Chapter Four

Seth watched anxiously as Nnenii created a fire once again from her hands. "A-are you s-sure about this, I mean is it really safe? You've done this with a human before, right?" he asked, wringing his hands together.

"Well, not exactly but the risk is nothing compared to what Vulterian will do to our people if he succeeds. You must have faith and all will be fine, trust in me and yourself." she replied, as the fire around her intensified.

Seth swallowed hard, terrified of the consequences of this bizarre way of travel. He watched her hands motion towards the water and heard a loud rumble behind them. He turned around slowly to see a group of horses galloping towards them. As they got closer, he could see that they were half man, half horse - centaurs.
"You've got to be kidding me! Who are these guys?" Seth asked frantically, they did not seem like they fought on the side of good, their appearance menacing and imposing. They were lead by the most fearsome looking one, a group of arrows in a sling around his shoulders. He would have been considered a very handsome man, had he been just a man. They ran towards Seth and Nnenii, and stopped a short distance away.
"Surrender the human and we will allow you to live," the human-like one said, his voice like a low rumble of thunder. "Lord Vulterian wishes to have a...meeting with him."

Nnenii crossed her brows angrily and created another fire, waving it in front of her fiercely. "Lord Vulterian should have sent a mightier warrier than you, Nikolai. If you want him, come and get him." she threatened, the fire from her hands increasing every second.

Nikolai watched her carefully, unsure of whether she was bluffing, he knew she possessed great power but he held his own talents in high regard, his arrogance an unyielding fault.

Taking advantage of his hesitation, Nnenii turned to Seth and said, "I cannot send you through or they will be able to follow. Go to the waterfall and look for a trap door, follow the passage you will find below. Continue to the North and you shall find Fenia, the Ice Goddess. She has a temper but she will help you. I will hold them here, now go!"



Seth did as she instructed, he found a dark passage beneath the waterfall, a narrow walkway between pools of water. The candles on the wall ignited upon his arrival.

"What's next?" he said aloud, wincing at the sounds he could hear above him. The roar of fire and the beast-like howls of the centaurs. He turned around, fearful they would be able to follow him but he was indeed alone.

Vulterian isn't wasting any time. Hurry Seth, please hurry. "It will take more than that to stop him, Nikolai! You had better reconsider your allegiances while there is still time!" she yelled over the blazing fire and then, she vanished.

-***-

Nikolai and his soldiers returned to the castle Kalev with the bad news. "I'm afraid we lost him, my Lord, the Fire Goddess got in the way but I know we will find him, do not worry."

Lord Vulterian crossed his arms, annoyed at such incompetence. "Got in the way? Nikolai, you should know that is unacceptable." he growled, turning on the centaur, his anger out of control.

Seething, he grasped Nikolai's chest and a bolt of electricity surged through his entire body. "Get out of my sight and do not come back without the human!" he yelled as Nikolai's feet fell back on the hard concrete.

He staggered on his legs, weak from such a blast and Vulterian turned away in disgust. "Yes my Lord, at once." he bowed and exited the chamber, his vision still slightly blurry, his hands and legs shaking.
Pondering the words from Nnenii, he left the castle, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Kellen, I'm so sorry. Perhaps you were right after all, my brother.

-***-

Enraged by the failure of his troops, Vulterian went to the castle's dungeon where the rightful royal family was now being held captive in their own home. He stormed through the hallway, dismissing the guard on duty. He wanted to be alone with her.
Lavinia. Creature of such grace and beauty, oh how I desire thee and yet you torment me so. "Thinking of me?" he whispered, admiring the curve of her back, imagining her delicate form underneath him, begging him to love her.

She turned around, a look of pure hatred turning her feminine features into harsh weapons.
"If I was thinking of you, it would be of your death, for that is the only thought in which you would bring me joy." she said coldly, approaching the barred door without caution or fear.

He moved swiftly, placing his face only inches from hers. "Why must you despise me so? I could be your King, Lavinia. We could rule together, what good is a King without a Queen?" he said quietly, reaching his hand through the bars to touch her face. She turned around, making his fingers catch her hair instead.
Her sapphire ring began to glow brightly with the little magic she had left, as she felt the soft touch of his finger in her hair. "You mean, I would be your slave. You don't want a Queen, you want me to indulge your every whim and desire." she whispered as she slipped out of his reach. She turned to face him, her chin raised defiantly. "Know this, you will never have me. You can promise what you wish but I know the truth. You are evil and I will loathe you until I die and I will never, ever be your Queen."
Her words angering him further, his frustration with her at it's end, he said at nearly a growl, "One way or another Princess, you will be mine. I advise you to come willingly to lessen my wrath upon you and your useless family. If you want to see the light of day again, you will agree to marry me. I can wed you, use you for my own pleasure and then cast you back in this cell every night. Is that what you wish? It makes no difference to me, you have two days time to decide."

He turned to leave abruptly and faced her cold cell once more, "You will learn that I am to be feared, do not make me do things to you that I do not wish. This cell is your home of your own choosing, Lavinia. You may accompany me in my chamber at any time. Share my bed, call me your King, I beg of you."

She sat down on the hard concrete floor and said, "I would rather die."

He shrugged his shoulders and turned away. "As you wish then. Maybe mother would take me for her King." he laughed cruelly as he left the corridor, the sound echoing in the stone.

-***-

"What are you doing here?" Vulterian said angrily as he entered the chamber he had stolen from the rightful king. On the bed was a young girl, an exotic dancer who pleasured him on many occasions.
"My Lord, you are usually so pleased to see me. Whatever is the matter?" she asked innocently, he had yet to be cruel to her as he always enjoyed the company of a beautiful woman. If they did as they were told, that is.

"I am not in the mood, leave and do not bother me again."
The girl stared incredulously back at him. She got off the bed and sauntered over to him, lowering her eyelids seductively.
Reaching her hand to his face, she stroked his cheek with her thumb affectionately. "My Lord, I am sure I can release some of that tension I am sensing. What would you like me to do?"

He looked back at her, angry, annoyed and frustrated with the rejection by the Princess. He wanted her...if she wouldn't come willingly, that was her misfortune.

The girl gasped as her feet left the floor, his hand nearly crushing her throat as he lifted her upwards. "I told you to get out!" he yelled, throwing her down to the ground roughly.

She coughed, shocked at his cruel actions. "Y-yes, my Lord." she stammered as she ran out the door, terrified.
In a fit of rage, Vulterian's fist crushed into the bricks, leaving a small dent in the wall.

-***-

Seth walked for the longest time, he was certain he was going the right direction when he came upon a forest covered with snow. The wind and cold biting into his neck, he shivered as he wondered how much longer he could survive in this strange land.

He heard a low growl behind him and froze as he saw a baby polar bear. A little scared and yet intrigued, Seth let the bear sniff his coat. He reached down to pet it when he saw a blue flash of light above him and the bear began to growl again.
"Halt!" A strange woman yelled from behind the blue light, it was she who was creating it.

"I-I'm S-seth, I'm looking for F-fen...Fen..."
"Fenia?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Who are you, human?" she asked, eying him suspiciously.