29 She's Too Weak

I wake to the evening sun hitting my face. I feel myself rocking as I come to three realizations in rapid succession. I'm getting carried, I'm on someone's back, and that someone is Lark. Fully awake, I try to get down.

"Princess Nadia, please hold still," Lark says, exasperated.

"How about you put me down," I reply.

Andri cuts in, "You need to rest."

"I have rested, now I can walk myself," I snipe.

Annoyed at the number of times I've fainted like a delicate flower who can't handle stimulus. Andri tries explaining why that's a bad idea but I didn't care to listen because my pride won't tolerate being carried.

"Emma maybe you should rest," Daric says from the other side of me.

I'm going to refuse but seeing the worry and concern in his eyes, I compromise. "I promise if I begin to feel sick again I'll stop."

"But..."

"That's the best you're going to get out of me because I'll not be carted around on someone's back like a child," I pat Lark's shoulder and include, "Not that you don't have a very comfortable back. I don't mean to sound ungrateful."

"This soldier's duty is to serve," Lark says.

"Right...so will you put me down already."

He laughs softly to himself, "Yes, Princess."

Irvin remains quiet, so I ask, "You have nothing to add?"

"This soldier is beginning to see the futility in arguing once you have decided something no matter how unreasonable," Irvin says defeated.

"See," I beam, "I knew you'd understand eventually."

We continue with Irvin leading the way and Lark taking up the rear. I take the chance to check on Daric. He's rumpled from the hike; otherwise, he's whole and well. Daric also catches me up on everything that has happened since I last saw him. I'm relieved he found it all to be exciting rather than scarring and becomes more animated as he talks. Grief no longer hanging around him like a heavy blanket. He explains once he left with Lark and the others they circled hoping to find me when they didn't, believing I was with Irvin, Lark led them to the meeting point. I digest the information. The Rionne struck hard and fast. Getting the prisoners free, destroying the oza and chasing off the pleos.

"How long will it take to travel back to the capital?" I mutter to no one in particular. If I recall Andri said it took them two weeks to reach "Nadia."

/Are we going to have to walk our asses back? Because I'm sure that will take longer than two weeks./

Irvin answers, "It should take a little more than a week. We managed to reach you before they got you over the Thayorian border. So we won't have to smuggle back into our kingdom. The pleos will make their way back to us which will speed thing up."

"{Thank the Gods}," I slip into English, relieved I won't have to walk the rest of the way back.

Daric asks, "What does that mean?"

"Thank the Gods."

"{Fank-}."

"Press the tip of your tongue to your top teeth," I show him. "{Th-thank.}"

"{Thank,}" he dutifully replies.

"{The Gods}," I instruct.

"{The Gods}," he repeats.

"You got it."

"{Thank the Gods}," he announces happily.

I laugh, "would you like to learn the language. It could be like our own secret code." He bounces around enthusiastic about learning. "Alright, calm down. I'll teach you a few words for now. Later, I'll teach you the alphabet." So throughout the short hike, I point to things and say what it is in English.

We hike far enough to find a suitable place to camp. When we stop exhaustion quickly takes hold. Without pause, I go ahead and collapse against the base of a tree and promptly falls asleep.

____________________

X sees a cloaked figure coming from the shadows.

They don't bother using pleasantries, "It's not high enough."

X's face cannot be seen through the black fog of his robe as it twists in anger. He curses, "Are you certain?"

"I checked it...twice, it wasn't high enough."

"Well. Check. It. Again," X punctuates each word with a step closer until he was looming inches from the cloaked figure, causing them to shiver in fear. If her talent level is low, then that means her current potential growth in her powers will be low.

/Too many plans have been made according to her blood. Contingencies are in place for everything, except this! There's no other easily attainable source of power as strong as her blood! How could the child born from 200 generations of mages and a goddess be weak!/ Having thought this far, he comes up with an epiphany.

He backs away and mutters to himself, "Since she's recently come back to this realm, there's a chance she needs time to acclimate to being here," X refocuses on the cloaked figure, "is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"Yes, we're taking a detour, and the Princess seems to be sick, so our progress will slow down as a result."

"Is it severe?" X asks with narrowed eyes.

"As I understand she'll recover after resting."

"Alright, return."

X watches the cloaked figure slipping away as he sighs. /I pray her current condition is temporary./ Left with little he could do right now, he goes to check on the progress the Mistress has made with using the animals for asura gathering experiments.

/If not for the danger of holding onto the Princess, I'd save us the trouble of getting her back later when it's more convenient and take her now. But, chances are the King sent these few men to keep information about her kidnapping a secret, but if they fail in returning with her the Organization will likely face the full force of the Miotian Kingdom, and we aren't ready yet. So for now, we'll slow them down to give us time to get prepared then take her back./

He also decides to send a couple of beasts after the small group in hopes of further weakening her protection.