Arcanum

Chapter 35: Lucas

What I saw shocked me. No, that's an understatement. It puzzle's me, but at the same time makes me furious.

The human princess had the catori princess tied.

I raced up, and shoved the human princess away, and made a barrier between the two females.

"General?!" Cassidy exclaimed as she stared at me, and I panted and held my arms out and protected Aiyana.

"Leave." I growled through gritted teeth. She narrowed her eyes, and took a battle stance and I took a look over her. She didn't have her usual pink dress on. Now she was wearing some clothes that showed her features, but also made her look like she was some type of "battle princess." or something. But I knew she's rarely ever wielded a sword in her life.

I put a hand on the hilt of my sword, and glared at her dangerously.

"I'm not going to ask you again princess. Leave or suffer." I said darkly.

"Why are you like this, Lucas?" The princess suddenly cried out, and I stared at her quizzically.

"Why have you turned into a traitor?! You used to be the best! You'd kill thousands of catori's!" She said to me, getting louder and louder. I flinched and looked away back at the catori princess. I know why I'm like this. She changed me.

"Things change princess. Now go back to your father." I gritted my teeth, and her eyes downcasted.

"That's the thing. He's searching high and low for you. He didn't expect you to go join the catori though." I choked as I realized the fatal error I just made. I just practically inadvertently told the princess I'm a catori now. She might tell her father. Oh who am I kidding, of course she'll tell him, and then he'll send many more troops to take down not only me, but the catori too.

I quickly lunged forward, and she shrieked, and whirled around and raced off. I didn't even draw my weapon.

I quickly turned to the princess who had scratches from the sword all over her. I reached into my pouch and grabbed a healing crystal. I had a feeling I was going to be needing one, so I grabbed it before I left the village.

"Heal!" I commanded quietly, and I held the crystal over the princess, and it dissipated into particles and disappeared on the princess.

Her wounds immediately began to heal themselves, but I knew she'd still feel the pain after this.

"Idiot." I grumbled to myself, feeling pretty stupid that I couldn't protect the princess like I could with the human princess.

I picked up Aiyana bridal style, and walked slowly back to the village. By the time I got back, the sun was slowly rising and nearly lighting up the sky.

"Princess!" People gasped, and I watched helplessly, and heard rumors spread like wildfire.

"The princess has been getting hurt a lot, since that general came."

"Is there something he isn't telling us?"

I handed the princess to her brother, and walked off without saying anything, and tried my best to ignore the glares from others.

I went to my room, and sat down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. I hated not having the stars.. That was the last thing my mother gave me.

I sighed, and went to sleep without another thought.

In the morning~

I woke up, and felt awful. My throat ached, and my nose was plugged. Great, a cold.

But when I tried to stand up, I felt a huge fever over wash me, and dizziness made me lean back into my warm bed.
"Lucas, Aiyana has-" The princess's brother walked in, not even bothering to knock before entering. I must've looked awful because he stopped short and stared at me.
"Are you feeling alright?" He questioned, and I held back a sneeze with every once of my willpower, but he saw the tear in my eye from the effort to keep it in. Obviously he was displeased with my attempt to hide my sickness, and he turned around.
"I'll grab the medics." He said, and I immediately stood up.
"No! I'm fine." I said quickly, and grabbed my boots, and slipped them on and grabbed my sword and equipped it on my way out.
"I'm going to go to that nice spring place." I said briskly. Maybe the water would calm this horrible fever.
"Are you sure-" Anca started, but I didn't hear the rest as I made my way out of the village and straight to the spring. When I arrived, I stripped all my clothes and weapons, and dove into the water, feeling a relaxing chill wash over me.
I resurfaced, and sighed in content.
"Having fun General?" A strange, neutral voice spoke from above, and I shot up to see a black haired man standing there, with oddly vivid green eyes.
I suddenly realized I was still naked when I felt a small breeze, and I immediately went back into the water.
"Do you mind?" I growled at him, and he slightly tipped his head.
"You are a strange one." He spoke, his voice staying at the same tone every time.
I stared at him quizically, but his face remained void of emotion as he stared at me. I begun to get extremely uncomfortable, so I tried to ignore him, and turned my back to him.
"My name is Dodger." He said, and I looked over at him. I finally noticed that he didn 5 have any animal parts attached to him.
"Are you even a catori?" I demanded, and he stared at me.
"A catori?" He asked, and I stared at him in puzzlement.
"You're... What?" I asked, not making much sense of this new guy. He seemed to not know what a catori is. Even though that's pretty hard around here.
"Do you know why you're here?" I asked calmly, and watched him. He frowned, before his face went back to neutral.
"I.. I can't remember."