Chapter 114 – The Emperor’s Call

It wasn’t bad for the first night of camping. There were no inconveniences about the sleeping conditions, and unlike what Merril had warned, Levisia could not hear the cries of animals living in the forest last night. She wondered if she was just trying to scare her, as it was something Merril would definitely try to do. Her mischievousness was sometimes unpredictable.

Alternatively, Levisia might have gotten lucky. Either way, she didn’t want to experience it for herself.

Coming out of the tent and rubbing her eyes to remove the sleepiness from her face, Levisia looked around at the campsite.  Everyone was beginning to leave as soon as breakfast had been finished.

As she walked around, looking for Elizabeth’s carriage, she saw horses grazing at the entrance of the forest. She smiled at the serene scene, her smile still on her face when she saw Pel walking towards her.

Her smile wavered slightly when she saw Pel frowning.

“What’s wrong?” She said as she closed the gap between them. He looked around and then dragged her behind a tent that had not been dismantled.

Leivisia was about to complain about being dragged around, when she spotted Siaphyl in the distance. She could not make out what they were saying, yet Pel looked as though he could understand them perfectly.

“How did you…?” she whispered. Pel had an uncanny ability to detect whenever the Kraidens were around, as well hearing them from far away.

“I would rather avoid having to deal with them right now.” Pel ran his fingers through his hair. “So, how did you sleep last night? Was your tent comfortable enough?”

“I guess?” Levisia shrugged, wondering why Pel had changed the topic so suddenly. “How about you?”

“I was asleep until I smelt blood.” Pel said, as if it was a regular occurrence and not something that warranted special attention.

“You smelt blood?” Levisia gasped in horror. “What were you doing outside? How much blood had been spilled that could smell it so clearly?

“It’s fine, Levisia. There must have been some animals nearby having a fight, and they got injured in the aftermath.” Pel said, folding his arms. “Would explain the screams I heard. Though it was hard to tell if they were human or animal.”

“You heard screams?!” Levisia was close to screaming at the way Pel was acting. Smelling blood and hearing screams in the dead of night were not exactly comforting, even without them being in the middle of a forest in flimsy tents. She was normally a light sleeper, but she must have been out cold in order for her to miss the chaos that had unfolded the previous night. In a way, she was thankful that she, for once, was not caught up in the madness.

“Levisia.” Pel grabbed Levisia by the shoulders. “Forget I said anything. This conversation never happened. Now, you should pack your bags up. It looks like we’re getting ready to leave soon.”

As Pel walked away, Levisia sighed as how irritating Pel was being. Bringing up all this information and then not even bothering to go into detail about it. She was going to let it drop so she could tidy her things away, but as soon as she got a moment alone with him, she was going to question him and ensure she got straight answers. With the tent she was hiding behind now being dismantled, Levisia wandered through the camp back to her own tent. She was beginning to regret ever coming along on the inspection.

* * *

Seven days after leaving the Capital, Levisia was beginning to get agitated. Seven days of being cramped in a carriage with Elizabeth and Merril was starting to wear on her already frayed nerves, and she almost wept with relief when the convoy stopped for a break outside the border to the Southern territory. Levisia had been looking forward to a long and relaxing break with one of her books, where she could read without Merril looking over her shoulder, but fate had other ideas.

No sooner had she sat down and opened her book, Elizabeth knocked on the window of the carriage.

“Your presence is requested.” She said, opening the door before Levisia could respond. “His Majesty is waiting for us.”

Biting her lip, Levisia closed her book and exited the carriage. She had no idea why His Majesty the Emperor, who had never been interested in Levisia, suddenly called her. It couldn’t be because he had a special interest in her. Elizabeth mentioned that he knew she was tagging along for the trip, but outside of that, they had never interacted.

Elizabeth led Levisia towards a tent at the back of the makeshift campsite, where the other Kraidens were all gathered. Lidan narrowed his eyes at her, and Siaphyl gave her a nervous, and slightly confused, wave.