"How did you come to run away, brother Huan?" Alex asked the 2nd prince. "I'm surprised you were able to get away from your father when you were right there in the palace. He let you go without taking back the sword?"
"I… I didn't have the sword with me at that point," the 2nd prince answered Alex. He stared as Alex put more ingredients into the cauldron, but his gaze was distant. He was remembering the past.
"My mother's death was kept from me for months. I wasn't even aware she was meaning to break through," the 2nd prince said. "So when I was told about what had happened, I left for the palace immediately. I would only come to later realize that I had left my storage bag with Hannah, the one that held the sword."
Alex could see the story coming together. The 2nd prince went back to the palace to mourn for his mother's death and after a while was told to bring the sword. He decided not to and ran away, taking Hannah along with him.
