Chapter 29

Dante got up earlier than the rest of the trainees, it was a habit he had taken to.

He realized that it was quiet in the early mornings so he decided to make use of the silence to meditate.

He was still susceptible to his father's mind link, he couldn't go crumbling to his knees in the middle of a crowd because of the pressure and weight of his father's intent.

Meditating, he found recently, improved his resistance substantially and made him able to handle the strain of his father constantly trying to communicate with him.

He was sure that his father had already sent troops out to begin the search for him, it didn't matter much, he didn't plan to stay in a place for too long.

This morning was no different, he sat cross legged on his padded mat, his eyes closed as he controlled his breathing and emptied his mind.

He had been a training guard for a few weeks now and he was already learning new things.

He had been disappointed at the sparring sessions, hoping to learn something new but he supposed that would be too much to ask from the training session of new guards.

He would just have to move up the ranks, quickly too so that he could learn as much as possible before he had to leave.

Most of what he learnt about the city came from Jeno, a fellow guard in training who stuck to Dante's side.

Today, they were stationed at one of the outer gates, doing nothing but standing and watching endless colorful carriages drive past.

He was all alone this time, as there were days he was positioned in a different location from Jeno, it didn’t matter much to Dante.

Since he started training, he hadn’t heard a word from Mival, which was no surprise, their business with each other had long ended.

He stood stiffly in his position, the guards who had their fun cruelly teasing the trainees knew well enough to stay away from him.

The first day of his training had earned him a little popularity, something he would have liked to avoid but if it meant that they stayed away from him, it was almost worth it.

Suddenly, a loud noise caught his attention. There was a long procession of lavishly designed carriages which could only mean that some royalty had come visiting.

It was clearly a surprise as the guards stationed at the gates would have been informed if someone as important as royalty from another country would come visiting.

There was a scurry to quickly open the gates in time, Dante standing close to the path as the first couple carriages went by.

He looked curiously on, wondering who the member of royalty could possibly be. He doubted he would get to find out though because they would no doubt be sequestered in their carriages.

So it was to his shock when the main carriage pulled up, a young man, dressed in lavish clothes hanging out the window of the carriage while another, no doubt his personal attendant went into a panic trying to pull him in.

He stumbled back because he had been standing close enough to the road for the young man’s face to be up close to him, he had only caught a flash of mischievous blue eyes before he was pulled in and the carriage whooshed by.

“That one looks like trouble…” He overheard a soldier gossip behind him, this was the one time he would have to agree.

He felt bad for the attendant that had to deal with the excitable noble, he clearly had his hands full with him.

“Are you trying to get us both killed??” Jade rounded on Sol when he was safe on his cushioned seats again, making sure to lock the windows this time so that he couldn’t put his head out the windows again.

Sol made a face. “I just wanted to get a little sightseeing done.”

Jade gave him a look of disbelief. “You are a Prince and his Royal Majesty has granted you freedom in this country, you don’t have to jump out the windows of your carriage to get a look around.”

“But you’re not going to let me leave my rooms for days.” Sol complained.

“Because you are still recovering.” Jade huffed, trying to put Sol together again, it wouldn't help if they showed up to the King and Queen of the country with Sol looking like he walked the entire way there.

“And yet here you were throwing your side over the hard edge of the window, what if your stitches ripped open again.” He continued complaining.

Sol just rolled his eyes, Jade would never let him hear the end of it. “I don’t think that is how scars work.

“Still, you’re representing the Celestial Kingdom of Nym, you have to be on your very best behavior…” Jade started his lecture, straightening up Sol’s crown and robes.

“No I’m not.” Sol was quick to shut him down. “They think I come from the far away land of Darlton which has a powerful army and so this visit is a means of them trying to form allies.”

They did come from Darlton where the ruler there was a good friend of the Celestial Royal family which also meant that it wasn’t particularly safe for Sol to stay there.

It worked out for everyone involved.

Jade swallowed back the rest of the words, there was no winning this. He was more relieved that Sol had recovered fully from the attack, spirits, body and all.

He noted that Sol didn’t like to talk about what happened and that was fine by Jade, the King had simply told him that he had been targeted because a rebel group was trying to force his hand.

And although that reason had far too many holes in it, Sol had taken it easily, getting to say goodbye to his father and older brothers before going through the portals.

Jade knew that Sol could be hyper and curious like a little child but that didn’t mean he was slow or stupid, some things were best left alone.

At least he would be safe on earth.

Jade looked across the lavishly designed carriage that had been given to them by the King of Darlton as well as the procession of carriages that had come with them, he really hoped that earth would be safe.