Revier, he who talks a lot

A bright morning came. The carriage was still far from Iyesgarth, but the horse tirelessly travelled and the coachman spent the night navigating without getting a minute of sleep. Fauna still has her gun on her arms, staying awake to make sure no danger will ever reach them with her watchful eyes. Carlos slept throughout the journey, as well as the dog who was comfortably napping on his lap. Eventually, the sunlight penetrated through the glass windows to touch the prince's face, waking him up from his slumber.

"Let's stop here for a while." Fauna tells the coachman. "You take a rest. I'll go find something for us to eat." She jumps down from the roof, putting away her gun behind her back. Carlos was looking out the window, Fauna noticed him and knocked on the window to wake him up again despite his opened eyes.

"Carlos." The prince fully awakened once he heard Fauna. He opens the door to try to hear her more clearly.

"What do you want to eat?" Fauna asks.

"Uhm... Anything is fine."

"Okay." Fauna then turns to the coachman. "What about you?"

"I'll be okay with whatever you'll bring us, leader." the coachman replied.

"Fine. You guard the prince for a while, I'll be back as soon as I can."

Quietly, Fauna leaves. Leaving the prince alone with the dog and the coachman.

"Hey, uh, Your Majesty?" The coachman suddenly speaks to Carlos. "Can I... sit with you inside? It's getting kinda hot here."

"Ah, yes, you can. Please do." Carlos responded.

Carlos could hear him cheering outside, and when he came inside and sat before him, it was obvious from his beam. "Thanks, Your Majesty." he bowed down. Carlos awkwardly smiled at him and looked down, focusing on petting the sleeping dog.

"So anyway..." The coachman interrupted the prince's silence. "Those things from last night, what the hell were those?"

"Well, uhm... It's quite hard to explain." Carlos awkwardly tries to make him sense that he was not in the mood for a conversation. "I'm not sure how to say it to you."

"It's fine, just think of it as, like, telling the details to me as an informant, and I'm paying you for the info. But not literally, we're just acting and stuff." But the coachman couldn't read the prince's face at all.

"Oh, I... I see... Well, uhm, I don't know where to start."

"Right, usually when stuff like this happens, you only get the info when you ask questions. So let me ask you."

Carlos was fully unprepared, but he ended up shrugging it off with a smile. The coachman wore white, black and gold, the signature colors of the Pugilist Leader, making him realize just now that he is a disciple of Golden Dragonfly. His talkativeness makes sense now.

"Where did you know those guys?" The disciple asked.

"I... knew them from the Red Courtyard."

"Hmm, so the Red Courtyard really does exist. Next question, were they products of experiments? You said something about experimenting last night."

"Uhm... Are you sure you want to hear such things?"

"Yeah, I have to report it to the leader."

"Do you really have to?"

"Yep, all disciples of every manor report their encounters with the Asperities to their leaders. If we don't, we'll end up risking the lives of many. Ever heard of the butterfly effect?"

"Okay, okay, I understand now." Carlos could only sigh. "Alright, I'll tell you the answers, but I cannot share everything with you."

"Sure, no problem."

"As for what they were..." The disciple suddenly became serious and listened closely. "They were humans, experimented on by Lucius and Stella, the Asperity of Lust and Pride."

"What the fuck?" The disciple randomly blurted out. Carlos stared at him with contempt. "Sorry, please continue."

"Anyway... these humans were abducted from different cities, taken away from their homes to the Red Courtyard, an underground labyrinth. They are experimented to either become war puppets, or become sacrifices for the calamity awakening."

"Damn. That's just... cruel."

"They're one of the reasons why the Red Courtyard must be destroyed."

Knocks could be heard from outside the carriage. Fauna arrived with a basket, and once Carlos opened the door, the scent of a freshly made breakfast hugged his face warmly. "Ooh, food!" The disciple's once gloomy face brightened up at the sight of the meal.

Fauna sat beside Carlos, handing out the food to the two to fill their empty stomach. As for her, she didn't seem to have left anything for herself to eat. "What about you?" Carlos asked, noticing her empty hand. "Don't worry about me. Finish your food so we can continue travelling. We have to keep ourselves away from the Asperities." Fauna said. "Let's not waste time, the Asperities are on the run to find you. It's best to keep moving." Hearing this, Carlos and the disciple silently ate while hurrying to finish it.

Minutes later, a band of galloping horses arrived with grace. Fauna, who watched the horses loudly running towards them, facepalmed in disappointment. All of them had golden-clothed horsemen, pompously showing off their Pugilist Manor signature colors. The front horse leading the group approached the carriage carefully, stopping by the window. Golden Dragonfly then greeted the prince while tapping on the glass. "Good morning, princey-boy!"

Carlos nervously laughed and waved. Her disciple however, delightfully greeted her back. "Good morning, leader!"

Irritated by this, Fauna walked over to Golden Dragonfly angrily. "I thought we already talked about this. We're suppose to stay on guard, not let the Asperities easily find us!"

"Relax, Fauna, the Superior Leader already took care of it!"

"Wait, what? The Superior Leader came?" Fauna was surprised. "The leader said they were going to investigate the Red Courtyard, how'd they end up in Ironhaven?"

"Well, you should be asking the prince about that." says Dragonfly as she playfully glances at the Prince.

Fauna eventually just shrugged off the thought. "Look, just tell your disciples to not attract unwanted attention. Or just tell them to leave! You're risking the prince's life!"

"Damn, okay, okay, I'll tell them to go." Dragonfly sighed before facing her disciples following behind her. "Alright guys, I guess you'll have to go back to Ironhaven."

Right after, her disciples started to complain. "Aw, come on, leader! Give us a break, we're tired!"

"Hey, hey! You got some jobs to do! Go back to Ironhaven and regroup with the ones left behind. You still have to keep the citizens safe there!"

The disciples stopped replying and turned away from her with downcast faces.

"Anyway guys, the Superior Leader got something to tell you!" Dragonfly switches back to Fauna, whose arms were crossed and still irritated. "Hey, listen up. Apparently the Asperities are going all out on killing us." Carlos started to eavesdrop after hearing such. He closely listened.

"Even the highest ranking ones are coming out to "get our heads". You know who the Asperity was that tried to kill us last night? She said she was the Asperity of Envy, Ruby. It was the first time I saw her, but she was pretty easy to mess with, it wasn't that bad."

"No. The highest ranking Asperities are the worst members of the palace. Ruby was the lowest among them, but that doesn't mean we should underestimate the Asperities. They're still dangerous." Fauna asserted.

"Yeah, sure, but like, shouldn't we be really mindful of the Lucius guy? Everybody's literally having a hard time tracking him down." Hearing Dragonfly say the name, Carlos' eye widened. Dragonfly couldn't notice as she was busy discussing with Fauna, but inside the carriage, Carlos was clenching his fists and anxiously sat silently.

"Lucius is the highest among them, we cannot easily cross paths with him in the surface world. He is hiding for a reason."

"Yeah, hiding from the Superior Leader! He's just scared he'll get his ass easily kicked."

"Don't rush the leader, they are following a plan. We just need to follow their orders and wait for the next instruction. Now get moving. The fiend is waiting for us in Iyesgarth."

After their rest and small chatter, they resumed their journey with Golden Dragonfly. Carlos, who was once again alone in the carriage, thought of the encounter they had with the monsters last night. Simply hearing the name "Lucius" triggers hauntings in his mind, bringing back unwanted memories that he so badly want to forget. He was reminded of what Lucius truly was capable of. Yesterday he was supposed to have already shook off Lucius in his head, but now that he realized it was impossible to escape him even when he's not there, he kept thinking about him.

He's now confused. He doesn't know whether or not he should be comfortable with the freedom he has now. He keeps forgetting things that eventually come back to mind at the worst times. He doesn't know if what he feels right now will become even more twisted the more he strays further away from the Asperity Palace. He feels unworthy of salvation. There are worse things waiting for him along the way, and there are memories waiting to be reawakened in his mind that'll haunt him for as long as he does not return to the palace. He is free, but the chains of the palace has not let him go yet. No matter how much he tries to cover it in his mind, he is still the Prince, the son of the tyrannical Queen, and the heir to the throne. The name "Lucius" will keep reminding him of who he truly is, his past, and what comes to him in the future.

Lucius, the Asperity of Lust, is the hidden tyrannical King of the Asperity Palace.