My Novice Gentleman

"Regiis!" Aselsiel shouted. He paused to listen for the faintest of hoof noises. He sighed as all he heard was his own and the fauna shuffling about the trees. Some sneaked glances at his worried face as he passed by them. The apprentice ignored the several glowing eyes peering at him curiously. All he was worried about right now was his father's horse. It would've been a crime to lose the royal horse. It wasn't a written rule in the law books per se but among royal seers, it was unwritten.

Aselsiel continued to shout for the royal seer's horse, startling many animals from deep slumbers. He didn't like disturbing these poor innocent creatures but he had to find that horse as soon as possible. After finding the horse, he would have to rush to the palace to report about his father's situation. Hopefully, the king knew what to do. Aselsiel wasn't exactly skilled enough to handle this, nor was he mentally prepared to handle it. He was still in shock by the events. The screams of his father still echoed throughout his mind. The royal seer's stern and blank face kept flashing through the young boy's mind. The young apprentice trembled at the memory.

The horse halted at a clearing. The bright night sky looked down at him tauntingly. It was as if it was reminding him that the world remained calm with or without him. Aselsiel gritted his teeth at the sight above him. 'How could the world remain sane when within him was a raging storm of mixed emotions.' He thought. It must have been an hour of weary searching already. He took in a deep breath and called out once more.

"Regiis!!"

Aselsiel called out with all his breath and frustration. There was silence for a few moments. The seer slumped on his horse, out of breath. As he was about to move once more, a faint horse whine was heard in the distance. Aselsiel perked up and thought he was starting to hallucinate.

Another whine was heard, it was clearer now.

Aselsiel whirled the horse around to see the direction it was coming from. One last shaky neigh was heard before there was silence once more. Aselsiel looked at where the neigh came from. He frowned at the path before him.

A rocky path laid with thorny bushes and low branches was the last thing he wanted. The apprentice took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Alright. Let's do this. Hang on, Regiis." he said as he jumped off his horse. He looked at his horse then back to the path. "Sorry, buddy. You can't come with me. Stay here. I'll come back soon." Aselsiel said while tying the reins to the nearest tree. The horse neighed in agreement and started nibbling on some weeds. Aselsiel nodded with a smile and patted his back. "This won't take long." He said as he gazed into the dimly lit path. "This won't...take long..." he said in a low voice.

Aselsiel felt his body tremble as he was slowly engulfed in darkness. Of course, with his training, he would be able to navigate through these thorns and branches with ease. Alas, he was still badly shaken up. His mental state wasn't exactly perfect a the moment. Thorns poked and prodded in different parts. All leaving a stinging pain as they hit him. His head banged on different branches multiple times. Every single time that happened, he hissed out in pain and tried not to curse at the wildlife.

"Regiis!" Aselsiel called out sluggishly. The pain all over his body was draining every ounce of willpower within him. Hopefully, he was close enough already. A loud and clear neigh was heard in front of him. Aselsiel let out a sigh of relief as if he was holding his breath this whole time. He could now know for certain he was going the right way instead of just stumbling in the dark. "Almost there!" Aselsiel called out almost too joyfully. All that was in his way were vines entwining the branches and bushes.

Slowly getting closer and closer, Aselsiel could see streaks of moonlight in front of him. He has never been so happy to see the moon. He could see slight movement across the vines. That must be Regiis. No longer able to hold his anticipation Aselsiel unsheathed his forgotten dagger by his side. He aimed....and struck the vines. All of them fell with ease.

"Sorry, father. I know I should've used it during emergencies but...nature was really testing my patience." Aselsiel joked half-heartedly. He tightly gripped the dagger at the thought of his father. He shook his head to clear those thoughts. Right now, he needed to get Regiis back. Aselsiel looked up at the opening and was greeted by a delightful sight.

A waiting horse stood at the end, peering at him with joy. Aselsiel rushed through, navigating carefully through the thorns. And finally...

"Hah...hello there, Regiis.", Aselsiel said, breathless and smiling. Regiis nudged his chest as if he was hugging a friend whom he hasn't seen for a long time. "I missed you too. Sorry, I took too long to find you.", Aselsiel said as he patted his nose.

Aselsiel looked around and saw dense forest all around. "How did you even get here, Regiis?" The horse's ears perked and he trotted towards a tree. He neighed and laid his hoof on the trunk. Aselsiel tilted his head in curiosity and walked towards where Regiis was signaling. Aselsiel looked at the tree and saw nothing out of the ordinary. He looked at Regiis who frantically kept putting his hoof on the trunk.

Aselsiel took a guess and placed his hand on the trunk.

He covered his eyes as a flash of purple blinded his eyes.

"Ngh! What is..." Aselsiel mumbled under his breath.

A low rumbling noise came from below the tree. Regiis galloped to the farthest possible area from the rumbling. Aselsiel followed suit as the ground started to collapse below him. His eyes widened as the earth stopped shaking. "What...is this?" Aselsiel said breathlessly.

The landscape before him was a sight to behold.

The roots of the trees intertwined with one another to form an archway to an underground cave. Moldy stone stairs created a slippery path towards the terrifyingly unknown dark tunnel below. Dirt and rock debris were still falling as if the ground above would collapse and close the tunnel at any minute.

Aselsiel stared in shock and took a few steps backward. Regiis huffed in disbelief. The horse gave a small push on the young boy's back, telling him to go in. Aselsiel looked back at the annoyed horse and shook his head in fear. Regiis shook his head in bewilderment and moved towards him.

Regiis nudged reluctant Aselsiel towards the dark tunnel. "Hey! Regiis! Stop! I don't want to go down there! We need to urgently go back!" Aselsiel shouted as he dug his heels in the ground, trying to stop the horse. Regiis completely ignored his protests and continued to shove him towards the tunnel.

Royals seers and their apprentices may be skilled, strong, and talented but their horses were trained to match the skill of the royal seers. If Aselsiel tried to even fight Regiis, he'd end up with black and blue horseshoe prints all over his face.

Aselsiel knew this but he'd rather take his chances with the fierce horse than whatever could be down the tunnel. "Please, Regiis!" Aselsiel pleaded. Regiis huffed in annoyance and gave one last shove, sending Aselsiel tumbling down the mossy stairs. Aselsiel let out a series of yelps as he slowly rolled down the stairs, unable to grab hold of anything to stop.

Aselsiel's vision was blurry for a while till he slowly gained back his focus. His hands were covered in moss and mud and so were his clothes. He rubbed the aching parts there were soon to show black and blue bruises. He looked angrily back at the horse that peered from the top of the stairs. "Regiis! That was uncalled for! When I get back up there, I'm never going to give you apples!" Aselsiel said, thinking that was the worse threat to give a horse. Regiis stood still for a moment as if taken aback by what Aselsiel said. Aselsiel smirked as he dusted off the mess from his clothes. Regiis shrugged, or what looked like a shrug to Aselsiel, and trotted out of the apprentice's sight.

"Hey! Wait a minute! Don't just leave me here!" Aselsiel said rushing towards the stairs. All of a sudden the familiar rumble came once more and the earth came tumbling down, threatening to bury him alive. Aselsiel looked at the closing opening and the tunnel at his back. He grimaced and ran for cover in the damp cave. He hopelessly stared as the smallest ray of moonlight was gone from his sight.

"Lucenis..." Aselsiel whispered under his breath. A harmless blue fire came to life, floating just inches away from him. He sighed in relief as he thankfully remembered one of the spells his father taught him. He glared back at the blocked entrance and felt hot steam rise from his ears.

"Smite you, Regiis! Why must you be so troublesome?!" Aselsiel shouted, thinking the horse could hear him three feet underground. He continued to spew insults at the unresponsive horse above for a few minutes. He stopped as he realized he was wasting his time and effort being mad at a horse. Aselsiel looked around in the dimly lit cave. He examined the walls and saw there were three small openings, each different sizes. All of them furnished with lumps of soft green moss as if they wanted him to have a comfy journey through them.

Aselsiel closed his eyes and tried to see where each tunnel would lead to.

A faint hoot of an owl was heard. Aselsiel opened his eyes and stared at the one at the far left. It was the smallest of the three. He would barely fit there unless he would crouch all the way. Aselsiel scowled at the small opening. He wasn't particularly fond of tight spaces.

Aselsiel crouched down and examined the outer wall of the tunnel. The small entrance was mossy and look as if cobwebs were building up there for ages. Aselsiel mustered up the courage and peered inside the tunnel. This wouldn't be the scariest thing that happened tonight. He half-expected something waiting for him on the inside, ready to jump at him and slice his throat. To his delight, it was just an empty tunnel that seemed to grow larger further down. He patted his chest knowing his heart could rest easy for a while. Hopefully, this would be an uneventful journey that was just a silly prank by a bully horse.

It seemed the universe thought he hoped for too much.

A slight chill traveled up his spine. Aselsiel looked around. It wasn't windy nor cold in the cave. The chill didn't come from fear either. It was as if...someone was watching him...very closely.

Aselsiel gulped and looked back into the entrance. He'd rather not stay in this part of the cave any longer. He got on all fours and started to crawl as fast as he could through the cramped tunnel.

The chill following him as he went no matter how hard he tried to shrug it off. All Aselsiel was focused on right now was finally seeing moonlight once more.