DISCARDED: The Ones The World Did Not Need

Twenty two

Strong emotions can spike a person's magic capacity for a short period of time.

It was a cold morning and Rachael spent it like she spent all her mornings; snooping around the IMD building, gazing at all the soldiers going through their business.

Usually, they ignored her; but occasionally some would give her an awkward, confused stare and approach her, wondering if she was lost.

On this particular day, she sat on a bench besides the front door, watching as people who had either returned from a mission or spent the night out, returned.

She was so entranced by how normal they looked that she almost did not notice Micah walk past her.

He had a painfully blank look on his face; like he was trying to stop something from getting out.

"My prince, is everything alright?"

He turned sharply, surprised to see her there.

"Rachael..." he suddenly looked guilty.

"Are you okay? You don't look too good."

"Yeah, it's just...you might have to come with me. There's something we need to discuss."

Rachael felt a lump in her throat, but nodded as she followed Micah out the door.

Immediately they got out, he took her hands and led her to the castle's courtyard.
It was a short stroll but Rachael felt like it took forever. The firmness of his hold and how gense his back was frightened her.

Micah sat her down, before taking the space besides her.
The stared at the space before them for a while, before Micah took a deep breath.

"Avery sent a letter; the crowned prince is back."

The way he talked about the prince made it known that they were not in the best of terms.
Rachael waited for him to continue.

"He's forced Avery back to the palace and he saw Enid...he almost killed her."

Rachael stood up in shock. The lump that was previously in her throat had sunk to her stomach and was now eating her from the inside.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know but I suspect it's because she looks a lot like Aaron and Himiko."

"But that's not enough reason to..."

"That's all the reason he needs Rachael."
He had also stood up and was holding Rachael by her shoulders.  She had paled considerably and had started shaking.

"I shouldn't have gone. I should have stayed with her. What have I done?"

"Rachael, calm down. I'm going to central Manderin now. I'm going to the palace and after that, I'll go look for Enid. She's a smart child so she would probably head where we'd be able to find her..."

"The abandoned temple," she whispered.

"My thoughts exactly. She's going to be fine, I promise you," he replied as he pulled her into a hug.

"I'm coming with you," she spoke into his chest.

Micah wanted to object. He did not want her anywhere near Alexander; but he knew that she would never relent so he sighed and nodded his head.

"Okay. Let's go and tell Himiko that you'll be away for a while, then we can go. Is that alright?"

"Yeah," she replied, not wanting to break away from the hug just yet.

...

Avery sat on the foot of her bed, staring at the gates through the windows.

For the past week, carriages of nobles and wealthy merchants had trotted in and out, probably seeking the good Grace's of the crowned prince and maybe even her hand.