Chapter 9- Exemplar Facultas

So… the world didn't end. Well this is awkward. Anyways, if anyone has seen Romeo X Juliet, it's an amazing anime; this is my third time watching it. So this is why I haven't updated in a while. It makes me cry every single time I watch it. I promise all of you will be addicted.

Anyways, protocol, thanks to all of my followers. R&R?

Max

"Mom, wake up," I whisper, nudging her. Her nightmares have gotten worse it seemed. She didn't look peaceful in her sleep like she did before, instead, her brow was furrowed, her lips parted in silent screams. She startled as she woke, as if anticipating an attack.

"Mom, it's okay, it's me, we need to talk," I tell her. The sun hadn't come up yet. The hum of crickets was still in the air, a cruel wind around us, piercing as a dagger.

"Of course, honey," she says, smoothing my hair, holding my hand as if I was the one who needed comforting. She acts like she's fine and it troubles me, "What is it?"

"I- I need your opinion," I tell her, although she's so fragile now I thought my words might break her, "Mom, what do you think about Fang and Iggy?"

She looks at me in surprise. I've never asked her about her advice on anything before, "Max-"

"I need your opinion, Mom," I plead, "I don't know what to do. I don't deserve to be the new Cardinal. I'm… confused about a lot of things."

"How do you know the Queen's son?" she asks.

"I didn't get out of the dungeons alone."

"Did he-?"

I nod, "He's no longer the Queen's son. And it's all my fault."

"That's a special sort of sacrifice," Mom says, "Especially from a stranger. Why did he help you?"

"I don't know," I shake my head, and look away.

"Max, trust your instincts. Do you trust him?" she brushes my hair back behind my ears like old times, when I was younger.

"I think so, but, he's human and the son of the Queen," I lean against her. It was the first time in years that I did. When I was younger, Dad was on my other side and I'd be on both of their laps. We were so happy. So how could I trust the son of the person that destroyed that happiness?

"You can't judge a person based on their background," she says gently, stroking my back, "He might be entirely different. The Queen is without mercy, but her son isn't her. Do you understand, Max?"

"Yes," I say.

"But be on guard always," Mom cautions.

"Of course."

Fang

"Up," Max growls, throwing my coat onto my chest. I groan and roll over, a lark chirping away in the distance. The sun was barely up. Max moves on to wake Gazzy and Iggy. Angel clung to Max's shirt tail, rubbing her eyes in fatigue. Her mother was packing stuff into a make-shift bag.

I scratch my head, shaking out my hair, feeling like a wild dog of some kind. It was strange sleeping in the forest, even after these few weeks. I missed my bed back home. But then I'm reminded that it's not my home any longer.

"We're leaving now," Max says, "Gazzy, can you draw a map for us to keep?"

"Of course, your Grace," and he scampers over to find cloth and ink salvaged from Cardinal North.

"Fang," she turns to me, "Make yourself useful. Help mom with the packing, find as many weapons as you can. There are jars of medicine by the campfire."

I nod and go help her mother. It surprised me when I saw a long sword in there next to the bows and daggers. "Where'd you get all this from?"

"Jeb showed us to the armory in Cardinal North," Max's mom said in a clipped, business like tone, "Go get the medicine. I need you to collect the cloth too from your sleeping mats."

"Right," I go over to the fire to get the medicine jars. They were filled with assorted colored berries and creams that couldn't be found in human territory. How much of this stuff have we killed off?

"Fang," Iggy pulls my elbow to get my attention.

"What is it?"

"This is going to be dangerous," he warns.

"What, not what you signed up for?" I joke.

"No, Max told me to track something. Something I don't have anything to go off of," he says underneath his breath.

"And what's that?" I smirk, enjoying my friend's helplessness. He's never had a real challenge before. It'll be healthy for him.

"I've been told to look for something called the Exemplar Facultas."

Max

"Are we ready?" I ask.

"Max," Angel says urgently, "Take a look."

It was Gazzy's map. It didn't just include the caves. It included every part of the known world. Including the land beyond the Forbidden Mountains. There was a word scripted there as well. Anrytor. It was the shifter word for unknown.

"This is amazing, Gazzy, how did you do this?"

"I don't know," he admitted, "I just saw it. And I drew it."

"This is great," I smile. I trace a path through the forests and around the lakes and across rivers. It'll take maybe five days on foot to get to Cardinal West. It would only take two if we flew. But considering we have humans traveling with us, we'll be slowed down.

"Thank you, your Grace."

"Just Max," I tell him.

"Let's go."

Fang

"What is the Exemplar Facultas?" I pull Max away from the group. She looks at me strangely.

"Where did you hear that from?"

"Iggy, who else?" I say, "Why is Iggy so troubled that he has to find it? Why do you need him to track it? What is it?"

"Wow, so many words in one breathe. Don't over-exert yourself there," she says with infuriating calm.

"Tell me."

She sighs and finally answers me, "Exemplar Facultas is a rumor. It's stupid but I need to find it. It's the origin of the shifters. It can turn into any form. Even animals that don't exist. It's ancient, older than anything. Its name literally means the Original Power. But no one has seen it in millennia."

"So why does Iggy need to track it?"

She smiles ruefully, "We need it. It's our only chance in this war. We're dying. The shifters are gone. Can you imagine this?"

"It's going to be dangerous isn't it?"

"That's what makes it fun," she laughs, "Or are you too chicken?"