Chapter 31

When I open my eyes I saw the same familiar fan spinning really fast.  It didn't make sense. I can't be still alive, can I? I felt as if I was going to lose my mind and wanted to get up but my fragile body didn't let me.
            Constance was right next to me. Can this be real? Am I still alive, how could it be? Where are my friends? What happened?
            My eyes must have told her that I was going to freak out soon.
            "Relax Elena" Constance voice begs me to calm down and she fidget with the drip. I felt drowsy immediately and everything fades out.
            When I open my eyes the second time I found Master Longwei right next to me, sleeping.
            I could tell it was dark by the dimmed room and by the silence around me. My throat was dry and my restlessness must have awaken him.
            "Easy Elena" he calmed me too.
            "Water" it barely came out and he poured me a glass that was on the nightstand next to the bed. I took a couple of gulps.
            "How do you feel?"
            "Like I got stabbed with a knife" I joke but he just huffs. He looked really pissed off and he got all the reason in the world to be. I bet if I wasn't lying here he would have fried my a*s on the spot.
            "Did you get that while picking a fight with the Sacred Cavern's Keeper" he asks while looking at the mark on my left pulse.
            I frown.
            Why would he ask me that?
            Alarm set off my entire body as I am thinking of what could have possible happened to my friends.
            I can't be the only survivor.
            I would not be able to live with the burden.
            "What happened" I tried to get up.
            "Relax Elena, the others are fine" he picks up on my restlessness. I just look at him.
            "Swear" my voice was still full of alarm ordering him at the same time.
            "I promise you, they are fine. Now calm down" he spoke gently and I nod my head and lie back into the pillows.
            "Why don't you know what happened then" I reply after a while with tears in my eyes. I don't know if I should  trust one word coming out of his mouth.
            "They took a vow of silence." I could tell by his tone that he was frustrated and by the way he was grasping the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. He sounded tired too.
             "What?" I couldn't believe my ears. "Why?"
            "They don't want to talk until you are awake." 
            "How did I get here?"
            He swallowed hard and closed his eyes.
            "We just found out that the nine of you were missing. A couple of us were going             to search when Cheng spotted Blake coming in really fast. He missed the entrance and crash through one of the walls. Constance was scared that his heart was going to explode with the tempo it was beating. She wanted to treat him immediately but that's when we found you, clutched between his front feet."
            I struggle to swallow. Blake saved my life. "I never thought in a million years that Constance will be able to save your life. You have lost a serious amount of blood Elena. But here you are."
            "Is Blake?" I couldn't say the word.
            "He is alright. He was down for two days but now you would think that nothing serious ever happened."
            I couldn't believe that he actually carried me, flying so fast that his heart could have exploded. "The other Council members have been breathing down my neck asking me for answers Elena, which I don't have. King Helmut has tried to force it out of Lucian and not to talk about Sir Robert. The only thing they did deliver was a new King of Lions weapon. Your axes" he said. "Cheng's theory turned out more than just an over active imagination. It belonged to Queen Catherine and you can be glad that it carried some of her blood Elena, otherwise none of  you would have been here. Now please enlightened me on all the details." he didn't sound pissed off but there was something in his tone that tells me he was done waiting and done playing stupid teenage games.
            I felt fear washing over me, just thinking that I have to relive what had happened. I started to cry.
            He didn't comfort me but waited patiently for me to stop. I took a deep breath and tried to control my stuttering. When he offered me the glass of water again, I took it without saying a word.
            "It is my fault."
            "What is" he ask with a gentler tone.
            "This mission. It was crazy but for some reason I was more terrified of what will happened if the wall gets destroyed" and I could hear him taking a huge breath. He didn't interrupt me which was a relieve because I don't know how much scolding I could handle. "Cheng told me about the Sacred Cavern and the prize at the end when you finished."
            "You went inside the Cavern?"
            Disbelieve mixed with shock was all over his face.
            "Yeah" I reply as if it was no big deal.
            "Elena, you want to tell me that you are the sixth person that made it out alive?"  I nod my head again and don't understand why it is so hard for him to believe this. It was him that got a saying of the darker your mark, the more you will accomplish.
            "I got the scar" I answered not sure if I should. I mean he is an ancient and he should know what the scar looks like.
            "I didn't think that you would have made it out alive. Did you know what could have happened if you didn't?" he raised his voice again and I nod my head while my lower lip was starting to vibrate again. He only sigh as if my crying was starting to annoy him too. I swallowed my tears and carried on.
            "I had to know where the sword is. The council didn't make any progress and at first I was going to do it alone but then Becky told Lucian and Lucian told Blake. It got out of hand and where I was planning on a one man mission, it became nine."
            "Which only eight turn back alive."
            "What!" My heart missed a few beats before it starts to drum inside my ear.
            "Brian . . ." he couldn't finish his sentence and shake his head softly.
            "He didn't make it!" There is no way, I saw him, he was alive, he has to be alive.
            "They only told his mom that he saved the day" he replied with tears in his eyes. I couldn't hold back the tears this time and start crying again. 
            Why did he have to die? What happened? He was the one that swooped in for the kill. He couldn't be dead. I snorted a couple of times and this time I felt one of master Longwei's hands on my arm. "Is it true Elena. Did he save your life's?" and I nod my head while trying to cover my tears with my one hand. "So you went into the Sacred Cavern to find out where the sword was" he wanted to know the rest of my story. I took a deep breath, deciding that my tears for Brian has to wait.
            "Yes and I did discover where the sword was. We had to wait for the next night though. The millpond showed me that it would be in Ekwador. The Dragonian that stole it was compelled by Goran. So I found the location and we left early the next day. When we got there Blake and Lucian came up with a brilliant plan but it changed quickly when they found out that it will be Goran we had to fight. It sounded like a great plan, one that couldn't go wrong but we were not good enough, not fast enough. Goran was better and stronger. If it wasn't for Brian that morph into a Sun-blast to chase the Dragonian's dragon, we probably would have all died" I ended my story. I am not going to give him more details. I know it was stupid and I will never do anything like that again.
            Losing Brian will be on my conscience for as long as I live. It is my fault that he is dead and no amount of tears will bring him back.
            "How did Brian died Elena?"
            "I don't know Master Longwei. If you didn't notice I was stabbed almost a million times. The last time I saw Brian he was still alive" I answered back.
            His questions were starting to annoy me. I don't care anymore if the stupid Council was breathing down his neck. "I know my actions was stupid and it is my fault that Brian is dead but please just stop. I know what I did was wrong" I bawled my eyes out.

            The look on his face turned into compassion again and I was glad that it wasn't serious anymore. I can't do another minute of serious.
            "Might be stupid to you Elena but you guys did discover one of the greatest mysteries ever. The King of Lions is not a weapon but a blood line. One which don't exist anymore but at least we got two other King of Lions weapons that can protect us" he replies in a soft tone.
            "So basically what you are telling me is that this mission was for nothing" I ask as I realize we didn't have to search for a stupid lost sword, we had two all along.
            "It wasn't for nothing Elena and Brian didn't die for nothing. He died as a hero, protecting his friends from pure evil. It is the code of the Metallic dragons and one King Albert believed in with all his hard that with the right influence, the Chromatic carries too. This mission proved that Elena."
            "It is still my fault that he is dead" I argued. I didn't care anymore what the stupid king believed in or what he had tried to prove. This mission was stupid and I should have listen to Lucian when he tried to stop me.
            "No Elena, it was Goran's fault. You guys were not prepared as you should have been and I don't blame you. What you did for Paegeia last week shows the kind of courage that doesn't exist anymore, it's what makes a true knight. But for your friends to follow you all the way on this mission that seemed impossible, that is what make kings and queens."
            Needles and Pins run down my spine and spread my entire body as he explains how everyone can become a knight but for people to fallow a knight and put all their trust on to him, is the qualities of a leader, a king. "You need to rest and thank you for telling me what happened" he says and kissed me softly on the head like my father use to do when I was little. He fidget with the drip and I  started to feel tired again.
            The only thing I could think of was Brian. It was still hard to believe that he didn't make it. Brian, that I saw swooping in not making a peep. What happened?
            I dozed off and found Lucian beside me the next morning. He was resting with his head on my bed with eyes closed.
            Why does he have to be so beautiful? I don't deserve him. After what I have done, I don't deserve any of them. Not Becky or Sammy's friendship and not his love.
            "Hey" he whispers and brings me back to reality. He came closer and closed his eyes while mumbling a couple of words that sounded like a soft prayer.
            He opens his eyes. "How do you feel?"
            "Better now that you are here" I croaked and he smiles softly.
            "Don't ever scare me like that again" his tone was thick with pleading. "I thought when he thrust that blade inside of you again and again, that was it."
            His face look as if he was torn but at the same time relieved. Everything is so messed up and felt wrong.
            "What happened Lucian? How did Brian die?"
            "It happened so fast. One minute we were frozen and the next I could move. We only realized that it was Brian when the other Sun-blast came back for the Dragonian. They got into a fight but he was no match against a full grown dragon. They collapse near one of the sites. Set an entire forest on fire. To be honest, I didn't pay any attention to Brian. As soon as I could move, I grabbed your axe and throw it at the Dragonian while Blake kept him distracted. He exploded into a million pieces. We knew immediately what it is you had carried. We only found a day later that Cheng had this theory about the bloodline that was the key, not the weapon.  George took it from me and went after Brian. He didn't make it in time but manage to kill the dragon. When everyone was free and the spells were broken Blake didn't think twice. I was still trying to get you to wake up when he grabbed you and morph while jumping off the cliff. Constance said that he flew so fast, if it was another mile, his heart would have exploded" there were tears in his eyes as he was telling me the events.
            "I owe Blake my life."
            "You don't owe him anything Elena. Blake is back to the egoistic sun of a gun he always is."
            I shake my head and closed my eyes softly. It was silent for a while. "Thanks for fighting to live" Lucian whispers in my ear.

            "Lucian, why didn't you tell Master Longwei what happened?"
            "Elena, it is not our story to tell" he answers.
            "But your father" and he puts his index finger on my mouth.
            "Shhh, he will get over it" he smiles softly but it vanish just as fast and his face got hard which tells me there was more to the story and was not sharing.
            "What happened" I ask, scared that I might not like it.
            "Nothing unexpected" his smile returns.
            "Lucian, tell me" I yell.
            "You have been through enough Elena. I am not going to burden you with a stupid story" he sounded adamant. I huff as I quickly put two and two together.
            "Your father don't like the idea of us together."
            "I don't care what my father likes. You are my choice" he replies so fast which confirmed it.
            "Lucian, your father is the king of Tith" I wanted to cry again just thinking what could happened to him if he disobeyed him.
            "He could be the pope for all I care. We are not living in the sixteenth century anymore. I will choose whom to love" he was adamant and my heart did a flip when he said the word love.
            "You really think that it would be that easy. If your father disown you Lucian you will have nothing."
            "I don't care" he sulks like a spoil brat.
            "You have no idea what it is to have nothing Lucian. So don't tell me that you will be okay with it. When you do discover ten years from now that you don't love me, you will blame me for everything" I cried, I was starting to lose it and he was right it was too much for me.
            "That will never happened. How can you even think that" he was holding me tight as I shake softly with sobs. "I never felt the way I did with anyone and don't worry about my father. He will never disown me. He will come around once he gets to know you better" he tries to comfort me but I know that the king will only see a trouble maker that doesn't think before she acts. He will see me as a person that will get his son killed because Lucian will always follow me.
            I didn't tell him that. I cried way too much for getting one word out. "Shh" he starts to rock me. It calmed me down after a while.
            "You really love me" I whisper and he chuckles.
            "With all of my heart" he replies. He looks at me and kissed me softly on my lips. It would have been a long one if it wasn't for Becky and Sammy that interrupted us.
            "Oh Elena" they both shriek as they came storming towards my bed. Becky got hold of me first which left me crying out in pain.
            "Sorry" she let go as if I was a hot plate. "Does it still hurts" she ask and I nod my head. Sammy just stares at me and her lower lip starts to vibrate.
            "Come here" I pull her in for a hug. Becky just stroke her back trying to help with the comforting. Her sobbing left the both of us with tears in our eyes.
            I saw Lucian by the door waving, and I just closed my eyes as he left. Somehow it is painful for me to see him go but Sammy needed me more. She was clearly not coping so well either.      
            "I am so sorry about Brian" I whisper. She lifts her head from my shoulder looking at me with red eyes.
            "Elena, I don't cry because of Brian. I will admit his death did come as a shock to me but it is not the reason" and she bawled again as I try to understand what else could be worse than Brian's death. "I am relieved that you are finally awake."
            I just look at her and grabbed her again.
            "Weed don't die that easily" I try to cheer her up and it worked.
            "You are not weed" she sniffs.
            "How are you girls doing? How is everybody?" I wanted to know.
            "Blake and Tabitha is back to their old self. You will never think that we went through a life threatening experience" Becky start giving me the break down.
            "Where did Tabitha disappeared to" I ask remembering that she was gone the minute all of us were down.
            "I told you that they are the biggest cowards" Sammy chirps through a blocked nose.
            "We found her in Tith on top of the Glacier mountains. Snow dragons love cold weather and they always flea to their surroundings when in danger. I can't believe Blake bought her lame excuse of how she thought that the Sun-blast would follow her" Becky rolls her eyes.
            "My brother will believe anything just to get laid" Sammy says and we all laughed. I grabbed my side, it really hurts.
            "You guys really didn't tell Master Longwei and the Royal Council a thing" I ask and they both nod their heads.
            "I thought my dad is bad but when I saw king Helmut threatening Lucian I got really scared. He even started to reach for the infirmary when Blake finally told Master Longwei that they won't say a thing until you are awake."
            "Sammy" Becky says through clench teeth and gives her the eye.
            "Sorry" she flinch and lower her head.
            "He really doesn't like me does he?"
            "It is not that bad Elena" Becky whispers with a soft smile.
            "Don't bullshit me Becky. What is going to happen? Can he force Lucian to break up with me."
            "He can try but I don't think he will. That guy got it more for you now than he ever had it" she replies and they both giggle. I should be giggling too but messing with someone's crown wasn't that fun. He could lose everything.
            "Hey, it is really not that bad okay. If it was King Caleb, I would have said dump the guy and find a new one" Sammy took over. "King Helmut can be reasoned with Elena. He will come to the party once he gets his answers and discover that you are the sixth person that made it out of the Sacred Cavern."
            I look down my scar again that resemble a burn mark from a hot iron or stove.
It didn't look like something major but I guess it will look good on my resume.
            I smiled as the girls tried to tell me that it will be okay. We jump as Master Longwei knocks on the door.
            He came in the minute Constance looks up from her desk and nods. He was carrying a book and a pen and pulled a chair towards my bed. All of us was frowning at him, not knowing what he wanted. Then he looks up with a huge grin.
            "Oh hi girls" he greets Becky and Sammy as if he only realized they were with me.
            They just giggled. "So Elena, can you please tell me what is inside the Sacred Cavern."