I Scored Myself A Mate

They got the supplies they needed, hurrying through the busy village. Allias' hoodie was kept down at all times while his bright eyes faced all kinds of different wooden floors. Ones with dust while others polished. He looked at the stoned pathways and the dirt of the roads surrounding the village until his eyes landed on roots and grass. They had finally left the village after a few hours, past midnight with the moon shining brightly above their tired heads. 

Allias looked up, tired of always staring down and pushed the rough fabric away from his head, revealing his handsome face. He exhaled, relieved as he turned back and watched the lot up village get further and further away. The forest thickened and slowly they were being eaten up by it. He hadn't realized how fast the time had passed nor how for now all of their contact with his kind would be lost. From now on all that awaited them was endless trees, sthe misty smell of the morning and the crunching of the leaves underneath their boots. 

"That went pretty well considering how bad our luck usually is." Mark said. He had a bag on his back, made from cheap leather, a warned out brown color with two strings that closed it.. "We got some food, some medical supplies, even though I really hope we won't need it but better be safe than sorry." He mumbled and Alexander nodded in agreement. 

"I'm sorry but, what exactly are you going to teach me there?" Alexander asked, looking at Mark who was walking at a lazy pace on his side. 

"I don't know how to explain. Maybe the best way would be self restrain. I will teach you to control the part of you that you don't know." He informed him 

"You will do that?" Alexander asked and instantly regretted it the moment Mark stopped on his heels. He turned around and faced him with squeezed eyes, his lips a thin line before he spoke. 

"Why is everyone underestimating me? Don't I look strong? I mean okay I am not like the buffest person you could meet but I am smart, I do know a lot about magic and I get to keep four demons in check! Doesn't that mean that I am strong?" He asked him. His eyes were threatening signaling pretty obviously that he wouldn't accept another answer than yes. Alexander gulped, hastily nodding his head. "Good" 

"I'm tired." Allias stated. "Let's rest here for tonight" he told them and pointed at a small clearing with his head. Mark followed him, letting out a loud yawn. It had been a very hectic day indeed. Everybody needed some rest. 

They had no tent but a few pieces of fabric that they set to the ground pretending they were mattresses. Alexander started a small fire, all of them laid down around it as they stared at the stars. The sound of the fire was loud into the endless silence of the night. Only an owl or maybe some kind of animal hopping through the bushes was heard from time to time. 

Allias enjoyed looking at the stars. It made him think that he wasn't that far away from Theseus. As long as they existed under the same sky, as long as they could stargaze under the same stars they would be connected. He smiled faintly, considering himself a lovestruck fool and turned to his side, resting his head on his arm, his eyes traveling at his companions. 

"I'm nervous.", He said 

"About what? You're not the one being trained?" 

"I don't know if I will take it well, seeing the ruins of another elf nation. Back then, at the Avgee ruins I felt powerless, the king of nothing as I sit there." He told them. Alexander frowned, feeling sorry for the king. He had read his book many times, again and again focusing on the mighty tasks, the fateful love but there was this part, the dark part where everything crumbled. He had the person that went through all that right in front of him, seeing his saddened expression tightened his chest 

"It will be alright." Alexander said. "You are a strong king. I am sure you will get to build a new kingdom. Maybe even more powerful than the one before." He told him, trying in a way to cheer him up. Allias smiled.

"Thank you. But it's not power that I miss. It's the people. My mother, my friends, my relatives. It's the graves that I never got to build and the death k had no time to mourn. That's what makes my chest heavy every time that I think about them. Of I was there, maybe I could have saved them. But to what cost? I know very well I could never let Theseus die and that makes me feel selfish." 

"You shouldn't feel selfish." Mark said. "You shouldn't feel anything at this point. What happened happened, rethinking of the past won't change anything. It's sad but true. Stop torturing yourself with the what ifs. Live your life now and try to be happy. Or else your mother's struggles proved to be in vein" 

"I hate it when you sound like a teacher." Allias said and Mark shook his head. Alexander chuckled, closing his eyes as he felt sleep take over him. His muscles relaxed and soon he was completely asleep. 

"This is what you'll be getting every time you start with the I am not good enough bullshit. I mean you're an all mighty powerful King. You're hot, you're smart. What exactly is not good enough you idiot?"

"Stop you're making me blush" Allias joked. "Let's go to sleep, tomorrow we will reach the Sinn Forest. You know it will be tough."

"I do. Keep your eyes on the little wolf. We should be ready for what will happen." Mark added and Allias nodded before he returned to gazing the stars. He knew that counting them was bad luck but for some reason he could stop trying to find out how many they were exactly. One, two, three all up to a hundred he would could until his eyes would flutter and he would fall asleep.

Sinn Forest awaited them. It was close, so close Allias just before he fell asleep he thought he heard their voices. The creatures of the night, living in the dark prairie waiting, knowing of their arrival. It reminded him their adventure with the Chaos Sisters, though now he wasn't so confident. He breathed in, trying to stop the noise from reaching his ears. 

It was a whisper, piercing his ears as he breathed. He couldn't understand what their voices were saying but it felt cold as ice and as if someone was dragging their nails to a chulk board. He frowned and sat up. His need for sleep disappearing as he stared around wary. He looked at Mark and Alexander wondering if they were hearing it too but they seemed to be sleeping heavily. The young wolf was even snoring. The king frowned, not knowing if he should feel scared or not. He remained seated for a while, waiting to see if the noises would stop. It was as if they were calling him.

He didn't know the words but he knew of their meaning. There was a plead in them, a summoning and if Allias chose to remain in the little camp fire they would keep torturing them, piercing his ears like drills. The king shook his head, as if he could get rid of them from his head that easily. The sound obviously did not stop. He breathed in,heavily as if he was trying to deboru all of the air in the world and stood up. 

As he stepped further away from the fire the night grew colder and his vision lessened. Darkness was surrounding him and the screeching noises in his head seemed to be his only partner. He walked a bit further reaching the border of the clearing. He looked down, seeing a thick mist emerge from the forest. Wary he raised instantly his head to meet endless pairs of red eyes, glowing in the dark. He turned around, wanting to warn everyone else when he realized that they were gone. He had been devoured by the forest. 

"Mark, Alexander!" He shouted, hoping that somehow they would hear him but he got no answer. His voice simply echoed endlessly until it stopped. 

The mist rose, surrounding his body, and he tried to get away from it stepping back, confused. The voice still kept whispering, sounding closer and closer and their endless chatting stopped him from being able to focus. He swore as he found himself getting in lost in the cold and white mist. Slowly his thoughts begun to turn blank and his eyes lost their shine. He could hear them perfectly now, the voice were clear, calling him to meet them. 

They wouldn't arrive to Sinn Forest tomorrow, they already had and their trials had began. 

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