Tairren was quiet for a moment. The day was long and the lack of sleep and not having an ample meal was starting to get to him. Besides all of that, he had been having a strange feeling ever since they first came into The Forest of Old. He felt like something was following them—or even watching them. Sometimes it was a good feeling, and other times the feeling was—bad. But he did not want to alarm Natalia or the prince with what he was feeling. He knew their minds must be at rest if they were going to have a good night’s sleep.
He just peered at Phillip, then began to speak again. “It has been many years since I’ve come this far to the south. This ancient forest expands throughout the middle lands of Minslethrate and becomes The Black Forest right on the other side of The Great Wall. But I do know that it is not as safe as the Forest Province amongst the castle. There are many creatures abroad, things like wolves and bears who rule these parts of the woods. But they say there are even worse things than any wolf or bear—like banshees and dark spirits that lurk through the darkness of the thick wood, snatching up any weak soul that passes through.
Natalia looked upon the darkened forest, which was becoming even darker as the sun went down. The light of the fire bounced off nearby trees and bushes, playing with her eyes and sending dancing shadows everywhere. She slowly scooted towards Philip, trying to make it not so obvious that she was becoming a little uneasy.
“What are these dark spirits you speak of?” Phillip asked, slightly smirking.
“They are followers of the fallen ArchLegna, Lucif. Legend has it that they are monsters of darkness that will do anything to make a person’s life miserable—filling one’s life with misfortunes and troubles.”
“Do you believe that, Tairren?” Natalia asked, scooting even closer to Philip.
Tairren was quiet, looking off into the darkness of the forest. The forest around them became almost black.
“Most of everything I speak of has been passed down in legend and in lore—but some are real and written in the Book of Light. Yes, I do believe—and last night was a prime example,” he said in a more serious manner as he looked back at both of them. “Last night when I was amongst Lilith and those horrid, screaming creatures, I felt an evilness in the atmosphere—one that I do not want to feel again. It put fear in my heart and bumps upon my flesh… But I know there is nothing fear can hurt if your heart is lit by His flame.”
Tairren became quiet as he rubbed his bandaged arm, noticing the throbbing pain that had been bothering him all day, became stronger. Natalia was quiet as well as she noticed him rubbing his arm—and the healed scratches on his face.
“Let us hope we do not run into your creatures,” Phillip said, sitting up and smirking.
“I’m afraid, Phillip, that they are not my creatures. Beyond The Wall of Division there will be many things which lurk with evilness soaked upon them,” Tairren said, slightly aggravated that Phillip seemed to be making a mockery out of everything he was saying.
“What is this great wall you speak of? Is it to keep everyone from traveling to the south?” the prince asked.
“Long ago, the wall was built out of love for his people, by the legendary King of Light—to keep the evil out. It is said that The Great King had the wall built before he and his men went off on his last crusade. He wished it to be built many miles long and many cubits high, separating the north of Minslethrate from the south. The wall’s purpose was to keep the ones who love darkness and live the ways of the old ages of Minslethrate, on the other side…
“After his last crusade, and before he had the wall built, there was a mighty war in Minslethrate between the people of light and the people of darkness who served Minlsethrate’s ancient pagan goddesses, Fiara, Dolsia, and Haifen. With their hearts drunken by dark spirits, an evil tyrant leader from the south rose up against the king with all of his followers. You see, legend has it, and also it is written in the Book of Light, that Minslethrate was the first settlement of light, planted by our God of Light in the beginning of time and of the earth.
“His fallen Archlegna, Lucif, fell upon the earth, and infiltrated the beautiful lands of this divine settlement of light. And generations later, Minslethrate became a pagan country—as the ancient goddesses, Fiara, Dolsia, and Haifen were born. And so, the many lost people of Minslethrate who were blinded by the beliefs of the false gods, rose up against the king, wanting Minslethrate to be as it was when everyone worshiped the goddesses—like in the old days of yore.
“But The Great King of light led his people into battle—and won. He restored the lands of Minslethrate and spread the truth of the word of light, and during that time, he had the great wall built—to keep evil out. The temples of fire, earth and water were soon forgotten, as well as The Dark Tower of Sacrifice, on the other side of the wall.
The southern parts of Minslethrate are protected by a mountain range, Mount Fiara, which borders the southern parts, and the ends of The Great Wall of Division meet with the mountains. So you see, no one, not even the bravest of travelers can easily get into the southern parts of Minslethrate from the outside—unless they are allowed by the king of Minslethrate. The southern parts of Minslethrate are forbidden to walk upon, receiving its name, The Forbidden Lands… Cursed, only the ones with a heart of darkness dwell on the other side—and only the one’s with a protected heart can walk through such dark madness.”
Tairren became quiet as he glanced at Natalia who was looking into the now blackened forest. The chirps of frogs and crickets could be heard now, going along with the atmosphere of the early night.
“That is an amazing story, Master Tairren,” Phillip said, “but how does a wall keep evil out?”
“The wall is massive, and is guarded by many soldiers at all times. There is only one main gate through the wall which is always shut, and only one with a letter from the king of Minslethrate can pass through it… When early morning comes, if we continue to go straight in a southern direction, we should be at the doors of the wall before the day is finish.”
“How will we pass through these gates of the wall when a letter from the king is needed?—which, we do not possess.” The prince seemed to test Tairren.
Both Natalia and the prince looked at Tairren, waiting for an answer.
“There is a way through the massive wall where the forest grows the thickest, right outside of the left side of the field that sits before the great doors of the wall. My father and I went through it only one time when we went into the beginning parts of The Black Forest, to look for interesting things to sell at the shop. We did not get caught, but we never went past the wall ever again. The way is through a tunnel, where a rivulet from the Minslethratian River flows through. The water was low at that time so we were able to get our horse we had at that time, through. It is risky, and we could get caught if we do it all wrong.”
“Oh, I hope this is all as easy as it sounds,” Natalia said in a low tone as nervousness began to come over her petite body.
“You had mentioned that Marrisa was being taken to The Dark Tower of Sacrifice. How long do you suppose it will take to get from the great wall to this southern temple?” Philip asked as he rubbed his lightly bearded chin.
“This temple is in the furthest area away from the castle of the southern parts of Minslethrate. It sits at the bottom of Mount Fiara, on a cliff, so it won’t take too much time getting up the mountain. I believe it may take a couple of days from the great wall to get there.”
“Oh my,” Natalia said with a stressed tone. “That may not even give us enough time to get to Marrisa—it may be too late when we get there.” Natalia’s voice began to shake a little as her emotions began to stir.
Phillip stood quietly with his arms crossed and his head now lowered. He seemed irritated and anxious.
“Lilith is probably still on her way to the south. She will probably get there many hours before we do. But if we hurry, we may get there in the nick of time… Have faith, Natalia—everything will be okay…”
“Have faith?
!” Phillip barked, interrupting him. “How do we possess any kind of faith when we don’t even know what is going on?!” Phillip stood up quickly. “You talk with such an assuring edge—as if you know all! Marrisa could be dead as we speak! Tell me this, Master Tairren—how can I even have faith in what you are saying—if what you are saying is just legend?”
Tairren got up quickly, looking Phillip in the eyes—aggravated even at Phillip’s temper. Tairren felt attacked and goaded by the prince, which set his feelings on fire.
Natalia stood up as well, quickly standing before them. For the first time she felt nervous by Tairren and Phillip’s sudden anger.
“Because that is all we can do!” Tairren raised his voice in anger for the first time. He was tired of Phillip’s pretentious disposition and was running out of patience for him. “I have faith in the God of Light—that everything will happen as it should—I have faith. Without faith we are nothing but lost wanderers!”
“We are nothing but lost! You are a dreamer, Master Tairren,” Phillip said, looking Tairren back in the eyes as they were almost face to face. “You make up plans to go and rescue Marrisa from some evil woman, with no back up men, barely any weapons, and you told us that you have not even gone that far south before! This is all so dim and lies on the brink of dreams—irrational dreams!”
“Gentlemen…,” Natalia said, panicked, trying to stop them from arguing and yelling.
“The greatest men dream! Even you cannot be so dim to not believe that! But I do this because the being of light, called Malakh, told me of what I need to do—it is God’s will and I have faith in it!” Tairren shouted back, coming closer to Philip. “Through The God of Light we can do any and all things. You don’t have to believe me but I promise you—this is more than a legend, this is all real—as real as this very night!”
Tairren was a couple inches shorter than Phillip, even having a smaller build then him, but he was not intimidated by him. He had fire in his soul and passion in his heart and wasn’t going to yield to just anyone—especially the prince.
“I love God and will do whatever I am asked of him—especially when it comes to the woman I love!”
The prince was quiet as he pressed his lips together, folding his arms and standing up straight so that he could look down at him.
Natalia stood quiet as well, surprised by the burning zeal and anger that rose up in Tairren.
“The woman you love?” Phillip said as a smirk came across his face. “How can a princess even love a lonesome peasant boy?” Phillip mocked, looking down in disgust at him.
Tairren stood for a moment while feeling antagonized by Phillip. Unwanted anger and rivalry built up in his chest, making his heart begin to pump rapidly.
“Like I said, you are a dreamer, Master Tairren—the poorest of dreamers who depend on something called faith that is not even tangible, just to get through the day because you don’t have anything else. Your faith wouldn’t even have come about if it wasn’t for the silliness of that woman whom you love. If she would’ve stayed by my side last night during the festivities, I wouldn’t be here speaking to a peasant boy in the middle of the woods in the darkness! I would be on my ship with Marrisa on our way back to Ishkar… Don’t forget, Master Tairren, that silly woman whom you love—will be my wife…”
Not being able to contain his anger any longer, Tairren lunged at Phillip, punching him square in the face with one hard blow as they began to fight.
“Stop it!” Natalia screamed out, becoming angry as she tried to pull them away from each other by yanking on Tairren’s tunic.
They fell to the ground and rolled amongst the leaves and grass as they fought, swinging and grunting. Natalia fell to the ground and landed on her behind. Frantic and irritated, she quickly stood up and picked up dead leaves and sticks and began to throw it at them.
“Tairren!” she yelled again, “stop it both of you!”
Finally after a while of rolling and yelling on the ground, Tairren pinned Phillip down by sitting on his chest and holding down his arms.
“You are not even worth this!” Tairren grunted with a clenched jaw, spitting as he talked. He shoved Phillip one last time into the ground, then got up.
Breathless, he continued to look down upon Phillip. He walked over to Natalia as he combed his hand through his hair that fell upon his face. Natalia glared at him as she crossed her arms, pressing her lips together.
“You need to know your place!” Phillip spat out, staggering as he stood up. He had blood running from his nose while leaves stuck out form his wavy black locks. “I don’t need this,” he said, breathless.
“This is my place! Fighting for the ones I love! If you don’t want to be here then you can leave! I have the light on my side,” Tairren yelled as he placed his hand on his chest. “And when you leave, make sure you come back for my bones because I will not yield! I will die for my quest if that is what it takes!”
Tairren gave Phillip one last glare, who was now silenced with a grimaced look on his face and still wiping blood from his nose. Tairren walked off into the darkness towards the lake, wanting to be alone for a moment.
“Tairren…” Natalia said softly, starting to walk towards him. She began to feel emotional as she lowered her hands in disappointment. “Where are you going?”
He didn’t acknowledge her or even turn towards her—so she stopped in her place. She got the hint that he wanted to be alone. She was startled by Tairren—never seeing him like that before. She stood for a moment as she watched Tairren walk into the darkness of the wood, then turned towards Phillip who was now sitting by the fire again—sulking and appearing like that of a large child. She slowly walked towards him, not knowing what to say at first. She stood for a moment in the awkward silence, watching as Phillip noticeably ignored her. She slowly sat next to him and wrapped her cape around her arms again.
Cooling down from the heated fight, they sat in silence for a moment as the fire continued to crackle and the frogs and crickets continued to chirp. The air between them seemed thick at first, but then slowly thinned out as they sat for a while. Natalia would look up at Phillip every once in a while, who randomly would wipe the blood that trickled from his nose.
“I don’t like feeling like this,” he finally said, looking up at Natalia. “Feeling lost and defeated is a sign of weakness…”
“Weakness is saying things out of spite… You shouldn’t have said those things to Tairren,” she said quietly, then pulled a white handkerchief from her satchel that sat next to her. She tenderly wiped the blood from his top lip. “Take this and hold it to your nose.”
He took the linen from her and did as he was told.
“Thank you,” he said, quietly.
He sat for a moment, staring into the fire.
“Why are you kind to me when I have insulted your companions?”
“…I know you are kind—I saw it in your eyes last night at the castle stable, and then when you brought me home…,” she said with a soft and pretty smile. “And I know you didn’t mean what you said to Tairren.”
They were quiet again as Phillip looked into her green eyes. The fire light sparkled off her eyes and made her skin appear like burnished honey.
“And bold you are—but sweet you will always be,” he said as he smiled at her. “…I did not mean what I said to Tairren… I said it out of anger—out of spite,” he said, then looked back into the fire. “…I must be weak then… When I feel like I am backed into a corner, I belittle people—I want them to feel smaller than I,” he said in a low tone. “Everything I’ve learned has come from my father. I don’t like being this way sometimes—it’s just embedded deep within my heart.”
“If you declare such things upon your life, your future will keep them. To you it seems embedded—but it can be dug up and become as a shining jewel,” Natalia said softly with a tender smile.
Phillip sat quietly for a moment while he stared off into the night infested forest, then looked up at her.
“Jewel?” Phillip asked with confusion. His face was serious but then a small smile crept upon his face. “My Lady is a poet of many words.”
“My words come to me suddenly when I least expect them,” she said while gazing into his eyes.
“How is my ill-temper and seemingly foul disposition a jewel?” Phillip asked, pulling his eyes away from Natalia’s and into the crackling fire.
“I am very familiar with jewels—there are all types… Jewels are what my mother loves best…,” Natalia said as she pulled her long dark hair over her shoulder.
She became quiet for a moment as she thought of her very vain mother. She was not only vain, but selfish. She thought this of her mother more than anything else and she knew it was a shame, but it was the only notion she had of her.
“I’ve seen my mother silently worshiping jewels in her own silent and pathetic way—many times… So they are the first of many images that come to my mind when you mention that your ill-temper and foul disposition are embedded deep within your heart. A jewel, uncut and dirty, has a foul appearance when it is dug out of the rock of the mountain. But when it is cut into precise facets and polished, it shines like the ripples upon a gleaming lake. And it is then full of wealth and wanted by many—particularly when its luster is like that of the sun or the caps of mountain tops. I know once you are ready, you will find that light within you—and your heart will gleam like that jewel…”
“You, my lady, are full of surprises,” Phillip said with raised eyebrows.
He thought that Natalia was not only enchantingly beautiful, but she seemed to be deep and fervent and more heart-felt than any lady he had ever met within his twenty-five years of living. Everything about her tantalized him and he loved every bit of it. Everything from her vibrant green eyes to the lusciousness of her light-brown skin; from her bold and abrupt attitude to her tender heart, captivated him. Ever since they left the kingdom to retrieve Marrisa, he never thought of the captured princess once—not even for one split second. And when he mentioned Marrisa to Tairren during their fight, it was only because he wanted to antagonize him.
The Last Legend: Awakened Page 25