Theyoung Prince Farli Isonil slept soundly in the royal chambers of the BeranianCastle. He was tucked in under four layers of blankets to help fight back thecold breeze that always came around late Autumn. All was silent except for thegentle breeze that blew against the windows.
Butnot all was silent in the castle. An old man approached the royal chambers,walking down one of the many long corridors of the castle. He was a man who hadseen many years, more than most can imagine, a respected scholar who had beeneverywhere in the world at least once. His half-moon spectacles covered eyesfull of wisdom, and his short white beard and balding head were anunderstatement to his true age. When he reached the royal chambers, the guardsout front allowed him to pass through.
PrinceFarli awoke to the intrusion, the soft clickof the doors opening and closing again. Who would be visiting him at this timeof night? He looked out his window and saw the shadows of night still cloakingthe castle outside. It must have been only an hour or two past midnight. Hisfirst thoughts were that someone was coming to assassinate him, but he was surethat he still heard his guards’ voices outside the doors. They wouldn’t allowan assassin to pass through. Would they?
Hesat up quickly in bed, throwing away his covers and reaching for the dagger onhis bedside table that never went too far from his side. A figure approachedahead of him, rounding the short corridor that led out to the main corridorwithout. Moonlight streamed in from the window to his right and faintlyilluminated the figure.
Andinstantly, Farli knew who it was.
“Professor?”said the prince hesitantly.
Thefigure lit a candlestick by the wall, and his identity was revealed. “Farli,”he said, his voice low and soft in the stillness of night, “how did yousleep?”
Thequestion surprised Farli. A better question was why the Professor was in hisroom. “I slept well,” he replied. He had known the Professor all his life and knewbetter than to be rude to him even if he intruded his personal quarters.
“Good,”said the Professor. “You’ll need all the sleep you can get.” He walked over toFarli’s wardrobe and began scavenging through the clothes.
Farliwas still a little dazed from his abrupt awakening, and he felt as if he was insome strange dream. “Uh, Professor,” he said, “what’s going on?” He turned tohis right and let his legs hang out over the side of the bed.
TheProfessor stood for a moment, examining the clothes in the wardrobe andtwirling his beard as if in thought. “Well, right now, I’m helping you pack.”
Farliraised his eyebrow, confused. “What for?”
TheProfessor took out a few pair of clothes and began filling a pack with them. Farlinow noticed that the Professor was caring a pack on his back as well, full ofsupplies for a trip. The Professor stopped after a few clothes were packed andturned to Farli. “Farli, I know this is very sudden and surprising, but we needto move. There’s no time to explain. I need to get you out of Berania.”
Farliwas shocked. He jumped to his feet instantly. “Professor, what are you talkingabout?”
Theold man sighed. “I am sorry, my lad, very sorry, but we live in dangeroustimes. I believe there is a plot against the royal line. The enemy is here inthe castle, and he will not stop until you and your father are overthrown.”
Theprince couldn’t believe it. What plot? What enemy? He couldn’t think ofanything to say before the Professor handed him the pack and ordered him topack whatever he wished to bring.
Farlisearched his room. He would like to bring everything, of course. But that wasimpossible, and by the tone of the Professor’s voice and his intense focus, it lookedlike they did not have much time.
Hetook a moment to look out the window and caught his transparent reflection. Hisshort dark hair was in disarray after just waking up, but he stood with aposture that showed just who he was, the son of the Great King Broniton Isonil,the Prince of Sargenia. He had a lean figure, his body grown muscular over themany years of training he had received from the Beranian guards. He was a youngadult, twenty years of age, still a child in comparison to his very elderlyfather.
Hesighed and continued looking around the room. As he looked through his manydrawers and belongings, he thought of the abrupt way the world always changed,the way the gods always seemed to play games with mortals. Everyone was just apawn in this world. It reminded him of the day his mother died. That was the firstof the many moments that shook his world upside down. This thought reminded himof the one thing he knew he had to bring with him.
Hepulled out the top drawer of his bedside table and took out an old piece ofleather, an aged scrap that looked as if it would crumble at any moment. On thepaper was a drawn, detailed illustration of the face of a beautiful young womanthat he loved but could not have. The woman had long blonde hair that rolleddown her shoulders and framed her face. Her face had delicate features: a thin,sweet smile, a small, straight nose, and deep blue eyes that looked into thesoul.
Salandra.
Hetook the illustration and gently rolled it up and placed it in the pack. Shewas far away, too far away for any normal mortal to go. She was gone, and thechances of her ever returning to Sargenia were very slim. He wondered where hislife was going for a moment and shook his head in dismay.
Anothermain object that he went to grab was the dagger that never left his side. Itwas the weapon that he had been first trained to use, and he trusted it as muchas he would trust a sword.
Whenhe was finished grabbing everything he could think of packing, he turned to theProfessor. “Where are we going?” he asked, hoping to get some answers from the alwaysmysterious old man.
TheProfessor led him over to the short corridor that led to the exit. “I will helpyou leave the castle and then you must go to Salras,” he said. “Do youunderstand? There can be no argument against this.”
Salras?thought Farli. Of all the places in Sargenia he knew he didn’t want to returnthere. Too many memories…. But he knew if there really was a plot against theroyal family then Salras would be the best place to hide.
“Allright,” he replied and readied the pack on his shoulder as they began walkingto the doors. He was nervous and shaky, the full realization of everything thatwas happening coming in on him slowly as they began to approach the doors. Thiswas his home; he may never return if what the Professor was saying was true. Atear came to his eye, unbidden, and he tried to hide his face from theProfessor.
TheProfessor turned to him, as if sensing the sadness welling up inside of Farli.He placed his hands on Farli’s shoulders and looked solemnly at him. “Farli,Sargenia’s young prince, you must be brave now,” he said, his eyes glisteningwith a mixture of kindness and sadness that could be found nowhere else in thecold world they lived in. “This is what I have been training you for all ofyour life. We are both about to be thrust into situations that neither of uscan take control of. We must be ready to do what we can.
“Butjust remember this, Farli, I will always be there for you. I may not be thereto support you physically, but all that I have taught you over the years willbe with you… always.”
Farlifelt tears going down his face freely, and he wiped them away. He could replace nowords to say so he simply nodded his understanding. He felt as if the Professorwas hiding something though, as if there was more to all that was happeningother than just some plot against the royal family, something much worse. Butit was in the Professor’s nature to keep important secrets to himself. It wasthe smart man’s game to stay silent as he watched and thought all that played out.All Farli could do was try his best to trust the Professor, no matter howfrustrating it might be.
“Professor,”said Farli in a weak voice that wanted to crack into a sob, “what about myfather?”
TheProfessor looked past Farli with a distant look for a second and turned away toface the doors again. “King Broniton will have to stay here. My duty right nowis to make sure you are safe.” He stood with his head bowed slightly to theground and his back to Farli, as if he was talking to him from a faraway world.“I will try my hardest to protect your father,” he added, his voice slightlyhesitant.
Thehesitancy in the Professor’s voice was all Farli needed to confirm hissuspicions. There were secrets here, he knew for sure now. The Professor knewsomething that he wasn’t saying, something that endangered the king.
“Whatare you talking about?!” yelled Farli in a hushed tone, a sudden rage fillinghim. “If there’s a plot against my family why don’t you bring my father toSalras too? He’s the only family I have left!”
Farliwas livid with anger as he glared at the Professor, but the Professor simplycontinued to stare at the floor. “I’m sorry, Farli,” said the Professor. “Youneed to escape now.”
“Idon’t understand.” A cluster of different thoughts ran through Farli’s mind ashe paused for a moment. “You’re trying to get rid of me.”
Theaccusation caused a tense silence between them. After a few seconds of silencethat made Farli think the Professor wasn’t going to reply, the Professorunexpectedly turned to face Farli. With stern eyes, the Professor shot him witha deadly stare. “Don’t you ever even think about what you are implying everagain! Never in my many years serving Sargenia or any of the other AncientKingdoms of Sarbenia have I ever considered going against our kings and queens.So get the idea out of your head right now, young prince, because everything Ido, I do for you, you and all of the other Sargenians.”
PrinceFarli was speechless as he stared at the suddenly enraged Professor. “I-I’msorry,” was all he could say.
Anawkward silence overtook them as they stared at each other. After a moment, theProfessor softened down again. “It’s fine. I understand you are in a difficultposition.”
TheProfessor turned back to the doors. “We must go now.”
Farlirelented and followed the Professor to the doors. “Aren’t the guards going tostop us?” he asked in a whisper.
“Yes,but it’ll be easy to sneak past them.”
Farlididn’t see how, but he had to trust the Professor. There was nothing else hecould do at that point. The Professor opened the door slightly to peek throughthe crack. The two guards were still outside, ever vigilant, scanning thecorridor for threats. He made a small gesture with his hand and a bright,blinding flash of white light appeared on the other side of the door. Farlididn’t know what the source of the light was, but he understood the Professor’splan. Quickly, the Professor slipped past the door, leading Farli past the twoguards as they dropped their weapons and covered their eyes in pain.
“Whatwas that light?” asked Farli when they made it a safe distance from the guards.
TheProfessor was moving at a quick pace ahead of him, his eyes focused on his pathand his solemn face showing his urge to get to their destination quick. “It wasnothing,” he replied. “Just a little trick.”
Whenthey were a safe distance from the royal chambers, the Professor stopped Farli.Out of the pack he had been carrying on his back, he pulled out two cloaks andgave one to Farli. “Put this on, and pull up the hood. You’ll need to keepyourself under a low profile. When you leave the castle you need to go buywhatever supplies you may need from one of the traveling merchants on your wayto Salras. Don’t trust anyone on the road; don’t tell anyone your name. Whenyou get to Salras go to the palace. You know the Duke. He will provide you withshelter.”
Farlinodded and did what he was told. He remembered Salras perfectly from the othertimes he had been there on his father’s royal business trips to keep good connectionswith the dukes of the other cities. The Duke of Salras was a distant relativeto the royal family so he was always kind enough to supply them with a place tostay when they visited. In Farli’s eyes, however, the Duke was a narcissisticman who was more focused on the increase of his own wealth and fame than thewelfare of his city’s people. But there was no point in arguing at the moment.
“Howare we leaving the castle?” he asked. “All the entrances and exits are stilllocked up for the night.”
“Iknow my fair share of secrets about this castle, my young prince,” replied theProfessor with a sly grin.
Heled Farli down a series of corridors, making so many turns that Farli was surethey were lost. The castle had always been a maze to him as he was sure it wasfor everyone else as well. Guards roamed the many dark corridors on duty, butthe Professor and the prince were able to sneak their way past them all.
Eventually,they ended up at a dimly lit corridor that led into complete darkness. Itseemed abandoned as if it hadn’t been used in several years, dust forming pileson the ground and cobwebs covering the ceiling. One torch hung on the wall bythem, its light in a futile fight against the overpowering shadows around it.The Professor pulled the torch out of its holder and led the way into theshadows ahead.
Farliwas starting to doubt more than ever the Professor’s knowledge of where theywere going, but the Professor never once showed any signs of indecision whilechoosing his path. He followed without any complaints.
Theycontinued until they reached a dead end. Farli stared in surprise at the wall.A dead end? Were they actually lost?
TheProfessor searched along the wall with his free hand until it stopped on one ofthe stones. He pushed the stone, and Farli heard a soft click. The wall began to sink into the ground, leaving Farli inawe. A secret passage.
Theywalked out onto green grass at the south side outside of the castle. It wasstill dark with a sky full of stars above, but Farli knew the sun would be outsoon enough. This was the last night of his old life and the dawn of his newone.
TheProfessor looked out to the south, to the poor district that lay past about amile of farming fields. Beyond the poor district was one of the four GreatWalls that surrounded the city. Farli knew then that it was time to go theirseparate ways. If what Professor Alavar had been saying was true, he had toleave this city before he was stuck in it with the enemy like a small boy in alion’s den. He had to go exit through the Northern Great Wall while theProfessor had to go back to the poor district to his small cottage and continueto teach the peasants.
Hesighed and turned north. A cold breeze blew across the fields, blowing acrosshis face, rustling the grass around him. “I guess this is it, my lad,” said theProfessor, behind him.
“Iguess it is,” replied Farli, another tear wanting to take place in his eyes.
TheProfessor walked up behind Farli and put his hand on the other’s shoulder.“Times will be hard from here on out. Be the prince I know you to be.” Heremoved his hand and turned away again. “And may Sarben watch over you.”
“Andhe with you,” replied the prince.
Andwith those final words, they went their separate ways. With his hood up, daggerup his sleeve, pack on his shoulders, and tears filling his eyes, young PrinceFarli began his journey to Salras not knowing the dangers he was leaving behindin his home city.
If you replace any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report