136 Do You Even Care?

"Little White! Why is everywhere a bit blurry, it's foggy? Perhaps a little wind can help clear the air."

She moved her fingers and raised her right hand into the air; the wind obeyed her call and rushed from the environment forward, clearing her path little.

"That's better."

______________

~ELVEN PALACE~

BOOM!

From where they were at the balcony, they saw the lightning rush into the sky and felt the strong breeze that blew into their kingdom. It came with an alarming force.

King Regin turned to his side look at his son. His eyes said everything he wanted to say. Terrence held his father's gaze, the intensity matched with his, their breaths became a thing of the past as they forgot to breathe.

"Father, I must go. I cannot leave her out there on her own."

"Would you make it in time?"

"I cannot sit and do nothing."

BANG!

The door behind them shut close with a loud sound. They turned their heads at once to the sudden interruption. They had least expected who arrived to come. A lady dressed in dark green off shoulder flowing gown, walked briskly towards them in a not so majestic manner.

"Mother?" Terrence asked rather than said.

"What do you think you are doing, sending my children off like that?" She let out her anger on her husband as she yelled at him.

"And you," she said pointing to Terrence.

"Me?" He was taken aback by her sudden outburst. "What have I done, mother?"

"How could you let him send them? Do you both want to see me go berserk first? Haven't I lost enough?" She threw her hands in the air to emphasize her point.

King Regin finally made a move and held her hands in his. "Hey, hey, calm down."

"How can I calm down when you sent my children out there to die, in her hands?" Her eyes widened as she spoke, she clearly was bitter and angry at her husband.

"Mother, it isn't like that. Father didn't send Avery; she went on her own when she found out Blade left."

She stopped struggling and looked at Terrence with a somewhat confused expression. "He didn't send them?"

"No mother."

"How can you have so little faith in your children?" King Regin asked her.

"I don't Regin, but this is a different case, her mother threw the three kingdoms out of her land with her magic and blasted everyone off with her power surge, yet she is a half breed. We are dealing with her daughter, a hybrid. Come on, it screams danger in its wake. As a mother how can I calm down?"

"You are queen, Aelinor."

"And I am a mother. Do not ask me to sacrifice another one. I can't bear the thought of losing them. You can feel what is going on in the forest, this isn't so simple, Regin."

"We can't do anything about their leaving. It was their choice."

"Maybe you can't, but I can."

"What? What are you planning mother?"

"Aelinor, you are going nowhere."

"If you can't do anything about their leaving, then do something about bringing them back. Send men to get them back. We must prepare to face her and not rush in rashly."

"I have, I sent two hundred skilled beast tamers in."

"Two hundred?" she scoffed and let out a small laughter.

Her face turned serious almost immediately. "You have more than two hundred thousand soldiers and you send two hundred men to get back my children. How ironic, do you even care?"

Terrence clenched his fist at his side, he knew his mother was angry but his father did care. Things were getting out of hand; he had to do something to prevent any more rifts between his parents. 

Ever since the death of his brother, his father had withdrawn from them and focused solely on the war, keeping his feelings at bay and driving the once close couple apart. Both of them could barely deal with the loss, his mother needed her husband but he was gone emotionally.

Even when the war ended, he still kept his emotions hidden. He trained and taught his kids but everything was not as it once was. He hid his pain and focused on his duty as King, but he still cared about his family. 

Hearing her ask that was like a stab to Regin's heart, he sighed before asking her, "What would you have me do to make you calm down?"

"I want the forest to be flooded with soldiers, searching for the prince and princess."

"Okay, but for now, I need you to go back to your chambers and rest, please." 

She didn't say anything but gave him a nod and he returned it with a half smile. 

He moved his gaze from hers and turned towards the door. "Axilia!" He called out. 

A young girl rushed in through the door and bowed before them. "Your Majesty, you called?"

"Escort Her Majesty to her chambers and see to it she gets a good rest."

"Yes, Your Majesty. My Queen?"

Queen Aelinor cast one more glance at the father and son duo before leaving with her maid.

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~ELVEN FOREST~

"Urrggh!" Lorelei groaned as her eyes slowly opened, after some seconds she got up from the ground and held a tree for support. 

Unfortunately for her, even though she had orbed from there just in time before the blast hit her, the force still had its impact and flung her on the ground the moment she appeared.

"Damn that hybrid. I bet the blast must have knocked her out. I better hurry and grab her before that elf finds her. They must have noticed by now that she is missing. I cannot screw this up, Bayard wouldn't find it funny after creating such a ruckus."

She stood straight and the next thing disappeared from where she stood. She appeared at the exact same spot where their powers collided.

"Now where is that girl, a damn pest like her mother, they seemed to be fond of blasting things and people."

She orbed away and appeared some distance forward. She caught sight of a dent on the floor, a scattered tree branch and followed the trail. 

Everywhere looked same, except for the dents on the floor at various angles, she walked briskly till she got close to the last one and finally the trail disappeared.

Lorelei heard a whining sound up ahead and looked up for what made such noise. Her eyes caught sight of the little White Tiger-Phoenix beast as it moved about, sniffing and searching for something.