12 History And Information

'This foolish dragon will taste my wrath for sure!' Her eyes went ablaze with gritted teeth, she inwardly cursed, 'You're so done. Just you wait!'

Anasthasia frantically looked around, it was on dim lighting, as the trees surrounded the area. She thought for a moment, 'Should I reveal myself?' Her shoulders tingled and pinched herself, 'What should I do? What should I do?'

Anasthasia was in a sticky situation; her heart pounded with every second that had ticked. She leaned to the side to take a little peek, and there she saw how he shrugged off things.

Michael chuckled and casually stretched his arms. Moved his neck subconsciously as he tried to work out the aching stiffness, he stopped as he looked once more with brows knitted, "My, I don't appreciate voyeurs. Would you mind showing yourself?"

The prince had cupped his hands, with an ounce of water in it, and washed his face one last time. He then looked over when there were rustling sounds on the nearby tree. There he saw how her fluttering hair resonated well under the moonlight. Eyes that gleamed with gold and bore unto his.

"So it was you." Eyes finally shut and grinned.

"I didn't mean to hide, I swear!" Anasthasia had her hands drawn in the air, her mouth rambled and rambled, but no words were left stuttered, "— Liam told me you were on the other side of the river, so I took this route." She panted so hard, so tired that her hands anchored on her knees.

"You don't have to explain yourself." He shoved his hand, which stopped her, then hooked around his neck that continued to ache.

Anasthasia's mouth agape as he started to move towards her direction. Eyes scrutinized by the waterline, from its hips dropped to its wast, it highly alarmed her, which she forewarned, "Wait a moment!"

Michael tilted his head, oblivious of her wild imagination, "What is it?"

"Oh, No! NO! Don't move!" Anasthasia pointed as her forehead creased, "You're not going out there naked! You're not going out there naked!"

He just laughed softly, which left her clueless. His legs continued to trudge and slowly revealed his leather trousers that submerged in the river water.

Her eyes widened from that humiliation, 'No wonder! May this land swallow me whole this instant."

Michael shook his head as he witnessed her priceless reaction. He went by the side to pick up the equipment he had set aside and took his time to wear them back. Finished, he took a glance that only had Anasthasia sat and comfortably leaned her head near the tree. She also had Freidmirth embraced by her slender arms, albeit not too tight to strangle him.

Michael moved closer and noticed as those golden eyes were wet. The tinge of gold had clouded with sorrow. He did nothing except he stood by Anasthasia's side until she saw his presence and snapped out of her trance. She lifted her eyebrow, "Why didn't you tell me you're already here?"

"You seemed too bothered, I might as well not disturb you."

"You may though..."

"Mind if I sit beside you?"

"That won't be a problem." He sat down, but she wondered something else, "How about coming a little closer?"

"I dare not to sit too close to a maiden."

"Whatever floats your boat." Anasthasia shrugged and slowly brushed her hair. Michael only glimpsed sideways and began to notice her puzzled look once more. Both of them stared at the distance, neither of them uttered a word, which amplified the awkward silence.

The prince cleared his throat and gently spoke, "A penny for your thoughts?"

"Ahh! Was I that obvious?" Her eyes widened as soon as he nodded. "Well, it's just—"

"You may tell me whatever you want." He locked his gaze to hers. "That is if you're alright."

"There's lot of things going on, and there were even things that left unanswered. I honestly don't know what to do at this point."

"— What about now?"

"Pardon?"

"What about now? What comes first into your mind?"

"Humans..."

"Humans? That's quite weird for you to say so yourself." He chuckled softly, "What about it?"

However, Anasthasia shook her head as though her mind swirled with neverending curiosity. She was afraid to trust him too much, and part of a royal family at that. Whenever she thought of royalties, her heart burned in passion as the 'Brontzmann Empire' came into her mind. But this sparked a curiosity to her eyes.

"Brontzmann Empire? That's it!"

"—Empire what—?"

"Brontzmann Empire!"

Now he glanced downward; hands rubbed his chiseled jaws as he tried to recall any useful information. He looked at her in narrowed eyes, "I do know but not that much." However, he got taken aback when she sprang from her comfortable position.

"What is it? Pray tell— "

"Well... " Michael was beyond embarrassed as Anasthasia forcefully tugged his robe, and the two were closer than ever, few inches apart. She noticed his reaction, so she let go of him.

"I'm sorry that I acted on impulse."

"It's alright." He fixed his tattered robe, and gulped hard, "Brontzmann Empire had perished a long time ago."

"Perished?" Her eyebrows arched up from the information she received, "What happened after?"

"Apparently, the empire suffered a setback. Hence, different races were able to divide the entire scope of its territory, claiming a sector for themselves."

"Really?" She thought it lifted her soul from the weight of anger and revenge. She never thought a prosperous empire that rivaled hers would also reduce ruin, "Were there humans that claimed its territory?"

"Unfortunately no."

"What?"

"Exactly, none of the lands were claimed by humans."

'That's impossible! What had really happened then?!' She discretely clawed herself deep unto her skin. Hands trembled from the unknown. She inhaled so deep to calm her nerves and sighed as she uttered once more.

"How did you know I was there?"

"That dragon over there sneezed." He casually shrugged.

She shut her eyes and inwardly cursed. She had the urge to strangle the sleeping dragon. It was a busted operation when she could have successfully escaped without any worries.

"I already noticed even before that had happened."

"Really?"

"—Spatial Awareness."

"Oh? Do you have the ability to manipulate space-time?" She glared.

"I don't think I have understood your question, Lady Anasthasia."

"What do you mean by that then?"

"I can sense life forces nearby," His lips curved into a smile, "You're no exception."

'Oh I thought I was really caught that time by his keen vision.'

"The unnatural sounds of rustling leaves as you sauntered beyond the shadows was one thing, the sudden fluctuations of mana was another."

Anasthasia leaned back with eyes dubiously darted his way, "So you're a magician as well?"

"Magician?" Michael snickered, "What about Magic Swordsman?"

'Like Magnus, huh...' She contemplated, 'I should ask how magic has developed.'

"But why not magicians?"

"It's pretty much harder to train as full-fledged magicians nowadays, with the rapid improvement of technology. The magic are now used in a form of utilities and items." He suddenly nudged a little and had reached into his pocket, which revealed a peculiar piece of accessory.

'A compass?!' She gawked her eyes as she witnessed the same structure. Meanwhile, he smiled at her unusual reaction.

"This is navigator, in its prototype form—"

"So you used this to determine the desired location," Anasthasia leaned forward without delay, pointed her hand on the glossy panel of the item, "—through this one right here!"

"I'm surprised you got the gist by just looking at it."

'Of course! I know those things just as much as you do!' She harrumphed with her eyes gleamed with enthusiasm but flinched as she got too close, so she backed out immediately.

He whispered, "I thought you wouldn't know. Besides, being imprisoned on ice for who knows how long..."

"Well..." She stammered, but clasped her hand to evoke another topic, "How was I able to breakfree from it?"

"You really don't have an idea?"

"Of course not! Anasthasia rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't be asking you this question if it was that obvious otherwise."

'Really, all I heard was bunch of noises that clinked and clanged on my ears— it greatly assaulted my ears. But what really broke one of the ancient, powerful spell of ice?' She grabbed a handful of her hair and brushed down.

"Nothing really much happened until we got closer to your stature..." Michael glanced up the starry night, "There was a bright light that emitted from your hand that time."

'The stone!' She was stunned for a hot minute, then frantically reached her pocket and retrieved the same pristine stone, before she finally sealed herself.

"You mean that thing?"

"It's not just a thing, it holds beyond any form of value than you think!" She grumbled and firmly clutched the stone in her hand.

"There's a question I'd like to ask of you."

He nodded.

"Ever heard of Prismatic Empire?"