It was fascinating to hear Lorella talk about her love of plants and rare flowers, about her garden full of different flora from all across the continent. There was a true admiration in her expression as she spoke of them. She talked about them like they were her children, something to be cherished and kept safe by their mother.

"It's the only reason I agreed to come to the castle, actually," Lorella mused.

"Really? How so?" Auron asked. He was the one who was interested the most in her hobby.

"My father told me you kept rare flowers in your garden as the High Fae Queen has a passion for them." She shook her head and chuckled at the thought. "All of that was a lie though. It was just a ploy to get me here to be your suitor. Your garden is full of nothing but hedges, common roses, and weeds."

"I hate to break it to you, but my mother actually despises flowers. She insists she's allergic to them," I added. It was a little reassuring to hear that the lady hadn't come here of her own accord. That meant her story of wanting this war to end was more likely to be true.

Lorella winced. "I couldn't imagine anything worse."

We had been riding for a few hours, long enough that the sun had now fully risen and I was sure my mother and every guard in the castle had been alerted of our departure. Sabre and Auron had left a note explaining where they were going for Trik so he wouldn't worry too much. I told them to add a section at the bottom of it to apologise for the extra work they would be piling on him.

"What about all of you? Do you have things you're passionate about to keep you occupied?" She slowed her horse down to face us as she spoke.

"If you count work as something I'm passionate about, then that's what mine would be," Sabre was the first to reply. "I love to make weapons and the occasional piece of jewellery too."

"Ah, you're a blacksmith, right?" I could sense Sabre was about to correct Lorella, but the lady talked too quickly for her to get a word in. "Where you have a significantly hot fire? Does that mean you can make items out of glass too?"

"Not really." Sabre looked away sheepishly, as if embarrassed by her lack of talent in that area. She was perfectly talented enough already, and I would have told her so if their conversation hadn't continued. "I specialise more in moulding metals. Though, I did give glassblowing a try once with a friend of Trik's. I wasn't very good at it."

"That's a very admirable skill nonetheless." Given their last interaction with each other was hostile, Lorella and Sabre seemed to get along quite well. "What about you two?" She turned back to Auron and I. "Is there anything interesting that you do?"

"There isn't much time to have a hobby when you're a prince," I sighed. "But I like to read and perhaps write my own stories in my spare time. I find it difficult to motivate myself to do the latter, though."

"And I'm roughly the same as Sabre." Auron looked to the ground, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze. "However, if you call it a hobby, I do like to draw from time to time."

"I think anything you're passionate about and do often can be called a hobby." Lorella waited until Auron looked her in the eyes before she carried on. "I'm assuming you three are friends considering you were sneaking out of the castle together. You look like you trust each other a lot. How did you all meet?"

We all internally grimaced at her words. There used to be an inseparable trust between us a few nights ago. Now, we couldn't even talk to each other without it being brought up or thought about, dampening everyone's moods. It made it nearly impossible to carry a conversation. We had only been able to talk to one another now because Lorella was doing most of the talking.

"We-" Sabre and I both said at the same time, cutting each other off.

"I wouldn't say we trust each other too much anymore," Auron's pointed attack hurt more than I thought it would and I could tell Sabre felt the same way, "but we met when we were children. We all grew up on the castle grounds as some of the only children there, so we spent time with each other and eventually became friends."

Even Lorella cringed at his jab at us. "Ah, I see." She looked between all of us, her brow scrunched in confusion. I had no doubt she was wondering what had happened to make Auron talk that way.

The lady went quiet for the next few minutes, the conversation coming to a close. Though, I could tell there was something else running through her mind. I just couldn't place my finger on what it was.

"Can we stop for a little while so I can relieve myself?" Lorella asked not too long later, not an ounce of embarrassment at her question. "It will also do some good if we could stretch our legs and give our horses a short break."

"Of course," Sabre responded, bringing Cirrus to a slow halt. "That's probably a wise decision too."

Lorella slid off her steed with ease. "I won't be too long, I promise!" She called as she made her way into the forest for some privacy, leaving the three of us alone to talk.

We all stood and stretched our bodies, preparing ourselves to continue on our journey. The way Sabre and Auron both looked at nothing in particular, not each other or even me, made me feel like they couldn't trust me. Would they ever be able to trust me again?

"What are we going to do if the Sephirans are home?" Auron broke the unnerving silence. "Are you ready to meet your parents?" He turned to Sabre who had seemed to shrink at the mention of the Sephirans.

"I don't know." She crossed her arms, making the gooseflesh that had appeared there more obvious. "Our focus should be on the Idaphite anyway."

Auron frowned at her dismissal to talk about it.

You can talk to us about it if it's bothering you was what I wanted to say, but the words died in my throat. Did she even want to hear something like that from me after I had lied to her? Sure, she had done the same thing, but she had a genuine reason as to why she did it. I only had the excuse that I wanted to protect her.

I turned around to grab the flask of water I had put in my horse's saddle bag, but I found that my steed was gone. It had disappeared without a trace. When I searched for the other horses we had brought along, I discovered they had gone too, even Lorella's.

Sabre and Auron had noticed what had happened too. How had they vanished from under our noses when we were right next to them?

A calling whistle sounded from up the path to draw our attention. The culprit of the sound, who happened to be holding the reins to all of our horses, was none other than Lady Lorella herself.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Auron shouted.

"I'll be back with the horses when you can sort out whatever is going on between you three! It will feel like treading on broken glass trying to talk to you as a group and I don't want it to drag this journey down."

"This isn't the time to be messing around!" I yelled back. It wasn't safe to be stranded in the middle of the forest that spanned most of Racaea's land, even if we were on the main path. There were creatures lurking between the trees that not even the strongest person wanted to face.

"Oh, I know! That's why you should speak your mind and sort it out quickly." She smiled sweetly before she continued up the path with the horses, somehow managing to lead all four of them without struggle. How in the forest's name had she taken them from us without us noticing?

I couldn't help but sigh. "I knew it was a mistake to bring her." My mother would be furious when she found out that I'd not only left, but brought Lorella with me too. Though, perhaps she would be pleased with the thought that we had snuck out together.

Even so, Lorella was right. We were in a difficult situation and a potentially dangerous time. The awkwardness between us couldn't grow unless we wanted the kingdom's fate to suffer in the process.

"I'm sorry about what I did with The Lost and Found and Mace." Sabre was the first to speak up. "If I could go back and change what I did, I would. I would have let at least one of you know before I left."

Auron nodded as if accepting her apology, though he still bore an expression of sorrow and anger.

"And I'm sorry too for lying." Instead of looking at the ground to avoid my friends' eyes, I met them with confidence. "I only wanted to protect you, Sabre. I didn't want you to be any more heartbroken. You were already so upset from the prospect of war between Racaea and Icrodeia, you didn't need the extra burden."

"Apology accepted." Sabre smiled at me. It wasn't the usual one that sent butterflies through my stomach, but it was still a smile nonetheless.

"What are you angry about, Auron?" Despite him not having done anything, he was the one mostly causing the rift between us. His emotions affected us all.

"I'm not angry, just... a little disappointed. I thought I could trust both of you." The weaponsmith shifted uncomfortably. "I don't want to lose you as friends because you're all I have, aside from Trik anyways."

Sabre opened her arms wide as an invitation for Auron to hug her. "We'll always be here for you. You won't be able to get rid of us that easily."

Auron made no move to accept her embrace, still not fond of physical affection. If I was in his place, I would have accepted it without a thought just to be near her.

My head snapped around towards the trees, hearing a rustling sound coming from within the brush. "Do you hear that?"

"Maybe it's Lorella coming back with the horses?" Auron suggested, a little more at ease now that he'd gotten his thoughts off of his chest.

I frowned. It couldn't be that. I would be able to hear the horses moving if it was, but this was just one lone figure creating the sound, I could tell.

Sabre tentatively took a step forwards, curious as to what was hiding amongst the trees. Just as she was about to reach the first tree off of the main path a small glowing orb emerged from the darkness. A forest spirit.

It was rare to ever see one person, so much so that some even thought they were a widespread fiction created for entertainment. They were guardians of the forest known to protect the fae rulers of the Kingdom of Racaea from harm. I never knew how they did so as they were only a flickering ball of emerald light, something that could easily blend into the top of the trees during the day.

What were we supposed to do? Was it lost? Or was it here to protect us? If it was the latter, that could only mean danger was around the corner.

Sabre's face was full of awe and admiration. She stepped closer with an outstretched hand, wanting to see if she could touch the living myth.

"Wait," Auron warned, holding her shoulder. "Something doesn't feel right about this."

In the span of a blink, a vine grew from the centre of the orb and wrapped around it, banishing the light that it produced completely. The forest spirit grew more and more vines — some thick and gnarled while others were thin and wispy — until it formed the body of a large creature. It rose to the height of a tree and bore sharpened teeth carved from twisted vines.

"Is this a good thing? Or..." Sabre trailed off as the woodland monster began to stride towards us, brandishing honed claws and a hollowed expression of vengeance.

Either there was something menacingly evil standing behind us, or this forest spirit — if it could even be called that anymore — was on a mission to take us down. I wasn't going to stick around to find out.