"Do you think anyone noticed?" Ceodore gasped as they touched down softly on the grass. Kain looked around quickly, shook his head, then took Ceodore's hand and ran north-west towards the Mist Mountains. They were somewhat slowed by their heavy packs and Kain's armour- light as it was for his aerial combat- but they were determined to get as far away as possible from Baron. None spoke throughout; they continued to run for well over half an hour, taking refuge in the woods when Ceodore became too tired to run further. "Just…let me rest…" he panted, sinking down onto a rock and rubbing his chest. Kain sat down also and opened the top of his pack, making sure he had brought everything he needed while holding out a water skin to Ceodore so he could drink. "Thanks…" Ceodore took a long draught. "So, where did you think would be the best place to go?"
"Somewhere near the waterfall." Kain waved a hand over his head, indicating the nearby waterfall, though the sound was still somewhat faint. "That way, we have access to water, and animals will go to drink there, so food is no problem. Also, I know of a cave we can shelter in." He rubbed his hands together with a short laugh. "What an adventure this is going to be!"
"How long will we be up there for?" Ceodore asked. "I only want to stay away as long as it takes Father to come to his senses…"
"I understand. We won't be here long. Now, are you ready to go again?" Ceodore stood up with a nod, and together they ran once more, stopping only when they came to the foot of the mountains and had to help each other up. After living on Mount Ordeals for so many years, Kain was used to the climb, but Ceodore struggled, so it took them a good few hours to reach their desired height. Panting, Ceodore observed his surroundings. Much higher up, he could see where a stream trickled gently into a wider river and eventually ran down to Baron Waterfall, where Kain now knelt, splashing the crystal clear liquid over his face and shivering pleasantly. The cave Kain mentioned lay about a hundred yards from the waterfall, and Ceodore walked over to it, peering inside to make sure there were no cave bears or other animals there. Satisfied that it was empty, he dropped his pack to the floor and stretched his arms; a minute later Kain came over and pulled a tent out of his own pack. Ceodore began to help him assemble it. "It's nice up here,"he commented.
"Beautiful, isn't it? I used to come here often when I was younger." Kain scowled at a stubborn tent pole he was trying to slide into place. "We'll be fairly comfortable up here."
"How will we hunt?" asked Ceodore. Kain pointed to the left of his pack, and the younger boy saw a slim buckskin tube and a quiver of arrows leaning against the wall. "Oh! I didn't know you knew how to use a bow."
"Your father taught me on our travels. Once this is up, I'll shoot us something to eat later." Kain emanated concern as he touched Ceodore's cheek. "You look tired. Why don't you rest awhile?"
Ceodore shook his head firmly. He was indeed exhausted from the running and climbing, but he was determined not to doze off. "I want to help," he said. What can I do?"
"See if you can't get a fire going," Kain smiled. "Have a look in the front of my pack; there's a tinderbox in there." Ceodore nodded and had a quick rummage for the tinderbox while Kain slid his bow out of its tube and slung the quiver over his back before moving to the mouth of the cave, keeping a careful eye on the waterfall. Ceodore was just about to leave the cave to pull some branches off a dead tree nearby when Kain murmured, "Wait," and held up a hand. A handsome young deer had made its way to the waterfall, its head stooped so as to take a drink. "He's beautiful," Ceodore breathed.
"He is, but unfortunately, we can't starve up here. Look away if you must." Kain nocked an arrow and sighted down the shaft with a practised eye, then let the tension go. The deer fell at once, and Ceodore winced, sad to see such a magnificent animal die; seeing Kain's expression he shook his head and hurried off for firewood.
"It's late…" Rosa murmured, sitting down heavily on her bed. Since Ceodore and Kain left the throne room, she had not seen either of them, and neither had Cecil. When they didn't show up for dinner she began to grow worried. Cecil, however, said nothing, and when he returned to the room he shared with Rosa, he sat down at his desk and began to read silently. He had been unusually quiet, and had not acknowledged the fact that Rosa had just spoke. She rubbed her stomach with a small groan. "Cecil…"
"Hm?" He didn't look up from his book.
"Please just talk to me properly, man."
"I am talking properly," he muttered.
"Oh, don't be stupid!" she sighed. Cecil had hardly spoken a word to her since their argument, which nobody really won since neither could get their point across over the shouts of the other person. It had, however, ended with Cecil storming out of the room in a terribly frightening rage. Rosa had no idea he would react so badly to Ceodore's news. She agreed with her son in that Cecil was acting very hypocritical, but when her husband got angry- which was hardly ever- he became downright unreasonable. The silence stretched by, until eventually an hour had gone by without either of them speaking. Fed up, Rosa got to her feet and made for the door. "Where are you going?" Cecil asked, finally looking up, if only briefly.
"I'm going to find Ceodore and Kain, and see if they're okay, since you've suddenly stopped caring about your son and best friend."
"If Kain were my best friend he would have shown me more respect than this!" Cecil banged a fist on his desk, his face reddening with anger. "Best friends-"
"Cecil, shut up!" Rosa shouted. Cecil's eyes grew wide in shock. "I have stood by you for years and never spoken a word when I should have done, but now I have decided that I am not to be silenced, and I refuse to listen to any more of your selfish slander! I sleep alone till you can learn to accept your son." Casting a contemptuous glare at her husband, Rosa stalked out of the room, heading first for Ceodore's room. She tapped on the door and found no answer; it was the same with Kain's room across the hallway. Sighing dejectedly, she resigned herself to searching all over the castle, but after an hour's good long search and a trip into Baron, she returned to the castle with nobody. Where could they have gone? Unless…
It hit Rosa that Ceodore and Kain must have fled Baron altogether, desperate not to be torn apart, as she knew Cecil would have done if they continued to see each other. Oh, boys…I do hope you know what you're doing…
With another, heavier, sigh, Rosa made her way back to Ceodore's room. If he had indeed ran away from Baron, she might as well use his room for the night, since she had absolutely no intention of returning to Cecil. They had only slept apart from each other, in all the eighteen years they had been married, when it was necessary, such as if Cecil was visiting another kingdom, leaving Rosa to rule Baron in his stead. Never once had one walked away from the other, and the couple were so deeply in love that they almost never argued…though when they did, the results were often catastrophic.
Though Rosa was strong, she could not help the stray tear that slipped down her cheek. This was not how it was supposed to be.
Lit by the flickering flames of the fire, flashing red-yellow-white, the cave had filled with the pleasant scent of woodsmoke and the venison Ceodore and Kain feasted upon. Huddled by the fire for warmth, the couple watched the night sky and pointed out the stars and constellations they recognised, for it was now rather late. "You know a lot more than me," Ceodore chuckled. Kain shrugged, sucking his fingers clean.
"When you live on a mountain for eighteen years with nothing but zombies for company, you sort of memorise the sky, you get that bored. Anyway, knowing the constellations and the North Star can help you when other forms of guidance are not available."
"Where is the North Star?" asked Ceodore. Kain pointed to a particularly bright star. "Oh…I really should have paid more attention in my studies."
"Astronomy isn't that interesting unless you learn it yourself." Kain paused to take a few more bites of meat. "I take it you disliked your tutor then? I hated mine."
"I didn't have one; Father taught me, but I never really listened. He also taught me about literature, but I enjoyed that."
"He always was a bookworm, ever reciting verses from poems and novels. When I was younger, I enjoyed being taught Geography, though of course my favourite subject was training."
"Is that even a subject?"
"You tell me. I was your age twenty three years ago. Times change- oh, save the bones, by the way. I can make something with them."
"Really?" Ceodore frowned.
""Yeah, I'll use them to make a stock or something. Believe it or not I can cook fairly well."
"Well, they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so looks like I'm the fortunate one!"
"You flatter me," Kain smiled, wiping his hands and getting to his feet. It was late, but he was alert, and he wanted to use the rest of the deer meat before carrion-eaters dragged the carcass away. He took a large pot from his pack and filled it with water from the waterfall, the set it over the fire to boil, adding the remaining bones. Ceodore watched him, wide eyed. He had no idea how to cook anything; the one time he tried, he had set his hair on fire somehow. "We won't be able to eat whatever you're making now," he said. "I'm stuffed from what we just roasted!"
"Me too, but unless we use up the rest of the meat now, a bear will take it. I'm making this for us to eat tomorrow. I can leave it to cook slowly overnight."
"Okay." Ceodore nodded enthusiastically. A breeze blew through the cave and he wrapped his arms round his shoulders. "I'm going to go sit in the tent for a while."
"No problem." Ceodore retreated away from the fire and slipped inside the tent, tugging a nearby blanket round his shoulders and sitting down cross-legged. There was considerable room in the tent, since it was an old one Kain had from his travels and could accommodate five people comfortably, and both Kain and Ceodore had brought a number of blankets and pillows that they had shoved down into the bottom of their packs (of course, it meant that when they wanted them, they had to take everything that was on top out, but Kain offered to put everything back and save Ceodore the hassle), so they would be warm in the bitterly cold nights.
Ceodore had obviously spent nights away from home, but he had never done so under the current circumstances. It made him afraid; afraid of the unknown. Suddenly, a shudder of sorrow wracked the young prince's body and he began to sob. He hated having to run from home. He just wanted his father to accept him, but when would that be? Kain must have heard him, for a moment later the dragoon was by Ceodore's side, hushing him gently and wrapping his arms round him, rocking him soothingly back and forth. "Ceodore, my love…everything is going to be okay. I promise you…"
"I trust you," he sniffled, "but I…I…" He wiped his streaming eyes on a corner of the blanket. "Why won't Father understand?"
"He will, in due time." Kain kissed Ceodore's brow. "If he doesn't…I've raised my hand to him before and I will do so again."
"I can't believe you hit him earlier."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not!" Ceodore let out a watery laugh. "He deserved it. And he has to accept me sooner or later, right? If he doesn't, I think Mother might leave him."
"It wouldn't surprise me; she's always been the one who understands, and if Cecil can't, she'd grow to hate him." Kain sighed. "Come on, how about we get some rest? It's very late, after all." Ceodore nodded, starting to remove the light armour he wore as Kain set about disassembling his own, which took no longer than two minutes. "You did that quickly!" Ceodore commented as he got comfortable. Kain laughed lightly in response.
"You can't have needlessly heavy armour when you specialise in aerial combat! It's very easy to put on and take off." Kain pulled another blanket closer and shifted over to Ceodore. "Now, would you rather I sleep away from you?"
Ceodore raised an eyebrow. "Why would I want that?"
"Well, it's entirely possible you want me to respect your privacy, and we haven't been seeing each other long-"
"Oh, shut up and lie down with me!" Kain hastily did as he was bid. Ceodore smiled gently and rested his head in the crook of Kain's neck. "Goodnight, Kain." Kain draped an arm over Ceodore's waist and kissed his brow again.
"Goodnight, my beautiful Ceodore…"
