They didn't know the road where they were running from. It took them almost three kilometers to know that the path they were running to is the path to the dangerous 'soul forest' that legends say where the dead bodies of the history's war warriors got threw in.
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'Damn it, we lost our way!' The emperor cursed.
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They could faintly hear the groans of such creatures they encountered but still, they ran so fast like they're not going to be exhausted. Suddenly, Fern got tripped and fall off because it was so dark she almost couldn't see the path at all. The coachman and Logan stopped, helping her to stand up.
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"I'm alright!" Fern exclaimed with a determined voice as they continued to run. It only made Logan frowned more.
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"Can't you run without getting tripped everytime?!" Logan gritted his teeth, recalling the times that Fern seemed to have a ridiculous curse of tripping everytime. Most of the time they meet and have a place to head on, she's consistently tripping.
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"I can't!" Fern whined. Seeing Logan's hazel eyes flickered with rage when he gazed at her, her face twisted and became indifferent.
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Logan breathe in and out with outrage and got so done with her so he only snorted and clicked his tongue.
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The coachman beside them that's also running got startled. His face was paled and trembling with nervousness but can't help to feel different that he's not existing beside them at all. The coachman heard rumors that the emperor hates the empress, he couldn't help but to feel sorry for her, but the empress seemed to not mind it at all.
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Everyone in the empire was sometimes have a thought if the empress was feeling upset after she married the emperor. The coachman, seeing that there's no upset-ness at all and the empress was more like an annoying woman for him, just gulped.
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Logan saw a cave and thought that's the perfect place to hide and rest, said with a shouting voice pointing to it, "Get in the cave!"
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After they entered the cave with a loud sound of breathing's exhaustion, Logan draws an invisible wall to the entrance of the cave. The coachman, on the other hand, loss consciousness in exhaustion so Fern did is to lay him straight and let him rest.
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When Fern leaned on the wall, also exhausted, she took out a long deep breath. It was the first time this occured. She can't believe she fought beside him. What a surprised, really.
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Fern looked at the Logan after he finished putting an invisible wall at the entrance of the cave. He lighted up a blue fame in his palm to produce a light in the darkness of the cave and gathered wood sticks to create a bonfire. Some bats flew off the rock ceiling off the cave which made some of dust fall off and she coughed.
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After a minute of silence, Fern blurted, "We really must meet the wizard."
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Logan thought so too. They're suspicious that all the worry in the wizard's letter was about this kind of things. Those creatures...it look like it came back from the death and their eyes was flickering rage with red. They're full of blood that scattered in their bodies and they have a strength that could throw out a single bulky man. But not him.
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On the other side of his mind, he told himself, who's a crazy person who would turn the dead humans into those creatures? He's the one who must rest in peace. Such fucking person.
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He felt a sudden shiver on his spines as he recalled a thing that was bothering him until now that he's not telling everyone...a prophecy that the priest told him a month ago.
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☁︎☁︎☁︎
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"There will be a war and ruin. Graves will rise. A moment of peace will turned to feud and rivalry. Corrupted bad bloods will expose the darkness. There will be vanish. The mournfulness of one will be the mournfulness of all."
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Logan's eyes narrowed, his lips left slightly open as he stared at the female priest opening her eyes. Inside the drawing room, there's only two of them for the reason that the priest told everyone to leave the room except the emperor.
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The female priest was one of the powerful priest of the abbey of the capital. Everything she blessed will be with luck, everything she says will make a prosperous claimed.
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"A chaos." He helplessly exclaimed. It was a news that shake him to be overwhelmed. When he was a kid, his grandfather, the former emperor, was always telling him about what could've happen in the future, and that he needed to acquire everything that could save the empire from falling, and as well telling him that 'we know peace because there's no chaos. We know chaos because there's no peace' and that 'Logan, prepare yourself, always.'
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The priest slowly nodded her head, her calm figure and posture made her look like she wasn't shaken at all. "That's what I saw...of what would occur."
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Logan's jaw clenched. "The future hasn't yet happen. I will find the root of the prophecy. There's something I could do,"
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The female priest remained with a calmness and replied, "That's what I expected from his Majesty to answer." Logan was stiffened. The female priest continued. "But I know his Majesty must know that we can't prevent the events that was bound to happen. His Majesty can't challenge the Gods and Goddesses that was creating a balance. You can't just push towards something or pull a thing that was beyond even in this world."
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Logan's eyes flickered with rage. What balance was the female priest was saying? Balance to genocide?
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"I'm making steps that wasn't crucial at all, priestess. I'm pushing myself not just for the sake of me, but also for my people. It was my duty to know and prepare for the future calamity that would occur to the empire or even the world." The female priest just listened and let him continue. "If I could just turn one thing, I would do it. Challenging the Gods and Goddesses wasn't my motive at all. I wasn't. I'm just telling that I'm also bound to make an action to protect what I want to protect. The priestess as well must know that I knew the consequences and karma that would occur to me and that I'm always aware if that would be for the righteous or defective."
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Her eyes fell on the table in front of them. "Even if you do it, it's useless."
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Logan replied, "Only me could tell."
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☁︎☁︎☁︎
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Logan's jaw clenched and keep up with himself. 'I still have time. The worse hasn't occured yet.' He calmed himself. 'I needed to tell the wizard all about this.'
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Fern felt that it suddenly became uneasy and blurted again, "Your Majesty, are you alright?"
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Logan's hazel eyes flickered as he gaze at her. "Nonsense."
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"I'm just asking!" Defended Fern.
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"It seemed that you forget what I told you two years ago, Empress. That caring for me wasn't your business, and likewise."
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"I know, but I can't help it." She said in a slow voice, but Logan hasn't failed to hear it and didn't said anything. She continued, "I know his majesty hate the fact that we married for the pledge of our grandfather's to each other. But...please? Can his Majesty lessen the 'must do' and 'shouldn't do'? It would really help me sometimes because I often forget, there's too many to obey from your words. And---and, please don't get offended..."
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Logan snorted. "You took a step on my path and appeared. That's the consequences of your action. You could've just refused the marriage from the beginning when the former Marquess told you that you will marry me."
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'As if I could do that.' Fern felt pathetic while whispering on her mind. Then she replied, "And why don't his Majesty too, from the beginning?" She threw back his words.
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The emperor has provoked, "You think that everyone has a choice? You weren't in my position at all to throw my words back at me."
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"His Majesty wasn't in my position too to think that I always have a choice." She argued back.
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And then there was silence. Logan still have a hard of rock and couldn't stop his resentful feeling for her, thinking that she's only making a reason to be pitied. Fern couldn't handle the pressure on the atmosphere and blurted, "I apologized. I was wrong. I wouldn't ask anymore regarding to his Majesty regarding to that. I'll do my best to recall your words again." The empress uncomfortably breathed. "Then...then what are we to do next???"
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Logan, feeling no sympathy at all, answered her with coldness. "We'll stay here until after dawn. I removed all our traces so that those creatures couldn't track us. We need to hurry our journey off at the Aeneas Tower right after the sun rise on the west, tomorrow."
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Fern ignored his coldness and cruelty and acknowledge, "Alright." She noticed the coachman. "What about him?"
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"I will need him to go back to the palace right after he regain consciousness. He is to send a troupe of knights in this area right away."
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"Oh," Fern slowly nodded.
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Out of the blue, they heard a sound of a blurting stomach crying for hunger. Fern thought that it was hers, but as she look at the emperor's paling face and look embarrassed, she only shake her head and chuckled. She took a piece of bread that she was carrying on a pouch and offered it to him.
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"His Majesty sure would not going to die from blurting cold words and being insensitive, but we're not sure in hunger." Logan's hazel eye flickered with rage, glancing at her. She only chuckled and added, "I'm just offering out of empathy. I would do this to anyone and not just to his Majesty...take it."
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Logan rolled his eyes as he took the bread from her. Fern hide her smile and silently chuckled. After Logan finished munching the bread, he heard the empress blurted again, as if she would die from silence and couldn't keep up to shut her mouth, "I wonder if I could remove the necklace."
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"It must not be remove."
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"Just a second?"
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Logan clicked his tongue. "What did I say?"
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"...But it's really itchy. The red marks are supposingly appearing in my neck and nape...look!" Fern argued, showing the emperor her neck. Logan immediately frowned at her and got taken a back.
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"Stop!---No matter what, you musn't remove it!"
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The emperor's words that saying he doesn't repeat his words twice, swallowed it because of her bold actions. Seriously, why can't she be decent?!
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Fern thought there's nothing wrong showing what's bothering her at all, she only wanted to know if she has a chance to give up Logan's empathy for her. But as she most expected, it failed. Fern leaned back again against the hard rock.
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Logan snorted from time to time and also leaned against the hard wall rock of the cave far from her.
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In all ways, he really can't stand her. If only there would be a time when she would be kick out as an empress because of her stubbornness, he would certainly be delighted to stand alone in the throne.
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Logan was about to close his eyes when he heard Fern blurting again.
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"You know, if we die together here..."
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"Stop talking nonsense. Don't include me if you're thinking of death." Logan glared.
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"I'm just saying that 'if',"
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Logan ragingly clicked his tongue. "Die alone."
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Fern, taking no serious offence on his word, said, "But it would be lonely. Isn't dying together with someone or your special one could somehow lessen the loneliness? I read it in the books, seems kinda fascinating..."
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"It's your perspective, don't include me in your nonsensical ability by dreaming a thing that's beyond this world. Piss off."
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"I love it. Dreaming that's beyond myself. Maybe his Majesty hasn't tried it yet, so I'm suggesting that you should experience it before you make a judgement."
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"It's misleading you to dense and you're becoming absurd. Why should I make an experience out of it? Becoming foolish and senseless wasn't my thing but yours."
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"His Majesty was bright and accomplished all his life that you seemed not to experienced being foolish. But if somehow in some ways that you experienced being unsophisticated for once, maybe his Majesty would change his view of the world and the things around him." Fern hugged her knees and smiled widely at him.
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Logan's hazel eyes flickered in ire and glared at her. Contrary from him, Fern stayed smiling widely, having a feeling that she just won a debate.
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"They're just things around me. They will stay the same just like that, you're just stupid minding and creating things too much of that perspective of yours."
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"His Majesty would never know the feeling of being fascinated in unexpected thing if he's being ignorant and only focusing on one bubble all his life. Sometimes, one should take a step out of his own zone to discover a thing that in some ways could change even yourself."
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Logan became irritated as he thought of the prophecy again. "Changes ruins everything."
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Fern laughed. "It's in his majesty's perspective that he's living pessimistic."
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Logan intends to argue back when they suddenly heard a noise of crackling dry leaves outside. They both stand in astonishment and gazed at each other in surprised.
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"Silence." Logan muttered, signing to Fern. Just as Logan was about to turn his head, he felt the mana inside him felt weird as his eyes widened. That means---the invisible wall he made a while ago at the entrance of the cave disappeared! "Bullshit." He cursed.
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Out of the blue he gripped Fern's wrist and placed her behind him. "Don't do anything ridiculous!"
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"Why---what happened???!!!" Fern's voice trembled, nervous.
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They heard a hurry steps coming towards the cave where they are as Logan tightened his gripped on her wrist feeling that she will rushly take an action. Fern's face twitched as she felt a pain on her wrist.
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"Stop!" Logan shouted. The footsteps disappeared but they could faintly see a sillouhette of someone even against the dark. "Who are you?!"
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"Y...Your Majesty," It's the voice coming from a man and trembling.
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Logan's felt irritated, from whose voice is this? And since it seemed that this man means no harm, so he loosened the tight grip on Fern's wrist.
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"Tell me your name!" Logan shouted.
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The sillouhette flinched. "Your Majesty, it's me...I'm...I'm the wizard who wrote to you. I'm Caspian Hawthorne, from...from the Aeneas Tower." The wizard gulped. "I was about to fetch his Majesty and her Majesty on the way to my place because I felt worried that something might happen, but what I saw on my way is the golden carriage that stumbled down and ghouls. I...I have come to a conclusion the the empress and the emperor runaway and hide somewhere so I've come to find. T-Then I felt a Mana's power at the entrance of the cave and I broke it...I'm sorry, your majesty..."
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Logan took a long deep breath and let Fern go realizing that there are no danger.
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"Show yourself."
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The wizard took a steps as his sillouhette became more cleared by the blue fames from the bonfire. There he appeared wearing a dark red with black linings on his sleeves as the black cloak with a hood appeared mystically on him by the red flames that it seems it was burned by it. The wizard's ruby eyes flickered in shamed when he appeared Infront of the emperor and empress. His long nape-lenght hair waves by a slight slashed of the wind.
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Castor had his head lowered. "I apologized to his and her Majesty, I came late...I'm unforgivable, just bury me on the ground...I'm useless."
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"..." "..." Both of them was speechless.
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They thought the wizard they were going to meet with was conceited and serious having a knowledge that he's about three hundred years old, they never thought he will be...this head down.
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Fern, having a thought that he will going to kneel to them the next moment, speak for she feared he'll do that. "No, no, it's alright...you can lift your head!"
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Their eyes widened as the wizard lifted his head and there's a watery thing in his eyelids like he was about to cry.
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"It's...It's really okay..." Fern comforted, but it was useless.
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Logan became irritated looking at him and said, "Weren't you here to fetch us?"
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Castor quickly nodded. "Yes, yes, your majesty, l-let's go..."
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Fern remembered the coachman. "Wait---the coachman!"
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Logan almost forgot him, then he turned to Castor and said, "Wake him up." He pointed to the man who's laying at the ground.
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Castor quickly obeyed and using his stick hand that just appeared on his hands from no knows where, he tapped the coachman using the tip of it then it disappeared.
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The coachman groaned and awoke, and recalled all the past events that happened a while ago. Seeing the weird looking man that he didn't know infront of him, he startled.
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"Don't be scared! He's a wizard---the wizard," Fern calmed the coachman. The coachman took a moment to get it and nodded. He felt relief.
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Logan clicked his tongue and crossed arms. He gazed a second time at Castor.
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"Can you send him back to the palace?"
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The wizard nodded. The next moment, Castor took out a crystal stone in his robe and gave it to the coachman and says, "It's a travel stone. Just think of the Eastwell Empire's palace and you'll be able to go back..."
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The coachman stared at the crystal stone, mesmerized. Logan emphasized to him, "I need you to tell the Knight's captain that he is to send a couple of Knight's troupe in this area as soon as possible. And a carriage seven days later for our departure in Aeneas Tower. And Tell Nonovon that what I remind him before I left."
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Nonovon Seawright is the emperor's personal butler, serving him since the emperor was just seven. He's only older than him for about five years and earn the emperor's trust to make him his personal assistant, advisor and also a butler.
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The coachman bowed his head and stand up. "Yes, your majesty,"
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Logan slightly lift his head and nod. "Go."
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The coachman gazed at the empress to bid his goodbyes. Fern waved and smiled. "Take no risk!" The coachman bowed again, used to the empress' jolly attitude as he closed his eyes and hide the crystal stone in his palms. With that, he disappeared with a blue faintly glowing lights.
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Caspian gazed at the empress for a second time, his heart pondered a little and deemed a charm for her. It was the first time she has seen the empress in personal since he only see her on the paintings at the past. He heard from the commoners in the marketplace of the empire always gossiping about her in a good way, that the empress was such a beautiful woman and has an excellence that could feat his Majesty in many ways. She's also humorous, kind, and fun to be with, and that she loves carrying her bow and arrow with her all the time. Now he thought that was presuming to be true.
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He also heard the rumors too about the two rulers of the empire, and couldn't feel but felt sorry for her.
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Contrary to the empress in him, he saw the emperor once and they met when the emperor was just a kid. He's really heartless and cold with his eyes that's flickering with furiousness all the time. He felt so inferior since then.
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Fern got taken a back when she felt someone was staring at her, when she turned her head, she saw that it was the wizard. She only smiled at him widely.
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Caspian felt mesmerized but also got taken aback from her smile. "H-Her majesty is beautiful," He's also surprised what he blurted from his mouth.
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Fern laughed, and joked, "I made you blind if you think so,"
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Caspian's lips curved and stattered, "I'm...I'm saying the truth, I'm..." Caspian couldn't continue his words and blushed.
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Logan suddenly felt irritated and glared at them. "If the empress have other matter for the wizard to discuss on, just do it later for I'm included in another business that's more important to be discussing on."
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Fern stopped and replied, "Yeah, I forgot for a moment, but I'm just talking---"
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Logan snorted, sarcastically chuckling, "Seems like you're always tending to forgot everything, empress. If you have a plan to take down yourself for such undeserving title of yours, you should've did two years ago from the start."
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Caspian felt bothered in his majesty's words. But he felt more bothered for the empress. Is she used to this? From the looks of it, she was. And she didn't say anything, her lips just curved.
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"Right, I should've." The empress laughed. "But I didn't! So now I'm here and we needed to discuss why we're here!, So, can we? But let's get out of here---first!"
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Caspian was speechless.
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If the emperor is the one who has a heart of rock, then Caspian is the one who has a heart of soft bread.
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He's the one who felt hurt even though that words wasn't intend to him. He fixed his gaze on the empress to see if he could trace a sadness in her face.
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But it was flawless.
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A sudden question formed in his head.
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How could she be used to that kind of trait?
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