Free Conflict by Pedro Urvi

disloyal, since for the prince to betray his country and his honor would represent a greater treachery. She rued her own anxious thoughts, but she would never reproach the prince.
    If Kendas had not been hit by the Usik arrows he might come looking for her. But not Lomar, who would already be out of Usik territory guiding the horse of the helpless Haradin.
    I have to face the possibility that they might not come looking for me. Here I am in these great woods right in the middle of Usik territory. I’ll just have to find my way out by myself, with guts and courage. And I will! I’ll get out of these woods and make my way back to Rogdon whatever way I can!
    She looked up at the distant sky and half-closed her eyes, to see better through the thick branches of those trees filled with life. She realized with dismay that she had no idea of her actual position. The river had dragged her for several leagues, of that she was sure, but she had no way of knowing how many or in which direction.
    I’m lost and totally disoriented. And what’s worse, I don’t have either the means or the knowledge to orient myself in this jungle. How am I going to get out of here if I can’t even find my own position, or work out the course I need to follow?
    She felt completely useless, nothing more than a fool, a damsel in distress unable to take care of herself. That negative thought angered her, and she shook her head in denial. She was a Healer of the Temple of Tirsar, she could heal the ailing and injured, but she had never been trained to survive in inhospitable wild nature. Sergeant-Major Mortuc would surely know how to find his bearings. What was more, he would not have the slightest doubt what to do… That made her think of brave Mortuc and his heroic death. Her heart wept bitterly, intense pain filled her chest and she put her hand over the source of the pain to try and make it go away.
    Unconsciously, under the influence of that painful memory, she touched the Ilenian medallion. It was still hanging around her neck; she had not lost it in spite of her experience in the river, which was surprising to say the least given the size and weight of it. All the same, she had not lost it, it was still with her.
    She seized the medallion in the hope it would dispel her pain.
    Suddenly it began to shine with a soft brown light. Aliana was overcome by a strange feeling deep within her, as if it were forcing its way up from her own reserve of energy, as if the jewel were feeding from her own essence. It seemed the Medallion of Earth was casting a spell.
    A mist began to form around her, dense and mysterious. For a moment she felt a surge of fear, but then she remembered witnessing a similar incident before. She knew what was involved here.
    She recalled the mist which had shown her the young warrior with emerald eyes.
    Remembering this, she could not avoid a feeling of joy, mixed with a certain growing nervousness. Would the medallion show her the enigmatic warrior once more? For some reason he had impressed her. There was such intensity in his deep, mysterious eyes… she felt bewitched.
    Those thoughts made her blush, and at once she regretted them. What would Gerart think if he knew? What would be the reaction of the handsome, gallant young Prince of Rogdon? No doubt surprise and disappointment.
    That’s stupid! I haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t even know this young man. My heart pines for Gerart, not for that warrior with the enigmatic green eyes! The moment passed as she thought about the Prince, his handsome features and his eyes as blue as the Summer sky, his gentlemanly poise and his blond hair. Gerart was all a woman could wish for. She remembered the time they had spent together in the palace while he recovered from the wound he had sustained in the Nocean ambush. She remembered how, day after day, the young man she had thought would be a pompous, vain nobleman had turned out to be the opposite: down-to-earth, kind, honest, with a