Luke saw the boundless despair shrouding Chalice the moment before she left. His heart broke seeing her in that state. He desperately tried to move his limbs. He wanted to stop her from leaving. He had an idea of what she was feeling at that moment and he wanted to reach out and take her into his arms. She wasn't alone. She had him.
After a few more minutes, Luke was able to move again. He rushed to the three who were wretchedly lying on the ground a few meters from the carnage. He looked tepidly at the dead bodies of the bandits whom Chalice single-handedly took down.
Luke checked on them. Rye and Ward has already fallen unconscious. And Levi was trying to hold on to his last bit of consciousness. His eyes mirrored Luke's as he looked at him with shock, disbelief, but moreso, worry.
They would be lying if they say they weren't doubtful of how Chalice has done what she did. But that was negligible. Both of them swore their lives to her. Despite Levi and Chalice bickering at every little thing, he treated her like his precious little sister. And Luke, nothing more can be said for him. His love for Chalice crosses all bounds of sanity. He wouldn't care about her secrets. That was hers to keep. He has his own secrets too. What mattered to them was her, herself.
"Luke, bring... bring her back. Y-you've got to... bring her back. She's too... far gone. Her eyes were so... lifeless, it s-scared me. It felt as if we..we were about to l-lose her."
Levi gasped and struggled to spit out the words in his heart as Luke tended to his wounds. Luke knew what he was saying. He feared that too.
With a taut face and hurried hands, he patched them up and carried them in the carriage. He wanted to chase after her so badly but he won't leave these three men to their lives.
"I'll find her. And I'll bring her back. She is our princess. Nothing would ever change that. And it's the only truth we will ever acknowledge."
He told Levi firmly and then proceeded to run the carriage back. He planned on leaving the men back to Wind Valley and search for Chalice. She was in a precarious situation. Even if he needs to overturn hell itself, he will find her.
And when he does, Luke will never let her go again.
He won't hold back anymore.
---
Chalice didn't know where she was going. Not that she cared, anyway. She let Onyx gallop off to wherever, not bothering to direct him. The wind brushed her cold face as trees blurred onto her view. Her mind was still blank.
She only came to when Onyx stopped near a small stream. The poor horse must have been exhausted for running nonstop. Dusk has already settled in. The cricket's song was mixed up with the distant sounds of wild animals. But there was silence in Chalice's heart.
She gauged indifferently her whereabouts. It seems she has entered the inner sanctuary of beasts in Zeru Mountains. Chalice knew she should be worried. The forest was dangerous. Even for someone like her. Especially now that she was not in an optimal state.
However, Chalice just didn't have the energy to bother. She felt tired. Her mind was forlornly fighting off the recurring images of an endless bloodbath and it was taking its toll on her heart, soul, and mind.
A small voice however called to her. Like a glimmer of a dim star in a dark, moonless night. It was different from the other thoughts swirling through her consciousness at the moment.
'Go back!'
'You need to go back!'
'You're no longer that person.'
'You have people waiting for you.'
'You have people who care.'
'You have people who loves you.'
'You have people who will accept the darkness in you.'
'They won't leave.'
'Go back, Chalice!'
The voice kept repeating the words. Over and over. Like a broken record. It annoyed her but they were also sparking a flicker of warmth in her frozen heart, cajoling her to listen to it and obey.
She soon started questioning herself. Wet, hot tears threatened to flow freely in her eyes as the smiling faces of the people she held dearly in this world flashed in her mind's sight. Was she really not the same anymore? Does she really have a chance? What if the voice was wrong? What if it's just giving her false hope? She cannot take another disappointment anymore. She just can't.
Her head was aching at the discord running rampant in it. When suddenly, a rustle startled Chalice. Onyx neighed warily at a direction. The huge bushes leading to the stream moved violently before revealing a herculean, golden lion with a strange marking in its forehead.
Aslan!
Chalice stood up, momentarily forgetting her folly. It was her Aslan. She was about to run to the lion when Onyx dashed up to her front protectively. Her eyes widened in surprise before a small smile appeared in her lifeless face.
"It's okay Onyx. He's Aslan. He's my beast, the same as you. He won't hurt me."
She uttered softly in her hoarse voice, reassuring the black stallion. The horse neighed lowly before giving way to her. Although, it still stood on guard behind her back.
Chalice choked on her sobs as she ran up to her big kitty. She embraced the golden fur that her hand could reach. Her painful cries broke free from her control. The lion seemed to sense her frail and vulnerable condition. So he slumped on the ground and onto his stomach, letting her bury her face in his huge neck. His fur muffled her cries and hid her weak form from the world.
The Thunder horse sat on its four legs, there by the lion and the girl's side, sandwiching her in between. The two beast formed a protective cocoon, painting a contrastingly doleful yet peaceful picture.