I fell on my butt when a carrot hit me right on the forehead. I rubbed on the sore spot and expected Custard or Viex to come running to me.
But then I remembered that they weren’t there. I sighed solemnly.
Nate stretched out his hand in front of me with a laugh. “Sorry. I thought that you would be able to hit that one too.” I grabbed his hand and allowed him to pull me up. “But you know? You hit 9 out of 10. I have to say that I am impressed.”
“Thanks. Can’t say that my forehead is that happy though.” I said and I changed my grip to turn my whip back into a sword.
“Well, it is good that you’re back. At least you can continue with your training.”
“Yeah. Good that I am.” I muttered. I remembered when Nate, Ren, and Terrence caught me in the stables. Apparently, they came in to grab the tray but then noticed that I was no longer there. When they found me, I was inside Cloud’s stables and I was sleeping while laying down on her back.
I got a very bad stiff neck because of that.
But at the very least, they found a letter in PRINCE Ace’s room as well, don’t ask me who was brave enough to go in there without his permission because I don’t know - but I am very tempted to ask so I can get him into trouble when Ace comes back.
Anyway, letter explained everything to them. That was also the reason why I was allowed to train again because he suggested it.
“Your head shouldn’t wander carelessly when you’re in the middle of a training. It can cause accidents, you know?” Nate says while tapping on my forehead.
“Just for the record, Nate threw that last carrot.” Ren says while handing me a bota bag filled with water. I gratefully accepted it and began to drink.
“Princess, try to always keep some distance between your feet so you wouldn’t lose balance like the last one.” Terrence advised. “Your reaction time is great, but your footwork needs improvement in order to match it.”
I nodded silently as I handed the bag back to Ren. The wolf prince raised a brow at me. “Stop worrying.” He says and tapped the area between my brows. “They’re going to be fine. That guy has a lot of skills up his sleeves.” Ren paused. “Skills AND kills. Yeah, I think we should worry more about Tereau than him.”
“He’s right. Worrying too much about them won’t help you focus on yourself.” Nate says, then a sly grin appeared on his lips. “Would you like me to help you get distracted?”
Ren threw the bottle at his face that left a red mark on his forehead. “Oops. My hand slipped when I heard inappropriate bullsh*t.” Ren looked at Terrence. “Sir! Do you see this?”
Terrence immediately avoided his gaze, pretending not to hear.
Nate smiled as started to crack his knuckles. “Would you like me to distract you instead? With my fist?”
Ren stuck his tongue out at Nate. “As if you could.”
“I...have a question.” I asked just before these two would resort to violence and before Sir Terrence would get annoyed and punish the three of us in the process.
At my question, all three of them turned my way. “What is it, princess?” Terrence asked.
“What does it mean to kill someone?”
Ren turned to Nate. Nate turned to Terrence. Terrence tried turning to Ren but it was too late. He already got the end of the string. “Sorry, dad. You’re the one with the most experience.” Nate whispered to him.
“Couldn’t be helped.” Terrence sighed. “Princess, may I know what brought up this question?”
“Well, Ace says that I couldn’t come with him because if the plan fails, I might need to…..kill in order to escape.”
“That’s true.” Terrence nodded. “Wherever your world is, you’re lucky that killing is not a normal thing for you if you’re asking me this question right now. It must be peaceful.”
I thought about my world and all the crimes and murder scenes that I watched on the news before. I laughed darkly. “Not...quite. But not all of us kill.” I said.
“I see. Well...killing in this world means a lot of things. It could mean protecting, conquering, a source of income, and survival. It just depends on what your purpose for killing is.”
“Can it change a person?”
“No doubt about it. Once you kill, you can never take it back. Their blood is already in your hands. But I think I understand where Prince Ace is going. You’re too soft to kill someone. And if you do, no doubt that you would be swallowed up by guilt because what is normal in our world defies the ethics in yours.”
I looked at the ground. “I see. So what am I training for then?”
“Self-defense. You have to learn how to protect yourself.” Terrence smiled and placed a hand over my head. “Stop thinking about things that won’t even come. Have a bit of rest. I think it is about time for these two to train since they are showing a lot of energy.” He says while smiling at Ren and Nate sweetly. The two of them sighed and got their swords from the ground. But not without pushing each other in annoyance.
At Terrence’s signal, they started to walk towards the open field. I was in a daze as I watched them. Not long after, my mind started to wander to Ace, Viex, and Custard.
Are they doing well? Did they already reach Tereau? At times like these, I wish that smartphones exist so I could at least ask of their whereabouts.
I sure hope that everything will go as planned. I don’t want to lose any of them.
I looked at my hands. I was weak. Both physically and mentally. I guess that is why Ace decided to carry on my burden for me in rescuing Stella.
I gripped my whip tightly. “Please be safe. All of you.” I whispered.
A flutter of wings nestled beside me. I looked down to see a crow looking up at me and tilted its head. I raised my brow at it. “What do you want, tweet tweet? I have no food for you here.” I said and waved it food with my hand. The crow flew and perched on my hand instead. I was about to scold it when I saw the note attached to its foot. “Hold on. Stay right there.” I whispered as I untied the letter from the crow.
As soon as I got the letter, the crow left. I stared at it and wondered if the letter was actually for me. But since it is already in my hands, I began to unwrap it and read its contents.
*****
Custard has been keeping out of their sight. It was really hard to keep up with them especially when the Prince can ride like a madman - not that he isn’t already. It was a surprise that Viex wasn’t blown away by how fast Midnight ran that night.
Viex already knows that he was following them because the white fox left him a portion of his food before they left. Custard was grateful because he doesn’t have to hunt anymore. He was pretty sure that Prince Ace doesn’t know about him yet, because whenever he tries to use his magic to look around, Custard would hide.
Custard was still following them even after they reached Tereau. His heart was pounding in his chest when Ace sent Viex ahead., probably to fetch this Leo person.
As they waited, Custard would watch the elf prince from time to time and couldn’t help but find his behavior as both odd and scary.
One minute the elf prince would be sharpening his knife. The next, he would swing it in the air and smile when he cuts down a leaf or a fly.
Custard would gulp and would quietly go back to his hiding spot. He doesn’t want to disturb the prince, not when he was smiling like a lunatic.
His ears perked up when he sensed Viex coming back. But he was alone. All Viex brought back was a letter that he handed to Ace.
‘Viex? What is it? Why a letter? Why do you look so glum? Why does he look so glum?’ Custard dared to ask because of his curiosity.
‘There’s a slight change of plan. The boy said that his father knows that we are coming. He’s expecting us.’
Boy? Custard wanted to ask more but he has better and more important ones to ask. ‘But there’s a secret passage, isn’t there?’
‘Yes, but the king somehow found out about it too. He knows about the map. You know what that means, right?’
Before Custard could answer, Ace cursed. “So he has people in Thalia.” He whispered menacingly. “Damn it!” He sighed and crumpled the paper in anger. “It’s a good thing that I was the one who came then.”
A crow suddenly appeared and landed on his arm. He tied the same note that Viex gave him to its foot. “I’ll send the note to your master. Hopefully, she could interpret it on her own that there’s a traitor.” He paused and a look of uncertainty briefly appeared on his face. “I really REALLY hope that she can.” He says before sending the crow off to the sky.
Ace noticed that Viex’s eyes were still fixated on the crow and wondered if the fox was worried about his master. “She’ll be fine. She has that other furball with her.” As Ace said this, both Viex and Custard flinched.
‘We have to tell him.’ Viex said.
‘Are you crazy? No! That guy will kill me!’
‘He’s not so bad…? Maybe he will forgive you…?’ Even Viex was unsure of his words.
‘Viex, listen to me. That guy sliced a fly in half because it kept hovering over his face. And he laughed. HE LAUGHED WHEN HE KILLED IT!’
‘Maybe you should go back?’
“And there’s also Prince Ren and Prince Nate. Those two are capable fighters.” Prince Ace continued. “Let’s go. This Leo person has another plan. Hopefully, this one will work.” Ace started to walk around the perimeter of Tereau while guiding Midnight. He was going to the spot where Leo asked them to meet with him.
‘You heard him, Viex. Master still has master Ren and master Nate. They’ll protect her when she can’t protect herself.’
‘I know. But that is not what I am worried about.’ Viex says as he slowly followed behind the elf prince.
Custard started moving as well, but at a safer distance. ‘Then what?’
‘The fact that the king found out specifically about the note. The note that wasn’t shared carelessly to just anyone.’
Custard paused and gulped when he realized what Viex was trying to point out. The spy is out there alright. But closer to them than they think.
Close enough that they would share such valuable information to him or her.