with so much enthusiasm and glee that it made Prince Langrion’s eyebrows go up in astonishment. “I have known you from the stories that my father told me,” Shia informed the commander. “He said he had met you when he was young.”
Feeling proud and yet a little embarrassed, the commander let out a heartfelt laugh, “I never knew I was that famous for such a beautiful miss to know my name!” He turned to Langrion, “I see you have grown up, my boy! You are not the same kid I have taken care of in the palace. Don’t worry, I would never dream of coveting someone else’s betrothed,” he remarked, giving Langrion a fanciful wink as he said his last word.
“The one you are looking for is here,” Khailis said to them, pointing to the sleeping Marmie that they have yet to wake up.
“So your father knew me, eh? What was his name?” the commander asked Shia as the three of them walked back to where Khailis and Marmie were.
Shia completely ignored Langrion, who was shooting him sharp stares as he held her hand firmly. He was also clinging annoyingly close to Shia’s side while she tried to start a conversation with Commander Rus. “My father said he personally knew you. Do you remember someone named Gregor Aifendel?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know anyone by that name, miss... I do know someone named Gregor, but he has a different last name.”
“He has blond hair and big, brown eyes like mine. Here, I have his picture.” In a flourish, Shia was able to retrieve her dagger from her cloak, and she pressed the jewelled part of it to reveal her family portrait. “Here’s my father in the middle.”
The commander stared at the portrait, and his face lit up as he laughed out in excitement, “Gregor – I know him! I can’t believe I have met Gregor’s child! This makes me feel really old!”
Shia beamed widely, and her heart seemed to burst from happiness.
“So you do know him?”
“Yes! He was my brother-at-arms and at the heart... But I do not recognize the name he goes by now. What was the last name you said you have?”
“Aifendel...”
“The last time I met him, he went by the name of Gregor Andry... Ay, that must have broken his mother’s heart,” the commander remarked.
Shia wanted to ask him what he had meant, but the commander started to turn his attention to the reason of his visit.
“Let’s see if we can wake her up,” he said.
The commander opened a small vial containing some clear, yellowish liquid. Shia surmised that it must be the antidote – an extract made by boiling Antipora leaves over night. He gently scooped up the head of Marmie’s sleeping body and dropped some of the antidote to her lips.
Slowly, the little girl opened her eyes. She stretched up her arms and sat up a bit as she remarked, “Where am I? Who are you?”
Prince Langrion left Shia’s side, but he continued to hold her hand as he leaned down closer to Marmie.
“Marmie, how do you feel? Do you recognize me?”
“Ah, my prince!” she said, and she threw an arm around Prince’s Langrion’s neck as she began sobbing, “Forgive me, sire! I broke my promise. I did not realize I was using my powers. I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.¬”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said gently, and his eyes began to have some warmth in them as he proceeded to soothe the girl. “It was my fault. I brought you at the encampment despite knowing it was a dangerous place.”
When she was feeling a little better, the prince began to talk to Marmie again. “Do you remember what I told you about the people who will help you escape from the Capitol and start a new life at Jazamel? This here is Commander Rus. He is my friend and the leader of the Red-Headed Knuckles. He will help you start a new life like I promised.”
“T-thank you, my lord!” Marmie said in a curtsy as she started to sob again, “Does this mean I will not see you, Lady Khailis, and your lady wife again?” Marmie started to stare at Shia with her soft, sad eyes that made her want to cry a little too.
“Of course we will see each other again someday! For now, you have to go with Commander Rus here. He will help you. I am sure you will make a fine baker there at Jazamel. We will surely visit your shop when everything is settled.”
“You promise?” she said extending her pinky ring to the prince.
“I promise,” he said, and he twined his own pinky finger into hers to seal their agreement.
In a few minutes, the commander had fastened up some of the supplies and belongings that Khailis had prepared for Marmie’s journey. He spoke to his highness again, and gave him a quick hug.
“I am glad to see you turn into a fine man, your highness. As this had been a rather unplanned meeting for us, it is best that we go back to our respective camps as fast as we can. Send me a letter when you get to Sensala so that can meet again soon and discuss the developments of the group. As for your request for mages, I think you will find this information useful.” Commander Rus handed him a piece of paper.
The commander turned to Shia and gave her a quick hug as well, much to her and his majesty’s surprise. “I am deeply honoured to meet the child of my dearest friend and comrade, but more importantly, I am glad that Langrey found a person who has loved and accepted him despite his circumstances. Let’s talk more next time. Stay safe!”
As quickly as they had met, Marmie and the great commander walked on and disappeared from the other side of the bushes.
An hour after Marmie and the commander left and while on their way back to the encampment, Shia sighed deeply. She had been lost in thinking about the commander’s remark regarding his father’s name.
She and Langrion were sharing a horse ride together with her sitting in front, trapped within the prince’s arms in an apparent embrace. She had protested vehemently on this. However, the prince effectively pointed out that she would most likely fall down if she stayed at the back side after learning that she had never ridden a horse before in her lifetime.
At first, Shia felt so awkward being too close to his majesty again and smelling his scent, but as soon as the cold air settled during the night, Shia felt grateful for the comfort and warmth that his body brought upon hers.
Hearing her sigh for a second time, the prince spoke, “What are you thinking about so seriously? Are you thinking about Commander Rus?... Do you, perhaps, like him that much?”
Shia detected a hint of irritation at his last question, but she chose to ignore it because she could not comprehend why he might feel that way. “I was thinking about what he said regarding my father... I think my father was keeping some secrets about his past.”
He replied slowly to her, “everyone has secrets, Shia... If he ever did, I’m sure he meant well.”
She turned his head towards him. “Do you remember the last name that the commander said? I think it was Andry... I have never heard of such a name.”
“I have,” his majesty replied. “They are an old family of nobles, but I have only been close to Nana and the baroness. Don’t worry about it. Once we get to Sensala, I will send a letter to the House of Andry and to the commander again so that you can ask him yourself what he had meant.”
Shia turned her head one more time to look at the face of his majesty. Under the night sky, Prince Langrion’s face looked all the more lovely, and his visible blue eye seemed to shine so earnestly towards her. After witnessing what has transpired at the funeral pyre that night, Shia must admit that his highness did not seem to be the spoiled, rich brat she had thought of at the beginning. He had a gentle and helpful nature about him that makes him a tad better than the rest of the nobles, at least in Shia’s perspective.
‘What else could I have been mistaken with about him?’ she thought. ‘Is he a trustworthy person after all? Can I really trust his innocence regarding my family’s murder?’
As Shia entertained these thoughts, the prince suddenly halted the horse’s gallop that it gave her quite a fright. All at once, he gave out a yelp, and he fell down from the horse into the nearby bushes.
Alarmed, Shia went down as fast as she could from the horse and kneeled at the writhing form of his majesty.
He was clutching his chest violently and was moaning as if he were in some sort of agonizing pain.
“What happened?” Lady Khailis asked as she went down from her own horse and ran towards them.
“I-I don’t know!” Shia said. She could feel her own heart pounding wildly in a state of apparent panic.
He continued to moan in pain, and Khailis quickly turned to Shia, “Help me undress him!”
They worked together as fast as lightning to pull away the contraptions and armors surrounding his majesty’s neck and chest area. Finally, Lady Khailis was able to tear open his undershirt and revealed his majesty’s bare chest.
“Oh no, it’s the Mark of the Beast!” she exclaimed.
Shia held her breath as the dark inked figure of a heron in flight became more and more visible at the left side of Prince’s Langrion’s chest.