Chapter 16 : My pet's name is Azreal (Nin 'et's est- na- Azreal)

And that was when Cironir noticed her.

"Diana!"

Diana's heart had left her chest and was pounding in her throat. No it couldn't be! she tried to tell herself. But several pieces of the puzzle that had been troubling her fell into place. It made sense! It all made sense. Why the ogradite was sent to kill her, why Broge was sent to save her, why Silvanus had been following her around, why the Queen had stopped Cironir from speaking the night she'd arrived. They had all been fooling her. All of them.

Diana turned around in a daze and found two pairs of eyes staring at her. One pair was deepest brown, the other was emerald green. Diana fled from the hall. Fortunately, the party-goers were in a pleasantly tipsy state by now so no one paid any attention to the flash of blue flying past them.

Need to get away....... I need to get away...

It was her only thought.

She ran down the steps and turned away from the giant lanterns placed on the lawn. Past the pegasi paddock. Past the storage sheds. There was a stitch in her side but she couldn't slow down. She couldn't stop. The pain would catch up with her if she stopped. She stumbled and fell beside the greenhouse. She tried to summon the strength to get up again but she couldn't...... she couldn't..... And then, behind her, she heard a sound that turned her heart cold and raised the hairs at the back of her neck. A low growl, growing louder and louder. The earth shook and with a wrenching sound like several trees being uprooted at once, she sensed, rather than saw a gigantic creature burst out of the earth behind her. Terrified, her blood running cold, she turned slowly to face the monster.

Diana had only seen a picture of this creature inside the pages of Most Powerful Magical Beasts. But the picture did not highlight several crucial points. It didn't show how the razor-sharp teeth in the lion's face glinted even in twilight, it didn't show how wide the bat-like wings were and it did no justice to the length of the scorpion's sting that it had for a tail. Diana was looking at a twenty feet tall manticore. And it would probably be the last thing she would ever see.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

The manticore lunged forward but at the same time several creepers shot out of the greenhouse breaking the glass and snaring its paws. Diana regained the feeling in her legs and jumped out of the way. The monster staggered and fell with a loud crash into the greenhouse wall, shattering the panes.

Silvanus stood where the manticore had been a few moments ago, his hand raised, his face rigid with concentration as he tried to keep the creepers attached to the beast's claws. But the manticore was barely hurt. Irritated, it shook its large mane and bared its pointed teeth at the first thing it saw, which was Diana. It opened its mouth wide and shot a jet of flames at her. Throwing her hands over her face uselessly, Diana waited for the flames to burn her........ but nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see golden flames licking her body. But there was no pain. Nothing burnt. She concentrated on the flames and they turned away from her back to the manticore, who looked as shocked as she felt.

"I'm fireproof!! Whohoooooooooooooo!!"

"THAT'S GREAT! WILL YOU COME AND HELP NOW??!"

Silvanus had rushed forward and was trying to restrain the manticore. Creepers and climbers wound around its paws. It slashed out with one front paw that was loosely bound, uprooting a giant poisonous Venus animaltrap that opened its trap as it fell in a wide arc. Watching it's trajectory fearfully, Diana screwed up her eyes and yelled "Dar!" She felt her chest getting warmer, and something growing out of her shoulderblades, pushing her hair aside, but she concentrated on keeping the three feet long animaltrap from falling on top of Silvanus.

Commotion behind her alerted her to the elves running across the lawns towards them. The manticore let out an almighty roar and raised its paw, breaking the green cords that bound it. It aimed a great swipe at Silvanus but......... stopped, eyes narrowed, it's paw still raised. An arrow whizzed past her shoulder, lodging itself resolutely on the neck of the beast which let out a piteous moan and then fell to its side slowly, flattening the trestle tables and several rare plants. Silvanus jumped backwards and Diana let go of the spell holding the fleshy trap of the Venus in the air. It fell with a disgusting squelch.

Feeling like her shivering legs would not support her, Diana sank to the ground. The warm feeling had disappeared from her chest. Whatever she'd felt on her back was also gone. Silvanus looked as though he'd run a marathon and then seen a ghost at the finish line.

Herdir Yanus was clutching his chest, breathing hard. Queen Zinnia, her crown askew looked like she was about to faint. Another elf, broad-chested and muscled stood holding a long bow and beside him stood Cironir.

"NO! You've killed him!" Silvanus was staring at the manticore, scared out of his mind. Diana wondered if the manticore had managed to get a swipe at his head. Maybe his brain had been addled.

"It's a sedation arrow. He's just sleeping." Cironir corrected him calmly and Silvanus looked relieved.

"Are you CRAZY? That - that thing tried to kill us." Diana shouted. There was a clear note of hysteria in her voice.

"That thing has a name." Silvanus looked at her, his face rigid as stone. "Azreal. My pet's name is Azreal." His shoulders slumped and he lowered his eyes. "At least, he used to be my pet."

"You're crazy! All of you!"

"Azreal belonged to King Talish." Cironir told her gently. "He was his comrade in the war. When our king died, Azreal lost his world. He became more and more vicious, resisting control........... The Queen gave the order to have him locked in the dungeon where he could not harm anyone. What I don't understand is how he managed to break free of his manacles when they've kept him bound for so many years." Cironir's voice ended on a thoughtful note.

Now that the shock of finding herself facing a full grown manticore ebbed, her previous feelings of betrayal and anger were back. Diana was angry with herself because there was pain mingled with her fury. She'd come to love this place......

Cironir spoke first as if reading her mind. "Herdir Maethor, please go back to the soiree and make sure that the students don't come outside till Azreal is taken back to the dungeon. Herdir Yanus, please fetch Herdir Faun. He shall take care of Azreal." Both the teachers departed leaving Cironir, Zinnia, and the children alone.

Cironir spoke again after the others were out of earshot. "This is not how I wanted you to find out, Diana." Diana looked away, frowning, "Right. You didn't want me to find out at all."

"The mantle of Zareh is the highest honour bestowed by Terr'ane-," began Queen Zinnia.

"Honour? Honour?" Diana was on her feet and her temper was back in full force. "You can take your honour and shove it. Cause I don't want it! What kind of society asks an eleven year old to sacrifice her life for - for - for him." She jabbed a finger in the direction of Silvanus. " Would you ask your daughter to become a bodyguard to someone? To live her life screening the boy every single davizae on this planet is hunting? Diana, we're an advanced society! There is no crime here." Diana mimed in a bad impression of Arion. "Isn't this crime? Trying to take away someone's life!"

"Diana..." Cironir winced at her words, his eyes filled with deep, ancient sorrow.

"Herdante." The quiet voice of Silvanus was bell-like. There was a faint ring of authority in it that Diana hadn't heard before.

He turned to look at Diana like he'd never seen her before. His gaze was tender, sorrowful. "I'm sorry, Rosa. This is all my fault. You were always an intangible concept to me. A fairy tale..... Father always said that you'd be a friend. My friend. I'd never imagined that you wouldn't be of my kingdom, that you wouldn't love it the way I do, that you wouldn't take up the responsibility of a Protector...... willingly. All our efforts were focused on finding you, believing - quite childishly, I suppose - that our problems would be miraculously solved when you'd arrive in our kingdom. But believe me, Rosa! I would never force you to choose a life that you don't want........ How can I? You are my friend, Rosa ........... even if I am not yours."

Diana had been struck dumb by what he said. It was true. She could see his thoughts, honest and truthful, burning fervently inside his mind. Silvanus turned to Cironir. "The duties of the Zareh should only be performed by one devoted to Vorantia. But she isn't even remotely connected to this place. It is not her home. And it would be unfair...... wrong for us to force her into this position. I've made my choice, Herdante. Once Diana turns eighteen, she will renounce the bond. Thus righting the mistake I made six years ago."

"No! Silvanus, this is-" Queen Zinnia spluttered, horrified.

"I'm not choosing this just for her sake, Mother." Silvanus looked much older than eleven when he stared up at the frustrated queen. "I'm choosing this for the sake of our kingdom. The blood of an innocent life should not be spilled on the flag of our great Vorantia."

The Queen seemed unable to come up with a response. Cironir, however, stared at Silvanus with a mixture of pride and happiness. "Your command will be obeyed, Avedis. You are a true son of your father."

He turned as if to go back but seemed to remember something. He smiled at Diana - a proud smile.

"Congratulations on discovering your element......... fairy of fire."

***********************

After the destruction caused by Azreal was cleared up and Azreal himself was back inside his dungeon, the students and courtiers spilled out into the lawns each holding a lantern for the traditional fireworks. The crowd which had been informed about Azreal's destruction of the greenhouses were whispering among themselves feeling jumpy.

The ceremony of the lanterns was inaugurated by the Queen, Silvanus and Aletheia, all of them looking too disturbed for such a happy tradition. The largest lantern was ignited and held aloft by the three of them and it rose into the air, bobbing higher and higher till at one point it burst like a firework showering gold sparkles. The others ignited their lanterns and let them rise into the air where they burst in red, green, blue and pink showers of sparkles against the violet sky. Diana followed Silvanus as he casually strolled away from the crowd ooohing and ahhing at the fireworks display.

"Hey."

Silvanus turned around and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Hi."

Diana exhaled the breath she wasn't aware that she was holding. "Th-thank y-you. I -uh - it was a very decent thing you did."

"You are welcome." He said simply.

"And -uh I have -uh- something for you." She deposited the brown pegasus into his hand. It flapped its wings and curled up in his palm. He observed the pegasus and then looked back at Diana who looked a little sheepish. "Uh- it's not much but-"

"I love it! Thank you, Rosa - uh - I mean, Diana."

"Silvanus..."

"Mmm?"

"You can call me Rosa....."