Ch 6 - Healing
Back at the Academy, Master Hanate and Darling were discussing the events that had happened at the palace. When Tora arrived by way of purple mist, both turned sharply to look at him, struggling to stand, blood dripping from his wounds. Tora looked up at them, gave them a weak smile, and then collapsed on the ground. "Tora!" Darling shouted, as she and Hanate ran towards him. Hanate stooped down and picked him up gently off the ground. "Darling, we must get him to the infirmary," he said firmly, as they both rushed Tora into the infirmary.
When they had finally gotten inside and laid Tora down on one of the beds, Darling and Hanate faced each other. "I'm sorry sir, it's all my fault Tora got hurt. I abandoned him sir," she said, almost on the brink of tears. "Do not blame yourself Darling, Tora merely did his duty to you," he said gently. "But," she began, but was quickly interrupted by Hanate. "Darling," he said, "I am sure he will recover. He is strong. But, he did do his duty to you as your personal guard. As your guard, his duty is to protect you at all costs, no matter what." "I just feel so worthless and so helpless. I couldn't do anything. I hate it," she said bitterly, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.
"Darling, do not dwell on the past, it will do you no good," he said. "However, this behavior from your father is certainly disagreeable," he said. "I have known your father for many years, and I know that he is a wise and good king," he said. Darling looked up at Hanate, surprised by his comment. "I have known you for a very long time," he began. "Darling, I have seen you grow up from a tiny infant into the beautiful, courageous, young woman that you have become. Do not take me the wrong way, child, what your father did, banishing you from the castle grounds, was wrong. But, I do believe that his intentions were there. I believe that deep down, he wanted to protect his daughter, because you're the only one he has, and you are precious to him," he said.
"But, my father stripped Tora of his position as well. It isn't fair to him or to you," she said. "Do you not think that Tora understood that by defying the King to stay with you that there would be no consequences?" he asked, looking at Tora. "Tora was treated badly by his classmates," he said. "Due to him being at the top of the class, everyone became jealous of him, and in turn, hated him for his talent. Due to their treatment towards him, Tora became lonely, with only the goal of becoming the best paladin in the world holding him together. It's quite sad," he said wistfully.
Darling looked shocked to hear this, and looked at Tora, who remained still on the bed, bandages covering his chest, blood seeping through the gauze. "With this recent event, I actually feel proud of him. It seems that he has finally found someone worth fighting for, and to me, that outweighs everything else," he said looking back at Darling. After hearing this, Darling began to feel a sense of loneliness, realizing the broken relationship that she had with her father, compared to the relationship she saw before her.
"You love him, don't you?" she asked Hanate. "Of course, he is my son. But that doesn't mean your father doesn't love you any less," he told her. "In fact, your father and I may have our differences, but there is one thing that we have in common," he said. "What is it?" she asked, wondering what this loving, warm-hearted man could have in common with her cold, harsh father. "We both want to keep our children safe," he said. "Your father doesn't want you to hold a sword because he's afraid that one day, you'll go out looking for adventure, and never return. He will have lost you," he continued. "The same goes for me, as well. I know that Tora wants to become a great paladin someday, follow his destiny. But, I always fear for him whenever he goes off on adventures. Today's event had me especially worried. When I saw him, I was so scared that I had lost my only son," he said sadly.
Hanate looked down at his son, a small smile on his face as he looked at his heroic son. "I would assume that the King will probably come after you," he told her. "In that case, once you both set off, I will settle this issue with him," he said. "But, since the situation is quite tense right now, I want you and Tora to go into hiding right now." Walking up to Tora, Hanate held out his hands towards Tora, green, healing light covering the wound.
Suddenly, Darling and Hanate heard voices outside the infirmary. Darling ran to the window and looked outside. Students were looking outside at the entrance, where the King's Royal Guard were trying to push their way through the front gate. Darling looked at Hanate, "Sir, the Royal Guard is here," she said frantically. "Calm down," he said, lifting Tora up. Passing him to her, Hanate picked up a book of spells that he had received from the King a long time ago. Reading off a teleportation spell, he turned to face her. "I am sending you both to the Dark Forest," he said. "The Royal Guard will not find you there. I want you to go to Ever After High, a school for the children of Fairy Tale characters. There, Headmaster Grimm will help you," he told her. Finishing the spell, he walked out the front door, "I will make sure that they do not suspect that you were here," he said. "Good luck," Hanate ended, as purple mist once again surrounded Darling and Tora, as they were teleported into the Dark Forest.