(During Issue 7, Phobos questions Cedric)
"Hey, Elyon your highness, you alright back there?" Eric asks discretely, now in his disguise outfit as they walk through the crowded street.
"Yes, I am—excuse me." Elyon replies from behind as she squeezes her way through the crowds as she follows them.
"We're almost there to the narrower streets." Ray replies as he leads the line.
"You do sure remember where were going right?" Eric asks Ray. "Because, from what I recall we should be going to that narrow street that we have missed"
"Don't worry Atlas, Sorry sirs excuse us." Ray replies as he squeezes through two large galhots. "It's a shortcut, will get there in a jippy!"
"Never would I thought-Please, excuse me—that you memorized and analyzed these streets in a quick glance…" Eric says as he too squeezes himself through the dense crowd.
"Well, that's what you get when you have a smart guy like me." Ray boasts.
"—Just like back then when our group went missing for a day in a forest training campaign—excuse us—because of your so called 'shortcuts'." Eric sarcastically replies.
"Riighhtt…"Ray scratches his head in a slight embarrassment. "Oh well I guess—Off!" Suddenly not looking where was going he bumps onto a loud bang of metal and falls off to the ground.
"Ray!" Eric exclaims as he quickly moves toward him. "You all right?"
"In one piece, I guess…" Ray says as he's sight begin to swirl around him.
"Hey! Watch we're you going you filthy beggars!" grunts the large galhot soldier as he turns down on them.
"Why you—!" Ray challenges him but Eric closes his mouth.
"Sorry sir!" Eric apologizes. "Just stay down, you might blow our cover." Eric whispers.
"Well now just get along! Pathetic!" swears the soldier, he then turns to his fellow soldier beside him. "So where was I? Oh you were saying about a siege on the rebels?"
Eric and Ray eavesdrop as they slowly get up and clean their habits. Though, the disarray of voices are loud, their tough and deep voices, though they were supposed to converse quietly, are loud and clear.
"Information says they found one of their hideouts." The other soldier replies. "The rebels called it the 'Old Palace', it's the ex-Queen Weira's rest house, I believe. From what they said, it also houses the rebel settlements and their leader Caleb. From what I heard, the siege starts this afternoon."
"So it's not the main hideout? What do you called that—The Sanctuary?"
"That Jolras' hideout? I believe not…"
Eric and Ray slowly squeeze their way through the crowds. "Did you hear what I heard?" Ray asks.
"No doubt about it." Eric replies. "Another hideout will be sieged. This nicknamed 'Old Palace' is said to be a rest house of a said royal member. The problem is, where?"
"Why don't we ask Elyon—Where is she by the way?" Ray asks as he notices her gone out of their sight.
Eric turns behind him as he sees no sign of Elyon in the crowd. "Elyon, your highness?" he calls. "Elyon! Elyon!" he shouts far back but hears no reply form the loud and disarray of voices. "Darn, where could she be?"
"Concerned much?" Ray approaches to anxious Eric.
"Well of course I am." Eric replies. "She's our liability if something wrong has happened to her. Man, how could we handle these two problematic situations at the same time?"
"Relax, I bet she hasn't gone too far." Ray comforts. "Besides, the only ones endangered here are us, wanted outlawed rebels, and not her since she's a princess of her people."
"That maybe, but we still need to find her." Eric replies as he turns his head around to find her.
They then hassle back their tracks and again force through the dense and busy crowd. Suddenly, the crowd begins to get tighter and rowdier as loud screams dominate the air. "It's the soldiers!" "Phobos' Pillage!"
"I guess, we have a ton of problems at the same time now" Ray sarcastically says.
"Stop!" Elyon's angry loud voice halts as she removes her hood to reveal herself before the violent soldiers. Her disturbance causes the stop of the soldiers' rampage on a certain dwelling. "I order you to stop this!"
The soldiers glance to each other with confusion written all of over their faces. One of them sputters with a chuckle, his then contagious cackle creates an uproar laughter among the men. "Well, well, well," A large galhot soldier walks defiantly to Elyon. "What do we have here?"
"I-I am P-Princess Elyon—of Meridian!" she introduces herself anxiously. "I order you once again t-to stop this!" she commands again.
The grim galhot seriously walks to her as each stomp feels like the ground shakes as Elyon trembles with fear. She retreats with a few steps back. "D-Didn't you listened what I said? I am Princess E-Elyon."
"You? The princess? Dwelling among the poor and the needy? So what!? We're the guards of the palace and you're walking on our territory! Whatever is in here is ours!" he grunts as he places his scary face on front of hers. "Besides, I don't think these people around you recognize you."
Elyon surprised and struck of what he said, looks around her with a troubled crowd on the sides watches the scene. "But I-I am the princess…If Phobos hears about t-this!" she says as she shoves into her pocket.
"I am so sorry sir!" Eric enters surprisingly into the scene as he waltzes in between them. "My—umm—sister has just gone a bit crazy for today! Acting and wearing like a princess, crazy, huh?" He gestures frantically at them as he pushes Elyon away from the soldiers. "Don't worry this will never happen sirs!" he bows at them.
The soldier looks down on Eric's hooded faked crouched back with a brown torn habit that covers his entire body. "Fine, beggar!" he says. "Go! Before I beat you both up!"
"T-thank you!" Eric replies as he grabs Elyon's shoulders and drags her out.
"What are you doing?" she whispers to Eric.
"Just keep moving." Eric says as he pushes her. "We've caused too much trouble already."
"You beggar!" yells and calls the large galhot to Eric. "Your sister has a great magical gift in her, as the law requires she could be a great contribution to Phobos 'collection'!"
"Phobos' collection?" Elyon asks quietly.
"Just be quiet and let me do the talking." He replies as he turns around to face him.
"Oh she truly is!" Eric boasts as he puts Elyon behind him. "But isn't it voluntary and not required?" Eric asks.
He chuckles. "You see these men behind you?" his thumb points behind his back with his men with weapons on their hands. "So hand her over you beggar!" he commands.
'So we don't have a choice but to fight our way out of this huh.' Eric says as he straightens his back up to his usual posture. "Well then, may his highness Prince Phobos, add these to his collection!"
"These?—Urrghh!" The soldiers ask as zipping downward arrows passes on front of them, explosions blast on front of them. "Arrghh!" "What the-!" the gathering crowd screams in fear as they run away from the scene.
"Now we run!" Eric says as he grips Elyon's hand and flees away. 'What a day! I even thought we could get out of another fight but no! Another déjà vu!' Eric blames himself as he recalls the day they saved Arminta.
"—From your friendly neighbors, from the Rebellion Army!" Ray ends with from the other side of the roof where he lies hidden from the enemy sight, he then leaps and parkours along the adjacent houses.
After the grueling minutes of escaping the desperate run from the get-go, Eric, Ray and Elyon hide themselves from the descending and dark stairway, alight with torches.
"Did we lost them?" Eric breathes heavily as he watches behind them.
"I guess so, I just projectile my arrows to stay hidden without uncertainty." Ray explains as he too with a loud breathing and rests his arms on his legs.
"Well I say they were spot on." Eric snickers. "And in addition to that, the soldiers were way more less than they should be, when we saved Arminta."
"I don't understand all this!" Elyon heaves a heavy from the run and a saddening sigh. "A Phobos' Pillage, his so-called 'collection'? What is the meaning of all these?"
"I don't know if you realize this by now, and I have to say it a hundred times if I have to. Phobos is not what you think of as I said a while ago. This taboo Phobos' Pillage of his forcefully steals magic from your people and uses it for his personal gains." Eric places his hand on her shoulder. "But I hope you, when you become the next leader of your people, you can break their chain of hatred and suffering and give back the stolen magic back to them.
"Even when my people didn't know me as their princess?" Elyon asks. "I am the heiress of Meridian but they think I'm just a stranger to them. I don't even know if it's my relationship of my brother or if it's his doing, but I think it's pointless and useless if I ever become their next queen."
"That's not true your highness." Ray says as he butts in. "He thinks you're worth more than what you think of." He snickers discretely to Eric as he elbows him.
"Really?" She asks with a hopeful yet confusing manner, as she crosses her brows at Eric
"Umm—well…" Eric annoyingly sighs and humiliating scratches his head. "You will, you'll see." He smiles conclusively.
"Thanks…" Elyon replies smilingly with hope in her eyes.
Eric approaches slightly to Ray as he guards and peeks out from their hiding place, he whispers. "Do you really have to say something that I didn't actually said, just to pair me up with her?"
"Don't you want to? She's a real beauty, though." Ray replies quietly.
"She is but I don't want to." Eric murmurs "So sorry, don't want to get your hopes up of shipping us."
"That's too bad." Ray replies emotionless as he uses his Farsight to see any following soldiers. "Guess the guards have sure lost us. We better get going to that 'Old Palace' to inform the rebels before the soldiers could even reach it."
"Yet we can't just ask 'anybody' around." Eric replies.
"Then we just have to ask where the rest house of Wiera? Or was it Wirea?" Ray thinks.
"It's Queen Weira." Elyon corrects him. "And she's my mother."
"Good going." Eric says as he smirks and bumps his elbow back to a humiliating and embarrassing Ray. "So you know where it is, don't you?"
Elyon smiles slightly at them and walks out silently from their hideout. As she takes a few steps from them she turns around with a small beaming grin. "What are you waiting for? Let's get going then!" She then leads the way.
"Woah…Never knew she looks too cute when she smiles." Ray compliments her as he and Eric follows behind her.
"Agree, but if you want I could ship the both of you." Eric teases.
"Nah" Ray replies "Don't want to get your hopes up either."
Elyon turns to them again. "By the way, after all of this, I didn't manage to get your names."
"aka Raymondus, ready to serve you, your highness." Ray introduces as he bows jokingly.
"And yours?" Elyon beams at Eric.
Eric thinks for a while and smiles back. "Well since you knew how I look, I guess you can call me, Eric. But please it's a secret just between us, alright?"
"Alright!" she says as she turns back again.
"You know." Eric whispers to Ray. "You just gave away your real name. I thought you'd use 'Farsight' as your alias."
"Well it's better than the usual, 'Ray'" Ray replies.
(During Issue 7, Cornelia meets Caleb)
A half hour later, they reach to one of darkest places of Meridian down the descending hills and away from the Phobos tall palace. Around them are the huge and vast rocky valleys that lead to a series of winding squatter houses. By the end of the winding and descending slope they arrived at a large and grand yet seemingly abandoned building filled with ornaments decorated on the stone walls filled with red-leafed trees and bushes.
"Too late!" Ray exclaims quietly behind the rocky stones. "The soldiers are already here!" Eric, Ray and Elyon gaze at an army of soldiers as they march and surround the building.
"Don't let the rebels get away! Search Caleb and that traitor Vathek too!" The guard commands as they arrest the Meridianite citizens and rebels and confiscate weapons. Some of them beat them to the ground mercilessly as punishment of serving the rebels.
"This is horrible!" Elyon cries in fear. "I-I didn't know they could do such horrible things to my people."
Eric and Ray calmly watch as they keep their anger and rage to themselves. "We could actually distract them and get away from here." Eric plans.
"Problem is, two of us against double—or even triple the times of Vathek's invasion army back on Earth! We can't manage that kind of number. In addition, I also see some Imperials of the Legion."
"But, I can help—" Elyon says as she creates energy beam out of her hands.
"No, don't, your highness." Eric stops her. "It might cause you to lose your throne if you helped us."
"Yeah, don't worry about us. Just leave this to the wanted men." Ray winks at her.
"We just distract them and try to get away, then die trying." he sighs with grief as he takes his sword from behind.
'Die trying?' Elyon says to herself in shock.
"Aye aye captain." Ray's hand then materializes into a bow and prepares his arrow.
"On my count, we rush to the opposite direction and run away from the house as far as we could." Eric says. "Five…"
'No! That can't be right!' Elyon qualms to herself.
"…four…"
'These humans are protecting my people and they have risked their lives just for them!'
"…three…"
'While I sit here and do nothing? These are my people as well of whom I should protect as well because I am…'
"..two—" Eric stops as Elyon unexpectedly walks out from the rocks and presents herself from the soldiers. She shoves into her pocket and wears a green and shining pendant; a symbol of royalty.
"Stop, right there!" she says as she bravely marches before the large and scary soldiers. The people around her watched as one brave small girl not only presents herself as authority but opened her eyes to reality.
'I am Elyon, the princess and heiress of Meridian! And they will recognize my presence!'
