By morning, there was a kingdom wide panic. The king was furious, the queen crying, and the guards searching for him everywhere. Unfortunately, the Prince was nowhere to be found within the kingdom. The king, in order to calm down his wife, declares that there'll be a reward to whoever finds his son and returns him home alive. That reward being whatever they wish. Thus caused a country wide search for the missing Prince.
In a small town to the south...
Yuta bought a green cloak and a new spell book at the local shop using the money he always took with him. Going into the tavern, wearing his cloak, he ordered some water, and heard about the announcement of the reward for the Prince's safe return.
'There's no way I'm going back to that prison,' Yuta decides as he drinks his water, pays for his drink, then goes out to find a quiet place to read.
He finds a tree near a trickling stream, and decides to settle down. Reading his book, he learns a few elemental spells, then trains a bit to level up the spells he's already learned.
Meanwhile...
A lavender haired man was meeting up with his brother in a tavern. A black haired man with blue eyes and glasses, dressed nicely, and with a serious expression on his face compared to his brother's smile.
"Itsuki, did you hear about that missing Prince?" Itsuki answers, "Yeah. It's caused quite a stir, Tsubasa." Tsubasa says, "The reward is to be considered too. At this rate, all sorts of people, from farmers to mercenaries, will probably be after him." Sighing, "I know. And they'll be willing to betray him as well." Tsubasa's glasses flash, "You're going to find him, aren't you?" "Maybe," Itsuki smiles sheepishly. Tsubasa sighs, "Just be careful out there." "I will," Itsuki nods. Then they get up to leave, and go their separate ways. Itsuki heading west, and Tsubasa heading east.
In a small western town...
Itsuki arrived, and decided to rest in the tavern. There, he sees a young man in a green cloak, and decides to sit next to him. They hear rumors of the missing Prince's whereabouts, and theories about how and why the Prince was missing in the first place. The most accepted theory is that bandits kidnapped him to get a ransom, or that he just ran away. As for his whereabouts, he has been seen in a nearby town, but he disappeared without a trace. The townsfolk said that he was wearing a green cloak.
Hearing the green cloaked man sigh, Itsuki glances toward him, and sees a spell book in his hand. Intrigued, Itsuki asks, "Are you good with magic?" The cloaked man smiles, "Yeah, but I only learned recently." Itsuki raises an eyebrow, "Oh? That's impressive." "Thanks."
The cloaked man gets up, "I should really go now. Thanks for talking with me." "Ah. Sure," Itsuki responds as the cloaked man goes outside, a table full of what looks like mercenaries getting up and walking outside as well.
Itsuki follows them, only to see them looking around like idiots, cursing that the cloaked man is gone. 'This feels familiar.' Itsuki walks to the outskirts of the town, and into the forest. As he walks towards the huge tree in the center, he keeps thinking about the time he thought he heard someone crash.
When he got to the base of the tree, which was about a hundred feet high, he sees the cloaked man he'd talked to in the tavern, waiting for him on the tree's roots. Itsuki smiles, "You know, I once heard someone crash near the Stardust Kingdom, but no one was there. Was that you, Prince Yuta?" The cloaked man took off his hood, revealing his face, "Yeah. That was me. Are you going to catch me and drag me home now?" Itsuki shakes his head, "No. I would like to know why you're doing this though." Yuta blinks in confusion, "Really? Even if you get anything you wish just by bringing me home?" "I already have more than enough, thanks." Suddenly, a knife flies straight at them, the both of them dodging. The mercenaries from before seem to have followed Itsuki.
Itsuki draws his sword, Yuta immediately using his magic to disappear. The mercenaries attacked fiercely, but Itsuki easily fought them off, Yuta using elemental magic to burn, freeze, and electrocute them.
After the fight was over, Yuta reappeared, Itsuki sheaving his sword. "You're not bad with a sword," Yuta comments. Itsuki smiles, "You're not bad with magic either," Itsuki replies. They both smile, and decide to head out together.
"You never did tell me why though," Itsuki says. Sighing, Yuta replies, "I was practically a prisoner in my own castle. Of course I would run away. I wanted to see the world." "Even if you made your mother cry and your father furious?" Yuta smiles, "I feel bad for mother, but I just couldn't take it any more. As for father... I'm kind of glad that he's furious. It's all the more reason to stay low and disappear for awhile longer."
Itsuki asks, "Where are you going next?" Yuta shrugs, "I don't know. I've just wandering around." Itsuki smiles, "Would you travel with me then? I'm going east to meet with my brother in Ayanagi Kingdom." Yuta smiles, "Sure!" Itsuki smiles, "Ah. I haven't introduced myself, have I? I'm the rebellious Prince Itsuki of Ayanagi Kingdom," he bows, "A pleasure to meet you, Prince Yuta of Stardust Kingdom." Shocked, Yuta responds, "A pleasure to meet you too, Itsuki." Itsuki just smiles at him. Thus, they head out east together.