The four men had taken off in search of Damia, and were now heading into the surrounding forest by the castle.
They had only just started walking in the general direction that Xerxes said he felt her moving in the night she left.
Elric was leading, with Xerxes following behind him. "Are we heading the right direction?"
"You know, you keep asking me that, Prince, but my answer keeps being the same. I don't know. Something's wrong."
"You mean something is wrong with the Princess? Is she hurt?" Alf got alarmed when he heard Xerxes' comment.
"No, Fairy. I feel her power just fine, but it doesn't feel weaker or stronger than when we left the castle... Actually, that's not quite right either. It's more like I feel her twice. I feel her power in the direction of the Dark Forest. That source is the one I felt stop. But I also feel another source of her power in the direction we are currently walking. That source is still moving."
"How is it possible for her to project her magic in two different locations?" Elric was losing his patience.
"Well Prince, you're her brother. You tell me."
"Firstly, I'm not her brother. Secondly, Adi would be the more qualified person to answer that question."
"That is inaccurate, Prince. I know nothing about her powers. She's never had the level of power she has now, so I don't know the extent of her capabilities anymore. But to my knowledge, there's no magical creature that can project their magic to two different locations so I don't know how she would be capable of such a feat."
Xerxes turned on his horse to address Sir Castor at the end of the group, "You've been pretty quiet back there, Sir Castor. Any theories."
Sir Castor looked at the Marquis without a hint of humor. "Not unless the Princess has a secret twin."
"Now there's a thought," Xerxes replied.
Elric scoffed at the idea. "That is preposterous. I didn't realize you had a sense of humor, Sir Castor."
Sir Castor did not say another word, merely nodded as they continued trotting along.
Suddenly, Xerxes pulled back on his horse's reigns to bring it to a stop. Adi and Sir Castor stopped as well, wondering what brought his sudden halt. And hearing the shuffling of hooves as they stopped caused Elric to turn back and then bring his own horse to a stop.
"What is it now, Marquis?" Elric responded in exasperation.
"I believe we may have started off our search prematurely. We should stop here until the second power source stops moving."
"Is that the source you believe we should follow?" Adi replied.
"I can't say with complete certainty. The direction of the first source would be the correct direction for the location of the known lycan clan. But without a doubt, the direction of this second source is the same direction I sensed her moving in that night. I only felt one power source that night so it has to be the Princess."
"If you're so sure that the source we've been following is truly her, then what about the second source, Marquis?" Elric was concerned that the Marquis was assuming too much, and disregarding the fact that his powers could be leading them astray.
"We should focus on one thing at a time. We could always split up and each go to one source, but I would only be able to go with one team. The other team would be following blindly, and potentially not find anything as the source could start moving again. I'm staying in this direction because I think it's our safest bet. Regardless, if I'm wrong, we'll at least find what's causing this second source."
Sir Castor chimed in, "Young Master, I'm inclined to agree with the Marquis. If this source is the one he sensed, then it makes sense that the other one is not the priority. For all we know, the Princess could have learned to control her powers to project to a different location after running away. There might not be a creature with that power, but some mages have the ability of astral projection and the Princess' powers would allow her to tap into that kind of ability."
Sir Castor's reasoning was sound so Elric had no further objections. "Alright, we'll wait here for the second source to stop then. I'll keep first watch."
Xerxes chuckled. "What for? Are you not familiar with this forest?"
Elric looked at Xerxes with confusion and Xerxes was honestly shocked that the Princes was not joking about his comment. He looked around at the group and noticed the other two men had the same look on their faces.
"This forest is protected by guardians. Anyone intending to do harm within the forest will first have to face them."
"Then why haven't we encountered any?" Elric asked sarcastically.
All humor left Xerxes' face. "I don't know about you, Prince, but I'm here for one reason: to secure the Princess. In the eyes of the guardians, that's a noble quest. They don't need to make their presence known if there's no threat. But believe me, they've been following us since we entered. In fact, four of them surround us now, but clearly you have not trained sufficiently to be able to detect their presence."
Elric face turned red with anger at the jab, but he had no words because it was true. He had not sensed anyone following them since they entered, but now that he focused on finding them, he could feel their presence. He had been slacking in his training and now faced embarrassment for his lack of discipline.
Adi and Sir Castor just watched in discomfort as the other two men glared at each other. Finally, Xerxes spoke first to break the stare down.
"Seeing as how we have the time now, why don't we go back to your little comment from earlier. It's the second time I hear you deny being Princess Damia's brother and I find this very curious. I find it difficult to believe that it's just a comment you through out when you're frustrated with her."
Adi glanced at Elric expecting an answer as well.
"You would be a fool to believe that I would be so petty."
"Then I'm not a fool, but are you going to answer the question?"
"I don't need to explain anything to you. It can explain itself in due time."
Adi was dissatisfied with that response, "Prince, I'm afraid that answer is not going to work for me. If you're not here as her brother, then you have no business being here."
Elric stepped towards Adi with an intense aura radiating from him. "Adi, I don't hurt you because that would hurt Damia, but I'm telling you to stand down from this one. You know full well that your powers are no match for me. All that any of you need to know is that I'm not her brother. The rest I will keep to myself until it's time for me to reveal it to Damia. And I will only do that under my own terms as well, so don't any of you get any ideas of forcing an explanation."
Ending his statement, he quickly turned and walked away from the group.