Dawn- An age of Darkness

"No one knows. If they were easy enough to find, they wouldn\'t be called mystic, now would they?"

Then how the hell, am I supposed to find them? Ignoring everything I continued to display my ignorance. "That makes sense? What are they, exactly?"

Beatrine picked up. "There are a bunch of legends about them. Some say the three pieces are: a sword, spear, and shield. Some say a bow, armor and sword. Some even say they are: a helmet, shin guards, and sword! Frankly, the legends are all over the place." She got a little excited over the legends. She immediately controlled it and acted all dignified again.

Is it me or the sword shows up in every legend? "I see. So the legends are not that trustworthy," I said.

"Anyway, you should first head to the capital. I believe my brother would be very welcoming of you and definitely give you resources such as money, equipment, and protection," Beatrine said. Then she smiled. "Besides we already have a special sword in the capital. And I assure you, it\'s very powerful." And a very tempting offer too.

Gorgan decided to butt in again. "Yes, and I\'ll also recommend you to the church for the special training."

So that\'s your plan. I knew something was up when I was showered with praise and potions. I knew it and it all came down as I expected. However, it wasn\'t all that bad. I had planned to go to the capital anyway. And now I\'d have Gorgan\'s recommendation as well. It was the best reward I could ask for. But my mind was made up.

"Sorry, but I already have a place in mind," I said.

"That would be?"

"Alfeim."

Beatrine\'s face stiffened a little. One of her veins on her forehead popped up. It was uncomfortable. "I see. So that brat was poisoning you all along."

From mere context, I could understand that relations between men and elves weren\'t too hot. But in that case why were the elves here in the first place? What\'s more, they were betrayed. If the princess didn\'t handle the situation properly this could get a lot more complicated. I wouldn\'t be surprised if war broke out over this.

Something must have happened between these guys.

"I don\'t think you should speak of someone like that in their absence, princess," a voice said. Someone was present inside the room and we hadn\'t even noticed before. But I did recognize the voice.

"How did you get in here?" The princess looked flustered.

"You didn\'t forget I possess magic did you?" It was the elf boy: his voice, haughtier than usual. He had a determined look. The knights tried to surround him but Beatrine signaled them not to.

He came close to the throne and bowed. "Princess Beatrine, please. Give me one of your prototype vessels. I give you my word, I will repay this debt."

"I believe I\'ve already made myself clear. I can\'t do that. That vessel is a prototype and a national treasure. Besides, it doesn\'t even work properly."

The debate got heated and without a doubt, things didn\'t really look all that great. Sigh* what the hell am I supposed to do now? "Excuse me, what is this prototype vessel we\'ve been talking about?" I was obviously the only one who had no idea what was going on here.

"It\'s a boat that uses steam instead of conventional methods,"Gorgan said.

"So, it\'s a boat powered by a steam engine?" I didn\'t think my predictions would end up being true but that might have been a blessing in disguise.

"You know of it?" Gorgan seemed a little surprised.

"Yeah, of course." Obviously, I knew about it. I had a passion for everything 19th century.

Actually, everybody was somewhat surprised. The princess however wore a dignified smile. "What do you say- you pay a visit and check it out?"

"Sure." It was a good opportunity. That way I could verify things as well.

"Gorgan, lead him to old man Zeorando\'s place. I believe we\'ve found the last piece of the puzzle." Beatrine seemed too sure of herself.

I took a gamble and prepared myself. "Tell me, princess, if the boat works, would you let me borrow it and travel to Alfeim? If so, then I\'d visit the capital just like you asked."

It was worth a shot. If she really wanted me in the capital then she\'d agree. But I prepared myself for more requests. I didn\'t think she\'d agree easily.

"So your intention was that all along? Very well. If you can make it work, I\'d grant you a passage to Alfeim. But-" She agreed faster than I\'d expected and that caught me off-guard. With a gulp, I waited. What conditions would she instruct? Her serious expression subsided. She wore a gentle smile like the one she\'d shown me when she came to visit me when I\'d woken up. "Be sure to travel safely and gather the equipment along with the skills."

It took me by surprise. But she seemed genuinely concerned about me. Maybe I\'d misjudged her. She might be nicer than I thought.

"I actually have two more requests…" I didn\'t know how I could bring this up. I wasn\'t really great at negotiating. I could bargain at a store, but negotiating was just not my thing.

"Let\'s hear them." Beatrine however, didn\'t shot me down.

"There\'s a village just south of the big mountains that way." I wasn\'t making sense, but hopefully, they knew what I was talking about. "They were suffering quite a lot from curses. Could you provide a priest so that-"

"And? What\'s the second one?" Beatrine didn\'t even blink.

So I can assume it was just granted? Just like that? "The second one is a little tricky." I concealed my awkwardness and acted a little more serious. "I think it would be best for this city to not let another slum happen. Of course, you know what I mean."

Most of the nobles grimaced while the knights had faint grins. From the looks of it, I had plenty of support.

"I\'ll take it into consideration. The first one, however, I\'ll ask the church myself." Beatrine\'s smile was no more and she just stared at me with utter seriousness. She really was a princess. Her royal attitude was on another level from what she\'d shown me before. "However, I\'d expect you to be at least more favorable to our nation."

I smiled. I\'d achieved all of my goals and with relatively good results. "Of course. Alright then, I\'d take my leave now," I said.

"Yes, please be careful. And prince, Araan, stop feeding him lies," she said looking at the elf boy.

The elf boy gave a stare to the princess and looked at me. He was unnerved.

My eyes twitched. Just what the hell had I gotten myself into? "Prince!!!"

"Sorry I hid that from you," he said.

The look on the princess\'s face made me stay on the edge. She was right and she knew it. That\'s how confident she was. After all, the elf boy really did lie to me but under normal circumstances, I\'d have done the same.

Something was definitely up but I was still glad.

I made a gesture of lowering my head but I couldn\'t lower it. "Thank you Beatri- You\'re Highness."

"You\'re welcome." Her usual smile was back.

I wanted to thank her some more but Gorgan hastily led me out of the room. He sighed and stared at me and the prince.

Once outside I talked with the elf boy. He seemed rather cheered up. "Why didn\'t you tell me you were a prince?"

"I missed my timing. Anyway, good luck." He too left hastily.

I didn\'t blame him. Under those circumstances, no one would give their identity to a random stranger, even if he (me) saved his life.

So that\'s what that bitch meant by not being able to kill the prince! I really hated that female demon.

I was pretty busted so we rested by the royal garden before setting out. It was a pretty sight. Only I and Gorgan were here. Some gardeners were in the distance but they were far enough to not hear our conversation.

"I didn\'t know he was a prince either: I\'d heard that he was a high-ranking noble in the empire. I don\'t know how much you trust them, but know this that the elves have done a lot of horrible things in the past."

I knew where he was coming from. The history book I\'d read said something like that too. If they were peaceful they were the calmest but if they were angered they\'d be worse than demons. So I didn\'t boycott him. And I didn\'t reply either.

He didn\'t like my silence and questioned me instead. "So you\'re telling me that spell wasn\'t yours?"

I was taken aback. "You don\'t believe me?"

"Frankly I don\'t want to. If you were capable of doing that much, I could hope you would do well but-"He paused and sighed.

"Well, I suppose you\'re right."

"But even so, you defeated a Monarch, on your last legs. I think you still have a shot. You just have to prepare well."

I sighed. "I suppose you\'re right. But we achieved that together. So don\'t give me all that credit." Besides, that female demon had said something about the shark face being the weakest of the bunch. If wasn\'t even laughable anymore. The weakest? My ass! He was nothing like anything I\'d fought before. If it wasn\'t for the elixir and a stroke of luck I\'d be dead ten times over.

And more importantly, I didn\'t have any more of that elixir. So I didn\'t really have all that much confidence. I still kept the empty bottle though. Thinking back on the elixir, just who was that man? I still didn\'t know anything about him.

"You really are modest, huh?" Gorgan laughed. His laugh was surprisingly pleasant: on a cold night in hell that is.. "But as I said, don\'t trust the elves too much."