Blaize threaded carefully as he walked towards the mouth of the cave. It was a bit dark, and from where he was, he could hear the footsteps approaching him. The footsteps were steady and calculated, but he could only hear one person walking towards him.Were they alone? Where were the others?He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and walked closer. The footsteps kept approaching and although he was as stealthy as he could be, he was certain that they probably knew he was coming as well. His cover was fully blown when he stepped on a twig and it snapped.Someone yelled and hurled at him, knocking him into the wall. But he recognized the voice."Victoria?"He asked and the person stopped. Blaize snapped his fingers and opened his palm as fire suddenly appeared in it. Victoria took a step back and gazed at Blaize with much suspicion."I am happy to see you alive."He said to her but she did not reply. The old him may have killed her on the spot for deserting him but Blaize at that
Blaize stood close to the mouth of the cave for the rest of the night, keeping an eye out as Victoria and Cecilia slept. He had gone to check on them once and found them sleeping peacefully on the ground. The fire they made had now become a pile of ashes on the ground and the cold that had started blowing in the cave made Cecilia shiver in her sleep.Blaize gazed at her carefully. A princess out there in the woods, all alone. She never should have left her village. She should have stayed there and got married to whomever it was her father chose and that way, she would have been able to save herself from some of the pain she was going through at that moment.But still, if she had not run away, she never would have been able to take destiny by its balls and live her best life. Blaize just needed to keep her safe until they got to the Arynthians. He had a feeling that they would find that very interesting.He drew a rune on the ground, tracing it carefully so as not to miss any detail wh
The morning came quickly, and the silence that swept across the forest was one that haunted those inside the cave. For Blaize, it was a relief that it was daytime. He was never really a fan of the night. He knew that what he could see had little or no chance of hurting him, unlike the nighttime when he had to use his magic to stay conscious of the world around him.Blaize glanced over his shoulder and discovered Victoria was no longer beside him. He trudged slowly toward the deeper parts of the cave. He had fallen asleep along the way, just enough to keep him sane for the day. He walked towards where the fire had been but he could not find Victoria, and neither could he find the princess.Where the hell were they?"Victoria?" He called out but his voice echoed in the cave. He had serious doubts they went that way. Where could they possibly be? Did they not know it was dangerous for them to just walk around unsupervised?"Victoria!" He called again and yet, he was met with the respons
The Riverside was...huge.It looked more like a city than a small village and only contradicted everything Blaize had had in mind about the place. He stood with the women at the hill and watched as people kept shouting at others, trading, and cursing.Little children ran around the square and some women could be seen preparing the nets for men to go fishing with. There were a lot of fruits and meat on display which people quickly went to buy. The sight of that food made Blaize's stomach growl.Has he really fallen so bad that years of Elderien training were wiping already? The old him would not have cared about that meal unless it was finally time to eat. But he was out of practice and outdated. And it put some relief in him to know that he was not the only one surprised by the city.Victoria was speechless! She kept gazing at the Riverside in awe and her mouth was slightly ajar."Wow... what happened here?" She asked no one in particular, but the princess shrugged her shoulders."Wel
A tall, dark man walked towards them, wearing a grin on his face. He was dressed in Normal outfits that showed no extravagance. His hair was neatly cut and so were his beards. As the man continued to approach, Cecilia could feel the tightness in her chest. She could barely breathe, and everything about him made her crazily aroused."Cecilia. How are you?" He asked as he stood closer to them, his shoulders standing at equal heights with those of Blaize's."Ragnar. It is good to see that you have not changed a bit." Cecilia said and he just smiled at her."Come. I was not expecting you. Are these your friends?" He asked while gesturing to Blaize and Victoria."Yeah. Ragnar, meet Victoria and Vector. Everyone, meet Ragnar. The love of my life." Cecilia said and Victoria nodded. She was not expecting that."You must be hungry, tired. I will get rooms prepared for you immediately. Come."He led them toward a table and gestured to Victoria and Blaize to a seat. Before they knew it, food was
Victoria gasped as Blaize hurried to her side, worry written all over his face. He grabbed the coat he had placed on the chair he was sitting on and glanced back toward the window."What is it? What's wrong?" Victoria asked him."We have been sold out. Ragnar sold us out to the Buba and they are on their way here." He told her and she just stood transfixed.Of course, she had her doubts about Ragnar but she did not really expect him to betray them. Why would he do that? Did he and Cecilia not claim to be in love? People in love do not sell the other out. Something was wrong."Where is she? The princess, where is she?" Blaize asked Victoria as he walked towards the table she and Ragnar had taken. She was no longer there. Her meal was not finished. Victoria stood up and joined him."I could swear she was here just two seconds ago." She said to Blaize who just cursed."We need to find her, right now..."Blaize's words were interrupted when a member of the Buba walked into the inn. The la
Blaize blocked the first hit from the Buba with his sword, but the strength of the Man that struck him made him struggle to get a grip on his sword. The man struck again and Blaize dodged it and tried to attack, but the Buba was wise.He quickly dodged Blaize's strike and tried punching him in the face, an attack which Blaize saw coming and dodged. The man groaned, hurled at him, and struck again. Blaize quickly leaned to the side and when the man had lost his footing, Blaize slashed his back, but what slashed instead was the armor the man wore beneath his clothing.He chuckled as he kicked Blaize in the chest, sending him to the ground. Blaize did not see that coming. Who wears armor on their backs? The man twisted his axe and tried to strike Blaize again but Blaize dodged it. There was a similarity between the way the Buba fought and the way the leader of the band that attacked them at first fought.Plus, the other members of the Buba all stood, watching the fight, like they wanted
Victori cried as Blaize carried her through the streets, the knife still fixed to the now gory sight surrounded by blood clots. She whimper and held on to Blaize as tightly as she could, crying into his shirt with his nails digging into his back."Hold on, Victoria. Hold on. I will get you somewhere safe." Blaize said to her as she kept crying."Vector, they're following us!" The princess said to Blaize and he looked back.Hurling after them were about three Buba, all holding axes as they ran towards them."Fuck!" Blaize cursed and adjusted his grip on Victoria. Her wound had begun to bleed even more and she was becoming pale. But what could he do? He was not a healer. How could he save her? How?"Run as fast as you can. Do you hear me? Just keep following me and never stop!" He said to the princess who quickly nodded as they dashed through the streets.By that time of the day, the streets were filled with people. Traders displayed their goods, fisherman brought out their newly caught