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Catherina turned to Rayna once she felt her presence. She looked to her niece, confused by the look on her face, but once she looked behind her, her face cleared of any emotion and she straightened up. Rayna pulled Jewel in front of her so she was out of sight from this mysterious man. Rayna felt a chill run up her spine and she stiffened when footsteps grew closer to them.
Part 2
"Lady Catherina, what a pleasant surprise it is to see you here. We were so worried when we heard of your home going up in flames so long ago. Quite frightening, but we are all so happy to see you survived." A monotonous voice spoke from behind Rayna. No emotion leaked through his words. It was not the voice she was expecting to hear from the man in the black cloak. This voice was higher in pitch.
Catherina cleared her throat, "I appreciate your concern, sir, but I do not believe we have met before." She looked at this man wearily.
The gentleman smiled tightly, "Of course, where are my manners. I am Captain Ronald Azinoos. I am the Commander of the King's army and royal guard, the men you see behind us are his guard."
Rayna couldn't help but peak up at this man in shock at his words. What he was saying was not possible. The Bellator's are the royal guard; her uncle was the Commander and Captain of the King's guard and army. When Rayna got a glimpse of the man, she realized this was not the man in the black cloak. He had thin yellow looking hair on top of his head and black beady eyes. He was not a tall fellow either, just under Catherina's nose, and he has the ugliest mustache some parts of it missing. This Captain was not even looking towards her, but smirking evilly at her aunt.
"I beg your pardon? That cannot be right. The Bellator's have always been the guard of the King." Catherina said, sounding completely shocked and caught off guard by this. How could Kalevi not tell her of this? She tried thinking back if she had missed any letters from him as of recent. Maybe this had only just happened; maybe he didn't know anything of it yet.
Ronald smirked and stepped closer to Catherina, but she did not step back, and neither did the two figures next to her. This did not stop him though, "It is right, my lady. The Bellator's have been demoted to patrolling the outskirts of Terra. After their failure to protect their last king and princess, the new king felt it was best to find a replacement. It is newer information, not common knowledge until recently. Of course, you would find this news surprising." He chuckled darkly, "It has, however, given our prince so much needed free time as he prepares for his betrothal to the Princess of Mendacium..."
Rayna felt the blood in her veins run cold at his words. She had felt anger towards the Bellator's for what happened to her father and her mother, but she knew now that it was not their fault. To hear this man say this, showed how Malum set them up for the fall of his crimes and moved them to patrol the outskirts of Terra as punishment reminded her of the reality she lived in. This was her kingdom, and they were suffering because she was not ready to take the throne back. It bothered her to no end. But the second the words came out of his mouth about the Prince being betrothed to another broke something within the young princess. Not just her heart, but her soul.
Her heart began beating faster and faster, not listening to the Captain's words anymore. The pain she was feeling now was overwhelming. She lifted her hands and moved Jewel's cloak over her head to cover her hair more and turned her to face away from the man. She proceeded to walk forward, not listening to anything around her. She went back to where she was hiding beside the building. She walked through the alleyway and kept going straight on into the Obscurum Jungle.
As soon as she got about ten feet away from town, she looked back to make sure no one had followed her, and ran.
Catherina griped Jewel's arm as she stepped forward to follow Rayna. She did not look in the direction Rayna went, she did not try to call out to her, and she did not acknowledge the Captain any longer. "What interesting news you have to share with us, Captain. Though I am not sure what the Prince's doings have to do for me to know."
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Iᴍᴘᴇʀɪᴜᴍ (Bᴏᴏᴋ 1) (editing)
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