The next morning doesn't seem any more peaceful or non-eventful than the day before when the kings had their meeting and when the locals of Theia were protesting in the city centre.

Words spread fast that they would soon have to bow down to an emperor.

The locals of Theia aren't too pleased. They'd expected more from their king, whom they always respect and look up to. Unfortunately, the respect had finally came to an immediate end once the decision is made. The locals know full well of their position, though; they are powerless. They can say nothing, do nothing, for they fear that their fate for betraying the king would be far worse than the fate they are currently being enforced unwillingly on.

That is, for the most of them. A minority of the locals -- despite nearly the entirety of Theia being against the idea -- who are brave enough to step forward, are currently protesting directly in front of the castle gates. In their minds, a theory: that since the king hasn't officially announced to the public regarding the matter yet, they still are not completely dead, even with the slightest possibility; in their hearts, a small fire of burning hope.

Meanwhile, Alastair sits in his study, obvious dark circles under his emotionless eyes, like he hadn't slept a wink. His posture is flaccid, his shoulders slouched and saggy; it is as if even the slightest wind would topple him. He remains in his seat like a statue, and no one really knows if he'd actually been there all night, not leaving the study at all.

He looks deep in thought, but his mind is really only empty. Despite his lack of consciousness demeanour, though, he is alert and aware. The noises outside, after all, can never be easily ignored, for they drift swiftly across the castle gates into the castle and finally drum in Alastair's ears.

Frowning, he calls for a guard. The guard bows, ready for an instruction.

"What is the uproar this early in the morning?" he questions, although he already has an idea in mind.

"Protests, your majesty," the guard says timidly, not lifting his head. "The locals are unhappy and are demonstrating."

Alastair heaves a long sigh, tiredly. It is rather unknown whether he is angry, frustrated, or just simply annoyed. The guard flinches ever so slightly. "And the situation?"

"They are not leaving until they hear from you, your majesty. They are demanding for an explanation."

Alastair rises from his seat suddenly, startling the guard. "Very well. I shall enlighten them," he says, making his way towards the doors of the study.

As he is about the pull open the doors, though, the doors open at the same time, and a woman enters the room rudely, with a man closely behind her along with two to three guards near them.

Alastair turns the to guard he was just speaking to. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Your majesty -- I apologise," one of the guards outside answers instead. "They forcefully barged in, seeking you -- they mean no harm, they are not armed."

"Your majesty!" the woman huffs, breathless and seemingly trying to contain a mixture of emotions: anger, worry, and fear. "Where is my daughter?" she asks like a demand, showing no shame of disrespect talking to the king directly. The man inches closer, comforting the woman who is now on the brink of tears.

"Pardon me?" Alastair asks, clearly confused.

"I asked -- where is my daughter? Rose, her highness's friend," Mrs Travis repeats with detail, her voice rising.

Alastair furrows his brows. "Are you mistaking something?"

"I am most definitely not. Shall I rephrase it to your understanding, your majesty? May I ask, when was the last time you seen the princess, her highness?"

"The princess has been in her room since last evening. I have ordered the guards to watch her closely."

"Are you certain, your majesty?"

Just then, a guard strides quickly into the open room. He stops in front of the king. "Pardon my intrusion, your majesty."

"What is it?" Alastair demands, frustration obvious in his tone. There are just too many matters rising out of thin air on a simple morning, all on his tray to deal with.

The guard looks hesitant to speak, uneasy. "Her highness, she --" he pauses, and he shuts his mouth then opens it again, finding the right words. Finally, he clears his throat and says, as calmly as he can, "the princess is nowhere to be found, she is not present in her room."

Alastair immediately turns back to the woman, anger taking over every other emotion he had felt before. "What were you trying to deliver?" he asks the woman he had been talking to impatiently.

Mrs Travis looks angrier than the king, if possible. She stares into his eyes fiercely. "Someone saw my daughter roaming the streets with her highness along with two other young men late in the night," she explains, "my daughter -- you are responsible for her safety! Return her to me! Where is she?" Her voice rises like a crescendo.

Unfortunately, Alastair does not have the slightest idea where his daughter had gone, let alone her child who was with Alaina. Without an answer to deliver, he turns to the guard who had just delivered the news. "I had asked of you to watch her closely, to ensure she does not exit the room, let alone the palace. Did I not make myself clear?"

"Your majesty, her highness wished for us not to disturb and --"

"And how could you have not noticed?" Alastair sighs, shaking his head. Flicking his hand and turning away, he says, "please see to it that they leave."

He glances one last time at Rose's parents; Mrs Travis shouting in protest as Mr Travis tries to calm her gently. "Please rest assured that I shall be looking into this matter, immediately after I address the locals formally," he reassures them, and turning to the guards nearby, he says, "please make preparations for my entrance to the city."

?????

"We've been walking for ages!"

"By my calculations, we should be in Caelus before nightfall. If, in any case, we were to be delayed by unfortunate events, we can simply stop nearby -- I've studied the maps, many times, and there are many taverns between Theia and Caelus. We can rest and gather information at the same time."

"Stop complaining, you. Are you regretting ever joining us in the first place, now? Need I accompany you back to Theia?" Lancaster frowns at nearly the twentieth complaint since they exited the kingdom. Turning to Lloyd, who is fumbling in his bag for something and muttering to himself while using his other free hand to make some sort of calculation, he says with clear irritation in his voice, "and will you please stop being an insufferable know-it-all?" Lancaster runs his fingers through his hair very quickly, as if his words and tone are not enough to convey the message that he is extremely frustrated.

"But I do know nearly everything," Lloyd replies, his head up high.

"Nearly?" Rose questions.

"Nearly," Lloyd repeats. "You can't be too sure, and knowledge is as vast as an infinite sea."

"What is the point of knowing everything," Lancaster butts in, "if you have zero practical skills?" he asks, though it sounds more like a challenge, and to Lloyd, no less.

"Are you saying I don't?"

"Do you?"

"What do you think?"

"You know better yourself."

"Will you two please knock it off?" Alaina comes between them, her voice loud and stern, pushing them away from each other as they were nearly nose to nose. She had long lost count on the many times they break into a fight seemingly out of nowhere, out of no particular logical explanation. She honestly doesn't exactly know how much longer she would be able to stop them before they rip each other apart completely.

"As per her highness' wishes, I shall back down," Lancaster says, retreating. "Otherwise..." he glares at Lloyd.

"Lancaster," Alaina stops him.

He turns away, muttering under his breath, "why did we even allow him to tag along?"

But Lloyd hears it crystal clearly, and is too full of pride to let it simply slip away. Adjusting his glasses, he says, "well then, other than travelling to the Kingdom of Caelus, what else do you have planned in mind, if you don't even have the slightest bit of idea what you're going up against? What information do you even have, to begin searching for answers?"

"That is why we are going to Caelus in the first place," Lancaster says, trying not to raise his voice, because Alaina had already warned him -- twice, in fact -- to stop arguing with Lloyd. "We are going to start there."

Lloyd seems pleased at his answer. He searches through his bag, and then pulls out a sheet of paper. "At least, I'm sensible enough to know I can simply start here," he brandishes the paper over at Lancaster. "Bet you'd forgotten that everything started with this pure, innocent piece of paper."

Lancaster examines the paper still in Lloyd's hand curiously. It is the paper that could be found all over Theia: the paper proclaiming the formation of a new empire, with a sinister looking man right in the centre of the paper. Lancaster maintains his calm expression, although he is lost for words inside, somewhat thanking Lloyd for this simple reminder. Caecilius Black, he remembers, the name of the man -- the trigger to everything happening now.

Refusing to acknowledge him, Lancaster simply says, "thank you very much, for bringing that along; we might as well need it."

"The time will come, when you need me," Lloyd replies.

Alaina and Rose exchange glances, feeling the increasing tension between the both of them. After a moment of awkward silence, Alaina clears her throat. "Why don't we - uh - move on? We won't be able to reach Caelus anytime soon if we continue to just hang around here," she nudges Rose with her elbow, "right, Rose?"

"What Alaina said," Rose adds quickly.

"Right, your highness," Lancaster finally says, walking ahead.

As they proceed, Lancaster and Lloyd keep an obvious distance between themselves, with Alaina and Rose following worriedly close behind. Alaina wishes that -- despite the very warm weather -- she can somehow put an end to this coldness she's feeling. When will they set aside their differences and start acknowledging the other's strengths?

But her thoughts are being interrupted by loud voices she hears nearby. She isn't the only one who noticed, because Lancaster, who was walking way in the front, stops in his tracks and turns back to them questioningly.

"We must be getting close," Lloyd says between the silence only broken by the voices and chattering up ahead, "to a tavern."

"A tavern?" Rose asks Lloyd, a hint of gleam in her eyes. "Can we go? Please? I haven't been to one before!"

"No," says Lancaster immediately. "We are to head to our destination as soon as possible, before nightfall. Besides, how sure are we, that a tavern is up ahead? It could just be a group of travellers -- like us."

"I'm positive," says Lloyd. "I've studied the maps --"

"Many times," Alaina interrupts, earning looks from all three of the others. "And I agree with Lancaster. We shouldn't be bothered, to be distracted so simply --"

"Travellers!"

Two men appear from behind them, one with a unique dragon tattoo up along his left arm that Alaina and the rest do not fail to notice.

"Looking for a place?" one of the men asks.

"No - uh - well, we..." Alaina stops as she tries to find the right words, "no, we're fine, thank you."

The man who'd asked the question shrugs, looking over to the man with the dragon tattoo. At the sight of the man with the dragon tattoo's stern eyes, Alaina immediately swears to herself that this man is not one to cross.

"There's a really crowded and very entertaining tavern up ahead, you know," the friendlier man says. "Stop by. May be able to aid you on your journey -- a casual resting spot with drinks, food supplies, and heck, some simple weaponry... oh, even the best and latest informations and gossips, current talks of the kingdoms and stuff. Lots of random informants hang around lately."

At the mention of information, not only Lloyd perks, the others immediately pay their full attentions to the man. Unfortunately, though, the man is done talking.

"See ya around, maybe," he bids farewell, walking out of sight with the tattooed man.

"Information," Lloyd repeats, processing his thoughts. "Informants. We might benefit from them," he suggests, looking around at the others for their support.

"So we do get to visit a tavern after all!" Rose perks happily.

"It should be just right ahead, if I'm not mistaken," Lloyd presses on. "We can follow the voices to their source."

"Well then, your highness?" Lancaster asks for approval from the princess herself.

After a long thought, Alaina says, "doesn't hurt to try, I guess."