It was the time after the sun had drowned, yet the king did not seem to be at ease after the disappearance of his only daughter.
He had summoned his best sentinels to search for her, to find her at all cost, but they returned with nothing, not even a single clue that could lead him to where she was.
"Generals! Call the wizard and command him to locate Alara by tomorrow night. And tell him what will happen if he fails," the king said fiercely.
The generals knew better than to challenge his orders. Even if they wanted to speak sense, they held their tongues and nodded quietly.
The king was isolated in his chamber, candles burning low, the room filled with the scent of crackling wood from the fire beside his chair. In his hands, he held something he had not looked at in years.
~~~~~
Later that night,
"I was wondering, Alara… where's your pendant? You were wearing it the last time I saw you, but it's not around your neck now." Abrum had noticed the missing pendant as they talked.
Alara quickly brought her hand to her neck, but the pendant was truly gone.
"No way… how did I lose it? What am I going to do now?"
Alara panicked when she realized it had disappeared.
"It's alright princess! you don't have to be worried, I'll search in the forest, I'm sure you have lost it there!"
Abrum said to alara with so much calm that she forgot, she was even worried.
The next morning…
"Abrum! Where were you?"
The old master had been waiting for him to return from the forest, and the moment he saw Abrum approaching, he called out to him.
"I was in the forest. Last night, when Alara and I were exploring, she lost her pendant, and she was so worried about it. So I promised her I would find it for her," Abrum explained as he pulled out a chair and sat down.
"You made a barrier in the forest? Abrum! Don't you know how harmful that could be for you? You didn't even transform on the last blood moon!" the old master said, his voice filled with fury.
"How do you know?" Abrum asked, avoiding the old master's furious gaze.
"Earlier this morning, when I was out on my walk, I couldn't even get close to the castle. And Abrum… you're forgetting that I am also a mere being,"
The old master told him.
"ohh! forgive me master, I couldn't think of anything else other than making a barrier across the castle" Abrum pleases to the old master.
"I know, Abrum. I know you want to protect Alara, but you can't risk your life doi
ng it," the old master said calmly.