Kaetar never saw a woman so freighting before. She had long, green hair and crazed eyes. She wore black armour that not only managed to protect her, but hugged every curve on her body, and in Kaetar's experience, that was something that armour wasn't meant to do. Her horse was black and decorated in red, and the lance she wielded was one that Kaetar never saw before – it was completely red, and the tip looked like it was made of fire.
It reminded him of something; back in Ashnard's time, one of his Four Riders wielded a lance of 'arcane might' and he knew that this had to be her. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember her name!
Her eyes fell on Soren. She cracked a smiled, and laughed, tightening her grip on her fearsome lance. "You... That mark on your brow... That's not a charm of the dead, is it? You're no Spirit Charmer! Hmph! You may be able to fool others with that, but not me. It's because we're the same, see?"
Soren growled, almost ripping his tome open. "...The same? Don't be ridiculous. I'm nothing like you. You kill for sport, and hide your fear behind a wall of bravado," he muttered, raising his hand. "Now let me show you true fear!"
Green blades appeared suddenly, cutting in her skin. She growled; she obviously wasn't used to anyone making that kind of move on her. She raised her lance over her head and threw it.
Kaetar suddenly jerked away, panting heavily. His neck and back were sore, just like he was camping outside, but he wasn't camping outside; he was stuck with five other people in a small cart with only enough room to stretch slight and sleep. There wasn't much breathing room – some of the boxes had cracks between them, and there were small holes about the size of a coin that covered the top part of the carriage and went around all sides. It was a pattern – they were there before they climbed in.
He could barely see, as only a little bit of moonlight managed to get in through. He could see Syrin, and he realized that the leader was still awake, huddled up in the corner of the carriage.
"A nightmare?" the other male asked. Kaetar looked around, and saw that no one else was awake.
"Yes... what are you still doing up?"
"I'm not tired," Syrin answered.
"Do you ever sleep?"
"When I need to. There is a lot that one can get done at night when everyone is a sleep."
"You're crazy."
"Perhaps but your standards. You've never had to work a day in your life, have you?" Syrin muttered, almost mocking. He shifted his position, and it was hard to see his face and attempt to read his expression. "Don't look at me like that, you know it's true."
"How can you see me?"
"I have a better view then you do. You're on the moon's side, so most of the light is hitting you," the leader muttered, his position shifting yet again.
"Are we still going to the ruins?" Kaetar asked, deciding that he didn't really care about the moon's position.
"Yes, that's where we're heading now," he muttered. "No one has set foot in it for at least fifty years now. It's in a state of utter disrepair."
"The ruins?" another voice chimed in. Darius yawned, but he was unable to do anything else. Ema had her head on his shoulder, Nicholas was right beside him, and he definitely didn't have enough room to stretch his wings or legs. He was probably more cramped than anyone in the carriage, due to his wings and his tallness. Loiya would probably be in the same boat if it was not for the fact that he was used to sleeping in corners, which Kaetar reminded himself was not a good thing, but it came in handy sometimes.
"Yes, the ruins," Syrin muttered in answer.
"I heard that people don't go in there because it's haunted," Darius smirked. "They say that Soren, the tactician, still roams the place, filling out paperwork for the commander that won't come back."
"That's ridiculous! Soren and Ike left Tellius and NEVER returned. If Soren was haunting something, it would Ike's grave, not the place he left," Syrin growled. He was overly defensive, in Kaetar's opinion, but Syrin had to be a real historian, and anything that got history wrong would probably agitate him.
"It was just a rumour! Calm down," Darius chuckled.
"I thought it was a nice story," Kaetar mumbled.
Syrin huffed, while Darius lifted up one his legs. "High five! With our feet though, I can't lift my arms," he mumbled. Kaetar laughed and shook his head.
"Thanks for the offer, but I don't want to miss and kick Ema. I don't want to die."
Darius chuckled. "If she did that, Daein would go to war with Gallia, and than she would get in huge trouble for messing up."
"You guys should shut up before I stop caring about that," Ema whispered quietly, opening her eyes to glare at Kaetar for a brief moment. The prince immediately kept his mouth shut. He was considerate enough to not risk kicked Ema, but between him and Darius, he realized that the two of them were being loud, and that they were lucky that no one else woke up. Ema closed her eyes again after a considerable amount of silence, and Kaetar could only assume that she feel asleep again.
"Syrin, I have a question," he whispered. "If someone has a mark that isn't of a Spirit Charmer, what does that make them?"
"A branded. That makes them a branded," Darius answered. His voice sounded strained, like he was trying to sound indifferent and had a hard time doing so. "They're born of a laguz and a beorc, and the laguz parent will always loose their ability to shift forms. For that reason, it's said that they're cursed, but most beorc and laguz don't really seem to care now, or if they do, they don't show it."
"You don't sound like you like them," Kaetar noted.
"They make me feel uncomfortable. I can ignore it, but some habits die hard," the raven answered. "I was raised in a time where I was raised to hate beorc and the parentless, unless they had good gold on them, and then do what they wanted. Or if you see a ship, ransack it - that was another rule," he mumbled. As far as Kaetar knew, the ravens weren't not to be exactly trustworthy, and Darius made it sound like he was just a typical one. When he thought about it, Darius was a raven for hire – meaning he would do a lot so long as you had the gold.
Kaetar knew that Darius had to be better than the average raven when it came down to it. Darius saved their lives back at the mansion by taking the wyverns out, though Kaetar didn't know why he left in the first place – not to mention that they couldn't see as well in the dark or something. Then why was he flying the dark? Kaetar pushed the thought out of his mind.
"This is why I don't trust you," Loiya mumbled suddenly. Kaetar almost jumped in surprise – he thought he was sleeping!
"I knew it. I'm trying to change, but all I can do is fight. I sell myself for a way of life. I won't take it against you personally," the raven muttered.
"Are you going to wake up everyone up at least once?" Syrin shouted in a whisper.
"I'm never really asleep, but since you were on the topic of a raven,'s... duties, I thought I'd put in my two coins," the bodyguard muttered.
"Well, that's why you get headaches," Syrin mumbled.
"Not like you sleep very much either. In fact, I've never seen you sleep."
"Do you see me with a migraine?"
Kaetar had to admit that was a good point. Sure, Syrin only slept 'when necessary', but he never seemed to fall ill, and if he did, he had to be pretty good to hide it from everyone else. Loiya on the other hand, was taken out for several day because of a fever, and even at home when everything was more relax, Loiya still got migraines. Sure, Syrin will reach a point where he will crash and burn, but Loiya reaches that point way more often.
But suddenly, he didn't care about that. He could feel himself get tired again, and he knew that as long as everyone was talking, he wouldn't do that. And really, if they were hiding themselves behind a wall of boxes that was at least three boxes thick in order to avoid getting caught, then they really missed the idea of hiding.
"This is getting ridiculous! Can't we be quiet before Nicholas wakes up from his beauty sleep or we're caught? We're not acting like cargo," Kaetar shouted in a whisper. He was met with dead silence, so he took the time to curl into a ball on the floor, hug his knees to his chest, and fell asleep. It was comfortable, but they really did lack room for much more.
He woke up again sometime in the afternoon by more talking. Judging by the fact that he was alive, and everyone else was accounted for, they made through the night with no more problems. Loiya looked tired, Darius just looked plain miserable, Syrin was his usual neutral self, and Ema and Nicholas looked chipper and well rested. He was sure that Ema, being a cat laguz, could just about fall asleep anywhere. Nicholas looked too much like a child to have gone through anything serious, but he obviously had been on the road for sometime if he could do the same thing as Ema.
"You didn't hear a thing last night? They were up talking about complete nonsense!" Ema muttered. Nicholas shook his head.
"I'm a really heavy sleeper," the mage admitted. "It does wonders for your body to get the proper sleep!"
Darius chuckled and Loiya rolled his eyes. Darius, though miserable looking, seemed completely giddy. Perhaps it was the lack of the sleep – he flew back from who knows where, saved them, then proceeded to stay up all night talking. Maybe he fell asleep for a little while again, but Kaetar guess that he didn't get enough of it.
"Where are we?" Kaetar asked as he sat up and rubbed one of his eyes.
"At the ruins. We're being 'unloaded' so to speak," Syrin answered.
Kaetar anxiously looked towards the box wall, and finally realized that there was a hole and sunlight was seeping through the hole where a box had once been. "You mean... freedom?" Kaetar asked in a whisper, unable to contain his sudden excitement. It wasn't that he hated anyone with him, it was just that he never wanted to be that close to them for so long ever again. He shouldn't have to fear that one of his comrades was going to kill him a sleepless rage.
Being alone for a while in fresh air sounded great.
Kaetar was the first one outside. He was hit by the fresh air, and the sight of a large, stone fort towering him excited him to no end. It wasn't because it was big – he lived in bigger – but it was the fact that it was a big part of Crimea's history was what excited him. It was the amateur historian inside of him coming out. Kaetar ran for the fort, and ducked under wooden boards that were meant to keep people out.
The interior of the fort was mostly covered in a thick layer of dust, but Kaetar was surprised to find paw prints and the tiny prints of a bird's feet in the dust. It was a sign of the life, and he didn't expect to find that – he expected everything to be frozen in place. In every other sense, it still was. There were bowls in the sink, still expecting to be washed. Chairs were still out, expecting someone to push them, or expecting that people would one day sit down again. When he walked around and found the barracks, he found that some of the beds were unmade, while others had the corners tucked in, and he swore that some of them were made tight enough that he could bounce a gold coin of them if it wasn't for the layer of dust that covered them. He could see storage rooms, and found rusted weapons left exactly where they've been placed and never touched again.
It looked like everyone got up and left, then never returned; that was what got to Kaetar the most. It looked like people would still return, even though Kaetar knew that they never would. He could feel pressure behind his eyes, just thinking about what it could have been. This place could have still been active, but for some reason, the mercenaries disappeared.
Kaetar could also see the damage done by the storm that he heard about; there was a hole in the ceiling, and part of the wall had collapsed. Syrin followed him, and he looked surprisingly sad; he wasn't frowning, but Kaetar could still see the sadness behind those eyes. He looked like he didn't want to be here, even though this was his suggestion in the first place, and was one of the many things that made the leader suspicious – not that Kaetar thought that Syrin was going to turn his back on them, but he wasn't exactly being truthful to them.
What did he have to hide?
"Have you been here before?" Kaetar asked, turning towards Syrin.
"Hm?" Syrin replied a moment later. The prince's words – or simply the fact that he said them – eventually seemed to get through to him. He was distracted, and Kaetar couldn't ever remember a time where the leader was distracted.
"Something the matter, Syrin?" Nicholas asked after a fit of coughing. Kaetar hadn't noticed the rest coming in, and realized that he was almost just as distracted as Syrin was. The laguz were holding a cloth to their face, and Nicholas seemed to be reacting to the dust badly, but Loiya was relatively fine.
"I'm fine," he barked back.
"Okay!" Nicholas coughed again. "Sheesh! It's hard to breathe in here! Everything we do in here just kicks all that dust back up."
"Did you expect it to be clean? It's abandoned, after all!" Loiya mumbled. "If you got your hands dirty every once in a while, it wouldn't be so bad."
"I got my hands dirty before, thank you very much!"
"And that's why you use a tome instead of an actual weapon?" Loiya muttered, rolling his eyes. Kaetar was reminded of Loiya's irritability before he collapsed on the way to Syrin and Darius' location, and how it was Nicholas' constant chatter that sent him over the edge. Loiya didn't look ill, but the prince was sick of Loiya bickering with him.
"Not everyone can use a weapon, Loiya. 'Sides, you were stabbing everyone with sticks at the age of three – you were meant to wield a lance!" Nicholas answered with a smile, and Loiya shrank back. Kaetar couldn't tell if Loiya found the smile or the fact that Nicholas even knew his childhood creepier – it was his general reaction to anything that disgusted or spooked him.
"Just who the hell do you think you are?" Loiya asked suddenly.
"Loiya! Nicholas! Outside!" Syrin suddenly shouted, making Ema's ears twitch.
The two looked at each other, and remained quiet – apparently, neither of them wanted to leave. Syrin shook his head, and drifted off into one of the rooms. Kaetar followed him inside. There was a crack in the wall, a table in the centre with a map of Crimea and a stone on top to keep it from rolling up. The map was very detailed, but Kaetar could see that it was very old – some of the villages on the map didn't exist anyone. He knew that they had been absorbed by other towns, or they were destroyed and never restored. These were the larger villages, of course, otherwise he wouldn't have heard about it all the way in Daein. There were other maps too, he noticed, but they were rolled up and bunched together in a crate beside the table.
Kaetar recognized the room, even as dusty and aged as it was – the meeting room that he saw in his vision at the castle. Syrin gingerly touched the map, tracing his finger from an unlabelled dot to another dot, and Kaetar could see how gently Syrin was being. The leader treated the map as if it would disintegrate if he pressed down any harder. Syrin's finger stopped at a place in Begnion, where it was void of any of the little trees on the map. He kept his finger there, as if he was complementing on going there, even though Begnion was quite the detour, and it was deep in Begnion as well.
It dawned on him that the area Syrin was complementing was, in fact, now a country. He didn't remember the name, and he knew it was rather isolated. He didn't even who their leader was; he never showed up for any of the meetings. Syrin then moved his finger up near the upper coastline of Crimea. "Is that where we are going?"
"Yes... this town still exists. I've studied there a couple of years back," Syrin mumbled. The dot was labelled as Port Toha. Toha... it sounded familiar, but Kaetar didn't know from where, and he figured that it must have been a passing mention. Either way, if they wanted to go through into Begnion, they would need a boat if they wanted to avoid mountain paths, which carried problems of their own. The boats were used more often for a reason. "It's one of the biggest ports in Crimea; that's why it has lasted for so long."
"How old is it?"
"I do not know for sure, but the Greil Mercenaries took a boat from Crimea to Begnion, and the port they went through was Toha. There was an incident there, involving a laguz, but the history sources we had did not say much about it," the leader mumbled with a shrug. He seemed somewhat fond of lecturing Kaetar about history – he wouldn't bother answering the questions if they bothered him.
"So more than a 150 years old, huh?"
"Correct. It was well established before the mercenaries passed through it," Syrin answered, his eyes focused on the map. "Now, we should probably leave before something in here breaks while we're still inside. I do not want to responsible for any damage that Loiya and Nicholas may cause."
"Loiya's my responsibility," Kaetar mumbled as he observed everything in the room one last time before he had to duck under the boards and squeezed himself in the back of the carriage again. Syrin had taken the time to debrief everyone on their next destination and plans; he was looking to recruit more people into their rebellion. He didn't know whether or not Toha would take kindly to them – they hadn't cared in the past apparently – but he wanted as many people in the rebellion as possible, and a trusted person to control the situation and await orders. After that, he wanted to leave Crimea and head for Begnion. Syrin seemed confident, but Kaetar knew that Syrin was good at masking his emotions, and if he was nervous, he didn't show it.
"I don't like that place," Ema muttered suddenly as the carriage began moving. "Toha, I mean."
Loiya folded his arms in front of his chest and drew his legs closer to his chest. "What's so bad about Toha, again? You," he pointed at Syrin, "said that in the past, Toha didn't take kindly to Ike's group or whatever, but why would a cat have a reason to hate it?" Loiya asked.
"...There was an incident there. I was told when I was training; I heard a passing mention and harassed everyone to give me the full story. There were laguz travelling with Ike and his companions, three of them. Since Crimea was occupied by Daein, who hunted laguz for sport, they had to disguise themselves in order to avoid being questioned," Ema started with a yawn.
"We don't do that anymore," Kaetar mumbled.
"You're from Daein, and I know you would defend Daein like I would Gallia, but it doesn't change the fact that Daeins did hunt the laguz at some point in their history," Ema hissed. Kaetar bit his lips, but he didn't say more. He didn't have to, and he felt he didn't even belong in the group in this particular moment. He was from Daein, and since this was a history lecture, the laguz would tell it as it was, whether it offended him or not.
It was hard keeping his present views and opinions out of any situation, however.
"Anyway, one of the laguz was somehow discovered, and the people of Toha quickly sold Ike and his friends out to the Daeins there. Those people would rather do what benefit themselves and themselves only; they didn't care about their country or their countrymen. It's disgusting! And how will I know that laguz would be accepted now? They were quick to sell us out before!"
"If Daeins could make peace with us, then Toha can make peace with us. I personally have a hawk friend in Daein, and he's very happy there," Darius chimed with a smile. He pulled the ribbon out of his hair and shook his hair loose. "Ema, do you want me to braid your hair for you?"
Ema's ears shot up, as if she couldn't believe what he was asking. "Who do I look like to you? I could care less about how I look! My hair is in a ponytail to keep it out of my face; I do not need it to look nice!"
"Ah, but there is no reason why your hair cannot be nice and functional-" Nicholas started, but Kaetar suddenly hushed everyone.
"Guys! Look! Syrin's sleeping!" Kaetar shouted in a whisper. Everyone turned and looked at the leader, who was sitting up with his head leaning back. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was soft. No wonder why he was so quiet!
"My goodness! He is!" Nicholas exclaimed, then clasped a hand over his mouth. "Sorry! That was my outside voice!"
"I guess he reached his limit," Loiya mumbled.
"Naturally. All creatures have to sleep. Syrin can holdout longer without sleep, but that doesn't mean he doesn't need it and won't fall asleep where he stands if he's tired enough," Darius mumbled as he began to braid his own hair. "It's a pity that he doesn't sleep more. He might be more cheerful."
"I can't imagine Syrin being cheerful," Kaetar mumbled.
"Well, perhaps he's already had more than his share of life," Darius mumbled, the corners of his lips twitching.
"He can't be older than Nicholas," Kaetar countered. Darius was acting just like Syrin; he knew more than he was letting on, but he refused to say more than the bare minimum. Did there always have to be a Syrin?
"Perhaps, but if experiences are... tough, then he may already have enough of life. If that's the case, then I wonder why he's hanging on," the raven mumbled quietly. Kaetar didn't often think about what it was that made Syrin the way he was, and as far as he could tell, he had to agree with Darius. Even Loiya nodded his head in agreement, and Kaetar realized that life had to be tough for Loiya too. Most seventeen-year-olds weren't enlisting in the military, and most of seventeen-year-olds didn't have to dedicate their lives to the royal family unless they had no other choice. Loiya was good friends with Kaetar, but being friends didn't push someone to do sign up for what Loiya did.
On the other hand, Kaetar was pampered and spoiled, and that was his way of life until he was about twelve, then his father began pushing the prince towards being more like a king and less like a prince.
"Are you alright, Kaetar?" Loiya asked, gently shaking him.
"Yes, I was just thinking..."
"You do that a lot," Ema mumbled quietly with a shrug.
"That can't be bad," Loiya mumbled.
"Shhhh," Kaetar reminded with a finger to his lips. "'Sides, we need to pretend to be cargo."
"There goes your royal speech," Nicholas shrugged. "You're starting to sound more a common person."
"Shh!"
Nicholas waved a dismissal hand while Syrin stirred slightly in his sleep. Kaetar was surprised that he was still asleep; he must have been really tired, but he didn't look like a heavy sleeper. It was just unnatural.
They had to stop for a break. It was brought to the group's attention that the horses needed a break; they had been walking all of last night and for most of the day. They deserved a break, as far as Kaetar was concerned. They were unpacked near a forested area, and Loiya pitched up their tent and they bedrolls, though they didn't have enough room for everyone to enjoy the tent.
"I think we can fit three if someone mind sleeping closer to the ground," Loiya mumbled as he surveyed the space in the tent. It was a given that he and Kaetar would get the bedrolls; they brought them, so they would use them.
"Well, I personally don't want to spend anymore time with men and girly men for today. I'll stay outside and patrol when the sun goes down. I have good vision in the dark, unlike some bird I know," Ema mumbled with a smirk.
Syrin rolled his eyes.
"That's harsh – I saved all of you at the mansion," Darius mumbled. "I can fight in the dark."
"You had the moon light. It's cloudy tonight, so I would rather have Ema patrol in the night where no such light exists," Syrin mumbled in response.
"Fine. I'll patrol until she does, then. I'll sleep behind the crates when the time comes; at least I'll have more room for my wings without so many people in there."
"I call the tent," Nicholas shouted, raising his hand. Syrin mere shrugged, obviously not caring where he slept – if he slept at all. He slept for most of the day's ride, so Kaetar doubted that the leader would be tired at all; he had his two days worth of sleep.
Once the three of them were in the tent, Nicholas immediately pulled ribbon out of his hair and shook it loose. The prince had seen Darius with his hair down all of the way, but he had never seen Nicholas with his hair down. It made him look more mature, somehow, and Kaetar couldn't quite get why. Maybe it was the way his hair framed his face, or perhaps it was the tired face that came with pulling his ponytail out.
"I have a question!" Kaetar started suddenly as Loiya was looking at the bedrolls. The prince heard a light sigh.
"What is it?" Nicholas asked, his face full of curiosity.
"How did you meet Loiya's father?"
"Yes... how did you met my father?" Loiya asked, taking a seat right beside Kaetar.
"Yes, yes, yes... perhaps that will help us get along better," the mage said with a nod. "I was actually born in Begnion, but my parents moved me to Crimea when I was about four to raise me in a more peaceful environment. As far as I know and care, Crimea is my home, you know? My story began when I was ten years old. The village I grew up in was burned to ground, but it wasn't on purpose or anything. It was an accident that started in someone's blacksmith shop, and it just spread quickly.
"I was displaced form my parents. I was outside playing, and my parents were working, and we were running away, but we never had the chance to find each other before the crowds started to panicked, and I was swept up. Even to this day, I don't know whether they're still alive or not, and if they, then they must wonder to same about me.
"I remember walking a lot and not knowing where I was going. I had the intention of finding my parents, but I eventually figured that it was hopeless, and I began looking for someone to take me in instead. I eventually found that person in Daein. He was patrolling the border, and he found me and took me to his house-"
"Was that my father?" Loiya asked, looking sympathetic.
"Yes, it was. He found me, and I met you for the first time not so long after. I mean, he was relatively young... probably in his late twenties when I met him. You were about three, and your brothers were just born. You were actually being taken care of by a nanny or something, because your mom couldn't get out of bed," Nicholas mumbled quietly. If Nicholas' story was true, than he was only twenty-four, and Kaetar couldn't say it exactly surprised him.
Loiya was still sympathetic looking. Perhaps it was because Nicholas was also away from his family, just like Loiya was; they could relate to each other now, but the mage didn't give the bodyguard anything to relate to when they first met. That must have been while Loiya was visibly uncomfortable around him; it was weird to have someone comment on your childhood when you had no memory of them.
"So, now that you know all of that, will you try not to hate me?" Nicholas asked with a smile.
"Yeah, but only if you stop making random comments about my childhood," Loiya mumbled with a growled. Nicholas merely frowned.
"But... that's hard. It reminds me of a time when things got better," the mage answered very quietly, almost too quiet for Kaetar to hear.
"You have to make an honest effort. We've both been through too much to annoy each other and screw this entire thing up. Even Kaetar's been through more than he's used to. I don't want to be caught, and I don't want anyone of us to end up getting in trouble for something that the entire group didn't do."
"Actually, Kaetar's the only innocent one. Syrin might not have killed anyone, but he definitely committed arson. I don't know if you remember Loiya, but even I killed someone to protect you all. You held your own for a while, but between your wound and your fever, you wouldn't be able to hold them off for much longer. I was surprised that you could fight like that in the first place – not that it was a bad thing, it was truly amazing!" Kaetar didn't know how Nicholas could always cheer himself up like that.
"Well, that's my job," Loiya mumbled quietly.
"I know, but you're so young! You're certainly talented for your age! Are you part of the military if you're a bodyguard?" the mage asked, his eyes wide with excitement.
"Not exactly. If there was a war, I would still have to stay with Kaetar, but I occasionally assist with training, and I wear special armour," Loiya mumbled with a shrug, turning his attention back to the bed rolls. He placed them closed together and tried to stretch them out as much as he could, but he didn't seem entirely satisfied. "Kaetar, I think we might have to share a bed roll. Or maybe you and Nicholas since I'm bigger than either of you."
It was true. Nicholas was about as tall as Loiya, but Loiya was definitely wider because of his muscles, and Nicholas was about as muscular as the prince. Kaetar would feel more comfortable with Loiya, but he would fit in a bedroll better with Nicholas since he was smaller than either of them.
Loiya wasn't really thinking when he suggested that a third person could fit in their tent. It was really only meant for two people, and they only bought two bedrolls because they never thought they would be in a group of six people. They managed to get every inn that they could, but it was a system that could only work so well.
"We can test it out. Maybe one of us can sleep in between the bed rolls? Do we have an extra blanket?" Kaetar asked as he began searching through the bags.
"I didn't bring one, but doesn't Darius have that huge coat? If he's in raven form, then he doesn't need it," Loiya replied, shaking his head. "I can sleep between you two."
"No! You need to sleep well for once!" Kaetar growled. He didn't mind sleeping in the middle once or twice; as long as he was part of the group, he wanted to drop the 'pampered prince' reputation. He refused to be a spoiled brat. "I don't mind sleeping in the middle, anyway. I sleep on rocks even in a bed roll."
"I'll ask him for the-" Nicholas was suddenly cut of by dark object flying into the tent. It hit Nicholas in the face, and he was knocked back by the weight of it. When he recovered, he held up the object, which became a dark blue coat.
"I could hear you guys!" Darius shouted from outside. "You can keep it for the night, but I want it back in the morning, got it? It's my statement!"
Curious, Kaetar took a peek outside. It was still light out, enough to see Darius and Ema without much trouble at all, but he couldn't recognize Darius for a moment. Darius always kept his hair up, and he always had a coat on, but now he was wearing a tunic that had short sleeves that exposed his arms. He was skinnier than Kaetar had expected, but the coat did make him look a lot bigger. The prince also had to guess that Syrin was smaller than he looked, as his clothes also added bulk to his frame, but he already looked small to begin with. Darius caught him peeking, but he only smirked.
"What? Do I look that different like this?"
"Yes," Kaetar replied. "I almost didn't recognize you. I mean, I've seen you with your hair down before, but...not without your complete outfit. It doesn't look bad, just different!" he added as Darius gave him a look. Kaetar scooted back into the tent. Nicholas and Loiya were already in the bedrolls when he was back, so he snuggled himself between the two bedrolls, using the spare clothes as a pillow, and Darius' jacket as a blanket. It was actually very warm, and he could see why Darius would wear it all the time. If he was going to be in the air all the time, he would want something warm too.
Kaetar woke up slowly just as the light spilled in. He felt awful; his entire body was sore, and he had a slight headache. He felt like he slept on rocks, but he didn't feel anything when he feel asleep. He thought he slept on worse, but apparently, that wasn't the case. He stretched and dragged himself out of the tent with Darius' jacket in hand. Outside, everyone was sitting near a fire; he could smell something cooking, and he knew that everyone was eating something. Loiya looked back and shook his head before standing to walk to him. "Something wrong, Loiya?" Kaetar asked, still with the tent.
"Yeah," Loiya answered. "You might not want to come to the fire. Just saying."
That just made him want to go to the fire more. He forced his sore body to make a move for it, but Loiya quickly grabbed his wrist and turned it behind his back. Kaetar shouted in pain, but Loiya kept him still. "What? What's over there that I'm not allowed to see?"
"It's not that you're not allowed, but you just wouldn't tolerate it!"
"I want to see!"
"No you don't! What do you think you smell?"
It was a good question. He sniffed the air again, and released it was the smell of cooking meat. They didn't bring meat with them, so that meant that someone found an animal or something, and now it was... Kaetar didn't want to think about it. The mere thought made him queasy. He could barely eat meat at home, because all he could imagine was a bloodied, dead, animal. Loiya let him go. "The laguz don't eat vegetables as part of their main diet. Do you want me to take the jacket?"
"Yes-" Kaetar was interrupted by the sound of a snapping twig. He was instantly silent, and looked up to see if Loiya heard the same thing. The bodyguard immediately began running towards the forested area, and Kaetar quickly followed him, driven by overwhelming curiosity. He knew it would one day lead to serious trouble, but it was something that he couldn't resist. The forested area was denser than he thought it would be, and he could barely see Loiya weaving between the trees. Kaetar shouted his name, and the bodyguard instantly stopped where he was – the prince didn't think his voice would carry, but apparently it did.
Kaetar closed the gap. It wasn't exactly hard to see where Loiya had stopped, but it was more difficult to see what exactly he was stepping on; the shade of the trees and the leaves on the ground did a good job of hiding any tripping hazard, and Kaetar was surprised that Loiya made it as far as he did without tripping. "What were you thinking?"
"I could ask the same about you. The entire purpose of having me around is so that you literally don't run into situations like this," Loiya panted, evidently exhausted.
"I was curious!"
"You always are!"
"That doesn't make it any less – what was that?" Kaetar asked, feeling his muscles tense up. He thought he saw a shadow moving behind Loiya, but he wasn't sure about anything in this forest. Was it a person or a trick of the light? But if he did hear a twig snap from outside the forest, then there was obviously someone here, and they couldn't get away that fast, especially considering how fast Loiya ran to try to catch up with them.
"No... what was it?"
"I... I don't know anymore. I thought it was shadow, but maybe it was just the trees and the wind. I think that maybe that's what I saw."
"Don't justify it!" Loiya mumbled, then he suddenly grabbed Kaetar's hand and continued to run through the forest. "Nevermind! I saw it too! That definitely wasn't just the wind!" he shouted. Kaetar could hear a twig snap again, the figure moving across in his vision, and for a moment, he saw something silver fly past them. He looked back for a brief moment, and gasped at the knife that was now embedded into a tree. Someone was definitely after them, and they were most likely alone.
It was a trap, Kaetar realized. Whoever it was made the twig snap on purpose; it wasn't because they were stupid enough to get caught, but rather that they wanted Kaetar and Loiya to come into the forest alone. Now that the prince and his bodyguard were there without the expert eyesight of the laguz, they found themselves playing a twisted game of hide-and-seek. If they weren't careful, someone was going to die – and it was hard to be careful when you couldn't see your enemy. Another flash moved past them, and Loiya picked up the pace – he saw the knife as well.
"Is that the way out?" Kaetar asked, nearly on the verge of tears from the running and the stress that one of them was, again, being hunted down. They had always worked with a target on their heads, but it never did quite bother Kaetar until he had a knife aimed at his head.
"I don't know, but we have to-" Loiya suddenly shouted as both of them stumbled down a sudden, steep hill that neither of them saw. Kaetar was in pain; he was scratched, bruised and covered in dirt leaves, but it was the type of pain that he could ignore until later. Loiya was on the ground, almost in the exact same condition, but he was panting more heavily than Kaetar was – and that was his sprint into the forest from earlier. He never had the chance to completely recover from that run before breaking into a new one.
Kaetar sat up and spat some dirt out of his mouth. He heard leaves rusting from behind, and turned around to find someone dressed in various shades of green. He was obviously a male. His face was covered by a hood, but he no sleeves and long plants. He had knifes in his hands and on his hips, but he simply stared at Kaetar. He flicked his hand and threw a knife into the space between Kaetar and Loiya – a warning.
Immediately, Kaetar got up and broken into another run, leaving Loiya behind. The other male ran after him, grazing the prince in the cheek with another knife. He had a seemingly endless supply of them. He kept running, despite his body's protests, until his feet found a patch of wet leaves, and the prince found himself on the ground once again. The stranger was on him in an instant. He could feel his weight on his back, and a knife against the back of his neck. "Don't move," he growled.
Kaetar could feel tears in his eyes. He didn't regret running; this would have happened regardless if he was with Loiya or not.
Then suddenly, the weight was gone. He raised his head, and saw that Loiya was now on him. He didn't hear him coming, and now his bodyguard was fighting for control of the knife. The male was strong enough to overpower Loiya. He gained the advantage, and he was now the one on top, his knife raised above his head. Loiya screamed as the stranger stabbed him; where his bodyguard had been stabbed, Kaetar couldn't see, but Loiya immediately stopped the struggle, and the other male jumped off. He faced Kaetar, the bloody knife raised as if he was showing it off.
"I don't know why you're here, Prince, but go back where you came from. This fight has nothing to do with you or Daein," the figure mumbled. The voice was definitely male.
The prince didn't answer, not that knew he knew how to anyway - he was too shocked that someone knew that he was a prince. They had to be a spy – there was no other way that they could have known that he was the Prince of Daein if they didn't snoop around for the answers. That just what they did – they kept their eyes sharp and their ears open for anything of interest.
"I suggest you go back to Daein, and forget about everything in Crimea, because next time, I won't spare you or your bodyguard," the stranger mumbled before dashing off again, leaving Kaetar feeling not only afraid, but angry at the same time. Who was he to tell him what to do? He didn't know anything! At least his words confirmed one thing – Loiya's wound wasn't going to kill him immediately.
"Kaetar... are you alright?" Loiya gasped.
"Fine," the prince lied. He was angry, scared, and now even confused and conflicted about what he should do. Something in his gut told him that he should return home and accept whatever punishment came his way for escaping, but something else told him that he just couldn't leave Syrin, Nicholas, Ema and Darius. He felt like they had been through too much together in order to leave them in an unresolved conflict. They would be fine, he was sure, but Kaetar would always wonder what happened.
Kaetar crawled to Loiya. He had been stabbed in the shoulder, but Kaetar was no healer, and he couldn't see how deep it was. All he could see was the blood. He didn't have a vulneray on him, so the best he could do was apply pressure, despite his dirty hands. "Is that better?"
"Yeah... it's not... too bad. If we... get out of here... I should be fine," Loiya respond in gasps. "Are we... staying in Crimea?"
Kaetar nodded. "This is just the beginning. One day, I'll learn to use a weapon, and he's going to regret that he ever told me to leave!"
This chapter is done! I kept writing, and I forgot to post thise one. I usually post when I'm one chapter ahead, but I dove into the chapter ahead.
Remember to review! I don't know if I'm making these chapters too long. I first thought "Cool, 7000 words!" and now I'm thinking that it might be a little... long for one sitting?