Naroaika

Chapter 13

Five days had passed and there was still no news from Al. I was starting to get anxious when, the maid entered the room.

"Lady Jerinah, there's a letter for you."

I jumped off the chair and took the letter. I went to my room and opened the letter that was on my hand.

"Dear Jerinah,

I'm sorry I couldn't write to you in the past few days. I'm doing fine along with the General and all the other knights. I hope you're all right, don't worry about me.

The tower is just close by as we can see it from where we are right now. I won't be able to write to you again since we are very close to the enemy's base now. If we are successful in our raid, I will be back by the end of the week. If not, I want you to remember what I had told you before and return to the real world safely.

Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

-Al Ascian."

'By the end of the week, that means three days from now.' I thought.

"What do you mean hope for the best but be prepared for the worst!?" I cried out.

I was filled with mixed emotions. I was glad that he was all right but things were going to change soon and there was a possibility that he was not going to return back alive.

After a moment of grappling with my mixed emotions, I walked out and as I passed by father's office, I overheard a conversation from the room.

"Five knights had lost their lives and thirty are injured. The rest have no casualties as the report mentioned." Harl said. "The injured includes Al Ascian, son of Duke Ezar, though his injuries aren't major."

I couldn't believe my ears. Did he say that Al was injured too? Why didn't he mention that in the letter? The words at the end of the letter came to my mind. I covered my mouth as I held back my tears and ran out to the garden.

"My Lady?"

I turned to the voice, it was Zed. "What's wrong?" He asked.

I told him what I overheard. He didn't say anything and held me gently in his arms.

"Forgive me for my actions right now, my Lady." He said.

Unable to hold my tears, I cried out. Soon after, he let me go as I stopped crying.

"Is he going to come back alive?" I asked him what I was thinking at that moment.

"You don't have to worry about Lord Al, especially if it is just a minor injury. He's been to many battles already and has suffered many injuries before. In fact, I've been on the battlefield with him once and I've never seen anyone fight like him. It's surprising that a normal person has such extraordinary strength. He'll definitely return back alive." He said confidently.

I felt assured by what he said but the fact that he wasn't the Al of this world, worried me and I couldn't tell Zed about it. Even if Al had gained the skills as he took over the body of the Al of this world, I believed it was still impossible for him to fight as Zed had said.

"Let's just hope for the best." Zed said.

"Yeah."

We sat there for some more time.

"Lady Jerinah." He gently called out my name.

"Yes?" I replied.

"I hope you won't tell Lord Al about what I did to you earlier. It didn't mean anything; I just thought it would be the best way to comfort you." He said.