They reached a small cave hidden beside a river. They saw a man hunched on a dark corner with his hands covering his eyes. He was in a state of shock and fear that even a small sound scared him.
Karina stopped Arthur from approaching, she gestured for him to stay put and for her to be the only one to approach. She deliberately made her footsteps lighter in order not to startle the man. If it was really true that Dreigh was their master, then his act a while ago was not fake and based on his actions, they were supposed to be interacting with a child.
She stopped beside Dreigh and sat down beside him at the same time extending her both her hands and embraced him. Dreigh was startled and his first instinct it to fight and run but Karina did not give him the chance to do so.
"Shhhhh," she slowly coaxed until she can feel the body within her arms relax. "I'm here. Arthur and I are sorry for how we acted a while ago."
"What's happening? Why do I look like an adult? Why are we not in Archellia?" he asked with pure confusion.
"Currently you are called Dreigh and because of some circumstances we are currently away from Archellia," Karina softly spoke to him while she was patting his back.
"Did my father sent me away?" he asked with fear that he might hear that his father had grown tired of him.
"No your father did not send you away. You know that he loves you right? We are only on a vacation," she explained to placate Dreigh.
"But why is my body like this? And why is my Dreigh?" he once again asked.
Karina sighed to herself, she did not expect that something like this would happen to them. She could not think of anything else at that moment and focused on coaxing the child. "It was a spell to keep you protected and so that no one would be able to recognize you," she briefly explained.
"Okay," he mumbled until he slowly fell asleep.
Arthur approached them and sat beside Karina. "What do you think?" he asked in the silence.
"I think this is because of the keeper's life essence. If that keeper was really a part of our Master, it is inevitable that he carries his memories and when he gave his life essence to Dreigh those memories manifested." It was the only plausible explanation she could think of right now, though it was still a little bit farfetched it was the only thing they could think of.
"If that is the case, can these memories manifest on any other person aside from Dreigh?" Arthur's question has a point. They can't go on and conclude that Dreigh was the prince because they saw the prince die that day.
"We will need Apollo's help in this matter. I don't want to jump into uncertain conclusion without full proof." Karina decided and Arthur understood her implication. "I will need to leave and look for Apollo, I can explain the situation to him and let him further investigate while you should stay with them and observe things."
They came to a tacit understanding and Arthur had no opinion on Karina's suggestion. Though he felt a little bit apprehension at the thought of Apollo soon joining them, he did not have any reason to stop Karina.
The three of them did not leave the cave until the next day and before they could wake up Dreigh, he woke up on his own and looked up at them weirdly.
"Do you feel alright?" Arthur hesitated to ask because of Dreigh's look.
"What are we doing here?" Dreigh asked in his usually unexpressive tone. This time Karina and Arthur looked at each other in confusion.
"Don't you remember what had happened yesterday night?" she observed Dreigh and saw that there was actually nothing wrong and the naïve look on his face was also gone. Is it a onetime thing only?
"Did I do something weird yesterday?" it was Dreigh's turn to frown and be confused.
"Nothing, no need to worry about it," Karina breathe a sigh of relief that they would not need to face the childish version of Dreigh because honestly they did not know how to face the child version of the prince inside the body of Dreigh.
Dreigh did not push for any more and left the hidden cave. They returned to the village and saw their comrades waiting for them. They looked through the night but did not find him and were relieved that he was with the singulars.
"Dreigh! Are you alright?" he immediately asked and approached him but suddenly stopped as he remembered what happened last night.
"I'm fine," Dreigh simply answered and his friend's action did not escape his sight.
"Yes he is fine now," Karina put an emphasis on the word fine to indicate that he is indeed okay and that he is now himself.
The others understood this and come up to him with relieved expressions. They lead him to the house and Karina made another round of check-up on him just to make sure that he is indeed alright and no other matters of concern might come up after.
"You were acting really strange yesterday. I'm glad that you're back to your normal self now," Endo patted him on the shoulder.
"Acting strange?" he repeated the statement in question and looked at everyone inside the room. He don't remember anything that had happened yesterday.
"You don't really remember? You were acting like a child yesterday, you even hugged Karina then after that you suddenly run away and we had to look for you." Rond stepped forward and explained the events that had happened.
Dreigh though it over and over but he can't really remember what had happened and for the first time, he felt a little bit embarrassed of what he had done. He apologized to them and told them that nothing of this sort would happen again in the future but life is unpredictable so nobody knows what will happen. They also relayed what had happened after he fell unconscious and what the keeper had done.
"Why would he gave his life essence to me?" he had been wondering all alone about this 'keeper' who suddenly announced that he was him.
"All he said was that, because you were him," Vira answered a little bit sad.
After a little bit of rest, Dreigh went to the werewolf leader's house and talked to him. He apologized and that he did not know that the keeper would sacrifice himself for him.
"It's okay. The keeper has his own will. He had protected us for a long time and had left his protection for us. We don't have the right complain, we were just benefitting from his power and we are extremely thankful to that." The leader spoke in a soft voice as memories of the keeper flashed in his mind. The keeper was peculiar, remaining as a child for the past three years and protecting them without him asking for anything in return. They did not understand the reason for his sudden appearance but they still respected him and came to adore him. His sudden departure was within their expectation. No being of great power would always remain in this world, all of them are not permanent dwellers of the world they are in, this truth they have accepted it for a long time now.
Dreigh didn't know what to say to those words and only solemnly remained silent.
"In this life, we make our own choices and we chose our own path. This can always be influenced by our situation or by the people around us, the keeper chose to give his life to you and all I ask of you is to cherish this life." The leader once again spoke but this time he was firm.
"I understand," Dreigh nodded. He knew that he should cherish his life because there were still people waiting for him to come back. He promised that he would not waste this chance. "Can you please take care of the Drowsy Weeping Pendula tree, I would like to visit it again in the future," Dreigh added as an afterthought and did not notice the deep look the leader of the werewolves give him.
"Yes of course, we will certainly take care of it. By the way I'm called Veron Ceres, if in the future you'll need my help feel free to come here." A genuine and meaningful smile appeared on the werewolf's face which for some reason gave Dreigh a feeling of peace.
He nodded and left the place in a slightly dazed persona. It seems that something had happened that he did not fully understand during their exchange. He shook his head and headed back for a rest only to find the house in a mess. The sun was still up in the sky but his friends were already drunk and sprawled on the floor. He chuckled to himself and suddenly stopped because it was the first time that he was able to laugh. Dreigh did not give it more thought and found a place to sit and close his eyes for a moment. Everything was happening so fast and he needed sometime for a short break.