"Unbelievable..." Luana whispered, dazzled by what she was seeing.
The landscape before their eyes had completely changed. The huge field has disappeared to give way to a magnificent dense forest with plants of multiple colors, long trees with dark leaves and the singing of many exotic birds.
"Everything has completely changed," she added.
"Yeah. Time also," Lucas remarked.
"Time ?" she asked, confused.
"Yeah. When we walked through the wall, it was barely noon. But now, it looks like night is going to fall soon," he explained, looking up at the sky.
Luana followed his gaze and noticed that the sky was covered with orange and pink clouds. The sun was going to set in a few minutes.
"You're right. I didn't notice."
Leo whimpered softly to get their attention.
"What's the matter, Leo ?" asked the young captain.
The animal responded by tilting its head towards the invisible wall that they have just passed through. Lucas walked over to it and stretched his arm forward.
"What's the matter, Lucas ?" asked the princess.
"The wall... It has completely disappeared..."
"What ?! But... That's impossible !" she exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah. Look."
Luana walked over to the wall and stretched her arm forward to touch it too, but found nothing.
"How is that possible ?" she whispered.
"I don't know... But maybe that..."
"That ?"
"That here is the entrance of the forest. The wall we went through only brings us from the outside into the inside of Neldor. So, the exit must be on the other side. There must be another wall there, you see ?" he explained.
"Yeah, I understand. What you said is very possible. What should we do now ?"
"For now, let's find a place where we can camp for the night. And tomorrow, we'll go search for Klefasse first. Once we find it, we'll go look for the other wall," he suggested.
"Okay."
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After walking for a few minutes, night fell. The princess and her bodyguard found a beautiful place near a river. It was well hidden by the bushes and trees that surrounded it which made it hard to find, and they were safe from any danger.
"We're going to camp here. What do you think, Your Highness ?" asked Lucas.
"It's perfect."
They took their bags that were on Leo's back to take out the camping kit.
"What should I do, Lucas ?"
"Don't do anything, Your Highness. I'll take care of everything."
"No way ! We're two in this trip. So we have to help each other," she said with determination.
"But..."
"Please..." she pleaded gently.
Lucas sighed heavily.
"If that makes you happy, Your Highness," he replied, smiling slightly.
"One more thing."
"Yes, Your Highness ?"
"Don't using honorifics with me anymore. We're travel partners after all. It's more convenient to call me by my name," she said with a small smile.
Lucas was surprised for a moment.
"I... I can't, Your Highness."
"Why ? You asked me to call you by your name the other time. So, I don't see what's wrong with doing the same for me," she added.
After a little moment of silence, Lucas laughed slightly.
"Okay... As you like... Luana..."
Her name sounded very sweet to his ears. He never imagined that one day he would be able to call her by her first name freely. It created a comforting warmth in his chest.
"That's much better," she retorted, chuckling.
They looked at each other for a few seconds, in silence.
"So, what should we do ?" she asked.
"We'll set up the tent first. It's in my bag."
"Okay."
Luana took Lucas' bag and opened it to take out the tent.
"Hm ? Lucas ?"
"Yes ?"
"We only brought one tent. It looks like we forgot the second one."
"No, we didn't forget it," he replied.
"What ? How come ?" she asked, confused.
"I purposely didn't bring it."
"But why ?"
"Because we don't need it since I'm going to stay outside to stand guard."
"What ?! You're going to stay awake all night ?!" she asked, surprised.
"Exactly."
"But like that, you won't last even three days !" she exclaimed worriedly.
"Luana, have you forgotten that I'm an imperial knight ? I've been trained for this kind of situations since I was very young," he replied, chuckling slightly.
"I know. But still..."
"Don't worry. If I ever feel tired, I could still doze off a little bit and leave the guard to Leo."
"On the floor ? And in armor on top of that? Isn't that a little bit uncomfortable ?"
"Like I told you before. I'm used to it. You don't need to worry about me," he replied, smiling.
"If you say so..."
After setting up the tent, Lucas gathered some wood with the help of Leo to make a fire. Luana, on the other hand, got the blankets ready for the night.
"I think that's enough," Lucas said, looking at the wood they had just collected.
He raised his hand and rubbed his thumb and forefinger lightly together which brought out a small flame. He threw it towards the wood which quickly caught fire.
"Wow... I didn't know you could control the fire," Luana exclaimed in wonder.
"It's one of my magical powers as an Imperial Knight that I've come to master," he replied, smiling slightly.
The two young people sat down next to each other by the fire.
Lucas took the bag that contained their provisions and took out the ingredients to prepare dinner.
"Are you going to cook, Lucas ?" the princess asked, confused.
"Yeah."
"I didn't know you could cook."
"I'm not very, very good at it but I'm doing well."
"Is it because you are called upon to do so often since you spend the majority of the time on missions outdoors ?" she asked curiously.
"Uh... Y-Yeah... That's it..." he answered nervously.
"I see. Let me help you, then."
'I can't tell her that I heard her, one day, tell her best friend that she admired men who can cook and that since that day, I started taking cooking lessons,' he thought.
They continued to cook dinner together while chatting.
"I was also doing it with dad. We often sneaked to the kitchen in the middle of the night. We spent hours and hours cooking together while laughing and talking. We made sure not to be seen by the head chef out of fear that he would think that we didn't like his cooking," she said, chuckling slightly.
"You're very respectful. I have always admired His Majesty for that," Lucas retorted, smiling.
"I'm glad to hear that..."
Lucas took a medium sized piece of meat out of the bag and gave it to Leo.
"Here's your dinner for today, Leo. Enjoy," Lucas said, smiling.
The animal responded with a purr to show its joy before eating.
A few minutes later, dinner was ready and served. They ate in silence.
"Luana ?"
"Yes ?"
"You've been silent for a while now. Maybe dinner isn't good or it's not to your liking," the young captain remarked, insecure.
"Oh no ! Not at all ! On the contrary, it's very good..." she replied in a small voice.
"I know that there's something bothering you."
"N-no... I... It's just that..." she started hesitantly.
"You know you can tell me anything, Luana..." he added comfortingly.
The princess looked him straight in the eye. Her gaze which was happy and bright, a few minutes ago, became very sad and painful.
"I'm a little afraid of failing in our mission... I've been thinking about it for days and I can't get rid of this anxiety... I... I'm afraid of losing dad..." she said.
Lucas looked at her silently.
"I know I must sound pathetic to you and that I'm bothering you-"
"Never say that again, Luana. You would never bother me and I could never think of you as pathetic," he said confidently.
"I..."
"I understand very well how you're feeling. Losing your parents is a very, very difficult thing. You feel lonely and lost in this world. I lost mine when I was very young. I was only 3 years old when it happened."
"I'm sorry..."
"No, don't worry about that. I've gotten used to their absence over the years," he replied with a sad smile.
"How did they die ? I-If you don't want to tell me, I completely respect !"
"No, don't worry. I don't mind telling you that," he answered, laughing.
"Thank you..."
"Well... My parents died in an attack prepared by Vuglonith's army. You know him, don't you ? The Demon King ?"
"Yeah, I know him. Dad already told me about him."
"It was a few months before His Majesty destroyed him completely. He had mounted an attack in my hometown. My father was a knight. He fought until his last breath to protect everyone. But they were all killed. Without exception. I was the only survivor in the whole town. It was your father who saved me. If he wasn't there, I would have been killed."
"That's so sad..."
"After the huge battle between His Majesty and Vuglonith, I was taken to the palace. His Majesty took care of me. I was badly injured and could barely move. I had been bedridden for months. The emotional shock I experienced while seeing my parents being killed in front of me was more severe than the physical one."
"It must have been very difficult for you to endure all of this," Luana said sadly.
"Yeah. But His Majesty came to visit me often with Duke Lobelia and Captain Arminel. But one day, he came with another person."
"Another person ?"
"Yeah. It was a gentle, kind and very affectionate woman. She hugged me tightly in her arms like a mother does with her child."
"And who was that woman ?" Luana asked curiously.
"Empress Isadora. Your mother, Luana," he replied, smiling affectionately at her.
"My... mother ?"
"Yeah."
"You met her ? You have memories of her ?"
"Yeah. I spent a lot of time with her. My memories are a little vague, but I remember that she often came to tell me stories before going to sleep in the night and that she always took me for walks in the garden."
"She must have loved you a lot..."
"She was the embodied kindness. A few months after that, she got pregnant. You were the baby."
"It's amazing..." she replied, chuckling slightly.
"After I turned 4, I left with Captain Arminel to start my training and education program. Her Majesty was seven months pregnant. At that time, I didn't know that she was sick... She hid it so well so she woudn't worry me. She even accompanied me to the palace gates to say goodbye, the day I left with Captain Arminel."
"You were really young," she exclaimed.
"I know. The captain always told me that I was a bit mature for my age. That's why I started my education earlier than other children my age," he chuckled.
"And what happened next ?"
"Everything was fine. I was progressing quickly in my program and Captain Arminel was proud of it. I wanted to improve myself to surprise her. So that she will be proud of me. Everything was going well until the day when Captains Arminel received a letter from Duke Lobelia announcing her death. I was devastated at that time. I felt the same pain I felt when I lost my parents."
"It must have been very hard for you..." she said in a small voice.
"I folded in on myself and refused to open up to anyone... I had few friends... I had only returned to the palace when I was 12. I started, at that age, my first training as an imperial knight."
"Oh, I see..."
'And that's when I first saw you... and fell in love with you...' he thought.
"It did me a lot of good to talk to you, Lucas. Especially since I learned a lot of things that I didn't know about my mother..."
"I'm very grateful to your parents, Luana. That's why I'm going to do my best to save your father. I promise," he said with determination in his eyes.
"Thank you, Lucas..."