Ch 14. The Return of the Travelers (II)

Idalia and Cassandra had just finished purchasing some jewelry that had caught their eyes.

"Oh, by the gods!" Cassandra nearly smacked herself in the face.

"What is it?"

"I forgot to ask my mother if she could buy something that I need for the temple."

"She'll probably remember."

"I hope so," Cassandra murmured. "Do you think we still have some time on our hands for one more stop?" Idalia nodded. "Great, let's go see the center of the market squ-"

Cassandra hadn't even finished speaking when the already busy and lively market started to get even livelier. Exclaims of surprise and excitement were heard around them and it didn't take Casssandra a long time to figure out what was going on.

"They're back! I heard they'll be passing by the market square!"

"Let's go! I want to see the royal prince!"

"Wow, a year has already passed by! How fortunate that they made it back."

Many people started to head in the direction opposite that the girls were facing. Seeing the crowd of people coming their way, Idalia quickly moved to a side while dragging Cassandra. The two guards were next to them in an instant to make sure they were alright.

"We're alright," Idalia reassured them before asking her friend, "What's going on?" She was very curious about what could cause this crowd of people to become so excited and nearly run off somewhere together.

"The noble sons that left last year have finally returned. Prince Cyrus is also with them," Cassandra didn't look too interested when saying this.

"Oh...why did they leave in the first place?"

"It's a requirement for all noble sons across the kingdom before they reach twenty years of age. They're assigned mentors and visit certain cities and places so they can learn many things and meet important people."

Idalia hummed even though she didn't understand fully. Curious and kind of excited she asked Cassandra, "Should we go see?" The idea of seeing a prince sparked an interest in her. She wondered if he'd look like the Disney princes' she grew up watching.

Cassandra subtly raised an eyebrow at this, a bit hesitant she threw the question back at her, "Do you want to see them?"

"Yeah. Do you not want to?"

Cassandra shrugged her shoulders, "Alright, but we probably won't be able to catch sight of the prince." She looked around thoughtfully before she grabbed Idalia's hand and started to run, "Let's go this way."

Idalia was caught off guard as she stumbled at first but quickly balanced herself and let herself be pulled by her friend. The two guards also followed right behind them. After turning some lefts and rights, Cassandra and the rest stopped at a building with stairs outside. "Come on," Cassandra told Idalia before she walked up.

Idalia hurried after her. When they reached the top, she noticed that they weren't the only ones that had walked up. About five other girls were there as well as they squealed and giggled while looking down. When they sensed the presence of the other four people, they looked up startled, quickly exchanging greetings with them, and then resumed looking down.

Cassandra informed her, "These girls work at the temple as well." Walking to the side where the girls were, while putting a distance between them, she motioned for Idalia to come stand next to her. When Idalia did, she saw how down below, there was a huge crowd of people. Further away, she could see men on horses passing by while waving at the people. Soldiers marched with them, which she guessed was probably to protect the nobles.

"The man with the red brown hair all the way at the front is Prince Cyrus," Cassandra pointed to a small figure that had long passed them. She had leaned closer to her while raising her voice a little so that she could hear her due to the loud crowd welcoming the men. Idalia could only see his hair that glowed like fire as the sun glared down on them. "The man next to him is his mentor and the Lord of House Orion, Lord Hector. Behind him, Nestor who is the prince's friend and the son of one of the king's advisors…" Cassandra explained to the best of her abilities who some of the men were while also explaining the purpose of the trip. Every four years, the young sons of noble families would arrive at the capital of Milikree, Hauwitet, where they would be assigned mentors to teach them the ways of kingdom. Traveling one year while learning, they would visit cities and be assigned tasks to help them gain confidence and knowledge. The princes were also obliged to go.

Idalia intently listened while taking everything in sight. She thought it was quite cool although she didn't know much of how kingdoms were supposed to work. A smile was on her face as she had really enjoyed seeing such an event. The loud shouts of excitement from the people and the glaring rays of the sun shining upon them caused a pretty image to be imprinted forever in her mind.

When the thought of how happy she was to have witnessed this registered in her mind, she felt her smile drop while feeling a painful ache in her chest. She disliked the feelings of amazement, happiness, and curiosity she felt when she knew that she longed for home and her modern life. At the moment, she was still conflicted on how she felt although she had half accepted her new reality while the other half denied the possibility, refusing to stay here.

The cheers of the people broke her thoughts and she lifted her lips back up, the strain hurting her cheeks.