The Last Princess [EDITED]

Chapter 16

IT was dark.

We'd been walking the whole day, only stopping a few times to eat and drink from a nearby stream. The sky was turning orange, the sun beginning to set.

The ground was sloping upwards, and I felt the extra strain on my calves worsen. I was covered with a light sheen of sweat, despite the cold.

On the way, we had passed a small pond. To pass the time, and for practice, I'd raised a small ball of water and was carrying it in front of me.

Currently, I was keeping it floating in front of me, molding it into various shapes: a star, a leaf, a flower...I was glad to see that it was easier now, and more than thrilled to know I wasn't powerless.

My entire life, I'd thought that I had no power — to learn that I did, and to defeat my mother once — that was something I'd only imagined doing.

The ground sloped steeply, and I leaned forward, trying not to collapse, and therefore endure Aiden's wrath. He didn't look like he was suffering, and that gave me enough determination to keep going.

He stopped abruptly ahead, without looking at me. I furrowed my brows and walked faster, catching up to him.

The hill sloped back down to reveal a large village right on the other side. Aiden slowly turned around to face me. His cheeks were pink. "Princess, I forgot to tell you something."

I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

"We have to go through that village," he said sheepishly. I waited, knowing that wasn't it. He scratched the back of his neck, eyes dropping to the ground. "It's full of soldiers"

I dropped the ball of water.

"What?" I pursed my lips "Are you mad?"

"I am most certainly not!" He cried, his guilty expression replaced with an offended one. I glowered at him, cowing him back into hanging his head.

"How can you even tell it's filled with soldiers?" I asked, looking down. It looked like an ordinary village to me.

He huffed. "I can tell it's filled with soldiers because I can see their armor from here. See." He pointed past me, directing my eyes to a silver gleam in the village. The gleam looked like the sun glancing off silver armor.

"The number of soldiers in the villages increased after you escaped," he said.

"So, what now?" I asked, suddenly nauseous. "Can we go around the village?"

He shook his head. "There's a passage in the village. We have to go through there."

"Why can't we just go above ground? I know we might be seen, but we'll be careful. What's so important about that passage?" I asked desperately.

"Queen's territory guard. We can't get past them."

I sighed. The Forest was huge. It was divided into territories, divided by a territory guard. We'd been lucky. We hadn't encountered one yet. They were ruthless and sometimes killed on sight. Many an innocent peasant had died after coming across a territory guard.

"So, how will we get through?" I asked, rubbing my forehead.

Aiden gave me a flat look. "You know, if I didn't have a plan, I wouldn't have taken you here." I looked up, hope rushing through me.

He raised his hand up, pointing his index finger at the sky. I watched curiously as the sky seemed to condense on his finger, and a blue wisp settled at his index.

When he pulled his hand back down, the blue strand trailed behind it, hanging from his finger. In one swift, fluid motion, he whisked his hand towards his eyes, the blue wisp flying into both of them.