The morning sun ascended gently into the pale skies, adorned by wisps of scattered clouds, casting its glow over the rising city. The shadows of nighttime receded into their dark corners, heralding the beginning of a brand new day.
A beautiful carriage, adorned with the crest of the royal family, stood at a standstill in front of the gates of an orphanage. Lines of armored soldiers flanked the exquisite coach, their polished swords and spears gleaming in the morning light.
A young boy with hair whiter than snow and eyes darker than ruby walked steadily towards the procession, ignoring the burning and curious gazes of the gaggle of stragglers that had surrounded the building. He accepted the knight's respectful salutes with natural ease, nodding at them lightly in response.
He gingerly stepped into the coach, casting one final glance at the people who were standing at the orphanage's entrance, silently bidding them adieu. As his gaze landed on a teenager with golden hair and shining eyes, he quirked his lips, pressing a silencing finger onto them for a fleeting moment before resolutely slamming the carriage's door shut.
"All prepared?" the cardinal's soft voice seemed to echo inside the luxurious interiors of the carriage.
Avon clutched at the soft, velvet cushion he was seated upon as the carriage lurched forward with a jolt, a faraway look appearing in his eyes. "Yes."
"Did you tell them?"
"I only told Reas the whole truth. As for the others, all I talked about was you. They'll find out the rest soon enough anyways."Avon explained, sighing. "Hopefully they won't get mad at me for hiding the truth."
"What sort of a story did you spin for them?" the cardinal asked as he rested his chin on his interlaced fingers, amused.
"I simply told them that I had caught your eye a few days back when I was at the temple, and that you wish to take me to the royal capital as an apprentice. They almost thought that I was being scammed by someone who wished to take advantage of me, but your little... entourage proved otherwise."
Avon peeked through the maroon curtains of the carriage, casting a glance at the tens of well-groomed and beautiful stallions that surrounded them, and rolled their eyes. "Isn't this a bit too ostentatious? You might as well put up a sign that says 'currently transporting important personnel' on the outside in order to let more people pinpoint our location easily."
The cardinal laughed lightly, his silver eyes curling in amusement. "This much is needed in order to make a statement about your importance to the king. Otherwise, the capital's nobles might develop some silly thoughts in those empty heads of theirs. As for safety-" the cardinal quirked his lips. "-let's see if someone has the ability to get past me."
"If they could, you'd totally try to recruit them, wouldn't you, master?" Avon joked.
"Naturally." the cardinal grinned. "We don't have the ability to detain someone who can escape the senses of an archmage anyways."
Avon simply let out an amused bark of laughter in response, leaning into the plush cushions that padded his back. "How amusing." he drawled.
Avon could only hope that his journey to the capital would pass without a hitch.
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Three days later, Avon was halfway to the capital. They had temporarily stopped at a relatively well-known city called Lumina- named after the first Dragon King in legends, Lucieus.
According to the cardinal, other than the king and the royal family, only those currently journeying with him were made aware of his true identity, hence allowing his journey so far to pass without a hitch.
The captain of the guards, Ser Evans, had arranged for a comfy inn for their party to rest in for the night. It was located in a relatively isolated arena in the city, far away from the hustle of the main square of Lumina, a place known for its thriving textile trade and fashionable magical artifacts.
The owner of the inn, a kind looking old woman, had taken one look at the crest on their carriage before arranging for the grandest of rooms to be prepared for them- and Avon had been generously given the biggest of them all at the cardinal's intervention.
The soldiers were currently downstairs, enjoying a hearty meal in order to lift their spirits during the long, painstaking journey, while the cardinal, Avon, and Ser Evans were seated snugly in a private booth for dinner.
"Is this yer fir'st time bein' outside yer town, little one?" Ser Evans asked in a voice that was thickly accented, before chugging down a jug of beer in one go.
"Yes." Avon replied perfunctorily, before focusing on his own meal.
He was the sort that acted polite and well-behaved in front of strangers and only showed his true face in front of those close to him, therefore, he tended to behave as though he was serious and mature in front of the soldiers accompanying him- a fact that had brought endless amusement to the cardinal.
"Do ye plan on roamin' around for a bit, then?" the man questioned. "After all, we're stayin' here for a couple of days."
In response, Avon turned to look at the cardinal with an ardent gaze, silently declaring his desire to wander around a place that wasn't Fanfir.
The corners of the cardinal's lips curled upwards, before he acquiesced with a reluctant sigh. "Fine, but only if I'm with you."
"Obviously, master. I'm not stupid." After all, no matter how much he wanted to deny being the 'child of destiny', Avon was well aware of just how important his safety was.
"Good, we'll go out for a bit tomorrow morning, then." the cardinal said sternly. "You have to stay by my side at all times, alright?"
"I promise, master." Avon smiled cheekily, his ruby eyes shining in excitement.
The rest of the meal passed in normality, with the trio making idle chatter to pass the time. Finally, the cardinal allowed Avon to return to his room, not before casting layers upon layers of defence magic on Avon and tens of barriers around his room that would instantly alert the cardinal at the slightest of suspicious movements.
Unbeknownst to them, a pair of aged eyes stared unblinkingly at the inn in rapt attention, leaving only when dawn broke out.
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The city streets were filled with people- even more than those in Fanfir- all hurrying from one end to another, skillfully maneuvering themselves through the dense crowd. In the midst of the gaggle of strangers, a young man with ruby eyes and snow white hair stood silently, a soft hood covering his young features from prying eyes.
He stood alone by the side of the street, diligently waiting for the man who had walked into the streets with him to return as he absent-mindedly chewed on tiny pieces of fairy floss.
"Child," A raspy voice sounded from behind Avon, surprisingly able to reach his ears over the noise of the chattering crowd surrounding him. "Will you be so kind as to take a look at this old woman's wares?"
Avon reluctantly spun around, Headmistress Azael's lectures about being polite and gentlemanly making him unable to ignore the old woman's plea rudely. "Of course, grandmother."
She was cloaked entirely in torn, brown rags, hiding every detail of her face in jagged shadows. Her pale hands, that were peeking out from her bell sleeves, were wrinkled and chapped, red welts garishly marring the otherwise normal surface.
Avon cast a perfunctory glance at the various trinkets and knick knacks cluttering the surface of her rickety, wooden stall, keeping an eye on his master's silhouette that was animatedly browsing through some potions on the other end of the street, before suddenly zoning in on a particular item.
The black ring was almost inconspicuous amongst the various glittering and colourful jewellery scattered around it, but for some reason Avon felt an immense wave of familiarity thrum through his soul the second he set his eyes on it. As though possessed, he gently picked the ring up before slipping it onto his finger carefully.
The obsidian stone on the ring pulsed quietly once, as though satisfied, before dimming once more.
"It suits you, young man." the old woman nodded her head happily. "It's almost as though it was made for you."
"How much for the ring?" Avon still couldn't take his eyes off the ring, feeling contentment emerge from his very soul, as though its imperfections were being gently soothed.
"Two silver taels, young man." Avon readily dropped the money into the old woman's wrinkled hand- after all, it was his master's money.
Hearing the cardinal call for him, Avon hurriedly thanked the woman, before slipping the ring into the pocket of his jacket and running towards his awaiting master.
Unseen by him, the obsidian stone on the ring flashed brightly, calling out to an unknown entity.
The shadows under Avon's feet thrummed, silently celebrating their anticipated reunion.
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