A New Direction

"He must be here! Hurry up and find him!" Caspian's voice broke the silent air like an arrow.

Xion gulped as he glanced toward the direction of the voice. He could not see anything, yet he felt as if everything was as clear as day. In a moment, Soren would find him and drag him back to the marquis mansion.

He would be repeating what the poor original Xion went through before dying. He looked back at the boy, who seemed completely unaffected by the voices.

"Hiding from them?" Darius asked. Nevertheless, the way he so casually slid the curtains to the side to get a better view of the situation, he was not the least bit mindful of Xion's worry.

Or perhaps Darius did not need to worry at all. His gaze fell onto the few people, and Xion could see those eyes narrowing in contemplation.

Xion craned his neck to get a better view outside. The sight made his eyes wide from disbelief. Eli was holding a tiny stone which shone with a strange light.

A magic crystal. Words rang in his mind so loud that they made his ears ring. He fumbled into the bag. His fingers touched the ornament tucked away into the secret pocket.

He held it; however, it slipped from his fingers. Only then did Xion notice that his whole body was trembling including his fingers. He took a shaky breath and finally managed to fish the bracelet out.

The thin silver metal lay on his palm. Its coldness directly seeped into his heart. The center bead was shining just like the one in Eli's hand.

Xion sat there looking utterly baffled and confused. Eli had given him a parting gift which, in actuality, was nothing but a tracker. Like a small indicator, this thing would show his location to the caster of the spell.

No wonder they found him so easily.

All of his running, all of his panic and fears were useless. The pain he went through just to run away from Marquis's mansion was coiling around his heart in a tight rope.

A small hand took the slivery ornament from his fingers, and Xion could only look at the small boy with blank eyes.

"This," Darius waved it in front of Xion's dazed eyes, "is why you're trembling so much?"

Xion came back to his senses, yet he could not respond. His throat felt dry, and his heart thundered in his chest.

Without waiting for a reply, Darius flicked his fingers. A small spark of mana danced at his fingertips. The spark went along the delicate silvery chains and ignited the center bead.

The once-glowing crystal cracked in just a few seconds. Its light extinguished in an instant, leaving behind just a plain piece of jewelry.

"You are not very good at hiding," Darius leaned forward. His small fingers touched the raven-black hair before curling them around his fingertips.

The faintest trace of amusement danced in his eyes. "Darkest of hair, purest of eyes..." he muttered something under his breath which Xion could not quite catch at the moment.

"They won't catch you," the boy said as he tossed the broken bracelet aside like a mere trash.

Xion openly gawked at the boy. Both Relief and confusion, warred within him, making his mind a bit slow to process what was happening around him.

"You... destroyed it?" Xion uttered in daze.

"Of course," Darius replied smoothly, brushing a strand of his black hair away from his forehead. "I don't like uninvited guests... Calm down, they won't find you."

Just a few words from a small boy made Xion exhale sharply. It was as if all that tension coiling around him went away, and in an instant, he felt light.

"Thanks. I swear I will only leave after treating you," Xion whispered with a slightly relieved smile.

Though, his heart was still a mess, for now, he suppressed it all down.

Much to Xion's surprise, no one came to search the carriage. Forget searching, they did not even knock on the door to ask anything.

"Listen mate, you need to find him somewhere else. This is His Grace's carriage."

Xion recognized the sudden voice all too well. It was Ray. The knight he had promised to run away with.

So, this kid is really a child of that scary prince? Xion mused as he silently observed Darius.

Due to his upbringing Darius had always been sensitive to the sights falling on him. So, how could he not notice when the doll was not even trying to hide it in the first place?

"What?" he asked as he looked at those deep blue eyes. If it were anyone else, Darius would not even bother a simple humming as a reply. But those eyes, they held some sort of power that made him speak again and again. 

Xion slightly bit his lip as he thought a few things in his mind. It was only when he was sure that Soren and his party had walked away that he opened his mouth.

"So... you are a prince? Should I... like, call you, His Grace? Not to offend you, but I am not good with titles and all the fancy stuff." Xion smiled sheepishly while asking.

Darius tilted his head. A small smile played on his pale lips as he patted the seat next to him. "Come here."

It took almost a minute for Xion to understand that the child was asking him to sit next to him.

"Oh," he said as he stood up. Then, he almost fell on the kid. His legs had gone numb from sitting on the floor!

He managed to sit on the cushioned seat and almost sighed from the comfort.

"No need. Just call me like before."

Xion blinked, then a smile broke across his face. "Rail, It's a nice name. Thanks for helping me."

Darius looked at Xion for a few more seconds and turned his head away. This time he did not reply. He shut his eyes before resting his head against the seat.

The carriage fell silent. However, Darius' mind kept flashing the same smile. Too bright.

That was until Ray knocked on the window. "Master, I can't find that heal-"

"Let's return. We have all that we were looking for."

Darius did not say anymore. Just from those words, Ray understood that Xion must be inside the carriage.

"I understand." His Master had been drugged at the banquet. As a consequence, the old problem flared up. Ray knew if this continued, His Grace would not live past a decade.

His only hope was the healer who resembled the prophecy. Who would have thought the healer would run away? He had been looking for him for an entire night!

Ray looked at the vague shadow beside his master and thought that perhaps Goddess Myrthia had taken pity on the Archduke.

With a new hope, the carriage started moving in a new direction.