"An…"

Before she could shout out her name, Anny blocked her soft lips with her hand right away.

"Shuusshh…..keep it down…"

Julie realizing what she was going to say, nodded her head.

"Good.." she said, leaving her lips alone.

"long time no see, An….ahem, umm….."

"You can call me Anna for the time being….." she said, changing her form again. Now a younger with a much mature look. Her hair, still blond, and her eyes turning a bit light red like all the locals here.

"wow, you kinda look the same but different at the same time….Anna."

"well….it\'s all because of her majesty\'s ring. So don\'t be too surprised... So how have you been?" she asked with a smile.

"ha….. it\'s been boring, no it feels like hell. I want to see him, get close to him, what are all the rumors Ann…Anna. Please tell me the truth…" she pleaded, her adorable eyes gazing at Anny like a cute puppy.

"haa….ok. your mother would have told you sooner or later anyway."

She looked around and doubled checked for caution, she tuned her necklace and an invisible cover appeared around both of them.

"Don\'t worry, it\'s a noise-canceling shield. So where do I start, it would be better if we both sit down. It\'s a long story..."

After one and a half hours...

"..."

Julie was there, fully silent, looking at the lake down below, her reflection clear to be seen. During the past, both herself and Atlas would look at their reflection, both of their smile and happiness sparkling through the water but now, there was only one image and it was hers\', the happiness and smile of the past nowhere to be seen.

"…..so, he had to face all that and had to run away at the end…." She said, her voice lacking any energy.

"….." Anny didn\'t know what to say. Looking at her being so sad, she thought it was better to not get her involved from the beginning, but she needed to get out of here, to meet him, no matter the cost and she was the only way left for her. "Why don\'t you go home, for now, it\'s almost nighttime. Your father would be searching for you by now."

"..."

Julie was still quite looking at her reflection and out of nowhere, slapped herself, the echo of her slap going around the invisible shield.

Slap!!

"ouch!! It hurts. It hurts soo much."

Anny with a surprise came closer with a health potion in hand.

"Idiot! What did you do that for?" she scolded.

"I…I want to help. You must have called me if I can help you get out of here but, here I am, being sad. Atlas would surely be disappointed in me right now…."

"haa….its ok. You are still young and don\'t compare yourself to him. He is just….. A different breed of a human in its own." she said, her cheeks a bit red, reminiscing some of their memories during their….. bath.

"I know….so that\'s…why I want to help as much as I can…" she said, pushing away her small tears, from her red hand-printed cheeks.

"....so do you know the way. I would ask for your mother\'s help but Queen Elizabeth needs her help more than I do."

"I know a way….." she said.

"you do!!???" she asked in surprise. She didn\'t expect her to have a \'way\', she just wanted to take a shot in the darkness knowing she was only a child, and if she didn\'t know anything, she thought to at least meet her, to tell the truth. She knew that even she was a child, she also loved Atlas from the bottom of her heart so keeping her in the dark wasn\'t sitting well with her. But now, knowing she had a way. She was ecstatic in many ways.

"really Ju…ahem…are you serious?"

"Yes….Father and Mommy showed me an escaped route, to run away if we somehow lost a battle as we are living on the border. So father wanted extra safety for me and mommy…"

"that\'s great!! Julie. Where\'s the route?"

Julie\'s face turned pale with a bit of worry. She looked back at her shoulder, gazing at the enormous towering castle with many guards and soldiers around, which could be seen from anywhere in Lustin city.

"Don\'t tell me….?" Anny asked her previous smile nowhere to be seen.

"umm…..it\'s… within the castle…."

"haa...oh lord, help me…."

"help is here….." said a womanly voice from behind.

Both Anny and Julie looked behind, fully surprised. Anny was even more surprised, feeling a strange presence from behind all of sudden. She was sure, she was registering every movement using the air movements, around a five-kilometer radius but this woman came out of now where and even heard what they were talking, with the noise-canceling shield around nonetheless.

Anny looked upon the woman, standing, with the rugged clothing she was wearing, her face covered by her tore off the hood and dirty scarf.

"Ohh….y…you are the poor person, who was lying down below near the lake. D..do you come here for money? I…I can give you if you want some….." she said, taking out five silver coins.

"Oh thanks….." she said, quickly taking the coin from her hands, her scarf falling from her half-covered face as she bends down.

Anny was circulating her mana to full throttle, to attack or even kill the mysterious person if necessary but the moment she saw her face, uncovered from her scarf. Her eyes widened in shock with fear slowly coming into play.

"Run!!!" she shouted, grabbing Julie by her hand, inserting as much mana on her legs as possible. With the full force of her mana, she unleashed a crater as she pushed herself to the limit, running sideways like a bullet.

Boom!!

But alas, she knocked herself into an invisible wall, stopping her from going any further. Dirt and debris everywhere, from the sudden explosive she created.

"Nice air control there." Said the mysterious woman, her fingers counting the coins. "five silver coins, I guess I can sleep with a roof for fifteen or twenty days with this."

"Anna….w…who\'s she?" Julie asked in confusion.

Anny whipped out the blood flowing from her head and drank her health potion, instantly healing herself. Breathing in and out in a proper manner, she slowly calmed herself.

"she\'s bad news….…ahem....ahem…you might not know her but, she\'s Moana….the Valkyrie."

"oh! Do you know me? I guess that\'s the reason you ran away. Smart choice, if I have to say. And here I thought I was completely disguised as a normal person."

"what do you want?!!" she shouted, as loud as possible.

"hmm? Trying to attract attention? Don\'t worry, no one will know or hear what\'s happening here."

Surprised, Anny touched the invisible wall she collided with.

"Pure mana lock…" she said, her troubled eyes frowning even more.

"Ok, it\'s clear that I am powerful than you and don\'t even talk about the child and it\'s also clear that your life is in my hands. So hear me out, won\'t you?"

"….do tell, how measly servant like myself can help someone like you. The killer Valkyrie herself."

"haha…..nothing much, I heard your discussion before, it seems that child knows the way out of here and like you, I want to get out of here, undetected."

"…huh, are you kidding me? You! Do you the Valkyrie herself want to escape from this measly city undetected? You can just destroy the whole border wall and escape, and nobody would still bat an eye…" she said, looking at her in confusion.

"haa...I would, I mean I seriously would like to just do that but I have my reasons. So what do you say? Die here or take me with you. I might as well help you both get out of here undetected.

So, how\'s the offer?"

Anny stood up as her body was now fully healed.

"Even if I believe you. What guarantee is there, you won\'t just kill us right after we escape?"

Moana stared at her healed body in surprise.

\'she must be rich, using such potions like water. Haa….. it\'s gonna be a bit troublesome if she has more of that high-level potion. I really don\'t want more attention than I already have. If All-father knows I am here. He will surely come to beat the shit out of me and take me home.

Damn! I just wanted to meet my sister at Fanxia and at the same time, they lock the borders with the new dwarven scanners… what the fuck? Xandar has too much fucking money and those items arrived right after I decided to get out, my luck is really thinning out it seems ….\'

"Then, what do you want? I am really in a bind here with less time." She complained.

Anny looked at her awkwardly.

\'Is she really \'the Valkyrie\' famously known as the sword of All-father himself? I thought her to be a killing machine, from all the data I had read on her, or did something changed? I guess this is also a chance on its own.\'

"Only one thing then, swear on your All-father, I think that\'s one of you…." Before Anny could complete her words, she felt an intense bloodlust directing at her. Her body was fully frozen, not even being able to move her finger in the slightest.

"Anny..Anny, what happened to you?" Julie asked in worry.

"hmmm...I\'m surprised you haven\'t fainted. You folks of Xandar are really resilient from mental aura attacks, aren\'t you?" She said walking near Anny. "But don\'t think you can use his name just as you please." Her voice suddenly turning cold, like thin blades of ice surrounding all around her. Ready to cut anything and anyone. "So I hope you use your tongue wisely, you worm...Last chance….do or die here and now." her voice cold as ever.

"I… I will lead you. Please don\'t do anything to her." Julie said, coming in between.

"Brave girl, perhaps I underestimated you….lets go then. If there are no scanners in the palace. I can diminish both of your aura and easily take you inside.." she said.

Anny finally came to her breath, breathing heavily, her body finally in her control.

\'haa…..that\'s the \'sword\' I heard about….I guess I have to follow through for now…\'

"..if…there are scanners….Julie…you know what to do?" Anny said.

Julie nodded in relief, seeing her all ok.

"Let\'s go the, less talking more movement." Moana bellowed.

With that, all three of them walked towards the palace.

.

.

.

.

Far away from the borders of Lurtain.

In the night of the bright moon shining upon a nearby cliff, three people came out of the cave, their figures all wearing dirty clothing.

"haa...we are finally out.." Moana said in relief. "Those paths were like fucking puzzles, how did you know all the pathways little missy."

"hehe….I was just taught well, that\'s all.." she answered, her cheeks a bit red.

"hihihihihi...whatever, I\'m finally free!!" she bellowed

"hmm…."

"what happened Anny?" Julie asked.

"No…it was just too easy…is it a trap? Or am I just overthinking?"

"I think not. If father would have come and visited me, then it would have been very troublesome as you thought but we had a fight the moment before I met you so he may be a bit mad with me. I might have to say sorry when I get back."

"umm….ok, I will believe you on that Julie. I already told you right, be careful and listen to your mother, ok?"

"yes…I will keep that in my heart, ok now I will go back otherwise, father and all the other servants might suspect something."

"ok…take care."

Both of them gave a tight hug to each other..

"Tell Atlas I miss him…. a lot," Julie whispered.

"Will do…." Anny answered.

With their final goodbyes, Julie went inside the cave and Anny kept waving her until she was nowhere to be seen, slowly disappearing within the dark cave.

"Isn\'t that enough? Let\'s go?" Moana said from the back.

Anny turned over, facing the person who had just threaten to kill her an hour ago.

"Why are you here, going to kill me?" she said, her mana again in full throttle.

"hihihihi…..not that, I am interested that\'s all, brave souls like you are rare In this world. People like you are like an endangered species of sorts. So I decided…"

"Decided what?" she said prepared for anything. Her heartbeat slowly rising.

"To go together, of course. I going alone is pretty boring so a companion wouldn\'t hurt."

"What? Are you insane? why would I go with you? You literally just tried to kill me before and I don\'t want people….." before she could complete her words. Moana grabbed her hand and jumped high. So high, that they almost reached the sky.

"Enough blabbering….I know where you are going, and our path coincides together, so let\'s just go….An…what was your name again…."

"..."

"oh she fainted, is she scared of heights or something, oh well, wait for me sister, here I come!!!!" she bellowed, kicking the air with her mana-covered legs, pushing her body even further towards the sky…"

*****

Thank you for reading! The next two chapters are free on patr eon (https://www.patr eon.com/Highelder), eight chapters beyond that for three dollars, and many more for five dollars (five-chapter release a week at this tier).

And if you want to ask any questions I\'m in discord: https://discord.gg/QbWyAP3Y8j