The darkness of the night surrounded the hill. The only source of light in this darkness was moonlight, which also seemed less as the new moon day was approaching the month soon. The sound of cicadas and the sound of footsteps were the only sounds that could be heard on the isolated hill.
Aria smiled widely when she saw a firefly flying towards her.
It looked so beautiful.
She had never been on the hill at nighttime. Hence, the knowledge of the nighttime hill's beauty had always been unknown to her.
There was a gentleness in Rayan's eyes as he glanced at her from time to time.
He walked behind her while Tristan walked ahead of her.
"Careful Aria!
Rayan whispered when he saw the uneven ground ahead. Aria stopped walking and looked at him with question-filled eyes.
Hence, Rayan held her hand and helped her walk on it carefully.
It was slightly cold, so before leaving her hand, Rayan even looked at her to ensure that she was not cold.
Tristan turned to take a look at this scene and turned away immediately because seeing his master's actions gave him goosebumps now.
He had opposed the idea of Aria coming with them. But his master felt that it was not safe to leave her alone inside the hut.
Tristan sighed when they finally reached the top of the hill. He found two rocks while Rayan found a dry wooden branch.
Aria looked at them curiously.
She didn't say a single word as Tristan lit the fire and then Rayan lit the dry wooden branch from that same fire.
After that, Tristan stood at the topmost part and waved the lit wooden branch in the air as high as he could for a long time.
Almost half an hour later, he stopped.
As he put down the lit branch, Tristan sighed full of worries. There was no way to ensure whether other knights received his message or not.
Lenn was his only hope. If Lenn saw the fire, he would inform the other knights and only then could they gather together slowly and get there.
To continue their journey, it was important for them to gather first.
"If it doesn't work, we will find another way."
Rayan's voice fell in his ears and Tristan smiled immediately.
Right! As long as his master was there, there was no need to worry.
His master cared for him so much. Seeing him so crestfallen, he was even offering comfort.
"Aria!"
A shout from Rayan disrupted Tristan's self-comforting thoughts and when he raised his head to see the scene in front of his eyes, he took out his sword immediately.
Rayan pushed Aria behind herself as he looked at the wolf growling at him.
His eyes were cold and full of killing intent as he stared into wolf's eyes, who looked ferocious and ready to pounce on them.
Slowly, Rayan took out his dagger from his sleeve and as the wolf pounced towards him, he did the same.
"Rayan!"
"My Lord!"
Two shouts sounded simultaneously. One belonged to Aria, who was completely confused at the scene in front of her eyes, while the other belonged to Tristan, who was worried about his master.
Rayan was overpowering the wolf until a few moments later. Tristan took a step forward when the wolf scratched Rayan on his chest but stepped back when Rayan reversed the situation and stabbed his dagger in its paw.
Aria shouted at this scene.
"Na!" (No)
And surprisingly, the wolf stopped completely.
Rayan, who was lying under the wolf ready to stab one of its eyes, also stopped. His dagger was just a needle distance away from it.
The wolf stepped down from him slowly and then turned in Aria's direction.
Rayan, confused and Tristan, shocked, looked at the scene where the wolf mewled at Aria. Aria looked at it with anger-filled eyes and said sharply.
"Jao!" (Go!)
And the next moment, the wolf went away.
Tristan stared at her silently, but his wide eyes were full of shock. Did he interpret it wrong?
The wolf actually listened to her!
On the other hand, Rayan only looked surprised for a few moments and then he looked calm.
He had seen her interacting well with birds on the hill before. Perhaps it was because she had lived on the hill for many years.
But somewhere in his heart, he himself knew that he was avoiding pondering on it.
However, how long could Rayan run away from it?
He hissed sharply as he tried to get up. Aria and Tristan immediately walked to him with concern-filled eyes.
"My Lord!"
Tristan called out when he saw that his master's clothes were stained with blood.
"I am fine."
Rayan responded but Tristan still looked angry.
"I should have killed it."
"Rayan!"
Aria whispered as she stepped closer to him and looked at his wound and then at his face that was getting paler with every passing second.
He was bleeding.
Perhaps his old wound that had been healing, had reopened.
Knowing that it was a dire situation, Tristan took the matter in his hands. He put Rayan's one hand around his shoulder and then signed to Aria that they were going down the hill through his eyes.
Aria nodded her head immediately and walked ahead, ensuring that the way ahead was clear for Tristan.
Rayan's eyes were barely open.
Everything in front of him was blurry but the sight of Aria's slight blue dress made him keep his eyes open.
Still, by the time they reached the hut, he fell unconscious.
This time, Aria showed Tristan her room. Hence, Tristan walked inside her room and laid him on Aria's bed.
On the other hand, Aria had already started warming some water.
Tristan cut open Rayan's clothes and his eyes were clouded with worries when he saw the deep cut on his chest.
At this moment, Aria entered the room with a bowl of warm water and a clean cloth.
She was about to clean Rayan's wound, but Tristan took the work from her.
She looked at him for a few moments before she left the room. When she returned, she had a bowl of medicinal paste in her hands.
She waited patiently for Tristan to finish and when he was done, she approached Rayan to apply the paste on his wounds.
However, just when her fingers were approaching his wound, Tristan suddenly pushed her hand away and the bowl in Aria's hands fell down to the floor.