Valerian, The Legendary

48 Traveling.

Valerian followed behind Quies, who was dragging the stunned bandit leader from his collar. At this moment, the gray-robed mage had his limbs broken, they were all wiping on the ground, while his head was lulling in the air.

Quies was not polite at all, this guy had bad intentions in his heart regarding the Princess. How could he show mercy? Valerian, well, he did not have any warming emotion for humans at all. He may talk politely but that was just his mannerism and not his emotions.

...

The guard captain said, “I see them.”

The other guards all became alert, soon Quies and Valerian walked over. The guards gazed at the two people and their pupils constricted in fright. They were not normal people.

The guard captain jumped onto the ground and he took hold of the bandit leader. Quies glanced at Valerian and said, “Call her highness.”

Valerian nodded as the guards prepared the bandit leader to be presented in front of her highness. The child came to the carriage and gently knocked on it. The door was pushed open and Priscilla came into his view. After a few signs, the boy left.

The maid could only cast a helpless gaze at the back of this child and after turning around, she said, “Your Highness, they have come back.”

Azula raised her eyebrow and expressed her surprise, “So swiftly?”

.....

Priscilla nodded, and said, “Valerian was here, they have the bandit leader for you to punish.”

Azula nodded and then she stepped out of the carriage, followed by Consano and Conixia. The maid was the first one to take a step out to help the princess and the two ladies.

They came over to the side of the road where the guard captain and Quies were standing together, gazing at a dispirited man. Azula looked around and found Valerian to be talking with the guards. They were all proficient in sign languages and Valerian was asking them things that he thought could have done better in the battle.

Just because he could defeat them did not mean he was invincible, they had the experienced that he did not. Also, their foundation was solid, Valerian had no idea how he was fighting, it was all like an instinct to him. He did not want to be dependent on his instincts forever.

Azula walked over and Quies spotted her. He bowed and said, “The path has been cleared, Your Highness.”

Azula nodded and replied, “Outstanding work, as usual, Quies.”

Usually, the steward will bow his head and accept the praise but today he shook his head and said, “This is all done by Valerian. He was the one who took down the enemy. Not me, Your Highness.”

Azula nodded with a faint smile, she did not know what Valerian had done exactly. She cast a gaze at the bandit leader and asked, “Why was this low-life kept?”

Quies said, “He uttered some profanities for you, so I thought it would be nice for you to deal with it on your own.”

Azula nodded and raising her hand she said, “Congelo.”

This spell allowed her to freeze the man into an ice sculpture, and the next moment Quies kicked the sculpture and made it crack all over. The two ladies were surprised that her highness just killed a man in front of them and her face did not change.

Azula said, “Let us move.”

Quies nodded and they all got back in their positions and the convoy began to move. As they passed the spot where Valerian had slaughtered the bandits, the guards were feeling their hearts beating faster like drums. The scenery was too strong for a child to do.

Priscilla also saw this from the window of the carriage, but she did not say anything, after all, she was not a simple maid.

After they passed the spot, Azula said, “Quies, can we fasten our speeds?”

The old man replied, “We are already moving at the fastest, Your Highness.”

Valerian sitting beside the old man raised his eyebrows and let out a few bleating sounds. The Blizzard bucks in the front bleated back. The child and the beasts communicated and the old man was left surprised. The boy suddenly said, ‘They will be faster. Give me the reins, Sir Quies.”

The old man nodded and wanted to see, what this child will do. He handed over the reins and Valerian uttered a few more sounds. This time he was talking to the leading Wraith. His message was very simple, run at your fastest speed, and let them know what you can do.

The Wraith leader neighed back in approval and slowly the speed of the convoy picked up. Azula and the two ladies have been reading books in silence, when they tried to rest their eyes and looked outside, they were shocked at the speed the scenery was changing.

Azula asked, “Priscilla, what is happening?”

The maid replied, “Valerian has taken the reins, and the Wraiths have also been running faster. I do not know what he has done, but he has managed to increase our speed.”

Azula gazed outside and found that the sun was about to set. She asked, “Do they not plan to stop for the night?”

Priscilla shook her head and said, “I have no idea.”

She raised her head to look at the window-like gap inside the carriage, she slid open the barrier and asked, “Sir Quies, Her Highness said to camp for the night.”

Quies replied, “Yes.”

Shortly after the convoy stopped next to a pond. The guards all quickly got down the place and they helped set up a tent. The material was all placed inside the storage compartment of the carriage.

This carriage was magically enchanted and could store a lot of stuff. After the tent was made, Consano and Conixia also helped with the decorations, and finally, Azula followed them. The princess was not cruel, she allowed the women to stay inside. However, Consano and Conixia had trouble sleeping.

The elder sister decided to come out of the tent and gaze at the stars. The two guards at the entrance bowed to her slightly. Consano, suddenly, thought of something and asked, “Where is Valerian?”

The guard pointed at the bank of the pond, where a boy with silver hair was sitting on a boulder. The boy held a book in his hands, reading with a blob of light moving around him. Consano wanted to move forward but she froze.

Valerian was surrounded by Wraiths. They seem to gather around him, like bees of a flower. The girl did not know how she should get closer to the boy, and eventually, she decided to give up. After all, the past encounter was not very pleasant and Valerian probably did not want to have anything to do with her.

Consano sat down on near the bonfire lit up by the guards, and gazed at the stars. She did not know that her younger sister has also followed her steps. Conixia spotted Valerian, but then she did not intend to interact with him. So she scoffed and walked over to her sister.

The two girls sat down and began to chat as the night deepened. Azula woke up and found that the girls were not there, so she looked at Priscilla and after finding out the whole thing, she decided to comfort the two girls. They must be feeling homesick after all.

The two came out of the tent and joined the two sisters. Azula suddenly cast a gaze towards the pond and saw Valerian’s silhouette and shook her head. Consano asked, “Your highness, is something the matter?”

Azula shook her head and said, “Nothing, but when I look at Valerian, I cannot help but feel sad. He is far ahead of the people his age, the term childhood seems to have no relation to him. I feel very aggrieved inside.”

Priscilla sighed and said, “True, his pursuit is so hard and so strong that it does not leave room for him to show weakness. All this hard work, for what? His mother’s promise? How many children in the world can do this?”

Consano nodded and said, “When I saw him in the forest of Acies, I could tell that he was really strong and I thought that he must be from some blessed family. However, that is not the case. It is said that when life puts pressure on you, can you shine out like a diamond.”

Azula nodded and said, “Indeed.”

Conixia asked, “Your Highness, I want to ask why can he stay close to the Wraiths, I have heard they are very strong and private creatures, even after being trained they do not all strangers to get closer to themselves.”

Priscilla smiled and said, “Since you are our own, then let me tell you. Valerian can understand the beast tongue.”

Her words were shocking, but something even more shocking happened, Quies shouted, “To the Arms!!!”