Lunae kept to herself the rest of the day. She could tell the Master wanted to talk to her, but she didn’t care; let him be wounded. Fulch was nowhere to be seen, and Lunae wondered what he was doing. She left the hut to go look for him. People were smiling at her; they must have heard about what happened. She desperately wanted to find Fulch, she started to feel uncomfortable. It only got worse when the Lord’s soldiers found her and asked her to follow. Lunae felt as if she needed protection, so she looked around for Linth. That’s when she realized they were powerless against her and her newfound gifts. She followed them to the main hut, and Nartuck was sitting on his throne waiting for her. Lunae stood there in silence, waiting for him to say something. In reality, he was wondering if she was bold enough to say something first. They sat in silence for a while until Nartuck couldn’t take it anymore.
“So, you are the one to dispatch the heathens that were sent to kill you?” Nartuck said. Lunae nodded and was curious why he led this way. He smiled; he suspected she didn’t realize.
“Strange how they want this union, but they send people to kill you. Did you ever wonder why?” Nartuck said, weaving his web around Lunae. Lunae didn’t even realize the contradiction, but now that it was pointed out, she realized she had no idea who to trust.
“Who sent them?” Lunae said, being very straightforward. Nartuck smiled and showed his pointed teeth.
“Who benefits from your death?” He said. Lunae had no idea which one; she was oblivious to all about this world, but she wasn’t going to let him know that.
“I would think you, but I feel like you wouldn’t let me know this unless you had an alternative motive. Now tell me what you know,” Lunae said, tired of his games. The fact that Nartuck was actually scared of her didn’t seem to affect the way he talked to her.
“You haven’t had much dealings with the Porpura, have you?” He asked smuggishly. This made Lunae wonder, especially since the water told her that she needed to see the leader of the Porpura people.
“So if you suspect them, why tell me? What is it you want?” Lunae asked. The Lord knew she would ask this, and this is exactly where he wanted her.
“I’ll tell you all I know in exchange you will marry me and not let Fulch take control,” Nartuck said, thinking he won this one. Lunae was in no mood for any of this. It made her infuriated, and she wasn’t going to be anyone else’s toy. So she grabbed the water in Nartuck and started to pull. He screamed in agony, and his soldiers charged. She held their water, and they couldn’t do anything. Lunae started to like how it felt to drain someone's life. Nartuck pleaded in between screams, but Lunae wasn’t listening. She felt someone come in behind her, and she quickly grabbed their water. She could barely hear the screams from the person behind her until she heard her name in a familiar voice. Fulch was screaming her name, and once she realized it was him, she let him go. It took a moment for him to catch his breath, but once he did, he ran up to Lunae and begged her to stop. Lunae wasn’t listening; she was enjoying herself too much.
“Lunae! Don’t kill for the fun of it. You are better than that!” Fulch screamed, and something in Lunae clicked that killing just to kill is wrong. She stopped pulling the water from Nartuck but kept the soldiers in their place. What’s wrong with me? Lunae thought.
“You will tell me what you know, and I might spare your life,” Lunae said to Nartuck, who was gasping for air. Lunae liked this feeling of control, and nothing was going to stop her.
“You are insane! You know if you kill me, my people would never accept you!” Nartuck said, and Lunae smiled at him.
“They have their king back. They will not need you,” Lunae said as she started to pull the water from him again. His screams echoed throughout the hut, and people started to gather around outside. Fulch could see in Lunae’s eyes that she was enjoying it. That’s when he ran up to her and put his arms around her. This shocked Lunae out of her trance, and she let go of the Lord.
“Please, Lunae no more. You’re going down a dangerous path,” Fulch said, pleading with Lunae. She looked into Fulch’s eyes, deep down, she knew what she was doing was wrong, but she didn’t seem to care at that moment in time.
“I will not be played as a fool,” Lunae said to Fulch and brought her attention back to the Lord.
“Now tell me all you know,” She demanded. Nartuck, catching his breath again, looked very scared. He knew if he misstepped, then Lunae would kill him.
“The leader of the Porpura thinks the worship of the water has too much power over his people, and he wants the power. I suspect he’s trying to work with the leader of the Rhudons to kill off the Master of water and take over. He believes the water talks to him. He doesn’t want any union between the water and his species except his own,” Nartuck said. Lunae looked over at Fulch, who was taking in all this information.
“What do you get out of all of this? Why let us know about the deceit?” Fulch asked. Lunae, secretly, was glad that he took over; she wasn’t ready to deal with all the politics. Nartuck didn’t want to answer Fulch and was about to say something about it until he looked at Lunae.
“Because our species just keeps getting forgotten, most don’t follow the old ways because we believe the water has abandoned us. I want us to come out on top, and the best way is to save the Master of water. Then she’ll be indebted to us,” Nartuck said. Fulch was contemplating what he said.
“You are right, our people have been abandoned, but I will make it right. Not by trickery, what were you going to ask for this information?” Fulch said. Nartuck was hesitant, weighing his options.
“You will answer your king,” Lunae said, slowly pulling the water.
“Stop, please stop…I was going to ask you to make me king and kill this pretender. After everything I have done for my people, I deserve it,” Nartuck said, doubling down in pain. Fulch told Lunae to let him go, and she didn’t want to; it took Fulch putting his hand on her shoulder for her to let him go.
“Listen here, if I feel like you are trying to trick me or manipulate me, I’ll finish what I’ve started…now tell me where to find the leader of the Porpura people,” Lunae said, and in good faith, she let everyone go. The soldiers didn’t know what to do; they lifted their swords, knowing full well that they had no chance. The Lord stood up, anger in his eyes.
“You have to go to the road through the mountains. They live by a huge lake. One of my men is already heading that way; you can accompany him if you’d like,” Nartuck said. Lunae nodded, and Fulch was suspicious. Lunae told Nartuck that they would gather their belongings and the Master and head out. Once they got back to their hut, the Master was already waiting, ready to go.
“The water has deemed this journey important and decrees that I must travel like everyone else,” the Master said. Fulch acknowledged him, but Lunae did not.
“Lunae, we need to talk. The water has also warned me about your dangerous urges,” The Master said, getting straight to the point. Lunae was still bitter towards him, and she really didn’t want to give him the time of day. She scoffed at him and was putting supplies in a bag that was provided to her by Linth. The Master didn’t know what to do. The betrayal that he caused was bigger than he anticipated. Fulch, being more level headed, decided to intervene.
“Lunae, he’s right, the power is making you change, and it’s dangerous. We still have to listen to the Master,” Fulch said. Lunae didn’t want to soften, but after looking at Fulch, she realized she had to.
“I won’t marry the general,” Lunae said. The Master smiled and replied.
“I wouldn’t make you,” Which seemed to satisfy Lunae. She told the Master that they’ll talk on the way, but they needed to leave right now. Linth came into the hut looking like he was going to come along. Fulch noticed and put his hand on his shoulder.
“You don’t need to join us, my friend,” he said, which Linth smiled and ignored him. He was coming whether they wanted him to or not. So they set out to find the leader of the Porpura, hoping to find out some answers.