The group of five rode in silence for nearly an hour with Van only stopping for a few moments to point out certain areas before they started off again and headed even farther away from the castle. Nobody really knew where Van was taking them but he seemed confident that he knew what he was doing.
The group of five traveled through the thick forest for a few more minutes before the trees suddenly seemed to disperse and the sun shone down brightly upon the small group as they came out into a huge clearing.
"Amazing," Fiona muttered as she laid eyes upon the clearest and most beautiful lake she'd ever seen. It looked even more beautiful under the clear blue skies. Sparkling before their eyes as they quietly approached it. Van seemed to be the only one that wasn't hypnotized by it's beauty.
"It's about three to four miles across. If you look north you can just see the tip of the castle. My family likes to come down here once in a while and relax. We have a boat that can take us out onto the lake. It's truly a wonderful sigh out in the middle of the water," Van said with a bright smile and everyone just nodded their heads as they spread out to look at their surroundings.
Van walked over and sat down underneath a tree. He looked around and watched as everyone found something interesting to do. Trent took to the same thing as Van and decided to sit down and rest. Thomas's mother Sarah was kneeling at the edge of the water and staring into it, Karl was reading a book that he brought with him, and Fiona was just looking all around the place at nothing in particular.
"You look lost," Van joked while picking up a rock and threw it towards the water making it skip over the water a good distance. "Sit down and relax we don't have to leave immediately," he said relaxing a bit more while sliding down the tree more till he was flat on his back.
Trent just smiled at the young woman. "Yes Fiona. Please come and sit down. You need to relax a little more," he said patting a spot next to him. He loved the young woman his son was to marry. He was sad that she didn't seem too happy lately. He wondered why it was that way and he wished there was something he could do to make her happier.
"That's ok," Fiona said enjoying the many things that were unique to this place compared to the northern lands. Fiona then just sat down at the water's edge and placed her feet in after taking off her shoes. The water was a decent temperature and it felt nice to just soak her feet in it.
Soft steps could be heard from behind and she turned and saw Van approaching her. "Hello… Van," she said still finding it weird not to address him by his appropriate title. She figured that she'd have to get used to it though.
Van took a seat and did the same as Fiona in placing his feet in the cool water. He had to admit that it felt nice on his feet. "How do you like it here so far?" Van asked with a yawn and laid back on the soft grass.
Fiona smiled and looked up at the sky. She knew that Thomas would be jealous that she was talking to another guy but this was her time away from him so she's enjoy it. "There are so many interesting things here that you can't find up north. It's like there new things to see everywhere I turn," she said as her foot swirled the water a little.
"To tell you the truth, I've never been to your lands before. I wouldn't know the differences between the two. The way you mention it makes me curious though," Van said staring at the perfectly clear blue sky above him. "What's it like up there?" Van asked turning and looking at her closely.
"It's not really warm so we don't get the type of warm weather plants you get around here. There's no lake as big as this many just several rivers that pass near the villages. It's really peaceful there, just like here," Fiona explained getting a mental image of the place she called her home.
"Maybe someday I'll check it out. I've never been to any of the lands but these," Van said turning his attention back to the sky. He then looked towards Fiona and grinned as an idea came to him. His kicked his foot out and a small amount of water splashed on Fiona's face.
Fiona immediately wiped her face. "Van!" she yelled at him halfheartedly before she did the same thing and kicked water in his face. She had to admit that she'd never had this much fun before with someone she just met.
Van grinned and it started a bit of a water war between them. It was never enough to really get them wet but enough so that it was easy to dry off given a little bit of time. Neither of them seemed to care though.
Trent raised an eyebrow when he heard Fiona laugh. It'd been a while since he'd heard her laugh like that. "Thomas better be careful or Van will take Fiona from right under his nose," he said in a joking manner.
"It's so much fun when you're young and don't have to worry about much," Sarah said as she walked over and took a seat next to her husband. "Thomas made a good choice in choosing Fiona," she said with a smile as she watched the two of them have fun. 'But we can never make that decision for her.'
"Will you hold still!" Dr. D yelled as he was trying his best to be able to clean Thomas up. The guy was frantic and Dr. D hadn't even gotten to the painful part of trying to put his nose back in place. He was just trying to clean up the blood. It took far too long though because Thomas wasn't being very patient.
"Ouch! Stop it! That hurts!" Thomas screamed as he struggled to get free. "Are you trying to hurt me more than I already am old man!" Thomas screamed when Dr. D accidentally hit his nose a little too hard while trying to clean it up.
"That's it I had enough!" Dr. D yelled stomping hard on Thomas's foot and got a loud scream from Thomas. He took this opportunity and grabbed a hold of Thomas's nose and pushed it hard until it was back in place. This got a very girly scream to erupt from Thomas's mouth. "There!" Dr. D yelled rather exhausted as he turned and started to leave the room. "Someone bandage this guy up a bit!" he yelled before leaving.
Thomas grumbled all the time that he had this big bandage placed on him. "Stupid crazy old doctor. Doesn't know how to do it right," he said wincing whenever a little bit of pressure was placed on his nose. "Stupid horse doesn't know a good rider when it sees it," he grumbled as he left the room.
"I see Dr. D fixed up you nose up nicely," Dan said as he approached Thomas with a smile on his. "Doesn't look quite as bad as I originally thought. Many have gotten much worse punishments when trying to deal with Zeke the way you did," he said chuckling a little.
"Why the hell do you have a horse such as that? My country would never allow a horse that wild to even exist!" Thomas yelled carefully massaging his nose trying to make the pain in it go away a little faster but was only hurting it even more than he meant to.
"Zeke is loyal to Van. It is his private horse and is not meant for anyone else to ride. It judges a person's character and doesn't let anyone it doesn't trust to get near it," Dan said before grinning. "What did you do to get on it's bad side?" he asked with a bit of amusement.
"I didn't do anything to it! It just attacked me when I tried to climb on top of it!" Thomas yelled growing frustrated that no one was very sympathetic towards his situation besides his parents.
"Zeke isn't the type of horse you can just choose and then use. It's a special horse that chooses instead of being chosen. It's like putting moves on an unwilling woman, you'll end up being slapped," Dan said before he walked into his room.
Thomas just grumbled as he left for his room. He had nothing to do and the rest of them wouldn't be back till later. He didn't know where they were right then so he couldn't just go out and try to find them on his own. "This sucks," he grumbled walking into his room.
The group of five stayed by the lake enjoying the relaxation that just being near it could bring to them. Karl didn't do much but read his book, Van looked like he was about to fall asleep under the clear blue sky and gentle breeze, Thomas's parents were in a nice conversation and Fiona just wondered around the edge of the lake.
Fiona kneeled at the edge of the lake and looked at her reflection. She then looked a little farther out and thought she saw a school of fish swimming by. It was truly a spectacular sight to see.
Van sat up and watched Fiona. 'It's like she never saw anything like this before,' he thought to himself as he stood up and strolled over in Fiona's direction. "You make something as simple as the lake seem like the most fascinating thing in the world," he said making her stand up and turn towards him.
"Well when you don't see many of them then it can be," she said as she remembered what she told him earlier that day. "Is there many different fish in there?" she asked when she saw a fish jump out of the water. She saw him nod his head and wished she could get a closer view of them.
Trent heard the conversation the two of them were having and walked up to them. He saw that Fiona had a look that said she wanted to go out onto the water. "Didn't you mention that you're family had a boat?" he asked with a smile and placed a hand on Fiona's shoulder.
"Yeah," Van answered before he got what Trent was saying. "If you'd like then maybe someday I'll see about taking you out onto the lake. You'll see a lot of neat things out there that you can't see from the shore," he said and couldn't help but smile at the bright look that crossed Fiona's face.
"Really?" she asked not being able to contain the excitement that burst from her. She got even more excited when she saw Van nod his head. "If it's as beautiful as it is from here than it must be even more so out there," she said looking out into the clear blue waters.
Van chuckled at this very open display of excitement. "It'll be a bit busy for the next week or two so I don't think we can get out until then. I'm sure my parents would love to come to when we do," he said and everyone nodded their heads. "Why don't we start out again? We've stayed here for a few good hours but there's still a lot to see," he said and everyone nodded as they walked to their horses.
They traveled along the edge of the water for a while. Fiona eyes seemed trained to the water and put all her trust in her horse to make sure that she didn't get separated from the rest of them.
"Don't take this as being rude, but Thomas seems different from the rest of you," Van said catching the attention of the two older members of the group. "He seems so uptight, as if everything needs to go exactly as he wants it to," Van said and was surprised when Trent nodded his head.
"That's just the way that Thomas has always been. He feels like he has to prove himself to everyone. He's got the strange notion that he is inferior to his older brother Karl. He longs to prove that he better. We see neither as being better. Too bad we can't get Thomas to realize this," he said with a disappointed look on his face.
"As of late, it's been much worse. In our lands, there is an important law that dictates who is next in line to rule. The eldest child of the royal family is made first in line for the throne. However, unless they are married before their thirtieth birthday they can't take the throne. Karl's thirtieth birthday is in a few months and he has yet to find a bride," Sarah said looking towards her eldest son who was riding a bit farther behind the rest of them. It didn't appear as if he heard their conversation. It could also be that he just didn't want to get involved with it.
"If Thomas was to get married and Karl doesn't get married by that day, then Thomas will become the legitimate successor to our kingdom. He's determined to make that happen since he doesn't think that Karl will actually be able to get married before then since it's only three months away," Trent finished hoping that Van could understand what he was saying.
'So basically… he's using Fiona to get the throne,' Van thought to himself thinking that it didn't seem right to Fiona to get married to such a guy for such a selfish reason on his part. "So why aren't you even trying to get married?" Van yelled back to Karl who was a good twenty meters behind them.
Karl rode up so that he was finally caught up with the rest of them. "I'm a little pickier than Thomas is. He's found a great woman but didn't properly court her before he proposed. I have yet to find the person that I really want," he said simply which Van just nodded his head in agreement with.
Van looked towards Fiona who didn't seem to be properly paying attention to what they were talking about. "She doesn't take me as the type to rush into such a big decision before agreeing to such a thing," he said and she still didn't react. He couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking about that made her able to zone everyone's voices out.
"We too are still a bit unsure as to what he did. He'd been trying for months before then but she never agreed and then she suddenly agreed one day much to all of our surprise," Trent said looking towards the woman that was supposed to become his daughter in law.
Van looked towards Fiona again and couldn't help but wonder just what it was that Thomas could do to make him get such a woman. He then shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back ahead of him.
The group reentered the village at the base of the castle by the time that the sky was starting to turn red as the night slowly approached them. They came to a stop and decided that they would have one last look around before the headed back to the castle to call it a night.
Van got off Zeke and patted his faithful companion's nose before turning to walk into the village. The others were following shortly behind them into the still crowded streets of happy people who went about their daily tasks without worrying about the fact that their prince was in their presence, Van actually preferred it that way.
Fiona and Moonbay walked silently to several of the different stands. 'What do you think of this Fiona?" Moonbay asked holding up a mask to her face that resembled that of a cat.
"I don't see any difference from how you usually look," Fiona teased which caused Moonbay to pout. "I'm just kidding. What about this?" she responded by holding up a mask that resembled something like a demon.
There couldn't' be two more opposite things," Moonbay laughed out then spotted something that really caught her attention. "Wow!" she said picking up a necklace that looked very valuable. "This is beautiful," she said looking into the clear blue gem that sparkled under the smallest light.
"Yeah," Fiona said before remembering that she still had something to pick up since she asked the man to hold onto that beautiful fabric earlier that day. "I have to go and get something. I'll be right back," she said before walking quickly in a different direction.
It took her a few minutes before she was able to find the stand that sold the beautiful fabrics she saw. The man at the stand looked up as she approached and immediately recognized her. "Greetings my lady," he said with smile to the young woman standing before him.
"Hello. I'm just here to buy that fabric I saw earlier," she said looking around but she didn't see the beautiful blue fabric anywhere. "Where is it?" she asked hoping that something hadn't happened. She had ideas of what she wanted to do with it. Each of the ideas for the things she wanted to make were more and more beautiful with each idea she had.
The man frowned and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry my lady. A young man came by earlier and demanded it. I told him that I was holding it but he didn't care. He just took it and walked away without even paying for it," he said knowing that he spent a lot for that fabric in specific only to get nothing out of selling it.
"It's quite alright," Fiona said giving him a sympathetic smile. "I'd still like to pay for it though since that person just took it," she said taking out some money that she'd kept on her horse the entire day up until now.
"I cannot ask you to do such a thing. It's my fault for letting him get away with it! You have to make no payment if you're not getting it!" he said but he couldn't help but admire the generosity that she was showing to a merchant like him.
"No, I want to do this. You have to make a living off these fabrics to live. This could cause problems for you and you seem like such a nice person," she said placing a generous amount of money on the table as thanks for the effort that the man at least tried to make in keeping the fabric there for her.
The man was pretty much in tears at such generosity. He couldn't even get another word in before she turned to leave. He then finally managed to say something. "Wait!" He yelled making her stop and walk back to the stand. "The amount you gave me is way too much! It could buy that one plus several others," he said seeing the money just sitting there.
Fiona had a feeling that he wasn't just doing this about the amount of money. "Let's just say that I would like to see some more of these beautiful fabrics in the future," she said smiling at him but then noticed that he was looking for something.
"I have something I would like for you to have in exchange from such a generous offer. I feel like it still isn't enough to repay you but I consider it a start," he said finally finding what he was looking for. He pulled it out and walked back towards Fiona. "Here," he said holding out one of the most beautiful fabrics that Fiona had ever seen.
The fabric placed before her was a pink color. "It's specially made from far away. The quality is the best I've ever seen in my line of work. I intended to save it for a special occasion and I think this is the perfect time. It would be my honor if you would take it," he said placing it before her.
Fiona couldn't help but admire it. Her hand reached out and slid along the silky smooth feel to it. "It's beautiful," she said with a smile. "I gratefully accept it if that is what you truly desire," she said seeing how proud he looked at it.
"Of course! Not many people like you. It would be the greatest of honors if I was to give this to you," he said carefully placing it within her arms. "It looks like your companion from earlier is coming this way," he said seeing Van coming down the street.
prince Van, it is good to see you again," he said bowing before Van.
"Easy now. You know I don't like such formalities," Van couldn't help the chuckles that escaped his mouth though. "We should start heading back Fiona. Looks like you got more than you thought," he said knowing just how high a quality that fabric really was.
'Right," Fiona said nodding to Van before turning back to the merchant. "Thank you very much," she said with a polite bow to him before turning and followed shortly after Van as he led her towards the horses once again.
They all got started back towards the castle. They all were exhausted by the time that they reached the castle but they were all amazed with what they'd seen that day. They were talking about many of the things that they'd seen over the day and how much they enjoyed it just as much.
Thomas wasn't too happy when he heard of some of the things that they'd done. He was even more pissed off when he heard how Van and Fiona talked to each other during most of the small adventure. 'How dare he make the moves on my girl!' Thomas jumped to conclusions.
"Chill out Thomas. It's only natural since the rest of us are older than the two of them. They were just enjoying talk between people that were the same age," Karl reasoned knowing that Thomas was jumping to conclusions about what had happened between Van and Fiona. He always was way too protective of Fiona making sure that she didn't get out much, always fearing that someone would take her from him.
"I bet he was trying to take her from me!" Thomas yelled storming off in the direction had gone several minutes earlier. He found Van talking with his father Dan and decided on the easy approach to this.
He waited until Van was finished talking and then approached him. "So Flyheight, I heard that you are pretty good with a sword. Is this true?" he questioned since he felt like he was one of the best swordsmen around.
Van looked at him rather suspicious for a few moments before grinning. "Yep, I was taught by my dad personally and he was the best swordsman around at one time," Van said in a proud voice. "Why? You want to challenge me?" he questioned giving Thomas a wide grin.
Thomas was glad that Van fell right into the trap he set. "That's sounds like a neat idea. Sure, why not? I haven't been able to get any practice in lately as it is," he said stretching his arms to get ready. He then left to go and grab his sword for their duel. He wanted to prove himself against the future king by beating him and showing him that he can't flirt with Fiona.
Van saw Karl approach while shaking his head. "What's going on? He just suddenly challenged me to a sword match," Van said turning and looking at the reaching form of Thomas.
"Thomas thinks you're trying to take Fiona from him. He does this all the time. He refuses to lose her to anyone even if the person he's challenging doesn't even want her," Karl explained with a sigh of exhaustion at his brother's antics. He wished Thomas would just get over his jealousy.
Van couldn't help but think that it was rather stupid for Thomas to jump to conclusions like that. 'Then again, Fiona is pretty attractive, not to mention nice,' Van thought with a laugh before going to grab his stuff. "This ought to be fun," he said out loud when he returned.
Thomas was already there waiting. Everyone else was also there because they all felt like it would be a good match to watch and enjoy. "You ready Flyheight?" Thomas asked pulling out his sword. He saw Van nod his head and grin as the two of them started to circle each other.
"How long do you think Thomas will last in this battle?" Emily asked knowing that her son wasn't someone that you should take lightly. He was just as skilled, if not more so, than his father. A man that was deemed the best in all the lands while in his prime.
Even Thomas's own parents knew that Thomas was outclassed in such a duel. They knew Van trained under his father and had his own reputation that had reached their lands long ago. "Hopefully more than a minute," she couldn't but sound doubtful about even that amount of time. "Thomas is good but he doesn't think clearly in such situations," she said hoping that she was going to be wrong.
Van remained calm while Thomas was trying to find the perfect time to attack. They weren't going for the kill but that didn't mean he had to hold back a lot, just enough to prove his point that he was better than Van.
Van managed to predict the attack very accurately. His body made so few movements but was able to par with every blow that Thomas tried to make at him. He saw Thomas swipe at him from the side but his sword was already there and waiting. "You're pretty slow," Van laughed out. "Tighten your grip unless you want to lose your sword," he continued to say as he hit Thomas's sword and nearly knocked it out of the guy's hands.
Thomas was growing really frustrated by that point. He knew Van was just toying with him and that if this had been a real battle that Van would have killed him already. "Fine then! Maybe I shouldn't hold back at all!" Thomas yelled swinging the sword with all of his strength.
Van was slightly surprised by the ferocity that Thomas was swinging his sword now. He knew he didn't have to worry all that much. 'Besides, it kind of fun to toy with this guy's mind,' he thought clashing his sword against Thomas's effectively stopping the swing very easily.
"Damn it! Quit toying with me," Thomas said swinging the sword low only to have Van jump over it with grace. He then brought it up at Van only to have it blocked yet again. 'I'm good, so why can't I even get close to hitting him?' Thomas asked himself wishing that he could at least injured Van slightly.
"As you wish," Van said stopping the sword once more. His foot came up and kicked Thomas's wrists sending the sword out of them into the air. Van easily caught it and pointed the swords in a cross pattern right next to Thomas's neck. "I believe I win," he said taking a step and threw Thomas's sword at his opponent's feet.
"Good job both of you," Dan said standing up and approached his son and Thomas. "It was a good match. You really need to calm down a little and think about your attacks. They'll become much more effective if you don't let your anger get the best of you," he said to Thomas. "And Van, you need to stop toying with your opponents. That's going to come back to get you someday," he said and Van just nodded his head.
Thomas stayed on the ground in defeat. It wasn't only that he just lost; it was that he lost in front of Fiona and his family that made it worse. It made him feel like a fool. 'I swear that before we leave that I'm going to defeat you Van," he hissed out glaring at the man that defeated him.
Van shook his head before sheathing his sword and turned to leave. "I doubt it can be done in only two months but good luck," he said actually hoping for a better opponent. He surpassed his dad, and he surprised every instructor in the lands as well as many in the other. He wanted something that would actually challenge him.
Thomas growled and punched the ground before standing up and sheathing his sword. He saw Fiona talking to Van's mother and smiled before walking over to her. "Excuse me your highness but may I please speak to Fiona?" he asked politely to save face in front of Fiona.
"Of course," she said standing up. "I actually have some business I must attend to with Dan," she said before walking out of the room with Dan following after her shortly afterwards.
Fiona looked at Thomas a little confused. "Is there something you wanted Thomas?" she asked but he didn't answer. He just held out his hand for her to take. She looked at it for a few seconds before hesitantly taking it. She felt herself being pulled in the direction of the doors. "What's going on?"
Thomas just smiled as he carefully pulled her. "I actually have a bit of a surprise for you," he said leading her in the direction of his room which made her a bit hesitant. "I went to the village earlier today and got you something," he said stopping at his door. "Just wait here," he said before walking into his room.
Fiona sighed in relief. For a while she thought he was going to drag her into his room and try to seduce her like he'd done in the past. She couldn't help but wonder what it is that he got her. Her mind then seemed to click and she became suspicious. "Oh no," she said with an annoyed sigh.
Thomas came out of his room a few moments later carrying something behind his back. "I noticed something that they were selling and I knew was perfect for you," he said pulling his gift from behind his back, and also confirming Fiona's suspicions when she saw the silky blue fabric that she intended to buy.
"I don't believe you Thomas!" she yelled at him causing him to cower back a bit. "I was already planning on getting this as it was but you just took it from that poor man. He was just doing his job! You're just lucky that I paid the man for it anyways!" she yelled approaching him and causing him to take a few steps back.
Thomas was actually a bit scared of Fiona right then. He then saw her turn and storm off without taking the fabric he got her. "What did I do wrong?" he asked looking at the cloth. He didn't see anything wrong with what he did since he was of a much higher class than a mere merchant.
He only wanted to get her something that he felt was made for a queen, a way that might make her open up to him more. Even if she agreed to marry him, he knew that she didn't actually love him. He was trying to do what he could to make her fall for him but it only seemed to get worse with his gift.
Thomas was so lost in thought that he didn't notice his brother approaching before the older man spoke. "I agree with Fiona on this Thomas. You know what she is like," he said giving his brother a bit of a warning look.
"What do you mean?" Thomas asked a bit confused. He knew that Fiona liked simple things but she even said that she was planning to get this anyways. "I was only trying to be nice and get her a gift," he said looking in the direction that Fiona left in a few moments prior.
"Thomas, you know that she is a honest person ," he said and Thomas just nodded his head. "Well I don't think she'd prefer to get a gift if it was by less than honorable means. You took it from a man just trying to make a living, and you didn't even pay for it," he said with a disappointed tone to his voice before he walked off.
Thomas watched his brother walk off with anger boiling up within him. "Is everyone against me on this!" he yelled out growing frustrated. "We're royalty, he should be happy just have one of us want his stupid fabrics!" he yelled before turning back into his room before slamming the door shut.