Chapter 27: Underneath The Shade Of An Ancient Tree

Aries woke up tied by thick ropes to an ancient tree.

In front of him was that strange blue-haired woman. She had his hood lowered and Aries could see her braided hair more clearly. She was talking to two people. Both were men. One looked a little identical to her. They had the same blue eyes and hair. The other man had long and dark-green hair. The three of them seemed to have the grace of royalties. And they were totally unaware that he had already awakened. They were busy talking about their captive which was Aries himself.

He would have been mesmerized at the beauty of that garden if he was not tightly constrained.

"Are you sure we should tie him? And why are we tying him out here and in this tree? It feels like you will be performing a ritual on him."

"Because you said that he tried to kill you," the blue-haired man said.

The three of them had their backs on Aries.

"Are you sure he is the one we are…" the voice of the blue-haired man had faded when he glanced at Aries and noticed that he was already wide awake and glaring at them.

"Aries Del Luna," the green-haired man approached him. "I am Tauren Treehouse. This is Prince Sunrei and Princess Pieffer Celestine. We've been looking for you for a long time."

"Should I say nice to meet you?" Aries spat at them with sarcasm.

"Let's release him," the blue-haired woman named Pieffer had said. "He is a Zodiac Knight. We should treat him with respect."

"Respect?" Aries laughed. "You stabbed me, brought me in this place, and tied me in this tree! And you want to show respect?!"

"You tried to kill her!" the blue-haired man named Sunrei had yelled, losing his grace.

"He had mistaken me as a possessed person," the princess explained. Her calmness was extraordinary.

"A corrupted soul is inside your body," Aries insisted. "You are covered by a dark aura. If you are truly a princess and you care for this kingdom then you should be ready to die for your people."

"You…" the impatient prince started but the calm princess motioned for him to remain quiet.

"I will take care of this," her voice suddenly became commanding. "Tauren, can you please take my brother inside your home?"

"Yes, Princess," Tauren put both his hands on the arms of the prince and lightly pushed him towards the tower.

"I will give you fifteen minutes!" the prince yelled before running inside the tower.

"Are you ready to die in my hands?" Aries seriously asked.

"None of us will be dying any time soon," the princess annoyingly smiled. "As I told you, I am not possessed. You must be seeing something dark emanating from me because my creator is the devil himself."

Aries jerked awake. His back was leaning on the ancient tree but he was no longer tied to it. He had fallen asleep and dreamed about the past. It felt like it had just recently happened and he could still feel the rope tightly binding his arms, torso, and knees.

"What did you dream about?"

His heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he heard the voice of the princess. He seemed too distracted and did not notice her presence right next to him. She was also sitting on the grass-covered ground and her back was resting on the tree. There was a smile on her face but Aries could feel her unease.

"You," Aries mumbled as his heart began to calm.

"How bad was it?" the princess asked with a soft laugh.

"You said that you had been created by the devil himself," Aries seriously replied and the princess stared back at him with the same gravity of seriousness.

"Yes. My soul is from the devil himself."

"Don't play with my already confused mind," Aries looked away from the princess, leaned his head on the tree, and looked up at the swaying leaves. The sun had set but the leaves were still glowing because of the moonlight. "Tell me about your ability to pass through the shadows and those times you had met her."

"Don't you want to talk about what I told you in the past?"

"I will eventually remember it and right now… I can't see any dark aura around you. So stop getting me confused."

"When I discover that you can see the darkness within me, I learned how to hide it. I practiced for years."

"I thought you know all about my abilities because of that legendary book? How come you didn't know that I can see the corrupted souls? And where did you learn to hide your dark aura?"

"The legendary book is like a storybook for me. I read it but I don't take all of it too seriously. How can a book tell who we are and put a limit on us? If I want to learn something, I will learn it even if it is not in the book. As to where I learn to hide my aura and that skill to travel through the shadows, I learned it in the dungeon. The guardians had taught me well.

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"Regarding my meetings with the Pieffer from the world where you came from, it all happened while we were passing through the shadows."

"Let's call her Lady Pieffer," Aries said with a curious gaze. "Did she also set foot in this world?"

"No," Pieffer sadly replied.

"She is searching for her brother named Sunrei and I think…"

"Yes. Prince Sunrei is her brother," the princess confirmed his unfinished thought. "She knows about it."

"She… knows about it? When?"

Princess Pieffer stared at Aries for a long time. She seemed to be contemplating.

"You can tell me everything. It is still up to me whether to believe you or not. I just want to hear what you have to say."

The princess smiled before saying, "You've read my mind."

Aries nearly curved his lips into a smile but still managed to stop himself by coughing, "So, when did she learn about her brother?"

"When we first met within the shadows, we were both amazed," Princess Pieffer said, not answering his question. "I told her that I am looking for someone. She was surprised and asked me if my brother is missing. I told him that I am looking for my friend named Aries Del Luna. Her shock doubled and she left in a hurry. Her reaction made my heart pound and I can only think of one thing. She knows someone with exactly the same name.

"I tried to look for her and ask about the Aries she knows. It took months before our paths crossed. She apologized for running away last time. Then she started asking questions about the Aries I know. I told her that I lost him in an accident ten years ago. That was when she had confirmed that the Aries we know is the same person and she told me not to worry about you because you are happy with your life. You are happy with her. She asked me to stop looking for you. I can see from her eyes that she was not lying. She truly loved you. So I told her to take care of you.

"Then I asked about her brother. I wanted to know if she had lost him in an accident twenty-four years ago. When she told me their story, I confirmed that our brothers had switched souls with each other. When I told her about it, she was shocked and cried for a long while. Then she told me to keep on taking care of her brother and promised me that she would love my friend well. We both agreed on it but I am still hoping that the time will come that you will find your way to us."

"It was an awful way back here," Aries scornfully whispered then heavily sighed. "I realized only now that I barely know the woman I loved. I don't deserve her," he got up on his knees. "I think I heard enough. Thank you for telling me some things about her. It's late. We should get some sleep."

"I'll show you the way to your room. It's just next to mine."

Aries nodded and they walked towards the tower in silence.

^########^

Though the rooms in the tower are only good for one person, Aries had slept well. His room was on the highest floor of the tower. The air was cool and refreshing. No air conditioner was needed. His bed was soft and warm. The blanket was thick and comfortable to the skin. It was like a five-star suite and he felt rejuvenated.

He was awakened by a knock on the door. Pines went in and glared at him.

"Let's have breakfast before going to the House of Maiden," he snapped at Aries then slammed the door shut as he left.

Aries moved out of the bed and changed his clothes before going downstairs.

Princess Pieffer, Prince Sunrei, Tauren, and Pines were already sitting around the dining table. Aries sat on the empty chair next to the prince.

"Good luck in your journey to the House of Maiden," Tauren began to say. "I gave Princess Pieffer new bottles of holy water and a few sets of transport bracelets. I will create more things that will be useful on your journey. Siorre and Pines will be my messengers."

"Thank you, Tauren."

"There is no need for thanks. This is my duty to the kingdom. I'm not that good in fighting the corrupted souls. Creating things that can support in your battles is all I can do."

"Do you have any information about the House of Maiden?" Aries inquired.

"The last information I got from the spy I sent three months ago was that the Maiden House Leader had been fully corrupted. I think the successor is hiding somewhere around the area," Tauren answered.

"No recent news?" Aries asked.

"Forgive me. I stopped sending spies two months ago because they were no longer returning. I can only assume that the situation there had worsened. I cannot risk more of my people."

"Well, Princess Pieffer is good at finding the Zodiac Knights," Aries confidently stated. "I think we will eventually find that successor if we leave right away."

"Let's go!" Pines bolted upright with excitement on his face and with the use of the transport bracelet, they reached the House of Maiden in no time.

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