“Thank you.”
I
Raviex stirred as he regained consciousness. Tiredness overcame him like it had never before. He wanted to continue his sleep but something told him that he had been resting for a time too long. He opened his eyes and immediately knew that he was back in his nursing room. His gaze later fell upon Keith who was sitting beside of his bed.
“Good afternoon, Raviex,” he greeted, smiling.
“Good afternoon, Keith,” echoed the Prince. “Tell me, how long have I slept?”
“Two and a half days, Sire,” answered Keith quickly.
Raviex recalled the incident when his legs were immobilized. Alarmed, he got up and tried to move his legs. He sighed in relief when his legs responded and he thanked the Light for protecting him. He was taught since young to always show gratitude to the Light and now, he was thankful big time.
“Why couldn’t I move the other night?” quizzed Raviex.
Keith laughed nervously. “Well, erm… it’s the after-effect of Devil’s Revenge. You were fortunate enough to survive the attack but with such a high voltage coursing through your body, I believe part of your nerves were affected one way or another.”
“You mean that it’ll happen again and again for the rest of my life?” questioned Raviex slowly and seriously.
“Oh no, it is certainly not forever. They were only momentarily paralyzed that night. If I’m not mistaken, that’ll be your first and last time your body disobeyed your mind,” chuckled Keith. “You’ve just overdone yourself. In case you didn’t notice, you barely made your full recovery from Devil’s Revenge when you fought these Valkyrians.”
Raviex smiled sheepishly, and then thought about Christine. “Did you come to see me for another reason, Keith, besides merely visiting me?”
Keith’s face was filled with excitement as Raviex asked the question. “Ah, yes! My goodness, how foolish of me to have forgotten such an important matter,” he chided himself. “My Prince, are you able to walk to my laboratory?”
He was confused at his answer but nodded as he realised it was himself who expected another answer, maybe one related to… Christine. Raviex reached out for his sword which was regularly laid beside him on the bed. “Where’s my sword?”
“Come, my Prince, all would be answered soon,” said Keith briskly, keeping an air of suspense.
Two pairs of heavy footsteps drowned the corridor. A tiny, little man was between the two heavy-set guards, muttering and whimpering pathetically. They were practically dragging him along the way until they came to a pair of ceiling-to-floor doors with delicate carvings on it. One of the guards who were on duty, knocked on the door twice and swung it opened for them. The two guards nodded at their comrades and entered with the man.
“Lord Valkyr, Arnold Filler as you commanded,” reported the guards.
“Good,” said the figure sitting on a large spinning armchair. “You may leave.”
“May the world extol you forever, my lord!” exclaimed the guards as they bowed and left the room.
Dark Valkyr leaned forwards and peered sharply at the man.
“Are you the man whom my advisors claimed to be the best scientist ever known?” spat Dark Valkyr.
Feeling his pride swelled,
“Bark more and I assure you, I will personally eliminate your name as the world’s top scientist,” growled Valkyr impatiently.
The man nodded timidly.
Dark Valkyr smashed the table with his fist that startled him. “What are you waiting for, you imbecile?! I want to hear it now!”
He broke into tears at Valkyr’s fury. “Y—yes, my l—lord,” cried
“The light that had vanquished all your men two nights ago was indeed related to the legendary Ultimate Praetor, Valkyr Leo, also known as the Saviour of Katelion…”
“According to legend, the Ultimate Praetor Valkyr Leo was created by Leo Katelion and Dorn Valkyr. It was the first Z-Gene to be brought into the world, also introducing the Z-Technology to Senadon. It was said to be the most powerful Z-Gene ever made since it received the blessings from the Light. Its strength cannot be measured; its power remains a mystery.
“Then one day, a disagreement broke out between Leo Katelion and Dorn Valkyr. The friendship ended there when Leo Katelion refused to hand over Valkyr Leo to him. Somehow, Leo discovered that Dorn had turned to the dark side when he caught him red-handedly worshipping the Darkness. If it was in the wrong hands, nothing could stop Valkyr Leo. In the end, the first ruler of Kingdom Katelion chose to hide the ultimate Z-Gene away from the wicked hearts of men.
“The good King Leo Katelion seek help from the Light the second time. The Light granted his wish to give the best hiding place for Valkyr Leo due to his good intentions. Thus, a city voluntarily offered itself to the Light to guard it. The people were made the protectors of Valkyr Leo. It was a high honour as well as a curse.
“After the Ultimate Praetor was well-hidden, the Light sealed the city and was never to be found. The gods above were kind for they had given King Leo a sword. The Sword of Katelion, Letaikno is the key to open the seal of the city. As the Light had spoken more than half a millenium ago,
‘Memorial of Valkyr Leo let Letaikno be,
You must pass it on to your son and your son to his,
For the day shall come
When the world is in need of him again,
Free, the Saviour of Katelion shall be.
Proclaim to all, “Do not fear,
In the Light you seek should you trust
And he shall be here.”
The chosen King shall rescue his people,
The birth of the King shall be the rebirth of him;
Letaikno shall judge the hour to summon him,
And in the awakening of the Saviour,
Darkness shall be lost.’
“As said in the legend, Letaikno is the key to the sealed city and the light two nights ago was the sign that the gates to this ancient city have been opened, at the same time it is the sign to the wielder of Letaikno that it is ‘the hour to summon him’,” finished Keith. His presentation inevitably captivated his listeners: Raviex, Christine and Claire.
“Where is this city?” wondered Claire.
Keith just shrugged. “No one knows. The Light doesn’t make things easy for you. From what I’ve gathered, you have to make a journey in search of the city with a pure and selfless heart. So, only the good man could find the city. There is no direct path to reach that city. The city will appear to you when you have proven yourself worthy.”
“What about the name of this city?” asked Raviex, who was getting interested with this discovery.
He smiled coolly and crossed his arms. “White Ruins, the name of the city is White Ruins. But you are asking the wrong question, Raviex.” He lowered his eyes on the Prince, looking at him meaningfully.
Raviex’s heart hammered and his veins throbbed at what Keith was going to say next. A drop of cold sweat began trickling down his cheeks. He suddenly felt as if something heavy was weighed on his shoulders.
‘He can’t be…’ thought Christine, watching him from a corner.
“You are the Chosen King to resurrect Valkyr Leo,” affirmed Keith. Raviex’s eyes widened as he pointed straight at him. “Since your birth, he has been waiting for you!”
II
You promised me, Christine, you have to help me.
I can’t, I didn’t know what I was promising you, then.
I need to see him again.
But he’s dead! Levon Katelion is dead!
No, he’s not… I can sense his presence. He’s so near…
Tap! Tap! Tap!
“Huh?”
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Christine cleared the sleep off her and yawned. The gentle knocks on the door had disturbed her dream— a dream that had been haunting her for some time already. She shut the book which she was reading before she had fallen asleep on the couch and stood up. She opened the door and met Raviex.
“What do you want?” she asked flatly. Raviex frowned at her discourteous question. Christine half-rolled her eyes and sighed, “Can I help you, Your Highness? Do come in.”
He smirked at her reformed sentence. ‘At least she’s improving, though she could cut out the sarcastic note,’ thought Raviex. He accepted her offer and stepped into her little cottage. He felt secured with his sword by his side, especially in the house of a combat expert. Keith had previously borrowed Letaikno for his research on White Ruins. Christine left to fix herself some fresh, warm tea and after giving it a thought, she decided to make some for the unexpected guest as well.
The décor of Christine’s house could never have revealed to a stranger that she was a warrior— except for the books on the bookshelves (they were all about fighting techniques). The towering bookshelves covered the three walls of the room. Raviex imagined the look on Sir Damien’s face when he saw these. Her collections of books were undeniably fascinating.
In the sitting room, it was similar to any other ordinary house. It had a stylish taste to it. The couch and sofas were coated with genuine, white sheepskins. A GP was placed on a small, neatly-polished, rectangular wooden-table with curvy legs. There were pictures and paintings, too on the walls but they were all of sceneries.
He walked through a short corridor and ended up opening a door to his right. Although he knew he should have asked Christine for permission before wandering in her house, he also knew that she would not let him. Out of curiosity, he took a look around himself and insisted to his conscience that he wasn’t intruding. The room that the door led to was probably a guest room: a bed, a closet, a desk, a chair and a window. It was the same with the other room further up on the left.
Raviex came to the last room and assumed it belonged to Christine. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t enter,’ he pondered, ‘or maybe I’ll just take a tiny peek.’ He nodded, agreeing with himself and slide the door open. He went into the bedroom at the sight of it, leaving behind his agreement of only taking a peek.
It was visibly a cosy room. A queen-size four poster bed hung with royal blue curtains was beside a window at the upper right hand corner. The window was draped with sapphire-blue curtains. A classic rich-brown closet was next to the entrance on the right, two shelves concealed the two walls of the upper left hand corner while a desk and a chair was positioned opposite slightly to the left of the bed.
‘She likes blue,’ thought Raviex, ‘the walls are heavenly-blue and even the carpet is dark blue.’ There was a faint fragrance of daffodils in her room, reminding him of spring despite it was now the summer season in
He found a family picture and guessed it was Christine’s. A gallant, handsome man stood next to a lovely woman who had the same attractive golden-brown eyes like her daughter. Younger versions of Christine and Keith were at their parents’ sides. They looked so carefree and happy. Raviex estimated the time the picture it was taken to be before the Kaza War since it had the
An edge of a photograph that stuck out from a leather-bound photo album grasped his attention. He put back the family photo and flipped open to the album to see it. There was only one word to describe his feeling then—thunderstruck! He was in the photo and it was a picture of a little girl giving a present to him when he was six or seven. Now he remembered clearly! It was his seventh birthday. But who was she? Yet, that long, brownish-red hair was simply unmistakable.
Raviex was all the more confused when he went through the whole album. He believed it held photographs from Christine’s childhood; nonetheless, they included him, too. It was strange that he did not have the faintest memory of her being his friend in the past. Could time have buried his reminiscences? It was highly possible they had met on the
Suddenly, he realized that he had been gone for too long. He kept everything at their original places and hoped Christine would not notice anyone was here. He rushed out of the room and down the corridor, catching up with her. She was holding two cups of tea, coming from the kitchen.
“Why the strong grip on your sword?” remarked Christine, passing a cup to him without inquiring if he wanted the tea at all. “Relax; I won’t kill you—surely not in my house. I really hate cleaning up bloodstains,” she added with dry humour.
“Lucky me,” muttered Raviex sarcastically at her joke. He hesitated on drinking the tea at first but drank it anyway. He cleared his throat and made up his mind to get things done quickly. “Christine, I need your help,” he said assertively.
Christine raised an eyebrow. “You need my help?” she repeated with a sceptic note in her tone, deciding to let him clarify his statement. She took a sip of her tea.
“I have to find Valkyr Leo and I can’t do it alone. We’re not the only ones who know about White Ruins. I’m aware that there’ll be others going after this legend,” said Raviex, watching her closely.
“What makes you think I will help you?” she asked composedly, finding an interest in the swirling tea leaves in her cup.
“That’s because if Dark Valkyr gets his hands on Valkyr Leo, much more grave and massive destruction will be on their way. Valkyr wants the world but I think he’d rather amuse himself by sending it tumbling in tragedies and miseries. Then, even Mabluku cannot escape him,” he continued right on after Christine finished her sentence. Raviex deliberately brought out the word ‘Mabluku’. He predicted it would, give or take, influence her decision.
No longer intrigued by them, she looked up from her tea leaves and observed Raviex’s expression. He fidgeted uneasily at her stares. He had the feeling she was reading him inside out. Apparently, that was what she was doing. He sounded honest enough to begin with. He was the destined one to claim Valkyr Leo and true, she did not want some maniac guy to destroy her second home.
Christine thudded the table with her fingers in a single dull rhythm as she considered to answer Raviex’s seek for help. To him, she was taking almost forever to decide. What could she be considering about for so long? He wondered if she had purposely dragged time to make and see him sweat. It was dangerous to travel alone in case of an ambush or a fight. Having a companion with you would definitely make a difference. Oddly, Raviex thought strongly that Christine was the best choice he had. She had indisputably shown great proficiency in her combat skills.
“Why can’t you just order your Armies to help you? Aren’t you the Crowned Prince and King-to-be?” she pointed out.
“It’ll take too much time,” answered Raviex briefly. He clenched his fist as he lowered his head. “Besides, once they’ve found me, I’ll be locked up on the
Then he added determinedly, “I’ve been quiet for too long. I’m not going to let the Armies to search for the White Ruins for me. I do not think it is how it should be done. If I’m the Chosen King, in that case, I’m supposed to find White Ruins. I’m not going back to
Christine’s eyes flickered and softened for a split moment, before returning to their cold stares again. She slowly drew another sip of her tea, still watching him as she made her decision.
“Your little speech there convinced me. I will help you, but I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for the innocent people of Katelion,” she said firmly. He nodded; glad that she would be following. “On one condition.”
He foresaw this because he did not expect Christine to do something for nothing. He sighed and enquired for her condition.
“Swear that when you are restored to your throne and throughout your reign, you will remember what Mabluku had done for you!” demanded Christine, her face was a uncompromising one.
For a split second, Raviex didn’t know how to react to such a request. He expected her to ask for more than that; fames and riches perhaps. “I swear I will honour the Mabluku Tribe as long as I live,” promised Raviex solemnly, understanding how much this meant to her.
“Then, I, Christine Falcon, will devote myself to your quest for the people of Mabluku as well as the people of Katelion,” announced Christine formally. For the first time since he met her more than a week ago, Raviex witnessed her dark, golden-brown eyes lit up by a warm, friendly glow. They were such a familiar pair of eyes; as if he’d seen them before.
‘That’s because I have, indeed, seen them before,’ his heart whispered as he smiled inwardly.
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