Krystle was sitting quietly at the far corner of the cave as everyone else was taking a small break until she recovered; her head and shoulder had been hit quite hard against the sharp rocks. She was sitting crisscrossed, with both of her hands on her right shoulder; her head had been healed already, luckily she did not draw blood. She had a touch healing ability which allowed her to heal any form of bodily damage both on herself and on others. The person or creature must be alive, for she could not resurrect, just heal.
She has been focusing part of her training on cell regeneration, helping her people to cure damaged or withered organisms, wounds, broken bones, low vitality, diseases, or poisoning, and restoring them to their prime health. This comes with a high price as well; f she is not cautious enough, she can become so sensitive to the illness of others that it can make her sick as well. That is why she has spent a vast amount of time meditating, and doing yoga, but the secret lies inside her.
Those with royal blood in them had this ability and it was one of the rarest abilities there existed in the world. The people from the Eira Kingdom, up at the north of the continent, were known to be so far the only ones who had ever possessed such an ability. They were respected, almost sacred, for people from different kingdoms have gone to them for assistance to flush out their illnesses.
The King, along with his two children were the royal blood healers. Their relatives would have the same healing ability, but not all had continued to practice it. Others had risked their lives in order to heal hundreds when the wars were more common back in the day. Many had died in the process, absorbing the diseases or poison, leaving less and less in the country. A couple of them decided to travel and move out to different kingdoms where war was rare or where they could start a new life and not use their power with others.
Krystle opened her pale-blue eyes and they landed on the three people sitting down a few meters away from her. Her small wound had healed but she had made sure the rest were healed as well. Luca had volunteered to treat them and told her to attend to herself before they moved on to the outside of the cave.
She stood up and shook off the dust from the back of her pants. Everyone was wearing a similar outfit. They had agreed to wear the Kingdom's camouflage while on this journey; for protections purposes. The only difference was that the two royal siblings wore Eira's badge on the left side of their chest, right above their regal hearts.
Luca's matching blue eyes locked with hers and she nodded, telling him she was ready to go with one single glance.
"Alright, let's move." Luca was similar to Krystle in many physical traits but that ended there. They had similar hair color, except Luca's was a bit more yellowish while Krystle's was snow-white, just like her deceased mother. Luca's mother had curly, ash-blond hair which passed onto him; Krystle's hair was between straight and wavy. Krystle's mother, the former queen, passed away from an unknown disease, and died too soon. A few months later, the king came to the castle with an unknown woman, whom he insisted on repaying for saving his majesty's life during a battle with an army of orcs. The woman was caring and sweet, so the king acknowledged her bravery and beauty asking her hand in marriage.
Krystle was six years old when she got a step-mother. She was naïve, thinking a loving woman would take care of her and make her father happy. The woman didn't come alone though, she had a child, a ten-year-old-boy whom she could not abandon at all costs. The king accepted them both into his home and into his family.
The princess felt like he was a heaven-sent courtesy, as if he was sent in exchange for the loss of her mother, the heavens had been benevolent with her and sent her someone to relieve her from such a painful loss.
A bright light pulled her out of her memories, then she saw everyone walk out of the cave, leaving her behind. She placed her arm in front of her face, her eyes blinked a few times to get used to the brightness as she followed them outside. The cave wasn't too deep, but as she stepped on the gravel, she noticed that the mountain had certainly blocked them from the dinoceros on the other side.
The mountain was remarkably huge, and wide. There seemed to be some type of magic surrounding this place, the vibe she felt when she stepped out of the cave was strange. The cave had been too small to actually cover such a long space. To her surprise, it was still evening here, while on the other side the sun had been giving its last rays of light.
"It's this way, let's move before night falls. We don't know what we'll encounter next." Viatrix was walking next to her brother at the front while Luca walked behind them, keeping an eye around him. Krystle jogged to catch up with Luca and glanced at his face. She smiled, remembering some memories from their childhood.
He had always a quiet kid, following her father's orders and fulfilling them to the very detail. He always protected her as if she were a rose, delicate and fragile. He was her knight, for her, they were like blood-siblings, she didn't care if he had a different mother, up until that moment, she admired his courage for accompanying her on this mission.
The king had chosen her to go to the southern Kingdom and speak with the Lord of the land. They desperately needed his alliance and must persuade him to accept. Luca had volunteered to go instead of her but the king insisted on having her come. The queen then suggested they go together along with the general's children.
"They are the best of their rank and don't forget they are friends. They will protect each other. You trust them completely, do you not dear?" The queen persuaded him and so he had agreed on them going together.
Luca turned to her and caught her staring. They both smiled and he hugged her sideways.
"We'll get him to agree to the allegiance, there will be reason for him to reject us. Believe me." His voice grew darker at the end, sending chills down her spine as she saw a tint of darkness pass through his eyes. It disappeared in a blink but she saw it there. Krystle had never seen that look in his eyes, and had never imagined he could have a dark side to his personality either.
She shrugged it off and continued walking beside him while keeping her senses aware of anything that might jump out of nowhere.
Rustle, rustle.
Everyone stopped after a long time of walking.
Everyone's breathing stopped for a few moments as they saw nearby bushes rustling. The movement was going their way and they all swiftly got into a fighting stance. Everyone facing the bushes. The movement was getting closer and closer, sweat beads started forming on their foreheads in anticipation for what was coming. Their heart beats could be heard loudly in their ears, their teeth were clenched in alarm, not knowing what they were going to fight against.
The rustling stopped at the very end of the bushes and everyone tensed, lowering their bodies lower and closer to the side of the path.
A small rabbit jumped out and froze when it saw them standing there. Everyone froze along with it not knowing how to react. Their brains were puzzled about it and when they realized what it was, they relaxed. They were able to breathe again, let out loud sighs and snorts.
Soon they stood up and snorted from their small panic over a bunny. Their snorts turned into uncontrollable laughs.
"I can't believe- we actually got scared over a tiny creature!" Hunter was wheezing at this point, never had Krystle seen him laugh so freely. His dimples were prominent when he laughed that it made her heart skip many beats continuously. His dazzling green eyes sparkled with tears, giving him a childlike look, he gave off an innocent and genuine aura. His honey, bouncy hair looked silky in the night as his shoulders shook with his laughter.
She realized she had stopped laughing and was dewy-eyed from watching him so intently. She cleared her throat unnoticeably and composed herself before anyone noticed her ogling at him. She felt her face burn with embarrassment and she fanned her face with her hand to reduce the heat in her flushed cheeks.
The earth gave off a sudden earthquake catching them both off guard. They stopped laughing when a massive gust pushed them back, knocking them off their feet and landing with a painful thud on the ground. Everyone covered their face and squeezed their eyes until the sudden air stopped.
The four of them opened their eyes and looked over where the gust came from and some gasped at the majestic sight. Dread overpowered Krystle as she saw the creature in front of her. Her breathing came out ragged as her chest became constricted from fright.
Panic, not from the creature but from the encounter. Her father had not told her they would encounter dragons. She had been unaware of whether they were meant to meet or fight. Were they enemies? Such graceful and magnificent creatures had been extinct for around ten thousand years, how was she supposed to react to their sudden appearance.
Being so close to one of these extravagant creatures made her feel a turmoil of emotions, yet, which one was she supposed to hold on to?