Chapter Nine
As the moon rises into the night, the stars also come out, the chill of the night settling into the camp that was just set up two hours ago. With voices filling the night, songs of old stories from years ago, and tents set up for the stay tonight, for the past couple of hours I have stayed within the warmth of my tent. The small tent is more luxurious than I would have expected, more than just a simple tent pitched with enough room for a small cot. Inside the tent is massive, the floor covered in a rather large rug, woven together by the threads as it creates a pattern of deer being hunted. My so-called cot is rather a comfy mattress, a white fur blanket used to keep me warm while I sleep, tapestries upon the walls of the tent to keep me warm inside, and the chest that the fairies packed for me is pushed up against once of the walls. Luxurious camping for sure even if for one night. All of this for one night, the same men that set up this tent house to take it down and then set it up day after day.
"Lady Candice," a voice announces, greeting me as the individual enters my tent, pushing through the front flaps, greeting me with a small smile. Dressed in a brown fur cloak, crimson uniform, striking silver eyes, and light blond hair, this male is a stranger to me, a stranger that is tall just like the King, and just as intimidating as any of the warriors outside. "Allow me to introduce myself, my Lady, for I am Duke Gravon of the Eastern Islands. My King has told me that you are the translator."
"The King has informed your correctly," I respond, welcoming the male into my tent, his kinder face making me feel more at ease with him than any of the men in this camp. "What can I do for you?"
Gravon takes a seat on the chest the fairies packed, the metallic trunk perfect for sitting on as he uses it to its full advantage. "My Lady, I have been on several of these quests for the King. I never doubt his determination to find this retched male that murdered the past King like a monster, but this is to be my sixth quest and every time these result in dead ends. This man that we are hunting, he is far superior. The fox that cannot be caught." If what he says is true, these two weeks that we are set out for, they could end with no more leads and I will have wasted my time here. I am on a schedule to find my father, yet I do not even have a schedule made. All my life I have been organized, always having a schedule that I stick to, and now here I am, millions of loose ends and paths I could take as I have no idea where any one leads. "What makes you think that by having you, and I mean no offense to your talents as a translator here, do you think that we can actually find a major lead on our prey?"
Do I tell this man that there is a book left at the Temple that could give me clues? It would be way to suspicious, as these men would expect me to have never visited this Temple, much less know of a random journal to be there. Gravon does not like the fact that my father is hard to even trace his tracks. One of his many hidden talents, my father could cover up his tracks, disappear into thin air. He was a magician after all, someone who would vanish before your very eyes, giving the audience no idea where he could be. He made a profession off this, meaning that these warriors and Lords are hunting a man trained to erase himself from the world. "If this Temple holds what I hope, and believe it will, Duke Gravon, then we will have a starting point that you and your men could have dreamed of ages ago. I was taught by this wretched man himself as a child, his language and even some of his tricks, but he turned on my pack, slaughtering my mother as well as others I held close to my heart."
"And so, the student is to help strike down her teacher, very poetic," Duke Gravon comments to my explanation of why he should put his trust in me. Rising to his feet, the Duke bows his head to me, offering me yet again a friendly smile. "Well then, Lady Candice, if the King has decided to trust you in this hunt, then he is wise and no fool. I must go now, to converse with the other nobles. Good night, Lady Candice, and may the gods bring you dreams of great joy."
There are certain things within the world I come from that I have lost in the fire that is Iduna and the whole drama with my father. Well, not exactly fire, but the mess that occurred from his parting with his family, career, and the very reality he lived in. Did my father not find life with a woman that loves him and a daughter that looked up to him enough? My father was lost in that fire years ago, but as I stare at the ceiling of my tent, the winds blowing fierce outside, my mind rushes through the faces of those that I left behind what feels like ages ago. I had many close friends, even a boyfriend that had grown distant weeks before I graduated high school. It is if I cannot even make out his face even more, my mind has barely even crossed the thought of him since I found the key and unlocked this world of crazy magic. His name? I know that much. His name is Nicholas, a light blond with striking green eyes, one of the few boys to never tease me about my father's so-called death, and someone who faded away when we discovered we would be heading to separate universities. To think he has hardly crossed my mind leaves me at a loss for words, unable to process that a boy that once took up so much of my mind has become almost a forgotten memory. But Nicholas is not something that keeps me up tonight, listening to the raging winds and the chatter of the warriors, but rather the woman I left behind in her already accepted solitude. My mother had been living in her own little reality for quite some time before I entered this realm, even about to fly out for a matter of weeks, telling me of her plans the day that I left her.
My mother used to show up to my childhood events, school plays, and small parties, but she never intended to make them really. She would mark them down on her calendar to make the young version of me happy, telling me that she would be home from her travels to make it. The most she ever attended in a year was three, making that fifth-grade year of mine one that I would always remember unlike the rest where she would forget, be gone, or too tired to attend. My own mother is the reason for when I think of my future self as a mother, to do everything exactly opposite of her. My mother is the reason for why having children of my own makes me scared of raising them like she did me. But then again, my husband will not be some magician that is world-famous and leaves one day for a world he believed existed outside of our own.
"Lady Candice?"
I perk up, posture straight, eyes trained on the entrance to my tent, quickly pulling my hair back into a bun. Why am I nervous? That is the voice of the man who has hired me, and as the man whose voice just called out for me enters my tent, I begin to wonder if these people ever ask for permission to enter a lady's tent. "My King," I greet in return, rising to my feet as I bow my head quickly, hoping for a short conversation compared to one like before when he held me over a fall that would result in my death. "I am afraid I was not expecting a visit from you tonight."
King Kyril nods, a small smile spreading across his face as he looks around my tent, to the tapestries hung on the walls to keep the tent insulated. The tapestries hold patterns of flowers, rivers, forests, and moons as wolves run through the forest. "I am sorry to bother you at this hour, my Lady, but I was unable to sleep and saw your tent was still lit and decided to pay you a visit." Rather than the Duke that was here earlier, King Kyril does not sit on my trunk, but right on my bed, right where I was just laying down. Just because he hired me does not mean he has the right to be inviting himself into my tent and sitting where I sleep.
"I was just going to sleep," I inform, crossing my arms as I stand before the King, tired and worn out from hours of riding a horse through the chilling winter weather. The King nods, knowing full well that my past statement was a passive-aggressive way to tell him to leave, yet he stays put, admiring the tapestries around my tent.
"Trying to sleep with the noise outside is hardly possible, Candice," Kyril comments, using no formal title as he meets my eyes, eyes an electric blue with a mix of silver. I would love to ask him why the color of his eyes change so much, why they swirl with color and can darken in a matter of seconds. "And seeing that most of my men are drinking to the night and I wanted to remain sober, I have come to pay you a visit."
I force a smile onto my face. "You are so kind." My voice is flat and monotone, seeing a smirk pull at the King's lips. "But I really was trying to sleep, King Kyril-
"You can drop the title in private, Candice," the King informs, cutting me off as he rises to his feet, towering over me. My throat runs dry and I find myself raising an eyebrow as he practically orders me to drop his title when it is just the two of us. "It puts a barrier between us that I am not fond of."
I tilt my head to the side, telling myself to stand my ground here. "We are business partners here, my King, and that means we stick to formal titles as our relationship is one of formality," I state, voice sharp, and as I watch his darkening eyes, I know I have made a mistake.
Just as I take a small step back, to place some sort of distance between the two of us, the King takes a large stride forward, imposing upon my personal space as his scent consumes me and I am cast under that strange spell of his that seems to reel me in. My breathing gets heavier as he raises his hand, knuckles brushing over my cheek as he holds me in his intense stare, as if keeping my body frozen in place. "Tell me, dearest little Candice, do you not feel the pull between the two of us? The dance our souls are begging us to partake in. The temptations of the mind and body that pull us closer every moment?" My chest becomes heavy, shoulders feeling like a weight has been placed upon them. His hands move to the back of my neck, gently cupping it as my eyes grow wide. "So delicate, so small, so beautiful. The gods crafted you in their very hands unlike anyone else I have ever met."
My hair comes out of its bun, the King's fingers pulling the hair tie out as my hair falls down my back, the locks long and silky. Fingers run through my hair, touching it as if some delicacy never felt before. Eyes locked with mine, he moves in closer, hands settling on my hips as I feel sparks run through my body, shivers running along my spin as the King's eyes search my face, as if memorizing every feature.
"And I am afraid, my King," I begin, falling out of his trance as I take a step back, placing a good stance between us, "that you are stepping out of your boundaries here. I am here to be your translator and nothing more."
Taking the cloak I wore on the ride, I pull it over my body, heading for the tent entrance, the King calling out my name softly as I enter the chilling wind of the night. As I pull my hair back up and venture out to the boarder of the camp, the hill we are placed upon giving me a view of the wildness ahead. Mountains lay beyond the forest ahead; the darkness of the night already having settled in as the moon lights the outlines of the forest and mountains. Tomorrow we will journey out that way, many of the men having discussed the snow that will act as a dangerous challenge for our horses. Looking over my shoulder to see the entrance of my tent, the King stands there, figure outlined in black, watching me from afar as he looks tense. He is not happy with me, but I do not give a damn. I do not wish to wind up beside a man that is trying to kill my father and that is not even human. I am here to find my father, not let some sort of lust get in the way of that and only make me dig my grave deeper than it has become. The King wants something from me I will never offer him. We are business partners, and sure, that may be strange to him because of my gender, but he will learn from me to not underestimate a woman.
When I was told by my mother about sex when I was seventeen (after I had learned about the birds and the bees several years prior), she told me that before she met my father, she was in a rough place. The daughter of a single mother who could never give up her lazy lifestyle to pay for my mother and her little sister, my mother became a dancer, working the nights to pay for her sister as well as her college education. She met my dad when he was looking for an assistant, traveling through Europe where she just so happened to be on a study abroad program. He saw her drunk at a pup, dancing on one of the tables, drinking away the news of her mother having died due to an overdose. He carried her back to her temporary residence in that city, making sure she was safe, and when she woke up with a miserable hangover, he offered her the role of his assistant. Not the most romantic, but it taught me about my mother, about how she was brought up and what she did to make a living. No, this part of my life is nothing like that part of her story, but it reminds me that I need to do what I can to find my father. No, I will not go and jump the King's bones, but I will try and keep up a friendly relationship with him. I need his trust and nothing more, just that trust to get what I need from the Temple and from the trace of my father. In the end, I will lead him and his men in the opposite direction of my father as I go to my father, but to reach the light at the end of the tunnel, I will need aid.
Taking in a deep breath, I look back to the mountains in the distance, where Soka found me and took me to her village. In those mountains is the temple where I hope to find some answers and win the trust of those I will betray. But why did my father kill the past King? It is his own fault that these men are after him, yet why did he kill him? I never knew that my father had a violent bone in his body, the guts to kill someone, and now, he is in hiding so something. Wouldn't he have come back after so many years here, have completed whatever he was wanting to do here by now...or did he never intend on coming back home to his wife and daughter?
"Damn you, dad," I whisper, fists clenched as I storm back to my tent, the King gone as I know I can sleep soundly now. Blowing out the candles, the darkness fills the room as I lie back down in my temporary bed, the covers pulled over my frame as I close my eyes.
Morning comes fast, the horses mounted quickly after camp was taken down in a matter of minutes. Four warriors had taken down my tent faster than I could have ever predicted, telling me that they hoped I had a good night's sleep. Did I? After some stirring and restlessness, I was able to go into a deep sleep, only to wake up to a horn blowing, informing everyone we would head out in an hour. Dressing myself was a challenge as I had to lace up the back of my dress today on my own, the new dress upon my figure different than before as this one was made from a dark green material, golden embroidery, and a dip in the front that makes me scared of bending over too far. With my hair braided back, the same fox-fur cloak as yesterday draped over my shoulders, and a new layer of snow having landed on the ground, I am glad to hand my feet not on the ground, but elevated as I sit on my horse. Everyone is loaded up, just waiting for King Kyril who has yet to get onto his horse, chatting with some warrior who holds a flag for his kingdom.
I can tell today's ride will be one of few words spoken between the King and I, the atmosphere to be tense due to the events and words spoken last night. As the King walks over to his horse, his eyes meet mine, a cold stare meeting my soft gaze as his horse's hooves dig into the snow. "Let us ride for the mountains," he announces to the warriors, eyes still glued to mine as we take off, the horses ready for the day ahead as I simply pull my cloak closer and try to take my mind off last night's conversation.
Five hours later and we have stopped for a quick lunch, a simple meal of some chicken-like animal with a weird sounding name and bread. I sit beside my horse, away from the small collective groups of those brought along for the hunt of Heka, conversing and laughing as I keep to myself. The only female on the journey makes me feel out of place, afraid being surrounded by so many intimidating men in a land I have no idea where to flee to. I just wish to keep to myself for the two weeks I may be out here, to be boring and an introvert. But that will not be the most successful plan with a King who lusts after you and has been turned down.
"Tell me, Candice, do you not enjoy the view?" Speak of the devil. Looking up from my food, I meet the eyes of a man who is used to getting whatever he wants. He looks to the North, to where the snow-covered mountains are, a breathtaking view for sure. "Or is a slice of stale bread more entertaining?"
I look back to my bread, petting the front legs of my horse as it stands by the stone I have placed myself upon. "I just want to get to the mountains before nightfall."
Rising to my feet, I finish off my bread, knowing that with a full mouth that the King can expect no immediate answer or comment from anything he may say or ask while I chew. Rather than speak, he waits for me, hands behind his back as I decide to chew my food slower than ever before. He waits, eyes glued to the side of my face the entire time as I stare at the mountains ahead. "You must not have been popular with the elders of your pack," the King comments, crossing his arms. "Your way of thinking, to speak to your King the way you have dared, to call us business partners, to even mock me."
I raise an eyebrow, swallowing the food as I have stalled long enough. "I guess I owe my extraordinary way of thinking to the devil himself, the great and damned Heka."
What have I done...
My arm is grabbed, the King taking care of business himself as I expected him to order one of his guards to take me from his presence. Rather than head for one of the horses or for some sword to behead me, the King pulls me into the forest that surrounds us, off the trail we stopped on. Deeper into the forest we go as I tell myself to keep my mouth shut and not anger the supernatural being who drags me out of sight of the group we travel with. As King Kyril comes to a stop, we are in a small clearing where the trees surround us, the King standing in front of me as his eyes are pitch black. "If you didn't mean so much to me already I would not have hesitated to chop off that pretty head of yours in front of all of my men." My skin pales as the King places his hands on my frail shoulders, fingers lightly digging into my skin as he tilts his head to the side. "If you were not so important to me, I would have cut off that tongue of yours the day we met."
"And why didn't you? Why do I mean so much to you the moment we met?" I ask, my voice shaky as I try and hold my head high. "Why didn't you take that precious knife of yours and slice my tongue off like you would have anyone else? After all, we are not equals now, are we? You are above me due to some absurd social class."
My back meets the bark of a tree, his hands on my throat, fingers wrapped around as they apply minimal pressure. Conflict. Conflict is all I see in his eyes as they seem to redden. "You have no idea how dead you would be right now if you were not the woman of the soul that my soul was destined to dance with."
What does that mean? I am some soul mate, because that is what he is making it out to be?
"It is because you have not shifted yet into your wolf that you cannot feel what I feel for you. That pull, that electric and magnetic pull that sends sparks through my body every time we touch. That magical spell you seem to cast me under whenever you look at me. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever looked at and it makes me want to rip the heavens apart because you cannot feel these things." He seems to come closer, lips dangerously close to mine as he has no idea that I have felt everything he has just described. "Even now, with my hands around your neck, if I didn't feel the sparks, you would fall limp."
"That's a great thought to have in my head," I mumble, not liking one bit who he talks about violent acts at me.
"I do not want to watch you go back to your pack when we are done here because I cannot stand to not be around you. I would declare war on the gods and rip through the caverns of hell to keep you by my side for eternity."
"I have a life outside of yours," I whisper, noticing how much closer the King has come now, nose brushing mine as I try and remain calm. Try and remain calm as he tells me he would do anything to keep me in his presence while all I can think about is the fact that I will need to leave him very soon. "I have a pack, a home, and friends."
Kyril looks to me, eyes swirling with a dark violet color, hands upon my neck, his body tense as I wonder what is running through that mind of his. He says he will not harm me, but at this moment, as his hands are wrapped around my neck, I do not fully trust his words. It is like the hold a boa constrictor has its prey in, tight and secure, the prey in its mercy as it knows it cannot break free. Even if I put up a fight, he would overpower me, for I am a mere mouse compared to his snake-like grip, easy to catch and kill. With my back pressed against the tree and the bark digging into my back, I decide enough is enough, testing my limits.
"No," I inform, voice stern as his midnight blue eyes meet mine, lips slightly parted as his breathing is heavy. "No, this cannot happen. I have a family to return to, people that I love, a pack that has plans for me in my years to come." The King releases me, watching as I collect myself, my head high and shoulders rolled back. "You are my King and nothing more."
"You have no idea how wrong you are. You can feel some of those same effects, the sparks, the attraction. You are lying to me, to yourself, for your future belongs with me and not with those from your pack!" Kyril argues, hands cupping my face as he holds me close. "We belong together, and I will prove that to you."
I shake my head. "My mind is already made up, it was made up before we even met, my King, and when we are done here, I will return home."
He shakes his head, pulling my face close, lips pressed upon my forehead as my hands reach up, holding onto his strong arms. "And I will make sure you can never return home."