The world around him was drowned out as the man spoke. The voice, the appearance, everything about this man was so familiar yet so strange that it left Aether questioning his sanity for a moment. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself. What he had seen was obviously a memory from the previous Aether, but strangely the memory depicted the previous Aether's death. 'That can't be right. I was sure that the previous Aether was killed by poison. Not by stabbing.' He pondered as he glanced down at his chest.
From what he had seen, there were no scars or old blemishes on his chest. On top of that Mina had said he came home from the academy he was running a fever and barley walking, she never said anything about a stab wound.
He gently tapped his chest. 'Could it be…' his eyes widened slightly, but he quickly shook his head. Although the idea was plausible, it wasn't for certain. He wanted to think longer about the memory, but was brought back to the situation at hand.
The person before him had lowered himself to his level and held out his hand. Aether eyed the hand with hesitancy. It was like death was greeting him.
He grimaced internally as he maneuvered a little. The clothes on his back were sticking to his back due to how much he was sweating from what he could only assume was fear. He tried his best to mask his emotions as he met the others' gaze.
"Thank you, but I am fine." Aether was calm as he spoke. Ignoring the others' blatant stare he stood up and dusted off his clothes.
The man followed suit and stood up as well, his hand lowering to his side. Aether took this small moment to observe the others' appearance. He was on the taller side, with short dark green hair and brown eyes. He looked like an everyday student, but Aether knew better.
Not only did he have the memory from the previous Aether that bluntly demonstrated the others cruelty, but he also had the luck of reading the novel. He knew what the Princes and Princesses of the Gelani Empire looked like, especially their youngest son.
The student before him held his smile, though Aether could see the way his hand twitched at his side. "Are you sure?" The student tilted his head, his face contorted into one of worry, "You fell pretty hard."
'And whose fault do you think that is?' Aether internally snapped back. With the best fake smile he could put on he shook his head, "It's okay, it wasn't really that bad. Now, if you would excuse me." he gave a slight head nod as he tried to pass the student, but the student had other plans.
With a concerned tone he asked, "Are you sure? You seem really pale. Oh! And are those bruises." He grabbed Aether by the wrist, his grip firm. "Here, come with me. I have some medicine in my tent that can make those bruises disappear instantly." He chirped happily.
To others this may have looked like a scene of two students getting along, but to Aether it was like he was prey walking into the lion's mouth. He shuddered at the thought of following him. He put on a pleasant smile and tried to gently pry away the other's hand.
"I appreciate it, but I have everything I need in my tent." A bead of sweat dripped down his neck as he realized that he couldn't get himself free of the others grip. "Now, if you will excuse me. Mina!" He called out to the tent hoping that Mina was in it.
His eyes shined when he saw the familiar figure appearing from the tent.
"Ah, young Master, what's going on?" Her eyes instantly observed his slightly disheveled appearance until finally landing on the student's hand gripping his wrist.
"Mina could-"
"I was just helping Aether up. I accidentally bumped into him and as an apology I wanted to give him some medicine to heal the bruises I caused." The student interrupted him.
Aether snapped his mouth shut, panic invaded his senses and he quickly shot Mina a pleading look.
Mina did not immediately look towards him, instead she shifted her gaze to the student, studying him like an insect. "And who are you?" She asked, her eyes calculating.
The student frowned, his grip tightening. Aether winced at the sensation and sent Mina another pleading look.
"I'm Aether's friend." The student smiled.
Mina smiled back. Without looking back she called out, "Neal!"
Neal came running out of the tent, his face slightly flush and a few new claw marks on his cheek, "Yes?" He asked, his gaze shifting between the three.
"Get some medicine ready, the Young Master is injured."
Neal nodded and ran back inside the tent.
The students' smiles instantly vanished. "I do insist, Aether is my friend and I accidentally harmed-"
"That won't be necessary." Mina interrupted him as she walked over, prying his grip from Aether's now bruised hand. She stared into his eyes as she spoke, "Young Master has no friends like you." She threw his hand to the side and gently led Aether into the tent, not bothering to look at the other any longer.
Once safely inside the tent Aether let out a gasp of breath and hunched over. Mina and Neal instantly ran to his side.
"Young Master! Are you alright?" Mina worryingly brought him over to a chair.
Aether took deep breaths. His hand grasped at his chest as he tried his hardest to calm down. That man, he was dangerous. The previous Aether was too innocent to see that, but he wasn't. He glanced at Mina and Neal. Although they helped him get away from that student, they obviously had no idea who that was.
It made sense, after all, in the Flower of Soline the youngest Prince of the Gelani Empire had purposely kept his appearance a secret so that he could infiltrate the Soline Kingdom and help the undercover assassins with the mass murder of the nobles. Even after that murderous night, he still attended school without a care in the world because no one expected him, a quiet student at the Royal Academy, to be the mastermind behind the attack. He was a key player in the upcoming war between the Gelani Empire and Soline Kingdom, but as long as he was here, he wouldn't let things go according to plan.
Aether quickly grabbed onto Mina and Neal's sleeves. "Listen closely to what I'm about to tell you." he whispered, pulling them in closer. The two noticed the seriousness in his voice and quickly scooted close.
"That man out there, do you remember his appearance?"
Mina nodded. Neal on the other hand paused for a moment and tried to think before shaking his head. He hadn't seen him, but that's okay.
"That's okay. It's a student, male with dark green hair and brown eyes. He seems very plain when you first meet him." Aether gave a brief description and Neal nodded. 'Good.'
"I read a book a while back for my project with nNox, remember that?" He waited for the two to nod before continuing, "In that book, there was a portrait of the Gelani Empire's Royal family." He took a small pause, "I only glimpsed at it briefly, but that student out there has the same appearance as the youngest Prince of the Gelani Empire."
"But…" Mina hesitated.
Aether quickly latched onto her sleeve with both hands, "I know it may be hard to believe, but think about it. The three intruders from before that were disguised as servants and the one in our house as well. If there are intruders disguised as students, they are here for a reason and whatever reason that is, wouldn't they be reporting to someone?"
Mina's eyes widened and Aether knew he got her on his side. She nodded her head and said firmly, "We need to alert the Master and the King."
Aether was in total agreement, but they would have to be careful about how they go about it. He glanced at the entrance of the tent while still holding onto Mina's sleeve. He was almost one hundred percent certain that the student was still lingering outside. If they left to discuss the issue with the King and his father right away then it would only draw more attention to himself leading the student to figure out that they were on to him.
He shivered at the thought of that happening.
"We need to do this secretly. We can't have him knowing we are on to him." He whispered. Mina and Neal glanced back towards the entrance of the tent.
"What are you thinking, Young Master?"
Aether pondered for a moment. "For now we stay here. Neal, can you keep watch outside?" Neal nodded, but before he could leave Aether gestured to the small plate of fruit on the side. "Take this and take it to my father. If anyone asks you what it's for, say that I was worried that my father would be hungry while watching the competition. When you get to my father, explain the situation. Do not let anything deter you from your goal. okay?" Neal's eyes were firm as he nodded. Without a word he turned on his heel and left.
Aether watched intently as the tent flaps opened and closed. It was hard to see, but he could have sworn he saw the student. He took a deep breath. Step one was complete. Now onto step two.
"Mina, do we have any-"
He was interrupted by an abrupt scream. His head snapped towards the tent. It was loud. People were yelling at one another, but he couldn't make out any of the words. He turned to Mina only for her to grab his arm and hoist him out of the chair and towards a smaller room in the back.
He glanced up at her. Her face was unmoving as she walked with haste, practically dragging him behind her. He didn't know where she was taking him and that worried him. "Mina?"
"Run!"
The sudden shout startled him. He tried to turn around, to see what was happening, but he could see nothing, the flaps of the tent were lowered blocking his view.
"Mina? What's going on?" He grasped at her wrists as he was brought into a small room. She let go of him and closed the flaps, securing them together.
She shook her head, "I'm not sure, but I'm on strict orders to not let you out of this room if anything goes wrong during the competition." She placed a hand on the ground where a small circle had been drawn into the ground. Taking a deep breath, fire erupted in her hand and began to seep into the circle. The circle slowly turned red.
Aether took a moment as he watched the circle of red begin to spread around the room. The room was small, but a single bed and a couple pieces of furniture were in it. A few books lined the nightstand and on the small table was a couple plates of food. It was as if they had planned this in advance. As if they knew something was going to happen.
'Did they know something was going to happen?' His eyes narrowed.
"Mina. Was this room set up by my father?"
Mina nodded. "The Master said it was better to take caution. After all, no one knows what could happen at the hunting competition."
Aether hummed in response. 'From the sounds of it, my father only made this room as a precaution, but what if he did it knowing that something was going to happen? Was he aware that something was amiss? Does he already know about the youngest prince of the Gelani Empire?' He bit his nail. 'What was he missing?'
He lowered his gaze.
"No." Mina's voice broke him out of his thoughts.
"Mina? What's wrong?"
She was on her knees, glancing at a small section in the corner of the room. Her back was turned towards him and her hair fell in front of her face.
"Mina?"
She glanced back at him, her teeth gritted and her nails digging into her palms. He took a step towards her, his eyes focusing on the ground in front of her.
"Young Master." Her voice quivered.
The last part of the circle that should have completed whatever spell she was casting-
"I'm sorry."
-was ruined.
"I think someone tampered with it."
A figure stood outside the tent. With a smile on his face he gestured to the hooded figures behind him.
"Get him."