Deldion stood up from his position before placing himself closer to the edge of the river. With two hand reaching for the water, the prince bent down and splashed the clear water on his face.
When he was done, Deldion wiped his face with his shirt and slowly walked on a small trail out of the forest. Light would shine through the budding branches of the trees and sprinkle the land with its blessings. Large pebbles littered the forest ground and clashed with Deldion's shoes as if the prince was trailing on gravel.
Soon, large fields of empty farmland, engraved into the sides of hills like giant curving stairs, met Deldion's sight. Farmers and wooden homes could be seen on these barren steps. The farmers used spades and ploughs to work tirelessly to soften their lands in preparation for new harvests.
Deldion lightly jogged up a hill while greeting neighbors before finally arriving at one of many small wooden houses on the hills of farmland. The old man could be seen wearing a bamboo hat while leisurely laying down on a porch on his home. Upon seeing Deldion's arrival, the old man's expression change into one of false irritation.
"Did you take a nap while you were on the way here princess?" The old man teasingly said while attempting to seem angry.
Deldion tilted his head slightly to the left before and placed his right palm on the back of his neck. He looked down on the hill and saw reflections of the sun on the water covered fields and spoke.
"Maybe I did take a nap, but you'll never know."
The old man's caterpillar like eyebrows formed into arcs.
"Ah, who cares if you took a nap! It's time for you to help this old man work his fields."
The old man handed the prince a hoe before gesturing Deldion to follow. Deldion felt the rough wooden stick that constituted the body of the hoe as he followed the old man. It was unfamiliar to the prince to hold an agricultural tool.
The unusual pair descended down the hill before arriving at a large patch of grassland. For a moment, the winds danced around Deldion as if they were whispering pleasant prophesies into his ear. The grass fluttered in the wind, and the sun shined its light on the open land. This was the place the old man declared to be his own. This was the place where Deldion would humble himself to be a farmer.
Deldion looked at his scar covered hands. They were the hands of a pained adult that hid the mentality of a mature child. He gripped the hoe with both hands, and raised it in the air before bring it to strike the ground. His posture was awkward and his body twisted in strange ways that made the prince uncomfortable. He made slight adjustments with every swing and gained a rhythm to his unfamiliar task.
He felt this strange sense of ease that occupied his body so naturally. Lift, swing down, adjust, and repeat. There was only himself, the hoe, and the land that existed in his rhythm and thoughts. His entire being that sought to pass this trial and obtain the truth of his family's curse was swept away. He forgot that this realm was a trial and solely focused the task at hand.
Beads of unnoticed sweat formed on his scar covered body and dampened his clothes. His arms grew tired and pain drew him back to reality. In sudden realization, Deldion looked up to see the blazing sun that engulfed the world with heat. It was noon and he had loosened up a fraction of the vibrant grassland.
A few young ladies came to observe the tranced prince and scurried away as he stopped his elegant rhythm to work. The old man scoffed at the sight and made remarks on how it is good to be young and when he was Deldion's age, he wooed many woman. Deldion let out chuckles as the old man bragged about the past. The body Deldion was in resembles what the prince would look like in his early twenties.
Despite the mind of a child, his body was tall and brimmed with a royal elegance that could only be ingrained at a young age. His lush black hair, that had grown to his shoulders, was held in a high ponytail which presented his charming face. However, his eyes were truly special as they held a color of serene grey that reflected eternity.
It was a trait that the prince had yet to notice as he gained it from his journey in the boundless night.
This strange combination of mentality and body did distress Deldion to a certain extent, but he became accustomed to this body.
As he looked at the still burning sun, Deldion sat under a tree next to the old man. The old man poured the prince a bowl of water that quenched the unknown thirst Deldion felt. They sat their as the old man chattered.
"Do you know what tea is?"
"I don't."
"You don't! What did I expect from a porridge thief? Of course you don't know, you didn't know what rice was a month ago."
"That's not fair old man! You can't expect a foreigner who labors for you to know what this tea is."
"As if a foreigner would love rice as much as you do! Actually, rice is universally loved."
The two kept on quarreling like morning birds as the sun cooled down and Deldion returned to his task.
***
The sun slowly invited the crescent moon to a star filled evening before falling behind the horizon to rest. Deldion and the old man returned to the cottage after today's labor, and prepared dinner.
Deldion sat quietly as he ate his meal. The feeling of losing himself in work was strange and weighed on the prince's mind. These pressing thoughts disappeared as the old man and Deldion cleaned up and prepared for bed.
The crescent moon was like a familiar smile that comforted Deldion to sleep. The ambient night whispered and crackled as the prince fell into a dream. He opened his eyes to a very familiar sight: his father's bedchamber. A piercing voice like shook Deldion's heart, as it came from his father laying on the bed.
"My son…"