MISTRESS OF FLAME

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 6

SOLLEL, Cira, and Hakken left the town of Ashmire early in the morning in a wagon after readying their provisions for their travel. The three were headed for the Kingdom of Treterra, and according to Hakken, they needed to pass three towns before they reach the City of Ager, the capital of the Kingdom of Treterra. Based on the movement of the wagon, it would be a long journey, but at least, they were safe.

The wooden wagon that Hakken brought had a canopy, so it would be easy for them to rest; it had become Cira's new favorite place to sleep. Hakken and Sollel sat on the front, manning the wagon and reining the horse.

Hakken told Sollel a couple of times to get in the wagon and rest like what Cira was doing, but Sollel declined. She had trust issues, and she didn't trust the hunter. What if he brought them to some unknown place? She had to stay alert.

After staying alert for three days straight, Sollel started to get tired and sleepy, and Hakken could see that. Sollel's head was wobbling while trying to fight her sleepiness, and she would immediately sit up straight after realizing she had fallen asleep.

Hakken sighed. "My lady, you should sleep inside."

"I'm fine. And please stop calling me 'my lady.' I prefer to be called El." Sollel spoke sternly.

"You're 'my lady' to me."

Sollel didn't argue anymore because she was really tired.

"You know, my lady, you have to talk to me if you didn't want to fall asleep," Hakken said with a smile. "You'd been awake for three days. I sometimes wonder what kind of person are you. Even I sleep at night to rest—" Hakken's words halted when he saw his lady's head dropping.

Hakken swiftly caught his lady's head and carefully guided her body to sit upright, waiting for her to wake up. When she didn't, Hakken scooted closer to El—but with a safe and appropriate distance so his lady wouldn't think badly of him—and let his lady's head rest on his shoulder so she could sleep better. Hakken even signaled the horse pulling the wagon to slow down a bit so his lady could comfortably sleep.

Hakken's hold on the horse's rein tightened when he felt his lady beside him scooting closer to him. She felt soft and warm, and she smelled nice. He had to keep taking deep breaths to control himself and focus on the road. This was a long journey, and if this kept up, Hakken was not sure if he could keep his mind sane before reaching Treterra.

Meanwhile, inside the wagon, Cira was not really asleep. She was watching the two on the front and couldn't help smiling seeing Queen Sollel leaning on Hakken. According to the stories, the queens of Yther didn't have lovers because no one was worthy of them.

Cira grinned mischievously and thought, With Hakken's handsome face, strength, and body, he is definitely worthy to be Queen Sollel's first lover. But Cira's smiled slowly disappeared when she remembered how indifferent the queen was toward Hakken. She knew Queen Sollel would never waste her precious time on a man. They had an important mission to do.

I should stop thinking about pairing them, Cira scolded herself. I should focus on my sacred stone research so I can help Queen Sollel.

Taking a deep breath, Cira closed her eyes and went back to sleep, while Hakken continued to suffer from his lady's closeness. He was a very healthy man after all.

***

SOLLEL WOKE up leaning on Hakken's shoulder. It was already night, and the wagon was pulled over meters away from the path to not block other travelers passing through. As Sollel sat up straight, she saw the horse resting, and Cira was nowhere to be seen.