This chapter is on the shorter side, but enjoy nonetheless!
Also, don't expect regular updates. I don't even know when I'll find the time to work on it.


Kaetar enjoyed two days of peace and quiet; he basically locked himself in his borrowed room with a basic alphabet of the ancient language and Nicholas' thunder tome. If he was going to use a tome, he had to learn the language of the tomes, and after that, he had to learn how to speak and cast. Nicholas promised to teach him – not that he expected Syrin and his disability to train him, especially when using his arm at all seemed to pain him.

Kaetar didn't see Loiya very much over the course of the two days, only to see if he was improving – and Kaetar only managed to catch him when he was asleep. They haven't spoken at all for two days, and if it wasn't for the studying, he probably would be on the verge of an emotional breakdown. He left things unresolved between them, and that wasn't the nicest thing to someone who was ill, despite what it is that they did to get ill in the first place. He should have waited until later.

Darius seemingly disappeared. Ema said something about not being able to find him when she decided she was lonely and wanted someone to talk to. She must talk to Darius the most, considering that they were both laguz and they were actually working together before they two Daein boys joined them. Kaetar didn't have any idea where that raven could have gone, but as far as he knew, Darius probably had something to take care of. He just didn't know what.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, pulling the prince out of his thoughts to answer it. When he opened the door, he found Syrin, who immediately welcomed himself inside. "What are you doing here?" Kaetar asked.

"We need to talk." Uh-oh. That sentence never met well, and Kaetar immediately became nervous. Syrin raised a brow at him. "We just need to discuss what you and the Duke had planned for getting out of here. We can't be seen by the soldiers, and we're lucky enough as it that no one got a warrant to search this place. I suggest we don't delay any longer."

"We can leave as soon as Darius gets back and as soon Loiya recovers," the prince answered almost without thinking.

"We don't have time to wait for Darius. The fact that we are going to the ruins didn't change, and he knows that. If anything, that's where he'll look first when he realizes that we aren't here. As for Loiya, the fever is gone; he just needs to recover his strength, and all he needs to do is eat," the leader muttered. He really did think of everything, and he was on top of Loiya's condition as well – not even Kaetar was completely updated on that.

"The Duke was going to arrange a carriage, or well, he already did. It was ready a little while ago so we can leave whenever we want," Kaetar mumbled back. Syrin seemed mildly impressed.

"You're useful for all materialistic things, aren't you? You have the money and the charisma to get anything we need." He was far too excited about that development in Kaetar's opinion, and any hint of excitement just looked strange to Kaetar. He actually cracked something akin to a smile, and he was actually chuckling. He didn't know the leader well enough to know what would have caused excitement the bossy, cynical bundle of joy that was Syrin, but Kaetar had to be admit he was at least curious.

"I'm trying to be more useful than that!"

"That will take a while yet. Even if you can read the tomes, you still have to learn how to cast, and that in itself can be long and tedious, especially for someone like you. Your only form of leverage is the fact you're related to Micaiah – and even then, that's pretty watered down. The average person who wants to be a mage has to study and practice for years to be able to use magic effectively," Syrin explained, dampening Kaetar's mood. The prince wanted to do something – he was tired of taking a back seat when the others were outside defending themselves and him. Syrin couldn't fight, but he could use a staff, and even if it hurt him to use that staff, wielding a staff was at least useful.

And what could Kaetar do? Provide a bed at night?

"Then why should I bother?" Kaetar hung his head. He felt like he was talking to his father again – it was always about what he did wrong, and not what about he could do.

"You're very emotional, aren't you? Are you sure you'll be able to handle this?"

"No," Kaetar muttered, keeping his head down. "But I'm too curious. If you had not promised to give me information, then I would have kept going to Gallia. I was going to go all over Tellius if that what it took to learn about Soren. Being around you is the perfect opportunity, and I just can't give that up – no matter how insensitive you are to anyone's feelings!"

Syrin didn't answer, which only made Kaetar feel even worse. He hated how Syrin never denied or proved anything. "You can't let petty emotions cloud your vision. That's how I functioned best. I was skilled with tactics because I was able to say what I mean; I didn't hide anything behind sweet words, and the fact that I can leave emotions behind is why..." Syrin suddenly stopped, then shook his head, as if he was getting rid of a memory.

"Why what?"

"It's nothing," he answered quickly, then started walking away. Kaetar let him walk away; he would usually peruse, but Syrin didn't look like he was in the mood to answer any more questions. In fact, he seemed depressed. Kaetar didn't want to push it.

"What's wrong with him?" Arianna suddenly asked from outside the door.

"I dunno, but what are you doing here?" the prince asked, rising an eyebrow. How did she always manage to sneak up on him like that?

"I just came to get you for dinner. Did he want to come?"

"Nah, I doubt it. He hasn't before, and I doubt that will change now. Let's go," Kaetar answered, taking her hand and leaving the room with her. The two approached the mage of their group, who was leaning against the wall, looking out towards the window.

"Ah, is it dinner yet, milady?" Nicholas asked as they walked past him.

"How very fancy of you, Nicholas! You're invited to dinner like always," she answered. He nodded, bowed, and raced past them. At the dinner table, he spotted Nicholas sitting with the Duke, talking about something that he couldn't quite hear. He took the other seat beside the Duke, while Arianna sat down beside him. The food here was basically the food that he was served in Daein, the main differences being the spices that were used.

"When did you plan on leaving, Kaetar?" the Duke asked as he took a sip of water.

"Tonight or early in the morning. This will be my last dinner here, either way," the prince answered. Nicholas looked slightly disappointed, but he quickly recovered his chipper mood.

"Ah. I don't want to kick you out, but I can't hold off the soldiers for long. They've been here every day, and soon, they'll come with a warrant. I fear for your safety," he muttered.

"Well, you have a right to be, but we'll fine," Nicholas chimed in. "He's in good hands, and once we get to the root of the problem, our names will be cleared."

"Either way, the carriage is ready whenever you decide to depart. I have a volunteer that offered to steer the carriage for you."

"Thanks, sir," Nicholas answered. Kaetar emptied his water instead, preferring to let Nicholas talk if he wanted to talk. The prince didn't care; he could only stay cheery after what Syrin said for so long. It was nice to be distracted for a while, but he couldn't help but to think of Syrin, not only for the words that he said, but for the words that he didn't say. Kaetar found it suspicious that Syrin would suddenly just cut himself off the way he did.

"Kaetar, are you feeling alright? It would be a shame if you feel ill just as Loiya got better," Arianna mumbled, waving her hand in front of his face. He was daydreaming – utterly lost in his own thoughts – and must have missed part of the conversation. There was no other reason for anyone to look at him like that.

"I'm fine, just thinking about something," he answered back.

"Sorry I'm late. Is there anything left?" a quiet voice asked from behind. Kaetar turned around and nearly jumped out of his seat. It was Loiya standing behind him, his lance pointed down towards the floor. He looked significantly better; the colour returned to his skin, the dark circles under his eyes were gone, and he was smiling. He patted Kaetar on the back, then slide into the chair beside Arianna.

"Yes... You! I need another plate here as soon as possible!" the Duke shouted, making one of the waiters run into the kitchen. "When was the last time you ate?"

"I haven't had anything solid to eat in the last three days or so, so I'm looking forward to some real food now," Loiya answered with a grin. As soon as the plate was placed in front of him, the bodyguard threw any mannerism aside and dug into his food like a starved tiger. No one bothered to point it out or correct him – who would at that point? Loiya needed all the strength he could get, and that was painfully obvious.

"And I guess I should say thanks for letting us stay. I don't think I would have been able to recover on the road," the bodyguard, taking a break to sip some water.

"Anything for Kaetar, really. He asked for a place to stay for himself and his friends, despite the conditions of their stay. I can't just turn that down," the Duke muttered. "However, I do hope that you know what you're doing. If I hear that anyone of you died, I'll make sure you regret it from wherever you went."

"That's encouraging," Kaetar muttered. He put his fork down, then stood up, and excused himself from the table. Loiya looked confused; he was eating but it was also his job to look after him, and Kaetar could understand why Loiya would give him a look like that. The prince held his hand up, letting him stay where he was. Kaetar didn't need Loiya right now, anyway; he was in a huge home full of guards, which meant that eyes were everywhere.

Kaetar climbed the stairs back up to his room. As soon as he made it to the top, he was overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness, which the prince figured came from another vision. His knees felt weak, and he only managed a couple of steps forward before his vision melted into Soren's perspective.

Soren was standing around the table, his eyes constantly coming back to one of the windows in the area. Kaetar didn't know where this vision was at; it didn't look like the tent of the meeting, and now that he thought of it, he didn't recognize anyone but the younger Ike from the desert and the women with the braid. He saw two children, a skinny man in white, a taller man with green hair and matching armour, a slightly shorter but wider boy with dark green hair, one with red hair tied into a pony tail, and a muscular man with blonde hair and heavy armour stood beside the redhead. Kaetar also saw what appear to the leader of the group; a man with an orange cape, and brown hair. He looked the oldest, and wasn't notably muscular, but he still had an air about him that demanded respect.

He noted the map on the table, and the stone walls, and realized he must have in a fort. It was clear that Kaetar missed part of their conversation, but the memory continued as normal, with no hiccups despite what he missed.

"So, I would say this confirms her identity as Princess Crimea, wouldn't you?" Soren asked, facing the leader. The leader took a deep breath.

"Yes, but what do we do now? I'd like to hear the opinion of everyone here," he announced, turning his head towards the only adult women in the group – the one Kaetar recognized from a previous vision. "Titania, I'd like to hear from you first."

"The blame for this war rests on Daein. If we ally ourselves with them, the company's reputation will surely suffer. Conversely, if we deliver Princess Crimea safely, our stock will rise in the eyes of our primary employers. Our road is clear," she declared. While her words stung, Kaetar could only swallow his Daein pride and continue to watch. He knew Daein wouldn't ever want to invade another country again, but he couldn't deny that it did happen once, and he couldn't change that.

"Soren, how about you?"

"There's nothing to think about. We must deliver the princess to Daein immediately," Soren muttered, avoiding the other group member's gaze.

"Even if Crimea is in the right?" Soren's attention immediately turned towards the leader. Soren's opinion differed from Titania's, and Kaetar was sure that Soren knew he had to explain his logic. Kaetar could see where Syrin was coming from; sometimes you did have to leave emotions out of it, but there did seem to be a thin line where it seemed downright rude.

"We are mercenaries. Our actions are dictated only by self-interest. If we want to ensure our future, we need Daein in our debt. They will win this war, after all, and nothing else serves us better."

The leader made no comment, but he seemed to consider Soren's opinion nonetheless.

The vision suddenly stopped, and just when he had a chance to learn more about Crimea's history - but his disappointment was short lived. He was lying down on the floor, and he quickly realized that for once, no one was around to harass him about fainting. He stood up quickly, just in time for a guard to approach him from the side while he dusted himself off.

"Are you alright, Prince Kaetar?"

"Just call me Kaetar – I'm not your prince, so you can drop the title," he muttered back, looking at the guard in the eye. "But I'm fine. I just tripped on the way up the stairs."

"I hate it when that happens – tripping on the stairs, I mean. It's always when you expect that there is one more step when there really isn't," the guard muttered quietly, almost as if he was afraid of being overheard. Kaetar didn't expect that the guard would actually stop addressing him as a prince, and he didn't expect the guard to actually relate to him. It brought a smile to Kaetar's face, and the guard smiled back, then patted him on the back. "Can you handle a bruise, or do you need to visit a healer?"

"I can handle a bruise. Thanks, though."

"I'm just being a good host," the guard answered with a shrug. "But if you're fine, then I'll leave you alone."

Kaetar simply nodded and watched as the guard walked away, then headed back towards his own room. The tome was still open on the desk, begging him to come to the desk, but in the end, he closed the tome and tossed it on the bed. He saw no point in studying magic for any longer; he just didn't have the heart for it, but for the time being, he decided to get down what he could about the vision. He didn't want to forget any details, especially know that he had a new name to add to his list – and that was Titania.

The prince was about half done his recording when Loiya walked into his room. It wasn't a surprise for Loiya to come in and out as he pleased – both of them shared a room in Daein, so going in and out of your own room was given. "Are you ready to go? Syrin is being impatient."

Of course Syrin would be impatient, and he would want to leave immediately. Kaetar nodded and closed the book. "Yes, but are we really going to get caught if we stayed for one day? The Duke wouldn't sell us out," the prince muttered as he slung one his bags over his shoulders.

"That doesn't mean – look out!" Loiya shouted, diving at Kaetar. The prince hit the floor with Loiya laying down on top of him as a shower of glass rained down on them. The bodyguard cursed, slowly removing himself off of Kaetar.

"Was that an attempt on my life?" Kaetar asked as his eyes fell on the arrow that dug itself in the floor. He was suddenly very panicked – the men before did want to capture him, but he never thought that anyone wanted him gone. Loiya shook his head and dragged Kaetar out of the room quickly.

"I think that was... an attempt on my life," the bodyguard muttered. "I was the one who killed the soldiers, and I'm sure that there are other soldiers out there who seek revenge."

"That's-"

"You don't understand. You train, eat and sleep among other countless amount of men in the military. The other men become your brothers, and if one of them dies, you do feel like you lost a family member. I bet they're still after us because of what happened anyway, but they don't want me alive," Loiya growled. If he was frightened by the prospects of soldiers turning him into a target, he didn't show it.

"Loiya!" Syrin shouted. "What as that?"

"Someone just tried shooting at me with an arrow. I'm kind of surprised that it managed to go through the window and hit the floor."

"How do we get out then? If there are more men outside waiting for us..." Kaetar trailed off. They had to leave, but if they are being shot at, then the building would be the safest place to be.

"We need the carriage to be pulled up-" Syrin was cut off by a scream. "Ignore it! We have to get out of here," he muttered, breaking into a run. Kaetar, with one bag, and Loiya, with the other, quickly followed. Another window was shattered by an arrow that pierced the wall, and the prince could feel the glass shards crack under his feet. He didn't think the arrow was aimed at anyone, but rather, was fired to scare them and force them out. If that was their plan, they were following right into their arms.

"What about Ema and Nicholas?" Kaetar panted. Syrin opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted by yet another scream and the echo of a loud caw. That had to be Darius out there, trying to buy them time – he didn't know any other bird laguz that would actually care.

They reached the stairs and scampered down. The main doors were in sight, with Ema and Nicholas waiting at each side. "Syrin! There are wyvern riders out there with bowman," Ema reported.

"They use wyverns to attack us without every stepping foot on the property," Syrin growled, holding onto his arm. Kaetar had no idea that Crimea even had wyverns for battle - there were wyverns in Crimea, but only for delivery purposes, as far as he knew. "Nicholas, do you have your thunder tome?"

"Uhh... I had it back in the room..." Kaetar muttered.

"Heh... no mage ever brings just one tome! I have another!" he smirked, pulling another yellow book from his tunic. It had a different pattern than the first tome did, which Kaetar remembered meant that it was a stronger book.

"Can you actually hit the target with that?" Syrin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't doubt my abilities, Syrin!" Nicholas smirked. He approached the door and opened it a crack. He had to be very careful to keep himself hidden from the bowmen on wings, but he had to be able to see his target as well. He shook his head and closed the door. "It's no use. I can't actually see them now. "

"Maybe there was only the two..." Kaetar muttered, thinking about to the screams he heard. There were two, and they were very distinct. If Darius had struck the riders, then the maybe the wyverns fell and took the bowmen out as well. Kaetar snapped out his thoughts when the door flew open, and Darius walked in. He was panting, and his a cut on his arm and cheek, but he was otherwise unharmed.

"I thought you would have left by now," the raven muttered, his wings twitching slightly.

"Loiya only recovered very recently. We had to wait for him to recover, or risking losing a fighter completely. We need all of the help we can get since not all of us are capable of battle," Syrin muttered, looking away. He was still clutching his left arm, as if he was blaming it for his inability to do anything but stay out of the battle.

"Don't be sorry, you two," Ema muttered. "The region in Gallia where I came from, all laguz were trained to defend themselves, and I know that's not the case with all beroc. That's not even the case in all of Gallia; it was just my region."

"But I feel like I should know," Kaetar answered with a frown.

"If you are thinking of the King Ashnard knowing participating in battle, you must consider the fact that he was crazy. If it wasn't for everyone else dying of illness, I doubt he would have been King at all," Syrin answered. "The laguz kings are the only ones who know anything of battle these days anyway."

"But... never mind," the prince muttered. It didn't have much to do with Daein's history – that was the past and he was in the present, so he knew not to dwell on it – but more of the fact that he felt like he was burden. He had the gold to pay for their needs and that was it – the rest of the group had to go out of their way to make sure that he was alright. That was what made him feel bad.

"Did you clear the area of the wyverns, Darius?"

"Only saw two... and they were actually not part of the military. They had no armour whatsoever. The archers with them were a different story, but we're clear to keep going."

"I thought you birds had a hard time seeing in the dark," Syrin muttered.

Darius glared at him. "You can't miss wyverns! They're huge!" he countered. "We just need to get in the carriage."

"I need to talk to the Duke first," Kaetar chimed in, shaking his head.

"Ignore him! He knew what it meant to take us in, and we have to go!" Syrin countered as the Duke walked into the main lobby. He looked fine, just a little shaken up, and Arianna, who was at his side, who was more or less in the same state.

"He's right. He has quite the tongue, but that doesn't make his words any less true. I know that you were on the run, and I knew that I would be hounded to give you up... just not this way. No one was hurt-" Darius growled at this comment, but didn't say anything else, "and windows are easy to replace." Kaetar bit his lips. He knew that there was more. "But that is not to say that you're off the hook. You'll have to leave immediately. I do believe that this time, they will have the right to search this place and I will not have the means to stop them, and I highly doubt that in the future, you can continue to rely on this place to protect you. Until your name is cleared, I'm afraid that you can't come back," Duke Tyre demanded.

"Father, no! You can't possibly let that happen! Do you really think that the six of them can survive against the entire Crimean army? You're sending them their death!" she growled, her eyes flaring with anger.

"Arianna, letting them stay here is no better. If they do come to collect them, then they're putting you at risk. Kaetar's smart enough to stop if it gets too rough. He could always return to Daein and his father will bail him out of any mess, and I'm sure that the others knew what they signed up for," her father countered.

"Listen, Arianna, can we talk alone for a second?" Kaetar asked, surprising both the Duke and his daughter. She simply nodded and led Kaetar into a small room which appeared to be a large closet. There were no windows, and the prince was sure that he was standing beside a broom.

"Look... I don't disagree with your father, but I want you to know that I have no intentions of dying. When you see me next, after this, I'll take you back to Daein and we can live together like planned," Kaetar mumbled quietly. She was silent, and Kaetar simply couldn't stand it.

"Do you love me?" Arianna asked suddenly, surprising Kaetar. He didn't know how to answer. He didn't know her; she was pretty and clingy, and while she appeared to love him, he didn't feel the same, but only because he didn't know her personally. He really did want to love her; he was going to marry her to please his father, but he also couldn't stand to break her heart. She was already so excited, and she was head over heels for him.

Acting upon instinct, Kaetar leaned in and locked his lips on top of hers. He suddenly felt uncomfortably warm in his clothes as she sank into the kiss, her body closing the gap between them. Kaetar pulled away moments later. Arianna's face was bright red, and he was sure that his face was also the same shade of red, but a kiss was the best promise he could make. He would come back, and she would know that he was serious about it.

"Kaetar! We need to go!" someone shouted from the other side of the door. Kaetar hugged her quickly, and with a silent agreement to never speak of it again, they left the room together. It was Loiya standing on the other side of the door. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," he answered with a nod as he headed towards the door. "Remember what I said, Arianna!" he shouted back.

Kaetar found himself outside. It was windy, and the guards were stacking crates inside the carriage. "It was Syrin's idea. We have to get in so they can stack those in front of us and make it look like that they're delivering something instead of hulling us around."

It was going to be a long ride.


As always, please review, especially if you catch a mistake.