"Eku... Eku?" Rehenna shook Ekubar awake.
"Mm... what is it?" he mumbled. Although he sounded like he was half asleep, it was far from it. The moment Rehenna made an irregular shift in her movements he was already wide awake.
"I need to do... my business."
With a stretch and a nod, Ekubar was rubbing his eyes awake. "Alright. Come, let's go." he leaned down and hooked one arm underneath Rhea's legs and the other to support her back.
Rehenna adjusted well to his hold, her neck resting on his shoulder and her arms locking themselves around his neck.
"Is this place good?" Ekubar asked as he placed her on top of a log.
"How far is it from the caravan?" she asked, moving her head around. She wasn't exactly looking at anything, she was trying to hear better.
"Not so far that you wouldn't be safe but far enough that you would have privacy." he placed his hands on his hips.
"Oh, that's good." she fumbled her hands together and looked down awkwardly. "You may go now." she was embarrassed.
"Of course, my lady!" in this situation he would've done a bow for a show but she wasn't able to see so it would go to waste. With a smile and a swift turn, Ekubar headed away from Rehenna so that she could have her own privacy.
Rehenna stared into the direction where Ekubar's footsteps were fading away. When she was sure that he was far away, she pushed herself off the log.
She needed to escape.
If what she learned from the boy was correct then she wouldn't be able to trust Ekubar to take her home anymore. She knew that Ekubar was taking her away for her own good, but that wasn't what she wanted. She had a kingdom protect, a king to serve, and a knight to return to.
With the situation like this, there was only one person she could ask help from. Rehenna breathed in shakily and braced herself for the oncoming struggle.
Time to get herself back to the caravan.
Rehenna was finally able to hear the hustle and bustle of the caravan so close. Even though it was late at night, there were still some people who were awake. She let out a breath of relief as she made another move to drag her closer. Her arms were killing her and she was sure that there were already multiple scratches on her legs, but it didn't matter. It wasn't like she could feel them.
It was then she felt herself bump into what felt like something wooden. It was a wagon! Rehenna felt around it. She was behind the crowd.
How was she going to find that boy when she was in such a state? She wasn't hiding the color of her hair. She usually had her cloak but she didn't usually wear it when going to the bathroom.
She can't even see anything, and it's not like she can just go ahead and ask around. What if there was someone that knew about her black hair? Perhaps they would just shrug it off as dye... she didn't have her lavender eyes so it would help.
But Ekubar should know by now that she has been gone too long, and it's not like she hid her tracks. Rehenna knew that he would find her as quick as a bloodhound searching for a piece of steak.
If he found her now he will ask her why she had lied to him. Ask her why she had ran away from him. Ask her why she had chosen to go to the caravan. It would all be too suspicious and she wouldn't ever be able to come up with a believable lie Ekubar will hate her. He will take her away. He will-
"Lady, what are you doing?" It was a feminine voice. A young one. Probably near her age.
"I-I... please help me." she turned to where the voice came.
"God, you sound so weird!" she flinched at that, "You're that suspicious girl who was hanging behind that dangerous guy." light footsteps approached her. "What are you doing so far away from your protective lover?"
"Please, I need to get away from here!" Rehenna begged, her arms reaching out in front of her to grab something. She didn't have to though when the girl held her hands instead.
"Why? What happened? Is someone coming after you? Is it your lover?" suddenly, the grip on her hands tightened, "Is he the one hurting you?" she sounded angry.
Anything to make her take her away from here. "Y-yes... please, you have to let me escape before he comes get me!" Rehenna latched onto her arms.
"What, scum!" the girl helped raise her up, "Men like that should just go die!" it was then she noticed that she wasn't moving her legs. "What is it? Why aren't you moving?"
Fear and panic starting to settle inside of her, Rehenna shakily replied, "I'm blind... and I can't use my legs." That just seemed to make her even more mind.
"This is what that man did to you?! I should have him killed for this!" the girl picked her up, surprisingly having a lot of strength, "I'm going to take you to my brothers and sisters."
"N-no! You have to take me away! I need to go home!" Rehenna didn't have enough time. Ekubar should have noticed by now. He should be running after her.
Even for a visit to the loo, it was too long. Usually, Rehenna would be calling for him by now. So, he was a bit conflicted. Should he go check on her? Maybe something happened?
Ah, but what if he accidentally went in on her doing her business? Ekubar couldn't do that to a woman. He would be ashamed for an eternity.
Ekubar scratched his cheek, feeling completely confused. What should he do in this situation? What if he waited a little longer? But... but what if something did happen and Rehenna was unable to call for help?
The male Liya swallowed. There was no other choice, it was better to be safe than to be sorry. He was going to check up on Rehenna.
With a deep breath, he made his way back to where he had left Rehenna. It wasn't too far. Well, a little bit, but women loved to have their privacy when they were doing lady things. As a gentleman, it would be against his honor to intrude even the slightest bit.
After moving over a couple of twigs and rocks, he released a breath and covered his eyes. "Rhea? I'm right over here. I'm just wondering if you were alright." he waited for an answer.
There was none.
"Rhea?" there was something wrong. He opened his eyes and ran through the tree and bushes separating the place where Rhea should've been, but she wasn't there. "Rhea!?"
Where was she!?
In a panic, Ekubar looked around, maybe she moved away further? He searched around the areas frantically, his heart racing and his chest heavy with the feeling of worry. There was no sign of her.
Ekubar fell to his knees, closing her eyes. He tried to control his breaths. There was no point if he was searching for her in such a state. Rehenna could've gone somewhere.
"RHEA!" he roared as he sent a burst of his power as far as he could, hopefully, to alert Rehenna that he was looking for her, but there was no reply.
Something has happened. He was sure of it. Did one of the people from the caravan discover that she was a Liya? Did one of them decide to capture her for money? His blood boiled at the thought.
During his panic, he failed to realize that he had missed an important thing. Ekubar realized when he had returned to where he had left Rhea, that there was a trail leading somewhere. He knew that trail. It was Rehenna.
His eyes flashed purple, and in one swift motion, threw his daggers into the air and snatched them with both his hands. He was going to find her. She will be alright. He was sure of it, but if she wasn't...
Someone was surely going to die.
Rehenna froze when she felt a familiar surge of energy erupting from within the forest.
"PLEASE!" she sobbed, tears pricking her eyes, "He's coming! I need you to help me! Help me NOW!"
"Alright, alright!" the girl lifted her up with her monster strength and started running. "I knew the guy looked dangerous!" she panted, her stomps harsh on the floor as she the both of them zoomed away from the caravan. "His face just reeked of evil... to think that he was abusing someone like you... disgusting."
Rehenna just buried her face into the girl's neck. It was a strange thing. She was so used to the strong hold of Ekubar and the feel of his broad shoulders. To be suddenly held by someone so lithe and small (she assumed the girl was the same size as her) felt foreign.
Suddenly, they stopped. She was roughly put on the ground.
"Second, I need to go!" Rehenna heard the girl say.
"What!? Why now!?" it was the voice of the voice that was talking to her.
"Just another project, alright? I'm going to leave for a while. Keep them safe while I'm gone!" Rehenna heard a clatter of items and suddenly the same pair of arms picked her up again.
"Eldest, I don't think this is a good idea! You brothers and sisters need you to-" it was the voice of that woman that stopped the same girl from insulting Ekubar.
"No, no... just forget it. She's going to go whether you say no or not. She usually does this." the boy sighed. "She's going to come back."
"Yeah. So butt out of my business." the girl sounded annoyed. It didn't seem like she liked the older woman much. "I'm going to go now. All of you, except you, take care!" with those words, the teen took off with the same amount of speed as she had when she first picked her up.
Ekubar rushed through the forest at a speed nearly inhuman. He moved swiftly, every move calculated. He was on a mission and he will do anything to complete it. He dodged a branch that would've slashed his left eyes out, jumped over a fallen tree that would've sent him tumbling, ducked under a branch, and continued his run.
It didn't take him long to reach the caravan.
The sky was completely dark, but the caravan was still lit brightly with the fires in its middle. The train stopped here. That couldn't be right. Rehenna couldn't walk so she couldn't have covered her tracks so easily.
Unless someone else had done it.
He growled. So someone had taken her.
Men spoke with each other in front of the fire, their faces a little red from alcohol they had consumed.
"And when he said that he would only give two gold coins for my leather bag, I just slugged the man right there!" said one man.
The other men gathered around laughed at the end of his story until they noticed his approach.
"Hey, now. That's a face that I don't recognize." said the storyteller. He stood up and puffed his chest trying to look intimidating.
Ekubar gave him a glare, not stopping his long strides towards the group.
The others noticed his dangerous behavior and stood up with the storyteller. "Hey now, young ma-" a boot-covered foot knocked the man over, destroying his balance, and before he knew it, he was on the ground inches from the fire, a sharp blade to his neck, an arm pushing him down, and flaming purple eyes.
"Where is she!?" roared Ekubar, anger flooding through his veins.
The other men took out their own weapons, most of them just little knives. "Drop the weapon, kid!" warned a man, they inched closer.
"One more step and I will slit his throat," he said it so quietly the men froze in fear. "Now listen to me closely..." he inched closer, his eyes flashing with power, "Have you seen a black-haired girl with silk wrapped around her eyes?"
"N-no, I haven't I-I-I I was just-"
"Wrong answer!" Ekubar made a move to dig the dagger inside of the man's throat until he was interrupted.
"Wait, WAIT!" the storyteller dropped his weapon, the others following after. "I saw the little bandit girl carrying her away!"
"What bandit girl!?"
"She follows a group of scoundrels! They're right at the end of the caravan!"
Ekubar breathed in, his eyes analyzing the man to see if he was telling the truth. It didn't look like he was lying. He kept his dagger and let go of the man. He turned around and started walking away.
Anger. Surprise. Attack.
Without looking behind, Ekubar dodged an attack that would've left him with a knife lodged in his head.
His face blank, his movements precise, he knocked them all down in seconds.
Ekubar stood up and sighed. With a turn, he ran towards the end of the caravan.
Ekubar saw the same boy that he met in the healer's home, he was holding the little boy with the green eyes.
As he inched closer, he heard him whisper, "She didn't have to run after them."
"Yeah!" it was the loud, curly-haired boy. "Eldest can take care of herself, and it's not like this is the first time she has left us alone."
"SHUT UP!" another girl, this time smaller who had... black hair?
The teenage boy sighed and patted the little boy's hair, trying to keep him asleep. "She gets worked up over the littlest things... and now Orphan just had to go chasing after her. Eldest already hates her. Now she's going to definitely try and kill her."
"How interesting, and here I thought that you guys were never going to be a problem for me." Ekubar stepped into their view and crossed his arms, an eyebrow quirking in suspicion.
Their reactions were immediate. Each and every one of them moved into a defensive position as if they were used to being cornered. Eku wasn't surprised. It was basic behavior for children who had to fend for themselves.
There were six children.
First, the teenage boy with quite the looks. Second, the active boy who seemed a bit off. A girl with black hair and purple eyes. Another little girl with dark, bluish hair and grey eyes. The little child that seemed to be the youngest. Lastly, there was a small boy that said no words.
"What do you want?" the teenage boy gently placed the youngest child in a comfortable spot and gave him a glare.
"Your sister. Where did she go?" Ekubar took a step forward just to see their reaction. They scrambled to make their distance greater.
"Why should we tell you!?" yelled the girl with purple eyes.
"Because if you don't..." Ekubar took the daggers hidden in his boots and held them firmly, "Someone is going to get hurt. She took someone very important to me."
"Well, sister never does something she doesn't think is right. If she took away that girl there had to be a good reason for it!" the handsome blonde boy stepped in front of the other children, there was fear in his eyes, but he was brave. He was a good kid, but Ekubar didn't have time to play games.
Ekubar gave the boy a punch to his face.
"Second!" the other children gathered to the teen.
"Tell me." he demanded again. 550Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCemiuK3fKr
"No!" the boy was strong that was for sure. In another time he would've made a great warrior.
"Let's try this again..." in a flash, Ekubar grabbed the boy who didn't speak and held a knife to his throat. "Where did they go?"
"Where do you want to go?" asked the teenage girl as she continued to run.
"Phir..." she whispered.
"Phir? That's where the war is starting! Why in the heck would you want to go there?" she was panting with every running step she took.
"It's where I live. They need me there. It's very important that I return." 550Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIPsjkZuAz
The girl had long curly hair from what she could feel, but right now she had it tied messily into a ponytail. She was really well built and had a good amount of muscle on her. How she was able to gain such strength she didn't know.
"Your family is still there?" she asked.
Family? "Yes... yes they are." they were very precious to her.
"Then I'll get you there!" the girl continued to run at the same pace. "I knew at first glance that your lover isn't anyone to mess with. I'm sure that a guy like him can catch up fast. We need to... huff... cover as much ground as possible!"
Rehenna nodded.
Inside of her heart, she felt like she was doing something wrong. She was lying to this girl, making her think that Ekubar was doing such horrible things to her, and right now Ekubar should be running around like a madman looking for her.
She shook her head. No. She was doing the right thing. Her goal has been to return to Phir ever since the day she was kidnapped from her chambers. She will do anything it takes to get back there to Jui. Even if it meant telling a thousand lies and... and destroying the trust of the man that saved her countless of times.
"Thank you for your cooperation, kid." Ekubar dropped the boy and tried to smile kindly, but they were all glaring at him with pure hatred in their eyes, "I'll make sure not to kill your sister." the boy scurried over to his big brother and gave him a tight hug.
"If you even touch a hair on her head I SWEAR I WILL-!" but Ekubar was already running to the direction that Eldest had run to. 550Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuxW1d5sW9
Ekubar had a bad feeling.
It was clear that Rehenna had brought herself to the caravan by herself. There was not a single sign of struggle, and there wasn't even another step other than the dragging trails of her legs.550Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAxZMqRT13
Why would she want to... to escape? Then he remembered. 550Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgd3HhwImUL
There were footprints leading to the caravan when they were eating dinner. Someone had spoken to her and she didn't tell him. 550Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBLSY7OWRE
His eyes widened at the thought, his heart clenching. Did she know? Is that why she wanted to escape? Did she know that he was lying to her? Did she know that he was trying to take her away from the very thing that he had promised? Would she... would she hate him now?550Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4VQrhafIy
Ekubar grit his teeth and paused mid-run. 550Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPlWldRvew
What should he do? Should he run after her? If he did find her what was she going to say to him? Would she scorn him for feeding her with such deceitful words? 550Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDJEkloNhS
No. No... no. He had just gotten her back. He can't lose her now. He can't! His sister needs to know that a piece of their home is still alive. She needs to know that Rhea is still alive! The three of them need to be together again.550Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvbdwRI7cB
Rehenna doesn't need to go back to Phir. She needs to be with them. Where they are safe. Where she is loved. She doesn't need a green-eyed knight. 550Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLj9KrvPt2J
Rhea had him to give her all the love that she needed. 550Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8E6rBwUND
