At Darwin Manor,
The four friends met at some distance to the manor and discussed with each other before they entered the manor.
They looked at the outstanding Darwin manor that was glowing under the setting sun rays. The manor which looked like a small square was larger than they expected.
Proceeding inside, the four's attention shifted to the left where the group of soldiers was drilling and mastering their skills. It was mainly physical strength training.
Wayne stretched his body as he asked the other three, "Where will they train our special skills?"
Mirela had a different question looking at another set of soldiers marching from left to right on their path. "The Blewetts are greedy for power but they aren't strong enough to have it. What if Darwin covets the throne?"
Mirela's question successfully got the attention of three. They seriously pondered as Mirela continued, "They are in no way connected to the throne to provide their conditional support. If they go rogue, they have a huge army, cavalry, and importantly they have weapons."
Her main concern was why the royal family gave so much military power to the Darwin family as it could threaten the royals.
They have heard many other kingdom stories where the whole royal family would be replaced or killed by another strong family of the same kingdom.
Edvin voiced his thoughts, "There must be a reason for the royals to trust the Darwins so much."
Mirela countered without accepting such simple clarification, "It isn't unknown how Duchess Blewett, the first princess tried to possess the throne. When family members could be an enemy, they need to be cautious of outsiders."
'Ahem.'
The four turned behind to see a man in training attire. Although his presence was quite strong, looking at his attire, the four just waited for him to speak.
Kaven Darwin flashed an amicable smile. He knew the four were summoned to give advance training to be knights of the next Crown Princess.
Listening to their conversation unintentionally, He was proud that the knights were loyal to the throne and guarded up against everyone.
However, it was important for them to know the Roosevelts well enough and also trust the Darwins, who are loyal to the throne for centuries.
"Pardon me for the interruption," he excused himself before subtly telling them about the Roosevelts. "The Royal Roosevelts are protectors of the kingdom, it is known and written everywhere. Only a few are familiar with their power of destruction." One among those few is the Darwins.
Brax and Edvin were scrutinizing the man when Wayne countered understanding Roosevelts are stronger, "Every Darwin might not be a proficient mage but General Darwin's skill is impeccable." So there are chances Darwins might be hiding their true capability.
Kaven realized the four in front of him didn't understand the depth of 'the Power of Destruction.' He nodded agreeing his little brother was excellent as he moved towards the manor, "You have a lot to learn. We will meet again sometime."
The four friends: "…"
'Meet again? Who is he?'
They shook off their thoughts and proceeded to find General Darwin, Arihan.
Following the gate guard's instruction, they stood on the ground where the fierce sword fighting was going on. More than fifty men and women were around the ground, supporting either Duke or General.
They had seen Arihan's fierce battle so they were shocked to know Duke Darwin could fight against Arihan.
As the fight continued, Duke Darwin broke into a sweat but his strike got brutal as time passed. Everyone held their breath, their heart raced watching father and son going for each other's life.
Suddenly, in a split second, Duke Darwin was holding the sharp tip of the sword at a hair-breadth distance from Arihan's neck.
The crowd cheered for the Duke without finding it surprising but the four stood in utter shock. Duke Darwin was over fifty whereas Arihan was just in his early twenties. Their strength should have had a large margin. They were truly impressed by the duke.
Duke Darwin retracted his sword and remarked in displeasure, "You are distracted."
The four: "…"
If the distracted state is so strong, they weren't sure how skillful Arihan was
Arihan's face got darker hearing his father. His father was right, he was distracted after hearing the flute near the river. It wasn't a sweet distraction but he wasn't willing to go to the palace to train 'Princess Alora.'
Duke Darwin passed his sword to his aide observing Arihan's reaction. He was finding his son's strange behavior from the previous night.
He confirmed the reason when he went to the palace to meet Zander and Orla. He got a glimpse of a redhead lady named Alora. However, he didn't expect Arihan to be waiting for Alora all these years and found it hard to believe she was Alora.
Duke Darwin cued a soldier to take the sword from Arihan's hand as he spoke going closer to his son, "You don't owe anything to anyone, Arihan."
Arihan passed the sword and walked with his father while other soldiers grabbed their swords and entered the field to practice.
Duke continued, "I do owe them. And I will repay it until I am alive."
Arihan didn't react to his words. He respected his father's choice but it didn't change the fact that he promised Orla and little Alora.
His eyes brushed over the four who were waiting for him. The four passed the first assessment as a team. He glanced at a soldier who followed Arihan's line of sight and spotted the four.
The soldier quickly bowed in acceptance of the orders and approached the four to take them to the barracks where they will be staying.
Arihan stopped after some distance where nobody was around. He looked at his father and earnestly asked, "Father, what happened fourteen years ago?"
He was in the palace that day. He could remember what was happening. All the Royal physicians had lifted their hands failing to provide any treatment to Alora. That night, Alora, Eugenie, Zander, and infant Freya suddenly left the palace.
When he woke up from sleep, his father took him back to the palace saying nothing. The same response again came from Duke, "I am not aware of it. Arihan." There was a lot of speculation about the departure of the family of four, but nobody confirmed it.
Arihan showed no reaction to the response. Even Arihan wasn't sure if he was disappointed hearing his father. He nodded his head in a bow, "I will take my leave, Father."
Duke Darwin pointed toward the manor as he asked, "Aren't you staying for dinner? Your mother was asking about you." Arihan had his private estate given by the throne for his achievements. There he had built his place, bigger than a house, much smaller than a manor.
"I won't be staying, father." He has to classify some military reports and plan a schedule to train the redhead lady.
The quicker he completes his job, the sooner he could get away from her. But he didn't know anything about the redhead lady so he was unsure how long it might take.
—————
In the Royal Roosevelt palace,
Alora feared to sleep in her room, Freya offered to stay back in her room until she fell asleep but Alora sent Freya to bed and snuck under her comforter.
They were having different kinds of training from the next day, Alora was excited to start learning new things, thus her fear paled in comparison.
Alora didn't only fall asleep faster, she was in good slumber when Eugenie and Zander stood at the door to take a look at her.
Eugenie worriedly looked for affirmation, "Will she blame us?"
Zander knew what was bugging Eugenie. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, assuring her to stay strong. "Alora will understand that we did for her good."
"What if…"
Zander cut her off accurately knowing what his wife was going to say, "Alora is grown up. Her body, her health, and her vitals are stronger. Let's be positive." He gently patted her shoulder. He was also stressed thinking of the coming days Alora will have to face but he didn't show it.
"But…"
"Eugenie…" Zander sighed. Stuck between ifs, and buts, they had controlled Alora in the name of protection. "It's time she learns about herself."