Heartmine Destiny

Chapter Twenty Three

                                                     Chapter Twenty Three

            “Men, let us face the depths of this journey. Let us win this victory of our lands and show all that we shall not be taken lightly. The Heartmine Kingdom has remained most powerful of Willondove for a long time and shall not change! We shall show our King the sacrifices we are willing to make,” Antony yelled into the crowd of men as he threw his fist into the air.

            A small crowd bunched on the side of the courtyard watching. Most of the viewers were the knight’s families. Earlton and Savanna stood next to Trevor and Antony who were mounted on their horses. Obvious worries shown on Savanna’s face, because her motherly instincts were kicking in.

            “My sons, please be careful and come back to me,” she spoke with a quivery voice.

            “Mother, do not worry,” Trevor smiled down and patted her shoulder.

            Earlton wrapped his arm around her and Antony commenced the ride to begin. He, Trevor and the four Elders took lead as the knights followed in suit. Willow stood upstairs in Antony’s room looking out on the balcony. From where she was the courtyard was not visible, but once they got up the road a bit and took the curve she should be able to watch. Her eyes scanned the road looking for horses and big armored men on top. Not long after she saw Onyx’s jet black color and Antony on top. He was galloping next to Trevor, four Elders followed behind them, and after that was the trail of knights. Many horses were loaded with assortment of smaller supplies. A few were tied to other horses, but had no riders. Those horses were carrying large packs which probably contained the sleeping supplies. She strained her eyes to see Antony’s face, and to her surprise he turned his head to the far right and looked back to the castle. She wondered if he could see her so she waved her arm in the air. He then lifted his arm and waved, but followed with blowing a kiss. A bright smile stretched across her face as she watched him turn back around and follow the road until no more was viewable.

            After the commotion of the early morning was over Willow had decided to pay a visit to Savanna and then her father. She found her in the hidden garden where she was given a tour. Savanna was leaning over pulling a few weeds out of a bed which had multicolored rainbow roses. It did not cease to amaze her to see a Queen picking weeds.

            “Good morning,” Willow chimed attempting to hide her gloomy emotions.

            “Good morning to you Willow. I am hoping that you are doing as well as can be expected. I know that you are not use to these conditions.”

            “Well, I have never known anyone who went off to a battle such as this. Where I lived for many years does not have Kingdoms like this.”

            “I know a little about earth. Some other realm dwellers seem to think that earth is advanced more then us. I suppose is it all in different perspectives, but I feel we are in tune with more. Either way, I am assuming my son told you I wanted to speak with you.”

            “Before he left he did.”

            “Take a seat. I have a story to tell you,” Savanna said sitting down on a bench with Willow. “When I was young and first getting to know Earlton it was hard. We were in love, but his duty to this Kingdom was very pronounced. It was what defined him as a man I suppose you could say. Some people who grow up with such power do not want the responsibility, but he did. Don’t get me wrong, that is what helped me fall for him. I had always known him, because his grandfather was the one who placed the law about heirs to the crown growing up with the person they would marry in the future. We took things slowly and he was a year or so older then Antony when we first began to become serious for one another. The day after our wedding a war broke out. Things were devastating. Servants, village civilians, and many guards were killed in the beginnings of this war. The knights and Elders left as soon as they could. Earlton was an only child so I was very worried for him. He and I had not even got to spend one night alone before they were forced to leave to fight. This was hard on both of us, and I longed for him to stay. As you can see everything turned out fine for us. That war brought a lot of sadness, and I respected him for fighting on the good side. I hope you see when I tell you that I know what your feeling.”