The once beautifully decorated palace was now covered with litters of blood , fallen soldiers, barely alive ones and the sound of blade clashing.

Lyon held Elena's hand as he ran towards a hidden exit.

On getting closer, he stopped and turned to the tear filled face with hair, sweat and drops of blood mixed together. The once beautiful face was ghastly.

Lyon smiled, the gentlwmanly smile that always caused her heart to beat as he wiped her face with the barely clean part of the sleeves of his cloth.

" Lena, you have to go on your own from here. I'll be quick and join you soon but you have to promise me you'll stay alive. Ok?"

Elena Jerked her head up and held his hand that was resting on her face. " No no Lyon, you can't leave me. Mum and Dad already died because of me. You can't go too." She said as new rows of tears fell down her face.

A trace of frown appeared on his gentle face that was now covered in drops of blood and sweat.

" You can't say that. His Majesty and the Queen died because they had to not because of you. And who said I'm leaving you. I'm not. Not now, not ever.

His face carried the same gentle look that always managed to put her at ease , but now it didnt. Instead it staired up the feeling of unease and fear inside her more. The smile wasn't a I'm here, it was an I'm going.

She bit her lips hard as a fresh bout of tears threatened to fall and hugged him hard.

He hugged her back, neither of them saying anything. They only wanted to enjoy this moment together.

After some time, Lyon pulled away. "Lena....."

" Lyon I dont want to go. I want to stay here with you. I'm afraid Lyon, what if..... what if....." She was stopped midway as Lyon kissed her lips. She froze startled for a minute before it suddenly dawned on her.

This kiss might very well be their last, she may never see his smile again, never feel his hug again, never hear him call her Lena again......

The tears fell anew as a tight grip held her heart not yielding. Just as she thought she was going to lose it, she heard his voice.

" Lena, I wont die. I promise. I'll come and meet you."

She wanted to scream that he was lying and they both knew that.

Looking deeply at her, Lyon said in a solemn voice he rarely used. " I promised his majesty and the Queen. Lena, hv you forgotten already?

Forgotten? How could she forget?

Lyon was a commoner, he was from a poor family so he came to the palace to work as a guard. They met and fell in love but her parents weren't settled. They were worried and only allowed them to be engaged when Lyon made a promise. In a heavy deep voice, he had bowed on one knee and said.

" I Lyon Casseder, Swear that I'll protect Princess Elena Allwez no matter the occasion or consequence. Until I can no longer raise my sword, until I can no longer lift my arms, until the last drop of blood in me bleeds out, until i breathe my last breath, I won't stop."

Then she had felt touched, she felt that he was cool but now.... now she dreaded it. It was a silent reminder that told her that her love was leaving her. But she knew that he won't change his mind. No matter what she said.

She paused her lips refusing to cry again and turned back, walking slowly afraid to look back. Right at the entrance to the outside, she stopped and ran back hugging him.

When they stopped, her face held a serious cold look. " Lyon you must not die. You'll come back to me. It's not a request it's an order." Her voice was strong but the tears in her eyes betrayed her.

Lyon bowed and said. " Yes your highness. "

When he stood up, his eyes were filled with tears and love. His voice quivered as he said.

" I love you Lena. "

Elena turned away quickly and said without looking back. " I'll give you my reply when you come back. "

Lyon watched her as she left not looking away for a long time. As the tears in his eyes fell, he tightened his hand on his sword as he said quietly.

" I'm sorry Lena."

After running for a very long time, Elena finally stopped. She was in the forest covered with tall trees so she had no idea what time it was.

Collapsing to the floor, her tears fell anew. In just a few hours, what was meant to be the best day of her life turned out to be a nightmare. One that stole the lives of her parents and was likely to steal Lyon's too.

She hated her self, she hated herself for been weak, for having to have her parents sacrifice their lives for her, For having too many people sacrifice their lives for her.

No, she couldn't continue like this. Her parents and the hundreds of soldiers that died couldn't die in vain, no.. not when she was still alive.

She closed her eyes as memories flooded her. Her father's proud smile when he looked at her, her mother's gentle hands as they braided her hair, Lyon's gentle voice as he called her name.

Then her eyes flew opened. But they were different, they didnt hold the ignorance of a well protected and pampered lady, they held the cold strong gaze of a warrior.

Looking up, she made an oath. " I Princess Elena Allwez the only daughter to Edmond and Arina Allwez swear to fight and reclaim my kingdom."

Her voice wasnt loud but it carried an heavy burden.

She looked down at her gown that was wet and dirty and torned at the hem and tore it off turning it to a mini gown.

She spent the remaining 6 hours making weapons that could help her hunt down animals and herbs, aldo a few wooden swords, an arrow with the elastic stips of her bracelet and necklace and some sharpened bows.

Although she was an only princess, Lyon and her Parents hadn't allowed her to laze around and arranged training sessions for her every other day. She had loved it bcos she got to spend more time with Lyon but she never knew it would come to this.

She also made trips around the villages and watched how things were made. She was vry inquisitive and intelligent. But never in her life would she have thought it would help her in this way.

After packing them all into the part of the cloth that she had torned, she started to walk forward.

Suddenly, she heard a cry, she stopped and listened carefully, then she heard it again. It was the voice of a pup but she didnt know which and it sounded like it was in pain.

Frowning slightly, she walked carefully in the direction of the whimpers until she came into view with a tiger cub. It had white and pink furs with a very cute face.

" Awwn ohh my god you look so cute. What happened to you? Did you get separated from your pack? Are you injured?" She asked worriedly as she crouched down beside it to examine its wounds.

" Oh my, It's really serious. How did u get injured soo badly?" Elena said as she tore of more of her gown and cleaned the wound gently.

The cub looked at her and after deducing that she wasn't a threat turned her head sideways and closed her eyes.

Elena squeezed some leaves on it that she knew wasn't poisonous and placed them gently on the wound leaving it to dry.

She turned back to look at the cub squeezing her cheeks gently.

"What do we do now? I can't leave you out here all alone but what if your pack comes back and they don't meet you here?" She said looking worried.

The cub shook her head and rubbed her self on Elena purring softly.

" You want to go with me? What of ur pack? "

The cub shook her head again.

" They aren't coming? Or you don't have one??"

The cub nodded. Elena had a pitiful expression on her face as she said.

" Oh you poor thing. Don't worry. I'll take you with me and together we will take back Avelon." Elena voice was carefree and her face a smile but in her eyes was a dangerous glint.

The cub smiled and nodded in satisfaction. 'It was worth it injuring myself.'

Chapter 3

"Ok, so what do i call you? Hmm what of Aria? You like that?"

The cub nodded and purred softly.

"Okay Aria, let's find something to eat then we'll look for a place to eat."

Aria suddenly stood up placing her weight on her 3 legs and howled lowdly.

Seconds later, a deer started running in their direction. Surprised, Elena quickly fired one of her bows at his thigh. The deer fell with a loud cry and looked at the person that had betrayed him with a sad expression.

After killing it, she tied its legs together and wiped her forehead that was filled with tears.

" Ok what's next now is where we will sleep."

Aria let out a cry as she shook her head in a direction.

" You know a place??"

She nodded furiously and started skimping in a direction.

" Ok let's go."

After walking for a long time? They came to a stop in a wide vast of land, it was very beautiful. A part of the land was covered in beautiful flowers and trees, up ahead you could see a beautiful river that was quite wide.

"Wow! Aria. Is this where u stay? Its so beautiful. " Elena said as her eyes sparkled.

She quickly dropped the things with her and surveyed the area.

" This is soo nice. I can even have a bath here. Buh there's nothing to change into."

' Hmm i guess I'll hv to live like a cave woman for the next few months.' Elena thought to herself as she washed the deer.

After setting the fire and placing the deer on it to roast, she went into the flower part of the land with Aria.

There, they saw many fruit trees. Some she knew and some she didnt. She laughed and smiled happily as she saw the beautiful view. It was the first time in days she felt this way.

As they went deeper, she saw a very old worn out building made from iron and woods. But it had began to rust and felt like it could collapse any time soon.

She walked closer to it and carefully opened the door. Her lips opened in a gasp as she saw different battle weapons.

From swords to shields to armors even knives plates cups and basket were there.

They had some dirt and it and looked like they hadn't been used in years, but they were stable.

" Oh my God, this is soo nice Aria. It feels lyk my luck suddenly rose since i met u. U really are my guardian angel arent u." Elena said as she rubbed her head.

Aria smiled proudly ' Well of course. I did all this after all '

Elena quickly took the basket, cups and plates along with some knives. Then she plucked some fruits that she knew and took them to the river to wash. After washing, she checked the meat turning it to the other side then she went to hv her bath.

In the river, she washed her clothes first and removed the pins that held her hair together. Later, she would go and exchange them for some money and clothes.