ZARA.

Chapter:3

"Mother!"

The beautiful princess barged into the big meeting hall startling everyone gathered and seated before the Queen, even the guards turned their heads in the direction of the princess.

Zara has been the spoilt princess that she is and didn't even bother with the fact that she has walked in on an important meeting, rather she walked straight to where her mother was and stood before the queen, both hands on her curved hips.

"Could this not wait, princess Zara?!" Queen Atlas smiled down at her daughter.

"No mother!"  The girl yelled.

"Alright my darling, take a walk with me." The Queen laughed as she walked out of the hall with a much happier princess not far behind.

"My Queen, shouldn't we conclude before you leave?!" One of the Elders spoke.

"I will send my mother in to conclude with you all, I can not keep my daughter waiting!" The Queen yelled back and disappeared.

**********

Queen Atlas has always been known for not caring about other people, she became worst since she lost her husband to a man. It was the worst humiliation and to think she had agreed with Xrysos to bring the boy into their home, made her look even more foolish. She now lives to regret not having that boy killed when she discovered the undying love her husband tend to shower the little rat, although all along she had thought Xrysos only loved the boy as a son how she had thought wrong.

Her mother did warn her about that boy when she visited The Gates a long time ago but being who she is, she did not believe her and she had gone about neglecting all the signs for years.

Until she could no longer ignore them, she left The Gates and came back to her mother's with only one mission in mind.

One she will archive no matter how long it took.

*********

Walking behind the beautiful young princess the Queen smiled remembering the day the gods smiled upon her and delivered the child into her hands.

She had gone in search of a healing herb for her sick mother when she thought she heard the sound of a weeping child in a nearby bush.

She halted and signaled for the guard with her to stop as well.

"What is the matter, my Queen?" Erik a fine man asked.

"I heard something, over there!" The Queen pointed in the direction and jumped down from her horse.

She didn't stop running until she got to the small bush clearing that had a little beautiful child lying on the grassy floor and weeping bitterly.

The Queen did not even bother with thinking about how the child must have gotten there, concluding that she may have been dropped off by slavers. The Queen carried the child back to her horse and rode her back to the palace there she nursed and raised the child as hers.

************

"Mother one of the maids called me a nobody!" The girl yelled.

Zara has been fond of making and leaving trouble wherever she went.

Everyone in the kingdom but her mother knew this.

The Queen indulged her in this attitude.

Queen Atlas's rage made her green eyes darker and she ordered that the maid be brought before her.

Once the middle-aged woman was brought before the Queen, she ordered her execution immediately.

This gladdened the Princess's heart and she kissed her mother before rushing back out to cause more mischief.

Zara has no memory of who she truly is and the Queen had made sure it stayed that way.

*************

The small droplets of rain had Gouria almost going insane.

His beloved was yet to arrive from his quest of searching for his missing daughter.

As it seems the closer they got to finding the girl the harder and farther apart they went.

Gouria felt bad for Anderios who would not stop at anything.

He has even gone as far as becoming a slave yet again just so he would get closer to any information that may lead him to his daughter but that in itself didn't work and he has been plotting more ways since then.

Gouria rolled over and finally decided it's best he climbed out of bed and maybe stretch his muscles a bit.

He walked out of the room to be greeted by maids going about their duties.

A lot had happened since the night of that battle.

Lord Xrysos has given him and his lover a beautiful land in which they had built a more beautiful abode. They also have a few slaves and maids to do house chores.

Remembering the disheartened Lord, Gouria knew he had something to do.

He would visit the King and stay with him for a while.

He has news, one that he was certain would gladden the King's heart.

************

Anderios had just returned from gathering firewood, he dumped the heavy woods on the wet grounds and stretched his muscles before bending down to start stacking the woods and dumping a few in the burning flames.

It's been a month since he and his best friend came to the Northern Mountains, they built a tent and made a plan to enter the gates. The Information's he gathered led them here as it is now believed that his lost child is now the princess of the North, although it has not been confirmed. Thus the reason they had journeyed here.  

Anderios had just pulled his tick coat off, exposing his god-like body when he heard his name.  

"Anderios!"

The man turned to find his trusted friend Aron walking toward him with a middle-aged woman in hand.

"Aron!" Anderios excitement was evident in his tone as he rushed over to hug the man. "Never been happier to see you, my friend."

"Same here." Aron agreed and pulled away from their hug.

It's been weeks since Aron departed from Anderios into the Northern Gates in search of any leads that may lead them to his child.

Anderios was this close to packing up and going back home after waiting for so long. He even thought in his heart that his best friend was long dead and forgotten.

The Northern Tribes isn't the type known to mess around with.

They were strong and violent people.

When Gouria had seen in a vision for the third time the woman whom his daughter was with and after so many findings it was made known to them that the woman may be the vicious Queen Atlas and thus Anderios and Aron had gone on a disguise and journeyed to the North.

A plan is to send Aron to the Gates because he has a mother who is of the Northern tribes.

"I bring good news, my friend!" Aron laughed wholeheartedly.

"Pray tell!" Anderios pulled him into their tent to talk.

"Come in," Aron told the woman that had been standing motionless since they got there.

Anderios for the first time acknowledged her presence.

"Apologizes, I didn't see you there." He smiled at the woman.

"None needed." The woman spoke softly as she made herself comfortable in the small tent.

"What is this good news that you bring me, Aron?!" Anderios gave the woman water to drink. "Want some?" He asked Aron but the man shook his head and muttered a silent, 'no'.

"Well, it's complicated." Aron voiced.

"You go again, Aron. What good news is complicated?" Anderios chuckled as he sat beside his friend.

"I found your daughter." He finally announced.

Anderios laughed for a while before signing in relief.

"Thank the gods!" Anderios yelled.

"But-"

"Again Aron, for fucks sakes let me bask in this news before you ruin it with another one of your buts!" Anderios smiled down at the laughing man, the woman couldn't help but join in on their rounds of laughter.

"Now tell me, what is this but?" Anderios wore his serious face once again as he sat down.

"She is now the spoilt daughter of Atlas the only Princess of the North and her name has been changed to Zara." Aron finished.

"I see," Anderios ran his hand in his hair. "We need to meet with Xrysos he married her once so he knew her better than anyone else."

"That's actually a good idea." Aron smiled. "Now I need a drink of that water." Aron poured himself a cup and drank from it. "Everything inside that Gate tastes so different, it's as though their wickedness has affected all that they have!" Aron yelled with a scrunched-up face.

Anderios laughed.

"You're right about that one," the woman spoke for the first time since she arrived there. "I was a maid in the Palace long before she was brought in. A sweet, humble, and beautiful girl until her nightmares became too much that she fears the night, she would sit on her bed all night with the Queen beside her, the little girl only sleeps with the first light of the breaking dawn. After suffering this fate for a year the Queen sent for her cousin Gaad, the dark lord of the hills. After Gaad's visit, nothing seems the same as the child anymore. The nightmares stopped but then she became as dark as her nightmares." The woman's voice sounded pained as she spoke.

"What have they done to my daughter?" Anderios felt his eyes sting.

"Whatever it is that they have done to her must be very strong and I doubt you would be able to rescue her not to mention claim her as yours!" The woman told him.

"I shall have a word with Gouria on our return let's see if he has a solution to this," Anderios told Aron who nodded his head in agreement. "And speaking of return, I say we start packing this minute." Anderios smiled at the man.

"I was waiting for you to say that!" Aron laughed again. "She comes with us." Aron pointed to the woman.

"Of course, we are not about to let her die here!" Anderios shook his head.

"Your daughter wanted her dead!" Aron laughed again when he saw the shock on Anderios face.

Anderios faced the woman and she agreed with a nod of her head.

"How?!" Anderios yelled.

"She's always had this hatred towards me, I don't know what I ever did to her but she despised the sights of me, from the day I told her how sweet she used to be. I have no idea what she told the Queen and the next thing I knew I was about to be beheaded!" The woman laughed as she wipes tears away from her eyes.

"And how did you find her?" Anderios asked Aron.

"I was among the guards to carry out her execution, so I fled with her!"

"Unnoticed?!" Anderios asked.

"Well, not very, so I suggest we better hurry!" Aron laughed again.

"Aron you fool!" Anderios yelled in fake annoyance. " Should you not have said this from the beginning, you really should improve your ways of giving good news!" Anderios shook his head in bewilderment.

"I was too excited to give the interesting part of the news," Aron smirked.

"Then we best hurry before we have an army of Northern Warriors to fight!"

"Agreed!"

"How were you amongst the guards and unnoticed by any?!" Anderios could not help but ask.

"That is one story I do not want to ever tell!" Aron's face filled with embarrassment as he averted eye contact with Anderios who would not stop laughing at his face.

"You really are a fool, Aron."