To the Castle

In the morning when Arion finally wakes up and opens his eyes, he is face to face with Orelia. He is unable to perceive the meaning of this situation, as her face is extremely close, to the point he can feel her breathing. A bit afraid to move he simply stares back at her, giving him an opportunity to check her up close. He can clearly see that she is a beautiful girl, probably around his age. She holds herself a bit boyish and the best way to describe her and her manner is in a single word: tomboy. Even though, she is a very beautiful girl and he is captivated by her looks. Both of them keep staring for a while, before she finally breaks the silence: "You don't look that different from any other human, except the horn on your head". "I guess so, but I am very different considering all the un-human like things I can do", Arion replies. "Even though, you are able to do such things, I don't actually see you as something, but rather someone a bit special", she explains. At this point Arion realises that Orelia's way of thinking about half breeds is a lot different than that from everyone else. This gives him a spark of hope, that he might get an easier or better life, if he sticks with her. Up to this point though, not able to determine how the king sees him. His only logical explanation is, that the King treats him the same as everyone else, because he has a need for him. "We should get something to eat, we will depart soon", Orelia says. So they both leave the tent to get to the campfire.

The moment Arion leaves the tent and the guards can perceive him, the mood around the campfire changes. It instantly gets darker and more silent, as if everyone wants to prevent Arion to get close. Arion stops his movement and stays close to the tent. Mainly because Orelia and Disilphon will eat first, before anyone else can eat. As they finish the guards proceed to eat, leaving nothing except a single small piece of bread for Arion. Three bites, that's all it takes to be eaten, leaving Arion unsatisfied and still hungry. As he turns around to see where Orelia went, he sees one of the guard pointing at him. They all begin to laugh as if they wanted for him to stay hungry. Orelia now standing before the carriage, waves at Arion with her hand, indicating for him to come closer. As he does so, she voices: "Get in the carriage, I want to talk to you". Arion simply nods and enters the carriage, to his surprise, the king was not inside. Arion sits down on one side and waits for something to happen. Meanwhile outside of the carriage, one of the guards voices his complains: "My princess, you let that thing ride with you in the carriage?", "Yes, he is supposed to be my guard", she answers. "But that thing is dangerous", "If he really wanted to do us any harm, he would have long done it by now.", upon finishing her sentence she enters the carriage and sits down in front of Arion. "What about the king, isn't he coming with us?", he asks. "My father will ride on his horse, there is no need for him to hide his identity anymore.", Orelia answers. This leaves Arion in a bit of an uncomfortable situation. He will be left alone with a girl in the carriage for a while. But as Orelia mentioned beforehand that there is stuff that needs to be discussed, he is waiting for her to start. Meanwhile the carriage starts to make its way forward.

"I don't know how much my father explained to you about what your duty is", she says, to which Arion replies: "He simply explained that I would need to protect you". "Yes that is one thing", Orelia explains and continues: "To be exact, you will be my personal attendant. This is a very special duty, where you will be in charge of everything, my protection, my schedule, my needs. There are is one simple rule. My word is law, whatever I say you need to do without questioning it, even if you don't understand the meaning why. But rather for you to be my slave and simply do my bidding, I would rather have it, that we be friends, and have a relationship based on trust. Not something like ...", Before Orelia can finish her sentence, the carriage stops and one of the guards voice can be heard. "We have arrived". Orelia stands up, and leaves the carriage immediately, to which Arion follows. He is surprised by a lively town filled with people, that have already gathered around the carriage. They immediately call out to the king and the princess. "They must really be loved by their people", Arion wonders and turns around to take a look at the castle. He is left in a daze upon seeing it. It is extremely big, with two smaller towers on each side and an even bigger tower in the middle. Even though it already seemed extremely big, it was still a bit away, as the castle is surrounded by giant lawn, where for example some guards are training on one side. On the other side is a giant flower bed. As Arion is gazing upon the size and beauty of the castle, Orelia calls out. "Come on, don't just stare, we need to get inside".