"Ah, no…pardon my rudeness. It's a pleasure to meet such a respected military officer, Commander." Cedric spoke firmly, his head bowed.
"Al, this is Cedric. If you'd believe it, he's one of the three Heir prospects that everyone's been talking about. He's a friend, so we meet here for lunch every day. You won't tell anyone, will ya?"
"Haha don't worry 'bout that. But wow, one of the Heir prospects, huh? Good to meet ya, Cedric! And don't worry about being polite, you have my respect already, friend!" Al responded cheerfully with squinted eyes, waving one hand at Cedric modestly while scratching his head through wrappings and messy brown hair.
Cedric looked back to him with a smile, before his recollections came back to him like a wave. The things he remembered about that day, along with the recent happenings, forced his hand.
"Um…sorry to bring this up out of the blue, but, I have to tell you all something."
"Hmm? What is it, Cedric? You're looking awful serious all the sudden." Galgi inquired, while Al looked on with mild interest as he carelessly bit into a potato from Cedric's carrier. Cedric paused, took a deep breath, and looked at both of them sternly.
"The truth is…I encountered a Red Wolf last night. I think he was one of the ones you mentioned, Galgi, because he was wounded, and wore a torn red sash, just like the one you're holding."
Galgi and Al, along with the rest of the group, looked on speechlessly. Galgi seemed to be especially frozen in place, as if he couldn't believe the words he was hearing.
"And, I think their goal is… to kidnap the Heir prospects, maybe… He was attempting to sneak into High Town when he saw me, and he said some really odd things…like, that he was setup in a trap or something..."
"Hmm, wait just a second, kid. You said he was sneaking into High Town?" Al was the first to speak up.
"T-that's right. But, I stopped him for a moment…and then, something, something…else, scared him off, and he fled into the forest."
"Cedric…that's…completely insane…It may have only been one man, which I'm sure is why you kept quiet this long, but this is still…"
"Extremely dangerous," Al finished for him, seemingly deep in thought.
"But wait, Cedric, you said…about kidnapping Heir prospects? What gave you that idea?"
"Ah…well, that's…"
He didn't want to get into talk of that day long ago, especially since it seemed Al didn't recognize him. He thought the man may have wanted to forget that day just as much as he did.
"Well, let's not worry about that, Galgi," Al surprisingly cut in. "I'd say his suspicions are warranted, for various reasons…. What's important here is that our fears from last night were very well-founded. It seems the Red Wolves are making their move as we speak."
"But just what are they planning…what do you think we should do, Al?"
"My friend will have to wait. For now, the three of us need to enter the castle and speak with Chief Allen." Al now sounded completely different than he had before, all signs of his careless grin gone.
"The Commander-in-Chief of military affairs…?" Galgi questioned in a near gasp.
"That's right. That's just how serious this is…" Al had already begun walking away when he stopped and said this, his tone completely different.
And so, Cedric followed the 3,000-Man Commander and the lowly Go captain inside the castle's main floor. He had his reservations being here, not only being under the allowed age of attendees, but also in the amount of attention he was bringing, which would surely come back to his father. He was doing everything he was taught not to do at this point. However, he was resolved to see this through, and accept whatever retribution he might incur from it.
As the group walked down a fine green carpet toward a matching green staircase that split into two paths down either way of a torchlit hall, Cedric eyed the portraits hung up on the wall behind a line of chiseled silver pillars. The first was the most expensively made, a painting of a broad-shouldered man with flared blonde hair- none other than Garik.
The portraits that followed, while ranging in size and quality as well as stature of the person featured, all shared one characteristic:
Bright, blond hair.