Chapter 74 01

They walked side by side to the palace, and she could feel that with each step they took, his strength wasn t as the last one. She stopped mid track and softly held his hand in a way no one would notice, "Are you sure you can do it? We can go back to your chamber and postpone everything." He shook his head at her, admiring the softness he saw gleaming from her eyes. If this was what it felt to care and be cared for, he would ve had a reasonable number of children in his life. With their hands entwined, they walked to the palace and Aranya made sure he was seated before she sat on the space provided for her. She wasn t even attentive at the palace official talks, because all she did was fix her attention on him for any sign of discomfort. She had never thought she would dread the loss of someone like she did with him, and that someone had to be King Bhaltair, the man she thought she would hate for the rest of her life.? It was finally time for her to be introduced to the whole people of Belrynna and when they walked out of the palace, she was sure she had never seen a crows as that and she had to close her eyes to calm her heart. "Good afternoon to you all!" She said from above and they all chorused an answer, smiling and waving at her.? "You re beautiful, Your Highness!" Someone yelled from the ground and Aranya smiled beautifully at the little girl. "Thank you, dear. And so are you." She spoke to them for a few minutes and while they were at it, she gave them a chance to ask her questions, questions no one would dare ask but she had given them the impression that they could speak to her. And they instantly loved her for that.? Out of no where, a sword was thrown at them, aimed at King Bhaltair and in a swift, Aranya was in front of him as she took a hold of the sword. She could feel the rumble of fire through her, and before they got a hold of what had nearly happened, they watched as soldiers they hadn t noticed began to fight their people. Aranya looked down at the crowd that screamed and some ran for their lives before she thundered orders at the soldiers and in a minute, the battalion of King Bhaltair s kingdom had taken over the fight, the screeching sound of swords being exchanged.? Aranya stared at King Bhaltair that was trying to get a sword from one of the soldiers that were trying to protect him when she placed a hand on his, he turned to look at her as he fumed with anger. "Who the hell dared do this?" She smiled, and before she answered or spoke a word, one of the guards rushed to him. "I beg your pardon, your highness. They re from the kingdom of gantrick. And they re here to kill her highness, one of the soldiers confessed before he died." Aranya instantly shot up at him, "Gantrick?" She asked and he bowed before he nodded his head. She turned to the king with a smile, "This is Keres s doing. I'm sure she sent a word to them that their son s killer turns out to be your daughter and they want to use it to raid Belrynna and they think they could kill me." With one swift of her fingers, Aranya got changed into a soldiers clothing and she turned to one of the guards. "Make sure His highness gets to his chamber safely. He s sick, do not allow him to fight anyone because he needs his power to live, okay?" She roared the orders out and with one move of her hand, a sword appeared and she walked ahead.? "Aranya!" King Bhaltair called at her, she turned and saw that he was fuming with rage and no one could stop him from fighting for his people. She walked back and took a hold of his hand. "Dad, you know I would never be hurt, I'll make sure to protect myself and my child. What I want is for you to be safe, please." Tears sprang to her eyes and she nodded he finally nodded his head. "Make sure none of them live." She walked away after she was certain that he had followed the secret path that would lead him back to his chamber, silently praying that he would stay there and wouldn t come back to the battle field. She yelled orders at the soldiers, and made sure that no one from the innocent people of Belrynna got harmed. Her attention got to the little girl that yelled that she was beautiful, hiding under a table as she cried her eyes out. Aranya got to her knees and reached her hands out to her but she declined, crying while her leg made a pool of her dress with blood. Aranya slightly got her mask off and smiled at her, "Did you get hurt? It s me, my darling." Instantly the girl s face glowed with happiness and she took Aranya s outstretched hand while she kept nodding her head at her. "Come, I'll take you to safety, okay?" She took the girl in her hands and was walking through the battle field while swatted her sword at whoever came her way when from behind, someone throw his sword at her after they had all realized she was the one they were waiting for.? "Your highness, behind you!" The girl screamed and Aranya stumbled to the floor, trying to make sure the girl is safe. One of the soldiers ran towards her as he aimed his sword to her chest while she tightened her hold on the girl. But before his sword reached her, someone firmly held the sword and killed him at a go. When she looked up to see who it was, she had never been gobsmacked like she was after she saw Lorcán, fuming as he turned to look at her. "Give me the girl, I'll keep her safe and make sure you protect yourself." Wordlessly, she handed the girl to him and he walked away while she stood. She stared at the soldiers that exchanged swords, blood being spilled and the sound of men grunting at pain. "Attention everyone! I'm Aranya, the princess of Belrynna! If you re sent here to kill me, you can as well Coe forward and stop making me loose soldiers unnecessarily!" Her anger was evident and if someone could see her skin through the clothing she had on, the fire that ran freely through her vein could burn at her just being touched. She watched, as they slowly gathered in front of her while her own soldiers gathered behind her, even though reluctantly. They wondered how a lady could protect herself from the hundreds of soldiers they had sent. "Who is your leader?" She asked with a voice she had never thought she had, anger and power dripping from her with each breath she took. One of the men stood in front of her and took a step toward him. "I don t care who sent you o why you re here. But so long as you don t want to loose our entire clan, I'd advise you to go back, but if you dare, not just you, but even the princess that sent words to you would be dead as well." "Kill her!" Those were the only words their leader roared and she turned to her own soldiers and motioned for her them none of them should come forward. One of them tried to argue when she threw him over to a faraway building and faced the hundreds of soldiers that ran toward her with hunger of her blood.? She was certain that if not because of the power Betla had given her, she wouldn t have been able to fight off the hundreds of men she could see lying on the ground, some were dead while some are panting for their lives. She was beginning to get weak, and she could her baby recoiling due to the stress and how much she had used up her power and strength. But she wasn t going to relent until she made sure that the kingdom of Belrynna stayed as safe and untouchable as it used to be.? She fought ceaselessly until she could feel that she had little to no energy left in her and at the same time, over ten men ran toward her and aimed their swords at her. She had gathered the remaining power she had but before she even tried to fight them off, two men stood between them and she stared at their backs, fighting off the men that wanted her life. "Lorcán?" She said, unsure. And when she looked at the other man that seemed more powerful than him and even more skilled, her heart skipped a bit. No, it can t be. "Dad!" She screamed at the pitch of her voice and at the same time, someone had aimed at his stomach with a sword and got directly in. "No!!!" She screamed and that roar that escaped from her lips threw everyone to the floor and their soldiers got to their enemies while she ran toward her father. "Dad!" She turned to look at some men and urged them to carry him back into the palace. "Call the physician, immediately!" She was feeling dizzy and with each step she took, it felt as though she was going to lose he consciousness. While she rushed after them, seeing the trails of his blood on the floor, she lost her balance and nearly loose her consciousness but someone held her. "I'll take you there." He scooped her into his arms and ran there while she stared at his face as she did everything she could not to burst into tears. She wanted to cry, her father is there battling for his life and here the man she loved hated her even though saving her today was the last thing she had ever imagined he would. She ran toward the king after they went into the palace and saw that he was beginning to loose his consciousness. She knelt on the floor and with we eyes beginning to water, she took a hold of his hands and shook her head, "There should be a way to save you, Dad, please." She was crying profusely, her heart had never shook with the fear of loss until today. If only he was healthy before, but she had already known that he was sick and a few days away from dying. The physician rushed toward her and before he spoke, King Bhaltair coughed the words out. "You shouldn t save me even if there s a way. Your mother died with the quest to avenge on me and make sure I'm dead." She cut him off, "Still, that s because she has never stayed a day with you. All she has is a bad memory of you. She doesn t know you re a good person, Dad, she doesn t know that you love her the way you do. Not the you would ever love me enough to sacrifice your life to save my child. Please, if you know a way to save you, tell me." While battling for his life, King Bhaltair smiled at her and tightened his hold on her hand. "Over there, the man you love hates no one more than he hates me. You both planned on how to kill me, do you think he will forgive you if you let me live now? No one could save me but my child, but Aranya, I'll never tel you how to save my life." "Lorcán..." She began and stopped, wiping at her tears. She knew she would have to choose between the two men. But unlike she chose him over Betla, this time she was going to choose her father. Even though if he knew King Bhaltair saved their child he would surely forgive her. "He ll understand, Dad. He might be angry with me, he might hate Mme, but I'm certain that he would always understand me. please..." She begged as she cried, "Please tell me how to save you." She turned to the physician, "Please, tell me. You can see he s going to die. Can you please save my father?" She ran toward him and knelt, lifting her hands in a begging gesture. The physician lifted her up, "Like I told you yesterday, he s the only one that knows what will stop him from dying and it s only his child that could do that and that s why he has never told me because he knowns that he has no child and it would never benefit him..." She rushed back to the king with her face wet with her tears. "Don't you want to see the child you ve given half of your life to? You said you wanted to make sure that my life is free of chaos and that I'm happy, I would never be happy if I loose you today. Please." Her shoulders shook with agony and she felt the excruciating pain that lacerated through her heart. "Please!" "I'd love to do all that you ve said, but dying is the only way for me to meet Betla.? Maybe if we meet, she would be able to forgive me." "Do you love her this much?" Aranya muffled with a crying voice, her voice barely audible and he nodded his head with a painful smile. "Then what about me? What would I do if you leave too?" He slowly pointed at Lorcán, "The child is still there, get married to him and be the Queen of Belrynna. You could do it, my dearest daughter, okay?" She was about to speak when she saw as he began to loose everything and slowly the life in him began to come to an end until she was certain he was dead and it could only be a matter of minutes before he dissipated into air. Just like Betla did, and unlike her, she might never be able to see him again. She roared at the pitch of her lungs and ran to one of the room. She knew Betla had promised her that she would come during the moments she needed her the most. And she needed her now. With her hands lifted up in a praying manner, she slumped on the floor, her shoulders shaking and her heart constricting with so much agony. "Mom," her lips trembled as she spoke. "I know, this isn t what we agreed on, I promised you that I'd kill him for you. But, Mom, how could I do that? He s the sweetest person I've ever known, he gave half his life for my child to live. Mom, can you please save him? I want him to live, just like you saved Lorcán, please bring him back to me. I'm sure you know all that has happened, you ve heard everything. Forgive him for my sake, forgive me for not fulfilling your promise. Dear Mother, Will you please bring Dad back to life?"