NOBLEMAN ADVENTURER

Discussion

"Garlan and Bacchanal," I greeted warmly.

"My lord," I said to Lord Crohn, who I now remembered was Septimus.

Lord Crohn nodded at me.

Garlan's eyes were red as he embraced me. "Ah lad, I thought I'd never see you again."

Just Bacchanal added, "After you were abducted, we looked far and wide for you, but we could not find you."

I laughed at this remark. "I was right before your eyes," I answered.

"What?" they both answered in surprise.

I then told them about how a curse was placed upon me by a strange person, named Eris, beside Lady Bromwell.

"That evil crone," Lord Crohn spat out through gritted teeth. "I knew Bromwell had help from someone, but I didn't know who. Now I know."

Lord Crohn placed a palm on my head and I could feel a wave of energy flowing through my body. But then, something within my body rejected the energy. Suddenly, Lord Crohn spat out a mouthful of black blood and he released his hand from my forehead.

Wiping his blood off with a handkerchief, he roughly said, "It's a strong curse. I've no method to undo it."

"It's not a huge concern of mine," I told Lord Crohn. "Midas found me and helped me to loosen the curse. She told me the curse will slowly dissipate on its own."

"Where is she now?" Septimus asked.

"She said she was punished for not protecting me well. I don't think I will ever see her again."

My sad expression made Lord Crohn feel guilty, as though he should have tried harder to save me from the abduction.

I comforted everyone by saying, "Look, I was able to travel and experience new things."

Then I retold my story. Both Garlan and Bacchanal were angered by the collusion between the slave traders and the caravan leader. However, they naturally were happy I used my own combat abilities to save not only myself, but others as well.

We spent the morning discussing what happened to me.

In the afternoon, I inquired about what happened to them after the "heir's" disappearance.

I found out that after I ran away, His Majesty was fraught with worry. But then, rumors about an affair Lady Bromwell may had with his majesty's cousin, changed His Majesty demeanor. Since then, the heir's position in His Majesty's heart was rather rocky to the point that no one dared to mention the heir.

It had been a year and a half since I went missing and appeared. Raine was now ten years in age?

As for Princess Raine, she was busy learning formal royal etiquette.

Garlan and Bacchanal had never given up looking for me. With a smirky half-grin, Bacchanal said, "We even entered shady houses of ill-repute to find you."

"Aye," I answered, "I have a feeling I wasn't the only person you were seeking."

Bacchanal's ears turned visibly red as he laughed after hearing my response.

"We almost lost our heads under Lady Bromwell's hands, when she discovered we were close on your trail," Garlan said, to change the subject.

A newfound anger overwhelmed me, when I heard about this.

"Stay your anger," Lord Crohn told me. "It's not going to do any good to be consumed by your negative emotions. What we need now is to keep our head clear, as we think of countermeasures."

When I heard Lord Crohn's words, I released a loud breath, carrying with it all my anger. Lord Crohn was correct, if we wanted to fight against Eris and Lady Bromwell, we needed to plan wisely.