A Longtime Ago

THE WOODS

"Relax, we have the advantage. Lets wait here till nightfall, she carries a baby, possibly she would try to find a place to rest and feed her baby. We shall find her in the dark", suggested Aayan.

"Really, what if we do not find her at night. Rest is a weakness and that will only help her widen the gab between us." One knight rebated.

"If we are unable to find her at nightfall then I fear we may never find her. Unlike us she is on the run without a horse, not even water or food, how far can she go? Even if she survives the night, she would not continue running with dirt all over the baby. She will surely find her way to the waterfalls to wash down. We shall not only find her but eliminate her and the cursed baby as well."

He ended with frightening smile. Aayan had been serving as a front man in Windbrooks castle until he was assigned as the protector of Queen Elena recently before she made her trip out of Windbrook. He had been attending to the Queen for sometime. Being the only knight Elena trusted, he ordered him to pursue Ellia and kill her.

Elena felt betrayed by the actions of Ellia. She always underestimated people who came closer to her and felt to be the wisest one in every gathering. Now she will surely have a different perception especially on people she knows little about. She was very excited and praised herself for executing such a plan that has rewarded Windbrook a Prince but her joy turned to grief and anger when news reached her that Ellia, had made her choice over the twins and was nowhere to be found around the premises.
"she chose the boy" Aayan broke the news to her the morning they prepared to return to Windbrook. Immediately she ordered knights to pursue Ellia who was on the run in the woods.

Night was catching up with the knights yet they had no traces of Ellia. For a person who had no horse and carried a child, she could not have gone any further than the parameters they had already searched. Baffling enough, there is no sign of her taking a rest.

"hey, the three of you should head to the waterfalls. Remain hidden around the place and kill her should you set eyes on her at sunrise" Aayan ordered.

"The two of us would patrol every place in this valley till we find her or a sign of her. Lets end this now and return to our families in Windbrook." He added.

The other group took their position around the waterfall and took a cozy nook near a fire whilst Aayan and his follower paraded the woods. They heard the cry of baby nearby. It didn't really last long so they found difficulty tracing it. Ellia stuck her nipple into the baby's mouth to prevent his cries. She knew she was weak and soon there might me no milk in her breast to feed her little one and there shall be nothing more she could do to prevent him from crying.

"Listen my charming prince, we have come a long way and soon we are going to find a place to call our home. Your mummy needs you to be silent okay. Just to keep us alive at least for a while before he comes for us"

After Ellia's words, her baby withdrew his mouth from her nipple and smiled at her as though he had understood all that she said.

"I think it came from that side", Henry said pointing at a direction.

"No I am sure I heard it from here", Aayan said pointing towards a direction opposite that of Henry. "Then let us split up. We shall meet again here so make sure you get the directions right", He added.

They split up searching for Ellia in the woods with their archers ready to aim at her. Aayan rode his horse very fast. He was heading to the waterfalls. That was quite a long distance from the point they dispersed. Soon he got to the falls, washed his face and set his archer. He spotted light reflecting on the surface of the flowing water. He then searched for the place of the light which sprung from a burning wood. Around it were the three nights he had assigned to the waterfalls. They were all asleep. He quickly released arrows into their hearts then he lit their clothes with fire. "Indeed, rest is a weakness of a knight", he said as he watched them burn.