Arriana's Return

Arriana's Return - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Arriana woke the next morning to the smell of frying bacon and eggs. She sleepily sat up, breathing in the wonderful aroma and looked around. Victoria was standing at the stove cooking while Barwick, Marc, Deacon and Zoe were sitting at the table drinking coffee and talking. Getting up off the couch, Arriana slowly made her way to the table and sat down followed, shortly, by everybody else.

"What do you think happened to the agents left on the other side?" Zoe asked Barwick.

"Well if they attempted to cross while Arriana was closing the ingress they are lost. This means three less agents for us to worry about later," he replied.

"Wait do you think I killed them?" Arriana asked shocked.

"I'm not sure, Arriana and don't worry about it. They were evil. Do you know how many people they probably killed before they were sent through the Ingression?" he asked her.

"No," she replied.

"A lot. Followers of Lucas are pure evil. There is nothing good about those people."

"How do you know?" Mary asked him.

"I was here, I saw what they did. I lost my son in the attack seventeen years ago," he replied.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea," Mary told him.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your wife?" Arriana instantly regretted asking that question when she saw the pain wash over Barwick's face again.

"Um, after Peter died Elizabeth went on a quest to find the man who did it. She searched for eight long years, we both did. We couldn't find him. That was when we decided to try and move on with life. Victoria was born nine months later. The labor was unusually hard on Elizabeth. She slipped into a coma for four months before passing on from this world. She's resting peacefully with our beloved son now." A tear trailed down his face as he sighed heavily at the memory of his lost son and wife.

"I'm so sorry Barwick. I had no idea..." Arriana let her voice trail off. Her heart was breaking for the man.

She glanced over at Victoria. The little girl was sitting there, tears also gracing her face.

"It's ok. It was a long time ago. Victoria and I just take it day by day." He smiled at his daughter.

"Wick, do you think that Arriana will be ready in time for the battle?" Beau asked looking at the young queen.

"If she trains hard enough and wants to be ready, yes, I believe she will be," he responded.

"Who will I be training with?" Arriana asked.

"Aroman, Marc and I will be leading the training," he replied with a sly grin on his face.

"That's too cool," Zoe said.

"Marc? He knows how to fight?" Deacon asked skeptically.

"I'll have you know I was in the Coresovan army when I was living here. I was an expert with hand to hand combat and archery," Marc replied insulted at Deacon's lack of faith.

"We'll see Marc man, we'll see," Deacon laughed.

"SO who is Armon?" Scott asked.

"He is the patriarch of the centaur tribe," Barwick explained.

"The what tribe?" Danni asked, looking lost and confused.

"Centaurs. They are the mightiest warriors in Coresova, aside from the guardians of course," Beau told her.