(One Week Later)
The wintery morning with cold winds made Lotus lethargic. Although her room had been kept warm from the burning fire in her fireplace, she was feeling no inclination to leave her soft bed with pink silken sheets.
She was just waking up from her beauty sleep when the huge window pane had a knock as if something collided with it. She abruptly shifted her head filled with light brownish-blonde curls towards the window.
A giant hawk was perched on the window sill, watching her intently and rubbing its beak on the glass as if it were in urgency. Its beady yellow eyes held a plea.
She remembered the first time a hawk had knocked on her window and she had been intrigued. He had been a carrier Hawk from Cassandra’s pack and brought her a letter from her. This seemed slightly different and larger but she knew he was also a carrier.
Flicking her fingers, Lotus let her magic shoot out in slender vines which pushed open the window, letting the hawk hobble inside. Instead of straightaway flying towards her, the hawk stayed near the window and transformed into a half-naked man.
He quickly closed the window to keep the frosty winds from invading Lotus’s warm room.
Lotus, who was still in her flimsy night attire and had a lot of skin on reveal, cursed at him.
"You better not have barged in here with malicious intent, I will gouge your eyes out and feed them to you while holding you down. I might look frail and pretty, but I am one vengeful spirit," She threatened, getting up and grabbing her silken gown from the nearby chair. She had casually thrown it on at night.
The man lowered his head and let it hang, not lifting his eyes until she was decent.
"My apologies, Princess Lotus, but the matter was of utter urgency, and Alpha Siroos said to approach you and only you with the message. He didn’t want to send a carrier Hawk, in case it was caught."
Lotus’s heart drowned in a sea of despair hearing that something might be wrong with her sister. She tied the satin belt around her smart waist and faced the warrior.
"My room is safe, you can speak freely but first get closer to the fireplace. You must be cold."
The warrior finally lifted his head and focused his deep brown eyes on the princess. The worries he harboured in them made Lotus even more weary. He revealed his tattooed arm to Lotus to ensure he was indeed from Siroos’s pack before groggily moving and kneeling before the fireplace. He straightened his hands, palms facing the slowly dying fire and letting its warmth soak into him.
"I am afraid I am the harbinger of bad news, it’s concerning our Luna. I can’t reveal everything, but I have been asked to let you know that Alpha Siroos and Sera Faris are on their way and would like to meet you in a place of your choosing, outside the palace. They have instructed that you should come alone."
"Where is my sister? You can’t just barge in here and say all this without revealing anything about my sister. What did you people do to her?" Lotus was enraged at the piece of news, her magic was seconds away from rippling out and hitting the messenger. The tint in her eyes changed to a hostile one.
The warrior let his head hang, he was ashamed.
"I do not have the liberty to say. They will be here by tomorrow evening and I will pass on your message. Alpha Siroos will personally speak to you on the matter," he apologetically answered, keeping his hands raised.
Lotus was not satisfied but she knew he was just a messenger. The fact that Siroos, himself, was arriving told her how serious the matter must be. She said with a deep sigh.
"Fine, there is a small library on the Eastern border of our kingdom, called "Book Haven," I will meet him there exactly at midnight."
"I will pass on the message, Princess Lotus. My apologies for the intrusion." He bowed in her respect. Getting up he approached the window and threw it open again. He shifted and flew away from the open window, disappearing soon into the white morning. The curtains of her room flapped from the open window pane but Lotus had no strength to close them.
She had been putting on a bold front but now that the messenger was gone, she slumped back on the bed.
"Cassandra, I hope you are safe. Don’t give me a reason to kill your mate," Lotus thought out aloud; her heartbeat won’t slow down, giving her a feeling something was amiss. She began to plan how she was going to sneak out of the palace.
***
Clad in a hooded black cloak, Lotus tiptoed across the side of the palace to reach the stable. Black was not her colour but she needed to blend in with her night.
She needed a horse to get there faster. Hoping the stable boy was not there or she would have to knock him out, she quietly entered the stable which was amply lit from the lanterns.
Thankfully stable boy was missing, probably sleeping in a nearby shed.
Slowly she approached the horses and chose one of her favourites. A swift mare of high breed, black as the night she was going to ride in. The sturdy legs of the mare would help her move faster. It was not a stallion but Lotus preferred her. Their moods synced, female to female.
"Laila, let’s do this girl. You will have to bear with me, I will have to transport you outside the walls through my vines, so no noises." Lotus patted the horse and it neighed positively in return as if understanding what Lotus wanted.
Lotus proceeded to remove a saddle from the wall where they had been hung. Saddling her up, Lotus climbed on top and took the reins in her hand. As she was about to exit the stable, she almost shrieked, seeing the entrance blocked by someone’s shadow. He stood in the dark so Lotus couldn’t make out his face until he stepped into the light and let it bathe him in its glow. His ocean shaded eyes held questions, a lot of them as he suspiciously asked.
"Where are you going?" Crossing his arms over his bulky chest he slowly tapped his right foot on the ground.
Lotus’s eyes narrowed in annoyance and her lips twitched.
"Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping? I am just going for a ride. Step away, Razial." Lotus kept her head high but she couldn’t hide the annoyance from her voice.
"A ride? In the middle of the night. Pardon me, Princess Lotus because I find that hard to believe. Speak the truth or I am afraid I can’t let you leave." Razial was adamant, his hair were neatly tied in a ponytail today and rested elegantly on his erected spine, a single strand however decorated his creased forehead.
"Seriously? Do you have to be a pain? Like all the time. Step away or I will blast you with my magic." Lotus threatened, her hand began to twitch as the magic pulsed under her skin ready to erupt.
"Then unwantedly I will have to fight back and that will cause a lot of commotion. Judging by your appearance and the timing, I don’t think you would risk that. So why not let me accompany you and my lips will remain sealed." He made an imaginary sealing gesture with his fingers and presented his plan. His eyes had lit up now.
"You are a manipulative jerk and then wonder why I don’t like you," Lotus seethed out, keeping her voice low.
"I am just looking out for you. I can’t let you leave alone at night. Not that you can’t take care of yourself but I don’t trust people especially when it concerns you." Razial moved ahead and began to saddle up another steed.
"You will keep your mouth shut and will remain on guard, one word you breathe to my father or anyone else and I would squeeze the life out of you as if you are a lemon needed for my evening tea. You understand," she lowly threatened with rage dancing all over her face.
Razial paused at her words and turned to watch the woman he couldn’t stop loving at any cost. She was pissed at him, going all hues of mahogany in the process.
"You can get really mean at times, you know that. And as much as I love to become a lemon for your tea, I would like to keep my head on my shoulders and this mouth shut. You have my word. Let’s go."
Swinging his long legs, Razial mounted the steed he had chosen and Lotus shook her head.
’So much for sneaking out, Razial always found her whenever she tried to. No matter how discreet she would be,’ she thought to herself as they quietly rode out.