In the forbidden territory of the elves, the entire lake had been combed and no body had been found. The elves started looking at Lhiss as if he had been hallucinating. The only thing that gave doubt to their suspicion was the boat floating at the center of the lake and the slight reddish hue in the water, that had already diffused completely.
Several elves had dived into the lake and combed through the bottom but still turned up empty handed.
The look on Lhiss's face was marvellous. He couldn't believe the human had escaped under his watchful eye. To think he was still able to leave undetected after being shot in the heart. Was it really a human that he shot?
"Say, Lhiss, are you certain that there was an intruder?" One of the two elves standing beside him asked doubtingly. His name was kibble. Along with Lhiss and the third elf standing with them; Hora, they had the most authority among all the ruin guards.
Hora, who was a woman, barely spoke. She was silent and very attentive, making her diligent in her work. She was also doubting whether a human was within the lake, but her opinion was slightly different from Kibble's. "He must have escaped." She surmised.
Lhiss hadn't replied to Kibble's question as yet and continued to remain silent. It was Kibble who continued speaking. "Escaped? Are you saying that with so many guards here, a human ended up fleeing?" His tone was mocking as if he was not included in the blame of the situation.
Hora' s cold detached eyes looked at him for only an instant before she turned around and left.
Kibble scoffed softly, looking in the direction she had left. "That woman needs to take a break and enjoy life. How can she be so serious and cold all the time."
It was then that Lhiss's cold voice sounded beside him. "Compared to you I'd prefer to have a thousand of her."
The cold water poured on Kibble's head made him chuckle awkwardly. "Since I'm so useless, you handle things here, I'll go search for clues. I'm sure none of those imbeciles are capable of finding anything." He looked at Lhiss. "What direction did your invisible human come from?"
Lhiss pondered for a brief moment and said in a low voice. "If he travelled straight, I'd say he came from the direction of the Laboratories."
"I see. So he could be an escaped experiment." Kibble said unrestrained.
"Shh." Lhiss hissed at him. "Lower your voice." He whispered. "Remember not everyone knows about these things."
"Right, Right." Kibble replied with a strange smile that was barely visible under his hood. Then he dashed off in the direction of the so called Laboratories.
Only Lhiss remained with his eyes fixed onto the lake. "I certainly didn't miss. Either he somehow cloaked himself again after falling in, or these idiots aren't doing a proper job. Do I have to get in the water myself? What a pain." He mumbled to himself in annoyance.
***
In another location within the Elves forbidden territory, in a luxuriously designed chamber, a man was sitting at the edge of a table looking down at a woman seated upon a chair.
The man, was the one whom had entered the underground chamber with the two Scientists. His name was Eric Fieldworth. He was a high ranking elf among the elven society, and highly favoured by the king.
The woman he was looking at as if he was a hawk that found prey, was none other than Maeli. After crossing the bridge and sneaking her way in, she had concealed herself and found the information she needed about the Lotus Pond. It had taken her quite a bit of time and on many occasions she had nearly been discovered.
Unluckily, as she made her way to a staircase that led down into the Valley Of Desolation, where she found out the Lotus Pond was located, she was detected and caught by Eric on his way out.
It would have been a very bad situation for her but ironically, luckily it was Eric. Through Princess A'ina she knew a lot about this man and his character and even personally, she had met him a few times. They could be considered to be well acquainted.
Eric had already been questioning her and her answers remained the same. She claimed she had been curious about the Lotus Pond and wanted to see it at least once in her lifetime. Knowing she would never be allowed in, she decided to test her skills and sneak in. She also claimed that with the Princess behind her she might not necessarily get punished.
Eric sighed. "I wonder which one of you was originally the instigator of all this mischievous behaviour. I had thought the princess was the bad apple but now it seems you aren't much different. Or maybe it's just the case of one bad fruit spoiling another." He ridiculed in a discriminating tone.
Maeli's pupils moved upward, in a cold tone she said, "Is that how you speak about one of your princesses. With that attitude do you think she'll ever fancy you?"
Eric laughed unrestrainedly. "Did I say something wrong then? I'm certainly only speaking the truth. Princess A'ina is indeed a thorn in the King's backside, but... I don't dislike her for it. Why do you think I fancy her? Because of her looks? No, practically all of our women are killer beauties. Because of her status as a princess? Still that's a no, since there are five princesses to choose from and... my status isn't so bad." He smiled a prideful smile. "It's her personality, that mischievous side of hers is quite attractive to me."He paused. "And just like her, you carry on that same kind of attraction."
Maeli's cold gaze deepened as she said, emphasising every word. "Touch me, if you dare!"
Eric snickered and stood off the table, walking over to a window, looking outside. "I have no intention of destroying my relationship with the princess. After all, I really am in love with her. What a cruel world this is." He turned to face Maeli, and changed the topic. "Luckily you ran into me and not someone else." He walked over to her side and lowered his lip to her ear. "I will turn a blind eye to this because it's you... And because of the princess." Then he stood upright and walked towards the door. "Tomorrow I'll take you back with me. You can have this chamber for the remainder of the night. Don't say I didn't treat you well."
As he grabbed the handle of the door, he tilted his head to the side. "Oh, and don't think about escaping if you fancy your own good." With that final statement he opened the door and left, closing it behind him.
Maeli remained sitting on the chair with a downcast expression on her face. She looked towards the window to her right and sighed. "Damn it." After a long pause she stood up and looked around at the furnished chamber. "Now what?"
***
Fairy territory, Spirit Lake.
The group of four stood facing each other, preparing to have the conversation that would determine the future.
After Craig's easygoing response, the awkward atmosphere had diminished a little. Petal's anxious demeanor had also decreased as she calmed her emotions.
Setra, with her gaze locked onto Craig's face took the initiative to continue. "Where do I even begin?" She asked rhetorically. "How about you tell me why you were in the elves territory looking for their Lotus Pond."
Craig immediately looked at Glowmyth and said with a knowing smile. "From your question it seems as if you already know my story." His gaze moved back up to Setra's face. Seeing her unfazed and unmoving expression, he sighed helplessly. In practically a single breath he explained the entire situation and followed with a question of his own. "So, why are you so interested in me and why did you send her to help me in the first place?"
Setra shook her head. "She wasn't sent to help you. She was supposed to study you, figure out your motives and report back her findings. She's usually quite excellent with tasks. In a way it can be said that you... broke her."
Craig's forehead creased. What was that supposed to mean? How had he broken her?
"Lady Setra!" Glowmyth yelled bashfully as she flew away from Craig's hand and landed on Petal's shoulder behind her.
Petal giggled at her cute behavior.
Craig was lost and speechless.
"As for why I'm interested in you," Setra continued. "It's because the spirits claim that the land of Terramis will undergo a major upheaval in the near future. Apparently, in the middle of all the chaos that will ensue, will be you, Craigavon Stormfrost. A fitting name if I've every heard any. A storm which brings destruction, and frost, halting everything into motionless peace. Exactly like the spirits described you."
'Again?' Craig thought as he listened to Setra's words. If he had been doubting the claims made by the old monk and Avanelle then he had no choice but to begin believing it at this point. "Are you gonna tell me that the fate of the world rests on my shoulders?" He asked with a self deprecating laugh.
"Don't laugh Stormfrost. That is exactly what I am telling you." She replied seriously, choosing to address Craig using his surname.
Craig's smile faded into a serious expression. "Like I've already said before to someone else, you have the wrong person. I live a free unrestrained life which is riddled with enough trouble as it is. To claim the future lies in my hand is no different from throwing it away."
Setra's expression tightened. "That is exactly what I'm afraid of."
Although Craig had just undervalued his own self, hearing someone else state it as their fear left a bitter taste in his mouth. He couldn't help but smile dryly.
Setra picked up all the changes in his expression so she noticed right away how he felt. "I'm not judging you based on what ability you may or may not have. I am judging based on the words of the spirits and now... the Divine Lotus that is inside of you."
She was telling the truth. Her fear and doubt stemmed from the possibility of the Divine Lotus being corrupted and causing Craig to change for the worse.
Craig remembered they words Avanelle had spoken to him, warning him of the link between the Divine Lotus and his emotions and how it was capable of being corrupted. "You're afraid that I will become corrupted by the power of the Divine Lotus or in other words, the Divine Lotus will become corrupted by me."
Setra was a bit surprised. "Are you saying that you know of the properties of the Divine Lotus? Were you the one who cleansed the corruption I detected earlier?"
'Corruption?' Craig thought in puzzlement. 'Is there corruption in the Divine Lotus? Hmmm. What should I say then? What if the corruption she detected is a big deal? Can she cleanse it, or would she attack me?' Just like Setra, Craig had also been analysing her expression, and although she was good at masking her emotions, with his now enhanced perception he could see through her easily. The moment she mentioned corruption, there was deep apprehension and alertness in her gaze. It was as if she wad prepared to take drastic measures.
"I know a few things. As for the corruption you detected I'm uncertain. I only know there was poison in my body from a Death Weaver which should have been expelled by the Divine Lotus." He explained. He didn't know why, but he suddenly had the notion to be very careful with his words. It was if he sensed danger from Setra's gaze.
"Poison? It's highly unlikely that poison would produce such a nefarious aura." She proclaimed, then followed to ask, "How much do you know about the Divine Lotus?"
Craig shook his head. "Not much. Compared to the Divine Lotus I'm more curious about where I am and How I got here." He stated as he looked around curiously.
"This is the Spirit Woods, in the fairy domain. You were actually teleported here." Setra explained. She realised that Craig was intentionally trying to avoid speaking about the divine Lotus.