Allure Of The Witch

The Knights

Aria found it hard to open her eyes. It took her great efforts to barely open them. Her eyelids felt heavy.

She had treated Rayan first using her powers and then the wolf too, without any rest in between. Her body was bound to collapse at one point. It seemed to scream at her to continue sleeping, but she didn't wish to.

The dreams she had of her grandmother telling her that she must not go out there where those people lived haunted her.

Those people would harm her.

And then there was the scene she had witnessed on the hill before losing her consciousness. Those people looked so strong, and they had sharp objects in their hands.

Were they there to kill her and then take her hut away?

Forcefully, she finally opened her eyes and a kind of relief flashed into them when she saw the familiar ceiling.

It was her room.

Was it her nightmare?

Aria wondered silently.

But it had felt too real to be a dream. Confused, Aria tried to get down from the bed.

With her weak body somehow, she walked towards the door and opened it slowly.

Her legs ached, but she forced herself to step outside the room and the scene in the small space of her hut made her halt completely.

.

.

.

Rayan had six knights under him.

Lenn, Linus, Maxim, Magnus, Tristan, Eden.

Except Maxim, all the five were chosen by him when he had been granted the title of a knight more than five years ago, and it was only he who trained them. In the joy or sorrow of Ludwig, all of them had stayed together.

Hence, now when Ludwig was facing such a huge disaster, together they were looking for a solution.

In all these years, there had never been a situation where Rayan had stood against his own knights and had looked at them so coldly.

Hence, when it was happening today, all of them except Tristan looked confused. They didn't understand how they were supposed to handle the situation because their master was not even saying a single word.

"My Lord"

It was Maxim, the middle-aged knight who stepped forward first and said to Rayan in a very calm voice.

"We didn't do anything to the lady. She looked very weak when we saw her and then suddenly collapsed."

The coldness in Rayan's eyes receded slowly.

Maxim's words seemed to assure him.

Seeing how he had finally retracted his cold eyes, the knights sighed in relief finally.

Maxim looked at Rayan for a few moments before he opened his mouth again to ask something.

"My Lord, who is this...,

He stopped amidst his words because his gaze suddenly went behind Rayan and fell on Aria, who was standing outside her room.

Rayan had been looking at him and following his gaze, he also turned around and saw Aria.

"Aria!"

He called out immediately and walked to her with long and fast steps.

On the other hand, Aria stared at him and then the other people inside her hut who were still standing in the same spot.

She had seen Rayan talking to them. Of course, she didn't understand what they were talking about, but she understood they were familiar with each other.

So he knew them also...

Aria didn't know what to think, but her mind continued to warn her, reminding her of her grandmother's warnings again and again.

Rayan had wanted to ask if she was alright, only to realize that even if he did so, she wouldn't really understand.

In the end, he turned to look at his knights and ordered

"Cook something...something nutritious and only from vegetables. No animals or birds!"

"Sure, My Lord."

It was Maxim who answered.

And within a few moments, all the knights could be seen busy in the kitchen.

Aria looked at this scene with parted lips.

Her kitchen...they occupied it!

She wanted to oppose but feeling a touch on her hand, she was interrupted and her thoughts diverted to Rayan.

Rayan held her hand and made her sit on a chair so that she wouldn't get tired.

His eyes were filled with unhappiness and concern whenever he looked at her colorless face.

At this moment, Rayan forgot all about the revelations he had come across when he had woken up and found her healing his wound magically.

His whole focus was on her health and well-being.

Was it because she healed his wound?

He frowned and thought about the first time he had met her. She had been sleeping that night.

He had been injured...quite seriously if he remembered, but when he woke up, he could walk without feeling any pain in his wound.

Was it also because she had healed him at that time?

As he thought more, Rayan felt that he had been avoiding many things.

Rayan was lost in his own thoughts and Aria had been staring at the new people who were inside her hut.

She was observing them silently.

Though they looked fierce, strong and cold, they were listening to Rayan. Rayan didn't want to harm her...at least until now, so could she consider them harmless as well?

Inside the kitchen, the knights were busy cooking.

It's been long since they sat down and had a cooked meal. So they took this opportunity to make a meal for everyone.

Tristan went outside the hut to kill some pheasants.

Though his master asked them to cook no birds or animals, he knew that it was for Aria. She could survive on such things. But they were men who fought and needed to have their fills to continue their long journey.

Thinking about this, he decided to add a non-vegetarian dish too.

And Maxim cooked them well.

Tristan swallowed his saliva when he thought of this and eagerly took the killed pheasant to the kitchen.

Arai silently saw this scene, but her eyebrows still scrunched up in pain when she saw the dead pheasant.

Was it normal for them?

She wondered silently but had no way to ask the questions that were in her mind.

But one thing she had realized by now.

Rayan and his people were different from her. They were stronger and fiercer. But would they harm her as her grandmother used to warn her?

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My dear readers, now will follow a journey of Aria dealing with her own insecurities as she meets new people and the knights and Rayan trying to understand Aria. I hope you are enjoying the story. I will really appreciate some comments, reviews and likes. It will motivate me to write more.

Aina:)