Free Dark Wood: Legends of the Guardians by Unknown Page B

proudly. A light touch of her hand brushed his arm as
she passed and took seat beside Elizabeth. As she sat, Elizabeth looked over
the woman closely. Her features were striking, but that wasn’t what captured
Elizabeth’s attention. There was something strangely familiar about her, and it
wasn’t recollection of Mayla tending to her. Her eyes were filled with purity
of love. They were the eyes of a mother.
    The
girl, Korena, looked so much like her that surely she must’ve been kin. The way
she looked at Allos though, the way she looked at Elizabeth in fact, could only
be described as the way a mother looks at her children. Love-it was love she
saw in Mayla’s eyes. Love so powerful, so consuming, so cherishing that it had
completely become her.
    It
was almost bewildering for Elizabeth to behold.
    Mayla’s
mouth parted just as the door burst open again. Aside from nearly startling
Elizabeth out of her skin, Allos reacted by nearly attacking poor Korena.
Korena’s eyes went wide as she skidded to a stop but didn’t manage to avoid
barreling into Allos. The room itself wasn’t large, and Allos was already in
the mindset of guard duty. She’d startled everyone but Mayla who looked only
mildly concerned. Allos’ hands grabbed her forearms to keep the girl from
falling back. Before anyone could ask, Korena blundered through to get to
Mayla. “Ballos is hurt. He’s bleeding terribly. I’m afraid his leg is broken.”
Korena had a hold of Mayla’s arm, pulling her from her seat and for the door.
    Worry
settled into Mayla’s brow as she stood with an urgent nod. “Come, Allos, we’ll
need your strength to bring him in.”
    Mayla
hurried out the door past Allos with Korena. Pausing, he turned to look at
Elizabeth. “I can only ask you not to break my promise to her.” He’d sworn to
Aryaunna that he would protect Elizabeth. It was not a promise he was willing
to see broken. Their eyes locked for only a moment before Mayla called for him to
hurry.
    Reluctantly,
Allos shut the door behind him, leaving Elizabeth alone. Sitting in the bed for
only a moment she weighed her options. The window was capable of being opened.
If she stood on the bed she could get out of it. But the chances of her getting
by anyone in the village unseen was slim to none. Worse yet, it was the dead of
winter and the only protection from the elements she would have would be if she
took the blankets from the bed with her.
    Pulling
the blankets back, she turned herself to sit on the edge of the bed, pondering
her next move. Decidedly, she readied herself the best she was able with what
she could find. Without a look back, she slipped from the room soundlessly.

 

     
    Reign
was full of more questions than answers. He seemed to want to know everything
about her. He’d taken Aryaunna deep into the cave, which was as vast as the
mountain itself. Aryaunna was so in wonder she could hardly find the focus to
answer his many queries as precisely as he wanted. Constantly he nudged her to
elaborate as they wandered deeper into its magnificence.
    The
inside of the walls glittered and glistened from either the natural beauty of
the pure white stone or the trickle of pure spring water along the walls. The
first spring she came across fountained into a natural small basin before
seeping back into the rock wall that surely fed another hidden spring
elsewhere. Eagerly she began to drink, soaking her hands and gloves entirely in
her haste of thirst.
    Reign
had stopped to watch, quite fascinated by the display. A thickly scaled brow
arched in silent question when she finally looked up from the water. They
stared for a long moment as she realized she must seem like a fool for her
behavior. “Are you hungry?” he asked before she could defend her desperate
actions.
    His
question caught her by surprise, and relaxed her. “Very.”
    “Then
come. As we walk, you shall tell me of your magic.”
    Wiping
her mouth with the back of her hand, she returned to his