The night was a blur for Azrael. They decided to camp out in the lagoon and the guardian would lead them safely through the forest. Azrael explained almost everything she had discussed with God but kept the part about Merikh. There would be another time and place for that discussion. Raden was too tired and relieved to have Azrael back in his arms to even be angry about the situation. He hung onto every word she spoke. He watched every movement of her hands as she explained what she had witnessed in the mountain's heart. He was completely lost in her eyes as they lit up with her smile and frantic speaking. Her excitement poured out into the world beyond their little hideaway.

Sunlight poured in through the thick branches casting shadows over the bodies that lay sleeping. Azrael soon felt warm water splash across her face and she sat up quickly. She heard a giggle from the pool and saw Orabel peeping over the edge.

"What was that for?" Azrael tried asking in a serious tone, but the laughter rose quickly.

Orabel rested her chin on her hands. "Wake up call. Precious light is burning and I would think that you two would want to get out of here."

Azrael sat there digging her toes in the sand and tilted her head up and smiled. "I don't know. This place is quite lovely and protected." She turned her head to meet Orabel's gaze. They held sad smiles.

"You deserve to see the rest of the world. Don't hide away here and regret the years." They looked over at the still-sleeping Raden. "Go find a life where you can love him."

Azrael sighed and stood. The pearls strung in her hair glistened in the light as she walked over to the pool and bent down. "Well, I will be coming back with stories and gifts."

Orabel's smile brightened. "Deal! There's so much to see and I'm sure your friend in the mountain wouldn't mind the visits." Azrael smiled and nodded. She left out the part of her naming the God in the mountain. The time would come when many would know of the presence of God, but today was not the day.

Orabel and Azrael said their goodbyes. The hooded guardian appeared not long after Orabel left and Azrael had wakened Raden. They gathered what little things they had and began their journey across the forest.

It was a much better experience than before. Raden was awake and walking along with them. The second guardian appeared not too long after they began traveling. She smiled and waved at Azrael before falling back behind them a few feet. Azrael sensed that the two guardians knew of what she had done because the air here was light and happy. No tension could be sensed. Even Raden could sense something had happened but didn't push Azrael.

Around midday, they stopped and the leaf guardian rounded up some fruit. Azrael and Raden ate until their stomach growled no more. They rested for about an hour in the warm sun before continuing.

Raden peered over at Azrael who seemingly was in deep thought. He glanced at her hair and smirked. "I didn't take you for someone who loved pearls."

Azrael, without notice, grabbed her hair and pulled it over one shoulder. "Orabel wanted to play with my hair and I saw no harm in letting them."

"Fair enough." Raden watched as Azrael began playing with her hair. The pearls lightly clacked together as she walked ahead of him. He widened his stride to catch up to her and lightly grabbed her arm. "I didn't say it was beautiful on you," he whispered in her ear. This caused Azrael's face to burn bright red and for her to shy away as they kept walking. Raden smiled at her and left it at that.

~~~*~~~

The sun began to set as they made it to the edge of the forest. From there the two would travel a few miles to the town where Lorcán's correspondence would meet them.

Azrael turned to the hooded and leaf guardians and gave a sad smile. "I promise to come back and see you all. Hopefully under better circumstances."

The leaf guardian pulled Azrael into a whirlwind of leaves and gave her a tight hug and warm kiss on the cheek before making a grand exit. Azrael laughed and turned to the hooded guardian. He bowed and then pulled out a small dagger from his sleeve. It was identical to the one he used before on the priest but for someone smaller. He held it out for Azrael to take and she looked up at his hidden face in surprise.

"I can't take this," she expressed, "You should give it to someone who can handle such power." The irony.

He didn't move but kept it held out in front of him. Azrael turned back to look at Raden who nodded and smiled. She turned back a took the dagger from his bony hand. She looked down in awe and when she went to speak again he had vanished in the wind of the forest. A sadness washed over her. Though she had spent a small amount of time here, she felt more at home in this forest than anywhere else.

"Come on we should get going," Raden said gently behind her. Azrael turned to him and nodded. She then pulled the medallion from around her neck and waited for Raden to protest. "We made it over the mountain. I say we save ourselves the trouble and kept to this bloody town as fast as possible."

Azrael smiled and looked down at the medallion to punch in the information they needed for travel. "What's the town's name?"

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Raden rubbed the back of his neck roughly and knitted his brows together. "Uhhhh... Lorcán said it was called Bellerun."

"Okay give me just a second," Azrael trailed off as she focused on the medallion. A few seconds later the medallion began to click on its own and Azrael held out a hand for Raden. He grabbed her hand quickly and with a pop they were gone from the tree line of the forest.

They arrived in the center of the town. A few of the townsfolk had looks of surprise as they stared at the two newcomers but soon went back to whatever they were doing. Raden quickly looked around for what Azrael had no clue. She wasn't told about the plan once they made it into the Eastern Kingdom. Without a word, Raden took her hand and pulled her towards a small pub.

Azrael found a small table in the corner to sit at while Raden went and talk to the barmaid. She watched them closely until a figure sat down at the table.

"This is a cute little place." It was Libena. Azrael was surprised at the appearance. "I have ventured into the Eastern Kingdom, but then again many of us aren't welcomed here."

"What in the world are you doing here?"

Libena looked up from picking at her nails. "Oh, you think I forgot about our little bargain?" She laughed, "I have my ways of finding you."

Azrael leaned back arms folded and eyebrow raised.

"You wanna know?" Azrael nodded. "Alright alright, miss Orabel as you know them is a very close friend of mine."

Azrael's eyes went wide and her mind instantly went to Anéislis. Libena must've not caught on to her worry as she continued.

"They told me that he hasn't been treating you right," Libena exclaimed.

"Now that's not what I told them," Azrael argued. She leaned forward so those around the two wouldn't hear. "I just said that he was closed off and that whatever I am feeling is probably waste."

Libena looked over her shoulder with a frown. "I better go have a word or two with him." She went to stand but Azrael caught her arm.

"Please not now," Azrael pleaded. Libena looked back at Azrael and saw the quiet pleading in her eyes. "Just wait till we get to where we're going."

Libena sighed and nodded. "Okay, but I will have a word with him." She pulled away from Azrael's grasp nodded and walked into the crowd and vanished all before Raden made his way to the table.

Raden walked over no longer empty-handed and sat down. He handed a cup to Azrael and she mindlessly took it not even looking up at him. "Hey, you okay?"

She popped her head up quickly and plastered a smile. "Just a bit tired from the travel." Azrael held the smile hoping he would buy the lie.

He held her gaze for only a moment before nodding and letting the subject go. "The barmaid said that two men were here a few minutes ago from the king's city and said they would be back in a bit."

"Why didn't they just stay around if they knew we were coming and this is the meeting spot?"

Raden took a swig from his mug. "They left to make sure the town would be safe once we arrived."

Azrael nodded and looked down at her drink. She wasn't up for this waiting game. The longer they sat here the more the anxiety rose in her throat.

"Are you sure you're okay," Raden asked. He sat leaned forward one arm resting on the table. His eyes pierced into her thoughts as if he could read them.

"I know Lorcán said that the Eastern Kingdom was the safest out of all of them but I have this feeling that maybe we shouldn't be here," Azrael answered somewhat honestly. She was nervous about this place but knew that what took place in the forest would keep her safe. However, her nerves grew uneasy because if Libena could make it in so easily then what would stop the others?

Raden reached across the table and grabbed her hand squeezing it tightly. "We'll head out tonight and be in the king's city in two days."

Azrael nodded.

Two men walked through the entrance minutes later looking around. Azrael caught a glimpse but didn't think much. One did a double take of Azrael then Raden and both walked over.

"I'm going to assume you two are the ones we're escorting."

Raden peered up at the two men. "That depends. Where are we going."

"Personally out of our kingdom, but as a favor to an old friend... the king's city." The men retorted back.

Azrael watched the two in silence. She glanced back to see the other man. He looked no older than eighteen. She smiled but he ignored her.

"Listen it wasn't my idea to come here either," Raden said a bit louder than preferred.

The man scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Well if you don't want to be here then you can go to the northern kingdom territory and take whatever problems you have following you away from us."

Azrael stood knowing this wasn't going to end anytime soon or it would go south fast. She turned to the one talking. He seemed a fair bit older and much more vocal. "This predicament isn't great but it does mean a great deal that you're willing to take us to the city."

He looked at her from head to toe. "Were you spit out of an oyster?" His eyes landed on the pearls that were woven into her braided hair. The other snickered behind him.

"No," she answered quietly. Her nerves were getting the best of her and Azrael decided to just sit back down.

Raden's attention darted between Azrael and the man. He stood and toward the two. "You going to continue insulting her or are you going to shut that mouth of yours and get us on the road?" He closed the space between them and saw the fear wash over the cocky man. "Because if you continue with the first option, I can promise that you won't be able to say another word for the rest of your life."

This man looked terrified as Raden was almost nose-to-nose with him. He let out a cough and awkwardly stepped back. "Right um... we better be on our way then."

As he started to walk away, Raden firmly gripped his shoulder. "Apologies." The man looked as if he was going to argue but turned to Azrael who was nervously playing with her hair again.

"Sorry," he mumbled and pulled away from Raden. The other was not far behind him.

Raden followed behind Azrael as the four made their way out of the pub and down the street. The two kept a nice little distance between Raden but he didn't seem to mind.

Azrael continued self-consciously messing with her hair but she felt a hand grab hers. "Don't let that bastard get in your head. The pearls suit you."

Azrael smiled to herself.

The four made it to the edge of town where several horses were waiting and they went on their way out. It would take two days for them to set foot in the king's city and from there Raden and Azrael would hide within the walls.

As they traveled into the wilderness between civilizations, Azrael felt a pang of guilt. Sooner or later she would need to tell Raden everything that happened within the mountain. She just wished she could sooner.