The Oreans

Chapter 51

Chapter 51

The Flight

Divan had felt the danger at the same time she had. He had been meaning to cover her. But the arms that had been wrapped about him and the shift in position had distracted him. It had been too late after that. He had seen the beam hit her and those sapphire orbs on her face widen then glaze, heard the softly spoken demand, felt the arms go limp. But all he could do was to catch her in time before she hit the floor.

"Rei ... Rei ..." he called distressfully, trying to rouse her. "Oh, my God! You can't be ..."

He stopped short as another beam flashed towards his direction. Anger coursing through him in an instant, he steadied Reishina with an arm and would have deflected the blow when another beam met it halfway. As it ricocheted away and hit the chandelier above the front pew instead, he spotted Alen not far, enveloped by his yellowish aurea and aiming at someone at the balcony while chaos pervaded the temple as shards of glass and still lit candles flew in every direction.

"Your Majesty, we must leave now." It was the High Priest, trying to make himself heard over all the din caused by people panicking and racing towards the entrances. The clergyman, himself, looked torn between his duty to them as the Crown Prince and Princess and his instinct for self-preservation.

Hoisting Reishina into his arms, unmindful of the tiara dropping from her head, he looked back at Alen. His aurea had just missed his target, a figure in a black overall, and hit a window instead, causing another shower of broken glasses. With the resulting opening providing a means of escape, the figure headed towards it. At that moment, Divan desired nothing more than to get the fleeing fiend himself and punish it for what it had just done-- desired nothing more than this except perhaps to save Reishina. If he could only do both at the same time...

Reishina was still alive, he knew, but barely. Her face was almost as pale as the veil she wore. Her hand, the one he could grasp, was cold and her pulse was rather irregular. If he did not do something, she might—No! He did not want to entertain the thought that she was dying. She must be remedied at once.

But first, he would have to do as she had asked. He had to take her away. If he did not, someone would notice she was not Roseana. He could not let that happen. Not now when her life was already in great danger.

Still, the villain must not escape.

While these thoughts crossed his mind, his eyes met those of Alen's. They were serious and had an odd glint. Much as they expressed the depth of the boy's feelings for his master, he sensed something else in them. Then, he understood. The boy wished to go after the enemy. With a nod, he communicated his acquiescence. It seemed to be the only go-signal Alen was waiting for. He immediately ran out the temple in the direction the culprit had taken.

All of these took place for only a matter of seconds. But to Divan it seemed he had already wasted much precious time. Holding Reishina closer to him, he sprinted towards the side door, oblivious to the call of the High Priest who had remained by his side all the while. Later, he emerged into the night, the garden some way below them. Avoiding detection, he descended the steps that led to the backside of the temple. Before he reached the bottom, however, the crowd on the street spotted him and, recognizing him easily, made a lot of noise. He hastened, slipping into the relative darkness of a corridor that led to a bell tower.

A horse, he thought urgently. A horse was what he needed. He had to draw his mount to him. Kneeling down to put the princess down, he whistled.

He was not disappointed. From somewhere not far, a horse neighed in response. Relieved at this sound, he looked at Reishina and felt her pulse. It had gone weaker, causing him further concern.