Trinity Awakening (12 page)

             
"But the others? Emma?" Trinny was worried about her friend. 

             
"Morthos will take care of her, and we will meet them at the Sanctuary." Aarion gave Trinny a hopeful smile, he still had her hand in his, she nodded and they both picked up speed.

             
"Where are they?" Emma asked impatiently. She was pacing and fidgeting nervously as Garus leaned against a tree watching her. They had run ahead at least a mile and it had been 30 minutes since they left the others.

             
"It shouldn't be long, I'm sure they'll be here any minute." Garus was trying his hardest to sound reassuring, but not knowing was also getting to him. 

             
"What were those things?" Emma asked in a distasteful tone.

             
"Stealth, they used to be Elves once, the dark kind, but once the Empress convinced them to follow her, they turned into a purer form of evil, the are her devoted servants.
They'll be trying to get all the Elementals." Garus saw Morthos running towards them and cried out.

             
"Morthos, we're here!"

Morthos was out of breath when he finally stopped.

             
"Where are the others.... are they far behind you?" Emma asked.

             
"We managed to fight off one stealth but we didn't see the one coming from above, it took Nina, I...I couldn't help her." Morthos was downcast, Garus could not remember ever seeing Morthos like this.
             

             
"What will they do with her?" Emma was terrified by the thought of what could happen to Nina. 

             
"They'll take her to the Dark Empress, she has two Elementals now. She knows the Ora
does
not have a chance without their powers. But they must want them alive, or they would have just killed her."  Morthos had got his breath back now and his expression was showing some anger. "We'll send out scouts to find her once we reach the Sanctuary."

             
"What about Aarion and Trinny?" Garus asked in hope. 

             
"I went back to check on them, but as I approached the passage way collapsed, they were on the other side before it came down. They're going to have to get around another way." 

             
"Is there another way?" Emma asked, worry in her eyes.  Morthos put his large hand on Emma’s small shoulder, it made her feel like she was a child, but safe at the same time. 

             
"Aarion will get her there, he's the crown prince of Taeith, if anyone can keep her safe, he will." 

             
"No way! He's a prince? I'm beginning to feel like I'm in some 'fairytale' story, no offense at the 'fairy' bit. But if he's the prince and Trinny has just found out she is some princess,
where do I fit in this?" Emma was more talking to herself than to the others, but Garus smirked.

             
"Well you are small, maybe you're really a dwarf." Emma hit Garus on the arm and laughed.

             
"Lets get out of here fairy boy, we need to make sure this 'fairytale' has a happy ending." 

             
"Hey, what was the white string that you had in your ear before?" Garus asked Emma.

             
"Oh Garus, let me introduce you to my friends, Linkin Park." Emma took out her iPod and placed the headphones in his ears, she turned the music on and watched. Garus jumped back and pulled the earphones out with a shocked look on his face. "Give it a chance to get use to it." Emma put the earphones back in. After a few moments Garus head started to nod to a beat and his expression turned to complete joy, he yelled over the sound in his ears.

             
"This is so much better than even coffee." Emma agreed and nudged Garus to start him moving. Morthos shook his head wondering how he was the one who ended up with a smart mouthed human and a bumbling Fae warrior. 

CHAPTER NINE

'We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied to us.' - Francois Rabelais

The sun was just about to disappear over the tops of the tall trees that lay only a few hundred feet away. Aarion and Trinny had had to wade their way through a large
swamp for the past few hours; they had hardly spoken a word to each other. Trinny could see that Aarion was worried even though he was trying very hard not to show it. He had hardly left her side, always helping her through any difficult muddy parts. 

             
"It's not far now, we'll rest in that Ash tree grove tonight." Aarion lifted Trinny out of another deep muddy hole she had just managed to slip into. 

             
"Thanks." She looked up at him. "I really mean thanks, it must be hard for you too, knowing your friends are out there with those things everywhere." Aarion looked down at Trinny with sincerity in his eyes. 

             
"I'm the one who should be thanking you, you saved our lives back there, I wouldn't have been able to hold them back much longer, you were great. You never had to worry about your powers, they came when they were needed most." Trinny looked down feeling a little embarrassed at the compliment, but she felt so good to have finally been of some use on this journey.

             
"I've been meaning to ask you, but with all the craziness over the past couple days...what is that orb thing you do with your hands, it's amazing, can all your people do it?" 

             
"Our people, the Fairon, are the protectors of the Ora, and a handful of us can draw powers from it. It is a defensive power only, I can deflect an enemy attack and disorientate them, but it doesn't destroy as the Ora
is
about life, not destruction. And even though I used it against the Werewolf who died, it wasn’t the Ora’s power that killed him, it was the fall to the ground.” Aarion had kept moving forward toward the tree line, Trinny moved quicker to keep up.

             
"Do Garus and Morthos have the same power?" 

             
"No, just a few of us.  The rest of our people are trained to fight in combat by sword, bow and arrow, the types of things that were used in your world long ago." Aarion kept his head forward as he spoke. 

             
"How do you get to have this power, are you chosen?" Trinny questioned. 

             
"No, I was born with it...there's a great place to take shelter for the night." Aarion pointed toward a fallen, hollow tree trunk that lay beneath a cluster of huge Ash trees, they made their way to it. There was a small stream nearby where the water was trickling over small stones and out toward the swamp they had trudged through. Trinny sat next to the stream and started washing the mud off her legs, she was thankful she had put her denim shorts on that morning. She had only brought a few spare clothes. She grabbed her backpack and took out her skinny jeans and a black stretch short sleeve t-shirt. When she looked up she saw that Aarion was down the stream a little, brushing off the dirt that had dried on his dark pants. She found herself staring as he took off his mud-strewn shirt and rinsed it in the stream. When he stood back up she felt her heart flutter as she took in his tone, lightly tanned body. As he hung his shirt on a tree branch she noticed he was looking back at her, she very quickly looked back down into her bag making herself look busy, missing the smile that came upon his face. She took her clothes behind a nearby tree and changed, when she came out from around the tree she could see Aarion was sitting on a nearby rock, he was smirking at her.

             
"What? Do I still have mud on my face?" Trinny was rubbing at her cheeks, but Aarion gestured toward her t-shirt, she looked down at the pink sequin motif on the front, '
tough ‘in up princess,'
she laughed. "I suppose it's kind of
appropriate, Emma bought me this one, she seems to be a lot more insightful than I thought." 

             
"Dinner?" Aarion pulled two pieces of fruit from behind his back; they were a light purple color and shaped like mangoes.

             
"Sounds great. But just let me do something first." Trinny laid her unzipped sleeping bag on the ground and took out her water bottle, a chocolate bar and torch, she turned the lantern on and gestured for Aarion to join her on her makeshift picnic blanket. She was surprised when he sat along side her and not opposite. She tried not to get distracted by his bare chest as she broke her chocolate bar and handed him half.

             
"What's this?" He asked taking the bar. 

             
"Crunchie Bar, I try not to go anywhere without one, and I don't usually share, but as we have gone through danger and near death together, I'm feeling generous." Trinny smiled and found she had to look away quickly when she saw Aarion smiling back at her in a way that made her feel a little flustered. He took a bite of the bar.

             
"I can taste why you wouldn't usually share...now try this." He cut open the purple fruit with a small dagger that he drew out from a leg strap attached to his calf, the fruit was bright green inside. 

             
"It looks kind of.... Strange." Trinny was a little apprehensive.
             
"Your crunchie looked strange to me, but I tried it." He handed her a piece.

             
"Fair enough." Trinny bit into the juicy green inside, it tasted amazing, like banana and mango with a hint of strawberry. "Mmmmm, this is good. Where did you get it?" She said with her mouth still full. 

             
"It is
Smars
fruit, it grows near the streams and rivers along the ground, very common." 

Trinny finished the piece and then took more from Aarion who joined her eating. As Trinny finished, she was taken aback when Aarion leaned in and gently brushed his hand over her chin.

             
"You had a little juice there." He said. 

             
"Thanks." Trinny quickly wiped around the rest of her face.  There was silence between them for a few moments, and then they both went to speak at the same time.

             
"You go." Aarion said.

             
"No, you first." Trinny had wanted to hear his voice. It calmed her. 

             
"I'm sorry." Aarion looked at Trinny very seriously now.

             
"For what?" Trinny asked. 

             
"I didn't mean to offend you yesterday when I said
'you weren't what I was expecting,'
I really didn't mean it like that." Aarion was looking right into Trinny's eyes. 

             
"You don't have to, I reacted badly, it's just that...I've never been one to have much faith in myself and I thought when you said that, that you didn't believe in me either." Trinny's tone was very apologetic. Aarion turned his whole body to face her and took her hand.

             
"It was the opposite, I was.... am, amazed at your strength, the way you have handled all of this, you truly are a princess, even if you never knew it till now. It comes naturally to you."

She could feel his warm breath on her face now; he was looking straight into her eyes.
Is this it, is he going to kiss me, oh man, I haven't brushed my teeth,
Trinny's thoughts were in overdrive, she could feel her hand starting to shake. "Are you
cold?" Aarion asked, and as he did he moved slightly away from her.
Stupid, stupid, why did I have to start shaking?
Trinny was not happy with herself. 

             
"No, I'm just a little tired."
What did I say that for? Just shut your mouth Trinny
.

             
"We should get some rest." Aarion said. "We have a long journey to the Sanctuary tomorrow." 

             
"What is the Sanctuary?" Trinny asked, hoping to keep the conversation going.

             
"It's a safe haven, no evil can enter there. They have boats we can take up the river that will lead us into Taeith." Aarion let go of Trinny's hand and stood up. "Rest Trinny, I'll keep watch, you'll need your sleep." Trinny handed the torch over to Aarion and lay down on her sleeping bag.

             
"Goodnight." She tucked her bag under her head as a pillow and curled into a ball. The nights were warm here, she felt safe with Aarion watching over her, she just longed for him to be closer. She was a little overwhelmed by the feelings that were growing for Aarion. Little did she know that Aarion was struggling with very similar
feelings.
He was trying hard to concentrate on his mission, saving the Ora and his father. Guilt filled his head for enjoying a few moments with this young teenage girl, who had most likely not even been kissed before, and he so longed to take her in his arms and do just that. But for this moment, he would be happy just to watch every breath she took, and listen to the soft sighs that left her lips as she slept. At that instant, he realized he had never felt this way before, there was no one more he wanted to protect than her, even more than his people, even more than the Ora.