Angel was overcome with exhaustion to the point where she couldn't move a muscle. She was completely unaware of what had happened to her. She could hear people talking beside her, but she didn't have the strength to open her eyes.
'Am I dying?' She wondered, feeling tired. Last night, something seemed to have escaped from her body and she could feel her life force ebbing away before slipping back into unconsciousness.
She was awoken when she felt someone touch her hand and heard voices. She tried to call out, but her mouth was tightly sealed. She felt the chilly IV fluid flow through her vein, and she started to feel drowsy.
"No!" she shouted, but only in her mind. The three people around her bed could not hear her, nor did they see her lips move. "I don't want to sleep. I don't want to be in a dream again. I ...." Angel was not able to finish her thoughts. She fell asleep. The doctor must have placed something in the IV that lulled her to sleep.
...
Lakan Lando looked for a good place to bury King Toren. On the other side of the big tree was a perfect spot. There was a space wide enough for him to dig a hole that could accommodate King Toren's frame. It was between two protruding roots of the tree. The roots looked like two long, slender arms encircling and protecting a treasure underneath.
King Toren was amongst the tallest men in Astralis. Like Zurin and Lando, he was a head taller than his warriors, so his frame was quite big.
He was digging for an hour now. Beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead and dripped on his face before the droplets trickled down and disappeared into the ground below. His upper body, which was darker than wheat, was naked and glistened from the perspiration. He felt someone or something was watching him. He tightened his grip on the handle of his sword, stood up, turned around, and found himself looking at five pairs of big eyes of dark, short people with kinky hair. The tallest of them was just up to his chest.
'They must be the nomadic midgets from the East.' He thought.
"You need to drink. You are perspiring a lot." One of the midgets, probably the head of the family, passed him a bamboo tube filled with water.
He accepted it and drank thirstily. "Thank you. Is this the bamboo I cut earlier?" The short man nodded.
"We can help you with the digging so you can bury your dead soon. Keeping him in the open for so long is not good." He volunteered.
"Thank you. Is there someone who knows how to treat wounds? My companions were severely injured."
"Arwen can. She is my eldest daughter. She can help. My name is Duwen. These are my children, and my wife over there is Nowan." He pointed to the other side of the tree.
Lando nodded and handed the man the bamboo tube. He went out of the hole to check on Princess Tala but was surprised to see her being cradled and fed by Nowan.
"I had just given birth, but he died the other day. The baby was about to cry, so I picked her up, and she automatically latched onto me. She is very hungry and very adorable." She smiled at him, her teeth whiter against the backdrop of dark skin on her face.
Lando thanked her before looking at the still body of his King.
'Did you send these people here to help me, My King? I don't have to worry about feeding your little princess anymore. You found her a wet nurse." His lips curled up, and he revered King Toren even more.
He called Arwen over and asked her to tend to the five injured pharis he fished out from the river a while ago.
After an hour of digging, using knives and sharpened bamboo sticks, the pit was deep enough to bury the king. Nahor, who sustained the least injury, woke up. Despite his weakened state, he helped Lando carry King Toren and laid him down respectfully on the pit.
Lando, Nahor, and the family of midgets stood silently with their heads bowed before the grave of the fallen king. They paid their tribute by being still and offering their last respect to the king.
After some time, Lando took Princess Tala from Nowan. He kneeled on one knee, bowed, and said a solemn oath. "My King, I promise to protect your precious princess with my life. I will teach her your ways, train her to become a brave warrior so she can take back Astralis, become a great ruler like you, and continue your legacy."
Angel, who was watching the scene, felt as if her heart would burst from her chest. She knew she was in a dream, but why did she feel so much heartache? Like before, she felt that she was the one being covered by soil.
After Lando leveled the ground to ensure that no one would suspect a body was buried there, he used a dagger to carve out a symbol of a twin phoenix on the tree's bark. That was King Toren's symbol.
Angel suddenly found herself fixated on the symbol. Even when the group of people had already left, she was still standing before King Toren's grave, looking at the symbol in a trance.
Suddenly, the carved figure morphed into a 3D model of two intertwined phoenixes. One was red, while the other had the color of copper and golden eyes.
Angel's legs seemed to have a mind of their own. She took six steps. She stopped when she was standing right where King Toren's heart was. She reached out to touch the twin phoenix carving. The warmth from the carving, traveled to her arm and enveloped her whole being. Then she heard a whisper in her mind.
'My Anghela, my little angel, you are finally home!'
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Can you guess Angel's identity now? Had given hints so early in the story. I hope you like this. You can also share your thoughts.
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