The Devil's Warrior Queen
Chapter 402: Damsel In Distress II

Chapter 402: Damsel In Distress II

Without saying a word, Rama nodded in agreement "You are right, you should be the one to go, she will easily confide in you."

"We are leaving first thing in the morning, at break of dawn." Ares announced.

"Including Ari?" Zoya asked with prudent eyes.

"We will take care of her, don’t worry." Vlad assured Zoya.

"I can take care of myself, I’m not the damsel in distress, Ares’s supposed mate is." Ari remarked.

"Right, but still, East Ravka is not very hospitable, they are quite vicious to foreigners." Zoya warned.

"We will be fine, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the three of us, talk less Ares on his own." Ari implied confidently.

"Just be safe and look out for each other, okay?" Rama intoned as she looked at them.

"We will." Vlad said.

---------------

Throughout the night, the trio had their nerves on the rise. Ari was rather excited on the thrilling adventure of danger to rescue Ares’s mate, Vlad on the other hand was focused on the dangers that lay ahead and he was more keen on protecting Ari in case things went awry.

Ares on the other hand was slightly agitated about his mate and her history. Ari had told them she was been imprisoned because she was dangerous, making him wonder how dangerous she seemed to be.

Finally, dawn broke and the trio got ready for their trip.

Taking their horses, Ari took her sword as she equipped herself.

"Do we need weapons?" Ares asked.

"I do, it will be a hassle to use my powers in close proximity." She explained.

"It will be dangerous, it’s best if you just hide for a while, while we take care of them." Vlad suggested.

Ari’s face twisted into a scowl "I’m not your fragile puppy! Get out of my face!" She snapped as she shoved him aside before climbing effortlessly on her horse.

"Right." Vlad muttered while Ares gave him a Pat.

Bidding their parents goodbye, they immediately set out for East Ravka. Their horses galloped out of the castle gates and into the forest.

Pulling the reins, the horses went faster, making the wind whip past them as they traversed through hills and mountains until they left Voltaire.

Vlad craned his head to the side as he stole a glance of Ari as she rode her horse with building excitement in her face.

Vlad watched her for a while, probably captivated as he continued ogling. He was particularly mesmerized with the way her ashen hair scattered behind her with the wind as the horse galloped.

Suddenly, her head tilted to his direction and she caught him staring. At first, she was startled, but then a small smile crossed her lips before she averted her gaze.

Vlad suddenly looked away, hoping she didn’t realize he had been staring for so long and most importantly, he hoped she wasn’t able to discern his true feelings for her.

Looking straight ahead, a slight tinge of blush spread all over his face, but he quickly composed himself.

After hours of riding, they finally stopped for a while to rest as they took shelter in an open mountain.

Both Vlad and Ares prepared their tents and secured the horses, while Ari made a fire. It would be a three days journey to East Ravka, so they had prepared for it with resources that would last them.

After making a fire, Ari sat by the crackling fire as she ate an apple. She had packed up food for only herself since both Vlad and Ares didn’t need to eat.

As she sat by the fire silently, Vlad came to sit next to her while Ares went out to get more wood for the fire.

For a moment, they sat in silence until Ari broke it as she tucked her ashen hair behind her ears "I had a vision." Ari started.

"What was it about?" Vlad asked with bated breath. It was apparent her vision was important seeing her serious countenance.

Vlad could sense her tension and her dull countenance was undeniable.

"I have been getting them since I was twelve. At first it was only flashes. Flashes of images that I couldn’t quite understand and sometimes when I woke up, I couldn’t even remember most of it, but I knew I was terrified. It wasn’t a nightmare, witches don’t dream, they only have visions, whether good or bad." Ari mentioned and he saw a flicker of fear flash through her large purple eyes as she looked at him.

Vlad stayed silent as he listened to her with attentiveness.

"I-I haven’t told my mother yet, I don’t know why. Maybe I’m just scared that if I tell her, she will figure it out." Ari said in a smattering whisper.

"And why are you afraid that she may figure it out?" Vlad asked softly.

"A part of me wants to know what this recurring vision means, yet a part of me is scared to find out. I’m afraid that whatever this vision is, it’s only chaos bound to happen in the future and I so badly want to be wrong, I want to be overreacting as usual, but I know I’m not. Everytime I had the vision, I felt it, chaos is lurking but it’s nothing like what Ares’s parents went through, it’s even worse."

Ari’s breath turned slightly erratic as she breathed out.

"What was in your vision?" Vlad asked with a cautious tone.

"Death. Seven grim reapers hovering above seven gravestones. And then darkness clouds the entire place before I try to see whose names were written on them." Ari explained and Vlad’s face turned into a deep frown, making smooth wrinkles appear on his forehead.

"It was a prophecy of death and in my worst speculation, I think the vision showed me seven deaths that are bound to happen, seven significant deaths and I couldn’t think of who else was most important to me than you both and our parents. What if a great evil was released and it...It destroyed us? What if that great evil was Ares’s mate perhaps? Not saying she is, but I couldn’t think of anything else and also, now that I think of it, there must be a good reason that they kept her locked in that place and I doubt it’s only because she’s powerful." Ari implied with a grave tone.

He sighed in exasperatiom as he ran his fingers through his pristine White hair. Ari could sense the disturbance within him as she revealed her vision to him.

She had always concealed her strange vision from everyone’s knowledge, but oddly, she suddenly revealed it to Vlad.

With him, Ari felt more comfortable in his presence, she felt more at ease, enough to reveal to him the cause of her distress.

She saw his different pair of eyes glimmer with a sense of understanding as she spoke, but also, she saw a deep sense of concern, one that transcended past the portrayal of her vision, but mostly about her.

"I fear that you may be right, but I hope greatly that you are wrong, because if seven of us were to die, then we obviously know who’s gone and who lives. Only Draco and his son would most probably live since they are immortals and the rest of us, including his mother...." Vlad trailed off, not completing his sentence.

"It doesn’t quite make sense, we are only seven and if Draco and Ares can’t be killed, then it would be only five of us left whereas, there are seven death prophecies. It’s all confusing." Ari mentioned, her brows knotted in confusion and perhaps, frustration.

"You can summon the vision again and maybe, try to see it more clearly?" Vlad said in uncertainty.

"I could but...I’m more terrified of what I may see, especially the names in the gravestones." Ari said as she gulped.

"You should be more afraid of what you should see but haven’t. It may help us figure out how to stop the death prophecies from transpiring." Vlad implied thoughtfully.

"The visions are inevitable, you cannot change it no matter how hard you try. Fate is designed to fuck us all up as it wishes and there’s nothing we can do about it." Ari stated out with a hopeless look.

"I know you are afraid, but I think it’s best to inform your mother, she will know what to do and with that, we could better prepare for whatever is to come, even if it’s the worst." Vlad assured her, placing his hand gently on hers as his gaze bore into hers.

Slowly, her eyes darted from his hands to his face, their gazes boring into each other, but in the next second, he looked away. As always, he was conscious of his different pair ofneyes.

"Only if you knew how beautiful your eyes were." She muttered, loud enough for his ears to catch.

Vlad on hearing those words, turned to face her and she extended her hands ever slowly towards his face. Slowly, she tucked his hair behind his ears to pave a better view to his eyes and she repeated again with a smile, "You have beautiful eyes, so stop hiding them."