The Petals of A Dream - II

Stirrings ((Chapter 16))

*** Yhuelle's POV ***

I felt four strong hands lift me from the ground.

"Be careful, Anexander. You won't want to anger Sir Rolan," a male voice said.

"I'm being careful with him, man. Just mind your own stuff."

Rolan's men? They must be palace Castells, not mere soldiers. This was one valuable piece of information. It meant that I must be imprisoned in Fangvard, the capital of Celes. The one with the toughest security.

Why are they still following his orders? Am I not of higher authority? I am an Argout. Don't they know that?

It's quite ironic that I was being taken care of by the very ones who vowed to be my 'protectors' once I got the position of Mage Lord. With a silent dark laugh, I realized that the world is really nearing its end.

Oh. That must be the reason. They didn't want to end this world, so they're smearing their dignity with dirt. For this world, they would betray me...

The two Castells dragged me out of the room. Their grips were too powerful that its hurting my arms, but I didn't care. As long as nothing's screwing up.

Being simple-minded, they probably didn't notice I was awake. They knew I was spellbound. My eyes would never open, with my jaw locked tightly. They knew I couldn't move, that I was numb.

I smiled to myself.

This was why I prefer Castells over mercenaries. They were full of fools. They seemed convinced that I couldn't break the spell. They believed that I was still under the potion's effect. But they were dead wrong. They didn't realize I was only acting, waiting for the perfect opportunity to escape.

******

I didn't know how long it's been since I left the other world. I wondered how they have been. Were they together? What were they doing now? Was she doing fine?

I was pretty confident that Alaire have already found Abrielle. He's really good at finding people. It's his specialty, so I particularly chose him when I called for help. He's someone I could trust. I knew he's the last person in my who-are-the-traitors list.

I hope that he is taking good care of her over there.

Over there...

Wait.

I missed something.

Oh.

OH.

Crap! Of all things to forget! Why didn't I tell him...?

It probably didn't cross his mind to bring her here, back to Celes. He wouldn't bring her over, would he?

Judging his personality and pattern of thinking, the odds were bad. To top it off, we didn't finish our last conversation. I wasn't able to explain the entire situation to him. If I was in his position, how would I react?

Surely, I will bring her with me.

I tried to hide my discomfort at the thought.

He wouldn't dare! If he did, all my efforts would be wasted. The twelve months I endured to keep her away from Rolan and the Alphas would be meaningless!

That couldn't happen.

My two guards were oblivious about the battle inside my skull. They continued to drag me to who-cares-where.