CHAPTER TWO

"Leo. Are you sure you want to do this?" Donnie asked, as soon as Leo had arrived at the breakfast table and announced his plan, "It sounds kind of...sudden."

"That's what I think." Raph said, sitting at the table, "Fearless here can't even sleep on his own bed. So why does Dad thinks he's ready ta travel?"

"At least you'd be going with him, Raph." Mikey said with a frown, "Why can't I go too?"

"Because it wouldn't be a secret if we all left the Palace." Donnie said, staring at his toast.

"So just don't go at all." Raph said, "Why can't ya learn about the country from inside the Castle?"

"Because that's not going to tell me anything except for numbers," Leo said, "I want to hear from the people themselves. How do they feel about us, as a country? What things need improving? Are the cities getting enough water?"

"Of course the cities get enough water," Raph rolled his eyes.

"Well, I want to see that for myself." Leo said. "At least I would have you and Usagi with me."

"Does Usagi even know about this?" Mikey asked.

"Not yet," Leo said sheepishly.

"I don't like this, Leo." Donnie said, "We barely got you back, and you want to leave us again?"

"I'm not leaving forever," Leo said, "Look, I know that I'm next in line for the throne. But I also know that there's a lot out there I don't know. I just want to be a good King for this country."

Mikey and Don looked at one another, and came to a silent agreement.

"Alright," Mikey said.

"We'll let you go." Donnie said, "But Raph, you'd better take care of him."

Raph only grunted, and shoved some scrambled eggs in his mouth.

"And definitely bring Usagi." Mikey said. "He's very reliable, unlike Raph."

That comment earned him a small slap upside the head. From Raph, of course.

Since Leo had permission to leave, he used his usual tactic of 'getting things done sooner rather than later.' He didn't even wait until the next day before setting out. Shortly after breakfast he was packed and ready, and the small group had been fully provisioned with two sets of provisions. Usagi's horse carried the packs with all the actual food, while Raph had all the snacks that Mikey thought would be just enough to last them a jaunt around the country.

For the record, Raph's saddlebags ended up being the larger ones.

"Goodbye, Father! Goodbye Donnie and Mikey!" Leo shouted, jumping onto the horse in the courtyard. Because of Mikey's many "just one last one" hugs he was the last to mount, so Raph and Usagi were already on their own horses waiting for him.

"Goodbye Leo! Goodbye Raph!" Donnie responded.

"Make sure you don't eat any bad berries!" Mikey shouted.

"Be safe, my sons." Splinter said, standing on the steps of the palace.

"Ready, Leo?" Raph asked. Leo nodded, and without saying anything more Raph led the way out the gates.

For Leo, this was a new experience. He had been outside the Palace before, but only a to the village, surrounding woods, and waterfall. He had never left to go to another city before. Not even when his mother was alive.

So, once he was on the other side of the gate Leo turned around to look at the Palace. The King and his brothers were still standing there, waving at him.

Leo smiled, and gave them a single wave before turning to follow Raph and Usagi. Slowly they rode down the path, and although they had traveled around the castle town in a roundabout way it was soon behind them as well. It wasn't long before the few trees on the side of the road turned into a golden forest.

They were silent for a while, which would have been awkward if they were with anyone else. It wasn't until sometime after everything Leo knew was behind them, when Raph spoke up again.

"I can't believe we're doing this." Raph said, "Is this really okay?"

"The Kingdom is safe, and we have permission from His Highness." Usagi said, "In addition, you have me. I assure you that this will be an easy journey, Prince Raphael."

"I can't wait to see the first town," Leo said behind them. His was focused on admiring the forest around them, and had been pretty much letting his horse follow theirs on its own. "What's it called again?

"There." Usagi said, just as they arrived at their first crossroads, "The first town will be in that direction. It's called-Majesties, look out!"

A giant wagon rounded the corner. It had not been visible until two seconds after Usagi warned them.

"Hey! Get outta the road!" Someone in the wagon shouted, and the horsemen surrounding the wagon turned the corner as well.

"Watch it!" Raph shouted, expertly avoiding the carriage and the horsemen.

Leo wasn't as much a master of his horse as Usagi and Raph, so it wasn't as easy for him to back his horse up to make room.

"Out of my way!" Someone shouted, and in all the chaos and dust Leo was suddenly knocked off his horse.

Thankfully, Leo had been knocked off a horse before, so he knew how to quickly get up and get out of the way. There was a jumble of horse legs and people torsos, so he quickly stepped off the road behind a tree. It was the only safe place to be.

The wagon and its horsemen guards made an extremely sharp turn, and suddenly they were going down one of the roads in the crossroad.

Leo's horse decided to join them. With both Leo and Leo's horse suddenly gone, it didn't take long for his companions to notice. It didn't take much of a genius to realize that, considering Leo's horsemanship skills, he had easily been swept away with the crowd.

"Usagi!" Raph shouted.

"Understood!" Usagi responded, and the two of them raced around the corner after the wagon.

So when Leo stepped out from behind the tree two seconds later, everyone was gone.

"Oh." he said to himself, "Guess they went on ahead."

Since no one had ever told him to stay in one place when separated from others, Leo decided to head out after them. Thankfully he remembered which way Usagi had pointed out, and headed down the fork in the road that led to the next town.

Alone.