Capítulo 44: Travel {43}
Zillah turned her attention to a sleepy sibling placed against a barren tree.
Her eyes glossed over at the thought of Aloysia pushing her body to the extent that it ended up like this. Even wounded, she fought to the last breath.
Zillah shook her head. She didn't know whether it was stupid or admirable. Preferably the former.
Calling her name gently, she stood up from where the Prince lay unconscious, and sat beside her sister.
Her breathing was shallow, body looking as if undergoing exhumation, and beneath the layers, splotches of filth, grime and blood covered her wounds and skin.
"I'm going to attend to you now, so you may feel some discomfort" she soothed.
Aloysia nodded briefly in response, eyes flickering open for just a second, before firmly closing them again.
Zillah sighed, carefully removing the layers of Aloysia's torn clothing to address the whip marks on her arms, legs, back.
Zillah had to hold back the cries each time she found a new cut that would just add to the collection of scars.
So many... too many.
But eventually, Aloysia was wrapped with excess pieces of her clothing that could no longer function as actual clothing. Instead, it was divided as best as possible into strips that acted as bandages; cleaning each wound as she went along. Even Zelek gave her his cloak to use as extra warmth for the duration of the treatment that took a good while.
It was a long, tedious process; clean, apply salve, and wrap.
By the end of it, her sister appeared as a walking mummy from legend. It was a pained sight.
Zillah could tell from the facial expression on Aloysia that she was no longer in immediate pain, and that she had been soothed ever so slightly.
Her fists clenched. "Zelek, where were you?"
He swerved. "Trying to find a way into that castle when it was placed under high security Zillah" he retorted rather quickly, like he had been waiting for her to ask that question.
She huffed.
"We've only been here for a week, I don't know the layout of this place as well as she does" he proclaimed, arms folding into each other.
That... was true. And something that Aloysia wasn't aware of.
They were not from this world; having no idea as to how they even ended up here.
They were on a mission, when a heartbeat later the scenery changed; a wagon full of noises along a dirt road. Trees... so many things they hadn't seen in years. Then they spotted a figure. And when they glimpsed her eyes... they didn't know where they were, but they knew who that was.
"Look, I-I get that.." she was running out of things to make her point. "But.. ugh never mind"
Zelek waved her off, turning on his heels gripped onto the mud and pulled on a branch. "I do miss this... when everything was alive"
Zillah smiled sadly, her laugh filled with realisation.
"Can we not dwell on it?" She stuttered, pulling her cloak further around her for warmth.
"We have to get moving"
And so over a period of 2 gruesome weeks, the twins, Aloysia and Liam had trudged relentlessly across the forested hills that rolled for miles, anchoring ancients trees compiled together to provide no line of sight whatsoever; an unravelling maze, displeasing the elite archer Zelek, who relied on sight lines more so than iron.
Even with the winter dying down, and spring begging to erupt, he was still weary.
Always keeping high awareness around him, preparing for an ambush... that never came,
and his twin, Zillah, from a young age adopted insomnia, sleeping for only 3 hours a time, allowing her to alert them if trouble crept through the night.
Although, his doubts and concerns slowly began to fade into the background as they grew closer to the border connecting the South to the West; travelling through forests and stealing supplies from villages outlining the woods edge.
They avoided civilian eyes, ensuring the Prince had recovered, but with only the wilderness as their shelter... it was a very slow process.
Zelek cursed the Southern Kingdom for their wood, most of its land based on giant forests.
Each kingdom seemed specialised in one form of nature; like a gift from the gods to each king and queen who ascended to the throne...
Aloysia explained it to them.
The south, a wild wilderness with unkept forests dragging on for acres, containing only one main industrialised city that engulfed an ancient castle.
Liam's home.
Outlying tiny villages that contained less than two or more communities.
The East, a kingdom of great valleys and mountainous terrain suppling endless streams of water directly from the gods themselves. Freezing over in the winter to form villages and stunning architectures of ice that its castle became famous for.
The North, being run by a lineage of abhorred tyrants was industrialised, weaponised to the tooth in iron, sliver, and any ore excavated; capitalist civilians with the wealthy being stinking rich, and the poor, scraping for scraps thrown to them in pity by their superiors. The divide was immense.
Lastly, the West, home to scorching heats, gale force winds and sand storms that painted the sky yellow.
It's culture and wisdom stretched the furthest, being the most colourful and tribal of them all... as well as the most successful... a key factor in play when her father had snatched a trade deal between these two polar opposites.
Liam sighed heavily, resting his droopy eyes from the early morning sun, pinching his upper nose in frustration. Paranoia.
The king must have done something..
Must have noticed their absence...
A deceleration.... just something!
And Zelek did not understand the silence; being a warrior, he never did, always keeping one eye open when asleep, a weary glace behind his shoulder... it was in his nature.
Although, what unsettled him the most, was that he had no idea where they were going or what was planned ahead; only with one mumbling instruction to head east was their guide.
Soon, those mumbling words grew stronger as Aloysia recovered from her drainage, though her mind remained in dismay, and her body... another scar.
It appeared on the third day, collecting water dripping off the large leaves looming over them, he saw it. Another dark reminder on her arm, swivelling around her wrist.
It grew darker as the days turned to the present, a week and a bit later; no longer feint, and easily eye catching to Aloysia's horror.
"Don't look so distraught brother, you'll only scare away the birds" Aloysia smiled, enjoying the freedom for once, while resting from their previous trekking.
Her breathing was steady, stamina still in perfectly good shape, as she leaned with one leg against a tree, arms crossed over her chest.
Zelek appeared displeased at her antics, yet a smile shone through, his mind unable to stay mad at her.
"I'm not, I'm just-"
"-Paranoid?"
He chuckled, pushing himself from the tree to walk over to her, his heart lightening with every step he took.
"Yes" he chuckled, "paranoia sums it up perfectly"
She compressed her forehead against his lovingly, closing her eyes in the process.
"Thank you brother", she whispered sincerely, each word resonating within Zelek, bringing a grin to his face.
No matter how many times she thanked him, he would always reply with the same answer.
"Forever and always"
They remained there, enveloped by the silence of the forest, the spring season taking over with higher temperatures that was given off by the sun burning brighter each day.
She knew nothing lasted forever, already aware that this 'trip' would soon end once they reached their destination.
She was going after that stone... even if it killed her.
Aloysia's peace wrestled with rising emotions, yet Zelek was able to feel her thoughts, her feelings as the gentle breeze swept her hair, not allowing any negative thoughts to cloud her brain like a low fog in the busy city streets.
Aloysia hummed happily, rustling her attire; she was wearing clothes stolen from a village, due to her assassin ones being torn from the beating received at the castle.
A dull-yellow, buttoned up shirt, hugging her petit waist; grey tight fitting trousers, long enough to reach her ankles, but no further; the original cloak that bore tales was held securely around her shoulders, flowing down her body; hair, caught in a messy bun, that was sloppy due to her greasy mucked up hair.
Makeshift holders were crafted to provide blade deposits, wrapped around her upper thigh and arm.
Zelek on the other hand remained in his usual clothing, dressed in complete pitch black; from his tight fitting top, trousers, to the straps that held sheaths and arrows.
"I wish we could make this peace last" Aloysia murmured half-heartedly, frowning slightly at the sad truth.
"It will" he promised, "one day"
A content smile plastered on her face as her troubling emotions phased through her forehead to his; only half.
His gift to her.
"Aloysia?" A voice called not too far away, breaking the silence.
Aloysia slowly broke the connection, opening her tired eyes that recognised that voice; darting to see none other than the Prince, standing, and on his own two feet.
He was leaning near a tree, the sun glowing onto his troubled face.
Her eyes gleamed at him solemnly, at his handsome features, yet soon hardened as they lowered, resting on his neck that had a great cloth encasing it.
Her stomach dropped.
Each time she saw it, it became a grim reminder of her mistake -that could have been avoided-.
"Aloysia?" He questioned at her silence.
She did not realise she was staring at his injury, idly piercing it, until Zelek nudged her back slightly.
"Yes?" Her voice wavered.
Her brother sensed her tension, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly.
'It wasn't your fault... you know that... he knows that.'
Aloysia exhaled, head dipping as a hand brushed her face, guiding it to her brothers.
He looked directly at her, eyes piercing through... let it go-
Let any pain... go...
The sincerity and admiration behind those eyes spoke volumes, catching Liam off guard.
The bond between those two was unwavering, powerful to say the least, and certainly not to be underestimated in the slightest.
He admired it, relieved that she had an anchor to keep her tethered to this world, a reason to keep fighting.
Aloysia reluctantly broke away from Zelek, trudging toward Liam calmly, pushing branches aside as she walked.
This would be the first time she spoke with him since the incident..
Since the little dispute they had during the haze of mental suffering, she and Liam never spent any actual time alone, and the tension that hung around them grew stronger with everything that was left unsaid.
Although her body language was riddled with nerves, he only saw her complexion in the sunlight that was as smooth as honey; the strands loose from the messy bun that framed her face beautifully, highlighting her cheekbones...
And her lips, no longer swollen or cracked, instead luscious... and...
-moving
"Hello??" She waved in his face, her smile lighting up with awkward confusion.
Snapping out of his thoughts, and avoiding eye contact, his mind kicked into gear once again, pressuring the muscles in his face to contract.
Aloysia sensed the urgency immediately, straightening up and scrunching her eyebrows in attention.
That's when she felt it... the same atmospheric suspense that built up around them.
Her controlling him... the arguing... almost killing him... everything came crashing back in bulk... was this what this was about?? Her mind was racing with thoughts plaguing her body, planting a deep insecurity with every word.
He appeared nervous.
"With everything that happened in the castle..."
He scratched the back of his neck, looking down at the moss covered ground as if it were going to swallow him hole, "I never got a chance to apologise for my behaviour... you were only doing what you th-"
"-What?"
Liam hushed, slightly annoyed at the interruption, yet the fear slowly rising at the look she was giving him.
She was widely confused at what he was saying, frustrated that he brought that up. Her body gestures completely changed, no longer relaxed, but tense.
The silence was deafening.
She spoke quickly, as if to correct him, "If anything, I should be apologising, I did not have your permission, and for that, I am truly sorry."
Her tone of voice hardened, no longer soft or melodic. She did not want this conversation, she hadn't revived her mental health for this conversation just yet.
His throat ran dry, nerves coating his tongue as it forbid him to speak.
Aloysia had to reel back her emotions, hardening her features, a killing calm that she had mastered being an assassin.
"I took control of your body, I forced you against your will to leave- "
"-You did what you did to save my life"
She huffed, annoyance growing. His voice was starting to get irritating. Can he let her finish?
He continued peevishly, "I was too caught up in fear and anger that I didn't realise you saved me"
Constrain.
"Can we please not talk about this? That is behind us" she added, crossing her arms in displeasure, one eyebrow raised at him.
He stepped back, the awkwardness atmosphere increasing. "Why would we not talk about this?"
"Because I do not need your pity to tell me I'm weak, I know what I did was wrong, as you stated before and no one can convince me otherwise" she spat.
Liam bore his teeth, no longer hiding his mild rage at her attitude when he was being polite. He did not understand why he was being shouted at for no reason whatsoever.
Why was she so difficult?
"Why do you make this such an inconvenience? All I am saying is that you were not in the wrong; no where in that statement did I once imply you were weak!" He defended, hazel eyes turning sour as his voice turned to spite.
"You are blowing this way out of proportion!"
Aloysia rolled her eyes, mixed emotions waging in her stomach at the undertones of his message; he had caused an outburst from her in the castle, made her feel like literal shit for controlling him, yet here he was, two weeks later, begging like an idiot to prove that he was wrong.
It sickened her.
"I do not want to waste the rest time allocated bickering on a stupid subject that could easily be forgotten-"
"But why!? Why is this such a big issue for you?!" He shouted, arms tense with his fists clenched.
"Please by all means explain!"
Aloysia had enough, grabbing him by the arm roughy to push him against a tree harshly, her crimson eyes coldly staring into his own, anger glaring back.
"It was not me that made the choice!" she screamed, breathing heavily as his back collided with the rough bark behind, he bit his lip, suppressing a grunt and a string of curses.
"I did what I had to do subconsciously, but ultimately it was not my choice! I am however partly to blame, so please, we do not need to speak of this!" She finished.
Liam's gaze of fear and puzzlement was too much for her to handle right now. Not with everything going on.
The stone buried deep within; the one she must find, and her own father savagely hunting her and the people she cared about felt like her own emotions were being fed to caged, wild animals.
The last thing her -pushed to the brink- mind needed was recalling damaged memories where she betrayed his trust and his pleas to release him; using him like a puppet as the king does her.
Perhaps that's why she felt so guilty and strongly about the apology, feeling as if it was undeserved, that it should never be forgiven, and the fact that the Prince was pressuring her into acceptance... blew the final straw.
Releasing her hold on him, she turned, needing to clear her mind in the dense forest.
She blocked out the calls of the Prince rubbing his sore back, anger flushing his face as he stomped away like a reckless toddler.
She would deal with him later.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
Crystal_Queen125
Crystal_Queen125 Sorry I haven’t updated in a while, I’ve been busy, so I made this one longer than usual for you all ❤️
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