The Lost Kingdom

Chapter 4 - Discoveries

"Do you think she'll remember me? Oh my gosh, what if she doesn't remember me. She's gonna think I'm some creepo," Fox said quickly, shoving as many words into one second as she could. She knew she was annoying Cayden with all the questions and what-ifs, but the nice part was he tried to answer every single one, trying to be supportive. Fox was happy for that.

Walking down the trail that she had memorized in her mind so she wouldn't ever forget, Fox found herself standing in front of a small cottage. For a split second, she shifted into a fox to see it at least a little bit, and she knew she couldn't be at the wrong place.

"This is it..." Fox whispered when she was back in human form.

Slowly, she and Cayden walked towards the door. Fox was shaking in excitement and nervousness as she knocked on the old wooden door. There was no answer, so Fox knocked again and waited.

"You won't find her there," An elderly woman said from behind Fox. Whipping around, Fox heard the crunching of stones beneath the woman's feet.

"What makes you say that?" Fox asked, an eyebrow raised. All her hopes were suddenly dashed.

"She's gone, dear girl. She went off to war," The woman replied.

"But.... When?" Fox questioned.

"She was captured. Young one, I can sense you were close to her. I'm so very sorry." The woman said.

Fox stood frozen for too long, staring blankly at nothing, which she didn't usually do, even though she was blind. She liked pretending she could see, tricking others into thinking she was watching their every move. But now she just let her eyes sit still, standing in front of her mother's doorstep.

"Fox-" Cayden began, but Fox cut him off.

"No," She said plainly, shaking her head slowly. "No no no." Her body shook and trembled, a rush of pain coursing through her. After all her wishing and wondering, it came down to this.

"Fox. C'mon. Let's just go search the house. Maybe we can find something of yours that you left behind, maybe something of your mothers that you want to keep in memory of her." Cayden said, placing a hand on Fox's shoulder.

Taking a deep and shaky breath, Fox lifted her head up at the woman. "Thank you for letting me know," She told the lady quietly.

Fox then turned back to the cottage and opened the door. Most of them were blocked by a magic shield like Ellamenta itself, and it only allowed owners of the home to enter and if the owner wanted a friend to come along, then the shield would let them do so. Since Fox had live here before, the shield recognized her and let Cayden in as well, since she wanted him to come along.

The house smelled of cinnamon, as it had when Fox had lived there. It was a small and stuffy cottage, but it had been just enough to fulfill Fox and her mothers needs. She had never imagined she'd feel so out of place in her own home.

Fox traveled around the place, letting her fingers skim over the table where she used to eat. Her fingers found a small piece of paper on the counter in the kitchen. It lay on top of the dusty surface, as fragile as a flower. It seemed about a year old, but since it has sat untouched for a long period of time it was on the verge of falling apart.

She used her little amount of Ellamentian magic to read the note without having to see it. That was something great about the world of magic. Blind people like Fox could read a note if it was enchanted with such magic that would allow it.

Her mother's gentle  voice drifted into her head, letting her know the note was written by her mother. She shushed Cayden, who was saying something about how nice the house was, and listened.

'Dearest Azeria,

I know you might be wondering why I'm not home... I believed you'd come and find me, so I left this note for you. I'm in the Ellamentian army. Right now I'm either battling, captured, or dead. I know it must be horrible to find I'm not home, but I'll be back if I can, my dear.

If something has happened to me... Know I love you, Azeria I love you very, very much.'

Tears welled up in Fox's eyes. "I love you too..." She said, holding the note gently.

"You know, your mother could still be alive." Cayden told Fox.

"Don't get my hopes up," She said over her shoulder. She set the note back down and turned around, taking a deep breath and shaking her limbs.

"You good?" Cayden asked.

Fox nodded, giving him a small, forced smile. They both headed for the door, and as soon as she exited the place, she heard crickets start to chirp. The streets were quiet due to the battle that could be coming at any moment, and no kids screamed and ran around as they had when Fox was little. As those memories flooded her head, she found childish side tugging Cayden along as he walked slowly.

"C'mon! Race ya back to camp!" She yelled at Cayden, then changed into her fox and bolted off. She could faintly see Cayden rolling his eyes and following her, shifting into a moose as he ran.

Paws pounding against the stone and fur flying in the wind, Fox felt free and happy for a moment, still a few yards ahead of Cayden. He trotted loudly behind her, but she didn't mind.

As they neared the shore of Ellamenta where their camp was set up, Fox noticed people standing outside of the tents, some looking ready for a battle and some putting on armor. She and Cayden ran up to see what they were looking at, and noticed Malifimus ships unloading at the edge of the shore, about a mile ahead. They bobbed up and down with the ocean waves, dark and forbidding.

Cayden shifted back into a human and turned to Fox. Fox shifted back as well and moved her eyes his way, even though she couldn't actually see him.

King Ezemar was frantically shouting out orders to battle-ready warriors, his voice ringing in Fox's ears. She could feel people pushing past her, getting in position the buzz of anxious talk feeling her ears. Fox slipped her hand in Cayden's, and he squeezed it back. Above all the confusion and talk, Swan's voice rang out.

"Pulcharians, cover the left flank!"

Fox started to move, but Cayden didn't, anchoring her down. She felt his hands gently grab her shoulders.

"Azeria, before I go into battle, I just wanted to say I'm sorry that I never told you how I felt. And if I don't die in this battle, I'd really like to take you to dinner," Cayden said awkwardly. Then his lips were on hers, soft and warm.

Fox was frozen in surprise, completely dumbfounded that Cayden loved in her in that way. Not knowing what to do, she pulled away. She could sense the smile Cayden sent her, and then he rushed off to go put on his armor.

Fox took a deep breath, and bit her lip. "I love you, too," She whispered, but he was already gone.