"Now, why did they keep them?" Princess Crystalia pondered aloud, her thoughts racing as she tried to deduce the room in which Orion and Saria were confined. She had managed to glean some information from one of the gossiping maids who had revealed they were not in the dungeons below.
Just as she was about to make a guess, several shadows emerged in the stony corridor nearby. Her heart pounding, she hastily retreated and sought cover in a section of the hall. Peeking her head out cautiously, Princess Crystalia quickly withdrew it when she realized it was Orion.
He was flanked by three rows of guards, accompanied by members of the Prismerian Healers Council.
Though uncertain of their destination, she was determined to discover it herself.
Waiting until they had advanced further down the hallway, Princess Crystalia emerged from her hiding place and began to trail behind. Every step was executed with the utmost care, ensuring her presence remained undetected by the guards, as getting caught would only aggravate her current predicament.
….............
At the center Of the surrounding mountains
The village
It had been three long days since they initiated the search for the escaped Rightward Stronghold Leader, the same one who had abducted Orion and Sura as hostages.
The news had been carefully concealed from the villagers, as revealing that their Stronghold Leader had captured both a tree nymph and a promising young man would surely send shockwaves throughout the village.
Even if they decided to share such information, it was improbable that they could do so without anticipating a major backlash that would disrupt the entire village.
However, this didn't mean that those closely connected to Orion wouldn't notice his absence. Given Orion's extensive family, all deeply concerned about his welfare, including some who were tree nymphs themselves, restraining their questions was far easier said than done.
"What exactly are you getting at?" The Village Chief asked, his gaze sweeping from the older women, including some tree nymphs, positioned at the forefront to the younger ones seated towards the rear.
He fixed his attention on the woman before him, sensing that she was on the verge of providing an answer.
"I'm saying that Orion has done a tremendous amount for this village. So, it's baffling why anyone, especially a stronghold leader, would seek to harm him. Moreover, how is it that no one has been able to locate him? He's been missing for three days, and there's not a single clue or lead. It's like he vanished into thin air. Do you expect me to stay silent and cooped up in that hut?" Celeste's eyes were slightly red and puffy, reflecting her fierce anger.
Initially, they had been puzzled by Orion's failure to return from the secret mission assigned by the Village Chief himself, after Ursa had briefed them on the situation. However, upon learning from Fifi that Orion was safe and would be back soon, only to discover a few days later that he had been kidnapped by the Stronghold Leader, it left them all in shock and disbelief.
In short, if Fifi hadn't been present or if she hadn't taken the initiative to investigate Orion's uncharacteristic delay, they might still be in the dark about his whereabouts.
They might have been fed stories that Orion had embarked on a secret exploration, only to be informed of his disappearance days later.
The Village Chief nodded, finally realizing that it was time to reveal the truth about Orion's mission and how he left the village, which had made tracking him down nearly impossible. "You see, the truth is..." He began to speak, but his words were immediately interrupted by another voice.
"Chief, if the village is incapable of finding Orion, then I'm more than willing to search every single part of the borders, both in and out of it. I promise not to rest or return unless I find him," Fifi said with a fiery determination in her eyes. She couldn't bear the thought of her beloved partner suffering at the hands of someone like Stronghold Leader Drakar.
As a warrior, she understood the odds of someone like Orion and a tree nymph surviving out there for long were slim, meaning they might already be dead.
However, for the first time in her life, Fifi refused to let her experience as a warrior dictate her reasoning. After all, it would take more than a Vylkr vine and a lousy Stronghold Leader to kill her Orion... right?
The mere question gnawing at her mind made her realize that she was on the verge of losing Orion before her very eyes. With all the strength she had built up throughout her life, she couldn't accept that fate, not as a warrior, and certainly not as his partner.
The Village Chief, already nursing a pulsing headache, shook his head in disagreement. He decided to address Fifi's concerns before turning to Celeste, recognizing that both of them were Orion's partners.
Nevertheless, one of them possessed an ability that had the potential to disrupt the village's current peace, as she had unwittingly done before.
"I don't think you're considering the situation correctly, Fiona. If you were to leave, just as you did before, what do you think would happen to the village?" The Village Chief responded promptly.
In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but lament how none of this would have occurred if the Stronghold Leader Drakar hadn't committed such a foolish act as brutally abducting two individuals who could be considered among the most important in the village—a tree nymph and Orion.
'If you aren't dead by the time I find you, then I will personally end you,' the Village Chief seethed inwardly.
He clenched his teeth at the mere thought of having the careless Stronghold Leader's head clutched between his talons, squeezing the life out of him.
Then, he would soar into the sky, gradually snuffing out whatever lingering life dared to persist within the wretched man until it was completely extinguished.
