Chapter 39

In the morning they were quickly pulled along with Count Vilea’s exit plan and were led out of the city by the Count himself and fifty of his men. Tirr sat lazily on Garm as he leaned against Maria while the group marched on, headed straight for the capital. They stopped only occasionally to rest and for the night traveling over the next two days as they moved along at exhausting speeds.

On the afternoon of their third day since leaving Vilea, Rasor, the capital of the Rasor Kingdom finally came into sight. Tirr let out a sigh of relief as the tall city walls came into view. The last couple of nights had been tiring and uncomfortable. Not to mention boring. With nothing to see or do, he had spent his time helping Maria practice her Blessing.

Now with such a large city in front of him, he found the urge to go and explore almost irresistible. He knew they obviously had more important things to do than to go play in the city, the warning Torvus had given him was still fresh in his mind. But even then he found it hard to focus on that as he looked at the first real sign of civilization he’d seen since awakening.

“What kind of shops did you say were here?” He asked Claire, who rode next to him on a horse given to her by the Count.

“Whatever you can think of!” answered Claire happily, for what must be the fifth time. From some of the finest restaurants to the most humble of street stalls. We have delicious meats and the sweetest of treats!”

Tirr nodded along happily as Claire gave her now practiced speech. Maria listened as well, sitting comfortably on Garm’s back as she held onto Tirr. Doron was off marching along with the other men at arms where he said he felt most comfortable as the count and the rest of his men led the way.

“And we’ll definitely have to stop by Mr’s Aber’s Bakery. Not even my father’s Bakers can top her pies. She’s turned down offers to join the royal kitchen like ten times and…” Claire stopped as a horn sounded from the front of the procession. As they looked towards the gates of the Capital, a group of armed riders had come out and were now speeding their way forward.

The Count yelled out orders immediately as his men moved into formation to guard their Princess. Doron came to Tirr’s as they prepared to fight as well, letting the guards surround them in their protective bubble. They readied their weapons and tensed as they watched the group of riders, probably a few dozen strong approached.

As the tension mounted and the riders drew closer, Claire squinted and broke into a relieved smile. She spurred her horse forward, forcing her way through the formation despite the Count's requests to stop and the confused looks from Tirr and the rest.

She rode up at a gallop and met the riders who slowed down as she approached. One rode towards her and pulled off his helmet, revealing a smiling face and bright green eyes. As the Count's men ran to catch up to their princess Tirr had Garm follow as well, curious at what had made Claire run off.

He found her hugging a man that looked strikingly similar to herself, but with a stronger jawline and broader shoulders. He watched as they continued to hug for a moment before finally separating. When The man greeted the Count who bowed respectfully towards him.

“Must be Claire’s twin brother” Maria whispered from behind.

Tirr nodded, staring with interest at the young man still talking with Claire and the Count. Claire had mentioned her family a few times with mostly apathy or hate with the only exception being her twin brother Claus. She had described him as a young man who would be better off if he spent less time thinking and more time practicing with his blade.

As Tirr watched them, he saw Claire point excitedly over towards him and watched as the trio approached. Claire rode directly up to him but Claus kept some distance as he gave a nervous glance to the Giant Wolf Beast they were riding.

“He only hurts those that anger or tries to hurt me…” Tirr said arrogantly giving Garm a proud pat and receiving a happy growl in response.

“Quite the mount.” The Prince replied, giving one more glance to Garm’s sharp teeth before looking at the young boy who had spoken with a smile. My name is Claus Fer Rasor, 2nd Prince of Rasor and twin to my good sister here. She tells me you’re good friends of hers and should be treated like honored guests so I just wanted to greet you personally and inform you of the current plans.”

Tirr gathered himself up and looked down at the prince from upon Garm, putting on his old haughty appearance, “My name is Tirr. I am the god of this land. This is my Apostle of Light, Maria, and her follower Doron.” Tirr said with a wave toward the two near him.

They each greeted the prince awkwardly, resisting the urge to bow and scrape to the royalty of the country they called their home, knowing it would just set Tirr off. The Prince didn’t seem to take notice as he greeted them back eagerly.

“I've come out to greet you as things have grown a little tense since I first received my sister’s warning. If you will follow me I’ll lead you to my estate within the capital for you to rest and recover. I’m sure there is plenty for us to talk about.”

“Fine then,” Tirr nodded sagely, inwardly quite happy with the way the prince was treating him. She did say he was smart he thought happily to himself as the two forces joined together to enter the Capital.

They moved quickly, not overtly announcing the presence of two royals as they moved through the crowded streets of the Capital, but not hiding it either as they passed through guard points. Tirr looked around appreciatively at the large building and busy streets, nodding to himself that this is what a city should look like. It still wasn’t anything compared to what he could remember, but it was a start. They soon arrived at a large estate near the center of the Capital.

Tall elegant stone walls ringed a vibrant garden with a quiet mansion in the middle. The two forces cooperated in setting up a perimeter as Tirr and company were guided inside. They were guided to luxurious bathrooms and helped to wash and clean up as they refreshed themselves after the long and stressful travel.

Meanwhile, Claire spoke quickly with her brother in his office going over her journey from beginning to end, leaving out no details as her brother listened pensively. The frown on his face grew as he listened until the end. He stood up facing out the window as he tried to calm himself before turning back to his sister with a smile.

“I’m glad you made it back Sis” He spoke softly, unsure of what else he could say after hearing such a story.

“Glad to be back dummy,” Claire said sitting back in one of her brother’s comfy lounge chairs. “Glad to see you got out of that death trap of a castle as well, has Father…”

“No… With just your warning the most I could do was convince him to double his guard. He still doesn’t believe Nile could actually be after his life. There wasn’t much else I could do before I had to leave myself, Nile has eyes and ears all throughout the Castle.”

“So he’s done nothing with Nile?” Claire asked angrily.

“Even if I had convinced him, Nile disappeared the day after your warning arrived. I have some ideas of where he might be, but I can’t move openly without father’s approval.”

“Then we’ll have to get it!” Claire said standing up energetically. “Do you still have some of my dresses here? I can’t go see father like this.“ She said waving down at the commoner's clothes she had worn to help hide.

"Should still be in your room Sis, I’ll send a messenger to let him know we’re coming,” Claus said nodding as he started drafting his message.

“Tirr too! And probably Maria, We’ll need them most likely.” Claire added with a grin as she started out of the office before stopping just at the door. She looked back at Claus, her face revealing for the first time some of the pain she had been through.

“Nile has to pay for what he’s done Claus…” She whispered, before leaving and closing the door behind her.

The words shocked Claus for a moment, and he felt a surge of anger thinking back to his carefree sister and what she had been put through. He breathed deeply to calm himself before going back to finishing his message to his Father…