FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (50 page)

     Lance just could not accept King Patrum’s explanation. Surely, a king who commands an entire nation is not as helpless as this.

     “King _ but you are of him, surely there must be some steps that you can take to mend these problems
?
” argued Lance.

     “What is a king, Lance, but a man with a metal band on his head and a heavy burden on his shoulders
?
A king is just a man, he is not The Creator. We, the government and myself included, can only do the best that we can; but the best that we can do, we shall do
!
That is our pledge to you and we shall honour this pledge as if our souls depended on it. But remember, the best that we can do, is actually very limited. I cannot perform miracles, Lance,” replied King Patrum.

     Lance glanced at the king and gave him a slight nod of understanding, then sat back down and was lost in his own thoughts. The loss of his family still haunted him.

     Many other topics were discussed at the dinner table, but these things mattered not to Spirit the White Wolf. Spirit sniffed the aroma of the food in front of him. Saliva gathered at the corner of his mouth. He had already finished his first course but the second one looked and smelled so much better. As soon as the servant’s hand left the plate, Spirit dove his mouth straight into it. He had never tasted this particular food before. It was several lumps of warm, soft substance that was slightly sweet and salty. He had heard Lance refer to it as ‘mashed potatoes’ but he cared not what it was called, only how it smelled and tasted; and it smelled and tasted good. Life in this new place was nice and comfortable, as far as Spirit was concerned. He did not mind the strange people seated around him just as long as the delicious food kept coming his way. Spirit’s tail was the perfect mirror of his heart, wagging side to side in a spirited frenzy.

     Later that night, Clover took a walk in the palace garden. The breeze that was blowing was cooling to her body and soothing to her soul. She had not expected to meet her father and cousin uncle, and this event brought out a lot of repressed emotions in her. She had not seen or spoken to her family for the last six years and she did not expect to do so for the rest of her life. She had accepted the fact that she had been disowned. But earlier in the evening, everything had changed. Her father had forgiven her. Her cousin uncle welcomed her with open arms. Or so they had said and so they had done. But was it all sincere
?
Did her father truly love her and forgive her for abandoning their family, or did he do this just to ‘give face’ to the prince
?
Or perhaps he did not want to embarrass the Genox family in front of the king
?
She missed her family, but she would not want to set foot in Mansion Genox if she was
not
truly welcomed.

     Clover sat on a bench in the garden. She was still in deep thought. Her doubts were great. She had walked away from her family once. If she returned to them and be forced to walk away again, she might just lose her mind.

     “What troubles you, Clover
?
” said a voice from behind her.

     Clover turned around to see Minvian Javelin Farhan standing behind her.

     “Standing _ how long have you been doing of this over there
?
” asked Clover.

     “Long enough to see that you are troubled,” Minvian Farhan replied as he approached and sat down beside her.

     Minvian Farhan smiled at Clover. He knew her well enough to sense her emotions.

     “Something troubles you. Tell me what it is. Maybe I can help,” offered Minvian Farhan.

     “Understand _ you would not have of this,” resisted Clover.

     “Try me,” responded Minvian Farhan.

     After a few moments of hesitation, she explained her doubts to him. His response made her angry.

     “Ha
!
Ha
!
Ha
!
You
are
a silly girl, Clover Genox
!
” he said while laughing.

     “Help _ if you do not truly want to do of this to me, then go away,” she said in an agitated voice.

     “No
!
That was not what I had meant
!
Of course your father loves you. And your whole family truly misses you
!
Except for Serene
!
I am not too sure about her. But the rest of the Genoxes miss you a lot. Embarrassed by what you did, surely, but they love you still the same,” said Minvian Farhan.

     Clover gave a serious stare at Minvian Farhan. She was not sure if she could believe his words. It could just be another cruel prank that he planned to play on her.

     “Know _ how do you of this
?
” asked Clover.

     “Clover, I am a shadow-archer. To be a shadow-archer, I have to undergo and complete the training at Camp Misery. Camp Misery is near Monune Sapphire, just about a day’s ride away. Part of shadow-archer training is to gather intelligence on the enemy. For practise, we were assigned to infiltrate Monune Sapphire and set up observation posts inside it. We would sneak in during the dark of night, dig a large hole in the monune’s empty field, camouflage it and stay in it for a week. We would record all of the Elementhars’ activity during this time. Occasionally, when the night was really dark, we would sneak out of the observation post and creep up to the living quarters and eavesdrop on your conversations. Guess who was the one who gave us such an assignment
?
” said Minvian Farhan.

     Clover could have guessed who it was, but she had rather not.

     “Who
?
” was her simple response.

     “Your father
!
We would get extra points if we managed to gather intelligence on you
!
Any information regarding you was to be reported immediately to him
!
He knew of your life at Monune Sapphire. He knew that you nearly drowned during a training session. He knew you saved one of your sister Elementhars from robbers when you went to town for groceries. He knew about your graduation. He knew that you went off to Monune White Diamond. Then the trainees at Camp Misery started to switch over to Monune White Diamond instead. He kept up with your development the whole time,” explained Minvian Farhan.

     Clover was shocked at this revelation. Then she was furious.

     “Spied _ he did of this on me
!
Spied _
you
did of this on me
!
” she reacted angrily.

     “Yes, we spied on you, but only because he cared
!
He was only a father who wanted to know how his daughter was doing. A daughter who chose not to speak to him or write to him
!
How else was he to know that you were safe and well
!?
You promised to visit Mansion Genox when you could, but you never did
!
What else could he have done
!?
” Minvian Farhan pointed out.

     Clover was dumbfounded. She did not know what to think.

     “Of the knowledge of the elements, you have become an expert; but not the hearts of men, Clover. A true warrior, like your father, never shows weakness in front of the ones he loves and has sworn to protect, but he suffers in silence instead. His heart bleeds just like any other human. What you did was so unimaginable that it shocked him, so he could not support you the way you needed him to. But that does not mean he does not love you. You should not doubt him, or any of your family, for that matter. Did you know what he said to me when he found out you killed your first demon
?
He said ‘Javelin, my little girl is not my little girl anymore
!
She has grown to be a fearsome warrior
!
’ You should have seen the pride on his face that day
!
” said Minvian Farhan.

     Clover was speechless. Then she broke down in tears. Minvian Farhan could not be sure whether they were tears of joy or sorrow. He patted her on the shoulder to comfort her. She lifted her head up and gave a nod of gratitude. Then Minvian Farhan got up, smiled, bowed and walked away.

     Clover spent an hour in the garden, enjoying the gentle breeze and the beautiful scenery. Her heart felt as light as air. She was happy. All doubts in her heart had been removed.

     As the sun began to set the next day, Clover stood at the entrance of Mansion Genox with Ray, Lance and Spirit. Her heart was beating faster than a galloping horse. She rummaged through her canvas pouch and finally produced a key. She looked at Ray and Lance. Her expression was a mixture of nervousness and excitement. Ray patted her on the shoulder and nodded his head. Lance gave her a ‘thumb’s up’. She proceeded to unlock the doors of the front gate and walked through. Ray, Lance and Spirit followed behind.

     As Clover was about to reach the main door, it opened. From behind it emerged a slender woman in her fifties. She froze in shock. Her jaw dropped and her mouth was wide opened. Then tears began welling in her eyes. She struggled to let out a word. Finally, after much effort, she managed to utter one single word … ‘Clover
!
’

     “Mother
!
” said Clover as she ran and hugged the woman.

     Pretty soon, the entire Genox family were engaged in one big group hug. Ray, Lance and Spirit were invited into the mansion, although they did get quite a few stares. The stares were more inquisitive, rather than disapproving. Then the Genoxes and their guests had dinner and caught up with each other on the events of the past six years. Ray and Lance had then realised something. Other than the time when they were at Fort Eastguard, they had never been in the presence of so many people in Fallsian Military uniforms. There were Provincial Guards, Oceanic Guards and Royal Guards. It seemed that almost every Genox, male or female, was a soldier of some sort. Ray and Lance realised that Mansion Genox was not just a home to the Genoxes, it was a mini barracks
!

     The waning gibbous moon of the
18
th
Night of Third Month of Wet Season
was obscured by huge, sinister-looking, dark cumulonimbus clouds. In a hidden room inside Castle Cobra, King Fangstrike confronted the elegantly dressed character known only as Lord Destiny.

     “You failed
!
It was all for nothing
!
You wasted my resources for nothing
!
” yelled King Fangstrike.

     “It was not for nothing
!
Now, calm down, before we are discovered
!
” said Lord Destiny.

     King Fangstrike calmed himself a little. But the look of contempt never faded from his eyes.

     Lord Destiny adjusted the collar of his silk shirt. From behind his golden mask, his eyes gave an expression of detachment.

     “The assassins I hired were competent and they should have gotten the job done, if not for the interruption of some nosey Elementhars
!
I have to admit, that was something I did not expect to happen, but it did. No sense in crying over spilt milk, King Fangstrike. But it was not all for nothing. Their 3
rd
Lake is nothing but decimated and Strike Force 3 is tied down repairing and manning Fort Eastguard. You have weakened Free Falls sufficiently for the next phase of our plan. So the plan is still on. The next phase, Operation Serpent Smoke,
will
succeed. Learn to have faith, King Fangstrike,” said Lord Destiny.

     “But what about the prince
!?
He still survives
!
Not only that, he is unharmed
!
He was supposed to be taken out
!
He
needs
to be taken out, or your precious Operation Serpent Smoke will fail
!
Isn’t that the plan
!?
I was supposed to attack Fort Eastguard to lure Prince Patrum out of Palace Liberty, and you were supposed to arrange an ambush to get him killed
!
Then we launch Operation Serpent Smoke and go in for the ultimate kill
!
But you failed to get him killed
!
And I lost many men and resources for nothing, all because of you
!
” stressed King Fangstrike.

     “He
will
be taken out
!
There are a few opportunities coming our way for that and I shall make sure they are not wasted. Trust me, King Fangstrike, Prince Patrum will be dead, or at the very least, seriously wounded, before this year ends. Then we can proceed with Operation Serpent Smoke,” assured Lord Destiny.