"Prince Gavin! Prince Gavin!" A woman called out in a frantic voice, her steps becoming quick as worry painted all over her face. Holding her skirt while looking for the second prince of the Moon Valley Kingdom, the woman started to sweat and freak out.
"Dani! Arnold! Have any of you seen the second prince?" the woman asked another two servants.
"No, we haven't seen him. What's wrong?" Arnold asked.
"Isn't he supposed to be with you, Miss Grace?" Dani chimed in, holding two baskets of clothes ready to dry outside.
"Goodness gracious, I don't even know what to do with that child anymore! What if he gets lost and encounters trouble again! Ah, my heart!" Miss Grace dramatically exclaimed.
"Let's split up and find him. I heard Luna Veron will be arriving shortly!" Arnold informed to which everyone nodded and quickly began to move.
Under the oak tree near to the place where the servants were talking stood a child aged ten, his round raven eyes twinkling in delight as he let out a chuckle. In a swift movement, he left the tree and hid behind another, skillfully hiding from the eyes of the servants looking for him.
He glanced over the servants one more time before jumping over a wall, holding onto a rope he had previously and sneakily placed in there. In a quick turn, he slipped out and landed on the other side of the wall. His heart almost dropped as his eyes noticed a carriage about to come out if and if he could guess it right, it was the carriage used by the Luna Veron, one of his father's concubines. Fearing he would be discovered, he ran to the other direction and quickly climbed up another wall.
Rushing up to climb, his foot accidentally slipped and in an almost slow motion, his head connected to the stone on the wall and immediately losing consciousness, fell down to a cart below. In a short while, the cart was covered by a thick mantel and began to move.
When he woke up again, he was welcomed by a face too close for his own good.
"You..." he uttered with difficulty.
The other person - a lady who was probably around twenty or younger - smiled at him and said. "Thank goodness you're alive. You look too young to be travelling with an old man... an old man who is not even a human on top of that. Haha. But you're alive. Thankfully! So, what's your name, little boy?"
Although he was a little bit uncomfortable, he tried hard to speak. "G-Gavin."
"Gavin? Beautiful name, courageous and manly! I am called Atis. Before anything else though, how do you feel? Does your head hurt?" Atis asked.
"A little bit... But I, where am I, Miss Atis?" Gavin couldn't help but ask. It was his first time to see such beauty and yet to discover what place he had come to. For a ten year old boy who had only learned things through the teachings of his teachers and nanny, Gavin wasn't even sure if he was still in the country. It made him look warily around, thinking the possibility of him being captured was also high.
"What do you mean where are you?" Atis asked, blinking as she stared at Gavin. "Haven't Rebecca from the tavern informed you?"
"Tavern?" Gavin tilted his head. "What tavern?" And who was Rebecca?
Atis' face froze. Before she could utter another word, another person, a girl who looked to be around Gavin's age, appeared.
"Mother, the soup is ready. I used some herbs this time like you instructed and with the help of the book. Are we going to feed it to Aunt Rebecca's boy..."
Gavin looked at the girl in awe, words stuck in his throat. More than being surprised by her beauty, he couldn't believe such a thing could happen - the girl was floating!