"Hey Evreux, could you slow down a bit? My feet are really sore from all this walking," Severus complained, but Evreux ignored him and kept pulling him along. In his haste, Severus didn't see a rock in his path and tripped, falling on top of Evreux.
"Severus!" Sixten called out, glaring at them.
"Sixten!" Severus shouted with a grin.
"Stand up," Evreux said, glaring at him.
"Shit! Sorry, sorry," Severus apologized, quickly getting up. He extended his hand to help Evreux, but Evreux ignored it.
"Grumpy," Severus muttered as he ran over to Sixten.
"What are you doing here?" Sixten asked Severus when he got close.
"Ahh HAHAHA, umm, just getting some fresh air," Severus replied, trying to sound casual.
"Don't you know that because of you, our sister couldn't eat properly? And now you say you were just getting some fresh air? Are you kidding me, Severus? And why are you with him?" Sixten demanded.
"Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," Severus said, pulling Sixten away.
"Let go of me. You kept me up all night, you jerk," Sixten said, struggling against Severus's grip.
Severus teased his brother, "Oh, you're worried about me," but Sixten just gave him a disapproving look.
"You're really going to get it from Sis when you get back," Sixten warned.
"Ouch, Sis, it hurts, it hurts, huhu," Severus whined as Seiren pinched him when they got back to Eleonorin Palace.
"Where have you been? Do you know how worried we were? What if something bad happened? What if you ran into those people from the Gabayan Kingdom? What if you got lost?" Seiren asked, her questions coming rapid-fire.
"Don't worry, Sis. See? I came back in one piece. Look, no injuries," Severus said, showing his hands and feet to prove he was unharmed. Seiren seemed satisfied and sent him to his room to rest.
"Go rest," Seiren told her brother.
"Where did you find him, Sixten?" Seiren asked when Severus went into his room.
"By the stream, Sis. He was with Evreux," Sixten replied.
"And what were they doing there?"
"How should I know, Sis? Maybe they were on a date?" Sixten suggested.
"Get it together, Sixten, or I'll pinch your ears too," she warned.
"Why are you asking me? Am I Severus for you to question?" Sixten said, then quickly ran off.
"SIXTEN, COME BACK HERE! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!" Seiren shouted, but Sixten ignored her and continued running away.
"Sev!" Priamos called out, running up to them.
"I knew you'd come back. Did you know how worried your sister, I, and Sixten were?" Priamos said, a mix of concern and annoyance in his voice.
"Hey, what misinformation are you spreading now, Prim? Worried? Me, worried about this guy?" Severus said, pointing at himself. "No way," he added, rolling his eyes at them.
"Guess what? I saw a beautiful dragon yesterday where Evreux and I went. It was so beautiful that I almost wanted to take it home and sell it. I could probably build a kingdom with the money from selling it," Severus lied.
"Really?" Priamos asked, intrigued.
"Yeah, and its eyes were green, its tail was pink, and its body was violet."
"You must be joking," Priamos said, looking skeptical.
Severus smirked and put his arm around Priamos's shoulder. "Can you tell? HAHAHA."
"Ahem."
They all turned to see Evreux standing nearby with his usual expressionless face.
"Oh, Mr. Handsome! Hi, Evreux. Did you sleep well last night?" Severus asked, draping an arm around Evreux, who glared at him as if ready to explode.
"Get off," Evreux said coldly.
"Scary. Okay, fine, I'll take it off," Severus said, removing his arm from Evreux's shoulder. "So grumpy. No one likes you," he muttered, but it seemed Evreux heard it as he shot him another angry look.
"Master Evreux, are you going in?" Priamos asked.
Evreux just nodded and went inside.
"You're such an idiot, Priamos," Severus said, following Evreux.
Priamos looked confused. "Huh?"
Sixten muttered, "Hotdog."
"Hotdog? The sausage one?" Priamos asked, puzzled.
As Seiren walked towards town, she ran into the disciple who had helped them.
"Good morning," the young man greeted cheerfully.
"Good morning to you too, Sir," Seiren replied.
The disciple laughed. "Don't call me Sir, it's so embarrassing. Just call me Luhan."
Seiren nodded and smiled.
After a moment, Luhan asked, "Miss, what's your name?"
"My name is Seiren."
Luhan suddenly bowed. "Nice to meet you, Seiren."
"The pleasure is mine, Disciple Luhan," Seiren said.
Luhan asked, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going outside the palace to buy some ingredients for tomorrow," Seiren answered.
"What's the occasion? Is there a birthday coming up? Whose birthday is it?" Luhan inquired.
Seiren nodded. "Tomorrow is my younger brother Severus's 18th birthday."
"Can I accompany you? I mean, just in case there are dangerous creatures around, I can help protect you," Luhan offered.
"Do you have other things to do, Disciple Luhan? I don't want to trouble you," Seiren said.
Luhan quickly responded, "I do, but I can handle it later. It's not a big deal."
"But—" Seiren began to say, but Luhan gently pulled her away from Eleonorin Palace.
After their class, the three of them decided to visit the hot spring located at the edge of the garden.
"Ah, this feels amazing," Priamos murmured.
"Hey, what are you doing? Don't pee in here," Sixten exclaimed.
"No, I didn't," Priamos said, splashing water at Sixten.
"Gross!" Sixten shouted, trying to avoid the splash.
"I didn't pee. I was just enjoying the warmth enveloping my whole body," Priamos explained.
Sixten rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Priamos glanced at Severus and asked, "Aren't you going to take a dip?"
"No, I might end up peeing too," Severus joked.
Priamos pouted and glared at him. "Alright then, I'm leaving." Priamos stood up to get his robe, but before he could, Severus suddenly grabbed him and jumped into the water with him.
"It's SO HOT!!" Severus shouted as he jumped in. Sixten and Priamos burst into laughter.
Seiren smiled at Luhan. "Thank you for accompanying me, Disciple Luhan."
Luhan nodded. "It was no trouble, Ms. Seiren."
"Um, I'd like to invite you to join us tomorrow if you're free," Seiren said.
Luhan smiled. "I'll come."
Seiren nodded. "In that case, I'll go ahead, Disciple Luhan."
Luhan waved. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
"Any news about the Gabayan Prince?" Elijah asked his two sons.
The two shook their heads.
Elijah shook his head in disappointment. "What have you two been doing these past few weeks? Don't you know that the war between Eleonorin and Gabayan is approaching?"
Elex bowed and answered, "I'm sorry, Father. I'm doing my best to monitor everyone in the palace, but none of them seem suspicious."
Elijah nodded and turned to his youngest son. "What about you, Evreux? What have you been doing these past few weeks besides reading books?"
Evreux remained silent.
"He is helping me monitor our people, Dad," Elex lied.
Elijah shook his head, looking at Evreux with disappointment. "I had high hopes for you, Evreux, but you always disappoint me."
"As always," Evreux replied calmly.
"You...!"
"Dad, calm down! We promise to do better next time. Just don't punish my brother again," Elex pleaded.
Elijah glared at them. "Get out!"
Elex nodded and dragged his brother outside.
Elex asked, "You okay, little brother?"
Evreux remained silent and expressionless, as always.
Elex sighed. "Please focus on our mission. Many will be harmed if we let the Gabayan Prince roam our kingdom. Think about the greater good, Evreux, not just your heart," he said, then left.
The three of them walked happily after their hot spring visit.
"Severus was so funny earlier, HAHAHA. How about your jump, Severus? You looked like a leech sprinkled with salt, HAHAHA," Priamos said, mimicking Severus's jump.
Severus glared. "Yeah, laugh all you want… are you happy now?"
Priamos replied, "Oh, very much."
Severus rolled his eyes and tsk
.
"Do you know what? I saw a beautiful girl earlier," Severus said.
Priamos stopped laughing and asked, "Oh really? Where?"
Severus grinned. "In my imagination, HAHAHA."
Sixten gave him a skeptical look. "You're all about girls. Maybe you'll end up with a guy."
Severus smirked. "If they were as beautiful, smooth, and handsome as Evreux, I wouldn't turn them down," he teased.
"Gross. As if Evreux would ever like you," Sixten replied.
"Well, I don't like him either, so we're even," Severus said with a shrug.
"Let's change the topic. Your birthday is tomorrow, right?" Priamos asked.
"How did you know? You must have a thing for me if you know my birthday," Severus said, joking.
"Not at all. Sister Seiren invited me," Priamos clarified.
Sixten glared at Priamos. "Why do you have to be so close to our Sis? She's not even your sister."
"Yeah, only we get to call her 'Sis,' right, Sixten?" Severus agreed.
Sixten nodded in agreement.
Priamos grinned. "Well, since she's your sister then I'll call her 'Sis' too. I'll call her that however I want!" Then he ran off.
The two brothers exchanged amused looks and burst into laughter.
"HAHAHA, that was hilarious!" Severus said, laughing.
"HAHAHA, totally epic!" Sixten agreed.
As the laughter died down, Severus and Sixten continued their walk through the garden. The sky was beginning to darken, signaling the approach of evening. The atmosphere was relaxed, and the tension from earlier had all but faded.
"Hey, have you thought about what you want for your birthday tomorrow?" Sixten asked, curiosity piqued.
Severus shrugged. "Not really. I mean, it's just another year older. I guess I'm hoping for something fun or maybe a surprise."
Sixten smirked. "Knowing Sis, she'll probably have something special planned. She always goes all out for birthdays."
"You're right. And she'll probably make sure everyone is there, even if it means dragging them in," Severus joked.
The two chuckled as they walked towards the palace. As they neared the entrance, they saw Priamos talking animatedly with a couple of the palace servants.
"Looks like Priamos is trying to convince them to do something," Sixten said, watching with amusement.
"Yeah, probably trying to get them to help with some prank or another," Severus replied, shaking his head.
Priamos spotted them and jogged over, a mischievous grin on his face. "Hey, you two! I was just telling them about our hot spring adventure. You know, the one where Severus thought he'd become a human fountain."
Severus rolled his eyes. "Very funny. I'm sure the whole palace is now aware to our embarrassing moments."
Priamos laughed. "Well, it's all in good fun. Anyway, I'll see you guys tomorrow. I've got a few things to take care of before the party."
As Priamos waved and left, Severus and Sixten entered the palace. The evening was calm, and the gentle hum of activity in the palace was a reminder of the life and energy within the walls.
Severus sighed contentedly. "You know, despite the chaos and everything, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."
Sixten nodded. "Yeah, me too. It'll be nice to celebrate and just have a good time."
They reached Severus's room, and Seiren was waiting for them with a warm smile. "There you two are. How was the hot spring?"
"Great!" Severus replied. "We had a blast."
"Good to hear," Seiren said, giving Severus a reassuring pat on the back. "Now, go get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day."
Severus nodded and headed into his room, with Sixten following behind. As he closed the door and prepared for bed, he couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation for the next day.