More gifts, perhaps?

"We have to go now, we're gonna get others killed if we don't run!" the prince cried out. "What else are you waiting for? We have to run!"

The hunter refused to budge, as she held on tight to her pistol with her eyes unmoving, waiting for the final target to appear. Finally, a few moments later, a woman dressed in all black appeared before them, carrying a small gun. She walks towards them, with her blood red eyes shining amidst the disappearing smoke and glued onto the prince. Immediately, the hunter aimed for the woman's hand, but unfortunately, before she could hit the woman's wrist, she had already aimed the gun at the sky, firing a red bullet which burst into a flying red peacock firework.

"Damn it!" the hunter cursed. "Let's hide before they catch us!" She then grabbed the prince's arm once more, running away from the village for good.

The woman had her eyes glued to the prince, never blinking until gradually, he disappears from her sight. With her gun still in her hand, she lifted it in front of her face and blew the red smoke away. She turned back, waltzing away while overlooking the paralyzed bodies of her servants. Once she was far enough from the pile of bodies, she snapped her fingers. The agents heard the click of her fingertips, and one by one, they screamed out of terror as a rain of rapiers fell upon them. They all were killed in an instant, leaving pools of dark red blood running on the streets. The woman smiled at the sight, letting out a little chuckle. "My bad, I didn't mean to slip. Oh well, I never needed any of you anyway. The only one who can kill the prince is me. He's mine."

The prince and the hunter ran through an alleyway, eventually reaching a trapdoor leading to an underground tunnel. Without hesitation, the hunter led the prince into the dark. They hurriedly climbed down the stairs until the light from the edges of the door was far out of sight. The hunter opened a lighter to illuminate the path, which was small and suffocating. Seeing that the prince became out of breath, they paused from running. "Let's stop here for a while."

Relieved to hear the hunter, the prince gasped to catch his breath. His legs were sore, so he decided to sit on the floor with his cloak as his blanket. And while the hunter was looking out for threats, the prince drowned deep in his thoughts. "That woman..." said the prince. "She's one of the Higher Asperities."

"You won't be safe out there, the Asperities will not rest until they find and capture you. I'm surprised you had not thought of that before rushing out of the manor." the hunter complains.

However, the prince barely paid attention to what she was saying. A few seconds had passed silently, his thoughts slipped out of his tongue. "But if the Asperities have gone out of the palace to roam the Kingdom, that means the people won't be safe either. The Asperities will search far and wide to recapture me, even if it means killing the innocent. I realized too late, my absence will stir chaos in the palace! We have to tell the Superior Leader!"

Angered by his words, the hunter defended her master. "Are you questioning the Superior Leader's plans? You should be grateful that we saved you from that hellhole!"

The prince stood up. "I am not questioning the leader. I had always known in my heart that I will escape that place through someone's hands, and it was theirs that lifted me out of that place. But we cannot ignore those who once enslaved me, my salvation does not mean they will simply ignore my absence and find another! My m... The Queen will eventually find her way through all of you, if we don't do something while it's still early, we are endangering the lives of many!"

The hunter sighed. She understood the prince, so then she assured him: "The Superior Leader already knows about this. That will be taken care of by the Cardinal Manors. As of now, she-"

"No, you don't understand!" The Prince interjected, startling the hunter. "The calamity is about to awaken and we must make haste!"

Silenced by the prince, the hunter froze to carefully listen. Indeed, it is true. There is calamity that is about to befall on Liberta, though not many know of this, every leader of the Cardinal Manors know well of the Warden Blossom. It was prophesized in the olden times by the Abbots of Liberta, but hundreds of years has passed since then and only the sanctuaries and cathedrals remember the forthcoming fate of the Kingdom. As of now, even the Cardinal Manors refuse to speak of the calamity to the common people so as to not scare them. But as soon as they hear such a formidable name, they falter. To them, to speak of "Warden Blossom" is to speak of the devil.

"I know a way to stop them."The prince continues. "There is a certain city in the Kingdom, the gathering place of all the asperities, be it the lowest or the highest of them. The Red Courtyard, the root of the calamity that the people feared."

Having heard such a familiar place, the hunter became curious. "Root of the calamity?" She said.

To which the prince eagerly replied: "Yes, from what I know, that's where the Asperities go whenever they need more allies." He explains. "They turn humans into mindless war puppets there. I only remembered it now, but I know that if we destroy the energy source of that city, the Asperity Palace will be weakened."

''I have heard of the root of the calamity, but many of our surveyors have all failed to find it, how can you be so sure that it lies here in the Kingdom?"

''I was taken there once." The prince said, speaking with a tone of fear and horror. "I saw how they experimented on humans, men, women, children, none of them got out with their humanity still intact, they were either reborn as a monster or die with their human parts reused for other experiments. All so they could "prepare" for the calamity they'll awaken. Now that I am gone, I'm sure..."

After hearing such things, the hunter couldn't help but feel provoked. "Where do we find this place?" she said impatiently.

"I'm not sure, but I know it's found underground." The prince propped his chin with his hand, carefully thinking. "If we could make contact with a Higher Asperity, we might be able to find it. The woman from earlier, the Triumvirate Fiend, she knows where it is."

The hunter nodded. "Mn. I will send a letter to the Superior Leader to inform her about this. As for that Fiend..."

"Please, allow me to find her, I shall talk to her and convince her to come with us." insisted the prince.

"But you should return to the manor, let me handle that fiend myself."

"No, please, you must not. I know her well, she will not say anything even if you were to force her. Let me talk to her instead."

"It's too dangerous for you to be roaming around the Kingdom!"

"Please, I beg of you, I cannot just sit in the manor and wait until the leader arrives. I must do something for the people of Liberta, let me help you save them. I believe it is my duty as the prince."

The hunter fell silent. She hesitated, and didn't know what to say next. While the prince waits for her response, the hunter tapped her foot and nervously thought of what to do. Moments later, the hunter grabbed something from her satchel. She reached her hand out to the prince, offering him a purple gemstone, carved to look like a blooming flower with seven petals.

"This is the Superior Insignia, you must carry this with you all the time to keep you protected." says the hunter as the prince held it carefully in his palm. She then pulls the cane she carried on her back, hidden behind her cloak. She gives it to the prince. "You may have this as well."

Carlos hid the gem in his pocket and held on to the cane. As he held the handle, he pulled back the shaft and unsheathed a thin sharp blade underneath it. He had seen this weapon somewhere, but he had forgotten where exactly. His thoughts were then cut off as the hunter spoke.

"Carry these with you, you have my protection but I cannot predict the movements of our enemies."

The prince then realized what it meant. "Then..." He speaks as his face brightens up.

"We shall seize the fiend together."