Unable to sleep that night, Orion silently slipped to the library and indulged himself with reading books. He was especially fond of historical records about Archellia. Only the sound of flipping can be heard from the silent library accompanied by the small light of the candle.
The kingdom of Archellia lies in the northern part of the Prism continent. It was one of the greatest powers in the continent but with the destruction that happened nineteen years ago, the kingdom has yet to fully recover.
With the king's endeavor, slowly the kingdom was once again able to stand on its own. Even though they were not able to return to their former glory, they still had their long history and rich culture to back them up. Throughout the years, other kingdoms have taken the opportunity to conquer Archellia but they never succeeded, not only because of its location but also because of the people's tenacity and fearlessness.
Archellia is surrounded by mountain ranges that serve as a natural protection from any invasions and the jungles surrounding it are perilous that if someone gets lost within it, it would be impossible for them to be found. The kingdom's capital was specially situated below the great mountains of Sierra that serves as a natural barrier while the palace was basically carved as a part of the stone-mountain itself.
Orion had tirelessly studied Archellia's geography and history to the point he had exhausted every resource he could find about the kingdom. He made sure that he was familiar with every territory Archellia has. This is a way for him to relieve his urge to travel outside the capital city but it was not enough. He would take secret trips outside of the palace to the capital city and explore. It has also become a habit of his to run around the palace looking for secret passages or secret rooms not recorded in any book. All of this was done to satisfy his desires but what he wanted the most is to explore the whole of Prism Continent.
"Aren't you going to sleep, your highness?" Apollo spoke from the shadows. He was assigned to guard the prince that night and he opted to remain in the dark to avoid disturbing the prince.
"I'm not sleepy yet. For some reason, I can't fall asleep tonight." Under the soft light of the lamp, Orion continued to browse through the books until the wee hours of the morning before he decided to close the last book he was reading.
He stood up and went to his room to prepare for the day. He was supposed to have his training but he suddenly got the urge to go out and do some observation and inspection. As the sole heir to the kingdom of Archellia, he knew that he should learn more about his people and besides they would always buy this excuse to let him roam around, albeit with guards but it was better than being copped inside the walls of the palace.
"Let's go to the city today," he announced and left his guards in silence. It's up to them if they would follow or stay.
"Your highness, can't we just stay here in the palace today?" Karina suggested as she rushed to catch up with the prince. She was worried that the prince will do something unexpected again or run around without waiting for them.
"I don't want to stay here. I would just get bored and will just think of something to cause havoc again." He smiled sweetly towards the Order and all they could do is to sigh and reluctantly agree with the prince.
Before they departed, Apollo arranged for a ten-man squad to join them on their walk and to keep an eye on the prince. The more pairs of eyes they have, the easier it would be to keep watch of the prince.
Orion leisurely walked around not minding the guards trailing behind him. All he can do is to sigh is dissatisfaction and ignore the guards' presence. He would just do what he usually does and finish the day.
It was not new to the town's people to see warriors scattered around the capital what was new is to see the prince accompanied by many royal guards aside from his usual entourage of three. The atmosphere became more awkward as they could not say their usual greeting when they see the prince casually walking around the city. It was more comfortable for them to talk to the prince when there were not too many guards around him, they could only guess that the prince might have done something mischievous again to receive this treatment. It was not secret to the people of the capital that their prince would pull some pranks that would always get him in trouble and every time they saw him with too many guards or the usual times they would not see him would only mean one thing.
Orion suddenly stopped on his tracks and looked around him. "Is there a problem your highness?" Apollo asked as he let his gaze roam around the area. He became alert in case the prince has sensed any danger.
"Yes, there is," Orion seriously answered.
Not even a second passed after the Order heard what Orion had said and their hands are already on the hilt of their weapons ready to draw anytime. A loud sigh brought their attention to Orion who was glaring at them.
"Not that kind of problem, the problem is that all of these guards surrounding me. Do we really need to bring this much warriors on a simple walk in the city?" He raised his hands in the air in exasperation at the exaggeration of the situation. He tried to ignore the guards since the start of their walk but he could not take it anymore.
"Yes, since we need extra pairs of eyes to look after you in the event that you decide to pull a prank again like what you did yesterday," Apollo stated without batting an eye as if it was normal to do so.
Orion remained silent at the answer and just continued to walk. He doesn't want to argue against Apollo because every time he does he always ends up at the bottom of a deep-sea in other words he doesn't really win against Apollo.
"How many times do I have to say that you should stop calling me by my title? I'm okay with the three of you calling me by name." Orion suddenly voiced as a memory struck him with one of the verbal arguments he had with Apollo.
The Order remained silent at the prince's remark. Indeed, Orion has always instructed them to call him by his name but they aren't willing to do so. As a lowly servant, it is their duty to show respect to the heir of the kingdom. That is the reason why even if Orion insisted that they call him by his name, they are not willing to do so. Orion was annoyed at his personal guards' silence but he knew that he will not really get an affirmative answer from them.
They've walked for almost half of the day, buying and visiting and interacting with the common people of the kingdom. Orion's irritation was gone the moment he started to talk with the people. He enjoys this simple kind of things and he never took it for granted. The people of the capital city undoubtedly like him and respected him greatly. They knew that their prince cares for them because every time he visits he would talk to them like they were his equal. He was also very polite and very easy to talk to. Changes would also happen after the prince visited them, although these changes are not really that big it always makes their lives a little bit easier.
"Ah it's good to see you well your highness," an old woman selling fruits smiled at the young man who was looking intently at the vibrant colored delicacies in her small stall.
"Thank you and I hope you are well too, granny." Orion returned the greeting without taking his eyes on the delicious fruits displayed. The old woman saw that the prince's attention was caught by the colorful fruits on her stand and she gave a warm smile as she saw the prince's eager look. Sensing the gaze directed at him, the prince looked at the old woman and gave a warm smile.
"I feel like I'll be able to live twenty years more with that smile, your highness." The old woman grabbed several fruits from her stand and gave it to the prince which Orion gratefully accepted. "You should continue to smile more, your highness."
"Thank you and I will keep that in mind." Looking at these interactions the royal guards and even the Order had a smile on their faces. They rarely saw the prince with a genuine smile, most of the time he would give a fake smile almost to the point of chilling one's soul.
The prince could be gentle but he can be ruthless anytime he wants. He would always be vocal in things that he is dissatisfied with or offends him. This trait can especially be observed when he is dealing with the palace officials that he doesn't like. One can never know what he really thinks.
Every shop or stall they passed by would give Orion different treats and he would receive them all with a pure smile. As the time neared to noon, they decided to end their stroll when suddenly the prince suddenly broke into a run which caught the guards off guard. Apollo cursed to himself with the sudden action and they all immediately run after Orion.