The Prince’s Arrival

Chapter 2:

Matthew and Arion lead me up to the castle, where the royal stables were. We took a cobblestone road up around the houses near the gate and followed it up to the castle through the canyon.

I had to have Arion stop many times so that I could admire my surroundings. The color of the canyon was a beautiful orange-ish red, with elaborate shapes and designs in the walls that had to be thousands of years old. Houses were built into the walls of the canyon, high above our heads with bridges crisscrossing in the sky, people and animals alike walking on them.

"It really is a magnificent city." I said.

"Yes, your ancestors have a gift of stone working." Arion replied.

I nodded back at him. "How far does this canyon go on for?" I ask, peering ahead. It looked like it went on for miles, seeing the castle in the distance. The castle itself was really a whole city by itself. Huge walls the color of the canyon rose up, with trebuchets lining them every 30 feet. The gates, similar to the ones at the beginning of the city, but different in so many ways, were more elaborate. Gold and silver worked their way through the dark wood, shaping an entire wolf pack.

"The canyon goes on for a few miles after the gate, finishing at the castle. And inside the castle, there are multiple secret passages to go deeper through the canyon and end near the Fords of Evendale, where the city of Solation is, which was named after Orion the I after his great victory." Matthew replied.

"Cool! But how secret are these tunnels? How many people know about them?" I asked.

"Only the royal family, royal guard, and the king's closest advisors know about them." Matthew replied. "We can't have too many people knowing about them in case of spies from foreign countries."

"Except now we have to worry about the Forbidden." I replied glumly.

"Don't worry about it Orion, it would have been bound to happen anyway," Arion says. "your father has been expecting it for weeks."

"Okay." I reply, not really feeling any better."

"We have nothing to worry about Orion," Matthew says. "Our soldiers are the finest of the land, and we number over 75,000 in our troops and 10,000 in our cavalry. Not even mentioning our allied countries, who have a respectable amount of troops as well."

"Yes, but do we know how many Forbidden there are?" I ask.

Matthew frowns at me. "No, but we have to keep our spirits up for the people. That's what we do right? Our purpose is to protect and do what is the right thing for our people."

"Yes, that's what we do." I reply, feeling a little bit better.

"Now let's talk about this party!" Arion says, cheerful as ever.

Matthew and I laugh. "Yes, I should probably ask the king about it, but I have a feeling that he will be happy to oblige. Besides, he owes you a favor for rescuing Orion on that one mission." Matthew says, turning to look at me. "Your father is the greatest ruler this land has ever had, other than Orion the I. He has raised our armies numbers substantially and grown our trade with other countries and ended wars with treaties. Of course, my favorite part of him is his sense of humor."

"Well, is my personality close enough to Orions that he'll be able to not ask about where his son is?" I replied.

"Yes, I think that you are close enough, but better not to do some weird things while in his presence, alright?" Matthew replies. "Not to make you worried or anything."

"We'll see." I replied.

We kept moving toward the castle in the distance, passing soldiers and civilians who either waved or saluted when we passed. A few kids even had the courage to speak up. "Sir Arion!" One boy came running up to us. I looked over to see his parents with horrified looks on their faces. As soon as they made eye contact with me, I nodded to say it was okay.

"Hello there young one." Arion says.

The boy was jumping up and down. "Is it true that you can run really fast? Can you take me for a ride?"

"Sure, if that's okay with my lord Orion here." Arion replies.

"Sure Arion, have fun and keep him safe okay?" I told the boy.

"No problem, it's not like I haven't had people ride me before," Arion says as I dismount. "I'll catch up with you guys at the stables."

I helped the boy up onto Arion as he giggled. "This is gonna be fun! Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!"

I realized that we should have asked the boy's parents before we said yes. I looked over to where they were standing, to find the Mother looking miffed and the Father smiling.

"Just be home by supper time!" His father said, smiling.

"You'll have double the chores this week for your insolence boy!" His Mother yelled, cursing.

"Martha!" The Father said.

"What? We can't have a boy running off and trying to borrow the Prince's horse!" The Mother replied.

"Did you have a chance to ride an immortal horse when you were 10?"

"No, but that's not the point!"

That's when I realized that I should probably back away. When I turned around, Arion and the boy were gone, leaving just Matthew and I to walk that remaining mile or so.

"Let's get to those stables." I said.

"Yes," Matthew replied, "It's been a long day."