Chapter VII:

Ayuthay shrunk in the distance as Amiti silently walked down the darkened path into the heart of Angara; the only sound that could be heard was his footsteps on the dirt path and the occasional snapping of a branch. Even the wind seemed to be tame that night, not even rustling the leaves of the trees slightly. It was very quiet – eerily so. At times Amiti thought he could hear his own heart pounding, and would stop quite frequently to observe the scene around him.

He had never felt so alone and vulnerable before. Although he was one of the Adepts that participated in stopping the Eclipse and had journeyed with them all across Weyard, it had been nothing like this. He hadn't been alone then either. Even though the situation of the Eclipse was probably much direr than the one Amiti found himself in then, it was nowhere near as intimidating. The enemy wanted him, and his life depended on sneaking into Morgal unnoticed - not a pleasant thought to be sure.

With every step that Amiti took, he felt more and more despaired. He hadn't even been king for a week, and already he lost power over Ayuthay. It was probably the shortest rule that had ever taken place in the kingdom, or maybe even the shortest rule period. He felt like he failed to live up to his obligations, and more importantly – failed to live up to his uncle's expectations.

Amiti recalled in his mother's journal that his uncle had written about how proud he was of him. If only his uncle had seen him now, he wouldn't be so proud, Amiti thought bitterly.

The moon was now up to it's fullest; it's light illuminating the forest around him. He had set out shortly after the soldier's warning, and had already been traveling for a good 4-5 hours. Now it was in the mid hours of the night, and Amiti still hadn't reached Harapa as he had been planning to do before setting out. He hoped to stop there and rest up before trying to make his way into Morgal, and of course along the way he hoped to meet with his friend, Baghi and the elders of Passaj. He had a very hard time believing that the elder, Bogho would sign such an agreement to have all Adepts be rounded up like that, and soon began to wonder on the people of Passaj's safety. If they had tried to rebel against Kaocho… Amiti shuddered; he didn't want to even think about it.

Exhaustion and confusion began to make its toll on him, although he most certainly didn't wish to stop and rest there. He knew he'd probably make it to Harapa within a matter of a couple hours, and felt it was probably much safer to make it to the city rather than stopping there in the middle of the forest. After all, once Kaocho found out that Amiti had made a run for it he wouldn't be safe anywhere in Angara – though a part of him wondered how safe he would be even if he made it out.

Harapa began to sound like not such a good place to stop either, but Amiti figured it was the best option he had. He'd always had a good relationship with the people there, so perhaps they'd let him stay one night without turning him in. Or even better, maybe they'd forget that he was an Adept entirely and wouldn't even realize there would be a need to turn him in.

Amiti stopped for a moment, resting a hand against a tree as he regained his breath – not from walking, but from the anxiety and stress he found himself under. He reached into his backpack for his map, and then scowled realizing it'd do him no good, that he had no light to read it with anyway. It was one of those rare moments that he really wished he were a Fire Adept – as he didn't wish this very often. He briefly considered starting a fire, but then thought better of it. For one thing, he wasn't altogether sure on how to start one, and for another he felt it risky to start a fire for he'd be easier to trace that way. He put the map back and slowly slid down the tree, first finding the cool, damp grass under his hands before sitting down.

For what seemed to be hours, yet Amiti knew he'd been only sitting there for a mere few minutes, he gazed up at what could be seen of the starry night sky between leafy branches. It was hard to imagine that only a mere few hours ago his only concern was Alex and somehow getting his revenge on him. But now, that were the least of Amiti's worries. He seriously contemplated whether he'd manage to escape Kaocho's grasp and make it to Morgal safely, but the more he thought about it, he wondered what good it would really do even if he succeeded? It wouldn't change Kaocho's mind, or save the Adepts, or Ayuthay. Unless he really made serious move rather than simply hiding away would anything change. Only at this point, Amiti's mind was too foggy to begin to think of any possible course of action that he could take. A war would be stupid; Kaocho would obviously win – for their military was far superior than the whole of Morgal combined. Pretty much everyone knew that, and so he doubted that even if he begged would Morgal really team up with him.

Amiti threw his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. His head throbbed from hitting the tree so hard, but he hardly cared. The throbbing in his head only went along with the suffering that he was experiencing mentally. It all seemed like such a lost cause, he didn't even know why he bothered escaping. He felt as though he should've stayed behind with his people and attempted to hold Kaocho off as long as they possibly could.

At least he would've been considered a better king than he was right then.

~(*)~

The brightness of the sunlight seemed to dull down Amiti's senses as he slowly opened his eyes. The sun was directly over his head, pouring down its rays of light over him. He squinted around confusedly, taking in his surroundings. It took him several moments to fully realize why he was there, and all of the events that had taken place the night prior. He felt more rested than he had when he had first set out – well, sort of. It wasn't his most preferred position or place to sleep in, but at least he felt his mind were more clear and muscles more cooperative to move again. He was hopeful that he would just be able to bypass Harapa now and make way for Passaj directly. That was, until he realized that it might make his trip slightly brighter if he stopped in Harapa for lunch. Amiti sighed; he really didn't want to make any more stops than it were necessary - but he figured that lunch probably fit into one of those necessities.

It took him about four hours to reach Harapa, and by then he was very glad that he didn't continue – he was famished.

It had been awhile since he'd been to Harapa, yet it hadn't changed in the least. Due to it being one of the most lit up cities in the world, it wasn't as affected by the Eclipse as some places had been, and probably recovered fastest from it as well. Looking around the place, it was hard to imagine that only about two weeks ago had they been in total disarray. Amiti still wasn't convinced that it was the safest of places to stop, but for the moment, it worked. He figured that if a small enough group ambushed him he might possibly be able to outdo them with his psynergy.

For as small of a city as Harapa was, it was a one that frequently held tourists and travelers, so there were many inns and cafes all about. Amiti chose a smaller, slightly older café then the more popular ones that were packed with people, mainly to avoid unnecessary attention. He felt like he'd stand out in a crowd. Although the clothes of which he wore weren't royalty or traditional Ayuthayan clothing, they still marked him Ayuthayan and his hair probably classified him as an Adept, so he therefore thought it best to avoid attention wherever possible.

The bell chimed as he entered the small, darkened café and already he wished that he had gone to one of the other more attractive ones. It was very small, dark, and quite musty smelling. He didn't catch the scent of food as you normally would when first stepping into any café or restaurant. The place gave him the creeps, particularly the old man behind the counter staring at him.

Instinctively, his hand moved towards the hilt of his sword. He couldn't make out the man or any of his features in the darkness, and had no idea whether he knew him or not. His first impulse was to turn around and leave; yet that would possibly look more suspicious, as it would obviously implicate his fear.

"You look familiar," the man said in a gravelly voice, making Amiti nearly jump out of his skin in surprise. "Have I run into you somewhere before?"

Amiti immediately wanted to say no, but thought that would seem obvious as well. He didn't want to allow the man to fully acknowledge who he was, and at least at the moment, he hadn't.

"I'm not sure, sir," Amiti replied quietly. "I – haven't been to Harapa in a very long time."

"Indeed?" the man asked doubtfully. "It seems to me you were in here just the other day asking about some man named Felix. Wasn't that you?"

Amiti shook his head, letting go of the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. A man that was looking for Felix that he resembled enough… But it couldn't be... Was it too good to be true?

"No, that was not I," said Amiti. "But I do believe I might know who you are speaking of. Did – did he say his name was Alex?"

The man grinned over at him, slowly making his way around the counter over towards him.

"Ah, so you know Alex, but aren't him. I see. Well, you look just like him. It's not a wonder that I got so confused," he said with a dry laugh, causing Amiti to cringe; this was partly due to the laugh, but moreso to do with the statement in and of itself. "The man that came through here didn't claim himself to be Alex, but I do believe it was him. There's only one Alex."

"Yes, that's for sure," Amiti replied bitterly. "Can you tell me… Did – did he say where he was going?"

The man frowned, observing Amiti more carefully.

"You know, I think I've seen you somewhere before as well," he said, failing to answer Amiti's question.

"Yes, perhaps," Amiti said with a shrug, brushing aqua blue locks from his face. "If we have met, I do not recall… But, I'm wondering if –"

"Yes, yes. You're wondering about Alex. I hadn't forgotten," the man said, now circling Amiti. The young king's gaze followed him, not appreciating the man's lack of respect, nor being scrutinized so intently. This was exactly the type of thing that he was trying to avoid by going to a small café. "But if you know Alex, you know how he's funny about anyone knowing where he's going. He's got good reason to – After you do so much harm, there's people out there that want to kill you."

"I don't wish to kill him," Amiti told him, thinking over what he said to be in fact a lie. He really had wished to kill him, or at least at that very moment he did. "I just really want to find him –"

The man snapped his fingers suddenly, catching Amiti by surprise and causing him to jump again.

"Oh, I know! You're Prince Amiti from Ayuthay aren't you? Or no, sorry, king now, isn't it?"

Amiti bit his lip; he had really hoped no one would figure it out… Yet, he felt as though he were possibly expecting the impossible. He also felt as though he were getting nowhere with this old man. He obviously knew where Alex was, but didn't want to share it with him. This time, Amiti chose to play along with his response and not tell him if he were correct in his assumption or not.

"I see that you are not interested in telling me where Alex is," he said, not bothering to hide the bitterness in his tone. "So if you'll excuse me, I have some other business here in Harapa to attend to."

To his surprise, the old man just laughed at him. Amiti watched him in disbelief for a long moment until the man said, "we're not being friendly today, are we? Well, fine. Since you're the king of Ayuthay, I believe that it would be only fitting that I told you where Felix is."

"No, no, you see. I'm not looking for Felix –"

"He went to Lalivero," the old man said, cutting him off. "I don't know if Felix would still be there or not, but that's where he went at any rate."

Amiti understood immediately: the man was trying to avoid giving Alex's location specifically, and instead told Amiti where Felix would be headed – for if Amiti found Felix, he would obviously be finding Alex. Amiti then began to wonder whether he'd made some bargain with Alex so as not reveal his whereabouts to anyone. The Mercury Adept nodded, and for the very first time offered the café owner a smile.

"Thank you very much, sir. I really appreciate it."

With that he moved over towards the door that stood only a few feet away from him, feeling relieved to be getting out of the musty old café for good.

"Your welcome," the man replied. "But I must ask – Why is it that you came here in the first place? No one comes in here often. What gave you the notion to come and speak to me?"

Amiti paused, his hand remaining on the doorknob.

"I was just passing by and saw a café that looked like it scarcely saw any customers and thought I'd have lunch here." Amiti replied, without turning from the door.

"Oh," said the man. "That's weird, no one bothers trying to eat here anymore, what with the way the outside looks and everything. Even though back in the day we had the best food in town, those other café's won us out for good. No, we closed up shop a long time ago. We've gone into bigger, better things for business."

Amiti turned to face him, feeling curiosity that he knew he shouldn't at the very moment.

"What sort of things?" he asked him.

The man laughed, shaking his head. "Only things a man like Alex would be interested in," he said with a wry grin. "Not a pretty, innocent boy like you."

Amiti chose not to ask further, thinking that he didn't want to know what sort of things the man were "selling".

"Well, thank you for your time," Amiti said, putting a hand on the doorknob and giving it a slight turn.

The man eyed him with an odd glint in his eye.

"I wouldn't be doing that if I were you," the man said slowly, moving around the counter. "Of course I'm not sure you'd be any safer if you stayed in here, but there's Kaocho soldiers just outside this door, and I'm sure they'd do anything to have a little chat with you on the way to the Ouroboros."

Amiti's eyes narrowed; he had a terrible feeling that man had meant him ill when first coming upon him.

"You brought them here?" he asked furiously.

"My dear lad," The old man said with a dry laugh, "I have been talking to you this entire time, how do you expect that I summoned them? There's guards all about Angara looking for you! Did you really expect to outrun them?"

Amiti's eyes darted from the man to the door. He didn't know how large of an army they brought, and unless he knew it were small enough, he didn't know how much of a chance he stood to be able to fight them and come out successful. Amiti glanced over towards the man.

"Did you say they would take me to the Ouroboros?" Amiti asked him suddenly.

"I did."

"Why would they take me there?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't rightly know. I'm just a simple man, you see," the man said with a huge grin, revealing a few teeth missing from his lower jaw."

"You're not as simple as you'd like to make yourself out to be," Amiti said through gritted teeth. "You know, I can sense it. Why are they taking me there?"

The man shook his head.

"Such a temper," he said. "Exactly the same behavior that I've always gotten from Alex. Fine. It's where they're taking all Adepts such as yourself. As for why they're choosing the Ouroboros to isolate them, I haven't got a clue…"

Amiti thought it was a rather bizarre location to isolate Adepts. It were almost as if…

"Kaocho actually wants all of us Adepts to die out, don't they?" Amiti asked him.

The man said nothing.

"Tell me, what else did Alex ask you?"

"Huh, kid?"

"What else did he ask you?" Amiti demanded, taking a step closer. This man was much older and feebler than he was, even on an empty stomach he could take him down in an instant - and that was without his psynergy. He knew he had the upper hand at this point.

"I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Is Kaocho starting this disease somehow?" Amiti asked him.

"No. Tell me, do you really think a human alone could start something so severe as this pandemic?" the man asked in a slightly mocking tone.

Amiti thought probably not. The man was most likely right – but he also seemed to know a bit more than the average person did on Kaocho's plans, and he began to wonder whether there was more reason than the man cared to admit as to why Alex came to speak with him.

"So then, do you know –" Amiti began, but got cut off as the door swung open. In came two men dressed in Kaocho's generals uniforms, grinning from ear to ear as they spotted Amiti.

"Your royal highness," one said sardonically, unsheathing his long sword from its hilt. "We are here to escort you."

Author's Note:

I'm probably going to be slowing down with updates fairly soon. I have a final fantasy fanfic that I'm trying to finish up as well, and as much as I'm enjoying this one, I probably really "ought" to be working on the other fanfic too :o I'm terrible at balancing all my fanfics out! But I will try to keep updating this fairly regularly. It would be pretty impossible not to, as I'm dying to get cracking on the next chapter already.

What does everyone think so far? Reviews, please? :D I accept anonymous ones *big grin*.

Thank you! Hope you're enjoying the story!