Why did he have to be the Crown Prince? Why did he have to lead the battle on Eurosia? If this wasn't already heavily weighed against him, I wouldn't have such prejudice. But the heavens didn't grant wishes; This man killed my people. He doomed us to extinction, so I could NEVER favor him in any way. He must be my foe, an enemy that I would loathe for a lifetime.
But I definitely shouldn't underestimate him. If our conversation tonight was any indicator, he didn't suffer from the same delusions of compassion that I did. He thought and planned his moves way ahead of time. He didn't allow himself to grieve or guilt; he rid himself of that weakness by believing he gave his opponents a choice. I loathed him even more for pointing out that entering the Bodach Palace was my decision and everything that followed was simply a chain reaction.
In a sense he could be right. I knew what I was getting myself into, not the exact extent or results, nevertheless I knew it was dangerous. And here I was suffering the consequences. Richie was right - I didn't have to be here, I WANTED to be here. I needed it because I knew I had to gain enough of a reputation to make a difference. Otherwise I would be another lost voice amongst the masses . . . No one would remember the words of a nobody. As a nobody there would be no change.
Sighing I got up and readied myself for bed. This day was way too exhausting to stay up any longer. I pulled off the tunic looking down at the perfect stitching. The man had the audacity to be good at stitching as well? Shaking my head I ran my fingers along the pattern remembering the odd sensations of his fingertips. It felt like he was burning me, but that couldn't be right could it? He was just like any other man (an evil despicable one) but still a man nonetheless. Why would his touch bother me so much? Thinking back on it, it wasn't just his touch that had an enigmatic effect - his eyes were entirely captivating. A person could get lost in those violet depths . . . It's as if they could pierce the soul.
I shook my head to clear these thoughts as I dressed and laid down. I decided to not think of it anymore as sleep enveloped me. Unfortunately, my dreams were filled with the endless agony of battle and horrible bloodshed which slowly replaced the confused anger in my heart.
. . . One Month Later . . .
Baymun was true to his word. Within a month little Prince Iren had joined our campaign, except now he wasn't so little anymore. He was already taller than me the last time I saw him, but over the span of the last six months he seemed to have gained about four more inches. Even with this drastic change, he was still the lighthearted little boy from before. He and Richie got along splendidly and I felt that the boy's mental innocence would be greatly affected (it was Richie after all).
Not only did we gain Prince Iren in our campaign, but one of the Zantark women decided to tag along after we left that disturbing place. It was the cute girl that got hit by Gustof; her name was Illana. She had practically begged to stay by my side, offering her services as a maidservant. I told her it was up to her - I certainly wasn't going to make her stay with those old geezers.
She welcomed the departure, but it did come with a price. The consequence of leaving Zantark was being branded (literally) an outsider and never welcome to return. She told me later that the pain and banishment was worth it; she never really liked the way things were set up there.
All the other women swore they would miss her, giving her hugs and kisses farewell. The scene was bittersweet; when I left home I didn't receive such a heartfelt goodbye. It was more of a 'good riddance' scenario.
"So Ezran, where are we headed? What's next in the campaign? When will I begin training to take your place?" Prince Iren interrupted my somber reverie with his onslaught of inquiries. He was still the same inquisitive boy he was before, only this time there was no annoying big brother to stop the flow of questions.
We had been riding along and were accompanied by his party on our way to Geodofa, a vibrant city full of peacemakers. Hopefully we will be able to easily negotiate a truce before traveling through to the next location. We made our way on individual horses except for the ever faithful Rodair walking alongside my steed. Prince Iren was to my right, Kovin was behind us a little ways with Toval, and Richie was to my left followed by Illana. She kept quiet most of the time unless Richie got bored with my conversation and had to seek solace in her or Iren.
As Iren asked his questions, one had me puzzled, "What do you mean taking my place? Is that why you're here? I thought I was just training you . . ."
Iren laughed, "Well duh you're training me for a reason! If not to take your place, what else could it be? I'm of age now - most of the time they wait for the Champion to be properly Fortified before being let out in the field, but since there's no 'King' I'm here a little early. Aren't you glad that you don't have to keep doing this much longer?"
The constant riding had my normally clear thoughts thrown off. Of course Baymun would be having me train Iren for a reason and the most relevant reason would be for him to take over the army. Why would he keep a vengeful woman in charge when his brother was old enough? But I still had some questions that I just couldn't seem to work out in my head.
"What do you mean by properly Fortified? And Prince Baymun hasn't taken the throne yet? What is he waiting for?" Now I was popping out questions as fast as Iren was.
Richie popped his nose in, "What does it matter Ez? We'll be done with this stupid campaign soon it seems, so why worry with the particulars? I can't wait to actually relax without thinking someone's gonna kill me in my sleep."
I gave Richie a demeaning look, then turned my attention back to Iren raising my eyebrows in impatience.
Iren smiled, "Well if you wanna know, the Fortification was a thing passed down the generations for each Royal Champion or Crown Prince. I don't really know the particulars since the information is 'need-to-know' but Brother Baymun assured me I didn't want to go through the process. So I got off scot-free since there's no current King!"
"And why is there no King?" I asked again.
"Beats me. Brother didn't seem too worried about it. The Counsel seems to be worried about it though cause Brother will be thirty within the next year. If he isn't crowned before then, he won't be able to become King." Iren tapped his chin thoughtfully and that little dimple appeared in his cheek as he smiled brightly, "I'm sure Brother is just enjoying his freedom as long as possible! Supposedly a crown ties you down."