CHAPTER 11 Part 1: I Won’t Fail... Not Again

We left the godforsaken desert just a few days ago, it was hard riding the wagon on the sandy plain so we walk throughout the day and camped out during the night.

Daytime was so hot that we could’ve dehydrated within minutes if it wasn’t for the abundant cacti present and during the night was so cold Tiffany had to use magic to keep us all warm, thankfully she had what I think was an endless supply of mana.

A week after and here we are in the meadow that is a day’s worth of travel towards the Kingdom of Niru, on the horizon was a silhouette of a castle reaching further into the sky than any other. The sight of colorful flowers remind me of Gadvell, my peaceful hometown before it was ravaged and destroyed. The smell was quite different from our village but still, it is quite welcoming. The swaying of grass as the morning wind blows felt like I was back in my childhood, careless and ignorant of reality.

I closed my eyes as the contraction of my lungs created a vacuum, pulling in the scent scattered everywhere, I felt the wind brushing the hair on the side of my face as it whispered into my ears softly.

[Damn… that’s nice.]

From where we stood tall stone walls surrounding Niru were in sight, no wooden gates or any gates block the entrance, though that maybe the case we were still quite far to be able to see what’s inside.

At the time I didn’t knew that it was one of the most peaceful time that I should’ve cherished.

No monsters were in sight and lots of wild animals that could provide us food. Honestly, I’m sick of the distasteful meat of monsters, they aren’t pleasing to my tongue, they stick on my teeth and rough to swallow, so I’m happy to not eat monster meat anytime soon.

“It’s so beautiful~” Yuna said as her eyes sparkled while she peeks out from the wagon looking at the flowers that we passed by.

“Yeah, it’s refreshing after spending a week on that desert” Luke said still guiding the horses, enjoying the view of the flowery meadow.

“We only have one day to enjoy the view and after that, 3 more days to reach the Capital” Tiffany said while scrutinizing the field.

“What do we do when we get inside? Do we book for an Inn?” I asked both Luke and Tiffany, inside the roofless wagon together with Yuna.

“I’ll try and reveal my identity to the King and Queen and hope that we can get a nice house for ourselves, usually it’s hard to get an audience with the royal family but I’m hoping that we can skip some steps just because I’m one of the 4 heroes and conveniently get ourselves some things to settle down with and admit you two to the Academy immediately.”

Ah, ‘the 4 heroes’, one of the RPG genre’s most classic tropes. You’d think that being called ‘one’ of the 4 heroes means that you’ve done a legendary quest to kill a certain demon lord or prevented a catastrophe but Tiffany explained during our travels that, that isn’t the case, they are just simply the strongest amongst their respective classes which is still amazing.

“You can do that? Even if we’re not in LouwenDale?” the one who asked that question was Yuna who had her head turned away from the flowers and to my long eared aunt, amazed at Tiffany’s authority.

“I don’t know yet but that’s why I’ll try, kiddo”

“What do we do if that plan failed?” I asked curious if she had a back up plan

“Then all we could do was accept reality and sleep in an affordable Inn, register in the Adventurer’s Guild, earn some money, and admit both of you to the Academy. It doesn’t really matter either way. It’s just easier and convenient if things went our way. But our priority for now, is getting a place to stay and registering both of you to the Adventurer’s Guild and get your Adventurer’s cards.” Aunt Tiffany shrugged, raising her shoulders.

“Yeah, I’d like to get a place to stay immediately, a nice and comfy bed to lay on, a nice view, and a warm and cozy bath would be nice too.” Yuna said daydreaming about the Inn we would stay in, holding her hands together.

“Then we better–” Luke stopped the wagon mid-sentence

We looked at where Luke was staring and saw a human boy around 10 years old, wearing some sort of uniform and looking lost. The boy had a light brown skin, short and curly hair, black eyes and a pair of black round eyeglasses that fit him well, he seemed to be slightly taller than me and Yuna. He had a way of carrying himself even though he was obviously lost.

“Um… excuse me sir, is it alright if I ask for a ride home?” the boy finally asked, his cheeks appeared to be more red than it would naturally look.

“Sure… but we were sort of in a hurry if it’s okay with you, we’d be going to the castle in the capital first” Luke answered

“I have a bad feeling about that guy…” Yuna warned me, coming closer and whispering into my ears.

“It’s fine… that’s where I live anyway” the boy smiled, he talked to Luke with so much respect that I thought Luke was some sort of savior or something.

“Sure, hop in!” Luke welcomed the brown-skinned boy

“So… where you guys from?” the boy asked while climbing up inside

“Gadvell of the kingdom of LouwenDale” I said giving the boy a hand

“What!”

“What so surprising about that?” I asked somewhat intrigued by the reaction he gave

“I’ve heard from the maids in the castle that the Demons recently destroyed LouwenDale… I’m not sure if you guys were affected but I’m sorry for the things you’ve experienced.”

“You guys get information quick, how is that even possible?”

“First of all it has been months since their attack, secondly, LouwenDale is the most powerful and most advance kingdom in the continent, having the Manasophy Academy and many magic tools developed by their researchers which helped every one in the continent, that is why LouwenDale is important and its destruction is a big deal”

“Ow… I didn’t know LouwenDale is that big of a deal…”

“And losing LouwenDale is causing panic within the castle…”

“…”

“So, what’s your name four eyes?” Tiffany asked not bothering to look back from the front

“Frod Geller, ma’am” he said respectfully

“Geller? You mean you’re the son of the King of Niru?!” Tiffany asked, now looking back, curious at the boy who wore a school uniform.

“…Yes, miss… oh you guys don’t have to bother…” he said somewhat reluctant to answer, stopping us from giving the prince our respect

“Why does the crowned prince doing outside the castle, 3 days away from home?” I asked knowing that princes and princesses aren’t allowed to leave

“Well… it gets suffocating sometimes, so when I get the chance I sneak out of the castle and see the world.”

“I see…”

“Anyway, I think I can pay you guys back for the trip home by helping you all with whatever you need… as long as it’s within my power.” Frod offered

“Can you help us with meeting the king and queen then?” Tiffany asked, her tone was full of respect

“Yes, I can!” Frod answered, his mouth curved into a smile

“Then sit back and enjoy the ride!” Luke said as he whipped the horses, resuming our trip

***

“So… you with that beauty over there?” Frod whispered after he took a seat next to me, gesturing with his head towards Yuna who was at the opposite end of the wagon now.

“Ah… no, she’s kinda like family to me” I answered whispering to his ear

“You should probably start confessing soon, if you two are planning to attend the academy, boys will start swarming her the moment she step inside. If you two dated both of you will enjoy your stay at the dorms… if you know what I mean hehe~” he said, bobbing his brows up and down and had this mischievous smile like an old man.

“The heck are you saying? we’re less than 10!” I furrowed my brows, still whispering

“Hey, the earlier the better, more years together, plus having someone there to support you whenever, is kind of nice and nothing beats a girl’s touch, just imagine ey~ hugging and comforting each oth—” he smirked looking at me as I remembered the night Yuna and me were comforting and hugging one another, averting my eyes.

“Seems like you already have~” still whispering he gave me a teasing smile, his elbow nudging my side.

“We never did such a thing!” I rolled my eyes as he laughed, getting the attention of Yuna who was still gazing at wildflowers, while Luke chuckled a bit.

“whacha talking about?” Yuna curiously asked tilting her head

“Oh, nothing just boy stuff haha” Frod answered giving me a hand.

“Yeah!” I followed up

“Ow… okay!” Yuna said strangely avoiding Frod’s gaze

“So… what’s her name anyway?” Frod asked, now curious of Yuna’s name

“Yuna… Yuna Crest”

“she’s beautiful, no? if you want, I can help you with her, you know as a wingman… uhhh…”

“Sura… Sura Pridesworth I… don’t really want that kind of relationship right now… with her or anyone” I answered awkwardly, still whispering not wanting anyone to hear

“Come on Sura! Not everyone can get close to someone as beautiful as her, if she were royalty, I’d get her for myself. Look at her wavy grey hair dancing in the spring wind, look at her shining bi-eyes as she gaze at those wildflowers, I know you looked directly at her eyes before, haven’t you fallen for her brown hazel eye and her sky-blue eye that look innocently as she stares back at you?”

“Frod, I don’t know why you’re saying all this but you’re stepping out of bounds, can you chill bro? we only just met moments ago” I said annoyed at how pushy he has been

“Ohh… I’m sorry… I just rarely talk to someone my age casually. People often get intimidated knowing I’m the prince so I rarely get the chance to talk to people my age…” He said apologizing

“Then why not lie?” I asked

“I’m not allowed to lie about ‘who I am’” Frod said emphasizing a certain part

“I see… well, I can’t really do anything about that… just… stop forcing me to fall for my friend.” I said

“So… can I be your friend as well?” he asked with puppy doll eyes

“Yeah… that would be fine”

“nice~”

We continued our journey through the meadow, Yuna avoided Frod the whole time we were traveling, not wanting to associate herself with the prince of Niru. Strangely enough, prince Frod was rather friendly towards all of us, he even gave Yuna her space knowing that she doesn’t like him somehow.

Our journey in the meadow was short and uneventful, thankfully the night was peaceful unlike any other. Yuna looked like she wanted to sleep next to me but didn’t because Frod was near, he acted like a chick repellent. Frod and I talked to each other suddenly becoming like close friends, talking about magic and sword arts. Surprisingly Frod was relatable for someone who couldn’t talk to people his age.

After Frod finally got to sleep, I stared blankly into the late-night sky, decorated by the thousand stars that dominated the dark indigo canvas, twinkling away from the reaches of my hand. The moon above gave light over the flowers of the meadow, creating a scenic view, perfect for a romantic stroll.

I sat up, pondering about my feelings towards Yuna, disturbed by Frod’s words, I thought about why I couldn’t fall for someone so young, remembering my real age and my younger sister Misaki.

[what would Misaki think if she were here and knew that I was considering having a relationship with someone younger than her... *Sigh* What am I even thinking…? I still have to get stronger… I still need to avenge my father. I got no time for love… I still need to protect my family, to protect the family my father left behind… I won’t fail… not again!]

Distractions may help sometimes. Love may give me strength but… I don’t think being overly reliant on someone will be healthy for me or Yuna, I’m not even emotionally stable.

I reminded myself of my responsibilities to my father and family, to get stronger, to be ready for any danger, to avenge my father, to kill the one responsible for the destruction of Gadvell and LouwenDale.

“I won’t fail you this time Griffin… I’ll protect our family.” I said under my breath

As I made my promise to myself and my father I opened the portal, the dimensional rift to summon the dagger my father left me, and held it in my arms, crying myself to sleep, buried by the seemingly impossible responsibilities that even my father couldn’t achieve. My real feelings resurfacing, feeling overwhelmed, I said to myself.

“I can do it…”

Then I fell asleep, eyes dry and mind empty.

***