Chapter 79

"Why would the princess of Theapan be hiding out in Cista?" Prince Leo uttered the question bluntly to Isis as they sat around a camp fire in the dead of night.

After searching the entire time they've been in the forest they had no choice but to make camp for the night. Neither of the men were willing to drop their guard around her. Therefore Isis found herself at all times being observed by one of them. The moment Vorbuk had left to scout the area for signs of the man they were searching for Leo had taken the chance to pry her for answers.

"What about you? What is the prince of Cadirade doing in Cista? Before you worry about me why don't you look at your own rumors before asking me about my own matters.." Princess Isis was not worried about upsetting the prince.

She had seen him before and knew about the rumors that floated around about Leo not being committed to his duties as a prince of Cadirade Kingdom. There was no reason for her to heed to his questions. When it came to bad rumors about royal members that had the tendencies to flee from royal duties, Leo was the top among the list. Him being called a crown prince was considered a joke for years.

You want to judge me? You don't have the right to. She thought to herself as she listened for Vorbuk to return. He had been gone a while but still had not returned.

"I won't say anything about the matter.. but if your going to be around us I should at least have an idea about your situation." Leo was not trying to insult her. If he had to consider reasons behind him wanting to know more about her situation. It was because he was concerned something could fall back on them later for being around the princess without warning.

"My father.. devoted himself to serving the god Chynir." Isis lowered her gaze. The sound of her voice was lonely as she recalled her father, the king of Theapan.

"Hasn't your kingdom always aided the Ice Queen? Why would you suddenly decide against the king and leave. What could he have possibly done that's worse then the previous rulings."

"This is different.. He use to be solely loyal to aiding in the Ice Queen's side of the war. But the god, Chynir, confronted my father and offered him a deal. In return for aiding her in the war, if she actually wins he offered my father immortality." She rambled on naturally as if she had forgotten she was talking to the crown prince of Cadirade.

Neither of them had realized that Vorbuk had trotted up behind them in his wolf form. His ears were pinned to the conversation as he silently listened to their every word. Careful to not interrupt them.

"That doesn't sound.." Leo could not bring himself to finish his words. Chynir gifting mortals with immortality did not make sense. There was no way a single kingdom alone would topple the war that was among the twelve kingdoms.

"It sounds like a god deliberately tricking an aging king into ruin, correct?" She already knew what the prince was thinking. Long ago she had made the realization herself.

A lone King, aging and dying, is offered a chance to save his own life when he is falling near his final years.. Suddenly a god shows up and offers him eternal life. The only price he must pay is to see the end of a war that has been raging on for thousands of years. What is the result? The desperate king with limited years left of course would grasp every way possible to save himself. Even if it meant allowing his own people to be purged by force from their homes and thrown into the war as anything from skilled soldiers to cannon fodder.

The more that she spoke of the state her father had fallen into the more they both could hear the pain in her voice. Princess Isis did not mourn at the thought of another dethroning her father and taking his life. She actually desired for someone to purge him from the throne. Isis loved her father but at the same time she could not stop herself from hating what he had become. As time went on she fled because she could no longer handle seeing what he was doomed to become because of his false hope in Chynir.

The evil god had no hope that the war would end. War ending after thousands of years was just a pipe dream Chynir had fed the king in order to disrupt the entire kingdom. With a king that allows another kingdom complete control over his own people without a care... Leo thought the god simply wanted to cause Theapan to fall into complete anarchy.

Leo did not know how right that point was, however. Because Chynir completely was overjoyed at the state that Theapan had fallen because of his snide jokes with the king.

With the air between them becoming heavy Vorbuk quickly morphed into his human form to bring a halt to the conversation.

"If you two are done discussing matters we should get some rest. I believe I found some possible traces of the man we're looking for currently." Vorbuk stepped in so that they would stop discussing the matter of Theapan's king. He could see from the look on the princess's face that the subject was a painful matter for her. After the couple days they had spent together he could tell it was not something she was comfortable with.

You fought so hard to keep it to yourself and suddenly you blurt it all out to Leo? I almost feel jealous.. Vorbuk clicked his tongue against his teeth with a slight groan. His emotions felt complicated and he could not tell what he even felt jealous over. Was it because she spoke about the matters with Leo? Was it because Leo spoke to her?

What is wrong with me? Vorbuk's brow twitched.

Returning to his original form as a wolf he trudged over to Prince Leo and curled up in a ball. His wolf ears pinned tight against his head.

"What is wrong with you?" Prince Leo could see the sudden drop in Vorbuk's attitude from the weight of his silence.

"The others should catch up to us soon. We should solve matters quickly so we can move forward to our next destination." Vorbuk avoided the question because he had no idea how to respond to it. How could he explain what he was upset about when he did not understand it himself.

"Right..." Leo felt puzzled over Vorbuk's attitude for a moment. That feeling quickly faded, however, when he recalled that Vorbuk often acted strangely. The fact that he had the personality of a human but his species was that of a companion was already enough to consider him abnormal.

Why do I still get surprised over anything that involves him... At this point I should be use to his sudden changes regardless of what they are.. Leo sighed to himself as he thought about it. Though the more he denied the fact that he got curious over so much when it came to Vorbuk, it only made him want to question him further.