Grimoires & Masters - Chapter 4.

The footsteps were light, but the echoes still traveled far inside the tunnel that was a secret to the world. The passage was known only to the members of the Royal Blood. It was a passage designed to safely evacuate the Crystal Palace in case the city ever fell. The fire torches on the walls illuminated it, and it was long enough that it seemed to never end.

Aoun had been walking for a couple of hours now. He had left the Palace right after he had his dinner with his family. Albeit all his efforts to stay calm, his heart was getting heavier with every step that he took. His mind was playing the memories of his loved ones, their smiles, laughs, and all the love they held for each other. 

The warm embrace of his Mother still lingered in his mind. He had hidden it well, and no one on the table seemed to have thought that they wouldn’t see him tomorrow. Little Erica had been as playful as ever. She had made him feed her with his hand, and kept narrating to everyone how pretty the sword he had gifted to her was. When her mother and father asked her to show it to them, she unhesitantly shook her head in refusal, and she didn’t give a reason for that.

Everyone was there on the table tonight, except for two people. His Grandfather had not come to the table tonight. Aoun was relieved to see him absent on the table. He was someone who could discern the thoughts in the minds of people by just looking at them. But now as he took his steps away from his home, he regretted not seeing his Grandfather. He didn’t know when he would be able to come back home. It could be years later or never again. Who could know what fate held for them?

Aoun willed his heart again, his steps got faster as he tried to hold back the thoughts that rose in his mind. There was a certain someone who was haunting his memories. Someone who made him soft enough that a tear dripped down his eye. He quickly wiped it off with a trembling hand. 

“Elena…” He whispered her name with a mirthless smile.

The end of the tunnel was finally before his eyes. A platform with a rune embedded in it. It was similar to the one that he had entered the tunnel from, but if someone paid close attention, the inscriptions were quite different. 

His eyes looked one last time in the depths of the tunnel he had come from, “Farewell,” he whispered before crouching down and placing his hand on the rune. The ring on his finger flashed bright together with the rune, and then he vanished from the place.

The cold breeze kissed his face, making him tremble in the sensation. He looked at the sky above his head, the beauty of which bewitched him. The sky was embedded with bright stars, and the Moon was full and enchanting. The nights in the Land of White Winter were rarely dark. If the sky was not cast with clouds, the land was always basking in the starlight. 

Aoun looked around to determine where he was. He had never before used the passage, and he was not certain where he was. He took out a map from his space-ring, and the brilliant red mark showed him where he stood. It was a valley outside the city and in the forest. The road to the Eastern Kingdom, the one he had decided to take, was seven miles away. He hoped that he would be able to buy a horse from one of the Stud-Farms on that road. Walking on foot for long wasn’t an option, and he needed to reach the Eastern Kingdom before dawn.

The restlessness in his heart finally subsided, and he took a deep breath before letting it out in a sigh. 

The young man in his black cloak walked inside the woods, keeping his senses alert. The beasts inside the forest weren’t dangerous, but it was always good to be careful. He kept walking silently, his steps not making a sound. It was only after a few hundred meters that he stopped. 

Aoun had a strong feeling that he was being followed. He had not seen anyone or heard anything, but his instincts told him that someone or something had their eyes on him. He waited a good two minutes staring in the woods he had come from. 

“Come out,” He called out, “I am not moving from here unless you show yourself.”

Nothing but silence answered him. Despite that, he didn’t doubt his instincts. There was someone in the woods with eyes on him. The reason why he was so calm was that he felt no hint of hostility or danger. 

It was then, sounds of steps entered his ears. He frowned, but soon his heart thumped hard against his chest. He was familiar with those steps. 

“Hello, Brother!” 

A sweet voice called out to him, followed by a figure that emerged from the depths of the trees.

“Elena.”

Aoun clenched his fists as his eyes beheld the enchanting face of his sister. Her piercing blue eyes, the same as his, were smiling at him. She stopped a few steps away from him and looked right in his eyes. 

He wanted to ask her why she was here, but he already knew the answer to that. She was there for him, and the way she was wearing a cloak similar to his, made her intentions obvious. 

Elena waited for him to say something or ask her something, but seeing him take his eyes off her and look up at the sky made her agitated. She was already mad at him, and now that it seemed like he wouldn’t start the talk, a flash of anger glinted in her eyes, the next moment, her dagger was kissing his neck.

The coldness and sharpness of the blade stung him, but he didn’t try to do anything about it. He was familiar with her fits of anger, he was used to them, and he knew that she could never harm him. Her free hand was already trembling. He looked back in her eyes, and as he saw the mistiness ooze out, he couldn’t help but draw his hand and caress her soft cheek with the back of his fingers. 

“I have to go, girl.”

“I am not stopping you,” She brightly smiled. Her dagger was still against his neck. 

Her beauty was ethereal, and her smile made it even more dangerous. 

“You can’t follow me.”

“Lord Aoun, you lost your right to order me the moment you decided to leave me.” Elena glared at him. Her smile had ceased, and there was a grave look reflecting on her face. “I didn’t ask for your permission.”

“Go back, Princess. You have to be there for tomorrow’s ceremony,” He said and turned around to walk away. 

“Do you remember the promise you made to me?” 

She called out to him, and he stopped in his steps. 

“You are breaking your promise.”

Aoun felt a pang of pain inside his chest. His body trembled despite his efforts to stay calm, but then, the mirthless smile on his face was back, and he sighed at his helplessness. 

“I am married, girl,” He said and turned around to look at her. “I broke that promise long ago.”

He thought he would see some hint of shock or surprise on her face, but what he saw left him confused. She was smiling, and he knew that she was not bothered by what he had just revealed to her. 

“You knew?” He asked her as his brows furrowed.

“That you and Mellisa are together?” Elena smiled, “Why do you think Mellisa doesn’t mind it even though she knows that you love me more than her?”

Her words confused him even more. 

“She never hid it from me. She is my Master too, brother.” Elena put the dagger back in its sheath. “Others may not be able to see it in your eyes, but I had always known that you loved her. And we already made a deal between us.”

“A deal?”

“Yes,” Elena nodded. “We acknowledged ourselves as sisters, and she said that she was fine by being your queen, I will be your Empress.”

Aoun took a few minutes to make sense of what she had just said, but he couldn’t make any sense.

“I am not the Crown Prince, girl.” He squinted his eyes at her.

Elena giggled as she heard his words. 

“And I don’t see myself as an Emperor, ever,” he added. 

“I know,” She nodded. “The point is that you don’t have to be worried about me and Mellissa. We are sisters now, and we took the oath on that. So, where are we headed?” 

She walked close to him and wrapped her arm around his. Her eyes affectionately looked up at him.

“And no, Brother. You haven’t broken the promise. You promised to marry me. It was never about marrying me alone.”

“Elena…” 

“Yes?”

Aoun knew what his promise was. He had never forgotten it. He had promised to propose to her at her Awakening ceremony. He knew that she was all set to follow him for his entire life. It made his heart delighted, but his rationality hurt him again. Love was a poison. 

“What are your intentions?” He asked.

“My intentions?” She asked curiously.

“Stop playing around.” He chuckled at her acting. “I can see right through you.”

“Then you already know my intentions, Brother.” 

Aoun sighed at her playfulness and shook his head. 

“You are here to take me back to the Palace, right?”

“Yes,” She nodded.

“I can’t…”

“No one’s stopping you…” She shrugged and said.

“You are, girl.”

“Not really…”

They both knew that they could bicker like that all night. There were smiles on their faces, and playfulness in their eyes. 

“Elena…”

“Yes?”

“I am scared.”

The silence that lingered as soon as he said those words was terrifying, but his arm was hugged tighter my her in her bosom. He felt at peace, and the worries in his mind finally started to fade away. The smile hadn’t left his lips.

Aoun knew that if he refused to return to the Palace, Elena would come after him. And now that he reflected on it, he understood how wrong he had been about everything. She would have done something dreadful if he had successfully sneaked out of the city. She would have not taken part in tomorrow’s ceremony if she had found him absent.

Elena had to be present at the Awakening ceremony tomorrow. She was thirteen-years-old now. He might not care about the ceremony himself, but he knew that he couldn’t take away tomorrow from her. She needed to be there, and she needed to become a Master. He knew what her dreams were, and he could never forgive himself for taking them away from her for his stubbornness.

He was scared of her, the power she held over him.

“There are lots of families coming tomorrow to propose marriage to me. And Mother said that I must announce my decision in front of everyone.” Elena leaned against him. “And yes, you have to be there, and you must propose to me in front of everyone.”

“Elena…”

“Don’t try to excuse yourself out of this. Also, I won’t be standing before the relic without you. You are going to give it a last try with me.”

Aoun stayed silent as he heard her words. He understood now why Mellissa had not argued too much about the ceremony with him. The girls were prepared not to leave him a choice. And his greatest weakness was lovingly hugging his arm right now.

“I know, brother. You don’t want to be disappointed again. But did you know that when you hadn’t appeared last time at the ceremony, Mother had cried all night?” She sighed. “She didn’t reprimand you, and others didn’t as well. We all knew that you were in pain, and we wanted to give you time and space. Yes, we are hurt to see you not able to attain the awakening for three years, but you have no idea that the hurt we received by seeing you give up was way worse.”

“And what if I succeed, girl?” He helplessly smiled. “It’s not something you are not aware of. A Master can evolve his Grimoire quite easily in these years that have passed for me, and I am nearly now. That period is over for me.”

Elena furrowed her brows as she heard his words. She knew him more than he knew himself, and she was aware that her brother feared to be ordinary more than anything else. It was all because of the expectations he had held for himself and of those around him.

“None of the three Academies would accept me if I am not a Knight, a Master of a Silver Grimoire. The academies only accept people who are at least 16 years old and not more than 21 years old. Tell me, girl, do you think I can become a Knight in 3 years now? And I would never let my family suffer the shame by using the Royal Pass.”

The Academies were a dream for all Masters. They were the places that trained you in the Magic Arts and rewarded you with Powerful Beasts and Rare Runes. All of those three were the life of Masters. All the great Masters in the World belonged to these Academies, and the achievements they made there in their time as students, defined their legacy. 

The Zaryven Family had never before faced a situation where one of the Princes had failed to attain his Awakening. Their name was prestigious, and their achievements were praiseworthy.

The more Aoun thought about these things, the more he felt uncomfortable. He sighed at his fate and planted a kiss on Elena’s head. He inhaled a deep breath of her aroma, and his worries seemed to have lessened by a lot. 

“I know you wouldn’t allow me to leave tonight,” He chuckled. “Come, let’s go back.”

The two of them walked back to the valley where the Rune was hidden.

“You never told me where you were going,” Elena asked as she watched her brother prepare the rune to take them to the tunnel.

“I don’t know,” Aoun shook his head. “The goal was to find a sage, but I think what I really wanted to do was to explore the world. I was going to the BraveHeart Empire first, and then maybe some Adventures in the dungeons there.”

“The BraveHeart?” 

Elena frowned at the mention of that name. It was the Empire that bordered the Eastern Kingdom of White Winter. And it was the Empire whose Princess was betrothed to Aoun before the engagement was called off.

“Yes,” Aoun nodded. 

The Rune emerged from the ground they stood on and shined in the colorful light. 

“Come,” He offered his hand to her which she gladly accepted, and then they disappeared from the Valley. 

“If you want to explore the world, we could go together after tomorrow’s ceremony. We will have 3 years of Adventures before we reach the Isles of Solomon, where the Academies are.” Elena suggested when they started walking back to the Palace.

“You believe that I can make it?” He chuckled at her confident words. 

“Yes,” She answered unhesitantly and tiptoed to plant a kiss on his cheek. “You are destined for greatness, Brother. And I shall always be by your side.”

“I would like that…” He sighed and smiled. 

“The Greatness?” 

“No,” Aoun shook his head, “I would like you by my side, forever.”

“I know.” She giggled. “As if I would ever allow you to leave my side.” She pulled out her tongue at him, and then skipped ahead of him, urging him to hurry up. 

Aoun was in for trouble when he returned back to the Palace. He was welcomed by the resounding slap of his mother on his right cheek. It stung his skin just as much as it stung his heart. 

“I should have done this last year…” The Queen of the Crystal Palace looked ready to skin him alive. 

He didn’t know how to apologize to her. The pain her heart had borne was reflecting in her red eyes that let slip a few tears again. 

“Alright now,” a gentle voice called out, “don’t be so hard on him.”

It was the Empress of the Crystal Palace, the older sister of the queen, and Aoun’s Empress Mother. 

Aoun was grateful for her words, but her next words scared him. 

“Father is waiting for you in his room…” She smiled brightly at him and patted his head.

He knew that his Grandfather would not forgive him so easily for what he did today. Marcus Zaryven was a proud man. He was known for his hard mindset just as much as he was known for his generosity. He was one of the most famous men in the world.

“Mother…” He pleaded his Empress Mother to rescue him from his Grandfather’s wrath.

What soon echoed in the room was the enchanting laughter of his sister. The anger reflecting on his mother’s face subsided a little, but she still looked mad at him. 

“Don’t worry…” The Empress joined in with Elena as they both giggled. “No one else knows that you tried to sneak out of the Palace tonight.” 

Relief washed over him as soon as he heard those words, but he couldn’t smile. He apologetically lowered his head and sighed. 

“I am sorry…” 

The words were a whisper, but the three of them had heard them clearly. 

“Hmph..” The Queen seemed dissatisfied with his apology. “I won’t forgive you for hurting me tonight, never.” 

Aoun could discern from her words that she was no longer mad at him. It was her way of complaining. He smiled at her and then pulled her in his embrace to hug her tightly.

“And what does my beautiful Mother want me to do to make her forgive me?”

She rested her head in his chest and planted a kiss there. 

“You have to fulfill your promise to Elena,” She said and looked up at him as she squinted his eyes. “And you better do it.”

“Yes, yes… I will propose to her tomorrow at the ceremony.” He readily nodded to her condition. 

“Also,” She separated from his embrace and waited before finally deciding to say her next words. “Do take part in the ceremony. If not for yourself, do it for my sake.” She gently caressed his cheek with her soft hand. 

“I promise…” 

His words brightened the smiles on their faces, and his heart finally felt at peace.