A pair of deep sea blue eyes were lost in thought at the decades-old mory.
"As your mother said, ever since that day, I no longer feared the recurring nightmares that used to bother at night. It's still the sa darkness but I could dominate my dreams and learn to control what happens inside them. The next night I had that dream, instead of letting that golden creature tie with its tail, I got hold of its tail and took control of it. Now, it's nothing more than my pet."
Arlan chuckled as he boasted, a proud smirk on his lips.
"And it is all thanks to your mother. Perhaps I would have gotten over it years later on my own, but the childhood trauma and the mindset of having no one believing would have made a different person."
"She just gave you encouragent and you managed to overco your nightmares with your own strength."
On the side, Slayer made a side comnt, "What a violent child, to pull the tail of a dragon and beat it to submission. Despite hearing this many tis, it doesn't change my initial impression of you..."
"Says the guy who earned the nickna 'Slayer'. Psh." Arlan then returned his attention to Drayce. "Well, I have both mother and son to thank. If it was not for you, Dray, I would have never understood what those dreams were."
"For that, both of us should thank my mother, as everything I know are things I learned from her."
Arlan pulled out a pendant hidden under his clothes. The gold chain had been changed to fit his adult self, but the green stone Esther blessed remained the sa. "I still keep it with at all tis, but not because it is a family heirloom, but as a mory of the only woman who believed when even my family never did."
Arlan nodded as he enjoyed the wind blowing against his face on top of the cliff. As he eyed the raging river at the bottom, he seed to have thought of sothing. "How is your father, His Excellency?"
"Must be sowhere out there as usual," Drayce replied without a change in his expression.
"Despite how you two openly dislike each other, it's funny how similar you are to each other as well. Both of you are doing this every year, not giving up on your search for your missing mother. Such a stubborn pair of father and son," Arlan comnted.
"Are you done?" Drayce asked drily.
"Hmm! Perhaps? This is quite an improvent. Don't you think so, Slayer?" he nudged his other friend. "I should celebrate the fact that at least Dray didn't get angry this ti when I called him and King Theron father and son."
Drayce scowled at him, to which he responded with a cheeky grin.
After a while, Arlan heard Drayce saying sothing under his breath.
"The longer I sit on the throne as a king, the more I think I understand him."
His voice was so quiet that if it weren't for the other n not speaking, they wouldn't have caught those words.
Arlan decided to change the mood. "That's good to know. As the saying goes, only those who bear responsibilities can understand the weight of carrying them."
Drayce simply nodded and decided to drop the subject. "What about your girl? Did you manage to get any clues about her and her grandfather?" Drayce asked.
Arlan almost choked as he raised his hand on a dismissive gesture. "Who's my girl?"
"Aren't you looking for them because she ran away despite being your betrothed? If she's not your girl, then what is she?"
"A criminal who undermined the authority of the royal family," Arlan spoke. "Sooner or later, I will catch them,"
"Yes, and the mont you catch them, that ans we will be receiving an invitation to co to Griven and attend your wedding," Slayer, who had been quietly listening to them, reacted.
Arlan raised a brow at the knight. "I will only hold my wedding after yours, my friend."
"That will never happen," Slayer countered.
Arlan chuckled. "Precisely. That's what I ant to say."
Slayer turned to look at the grinning prince. "Do not compare your situation with . I am an orphan with no family so I have a complete say over my own marriage, but you are the Crown Prince of your kingdom. Do you think the royal family will sit back after you found her? The mont you bring back your betrothed, you have to marry her and honour the promise between both families."
"Not if I beco king first," Arlan scoffed. "Besides, who told you that I am searching for her to honour a promise that I did not consent to? She's a sinner, both her and her grandfather. Even if she doesn't want the marriage, how dare they ruin the trust our family had in them? Are they looking down on us Cromwells?
"In the first place, her family is the one to break the marriage alliance. They need to be punished so there is no reason for to honour it. I will bring them back to face the consequences of dishonouring the Royal Family of Griven. I will make sure they both--that girl and her grandfather--will be buried next to each other."
Drayce gave him a side-eye. "Don't let your emotions rule you even before you et her. Don't you wish to learn first about her circumstances?"
"Nothing will change even after that. An offence is an offence."
"I will be the first to laugh at you if you fall for her at first sight."
"She can be the prettiest woman in the world, but you know beauty is not enough to sway my heart. Nothing can sway it." Arlan looked at Drayce with a patronizing gaze. "I am not like you."
"We will see," was all Drayce could say in response.
Arlan felt sowhat insulted by his friend's nonchalance. "Disregarding the fact that her guardian chose to bring her away at the risk of their family's honour, I do not believe she can be better than the ladies I et in high society. How many years had it been? Do you think that a girl who is living in hiding and must be wandering in a poor state can grow up as a proper lady? What can she even be like? If she's to take after her grandfather, then I'm sure she's the immature and reckless kind, a good-for-nothing girl who must be regretting being born in that family for her condition. Maybe she'll thank for putting an end to her miserable life as a fugitive."
"Then I will pray for you to never find her. Poor soul is better off away from violent and cruel people like you."
"Cruel? Violent? Are you talking about ? May I remind you who among us three earned the nicknas 'Slayer' and 'Devil's son'?"
The King's guardian knight looked at him with an annoyed gaze. "Those who don't know the real you are fools. You can drop your sweet prince act in front of us."
Arlan put out a pure and benevolent smile that could rival that of a saint, one that he would often wear when he's among aristocrats as if he was the kindest man to roam the lands.
"You are becoming unnecessarily talkative, Slayer, my friend."
"It's an inevitable result after being around friends who have a bad influence on ," Slayer replied.
"Well, you don't need to feel bad about those fugitives. I will just punish them according to the law without being cruel. I can't help it when dying is their destiny," Arlan said with a shrug.
"Do whatever you want," Drayce stopped the two from arguing. "But if that girl is the reason my mother ca to your kingdom, then I will have to ddle in."
"I will spare their lives until you get useful information from them."
Those words concluded that matter.
Seeing the sun visibly lower in the sky, Drayce realized how much ti had passed. "Aren't you dropping by the palace this ti as well?"
"You ask the sa question even though I co here like this once a year." Arlan shook his head as if he was tired of repeating himself. "I ca to see my friends. Coming to the royal palace ans my own people will know I am here. I do not feel like having an official eting and being bothered with all those fussy delegation stuff. Do you want rumours to spread about how the Crown Prince of Griven appeared in both palaces of two kingdoms within the sa day? Let's not let them know."
"As you wish," Drayce agreed.
"Well, since that's decided, shall we disguise as commoners and go to a tavern? It's been long since we had drinks together," Arlan suggested and his two friends agreed. The next mont, the three young n disappeared from the cliff.
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