Arcanum

Chapter 28: Aiyana

My eyes opened to the bright morning sky, and the sounds of birds chirping. I blinked in confused, and realized I was laying on grass in the middle of a clearing.

"How long have I been here?" I yawned, and got to my feet, stretching my arms and looking around. I suddenly remembered being knocked out by Lucas, and I looked around for the General. However, he was no where in sight.

"Hm." I sighed, and walked through the jungle. Thankfully, after walking for a bit, I realized where I was. I found the village soon after, and everyone was running to me and asking where I had been. A giggle escaped my lips as I brushed past everyone, and told Anca I wanted to speak with him. The two of us walked into our house, and I sat down in a chair. I explained the story to Anca, and he seemed to understand, as he nodded his head.

"Wait, does that mean he's on our side?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, and stared at my feet, "I just can't believe he didn't take me to the castle." My blonde haired brother paved the room, and tried to think,

"Or this could just be a trick." He snarled,

"Honestly, I have a feeling it isn't." Anca looked shocked, but he eventually agreed.

"I would love to stay and chat forever, but I should have a bath, and get into some more comfortable clothes." I chuckled, pointing to my red dress,

"Good plan, bye sis." He playfully poked my shoulder, and then left the room. I went straight to the bathing room, and stripped out of my dress, crawling into the bathtub, and letting the bath soap and warm water soothe my body. The water felt amazing on my joints, and so I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Something was off though, and I found myself getting out of the bath, and getting dressed into simple clothing.

I stalked into my bedroom, and listened to every sound. Then, I was about to reach for my machete on my bedside table, but it was already too late. Someone had shoved me up against the wall, and put a knife up against my throat.

"So you're the princess, huh?" The person holding me grinned, and I examined their appearance. He was a guy about my age with short blue hair, and bright mint eyes that seemed to stare into my soul. The guy held an extra knife in between his teeth, and he was dressed in all black. I knew this too well. He was an assassin.

"An assassin. How clever, did the king send you?" I growled, staying calm.

"Why yes, he did. You can call me Edwin." The boy smirked, and pushed my harder into the wall. I didn't even struggle, but then I saw the guy raise his weapon high above his head. I prepared for the final blow, for me to die, but instead, I fell into darkness.

---

"Princess Aiyana?!" I heard a male gasp, and I cautiously opened my eyes. A groan escaped my lips when I tried to move, and I felt a burning pain in my limbs. When I looked around, I realized I was in a jail cell. The General turned his head to look at me, and I widened my eyes in shock,

"What are you doing here?" I asked, and he sighed,

"I'm supposed to be executed tomorrow." He growled, and clenched his fists.

"Like I'm going to let that happened." I snarled, and Lucas stared at me,

"What?" He choked, and I laid my chained hand on top of his,

"We are going to get out of here, you'll see." I smiled, and the black haired guy hissed,

"How do you except that?! If anyone sees us, we'll be executed on the spot!"

"Oh Lucas, the amount of times I have escaped from the human kingdom, I have gotten quite good experience. And what about you?" The guy sighed,

"Fine, but what happens after that? I don't belong here anymore, and I'm sure your kind would rather kill me." He hissed, and I kept a kind smile,

"Lucas, you can join my village. It make take a while for them to accept you, but they will. This is all I could do for a friend." Lucas looked shocked that I called him my friend, "we will get out of this, alive. I promise." I explained.

---

Lucas and I spent hours trying to figure out an escape plan out of the jail. We finally had one though, and it was just about to play into action. A guard walked into our jail cell, and I giggled at him,

"Hiya." I flirted, and watched the guard's eyes softened as he looked at me,

"Hi." He said, and I signalled with my finger for him to come over. The guy walked over to me, as if I was controlling him, and I pulled him close to me, and pressed my lips against the guard's. My hand moved into the guard's pocket, and I pulled out the keys, as the unsuspecting guard continued to kiss me. Behind us, Lucas punched the guy in the hand, and I watched him collapse to the ground,

"Thanks." I smiled, and wiped my arm across my lips, "disgusting." I muttered. Lucas let out a soft chuckle, and he unlocked my chains, and then his own.

"Let's get out of here." I turned into a lioness, and stood in front of Lucas,

"Get on my back."

"What?" Lucas shrieked, and I gave him a cat grin,

"You heard me. Climb on." The General sighed, and pulled his body onto my back. In my human form, his weight would crush me, but in cat form, he was light as a feather. I took one look at the jail cell, and then bolted out, ignoring the curses from the prisoners as I bolted down the hallway of cells with Lucas clutching onto my fur. "So, just like riding a horse?" I asked him, and he laughed,

"Yeah, bumpier though." He gave me a grin, and I smiled and charged forward. Guards were running at us, but I just chuckled, and threw myself into them, taking out many guards at once,

"How you doing?" I asked Lucas, as he punched a guard in the face,

"Great." He grumbled, and I grinned, finishing off the rest of the guards.

"Now, up you go." I commanded, and Lucas climbed back onto my back, and grabbed onto my fur. We bolted out of the jail, and I realized we were in a back street. However, I knew this street well enough, and I knew how to escape it without being caught. I sprinted down, and avoided any main streets, finally coming out into the jungle.

"We did it." I cheered, and transformed back into my human form. We continued to travel for another hour, but we eventually stopped by a small creek. Lucas and I sat down on the grass, and I looked at him,

"So, what was your family like?" I asked, and he smiled,

"They were great. My mom was always very protective of me, like all mothers. And I always looked up to my dad, he was my role model."

"That's sweet." I smiled warmly,

"What about your parents?"

"My mom was a fierce woman. But, at heart she was the sweetest person you'd ever meet. I didn't really know my dad though, he died when I was very young." I explained, and Lucas nodded,

"Your mom was like you."

"Yeah." I giggled, and looked up at the stars above us. A sudden rustle in the bushes made me leap toward Lucas, and roll him behind a tree. We stayed there for a few seconds, until I realized it was nothing.

Though, when I looked below me, I realized this was exactly like the time when the knights almost found us a day or so ago. As I stared down at the human below me, I suddenly didn't care that he was different from me. I didn't care that he was human.

My face was inches from his, and I closed the distance between us. Lucas's eyes widened as my lips smashed against his, and my hands grabbed onto his shirt.

"I'm so sorry." I finally realized what I was doing, and I got up, and walked over to a stump not far away. As I sat down, many thoughts crossed my mind. I had no idea why I kissed him, but something about it made me feel like I had done the right thing.