Elena stood there speechless, not knowing how to approach the situation. Of all the things
going on in her head about what would happen to Forest, the one of him being treated like a king
wasn't what she thought would happen. She slowly lowered her sword and called out unsurely.
"Forest?"
Immediately, all eyes in the room turned to where she stood. While Forest's eyes widened
when he saw her, the women who surrounded him stood up immediately and drew out their
swords.
"How did you enter here?" One of them shouted. It turned out that her guess was correct.
The kidnappers were women.
She looked at all the women facing her like she was some intruder. They had not
expected someone to enter in and rob them though they left their doors wide open. Hell, they had
even been in the storage room where they kept their stolen riches. Elena also found it funny how
they all stood at attention, with their swords drawn to attack while wearing heavy dresses. If they
were members of a circus, she might not have found it as funny as she did. Swallowing her urge
to laugh, she asked.
"What is going on here?"
"What do you mean by that?" The one closest to Forest asked. "You were the one who
barged in here!"
Truth be told, Elena couldn't differentiate one from the other. With their heavily applied
makeup, they all looked the same. Elena was finding it more and more difficult to rein in her
laugh, but she forced it in, and with the way Forest was looking at her, she knew that he knew
what she felt like doing.
"I came here to get my friend. I thought he was in danger. Apparently he is living his best
life." She said, casting Forest a judging look. Forest at least had the mind to look sheepish as he
brought his head down.
Understanding dawned on the women when they found out who she was talking about.
"Are you here to take him from us?" The one at the farthest right of Forest asked. She
held a mini flute in one hand and her sword in the other.
"Yes," Elena said, nodding her head. "I have to."
Surprisingly what she said didn't have the effect she hoped it did. Thinking that since
they liked Forest, it would be easy to let them release him, it was surprising when they all
surrounded him and formed an even tighter barrier.
"Never!" The one in the middle shouted. "We will never release him. He is our husband!"
Elena choked on a laugh and covered it with a cough. "Husband?" She said, trying to
look at Forest, which was difficult since they all surrounded him. "Since when?"
She knew that women adored Forest wherever he went, but this was the height of what
she had ever seen so far.
"W-Well, we haven't done our marriage yet, but that doesn't mean we won't!" She replied
with vigour. Whatever was happening was too funny for Elena to ignore. She swore then and
there that she would forever use this to tease Forest for as long as she lived.
"Did he agree to this?" She said, jerking her head towards Forest.
"W-Well, we are still trying to make him agree to it. But he promised that he would think
about it if we treated him well, and that's what we are all doing!"
Elena couldn't hold it any longer, and she burst out laughing. She had her arm against her
stomach and used her sword like a staff, supporting her weight as she went down and started
laughing so hard.
The women all looked at her, confusion lining their faces. Elena continued to laugh her
eyes out, not able to stop.
"Oh Forest," she called out, wiping her tears, "What have you gotten yourself into?"
Suddenly the barrier of women parted as Forest made his way out, his face red from
embarrassment.
"Elena, please stop laughing. You're making me feel uncomfortable." His expression
caused her to laugh even harder, making Forest's face even redder, if that was possible. The
women looked from Elena to Forest, trying to see if their dilemma could be solved simply by
studying their expressions.
"Oh, I can't wait to tell Mac and Wazir about this!" Elena said, drying out her tears once
more. She stood up after gaining her balance and turned to face the women.
"I hate to break it to you this way, but your husband and I are on an important mission.
We are looking for a man who goes by the name Old Porv, and we are wondering if you can help
us. Don't worry, this won't stop your marriage from him. It can even be counted as doing him a
favour. Once he is done, I'm sure he would marry all of you!" Elena said, a huge smile plastered
on her face. Forest looked like he wanted to protest, but before he could say anything, one of the
women replied,
"Really?" She said, her eyes filled with hope. "Then we can all finally be together!" She
turned back to Forest and enveloped him in a big hug, her eyes brimming with hope. Forest let
out a fake smile, silently pleading for Elena to help him.
Suddenly, Elion ran into the room, holding two daggers with each hand and poised for
attack. She stopped when she saw Elena, who just stood there, laughing at Forest. She turned to
see what was making her laugh and her eyes widened when she took in the spectacle. She was
about to ask what was going on when suddenly her eyes widened further, and she dropped her
daggers in shock, her hands silently trembling. Elena was about to ask her what was wrong when
Elion walked a bit towards Forest, whose eyes were also wide as he looked at her. She faced
him, her gaze unsure and hopeful, as she called out...
"Brother?"
*****
Elion couldn't believe it as she stood next to Elena, her arms outstretched as she found the
one she had been looking for all these years. She never noticed the women around him until she
tried to touch him, only to be pushed away and see her brother surrounded by scary-looking
women. She paused, wondering what was going on, when Forest pushed himself out of the group
and turned to face them.
"Don't worry, ladies, it's okay. I know her." Once he had calmed them down, he turned
back to look at Elion, albeit slowly.
"Sister?" He said hesitatingly. "Is that really you?"
Elion choked on a sob, her tears coming out rapidly as she covered her mouth. Her
expression was one of unbelief. Forest joined her in crying, and they didn't know who moved
first, but they caught each other in a fierce hug. They squeezed themselves so tightly, not willing
to let the other go. Elena could get the gist of what was happening, and she stood behind them,
silently drying her tears from the emotional scene. It turned out that the long-lost brother Elion
had been telling her about earlier was Forest. Although Forest never told her anything about his
family, she was still happy that he could find one of his relatives.
"Oh, how I have missed you!" Elion said, holding tightly to her brother. Forest choked
back a reply, barely able to say anything. They remained in each other embrace for a while
before they finally pulled away.
Sniffing, Elion wiped her eyes and then placed both of her hands in Forest's face. She
studied him intensely as though she wanted to ingrain his features in her head.
"You have grown so much." She said adoringly. Forest nodded his head, tears still
streaming from his eyes.
"We have a lot of catching up to do. But first, let's get you out of here."
"Wait a minute, sis." Forest suddenly said, his voice hoarse. He turned to face the women
who scrutinized them intensely, and he gave them a charming smile. Immediately their eyes all
lit up, and they blushed profusely.
"Ladies, this is my sister." He said, dragging Elion Forwards. Motioning towards Elena,
he also introduced her. "This is my friend. They came to get me for an important assignment we
are yet to complete. As much as I would like to stay longer with you, I have somewhere I have to
go."
One of the women strode forward and placed her arm against Forest's shoulder. "We
would all see again, won't we?" She asked hopefully. Forest nodded his head and winked at her,
causing her face to become even redder.
"Yes, we would." The one in front was suddenly pushed away, and another came out.
"You said you were looking for a man named Old Porv. We know who he is and where
he lives."
"Can you please tell us?" Elena asked, suddenly serious.
"Once you leave this city," the woman started. "You ride straight down till you find the
nearest guest house. You are likely to find him there as he is always around looking for people to
cheat into buying his sword-fighting scrolls."
"Really?" Elena said, jumping. "Thanks so much!" She replied ecstatically. The woman
nodded proudly and looked at Forest, her face abashed.
"D-Did I please you?" She asked, batting her eyelids.
"Yes. Yes, you did." Forest replied, giving her a smouldering look.
The woman just about fainted.
"Don't worry! We would meet again." Forest called out as he, Elena, and Elion made
their way out of the room.
*****
They stood outside the building and climbed their horses, Elena sharing hers with Elion,
as the women all stood outside and waved. They waved back and began their journey out of the
city. The journey was silent till they reached the inn where Forest was kidnapped, and Elena
made a stop there to inform the bartender that Forest had been found. The man released an
obvious sigh of relief and bid them a safe journey.
Once they crossed the city border into that of the northern part of the kingdom, Elena
asked out loud.
"How did you guy get separated?" There was silence for a while, and Elena felt that they
were both trying to gather what they would say. Elion replied first.
"It had always been me and Forest ever since we were young. Forest was little then, so I
doubt he would remember what had taken place, but I remember it all too well. Our village was
attacked by some men in white. We didn't know their purpose as our kind barely interact with the
outside world. They just barged into our town and started killing every one of us on sight. It was
terrible." She said with an obvious shiver.
"I didn't know what was happening, but all I cared about was getting my brother to
safety. I carried him out of the village and hid him, promising to return for him once I had helped
the villagers. He gave me the necklace those women stole as a good luck charm. I ran back to the
village, promising him to return as fast as possible. The war went on for days straight, but we
were outnumbered even though we had killed so many of their people. They kept on pouring in
like ants. When we couldn't go on anymore, so many of us fled. I went back to where I had kept
my brother, but I didn't find him. I had been looking for him ever since.
Forest was strangely quiet as they all continued their journey. After a while, they came
across a bar. Seeing someone who stood at the entrance, they asked the person if they knew the
location of a guest house. The person nodded, motioning to the bar as a guest house. Elena,
Forest, and Elion all jumped down from the horses. Elena noticed that the siblings wanted some
time to themselves, and so she let them look for a place to keep the horse, promising them to be
close by as she scouted the environment, looking for who she would ask about Old Porv. As she
rounded the bar, she was about to enter it when she bumped into something.
"Ow!" She said, holding her head painfully. She looked up to see who she had bumped
into and came face to face with the biggest person she had ever seen in her life.
*****
Calhoun had just finished another round of his search for a bride when he came out of the
bar, extremely annoyed. Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, he turned to leave when he
bumped into someone.
"Ow!" The person exclaimed and looked up at him. Calhoun didn't know when he held
his breath as he took in the features of the woman standing before him.