Issima took the boy to the dancing area near the musicians, holding his hand all the while.

She turned to look at him, he was tall and robust, his hand was soft but firm. Issima was confused by the aura he projected; he had the athletic body of a warrior, but he didn’t have the smell of blood that killers possessed. This young man walked without checking his surroundings, something any trained warrior of the desert would, but he didn’t have any obvious opening on him, Issima was sure that if she attacked him right now, he would be able to react, that’s what her instincts told her.

He should have some status too, since he was eating at the same table as an Elder Hunter and a Prince, although his assistance during the horde incident today might explain it to some extent, there must be something more.

And above all else, the way his eyes had pierced through them during the Dance of Four Forms; it was impossible for an ordinary person to do that.

She had decided to come and find out by herself.

Her companions were eating and drinking while having conversations with people who gathered here, they had thought that waiting for the appropriate chance to talk with this person in private was best, and they knew that Elder Edek would be speaking to Prince Amir in a while, but Issima didn’t want to wait.

So she went to the table and offered a dance.

Back home, men and women would fight over the chance of sharing time with her, but most of those were insincere with ulterior motives, either lusting after her body or her status within the Clan. Issima had very few people she trusted and valued as friends, it was unheard of that she would go to someone else to invite them to any activity, much less a stranger.

But this was the best excuse she came up with at the moment, and it had worked, thanks to the convenient white lie by the Elder Hunter; he probably had lied just to have fun at expense of young people or maybe he wanted to chat in private with the Prince, but it didn’t matter, that help was welcomed.

Now she could talk with him alone and sate her curiosity. True, it wasn’t ideal, but they could always dance away from others and go for a quieter place to have a conversation.

She wanted to know, she needed to know who was this person and what was it that stimulated them during the Dance of Four Forms. And most importantly, she wanted to know what did he see when he watched the dance.

Issima pondered about how to properly ask her questions as they reached the dancing area; few people were dancing but the music was already filling the plaza, more people would start joining them soon.

The few couples currently dancing were quite a distance from each other, leaving room for a bit of privacy in their conversations. Issima stopped walking and turned around, just in time to see him halt his steps in a fluid motion. He didn’t stagger or flinch in surprise either, he simply stopped as if he had planned ahead to stop at that place.

The thought amused her a bit, then she noticed he was looking at her with a mixture of expectancy and shyness, he was probably feeling awkward because of her and the dancing.

“So…”

“So…”

They both started and stopped, and now Issima was feeling awkward too.

“Please, Miss Issima, go ahead.”

“Thank you, and just ‘Issima’ is fine.”

She looked up at him and smiled, he blinked and avoided meeting her eyes. Was he embarrassed?

“Hmm, alright. What did you want to say, Issima?”

“I wanted to tell you what the dance moves are. It’s not too complex for this type of song; it’s more about keeping the pace rather than the fluid movements, although if we stay for a while there will be more rapid dances.”

“Ah… I-I see.”

The boy showed a forced smile; he really wasn’t much excited at the prospect of dancing, eh?

She noticed he was looking around the dance area, his gaze was on the other dancers, the couples happily dancing repeating moves that they had learned as little kids. Everyone on the desert lands knew these songs and the corresponding dances, but this young man in front of her was a foreigner, she had to be patient.

Asking questions while he was in an uncomfortable situation might be useful, but she didn’t want him to get angry out of embarrassment and leave.

“This is how we dance; first, you do this…”

“What do you think of Ethan, Elder Kareb?” Amir asked after putting down a cup of wine.

Ethan and the princess of the Sword Dancers left a few minutes ago. That the people from Thaliss were interested in him wasn’t much of a surprise, any person with half a decent net of informants was trying to gain information about the foreign boy who drove out the beast horde, but that she came personally and so openly instead of a quiet inquiry made Amir think it was a personal matter.

Could the girl be interested in Ethan? It was unlikely that there was romance involved, since they had never met before. But there was something he was missing here, and the Prince didn’t like being left out of information.

“Do you ask me my opinion as a person, or as an Elder Hunter of Lauhr City?”

Kareb turned to look at the prince.

The expression on Amir’s face was relaxed but there was a sharp seriousness on his eyes.

“I ask you in my position of Prince of Sahbadia, what is your opinion about the foreigner Ethan Bhreg?”

Kareb looked at the prince for a moment before nodding, he finished his cup of wine while ordering his thoughts and began talking.

“It is inconclusive, Your Highness. We can’t outright consider him a threat, as he has actually helped us so we owe him a favor, but he is an unknown factor. A foreigner of unknown origin and skill, we do not know his purpose or the level of strength of his backer, and he definitely has a backer, whether it’s that Master he keeps mentioning or a larger organization, we do not know.”

Amir remained silent, waiting for Kareb to continue.

“Before coming here, I checked his body; nothing too obvious, just palming him to see how strong his muscles are. What I found out showed me that this kid is not normal at all.”

Kareb grabbed the bottle of wine and refilled his cup.

“His body is developed in a way that can only be achieved by dedicating years into training constantly, which is confusing, since he doesn’t exactly give off the aura of an experienced fighter, but he definitely must have trained for a long time to have that body. Moreover, it was done appropriately so he wouldn’t develop useless mass, he doesn’t sacrifice speed for strength, maintaining balance.”

“So he had an intense training regime. Interesting, but not particularly important.”

Amir commented while looking into the distance.

“Right, but that’s not all, Your Highness. His body feels dense in a way that only a mountain would, he is not just a body-builder, he is like a concentration of massive strength on a human frame, ready to explode in motion at his command. He wasn’t trained by some random pushover but a skilled teacher, and those are not commonly alone. Like I said before, he might be a member of a larger organization, whether it is a school of martial arts and from which country, it’s still unknown, he said his Master is capable of that advanced translation spell, but that’s not an accurate grasp of their level of skill or nature.”

“And a powerful spell caster training a martial artist makes no sense, unless his physical constitution is the result of some exotic magic… More and more questions, each time we learn something about him, more unknowns appear.”

The prince sighed while shaking his head and turned to look again to the Elder Hunter.

“What do we know, then?”

“Judging by personality and behavior, he is an honest kid, well-mannered, and the friendly type that likes to help others, though he seems to have experienced some tragedy in the past, the nature of which is unknown. Whether his Master or the organization behind him have any scheme, he is not part of it consciously, at least for now. I can only advise that we befriend him for now; there’s no harm in that and having him under observation by the Kingdom will be more useful than taking hostile actions right now.”

Upon hearing Kareb’s words, Amir nodded in agreement.

“I don’t like having unknown or unpredictable factors inside the Kingdom, but making enemies needlessly is not something I want; I doubt he will take on my offer on joining my entourage towards the capital. If he remains here by the time I’m gone, you will need to supervise him, Elder.”

“By your will, Your Highness.”

Kareb bowed his head, this was an order he had expected. He didn’t think Ethan was an enemy or a member of a hostile influence, but he knew that it was better to be cautious. He was curious about the kid and it would be better if he was the one assigned to watching over him than leaving the job to someone who might pointlessly antagonize Ethan.

This was the optimal choice for them right now.

Kareb watched as the prince’s face turned devoid of all emotion and knew that the next subject would be something very serious.

“Also, no matter how curious we are about this mysterious young man, it doesn’t change the fact that we have been attacked, and it does not affect our plans. I will report this situation to His Majesty and will reinforce this area, I still have not received a response from the border troops that should have spotted and stopped that Feld-Ehian battalion.”

Both men’s eyes turned cold at the implications. If the troops could not be contacted, they were either compromised or traitorous, neither of which was a good prospect, it was impossible for the army Division to be wiped out silently, and if they rebelled against the Kingdom the matter would only get worse.

Right now they could only hope that there was some issue in communication or some problem arose that occupied them from detecting and responding to the threat of the enemy battalion.

“So, what now, Your Highness?”

Asked Kareb, all trace of amiability gone from his face, yet his eyes blazed with the fire of a lifetime of battles, a veteran Hunter expecting information about his next prey, preparing to lay a trap for it.

“Now,” said the Prince of Sahbadia in a cold voice. “We wait for General Jiten to return.”

He watched into the distance, at the other side of the plaza, where a robust man with gray beard and dark hair, Elder Edek of Thaliss, walked with calm steps towards them.

“And we prepare for war.”