The Snow Leopard Chronicles: Chapter 26- Determination, Dedication and Speed

by Alexis in

A single bead of sweat trickles its way down the side of my face followed by another. The sun is beating down hard and we are still searching, through the towns, around the grounds, up hills, into swamps and all with nothing to show for it. All of the men are tired of searching they have lost sight of the goal, they want warm beds and good food, I can not blame them I to want these things. What I want most though is to feel Kerryn safely in my arms and away from all harm. I want for her to need nothing and fear no one. I want to be her protector because I love her.
The regiment slowly trudges up into the towering castle ahead. The cool granite floor is refreshing from the blazing heat of August. We all soon arrive in the meeting room in the western wing of the castle and take a seat. Not even two minutes later Aaron and the rest of the sky patrol arrive and take their seats, the meeting has begun. Aaron opens with telling all of the ground patrol where they’ve been, what they’ve seen, people they’ve spoken to and leads they’ve found that total zero.
I slowly drift off into my own thoughts, but still listen to bits of the conversation and put in a word or two every now and again. My thoughts shift over to my opinion of Aaron. A tall sturdy handsome man not many women could resist, including Kerryn. Furry wells up at the thought of him with her though I keep a cool stone face. This is why I must be the one to find her. Before she was taken Aaron was preying upon her and oh how I hated it and still do. I once overheard him talking with his brother prince Herald and he said that Kerryn was a prize to be acquired. How he wanted her so to be his next queen to bear a magnificent child for the kingdom. I’d stopped listening at that because of all the anger those few words had kicked up.
“…..he was born in the dark wood raised for a few years there then brought to the town of Kopek. He might’ve taken her there,” spoke a voice from a shorter man with a brown mustache peppered with bit of fine grey hairs. By this time we’d all come to the conclusion that, yes, Daniel had taken her.
“Wait, you said that he was born in dark wood.” I said.
“Yes,” the same man as before replied, “and raised mostly in Kopek so we should re-search there because the first time around we did a very brief investigation.”
“No, no, no! I don’t think that he’d return to such a sparse place. He was born in dark wood so he should know it fairly well. Doesn’t it just make sense to go there were most will never in their wildest dreams think of going? It’s the place where the cursed wolf lives, the Hyaty. He’s a fire serpent wouldn’t that give him an advantage?”
“He’s actually a fire dragon, but right family Konner,” said Aaron cutting in coolly, “And yes it would make a perfect hiding place for a kidnapper like himself. The catch though is that the dark wood is only partially in our lands, one third to be exact. The rest is in Garand land, ruled by lord Faramot. I have no power there nor do I have any sort of permission to be there or to send troops for any particular reason to his land. The only way that I could send troops there is undercover or if I get the King’s permission, both would be near impossible.”
“Why my lord is it impossible?” asked Heron.
“Because Heron, the land is patrolled by a massive firebird, nothing get’s past her. Getting my father’s permission to enter one of his many lands, even one of that little value to him, would be hard and take much time for he doesn’t care much for my opinion or presence even though I’m his next heir. If I were to get granted his presence it would take to much time and they would be long gone and the search, utterly hopeless.”
“So, what do you propose we do then Aaron?” I asked.
“I think that we should stop them before they reach Garand. This would mean top speed flight and running for a long time and most of all, determination and dedication. So, who’s in?”