Royal Secret

A New Route

"We need to get out of here" Ezra said with his eyes lowered.
"What? Why?" Asher asks his friend.
"It's not safe here"

One sunny morning after Crystal had been with the bandits for a few days, Ezra had told them that it wasn't safe for them. The mysterious voice was getting to his head. Ezra glanced at Crystal and thought to himself, If he gets her.. There's no telling what might happen, after what he has done to me.. Her fate could be much wor--

"Okay? Ezra?" Asher snapped Ezra out of his thoughts.
"Huh?" Ezra asked getting out of hi thoughts.
Asher sighed and got up. "I'm going to tell the others, you stay here and keep watch."

"uh.. Sure" Ezra looks up at the sky and feels a presence next to him. It was Zakir who sat down next to Ezra. The two sat in silence when suddenly Zakir came up close to Ezra a nudged him.

"What?" Ezra asked.
Zakir started to purr like a giant kitten.
"Uh..okay?" Ezra shifts uncomfortably.

"That would be a first, he likes you" a voice from behind said.

Ezra turned to see Crystal standing there.
"Uhm yea" Ezra stuttered.

"Come on let's go!" Raven whined.

"Will you have some patience?!" Shade said irritated with his dark eyes glistening.
The bandits were all packed up and ready to go find a new place to stay.

"I would've expected to have more stuff" Scoth said as he looked over the few stuff the bandits had.

While walking down a leave covered trail, the bandits and Crystal kept their eyes peeled for any other humans that might be lurking in the jungle.

It was pretty much quiet until Raven and Shade started fighting.

"No! You take it! I had it long enough!" Shade was saying.

"Come on, don't be such a girl, you can handle that for a little while" Raven replied trying to avoid carrying a large pack.

"I said yo-" Shade started.
"Stop acting like a bunch of little kids" Scoth snapped.

Crystal chuckled to herself as she watched the three. Ezra just rolled his eyes and continued walking.

"I'm thirsty is there a river somewhere?" Asher said hopefully trying to end the quarrel.

"Yea, one should be coming up soon" Crystal said glancing at Ezra.

While at the river Asher and Raven ran towards the river and took long drinks of the cold refreshing water. Ezra bent down and cupped his hands to drink.
"Aren't you going to take off your gloves?" Crystal said looking at Ezra's leather gloves.
"He never takes them off" Shade said with a rude manner toward Ezra.
"Oh okay" Crystal said watching the two who seemed to have a disliking towards each other.

"That's her?" A voice from behind the bushes said.
"Yes" a deep voice said watching them as they drink more water.

When they were finished they gathered their stuff and continued walking.
A dark figure was shadowing over them. It growled slightly and then pounced onto Ezra who seemed closest to the figure.

"Hey!" Asher yelled.
Ezra struggling to get up was pinned to the ground by the figure it's glowing red eyes told him that it was no use to fight back. Struggling he managed to get his pocket knife and cut the figures right cheek.

"Ezra! Quick he's behind you!" Raven tried to warn.

Suddenly Zakir came between Ezra and the figure. He looked straight into the dark red eyes of the creature.

"I can't believe you are protecting a human" the creature snarled.

"Father, they aren't as bad as you think" Zakir said defending Ezra.

"Yes, they are"

"Zar listen, they have changed, maybe before they had their wicked ways, but I'm pretty sure these humans wouldn't hurt you" Crystal said as she looked back at Ezra who put his hand on a cut on his arm.

"Humans never change" Zar bellowed.

Suddenly Zar lets out a piercing screech. He freezes a moment before he hits the ground. An arrow was sticking in his back as the blood oozes down his back.

"Nice shot Soren" A voice says as a dark figure emerges from behind a large bush.

A tall, dark blue cloaked figure with one red eye and one brown, grins mischievously.

"It's been a while. Hasn't it?" He says looking straight into Ezra's dark eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Ezra says with clenched fists.

Crystal rushes over to Zar and quickly gets the arrow out of his back.

The figure glances at Crystal, "I told you, you will pay right? Well I'm here to make you pay"

"Get out of here!" Ezra yells angrily toward the cloaked figure.

The figure turns around and looks over his shoulders, "I'll be back.. I'll be back"

Raven who had been helping Crystal with Zar looks straight into Ezra's eyes and says, "Who the heck was that!?"

"He-- I--" Ezra couldn't figure out how to tell him.

Just when Asher was about to ask something, a glowing light came into the direction of Crystal and Zar. The crystal around her neck was glowing as well as her palms. In moments where the arrow had cut deep, was not even a single scratch.

"How?" Scoth said in awe as he watched Zar get up slowly.

Zar grunted and cleared his throat "Thank you"
Crystal was still trying to figure out what just happened.

"Your necklace, it's magical, it healed Zar" Zakir said.

"That it did" Crystal said as she stood up. "Are you al--" she looked around and saw that Zar was no longer there.

"Let's continue, we will continue this discussion else where" Scoth said glancing at Ezra.

Now they know he's here.. Now he knows she is here.. What if they find out about me? Who I really am? This is just the beginning.. Ezra thought in dismay and sighed.