04. The Blue Horizon & Black Fume

Epoch 01: The Blue Horizon & Black Fume

Chapter 04: A Skilled Prince

"Are you skilled in archery Tiana?" Aron asked, strolling with Tiana as Falx walked behind, following them to the green meadow beside the castle.

"I mostly practised sword art in our training ground but I'm also good at archery. Father taught me everything necessary," Tiana replied.

"Sometimes I wish I had a skilled little sister like you. Yet I have no regrets because it seems like I already found one!" Aron said, patting Tiana's head.

"Thank you, brother Aron!" Tiana smiled thinking she also found a big brother whom she always wanted.

"I prepared a roving practice ground for archery. Would you mind joining?" Aron asked, pointing towards the training pit where young prince Esther was already practising. He waved towards them and gestured to them so they come quickly.

"I would love to!" Tiana exclaimed, "It has been some time since I last wielded a bow!"

"Flax, you coming?" Aron looked behind and asked Flax.

"I don't have any significant chore to do. Perhaps I'll just watch!" Flax replied.

"I can teach you if you're a novice at archery!" Aron offered.

"I'm not really enthusiastic about it so uh…" Falx only read about archery in books. He might have wielded a bow before but never mastered it. He is a mere soldier's son after all. All his father taught him was how to handle a sword.

"He can't wield bows! It will be a waste of precious time teaching him!" Esther mocked Falx's giggling at his denial.

"Maybe we should have a friendly sword fight then so I can see how expert you are in that as well?" Flax shrugged.

"Uh, I'm a bit busy right now!" Esther gulped while making an excuse.

"Don't worry Prince Esther. I thought so!" Falx answered, sneering.

"Even if he doesn't know archery, he can always learn. It's never too late!" Aron said looking at Esther, handing Falx a wooden bow, "We'll start learning with this!"

"I guess I'll give it a try then!" Falx took the bow from Aron.

"While you aim for your target, always imagine an imaginary line towards it. Line up, so your feet are in a line towards the middle of the target!" Falx followed the instructions as Aron guided.

"After you put the arrow, grip the string with three fingers, draw the bow, aim and release!"

The arrow went straight ahead as Falx released it and struck the wooden board in the middle mark.

"Extraordinary aim! I've scarcely seen anyone performing such skill on their first try!" Aron looked astonished.

"Maybe it's the moon queen's blessing. Because I only followed your direction," Flax smirked looking at Esther.

"Good job human warrior!" Esther clapped after throwing an apple towards Falx saying, "Let's try with apples now."

Falx catches the apple with one hand and bites it.

"Aim the apples?" Flax inquired, munching on it.

"Yes! Whoever successfully strikes the most apples will receive a reward and the loser will clean the dishes of the palace tonight!" Esther proposed.

"I'm in!" Tiana said, peeking at Flax.

"No princesses are allowed. If you lose you'll have to clean dishes!" Esther notified Tiana that she wouldn't join.

"Don't worry Esther. I'm not losing when Falx is around!" Tiana snickered.

"We'll see about that!" Falx smiled, glancing in her direction.

Aron called an attendant to place the apples for them and asked another elf to count the successful strikes.

Few other elves of the palace gathered around them. Moon followed them too.

As the competition began, four of them stood in their position. Flax was missing the targets a lot but Tiana seemed to be missing all of them. She was shocked. She tried to aim properly but every time she tried she missed the target.

"What's happening?" Tiana was getting frustrated. "Why is this happening?" She exclaimed. At the end of the competition, Tiana scored less than everyone. Falx heard a little snickering in the crowd. He noticed that Moon was standing there smiling looking at them. Was it her doing? He thought to himself. Isn't she supposed to have celestial abilities ?

"Seems like the Princess needs to wash all the dishes tonight," Esther said, mocking Tiana. "I actually didn't anticipate Tiana would miss most of the shots like this. This is certainly startling," Aron added.

"I am truly not aware. God knows what happened to me today!" Tiana sighed in frustration.

"It's alright. Sometimes it happens," Aron tried to calm her down.

"Do I really have to wash all the dishes?" Tiana asked, sulking.

"Don't worry, Tiana, it was just a joke! Unless you really want to do it!" Esther said, chuckling.

"Definitely not. You scared me for a while," Tiana said, crossing her arms.

"Falx did pretty well. Seems like he had some practice with archery after all," Aron remarked.

"I mostly read about it rather than practicing it. Seems like knowledge came handy at the end," Falx replied.

"Are you guys hungry?" Aron asked everyone.

"I'm starving, brother!" Esther said, rubbing his hand on his belly, "I forgot to have breakfast today morning."

"Well, then we can have a lavish Lunch. What do you say, Falx?" Aaron smiled, looking at Falx.

"Most certainly. I feel kinda famished as well. But I was more excited to see princess Tiana washing the dishes. Guess that can wait," Falx laughed, looking at Tiana.

"I would have gone to Uncle Aamon for help. He could help me get away from this," Tiana laughed.

"Why is the princess afraid of challenges now?" Flax said, raising an eyebrow.

"When it comes to combat, No I'm not. But about this, I really don't know," Tiana said, walking a bit ahead of Falx.

"Moon you're here! I heard you were sleeping. Did you get a good rest?"

Moon only nodded at Falx, holding his hand closely.

"We're going for lunch. You wanna join?"

She nodded again as a reply. "She doesn't talk?" Esther asked.

"Never heard her talking till now. Maybe in the future she will," Falx said, holding her hand.

"Yeah, hard to communicate with the mute," Esther remarked.

"When I found her she was in a devastating state. But I'm really glad that I found her. She has drastically changed my life," Falx patted Moon's head while talking. "She's supposed to be the Moon Queen, right?" Esther asked curiously.

"A part of the Moon Queen lives within her actually,'' Tiana replied, correcting Esther.

"Oh, I thought she was the Moon Queen herself. But she certainly doesn't look like one now," Moon frowned at Esther's statement. "Hey, don't get upset for now. I was only telling the truth," Esther laughed.

"Ok enough about her. Let's focus on food now," Aron said after they reached the dining table.

After lunch. Everyone went to King Aamon's chamber to discuss. They waited for the king while discussing more about their journey to the next kingdom.

I think we should check the borders beforehand the journey. And see if the ice has melted. "Is the next journey to the icy peak?" Tiana asked curiously.

"Yes, that's the closest kingdom from our land Eldamar. There is the Black Forest after we cross the icy peaks?" Tiana asserted. "We have to cross the icy mountains and then Black Forest yes," Aaron explained.

"I have never been to Black Forest. Is there even a kingdom there?" Falks asked. "There used to be a Kingdom, but there is only a witch now living there who is supposed to be the third chosen one!" Aron laughed.

"A witch and she's the chosen one," Falx was surprised.

"Yes, apparently. She is one of the seven chosen ones. She has immense magical powers. The most powerful of all witches in these mediaeval lands. She is known as the Black Witch. But she has a dark past which is known to only few people," Tiana replied.

"I heard the Black Forest is like a maze. If you get lost in it, you get lost forever. There is no way out," Aron added. Tiana seemed a bit disturbed, "Yes it's true."

"Then you shouldn't get lost in the first place," Esther said, chuckling.

"Don't worry, princess knows the path. She can read the map as well. After all, she's the one who led me to Eldamar," Falx said, winking at Tiana.

"I certainly did. Is there any doubt?" Tiana replied, crossing her arms.

"None at all, princess. I'm looking forward to this journey with you," Falx smiled at Tiana.

He always does this. Makes me embarrassed. But why do I get so embarrassed? Tiana thought to herself.

"We should go and check the borders before the journey," Aron proposed, looking at Falx, "What do you say about that? Want to come with me?"

"Esther can go!" King Aamon entered the room, "You should prepare for the journey. Let Esther go and check the borders instead."

Everyone stood up as the king entered the room. "Alright, father, as you suggest," Aron replied like an obedient son. "Maybe Falx can go with Esther and see the beauty of Eldamar in the meantime," Aamon proposed. "Do you want to go out?" Esther asked Falx.

"Yeah, I could go for a ride. I also need to get acquainted with the pathways here," Falx replied. "That's amazing, then. You guys can leave after a while. Make sure to be back before evening. It's probably gonna be a few hours' journey. Or maybe less because we are near the borders," Aamon looked at Esther.

"I'll guide him, father. We actually became good friends after archery practice. What do you say, Falx?" Esther looked at Falx.

"I'm intrigued that you called me friend. I guess I can't deny my friend then," Falx replied.

Esther and Falx left in the afternoon. They conversed for a long time on their way to the border. After discussing various warfare techniques and experiences they both gathered, Falx was surprised to see that Esther actually has participated in many wars since his childhood. He was curious about Esther's age.

"I am very young, don't worry. I'm not some old man like my dad," Esther mockingly said. "The king won't be happy hearing you calling him an old man," Falx laughed. "What do you call an old man anyway? Even though he looks young, he is actually over sixty years old," Esther said, getting off the horse, "But I love my old man and I have immense respect for him. Eldamar has given me a lot. And I'll protect it till my last breath."

"I can understand the love for your motherland. It was also hard for me to leave my birthplace. But there is nothing left of it anyway," Flax said, reminiscing about the past.

"Was it the black troops of Asmodeus?" Esther looked more serious now.

"Yes. The Greenland wolf Amarok destroyed my whole village. Their troops ravished over my birth land and killed each and everyone of the villagers. I was the only survivor from my village. They didn't even leave my little brother," Falx sat down on the grass.

"I couldn't have guessed that you went through so much. Maybe that's why the Moon Queen chose you as the successor who will bring peace in these mediaeval lands," Ester said sitting beside him. They scanned the mountain paths from there.

"My only aim was to kill Amarok and be done with it. I didn't care about my life or any other people. But for some reason I feel like there's a huge change in my heart. I wanna save everyone. Protect and keep Moon and Tiana safe. I don't wanna go through the same pain that I went through in the past. Maybe this way I can redeem my sanity again," Falx felt sad talking about it.

"My brother will help you. He's one of the most experienced and skilled archers in all lands. Together, you guys can fight evil," Esther said, putting a hand on Falx's shoulder.

"I hope luck favours us all. There's a strange smell in the air. Do you feel it?" Falx suddenly stood up.

"You are actually right. I feel something too. It's weird," Esther said, looking north towards their palace.

"I think we should get back," Falx said, getting back on the horse.

"Yes, you're right. We have checked the borders anyway. The path seems fine," Esther followed him, "Yes, let's go back to the castle!"

Alex and Esther rode back to the castle as fast as they could. But as soon as they arrived, They were devastated to see that the castle was being attacked by the black troops.

Where is everyone? They noticed that the defence had fallen down around the palace. The dark troop attacked their land without any prior warning.