The Good King

'The Long Awaited Night'

The palace's residents woke up to the open gates.

Even though it was a cloudy morning , the palace was very lively.

After all , a lot of people will finally be able to leave and see their families after all those weeks.

Louis was called into the throne's room first thing in the morning by the knights.

He got his act all together and walked beside them towards where Leo was waiting.

The knights opened the door and he was the only one allowed in , even Ivor was not there since he was busy and had a lot of work to do , making sure that nothing goes wrong.

And of course because of this event the trainees were taking another day off but this time they were not that down since their bodies really needed that.

''Ezra !''

General Alexander shouted.

''Alex !''

The dark haired knight shouted back as they ran towards each other.

Asher pretended not to know them since he was very embarrassed by the way they acted , it was definitely not their age.

''How have you been ? the last time I visited you were not around''

The General said.

''Oh , I am doing very well , what about you ?''

Ezra asked.

''Just the usual me''

Alexander replied.

''But you look like a real old man now''

Ezra as he laughed.

''You are an old man as well you know''

The General simply replied.

''Stop it , you two and let's get ready''

Asher interrupted.

Since tonight was very important of course they were ordered to keep their eyes open.

A lot of people outside are waiting for them to let their guard down before they break into the palace.

But Asher would never let that happen again.

Even though he was still worried about Aylin , he just had to trust her.

''So beautiful !''

Edmund said when he walked through the garden.

He was dressed up very nicely and looked so adorable , even though those golden layers were heavy on every other royalty the little prince likes his outfit very much and was pleased with it.

Since it has been raining a lot lately , the garden looked like a mess even though the gardeners were trying their best to take care of all those plants.

Yet because of the steady weather it was very well taken care of which made him very happy and his eyes sparkled at the sight of those colorful flowers.

''I am glad you like it My prince''

Their headman smiled as he said.

''Let's go Prince Edmund''

Betty said as she held his hand and walked with him towards Louis's room.

''About the training''

Leo wondered.

It felt as if his sharp eyes looked right through the young man standing in front of him but it was the exact opposite.

''I believe that Asher and Ezra gave Elmer up or maybe they think it is alright as long as he is alive''

The second prince said.

Of course he had to sound reasonable , saying they are not a threat will simply make Leo suspicious of him.

''If you say so , about tonight Louis , talk to our guests and figure out which of them I should get rid of''

The king ordered.

'So this is why he invited them' Louis thought before replying,

''Yes father''

The second prince's worries disappeared at once , for him Leo was just too easy to read yet once he was about to walk out of there he saw the hunter about to step in.

Their eyes met for a a second but they both looked away , after all they should act like the strangers they are for Leo.

Once Louis walked away from the knights his gentle face expression dropped as he started overthinking it all.

'Why did he call for him ? does he want to kill them ? is this what he meant by 'get rid of' ? but he is not that stupid , this way the royalty's support will all go to Elmer so it can not possibly be this , then why ?' He asked himself many times and could not come up with an answer at all.

''We are finally here''

Hawk said once they reached the forest.

It was the closest place they could step on before getting attacked by the royal knights.

''This reminds me of when I came to train with Asher and Ezra , whenever I saw the palace from afar all of my problems looked so little''

The prince said.

Hawk noticed how Elmer looked a little down after all he lost everything and was handed this heavy responsibility all of a sudden.

''You can look around while I find a place for our horses''

He said.

''Thank you !''

The prince replied as he rushed inside that forest , the same old familiar place but with leafless trees , seems like winter was hard on them for sure.

All of those animal he used to see were hiding inside their warm houses , he was the only creature wondering around.

He finally stopped when he found that one tree.

The strikes of his swords were to be seen from a far , the one he used for training and was never able to cut in half.

''How long has it been since then again ?''

He wondered while touching those traces he left months ago.

Elmer then stepped back and drew his sword then pointed it towards the tree.

He took a deep breath and tried to focus.

'Wait , what if I break my father's sword ?' He thought.

Elmer did not know if he was really worried for the sword or if he was just making up excuses.

"Hold it tight enough , Alright"

The prince then ran towards that tree and swung his sword to strike it once more with all what his strength.

For a moment in his head he saw the tree cut in half , he was very confused and did not know whether he predicted the future out of confidence or if his mind just recalled the moment Asher did that once before in front of him.

Nothing happened.

Elmer sighed while checking on his sword.

"Well at least you seem fine"

Is what he said.

It was less then a minute when the tree actually began to split open and slowly fell to the ground which left him speechless.

'He actually did it' The man hiding behind the trees thought and it was no one other than Hawk.

"Wait , it can not be !"

The prince shouted.

He was about to celebrate when someone suddenly jumped out of nowhere and ran targeting him...