Let Us Leave

Nai wakes with a jolt, sitting upright in the bed. His head turns to the open window - the one he was certain he had closed before bed - then to the child sleeping in a tight ball beside him. Nai breathes a sigh of relief as he places a gentle hand on the sleeping child's shoulder.

"Noah. Noah~" Nai coos, "Noah. Hey, it is about time we got up. I told you we would leave at dawn. It is even a little past that."

The child wakes up and sits up in bed, staring bleary-eyed at Nai. Noah rubs his eyes and yawns as Nai chuckles. This laughter catches his attention and he looks sideways at the older man.

"Sorry, sorry," Nai waves his hands in the air, "it is just your hair. A bird could nest in it. Hmm, shoulder we give it a little trim sometime today?" - Noah's eyes widen and he shakes his head rapidly from side to side, making Nai laugh even more - "Alright, alright. But I will buy you a comb. I'm serious, your hair is quite dreadful."

And with that, the two leave the inn, hair tamed and ready to continue their adventure to find a nice village to settle down in for the year. As they leave the inn, however, Nai spots a large crowd in the center of the street. He lets out a small 'hmm' before guiding Noah and himself over to the crowd. He politely pushes his way through to the center of the crowd, letting out a small gasp as he lays his eyes on the scene before him. A young child lies dead on the ground, a blood-soaked sheet of fabric covering his face. Two other children had the same fabric covering their faces, but they had fallen off as their mothers and fathers lifted them into their arms and sobbed. This lack of fabric shows empty pits where their eyes used to be, and mouths hanging open in an eternal scream.

Nai covers Noah's eyes and steers him away from the bodies, looking instead for a shop to buy combs from. Nai thought it would be better for the young child's mental health to not be shown something so ghastly.

How strange that was. The bartender didn't say anything about the children's bodies being returned. He said they were eaten. Nai wonders what had changed that night. Why did the children's bodies come back? ... And why there was a note scrawled on the ground which read 'sorry'?

After a short search, Nai finally found a nice, plain wooden comb for Noah and one exactly the same for himself. And with that, they left this strange little town, hoping to never come across one like it again.

...

Back in the city of Marici, a baby prince was born. Princess Sakino went through nine hours of labor, for her child to be still unnamed. It was tradition in Marici, especially among those of noble lineage, for the father of the child to name their son or daughter. However, Crown Prince Aelius never set foot in the room during the birthing process, nor came to see his wife afterward. He didn't even send any servants to check in on her during the procedure.

Princess Sakino didn't understand how her husband could treat her that way. For he must really hate her and their child for him to become so cold. But why this sudden disinterest? Was his mood already foul today, and he had no left-over strength to even pretend to care for her?

The answer was yes.

Over a week ago, when the Blessing from the Sun left the city, claiming he needed a relaxing holiday for himself and an orphaned child, Crown Prince Aelius had sent a mercenary to trail them and make sure his beloved Nai didn't get into any trouble. This said mercenary came back with the news that shook Prince Aelius down to the core; the child Nai was wandering around with was really a demon.

This was Aelius' worst nightmare. He had a growing suspicion about that child, but he never thought he would be right. Surely Nai is aware - he's the Blessing from the Sun! His sole purpose in life is to destroy the demons, and he can't even detect one standing right beside him?!

No. Nai has to know, he has to! But ... If he doesn't, he could be in real danger. Aelius' heart thumps in his chest and his throat grows tight, anxiety biting away at him. The young prince knows he cannot leave his position in the castle, but this is NAI we're talking about. His childhood friend whom he has been in love with for decades. It wasn't like he could just abandon him like this, leaving him to work things out for himself. Protection is something Aelius must offer. Nai can just live in the castle under the protection of the Crown Prince. He can discard Sakino and that foul child she bore, and have Nai completely and utterly for himself. But first, he would need to get rid of that demon by his side ... How much manpower can he afford to spend on a single demon? As much as he wants. He's the Crown Prince, and Nai is his beloved. You can't put a price on love, but you can put one on a demon's head. And that is what Aelius is about to do.