"Your Highness, where can we search for the prince?" The commander asked, standing on his toes and looking around the market. The man mentioned above is nowhere to be found."You go to the left, and I shall take the right direction. If you find him, take him back to the palace." Aaron instructs the commander, who nods his head."As you wish,"They took different directions. Searching for a person in a crowd is not an easy task. It's similar to looking for a real pearl amidst many real and fake ones.Aaron's eyes follow every human passing by at the approximate height of the prince. However, none resemble the prince's style of walking.He closed his eyes to filter out the rhythm of people's walks. Everyone has their own rhythm of steps. Some walk fast, others slow. Some steps are hard, some barely noticeable in the mud. Yet, it was quite a difficult task in the chaos.Where would the prince go?With narrowed eyes, Aaron leans against a tent pole, where an old man is sitting quietly, unlike the other sellers."Excuse me, sir," Aaron said while his eyes still looked around for a glimpse of Elric."Sir, I wanted to know if you had seen it." Aaron paused for a second and continued. "a man who looks very suspicious."If Elric was here as a prince, then surely there would be commotion and the news would reach the king. However, nothing as such has occurred so far. It could only mean that the man is hiding his identity, just like him.The old man looks at Aaron and blinks his eyes. "Sir?" He points himself out. "You called me, sir?"Aaron nodded with confusion.The old man chuckled, his long white beard hiding his lips."No, I did not see any such man." The old man whispered as he took a loaf of bread. "Here, this is for you."Aaron looks at the bread and watches the old man gesturing with his eyes to take it."These are freshly made." The old man added, thinking of Aaron's hesitation."Thank you, sir. You are very generous." Aaron takes the bread and looks around to see where to keep it. He did not bring a bag, not even his horse."Wait, young man. I shall give you a bag." The old man let out a cry while standing up carefully while holding a pole."Grandfather." This voice sounded quite familiar to Aaron, who looked at the figure stepping out from the back door of a small house. "Please do not stand on your own. You never listen to me.""You are just a child; why are you lecturing me?" The grandfather asked, standing on his own, disregarding his grandson's words.The grandson sighed to himself and shook his head while placing a tray full of freshly baked bread."If you are here," Aaron whispered while pointing at the servant, who looked at him like a fish out of water gasping for air. The air was knocked out of his lungs the second his eyes met with Aaron's."Then the prince would be here." Aaron continued while pointing in the direction where the servant stepped out."What's taking you so long, Fawther?" A voice asked as the male stepped towards the group while holding a tray."Prince, you are very generous." The old man let out a sigh while stepping out of the stall to help him. Elric smiled and shook his head. "Grandfather, please sit down. Fawther and I can work."The prince keeps the bread on the stool and looks up to let out a gasp. "My goodness." He held his chest while taking a deep breath."What are you doing here?" Elric asked while pulling Aaron to the side by his forearm. The man let him drag while still holding the loaf."Eating," Aaron replied, taking a bite from it and nodding while the taste blended with his taste buds."Grandfather, it's very delicious," Aaron said, taking another bite while ignoring the glare from Elric."Thank you, child. They made these together." Grandfather replied with a warm smile.Aaron stopped chewing and looked at Elric with shocked eyes. "You know cooking, your highness?""It's not cooking; it's called baking." Elric corrected with a slap on Aaron's arm."Oh," Aaron said, nodding his head and taking a deep breath before asking, "Why did you not inform me?"Elric looks away, knowing his mistake. "I was in a hurry.""That does not justify your action. Do you have any idea how worried your brother was? He sent a troop in search of you. Heaven knows, whether they know you are here or not."Elric narrowed his eyes. "I did ask a maid to inform him and his brother."Aaron looks away and turns back. "Why could not you inform him?"Elric's eyes unconsciously fell on his wrist, where the bruise was invisible. The flower surely did its magic. "I could not," he said, remembering the harshness of his brother. "I did not have time. Fawther's mother is ill, and they are only three living together. Fawther would not be able to handle the shop and her mother at the same time. I thought...""You thought to help him and forgot about the people who care about you." Aaron steps forward. "You have any idea? I was waiting for you, and with each moment, I was getting tenser. Today you had a bruise on your wrist, and I thought something worse would have happened.. He took Elric's hand, checked whether it had healed or not, and continued. "Any thought about how difficult it is to search for a pearl in the ocean?"Elric pulled his wrist back and apologized, "My apologies. I had not given a thought about it.""You better be careful, because if you upset me next time, I shall vanish and never return," Aaron said and saw the commander running towards him."Inform his brother that he is in his servant's house, helping him," Aaron said without waiting for the commander to stop and breathe."Do I look like a horse?" The commander asked while panting."You just ran around this market and panted. Here, you call yourself commander.""The title is earned, not given based on running," The commander paused and gave a quick bow to the prince."Your Highness, we have been looking for you everywhere." The commander says it with a smile.The prince pressed his lips together and looked down. "I apologize for troubling you.""Please do not apologize, Your Highness; I would be beheaded."Aaron glanced at Fawther, standing with his grandfather, both holding opposite expressions. One was beaming, and another was looking at them with pessimistic eyes."How is your mother, Fawther?" Aaron asked, striding towards them."She is sleeping," Fawther replied, transferring the last bread from the tray to the counter, which is elevated using a wooden stool."Yes, we are helping," Elric put in while the commander followed him."Old man, can you pack 50 loaves of bread this instant?" A young man asked while he slammed a few coins on the table."Fifty?" The old man looks at the counter, which he counted to be fifteen. "I do not have them; I have around twenty.""Oh." The young man takes those coins and looks around in search of a new shop."Can we bake more?" The commander inquired, looking at his grandfather and glancing at Fawther.Grandfather looks at Fawther, who subtly shakes his head. Elric saw this and remembered that they did not have sufficient ingredients."Yes, we can," Elric responds on their behalf, while Fawther looks at Elric with wide eyes."Is it possible to wait for some time?" Aaron asked, glancing at Elric, who nodded his head, and at the young man."Absolutely, I love this shop's bread." The young man responded, getting wide smiles from his grandfather and grandson."Please, have a seat." Fawther requested as he took a stool from the side."Thank you," The man sat on the stool."Let's get to work," Elric declared, pulling Aaron with him, and catching the man off guard."I do not know, baking," Aaron informs the man to understand the blunder he can cause with his hands."Fawther knows. Just follow his instructions." Elric replied, pointing at the male mentioned, who gave a forced affirmative nod.Aaron just looks at Elric with wide eyes and parted lips as Elric tugs him towards the kitchen, which is facing the shop.This man has made up his mind to make Aaron work. That's it! Nothing would work except Aaron now.Aaron examines closely at Fawther, mixing flour, water, and other ingredients to make small sections of dough."Help us in kneading the dough," Elric says as he watches Fawther mixing them while adding water in even breaks.Aaron looks at his hand and says, "My hands are dirty."Elric lifted his eyebrows and peeked at the bucket of water outside the room."Wash your hands," Elric said while pointing at the wooden bucket. He looks at the commander and says, "Even you should wash your hands first." The commander nodded.Surely he looked more enthusiastic about this task than Aaron, who was forcefully dragging his body against gravity to push himself.The long table has trays placed on it. While the four of them try their best to knead, With a final inspection from Fawther, they're placed inside the furnace where the coals are burning, and a tray of ashes is kept in between the trays of bread. From time to time, check the crust of the loaves of bread. They continued to finish the taste."Let me help you." A lady in her mid-fifties spoke while standing up from her bed, which was in the far corner of the room.She has been watching them work hard, and what is astonishing is the fact that the prince himself is helping. She felt fortunate to know the young prince. The kingdom is endowed with his presence too.before anyone else could object. Aaron was fast to reach her. "I object, ma'am. You must rest now."Aaron helps the lady sit back on the bed with the back of his hand, as the dough has smeared. Her eyes were fatigued from trembling hands, and she took hold of Aaron's hand."Thank you." She smiles, tugging Aaron's hand to the side of the bed and insisting he sit next to her.Aaron sat with reticence, glancing at Elric, who nodded his head and watched the interaction with curious eyes as others."Thank you for helping, not just me. But for the work too." She raised her other hand to cup his face."Helping someone inferior to you is a great differentia Prince Elric holds." The lady smiles at Elric, who looks down, not comprehending how to reply.Yet he says, "Nobody is lower or higher. It's just our eyes and minds that judge."The lady smiles and shakes her head while looking back at Aaron. "See, this is why I adore him more than Fawther.""I heard that," Fawther responded, closing the metal door of the furnace.The lady ignores the statement and continues, "For a moment, I saw you next to Elric. I thought you were a prince too."The commander halted kneading the dough and abstained from looking at the lady with wide eyes."You have this aura, my child." The lady further added and thought for a moment to bind her words in a better understanding way. "Something similar to what our king has. Like sovereignty or potency, you can be an incredible ruler."She chuckled. "Later, Fawther explained that you are a merchandiser and you are here to learn about herbs."Aaron smiled and couldn't get the intrepidity to say the truth or even lie further."Ah, yes, madam. I might leave as soon as I am done with my task." Aaron replied with a smile.while someone else's smile disappeared. Later, it was replaced with a sad one that did not puff his cheeks like bread.They returned to work and eventually finished the task. The customer left the shop with a sack of bread.⋇⋆✦⋆⋇Aaron, the crown prince, is talking with a priest. They sat in front of each other.A guard enters the room and bows. "Your Highness, the young prince is with Fawther." The servant informs the crown prince."Who is that?" The crown prince stood up while stepping towards the guard."Fawther is his servant's name, your highness," the guard informs.He must have visited to see his mother.The Crown Prince sighed with a nod."You may leave."A man was wearing white clothes. The cotton cloth was wrapped around his body rather than stitched. The priest noticed the frown and tension between the furrowed eyebrows.The priest smiled while taking a step towards the crown prince and spoke calmly. "In times of distress, It is better to listen to one's heart."The prince looks at the priest with confusion. "Please pardon me; I did not understand your words."With a tender smile, the priest explains, "Emotions that we are not fond of are known as negative emotions. They are unfavorable in our lives too." He looks over the sky."They must not be taken as a fate or conclusion. We must take it as a stone in our way." The priest smiled again and continued. "Do we pay attention to the pebbles in the path?"With a long sigh, the prince nodded. "I understood. I shall not pay attention to my worry and think in a rational way rather than taking a hasty decision.""When would it rain? It is time for the rain. However, there is not a single drop from the sky." The prince looks at the blue sky, where there is no sign of dark clouds.The priest closed his eyes. "Your Highness, I am afraid that it may not rain this year."The prince hums and glances at the priest. "We must find a solution accordingly."____________________________