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Chapter 12 - The Trial of Fear

The Princess and Eques Tempus had begun their journey towards the Valley of Death. As the distance from their former location of rest increased the number of times the Princess looked back increased. This was the first time she had travelled without the Young Knight since she came to her senses. The Princess closed her eyes, took a deep breath and sighed. She knew what she had to do. She also knew that her Young Knight would not be with her forever and it was time she began depending on her family of the same world. Although she never spoke of it she did know that the Young Knight could only be seen walking around during the darkest hours for he had a life away from her in a place she was forbidden from ever entering - The Land of Humans.

As the Princess and Eques Tempus walked further into the forests they heard a hum. It was a hum so silent that a person would think they were hallucinating. Eques Tempus did not like the feeling he was getting for he felt a connection with his Frater. This connection kept changing positions as they trudged on. On the other hand, the Princess saw Eques Noctis in front of her.

"Eques", she called again and again but Eques Noctis never turned. He had ignored the presence of the Princess he swore to protect. The Princess and Eques Tempus had not realised when they had parted ways, each looking for someone important to them, but what they had not realised was that they had already been caught in the webs of distorted lies and regret. They were now living in the "Trial of Fear".

This Trial acted on the innermost fear of the person it targets. Eques Tempus had lived long enough to learn how to face his fear but the Princess always had the fear of Eques Noctis not returning. He was her first friend and protector. The fear of him not returning the night before had already been realised, which pushed her off the crevice of her logic.

The Princess continued to follow her hallucination while Eques Tempus had come to a stand still. He turned around at his position and noticed he had been surrounded by trees. Every step he took the trees seemed to shift, trapping him inside the clearing. He looked left and right with a worried gaze. His brows furrowed together when he realised that the Princess he had vowed to protect was not near him. He has been so focused on his journey to find his frater that he has committed the gravest sin. He had broken the code of the Fraters. He had lost his monarch.

While Eques Tempus tried to find a way out of his dilemma, the Princess followed an unknown path. The more she strayed away from Eques Tempus the more her fear increased. The Princess unaware of her surroundings almost kept following the image of Eques Noctis in front of her not realising that the image had already distorted into something else. To a person who is not undergoing the Trial, the figure would look like a glowing ghost like monster with rotting skin and half its skull visible, but to the Princess it took the form of her worst fear. The fear of being abandoned.

Meanwhile, Eques Tempus had finally found a way out. He had created a loop through which he saw the ending of the Princess' outfit vanish behind a few trees. He followed the trial she had taken as quickly as possible only to see the ghost figure she was following. Eques Tempus' eyes widened as he held his breath and muffled his voice and hid behind a tree. He had heard of these creatures. They were part of the Trial of Fear but they could physically harm the subject of the test without any rules. The only way to stop the Trial is for the Princess to wake up by herself or the appearance of …