“...aster? Young Master?”

“Huh?” Kieran looked around. They were still on the road toward Telash Castle.

“Young Master, are you alright? You were spacing out,” Teal said, walking next to him and his horse.

“Yeah, uh, I was just thinking.”

Just thinking huh? That’s what Alexandra said too…

“Well, I’m here if you ever need anything. Just let me know.”

“Thanks, Teal.”

The battle at Red Hills was three days ago. That meant Alexandra had been gone for two. Two days without seeing her at all. It just didn’t sit right with him.

They set up camp an hour later.

They were a little over half a day from Telash Castle. As Me’dun’s men had been in multiple battles in such a short span of time, they were to escort Kieran and his older brother to the castle before they themselves headed to Telash City to recover. Kalstras, though he was supposed to be under Kieran’s command, was temporarily handed over to the Overlord to hold the Red Hills until the funeral and ceremony for Akeron was finished.

While Teal set up his tent, he spent the time wandering like he’d been doing often lately. And, as was becoming common, he found someone also by himself. Telash Castle was built near a forest populating the side of a cliff. At the edge of that forest and cliff, Me’dun stared at the land below with his arms behind his back. “Is there something on your mind?” he asked when Kieran stepped next to him.

His legs went a bit weak at the sight. Heights were a big yikes, but it felt weird talking to his back. “How did you know Alexandra?”

He closed his eyes and let the wind streak across his face, “I know her from my days as a young, naive warrior. We served under the same man and fought many battles in the same unit.”

“How come she said she didn’t remember you.”

“She was always a cold one, Your Highness. Though you may not believe that.”

“Oh no, I believe you.”

He laughed, “Is that so? Well, is there anything else you wanted to know.”

“Do you know why she left? Why she quit?”

He thought for a moment, “No, there is no reason I can think of. When she first left the war seventeen years ago, none of us believed it.”

“Right. I’ve always wondered but was she really that big of a deal?”

“Yes. She was the most fearsome warrior I and many others have ever seen. She had a presence unlike any other, even before she became Blooded. Afterwards, she was unmatched. Her other nickname, more often used by the enemy, is indication enough of her prowess and the fear she struck in their hearts.”

“What is it?”

“The Herald of Death.”

“The Herald of Death? Sounds ominous.”

Me’dun continued, “She received it after a particularly bloody string of battles along the Vayson Mountains. At that point, she was already Blooded and thus was no longer a part of our unit as Blooded tend to act alone. The fighting went on for weeks. Skirmishes here, skirmishes there. We were being pushed back by their particular skittish style of harassment. Once they were confident they had whittled us down, their real assault came. We lost so many warriors… Then, they decided to send a Blood Demon, The Blood Demon. The enemy who had gained so much momentum was stopped in a span of days. Wherever she appeared, she heralded the death of thousands. She would perform Runs Through the Battlefield, taking lives left and right with a single swing of her claws.”

Kieran held his breath. A Run Through the Battlefield. That was essentially what that crimson knight at the Red Hills did. It was a reckless and stupid tactic, but one that was used nonetheless, that had a group of warriors or a single elite warrior act as bait or a shock troop. They waded into the enemy formation by themselves and would cause as much havoc as possible.

“Her reign of terror came to an end when two Blood Knights were sent to stop her. Do you know how the Haald Plains were created?”

“Of course. The gods fought and split it in two.”

“Yes. The Blood Demon’s battle against the two Blood Knights brought down half a mountain and created Devil’s Pass. When it ended, one of the Blood Knights lost their arm while the other was heavily wounded. The Blood Demon came back with horrible injuries, but acted as if they were naught but minor scrapes and bruises.”

Holy shit.

“Was it worse than she thought? Is that why she stopped fighting?”

Me’dun was quiet for awhile. “No, that isn’t why. Her last string of battles was at the Red Hills, Seventeen years ago.”

The place we were just at?

“Why’d she stop then? We took it over didn’t we?”

Me’dun nodded, “Yes, but I think this is not something for me to disclose. Best you speak with her yourself, Your Highness.”

He sighed, “If I ever see her again.”

“You will,” Me’dun said as he turned to walk away, indicating that he had nothing more to say on the matter.

“Wait, about that one song you sang before, The Archon’s song. Was its name really “Fading Light?”

Me’dun nodded, “I believe there are four names for it. Of the four, I only know of three. The first is of course, “Fading Light”, the second is, “The Oldest Dream”, and the third is... "The Longest Nightmare", I believe."

 

---

 

After escorting them to Telash Castle, Me’dun and the rest of the men thanked him for leading them, though he felt it was undeserved, and left for the city. All that were left were Drastan, his two men, and Kieran and Teal. They were greeted by the servants of the castle and led to their rooms.

“Everyone has arrived except for Lyla and Hansgath,” Drastan said, “Lyla needed to stop along the way and Hansgath was dealing with a sudden attack in the north. Regardless, they should both arrive tomorrow.” Disdain slowly etched itself onto his face as he raised his chin, “Mother should have brought clothes befitting of a funeral. Visit her and wear those tomorrow. If not then you shall be punished.”

As Drastan left, Kieran muttered, “What an asshole.” It was what he said basically after every single one of their talks. Surprisingly, Teal nodded along. Kieran gave her a sidelong glance.

“Pay him no mind, Young Master. The First Prince has always been lacking in understanding.”

“I don’t know if that’s okay to say.”

“T-There’s nothing wrong with speaking the truth…”

Kieran held back a grin and shrugged, “You’ve gotten bolder. A few years ago and I would have never heard a bad word out of your mouth.”

“It’s not like I swore or a-anything like that. I think I said something a bit harsh at worst.”

“You said my brother was ‘lacking in understanding’, I don’t know about you but that sounds a little more than harsh.”

“I-I uhm…” Teal sighed.

Kieran laughed. He missed these little moments of banter.

After having the servants carry their things into their room, Kieran went to see his mother while Teal stayed behind to tidy things up.

Though they went by different names, Telash Castle was looking more like Merak Castle by the second. The same dreary and empty stonehalls all worked toward bringing down his mood. Light peaked in from the thin windows, but the day was nearing its end already. Something about the glow of the afternoon never made him feel good.

“My Dear Kieran,” said his mother as wrapped him in a hug. His mother’s hugs, or hugs in general, always felt a bit alien to him. He’d never gotten much in his old life. Now, it felt just a little bit stranger. She was a full head shorter than him now and he couldn’t just respond with his old half-assed hugs and blame it on his short arms. “Here,” she said as she pulled away to grab a bundle of folded clothes. “These are your clothes for… tomorrow.”

Her appearance, though regal and still commanding, was tinged with an element of disarray. Dozens of loose strands stuck out from her usually neatly brushed hair and her dress was partly wrinkled all over. A sewing kit laid open on her desk, surrounding a doll with stuffing coming out of its arm and the fabric stained with dried blood.

“I was so worried when we sent you to Merak Castle. Even more so when I heard you were to lead an attack on the Tidal Valley Fortress. But you did it and came back! I know your brother wants you to continue to participate in this war, but I will speak with your father and see if we can arrange something else.”

“No need,” said a voice from behind. Standing by the door, was his father, the king. “You shall accompany your mother and I after this funeral.”

“Is it time already…?” asked his mother.

“Yes,” he replied.

Kieran looked between the two of them. Judging from his mother’s expression, this didn’t seem like something too good, “Uh, where are we going to go?”

“We shall return to the palace.”

He perked up a little. That didn’t sound too bad at all, though he wasn’t excited about being trapped in there again. Maybe he’d spend a little more time acting like his brothers did and try sneaking out a bit.

His mother grabbed his hand and placed a doll in it. It was the doll she had given him right before leaving for Loftus Manor. “Here, My Dear. In case something urgent comes up and you cannot join us back to the palace, at least keep this with you.”

“Thank you.”

 

---

 

“Welcome back, Young Master,” Teal said by the door.

He plopped down on his bed with a sigh.

“I-Is there something bothering you?”

“Well, yeah, a little bit. Mother and Father want me to accompany them back to the palace after the funeral.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? I took it you weren’t fond of war.”

“I’m not. Not at all. It’s just that I’m being pulled in a bunch of different directions and I’m a bit tired of it all. I just want to be left alone so I can sleep and read, and do whatever else I wanna do. I wanna have a full day where I’m not bugged by lessons or practice.”

Teal tentatively sat at the edge of his bed. “So you want to be free?”

“In a sense. Though I already know what Alexandra would say. She’d say something like ‘Young Master, you have lazed about for too much of your life already. You are a prince of this kingdom and as a prince you must focus on fulfilling your duties. No longer will you slack on your lessons and training. Stand up right now. We will spar.’”

Teal nodded with a small grin, “That does sound like something Alexandra would say.”

“Yeah.” Kieran gazed up at the dull, grey ceiling. “I wonder what she’s doing right now.”

“Me too.”

“At least when you two are around me, I feel like a prince. Otherwise, my entire family treats me as some kind of idiot. Though I don’t really blame them.”

Teal lowered her voice and tried mimicking Alexandra, “You cannot as they are correct. You lack drive, Young Master.”

They both burst out laughing.

“Hey, that was pretty good! But, I know that she’s kind of right. I don’t really have anything I want to pursue.”

When he first came into this world, he did want to do better than his previous life, but kind of got lost in all the details.

“Nothing that interests you at all?” Teal asked. “What about becoming a scholar?”

“I’m not really the book type, even though I’ve enjoyed reading more.”

“Then, a painter?”

“Have I ever held a brush in my life?”

Teal cupped her chin and thought for a while. The silence between them now didn’t feel tense or uncomfortable at all. In fact, he enjoyed it. Just being in the presence of someone he could talk freely with. It made him feel alive.

“If you can’t think of anything, Young Master, how about setting smaller goals?”

“Smaller goals, huh?”

“Yes! Instead of aiming to become a great commander or a renowned scholar, you set a short-term goal such as coming up with a plan for a battle or finishing a book in a day.”

“I’ve already done those things.”

She nodded, “Yes, but you hadn’t set out to do those things.”

He looked at her skeptically. “There’s a difference?”

“I believe so. I never expected to become your attendant, so it wasn’t a goal of mine. You could probably imagine my surprise when I was chosen by His and Her Majesty. Well, when I first started, I simply listened to my orders. I woke you up in the morning, I cleaned the palace, I read you stories, and more. It was a bit difficult at first, I’ll admit… The other maids weren’t accepting of me, especially because of my blessing, and I was terribly homesick,” her fingers gently caressed her horn. “But I kept going. I set little goals for myself and each time I met them, I started to believe that I could do it. And then, finally, I no longer felt out of place. Though I still make mistakes from time to time.”

“Everybody makes mistakes.”

“Yes,” she said with a smile as if to say, ‘that’s exactly it’. “Why not come up with a goal for yourself. Simple ones that might take a little courage, like mine were.”

“What were yours?”

“Wha-” Teal got flustered and waved the question away. “T-T-They were nothing special… Just telling myself to greet Alexandra, or something similar.”

Well, that’s definitely something that takes a little courage, I admit.

It also wasn’t the full story, but he wouldn’t press it if she didn’t want to share.

Her eyes lit up, “I know! It could be like that one time in the Loftus Manor when you set out to make those crutches for Miss Lilith.”

“Oh, I see. Then how about…” he thought for a moment, “going to a Mending Festival? I’ve never been to one of those, yet.”

“That sounds like an excellent goal! Next, you could perhaps leave on a pilgrimage to the northern temple, or request a small territory from your father to manage, or-”

“Uh, I think we should take this one step at a time. And probably smaller steps too.”

Her cheeks went red, “Ah, r-right… I was getting ahead of myself.”

Kieran mimicked Alexandra, “No, please continue. For once, I agree with you.”

They exchanged glances and once again, laughed.

“Well, it’s getting late,” Teal stood and went to the door.

She closed the door, but stopped before closing it fully. “Did you want me to sing you a lullaby?”

He snorted, “I’m not twelve anymore.”

She nodded with a slight grin, “Good night, Young Master.”

“Good night, Teal.”