Chapter Six

I am silent.

I cannot stare at Ludwig, Edgar, or anything around them. I look down at my staff and try to find comfort in the soft white glow the crystal at the top continues to emit. The warmth it radiated earlier is still there, I can at least find physical comfort in the temperature around me. But it does nothing to soothe the emotional and mental confusion that I can feel myself undergoing.

I should...be dead? Why am I still alive? And if Amites aren't supposed to use magic, why was I able to heal Ludwig? Why was I able to wield the staff? Was the previous Crown Prince of Aegia an Amite too?

A hundred questions swirl about in my head. I hear someone's footsteps, and see a figure crouch by my right side, and put a hand on my shoulder. I raise my head and spare a glance at them.

"But it's alright! You're not dead, and me and Edgar here promise to protect you-"

"I never agreed to protect the prince."

"-I promise to protect you and make sure you don't meet your death any time soon. You can trust me, okay? Maybe you're not an Amite, and you just gained a bit more knowledge about Iserin!" Ludwig attempts to comfort me, and I can just groggily nod my head before my whole body gives into exhaustion and the world around me fades to black.

I find myself in a black expanse when my eyes open again. In front of me stands Aziel, draped in clothes for fit royalty and with the colors of the Kingdom of Aegia: Gold, red, and orange. He still looks exactly like the boy I saw in the mirror: young and barely a teenager.

How did he die? Who killed him? If he really was an Amite, why was he left to live for so long? And why did I unwillingly take his place? Was I fit to be a replacement? Why was I poisoned, then? Nothing but questions yearning for answers still filled my head. But I doubted all of my questions would receive answers. At least a few could be answered by the Crown Prince himself.

"Hello, Theo." Aziel's voice is stronger and no longer carries the odd echo it did when I saw him in the mirror.

His gaze is calming, and his voice is still soft. He was already such a better prince than I; what chance did I have at replacing him if that was ever Aegia's intention with me? Maybe they poisoned me because I was not anything like their son. I was a failure of a prince and was better off dead.

I do not reply but just stare at him with emotions between sadness and jealousy. Though based on how his eyes changed to reflect amusement, jealousy was the more prominent emotion my eyes showed.

"You have no need to be jealous of me, Theo. I envy you, for living as long as you did and having someone who rescued you. I didn't have either of those things. I died without anyone other than my parents, servant, and citizens grieving my death before promptly declaring war."

I perk up at the last word in his explanation. War? With who or what, and why?

With a short pause, Aziel continues.

"I did not want to die. I still wonder exactly why I died, and I thought I would have figured it out by now. But every time I try and think back to my death and the person who murdered me, my head spins and everything becomes cloudy and unfocused.

"Please avenge my death, Theo. Once you return to Luimesha, or even before if the situations that arise will it to be so, punish the person who killed me and the kingdom that sent them. But know that no matter what anybody says, it was not your fault."

I open my mouth in either protest or wonder at his words, but am unable to say anything. He disappears before my eyes, and I return to the darkness. But, I am able to feel my body slowly swaying and moving up and down ever so slightly.

I can then hear two familiar voices and make out what they are saying with relative ease.

"So you were able to locate the prince in his castle, and don't know the way you came, at all? Not even the general direction?" Edgar questions.

"Nope! But it's fine. As long as we don't end up in Etaithen or Zador, we're fine," Ludwig cheerfully responds, his offense from Edgar's question not evident in his tone, if he even felt hurt at all.

"Unbelievable. How's the prince?"

"Did you just ask how little Theo was? Oh, I think he's just so adorable and cute, sleeping in my arms like this!"

"Not what you think of him! I meant his health! He just about passed out after finding out he may very well be an Amite!" Edgar hisses, his annoyance with Ludwig's cluelessness growing.

"Oh! I'm positive he's fine. A prince needs to sleep, and if he finds my arms to be a comfortable place to do so, that's alright with me!"

Edgar mutters something I can't quite catch. Ludwig stops walking and turns around, most likely to Edgar. I jolt forward but don't dare open my eyes. Maybe I could go back to sleep? That sounds like a great idea. Just sleep until we arrive at Luimesha. Maybe this whole thing is just a horrible nightmare, and I will awake in-

"Here, Edgar."

"What are you doing?"

"I just realized I need to contact someone and tell them I rescued little Theo!"

"And you want me to what, hold him?"

"Yes!"

"No! Lay him on the ground; I'm never going to carry him. He's seventeen, he can walk by himself."

"But he's ill. Like, gravely ill. Come on, please? For the armor made of dragon scales?"

"...Fine. But only this once."

"Yay! Here he is!"

I feel myself being transferred from Ludwig's gentle arms into Edgar's. I can tell Edgar has no desire to hold me; his arms are tense and I can feel his muscles poke my back. Though it is uncomfortable, it's certainly better than being left to lie on the-

"Whoops."

I feel weightless for a moment before I hit the ground with a cry as my eyes bolt open. Did Edgar just purposely let me slip from his arms? Would Ludwig know, and-

"Edgar, what the hell!? Noooo! Little Theo, are you alright?"

I see Ludwig kneel by my right side as I try to look for Edgar. He stands to my other side, just barely able to be seen out of my left eye. But, he does not stare at me and focuses his gaze on the trees that surround us.

Ludwig checks me over, softly touching my face and upper body, before helping me sit up, and sorrowfully frowns when I break into a fit of coughing.

"I'm fine..." I manage to say in a raspy voice, but my words only serve to further worry Ludwig.

"Are you sure? The fall sounded painful. It wouldn't have happened if somebody kept their word and held you as I asked!" Ludwig glares in Edgar's direction before his expression reverts back to concern for me and my current state.

"Like I said, whoops."

"Whoops? Whoops!? You just let the Crown Prince of Luimesha, Theo Veles fall out of your arms? What kind of spearman are you if can't even hold the prince? You're ridiculous."

"That's my line. Let's go before the racket we made grants us any unwanted visitors."

Edgar starts off on a faint path through the darkened forest, covered mostly by overgrown vegetation. Ludwig scoffs and offers a hand to help me up, which I gratefully accept. I stare at Edgar as the last of his figure is swallowed by the trunks of the trees, then glance at Ludwig.

"Aren't we going to follow him?"

"Yep! Just give me one moment. Gotta report this to Mykel!" Ludwig pulls out a small, round device, no larger than a pebble from the inside of his cloak, and sets it several feet from where we stand.

A colored hologram of an office, almost as if we are actually in the room, comes into view. A handsome young man, only twenty-five at the most, sits at a desk, eyes slowly opening as if he was sleeping just a moment ago.

"Mykel! Glad to see you're awake this time!" Ludwig cheerfully smiles and waves at the man, who looks to him, then at me, before yawning.

"Please, call me Cyfrin, Ludwig. Anyway, you rescued Theo? Good, good... What's next on the list?" Mykel trains his eyes on me, and I am unable to tear mine away from his.

Who is this person? Ludwig's superior? Was this the man paying Ludwig for rescuing me? Did he want me for something? Was the whole tale about reuniting me with the parents just some lie?

"Going straight to Luimesha! Unless, of course, you want us to stop by your office on the way. Either option works great for me and little Theo here!" Ludwig puts his left hand on my right shoulder and gives me a small shake, to which I almost lose my balance and fall over, but he is quick to catch me.

"Ah, sorry! Forgot you're still fragile!"

Mykel's eyes switch from me to Ludwig at the latter's exclamation, and I can't help but feel relieved.

"He's still sick?" Mykel's voice still hints at his supposed tiredness but is also both stronger and gentler than what I imagined from a person of his age and stature.

Ludwig scoffs.

"Like he would become just fine the moment we escaped the castle. He's been unknowingly eating poisoned soup and drinking milk and juice corrupt with who-knows-what for almost his entire life! It's going to take a while, I'm talking several years here, for him to be back to how you and I operate, free of physical weakness and the likes," the spy tosses a coin in his left hand as he talks.

I hold my breath as Mykel's eyes narrow. He had to of definitely felt offended by Ludwig's criticism of the virtually harmless question that was asked.

But, it does not take long for the two to break out into genuine laughter. All I wish to do is smile, though my throat both wants me to laugh and kill any chance of the joy I feel becoming verbal. So, I stick with a small smile.

Once the laughter dies, smiles are left on the two men's faces, and Ludwig tosses the coin to his other hand as he continues talking with Mykel.

"I see you're still perfectly capable of being serious, Ludwig. Hopefully, with your next remark like that, you have the physical prowess to back it up," Mykel advises, and Ludwig gives him a hum of agreement.

"I already do. Did news of the assassin's murder reach you yet? The assassin who tried to take Theo's head?"

"You mean the woman you called an insulter of chocolate cake? Yes, I did hear of that. Aegia has sent out a request for Crown Prince Veles' capture, hoping to get him back alive, but it won't be long until Etaithen and Zador corrupt the request and turn it into a bounty hunter free-for-all. Do be both careful and vigilant. And remember, if you ever need assistance-"

"Yeah, yeah, press the red button. I don't need assistance, Mykel. I am the assistance. I'm all little Theo will ever need until he gets to Luimesha! Then I'll go back to Chidora, stuff myself full of desserts, and wait until my next assignment! Bye!" Ludwig waves once again at Mykel, who I can see lay his arms upon his desk and lower his head before the hologram disappears and the device that emitted it returns to Ludwig's cloak.

Ludwig smiles to himself and sighs, before skipping in the direction Edgar traveled, leaving me to slowly follow, but quickly lose the spy through the dense vegetation and little light from what I can only suspect is the sun based on the humidity of the forest.