To The South

After the meeting was adjourned, the prince decided to retire for the night in not so good spirits. The thought of being able to travel outside the capital city for the first time, although it was not for leisure excited him but at the same time he was also a bit apprehensive because of his father.

While the prince was in a complicated mood, his father was in a foul mood. He didn't expect that his generals would agree to the prince's preposterous idea. He went to his resting quarters with a deep frown and furrowed eyebrows.

Reious followed him silently. Knowing that the king is in a bad mood, he decided to remain silent along the way. He would wait for the king to simmer down a bit before talking, no one wanted to irritate the king furthermore.

"You were supposed to be on my side, Reious." The king uttered after they were inside his private room.

"I'm sorry your majesty," Reious apologized, "I know that you want to protect the prince but you can't expect him to really take it silently, let him experience the world outside this palace. It will be good for him." He knew that the king's attitude towards his son was that of like a lion protecting his cub, well overprotective lion that is. He was not in a position to possibly negate the king's way of caring for his child because he knew what the king had went through after he lost his wife.

Leon sat heavily on the chair and sent the general away. He doesn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. The events came to fast and he was not prepared mentally, all of a sudden his son would be gone on a journey and he will not see him possibly for a long time. It was a bit disconcerting and he was not open with the idea of his son being so far away. He was well aware that he was overthinking everything and that he is becoming more and more unreasonable but what could he do? His fear had reached a point where he can easily fall into paranoia.

That night the king didn't sleep well, he was plagued with nightmares that he opted to stay awake by doing what was left of his work during the day. General Reious found him in that state the next morning as he informed the king of the prince's departure.

"You move fast, it didn't even take a few days for you to prepare." The king said and continued to work without lifting his head to look at the general.

"That is because all have been prepared even before we decided to let the prince handle the matter, no need to be unhappy about this," Reious answered in a good mood. The king was annoyed at how the general was so happy about this matter. "Aren't you going to see your son off?" the general asked.

"No need. As you have said, he is already old enough to experience life away from the palace, he doesn't need my cuddling anymore," Leon answered stiffly. The general knew that the king was stubborn and expected this answer but still he hoped. He can only sigh and see the prince off in place of the king.

Outside the palace gates, a small entourage was prepared together with General Rohan and the Order was waiting. Orion was also standing outside the carriage waiting. After waiting for half an hour, General Reious came with a tight smile.

"The king wishes you a safe journey, your highness," he said with a gentle smile. He tried to convince the king again and again but he still refused to come down and bid his goodbye.

Orion sighed in disappointment. It seems that his father is still angry but he can't do anything about it now. This is for his own good and he knew that he can't stay locked inside these palace walls. Orion didn't want to remain in a place where he felt like he was a prisoner.

"Please tell my father that I will see him when I return and that even though he is angry, he must understand that I must do this." Orion looked at the general's eyes with sincerity that made Reious feel at ease.

"I will relay your message, your highness," he answered.

"And tell him that I love him," after uttering those words he turned around and climbed on the carriage.

From his study, King Leon watched as his son and his escort marched towards the south. He watched silently with an unreadable emotion in his eyes. He stood there until they disappeared into the horizon.

"Is it really okay to leave just like that, your highness?" Karina asked worriedly.

"Its fine no need to fret. I'll be sure to talk to him when I get back," Orion answered calmly.

They silently passed the gate of the outer wall of the capital and continued through the dirt road leading to the Emerald Forest. They would be there within ten days if they do not encounter any problems on the way.

Orion was having the time of his life as he watched the surroundings as they passed by them. He was excited and anxious at the same time, the unhappy departure was temporarily forgotten with the view of things that fascinated the him.

"You are acting like a child, your highness." Karina smiled helplessly as he saw the glow around Orion brighten. This is the first time for her to see the prince so carefree and with a wide smile on his face so she was also happy that they were able to have the opportunity to travel.

"This is the first time I'll be traveling, of course, I am happy," Orion answered in a cheerful voice. Not once did the smile on Orion's face faded, whenever he saw something he would excitedly tell Karina, he instantly became a chatterbox.

After a day of traveling, the party decided to take a rest for the night and found a fairly secluded place to set camp. The prince was happy to be able to stretch his legs and be able to stand up after sitting for a long time. He was not yet accustomed to traveling and he felt his legs go numb but even so, it was still worth it.

"We've set up the perimeter, you are allowed to walk around but be sure not to go too far," General Rohan informed Orion. He knew that the prince was itching to explore so he sent some of their entourage to set a perimeter around the camp so that the prince can at least walk around without a worry and without them also worrying about the prince's safety.

"Thank you General, I'll be on my way then. I'll be back before the sun comes down." Orion smiled and took a step when he heard the general's voice once again.

"Take with you your personal guards, although we are still inside the territory of Archellia, danger cannot be avoided and is unpredictable." The general reminded him to which the prince nodded.

The order followed the prince as he explored the area they are in right now. He was smiling along the way although the view is the same as the forest surrounding the palace, he was still happy to be out of there. There was something different about the outside world that made him curious and he wanted to know more about this world.

Only the crunching of branches and leaves being stepped on can be heard throughout the place as Orion continued to explore. It was very refreshing for him to be able to freely wander around. It was a peaceful walk not until a dark presence suddenly let itself known.

His three personal guards immediately surrounded Orion in a defensive position as they felt the evil presence closing in on them but they still can't see where the evil aura came from. Orion also stayed alert and was reminded of General Rohan's words just before they set out to walk. The area they were in was still inside the set up perimeter but for an unknown reason a dark energy was able to launch an attack aiming at them.

"Arthur, send your wind spirits to relay a message to the general," Apollo ordered as he prepared a spell to attack.

"That's the problem, my wind spirits are trapped. They can't get past the evil presence," he explained bewildered. It was the first time that he was not able to use his wind spirits freely. This will certainly pose a problem for them. "It seems like the evil presence is able to seal this place and isolate us from the others."

They tightened the circle they formed around the prince. Each of them has already prepared an attack and defensive spell. Not long after they felt something rushed towards them at an incredible speed.