The Panteran king was alone in his office when the man from the hidden village of Zeal-bearers of the Great Wolf arrived.
His old worn-out clothes cover his muscular body. Similar to Neoma, the man has long silver hair, eyes that seem to be made from the same cluster of silver, and a calm stare.
Ander stood up. The two seem to be similar in stature.
Before saying anything, the silver-haired man placed his left hand on his chest and bowed to the Panteran king. In response, Ander placed his right hand on his chest and bowed. The king found it interesting that their way of greeting only differed with the placement of their hands.
"I am Ander Aurusmane, Pantera's king."
"Linus, great warrior of Mene," the silver-haired man replied.
"So, your village's name was Mene?" Ander asked, also pointing at the seats around the tables with his open hand.
Linus nodded. He approached the seat close to the Panteran king and decided to sit there.
"The girl," Linus looked around, "where is she?" he asked.
"I've sent someone to get her."
As the two chatted with each other, although it was only Ander who tried to further their conversation, a knock from the door stopped the Panteran king from talking.
"They're here," Ander said. He also told them to come in.
Like their past audience with Ander, only Nireus, Lyra, and Aeneas accompanied Neoma inside the king's office. The others were in the room next to them, the one with snacks and refreshments prepared.
The four of them greeted the king with the Panteran bow.
"This is Linus, a great warrior from the hidden village of Mene," Ander said.
They greeted him with the same gesture and also introduced themselves. Linus stood up and returned the bow. His way of greeting also fascinated them aside from Neoma who still didn't care about trivial matters.
Linus stared at Neoma with his nonchalant expression. The girl felt intimidated and hid behind Aeneas while glaring at the huge man who appeared domineering.
"You do look like your mother with your hair dyed," Linus said.
Neoma's ears perked up. Slowly, her body emerged behind Aeneas.
"You know mother?"
Though minimal, Linus had a smile on his face, "Of course, Nasaea and I grew up in Mene," he replied.
As she assessed the longing expression Linus made talking about her mother, Neoma's uneasiness towards him lowered.
Curious, Aeneas didn't think before he asked, "Then why did they become prisoners in Aakdan?"
He realized that he blurted out his words without thinking, and the way he said it might sound disrespectful towards the king and Linus. So, the boy retracted his words and apologized.
The Panteran king smiled, "There's no need for an apology, we're all curious," he said.
Once again, minimal change occurred in the expression of Linus. This time, he appeared sorrowful.
"Nasaea wasn't born with the Great Wolf's mark," Linus said that among the villagers, very few were born without the mark, and Nasaea was the only one at the time. Although her physical appearance was similar to theirs and the only difference was her hair color, not having the mark of the Great Wolf made her feel as if she didn't belong in their village.
Then one day, she found a book that talks about the wide world outside the village. It filled her head with the desire to explore the vast world and made her view Mene as a cage preventing her from a great adventure.
After months of pleading and having arguments with her father, the current Moonlord of the village, Nasaea was permitted to leave Mene. But, it was on the premise that she wasn't allowed to come back.
"I didn't know what happened to her after she left," Linus stared at Neoma, "To think she'd have a child with the Great Wolf's mark," he continued with a wistful smile.
In the other room, Tiriara has been bothering her older sister, Theresa. The girl kept giggling, asking her sister tons of questions about their wedding that wasn't even planned yet. Arsen hasn't felt more embarrassed in his entire life as he listened to them. Konon and Eluard were in the same room, they couldn't help but chuckle as they heard Tiriara's questions.
"So, when do I get my niece?" Tiriara asked.
It was a question that made Theresa, who was one of the calmest people in all of Arsida, blush to the extent that her face appeared like a tomato. She covered Tiriara's mouth and told her that she might be too noisy and could be a disturbance to the king and the others in the room next to theirs.
Arsen's face was also red, he averted his eyes when they met with Theresa's. Meanwhile, both Konon and Eluard couldn't stop themselves from laughing.
Tiriara removed her sister's hand from her mouth, "Fine, I'll also settle with a nephew," she whispered.
Back at the king's office, the conversation continued. Linus asked everyone in the room if any of them had come to know how Nasaea ended up in the kingdom of Aakdan. Everyone shook their heads in reply. He then stared at Neoma and asked her where she and her mother lived before being imprisoned.
At first, the girl didn't want to speak. But when Aeneas told her that he also wanted to hear her story, she reluctantly began telling them.
"Somewhere pretty."
Since Neoma's sentences were incomplete, everyone was having a hard time trying to understand her. But, Aeneas could. Talking and teaching her since they met made the boy capable of understanding most of what she was trying to say. He helped her fill the blanks of the sentences in her story.
Neoma could remember glimpses of her early childhood. She was only three when she lived with her parents in a small wooden house beside a lake. Then one day, scary men arrived at their house and took her away. She could remember how sad her mother was, begging to let her go, but her father was happy counting something the scary men gave him.
She said that it was all she could remember before she was imprisoned in a facility with other people. Inside the facility, they were being observed by men wearing a mask at the bottom half of their faces and purple coats. Sometimes, they would be brought into a room to be injected with a needle.
Nireus and Ander were staring at each other after hearing Neoma's story. They were both thinking how disgusting it was for Aakdan to still conduct such human atrocities even at times of peace.
"I see," Linus muttered. He stood up and turned towards the king, "We should leave now. I worry that my companion might grow anxious with all the noise in this place."
Linus was talking about his steed and friend, a gray wolf he grew up with named Fen. Similar to lions, wolves are also terrifying beasts. Although their mastery of elemental magic isn't on par with a lion, they are still considered great magic users who can use all elements, including dark and light magic, as well as hallucinogenic ones. More so, unlike lions or any other creatures for that matter, wolves are the masters when it comes to fighting in groups. They also have high intelligence when compared to other creatures, and can feel human emotions.
He bowed to Ander, who returned the gesture. Then, he went towards Neoma, "Let's go," Linus said as he stretched his hand asking for the little girl's.
"No!" shouted Neoma.
Confused, Linus's brows furrowed. He turned to the king still befuddled.
Ander stared back at him, "I think it's for you two to decide. But, I would prefer it if you do not force the girl," he said.
With a sigh, Linus turned his eyes back to Neoma, "Why?"
"If go, can leave?"
"What?"
Aeneas butted in the conversation respectfully, "I think she was asking if she could leave your village if she goes with you," he said.
Linus thanked Aeneas for explaining it to him. After a brief pause, "No, you can't," he replied to Neoma.
"Then… no! I stay."
"Don't you want to meet your grandfather? To be in the place where your mother grew up, the place where you belong."
Neoma said in her own way that Linus told them that it was a place that 'caged' her mother. It was just days since she was freed from being a captive in that facility and Neoma didn't want to be caged again. Besides, if she can't leave the village once she goes there, she won't be able to visit her mother's grave. Like earlier, Aeneas helped the others understand what Neoma was saying.
An unexpected smile formed on Linus's face. It was wider than the last time. He could see Nasaea in her daughter, which led him to remember her voice as she told him no when he tried to reason to her that leaving their village was stupid.
"I see," Linus muttered. "Then, I guess I won't be bringing you with me."
Neoma was happy to hear his response.
"But, under one condition."