The Devil's Cursed Witch

At Morpheus' urging, Ember held the reins of her horse and walked back to where Erlos and Aureus were standing. As for those orcs who were starting to show signs of restlessness, Morpheus glared at them, warning them to not even think about attacking them. His wings began to show hints of gold as he released a bit of divine energy, causing the blade-like feathers on his majestic wings to look particularly intimidating. None of the orcs dared make another sound.

Ember, walking beside her pure white horse, with Morpheus just behind her, his wings spread to the fullest.

Aureus could not help but sigh at the sight of his uncle acting like a protective knight loyal only towards his queen. It reminded her of how he felt for Seren. 'If only he can see how beautiful they look together like this.'

When the four intruders were finally reunited, the leader of the orcs then let out a growl. The other orcs growled in response, shooting hostile glares towards the intruders, raising their weapons as if they would attack if the intruders were to continue biding their time inside their territory.

"We are leaving, we're leaving," Ember frowned. "Do you have to be aggressive all the time?"

In reply, the orc's leader roared at her, though he did not appear hostile, only wary of her. He clenched the shaft of the spear in his hands but did not attack her.

Realizing she sounded rude earlier, Ember lowered her tone and said softly, "We apologize for intruding within your territory. We did not mean to cause trouble for you. We are leaving now and won't bother you again."

To her soft tone, the leader of the orcs simply turned and left. He was displeased that they had to submit to the intruders. Out of the thirty, three of the largest orcs remained, growling at them, asking them to hurry and stop wasting their time.

"Uhhm, it should be fine if we leave after we eat the fishes we roasted, right? Wasting food is not good," Ember said to those orcs who only growled at her as if saying foolish woman but then....

"Wait, our fish!" She felt like crying. "They must have burned by now! My food--"

Morpheus interrupted this gluttonous woman, "The river is large, and there are thousands of fishes out there. We can fish again. Just because the orcs let us be once doesn't mean we take their lenience for granted."

Erlos agreed. "We are near their village. It will be bad if some ill-tempered orcs follow us, and if a fight breaks out, the entire village will treat us as enemies."

The three males could move fast, but Ember and her horse couldn't. Due to the chaotic, uneven terrain of the forest, Albina would break her leg if she were to run with Ember on her back. However, their group had to cross the dense forest before the orcs showed up again.

"Ember, come to me?" Morpheus said.

She looked at him, her mind still in a daze about her roasted fish. "Huh? What--"

He cut her off by lifting her in his arms. "We are flying." He then looked at Erlos. "Get the horse."

Erlos obeyed Morpheus this time. On the other hand, Aureus opened his wings and decided to guard the rear.

"We will go ahead. Don't be too late to catch up," was all Morpheus said before rushing his way out of the forest together with Ember. Due to the density of the overgrown plants and overlapping trees, it would take time for Erlos and the horse to cross the forest. However, it should be fine since Aureus was there to help him out if ever orcs do appear. As for them...

Sunlight!

The sunlight caused Ember to be blinded for a few seconds. Morpheus had them fly up, breaking through the crowns of the trees, and now they were flying over the forest.

Ember held onto Morpheus as he flew towards the river where they initially camped. Though Morpheus had to struggle with Ember being so close to him, her delicate body pressed against his, at this moment, he only cared for her safety.

"Will they be fine down there?" Ember could not help but ask.

"Orcs are slow. Don't worry about those kids."

Ember nodded, fully trusting his words.

Their group had been blessed with luck that those orcs chose not to fight in the end, but if more orcs had shown up, it would have probably turned into a big mess. Given the strength of Morpheus, Aureus and Erlos, they could probably defeat an entire orc village, but it wouldn't be without sacrificing an injury or two. With Ember around, Morpheus didn't wish for her to be in any kind of dangerous situation.

When they landed on the riverside, Ember immediately jumped out of Morpheus' arms and hurried towards where the two skewered fishes were being roasted. She kneeled on the ground and immediately removed the sticks from the fire pit.

Seeing the fishes that were as black as coal, Morpheus was about to say something when Ember turned towards him with a bright smile. "We made it! Only the outside is burned! They smell really delicious!"

The shapeshifter swallowed the words of comfort he was about to say. "I see. How lucky."

A few minutes later, Erlos and Aureus arrived with an energetic white horse in tow.

Ember cheered as she called out to the two youths, "Good news! We can still eat the fish!"

Erlos hurried towards her and kneeled next to her. "That's great, Miss. We can eat them now."

"You two..." Morpheus sighed heavily as he shook his head. "These kids. What am I going to do with you?"

Aureus chuckled. "You need to keep catching fish for them."

"Seems like it. Should I switch from being a warrior to a fisherman?"

"I guess you won't mind anything for her sake."

"That's true."

The two shapeshifters walked towards the two gluttons- one was last descendent of the High Elves and the other one was a walking fire torch.