-HIM-

"Don't be discouraged, Alex. We'll find her," Lars tried to hear me up after noticing the disappointed look on my face.

"I don't think so," I gritted my teeth.

"You know they say when you stop looking for things, they come looking to you," Lars tried again, but it wasn't working. I didn't need flowery words. I needed to see that woman who somehow found a way to slip through my fingers every time.

"It doesn't work like that," I muttered under my breath, feeling more disappointed by every passing minute.

We were headed to the westernmost port of Somirea. It was the last place we were going to look for her.

I wouldn't lie— I had my hopes high, but at the same time, a large part of me was convinced that she wasn't there. I braced myself for the disappointment when suddenly, the sound of a horse neighing from a distance echoed in the woods. The warriors in front of me stopped.

Soon, one of our messengers appeared. His face was flushed, and the look on it said he had found something. It lit me up with some hope, but at the same time, something in his anxious eyes suggested that it wasn't what I wanted to hear.

"Your majesty," He breathed, "I've noticed some suspicious activity around one of the small villages not far away from the town,"

"What is it?" I asked, still holding onto the hope that maybe it had to do something with her.

"I am not sure. The villagers say it's the Royal troops. They are taking cover under the villagers," He informed.

"That sounds... odd," Lars aired my opinion.

"Let's see what it's all about," I declared.

"What about finding that woman?" Lars asked, baffled.

"She can wait, but I don't have a good feeling about them... why would they need to hide inside their own kingdom," I wondered. Lars seemed to agree with me.

The messenger rode away ahead of us while we turned towards the town. My mind was racing with a million thoughts. It didn't feel right. Why would they need to hide with the villagers? It couldn't be that they were here to fight the local feudal lords who refused to obey the king. I was aware that the local feudatories here were highly loyal to Theoron.

Then what could it be?

We were halfway there when the caravan stopped abruptly. I couldn't understand why we stopped because I was at the back. I had thought it was temporary, but as seconds ticked by, my patience got the best of me.

I gritted my teeth and kicked my horse before racing to the front of the caravan. When I was near the front, I heard the caravan master arguing with someone standing in the middle of the road. At first, I couldn't determine who it was because he was still on the horse and shielding the person from my sight.

"Move!" The caravan master ordered. It was one of my warriors in disguise.

"Where are you coming from?" A familiar voice asked. My heart instantly quickened. For a few seconds, I was unable to believe my ears.

"That's none of your business—"

"— from a faraway land, it seems," The same voice wondered.

"I said move!" My warrior further commanded. I could hear the impatience in his voice.

"I have something that will help you in your journey," she said.

"We don't need it. Move out of my way, woman!" He shouted again.

"Or what?" She dared.

A smile tugged the corner of my lips when I reached the front of the caravan. Her tall frame stood taller and prouder in the middle of the road. My presence interrupted their conversation, pulling their attention toward me. Our eyes met for a split second, and my smile widened under the face cover.

I rounded her before stopping behind her, ensuring she was trapped between the Caravan and me. She turned around, and instantly our eyes locked. She looked shocked for a moment, but she composed her features as I mounted off the horse and stepped towards her, letting the face cover down to reveal myself.

"YOU!" She hissed. I couldn't help but smile slyly even though a part of me still couldn't believe I had found her again. "What are you doing here?" She demanded, not looking much pleased to see me.

I wonder why?

"I was wondering the same," I smiled, unable to contain my delight.

"I am selling magic stones," she replied, looking even more pissed by every passing second.

"Magic stones, you said? I would like to see what you have," I said, stepping closer to her.

"Those are fake! It is a scam!" The Caravan Master warned me. I looked at him briefly above her shoulder and sent him a look which he knew too well. He fell silent immediately. Meanwhile, she glared at me fiercely and clutched her bag as if I was going to snatch it from her.

"What happened?" I asked, studying the look on her face. Even though she had her facade on, I could see it in her eyes that something was going on in her head. She looked taken aback to see me here. On top of that, she almost looked as if I had caught her in the middle of committing a crime.

Was she hiding something from me?

"You have a buyer here. Wouldn't you show me what you have?" I prodded.

"My stones don't want to be sold anymore," She muttered angrily.

"I didn't know they had a mind of their own," I joked, stepping closer and reaching for the bag in her hand. She stepped back immediately, snatching the bag away from me.

"You didn't tell me what are you doing here," she spat, "Are you following me?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. I couldn't help but laugh. She looked between the caravan master and me.

"Following you?" I smiled, stepping closer to her and plucking the bag of stones from her hand. My fingers brushed gently against her skin, setting off vines of sparks running up her arm. I could hear her breaths shorter and her heart quicken. "I wonder what gave you the idea?" I muttered, further closing the distance between us.

"I have a lot of reasons to think that," She replied darkly. I saw something flash in her eyes... as if she knew something about me that I didn't.

"Then you must possess something I've been looking for,"

_