Asher had never seen anyone so beautiful in his life. His mind was racing, and he could feel his heart pounding faster than ever in his chest. He was excited to free this strange girl, but the situation seemed strange. “Why is she in the custody of the Holy Knights, and so heavily guarded?” he wondered.

“Her clothes look so strange... wait a minute, she's Celestian!” Asher thought.

“You’re a Celestian prisoner, aren’t you?” Asher asked.

The girl didn’t speak, she just looked down quickly.

“Are you going to hurt us?” A second voice said. Asher noticed a second girl beside the first one. This one had light blonde hair, and was dressed strangely, wearing a traditional-looking gown. Her face looked kind and inviting, but she wore a worried expression as she spoke.

“No, we just want to help you,” Asher said.

Colin swung an arm around him. “That’s right! We’ve made enemies of the entire Azirian Kingdom. So I guess we’re all in the same boat,” he said.

The first girl finally spoke up. “You really expect us to trust you so easily?”

“All I know is that we’re your best chance of getting out of this alive, right Asher?” Colin said.

“I would be happy to offer you my protection,” Asher said stiffly.

“We don’t need it,” the first girl replied coldly.

“That’s fine, but it’ll be impossible to get back to Celestia alone. You’re right in the middle of Aziria’s busiest supply route. All provisions for the war come right through this valley, so it’ll be crawling with soldiers come daybreak,” Asher replied.

“Why don’t we hear them out Princess- uh I mean Arianna,” the blonde girl said. She turned to Asher and Colin, smiling warmly.

“I am Charlotte, a priestess of Celestia! Thank you for saving us!” She said with a polite smile. “Oh, you’re injured!” she said, looking at Colin. “Healing is my specialty so don’t worry about that.”

“Her name is Arianna?” Asher thought for a second. He remembered his fathers words, back in the chasm. "He was planning to capture her... This girl must be Princess Arianna of Celestia!" Why else would she be under such heavy guard?!” he thought.

“Princess Arianna, let me bring you to safety! You and I have the same goal. To free Celestia and Aziria from King Aemon’s subjugation! So please trust me!” Asher blurted out.

“Princess… Why would you call me that? Who are you?” The girl responded as she shot Charlotte a dirty look.

“I am Prince Asher of Aziria. I’m currently on a mission to overthrow my father, King Aemon and free our kingdoms from his tyrannical rule.” Asher said, bowing respectfully.

“Then it’s your family who kidnapped me and invaded my beloved Celestia. This… this is all your fault,” Arianna muttered.

Colin looked at her with a furrowed brow. “So you are Princess Arianna. Not very good at keeping secrets I see.”

“Are you even listening to what I’m saying? We both have the same goal! There’s no need for hostility. If you just give me a chance, I can explain everything,” Asher said, exasperated.

“Maybe you should listen to him, Princess. They did at least spare us from being in the custody of the Azirian forces,” Charlotte said.

“I’m Colin, Prince Asher’s most trusted advisor. If you two would please accompany us back to our camp, we’ll make everything clear, you have my word,” Colin said with a smile.

“Fine, I’ll come along for now. But don’t try anything. I know how to use a sword and I’ve seen much worse than you two, you know,” Arianna grumbled.

The four made for the bluff where Colin and Asher had set up camp. When they arrived, Charlotte patched up Colin’s wound while Asher explained how he ended up rebelling against his father.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

After hearing the harrowing story, Arianna looked pale, and her eyes were wide with fear.

“This is terrible news, considering we’re already losing the war and at our breaking point,” she said quietly.

“Thats why I’m going to stop him,” Asher said confidently.

“Oh yeah, are you and your friend gonna take on an entire army yourselves? This is hopeless,” Arianna replied.

“Well, right now we’re on our way to Andross to seek support. We will try to persuade the three great cities of Aziria to become our allies. That’s how we’ll build an army. And it just so happens that our ultimate destination is Mount Utopia, in Celestia. A wise priest told us we can gain the power to defeat my father there. If you’d like, you girls can accompany us back to your home,” He paused. “...It’s not hopeless, because i’m determined to see this through. I’m going to save my kingdom… and yours,” Asher said, looking out at the lands beyond.

Arianna just continued staring at him with a blank expression, not impressed by Asher’s conviction. She tried to speak but Charlotte quickly elbowed her in the rib.

“What she means to say is we’d be honored if you two brave warriors would escort us back to Celestia with you... right Arianna?” she said with a sheepish smile.

“No! thats not what I’m saying at all!” Arianna cried.

Charlotte looked at her bluntly. “How else are we gonna get home? We’re stuck out here and completely defenseless remember?” she whispered.

Arianna sighed. “I hope you're sure about this one Charlotte…” she whispered. “Yes! we’d be happy to tag along I suppose,” she said nervously.

Colin chimed in. “Great! Now that that’s settled, lets get to bed. You two can sleep in my tent, I guess i’ll join the handsome prince on his bed roll tonight,” he said with a laugh.

“When the hell did I agree to that?” Asher yelled.

“Come now Asher, ladies need their privacy. Now everyone sleep well, alright?”

Sunlight filtered in through the tent door as Asher came to. He suddenly realized there was a weight on his chest and something cold at his neck. As his vision cleared he was shocked to see Princess Arianna straddling him, and holding something sharp to his throat.

“Good, you’re awake! You might be wondering what’s going on. Well, you might have the others fooled, but I still don’t trust you- at all. It was your own father who brought my kingdom to its knees and slaughtered thousands of my people. There’s no way your intentions are good. So just know, if you try anything, I can kill you without a second thought. Now, lets have breakfast,” She said as she removed the blade from his throat, and walked out of the tent.

“What on earth was that about?” Asher wondered, genuinely confused.

Outside, Colin had already started on breakfast. Four quail eggs sizzled on the camp stove, and Charlotte sat next to him by the fire.

“Arianna, did I just see you come out of Prince Asher’s tent? I didn’t expect you two to fall in love that quickly!” Charlotte chuckled.

Arianna’s face turned bright red. “It was nothing like that! I was just reminding him how serious the situation is... that’s all.”

“Speaking of which, its time I teach you a thing or two about how to win a fight,” Colin said to Asher.

“Teach me? What the hell could you teach me that I didn’t learn in ten years of training under the best knights in Aziria? And didn’t I just save your ass last night?” Asher said argumentatively.

“Right, all that nonsense about fighting fair and with honor right? Only using one sword to face your opponent? Lesson one Asher, fighting is about survival. You have to use your environment and think tactically to avoid death," Colin replied.

"Think about all the times we’ve faced each other. My men always came out on top because we used the terrain to our advantage and we had the element of surprise. If you don’t believe me, consider how well our attack on the Azirian convoy went last night. If we had faced them straight up, we would have been crushed. And by the way, thanks for the assist, but if I remember correctly I ended up being the one who saved your ass again in the end,” he continued.

“Fine,” Asher grumbled.

“I guess he is pretty versatile in a fight, and I could never beat him,” he thought reluctantly.

“How exciting!” Charlotte clapped her hands together. Did you hear that Arianna?” she called.

“Big deal,” came the reply.

“You two sure speak casually to each other for a princess and her priestess don’t you?” Colin chimed in.

“Well, we’ve been friends since childhood, so the princess here lets me address her by her first name when its just us! Isn’t that sweet?” Charlotte said warmly.

“I could say the same for you two, aren’t you supposed to be a prince?” Arianna said, glaring at Asher.

“I won’t be a real prince until I face my father and triumph. So I don’t care what you call me, not until my goal is fulfilled,” said Asher.

“Whatever you say,” Arianna scoffed.

"Now if you'll kindly follow me, I'll show you all you need to know about swordplay," Colin said, motioning to Asher. Asher reluctantly followed, feeling slightly embarrassed.

They arrived at a small clearing in the forest, and the pair squared off on either side. They drew their weapons, and met each other's gaze.

"I want you to come at me, full force," Colin said.

Asher didn't hesitate, he charged forward, and swung at Colin with all his might. Colin parried easily, taking a small sidestep. Asher's blade went glancing off to the side and he almost lost his grip on it. However, he recovered quickly, and prepared for his next instruction.

"I can see your attack coming from a mile away, Prince Asher. What you need to learn is the art of deception," Colin said, approaching Asher. "You think I'm going to come this way..." he said, initiating an overhead swing towards Asher's neck. Asher raised his own sword to meet Colin's, but he was surprised when his blade touched nothing but air. Colin had quickly changed the direction of his attack, missing Asher's sword and instead bumping him softly on the knee with his blade. "But really, I'm here," Colin said.

Asher looked at him incredulously. "How did you-"

"Strength isn't everything, my prince. You can't rely on brute force alone to win battles. You must confuse your enemy, make him second guess himself. That's how I'm always able to beat you," Colin said.

"That wont work a second time," Prince Asher said confidently.

"We'll see about that," Colin said. He knelt down, appearing to fiddle with the buckle on his boots. "Come at me again," he said.

Prince Asher barreled towards him, prepared to adjust his stroke this time. He knew where Colin's counter should be coming from. As Asher's sword flew towards him, Colin opened his hand and threw a handful of dust into Asher's eyes, causing him to flinch and momentarily close his eyes. When Asher opened them again, Colin's sword was at his throat.

"That was bullshit!" Asher yelled.

Colin chuckled softly. "You're absolutely right, my prince. But the fact still remains that I'm alive, and you're dead.

After the morning training session, the newly formed party prepared to set off on the road to the first of the Great Cities, a place known as Andross.

“Too bad we only have two horses among the four of us. I guess we’ll just have to double up,” Asher said.

“I’ll ride with Colin, in case his wound needs tending to,” said Charlotte.

Arianna glared. “But then-“

Colin cut her off. “Perfect! We need to ride in opposite gender pairs anyways to distribute our weight evenly amongst the horses. Lets saddle up and get going!”

Arianna reluctantly climbed into the saddle behind Asher.

“I can keep an eye on you best from this position anyways,” she said.

“Whatever you say, Princess,” Asher said.

Asher started to relax as they got up to speed, galloping down the path. “I can feel her body pressed against my back. She feels so warm. Even if she’s acted kind of irritable so far, I’m sure she’s probably just scared after being taken prisoner and dragged to a foreign land. I’ll prove to her that I’m trustworthy,” he thought.

Looking behind him, it gave him confidence to know that Colin was there, watching his back.