234 Chapter 234 : Are you crazy woman?!
Zhelimir dodged the strike swiftly and appeared behind his father who he knocked over the head with the hilt of his sword. “That’s a win for me father.”
Zander chuckled before sheathing his sword and taking a seat on a log that wasn’t too far from where they were standing. “I’ll admit son, you’ve gotten much better at this than me, I yield.”
Zhelimir sat next to his father and sighed in exhaustion, even though he had bested his father in this round it had still taken a lot out of him, the man was still as good of a fighter as he was in his youth.
“Is the princess not joining us today for training?” Zander asked his son while sipping on his water canteen, “she is usually the first one here.”
The young blonde man pursed his lips together not knowing what to say. He too did not know why Eira had not come to training today, was she still upset about yesterday when Zhelimir had told her not to go into the forest? Or maybe she had proceeded to venture the woodland all on her own? Zhelimir prayed it was the former.
“What’s the matter?” Zander inquired further upon noticing his son’s somewhat tense demeanor. “Did something happen between you and Eira?”
Zhelimir plunged his blade into the ground and cleared his throat nervously, “no father, nothing of interest transpired between us.”
“Then where is she? You two are practically inseparable. Has she fallen ill?”
“No it’s nothing like that,” Zhelimir responded. “Last I saw her she was in perfect health, she was just a little agitated-” the blonde stopped himself realizing he had said far too much.
.....
“Why was she agitated?”
Zhelimir stayed silent.
“Zhelimir?” Zander got to his feet and turned to look at his son who had a guilty expression riddling his face. “If something is wrong with the princess best you let out with it. Because if anything happens to her and your uncle finds out you knew something and kept it hidden, he will be far from happy.”
Zhelimir felt like he was stuck between a rock and hard place, he really wanted to tell his father about what had happened in the forest the other day because he worried for his cousin’s safety, but he also didn’t want to be the one to instigate her ban from doing what seemed to make her happy.
“Well if you won’t say anything then...”
“Alright wait!” Zhelimir sighed heavily before standing up and facing his father, he had decided that Eira’s safety was a top priority, if anything happened to her while she was out there in the forest he would never be able to forgive himself. “Eira, she’s been sneaking to the forest for some time now..”
Zander’s eyebrows rose, he remembered that Gareth didn’t want her waltzing through the forest in fear that Elric was out there somewhere waiting for the perfect chance to enact his vengeance. The two had not really gotten off on the right foot seventeen years ago, and king Gareth feared that since Elric couldn’t come for him, he would go after his daughter. After all, Eira was the reason Melissa and Elric’s marriage was officially nullified.
“And also, the last time we were there I sensed something,” Zhelimir added on, “it felt strange, it felt like a man and a beast at the same time. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.”
Now Zander felt concerned, that description could have been Elric! He grabbed his son’s hand and looked him straight in the eye, “and where is the princess now?!”
Zhelimir gulped, he could tell the look in his father’s eyes meant trouble, “I am hoping she is in her chambers.”
“Let’s go! Now!”
*
Eira walked slowly deeper and deeper into the forest until she arrived at the clearing where her and Zhelimir had been the other day. She turned to the pixies that were following her and nodded, “this should be it,” she whispered. “And you’re sure you’ve never seen a silver wolf in this part of the forest before?”
The pixies all shook their heads in unison.
“Hmm, maybe it’s a new species that come to settle here, I mean you guys weren’t here either a few years ago too. If it is, we should make him feel welcome.”
Eira walked to the shrub where she had gotten a glimpse of the creature and looked around for a clue on what it could be. She stopped and crouched down when she saw a strange pair of paw prints in the soft mushy ground below. She touched the prints and gasped, “these aren’t animal prints, these are prints of a human.” She got up and moved forward following the footprints till she reached a point that gave her a fright. The footprints had suddenly changed into paw prints.
“Oh my gods, this is no animal, this is a lycan. But why is a lycan roaming around the forests?”
*
Elric stayed quiet as he watched Eira materialize in front of him and began following the paw prints he had left the other day. He had actually been out in the forest trying to get rid of those very foot prints she was following, he didn’t want to be followed and had always been erasing his prints, the day he had first met Eira he had been too overwhelmed to remember to do that, and now he was too late. Why in the world was she following him? No matter, he would just cover the rest of his tracks so she wouldn’t follow him any further.
As the silver haired man stood up to leave he heard her melodious voice calling out to him.
“Excuse me! You’re a lycan aren’t you?!”
Elric immediately felt his skin craw from a wave of emotions he couldn’t quite explain, he had no other choice, he had to run for it.
“Wait!” Eira called to the men who had broken into a run. She pulled her dress and started chasing after the man. “Wait! Please I just want to talk to you!”
What in the world was wrong with this woman, couldn’t she see that he wanted to be alone?! Elric ran at full speed through the forest, past various vines and branches, and up the ledge that led to a clif. She would never chase him over a cliff.
“Wait!” Eira yelled at the man who she seemed not to be catching up to. She felt lucky that she had undergone so much training over the years otherwise she would have never been able to chase after him.
Elric ran straight for the cliff that hang over a river below and jumped off it, once he was in the water she would never be able to track him and he would make it back home easily.
But like a sick joke or living nightmare, he felt a body hit against his and a pair of soft slender arms wrap around his waist.
“Are you out of your damn mind woman!” Elric yelled as they plummeted down towards the water.
Eira tightened her hold on the man, closed her eyes shut and cleared her mind. Before long, the two found themselves rolling across some grass in a plain.
Elric groaned while Eira coughed from the impact of their fall. When the red haired princess opened her eyes she found herself laying on Elric’s chest, she quickly pushed herself up and inspected the man beneath her.
“Oh my goodness are you okay?!”
Elric managed to push himself up, “what happened?” He inspected the area he was in and felt disoriented, weren’t they supposed to be in the river right now? How did they end up in the meadow? “What did you do?” Elric pushed the woman away and scampered backwards.
“You would have drowned if I didn’t teleport us here..”
“I don’t remember telling you I need saving! What do you want from me anyway?! Just stop following me around!”
Eira knitted her eyebrows in irritation, whoever this man was, he was incredibly ungrateful. “I saved your life!”
“I was never in danger! I was trying to get away from you!”
Eira got to her feet and glared at the man, “well excuse me for caring! I thought you were lost, or homeless and I was trying to help!”
Elric stood up and glared back at the beautiful woman, “I don’t need your help! I never have! Why did you have to come back anyway?! Why didn’t you just disappear for good!”
The young woman growled angrily before kicking Elric in the shin, “you ungrateful bastard!” And immediately after she vanished from sight.
Elric remained hissing in pain and rubbing his shin, so she had magic, she must be an elf.
When Eira arrived back in her room she was fuming, that stupid man! If she never saw him again it would be too soon. When the door swung open and banged against the wall, Eira jumped and turned towards it.
“Eira!”
Her father walked briskly to her and grabbed her shoulder, “are you okay?!”
“Father.. I .. yes I’m alright...”
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