Unclear whispers were coming out of the crown prince's mouth while completely focusing on the book that was in his hands which he has been reading for the past four hours alone in his tent since it was night and almost everyone was sleeping.
He sighed loudly when he finally finished the whole book as he tiredly placed it on the nightstand next to the other books before moving his gaze to the exit of his tent when he noticed how dark it is outside which was when he realized night has come already.
" How long have I been reading?" Wondered the crown prince internally before heading to the door to look at the dark sky for some seconds as a mischievous smile appeared on his face.
Since this is his last day here before going back home, he won't let it go boringly like this without doing something different.
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When the king of Pheridor kingdom was talking to Victor at the royal palace while hopping on his horse, he decided to hang out with his friend who ruined his little dancing celebration with his odalisques and servants.
The west Elder forest is not under anyone's control or anyone's land. Everybody is free to come to visit it or even come to hunt the animals that live in it.
The king loves this forest which is why whenever he goes out with his friend Victor he comes to this forest.
" You have not told me why you like these woods too much, Austin." The vice minister asked while tying his and his majesty's horses to the trees just in case they run away.
The king on the other hand was busy walking around with the bow and arrow in his hand just in case an animal or someone tries to attack them. " I don't know. I just like it, I somehow feel like these woods are attracting me."
" Here we are back to talking with mystery and deep stuff." Scoffed Victor after rolling his eyes while still tying the horses secure to the tree and was completely oblivious to the king who did not realize how he walked away from the vice minister and went deep inside the woods.
After some minutes, Victor finally finished securing the horse to the trees but his face got paled when he turned around and the king was nowhere to be found " Austin? AUSTIN?"
He looked around the area while calling the king's name in concern.
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Claudius put on a shirt without even closing it and sneaked out of his tent without letting the guards notice him since he wanted to go out for once alone without the escort of his guards or Edgar.
The cold breeze was hitting his face that was uncovered which is not his usual habit since he covers his hair and face most of the time especially when he goes out but now he was all alone and at night.
His long grey hair was freely dancing and floating with the fresh air that was still hitting his face.
" That… That feels so good." The crown prince whispered with a wide smile on his face as he closed his eyes while standing at the cliff and feeling fresh cold air going through his hair and face as well as his bare upper body while his shirt was floating to the back due to the breeze that was hitting it from the front.
His highness took a very deep breath with a wide smile on his face feeling his chest swallowing in happiness when he remembered that he will see his family tomorrow.
He seriously missed them more than anything. He missed Cathleen. Although she is not his real mother who gave birth to him, she was so nice to him and treated him exactly like her other kids which is why he missed her.
He missed his father the most. He can still remember how William was refusing the idea of sending him away to train but he had to according to the royal protocol.
He also missed his two younger brothers. He wants to hug them both in his arms tightly.
He can't forget about his two seven-year-old sisters that he has never seen which makes him so excited to go back and see them as well as to get to know them.
The prince fearlessly sat down on the cliff with his legs dangling while looking at the ground that was long meters down that cliff.
The only thing he could see from this far is big and thick green trees that were covering the whole huge area under the cliff.
The crown prince diverted his gaze from the numerous trees to the sky without noticing the king who was staring at him from far away inside those woods with wide eyes in disbelief.
Due to how high the cliff where the prince was sitting, he looked so close to the moon in the sky.
The prince was somehow glowing in all the dark around him. This caught the king's attention and made him doubt if this person was real or not.
The king's heart was racing as if it was trying to jump out of his chest while watching the magical-looking unknown person on that very high cliff.
His majesty did not hesitate to run as fast as he can back to where he left Victor and instantly started untying his horse ignoring the latter who was scolding him and describing how worried he was about him.
Then he hopped on the horse and run toward the road that will lead him to that cliff. He was running as if he was racing the wind's speed.
Reaching that cliff took him almost ten minutes. His majesty jumped off his horse and rushed to where he saw that person sitting but he froze in his spot when he found the cliff empty and the grey-haired person was nowhere to be found.
The king looked around with a lost and confused look on his face before walking forward toward the cliff when he noticed something glimmering on the ground.
" A necklace. That's a royal necklace." Augustine whispered after picking up the necklace that he found on the ground.