Chapter 021

"Ugh…" Kyle groaned. When he opened his eyes, he was face-to-face with highly desiccated earth. As the wolf prince got up, dry particles of dirt stuck to his moist face. It was as sweltering as a desert, Kyle thought.

As a matter of fact… it was a desert. Even with his keen vision, he could see very little more than sand, sand, and more sand. Oddly, as if to contrast this seemingly vacant wasteland, there was a grand castle just in front of him. Though it was very far away, Kyle felt that whatever resided within this castle was an oasis compared to the arid world which surrounded it. Thinking of little else, he began to run towards it, for his wings were far too tired to fly.

"Ah!" Kyle slipped on the desert sand. It was like the silky white sand on a Floridian beach – very hard to run on. As if his wings were not weakened enough, his legs began to feel immobilized as stiff plywood.

"Oh my gosh!" a distant voice sounded. "Archsage! Archsage, come quickly! We've found someone!"

"Hm?" spoke the archsage. "Who is it? Does the face look familiar?"

"I… I don't know…" the earlier voice answered. "Do you propose we find out? They could be a Begnion spy."

"If they are, we could just kill him. Now come, let's go."

"As you wish, Archsage."

About one minute later, Kyle temporarily felt the presence of five people before passing out where he laid.

"Turn him over!" commanded the archsage. Upon seeing who it was, he could barely contain himself.

"Oh, by Ashera!" one of the people gasped. "It's… It's Prince Kyle! Queen Nailah would be overjoyed to know that her son is safe. I'll take him immediately-"

"No. I will carry the prince by myself."

"B-But Archsage…"

"No 'ifs', 'ands', or 'buts'." The archsage hoisted Kyle on his back. "We will take him to the Hatari Palace immediately."

"At once!"

~2 hours later…~

"Ngh…" Kyle gradually opened his eyes. "Where… Where in the blazes am I?"

"~Wolf Queen!~" a wolf laguz, who stood in front of Kyle, shouted in the ancient tongue. "~Your son is awake again!~"

"Kyle?" The sound of running steps came rapidly to Kyle's ears. "Oh, my son!"

"Rafiel!" Kyle noticed his birth father in an instant, hugging him. "You're safe!"

"Thanks to you." Rafiel broke the hug.

"That one wolf guy called for the 'Wolf Queen'… Does that mean that…"

"Yes. Your mother, Queen Nailah, stands behind me."

At those words, a manly woman with silver hair approached Kyle. The Jewish boy had never seen this woman before, but felt that she was his family.

"M-Mother?" Kyle stared at the woman from head to toe.

"Oh, it's my Kyle…" the muscular woman gazed upon her son, focusing on his eyes. "You've… You've grown in such a long time. It's been over 1,000 years since I've seen you last…"

"Then how could you recognize me?"

"A mother never fails to recognize a boy who is truly her son. That is the power of the bond of a mother and child."

"I see."

"Hey!" hollered another voice. "Is Kyle awake yet?"

"Wait a second…" Kyle's voice shook. "That voice… it sounds so familiar…"

"Kyle! There you are!" The voice happened to belong to the person Kyle hated most – Eric Cartman.

"You… You fatass…!" Kyle shot up, lifting Cartman by the shirt. He held the corpulent boy by a wall. "How dare you show your face in my own kingdom?! Get out of here before I make you become lunch for the ants."

"Actually…" Nailah cut in. "Archsage Cartman has been helping to better Hatari."

"Archsage?" Kyle let his jaw drop as far as it could. "This fatso? Well, his magical prowess isn't too shabby, but… How could he be helping anyone? He wouldn't save a poor person if he was bleeding at his feet."

"~You have no idea what Archsage Cartman has done, Wolf Prince,~" spoke a brown-haired wolf laguz named Volug. "~He has healed many of our wounded, gave goods to the children, fed the poor, helped cook food and more with his fire magic… He is a very kind young man.~"

"I don't believe it…" Kyle could still not believe what Volug had told him. "Cartman, why are you doing this? I bet you see something in it for you. Is that it?"

"No…" Cartman could barely stand to look at the orange-haired boy. "I just… You know… I just wanted to help one of my best friends."

"I can peer into his heart, and he speaks no lies," Rafiel told his son. "He is as honest as he is humane."

"I don't see anything wrong either…" Kyle closed his eyes, doing his best to read Cartman's mind. I know he's doing this with good intentions, but… Dammit! There's something more… His mind is far too strong to pierce! If only I could find the main reason for his actions… Father!

Yes? answered Rafiel.

Don't you see… a different reason for the way Cartman is acting?

No… Why, do you see something more?

Well, no… Kyle lied. It's just a hunch.

All right, then.

Suddenly, Kyle remembered his boyfriend, whom he last saw in Begnion.

"Oh, yeah! Nailah!"

"What is it?"

"I… I know I am about to ask a really huge favor of you, but…" Kyle then knelt in front of his mother. "Please, Queen Nailah. I need help travelling to Sienne, Castle of Begnion."

"Ah. And why is that?"

"I… I must see the apostle."

"Why would you need to see the apostle? She's a really busy person – I don't know if she could find the time to talk to us, no matter how much help we need from her."

"As a matter of fact… The apostle is a man."

"A… A man? Are you certain? But I thought that only female descendants of Altina were apostles…"

"That's what I thought at first. But he can hear the voices of both Ashera and Yune. He's also sung the galdr of release to free the goddess of chaos from my body."

"How do you know this? Do you personally know the apostle?"

"I do, actually. He is my best friend. We were separated when we were attacked by Begnian dracoknights."

"I see. We were actually going to travel to Begnion as well. You see, Hatari and its neighbor, Daein, are allies. Begnion has Daein under a blood pact, which means they have the downtrodden country under its thumb. We do know, however, that the apostle really wouldn't want for this to happen… It's the senate's work. We're going to Sienne to make things straight."

"Well, all the better! I have to see the apostle, now…" Kyle could barely hold back the tears that were threatening to come out.

"You… You really haven't seen him in so long?" Nailah asked.

"It's felt like eons. Well, what are we waiting for? Are we ready to go?"

"~We've actually been ready to go,~" Volug intervened. "~But the soldiers all agreed that it would be best for their prince to arrive before we set out for Begnion.~"

"You have made a great choice in doing that. I commend you."

"Volug!" Nailah ordered. "Tell General Micaiah and King Pelleas that we are ready to leave."

"~Your wish is my command, my queen.~" Volug quickly bowed, rushing outside of the castle.

"Mother, did you just say… Micaiah?" Kyle blinked.

"Why, yes I did. Do you know her?"

"Not really… I just know that she is Apostle Stanley's ancestor, and that she's one of the Branded."

"Stanley? That's the current apostle's name? So, would this mean that… Micaiah herself is an apostle?"

"Yes. But I think it would be best if we kept it between us, and not tell anyone else of her heritage."

"If you think that it is best, then I shall listen."

"~Queen Nailah!~" Volug came back into the castle.

"What is it, Volug?"

"~The Daein and Hatari forces are all ready to leave.~"

"Thank you." Nailah began to leave the castle. "Kyle, it is time."

"Phew… Finally… Soon, Stanley-chan, soon…" Kyle breathed heavily as he followed his mother.

"You keep on begging to see him. If I may, what is your relationship with him?"

"Well, I guess I can tell you, since you are my mother… Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Of course."

"Very well… Apostle Stanley, whom I sometimes call 'Stanley-chan', is my lover."

"Oh! Oh my… That is shocking news. For my own son to fall in love with Begnion's apostle… Still, I will not tell anyone. You have my word."

"Thank you, mother."

"So, what will you do with it, then?"

"I thought you would know by now."

"Oh, all right."

Before either of the two could notice, they had already arrived on the grounds outside Castle Hatari.

"Let us make haste to Begnion at once," Kyle ordered. "Say… That humongous group of mages coming this way… Who are they?"

"They are my soldiers," Cartman replied.

"You?" Kyle watched the mages as they lined up with the rest of the soldiers. Following the mages was the largest food/items convoy the wolf prince had ever seen.

"Well, yeah. I have… connections," the fat boy snickered.

"Where the hell did you get this many soldiers from?"

If you must know, Prince Kyle, I am the vice-minister of Begnion, Cartman explained. As such, I command a famous group of mages called the Mage Order. This isn't even half of their number. The convoy behind them is also mine.

"Interesting… That will help our journey to Begnion that much easier."

"I-I'm glad to receive your praise, Wolf Prince." Cartman's cheeks were tinged with pink.

"Are you guys ready?" Micaiah, a silver-haired maiden, stood in front of all of the soldiers. "Let's free Daein of Begnion's evil rule!"

"Rah!!" cheered the soldiers. Without further ado, they began their quest to liberate Daein.

"You know, Cartman," Kyle spoke to the chubby vice-minister after an hour of walking, "if you would help me this often all the time, I wouldn't be so angry at you. We could actually be friends and not argue all the time."

"Well, um…" Cartman looked away from the wolven prince. "I was just thinking the same thing... I'm really tired of arguing with you and teasing you for being Jewish."

"That's good to hear," Kyle levitated in the air next to Cartman, rubbing the other boy's back for a short time.

"Ah!" The fat kid's face grew redder. "That… That feels very good… But you must stop! The soldiers are going to get the wrong ideas…"

"I suppose that is so. Ha!"

Being entertained by how flustered Cartman seemed to be, Kyle thought, He would be so much easier to converse with were it not for his strong mind… Still, I have better things to worry about. Stan… My beauteous apostle, if you can somehow hear me, I am coming to save you.