Enough anger for a whole legion of men boiled through Markus Nador as he stood glaring at his father. He had never in his twelve year-old life known such absolute rage, or even knew that is was possible to feel this much unbridled fury. This was not how things were supposed to go.

“I’m going with them and that’s final!” Markus spat at the older man standing in front of him.

Despite all the yelling Markus had done over the last five minute after he found out his best friend in the whole universe was about to disappear probably forever, the stout and sturdy figure in front of him had not even given off so much a glimmer of emotion in return.

That was the way of King Rainus Nador. He was not a man easily swayed or tempered by the actions of others. He was a man unto himself like the world around him had no true effect over him. Markus had always admired that about his father, but in this moment it only made him angrier. Markus’s world was being thrown upside down, and his father didn’t even seem to care.

The man’s dark complexion only radiated hardness like a stone too stubborn to be lodged from the ground, even if was blasted out by an explosion. “You know why you can’t go, Markus. If you were to disappear too, then it would draw the Emperor’s attention. Our family can’t afford that.”

“I don’t care,” the twelve year-old crossed his arms declaring for the whole universe that he really didn’t care if his whole family fell down dead right then, he was not going to let this go.

The elder shook his head. The thick mane of pitch black hair cascading down his shoulders with only a hint of silver here and there was suddenly being blow about by a cooling breeze of the humid afternoon. Too bad Markus couldn’t get the man to move like the wind could his hair.

“Maybe you don’t, but I do. What do you think would happen to your mother and siblings if the Emperor knew of our part in the young Prince’s disappearance?”

Markus noticed his father left himself out of the equation, which helped to cool his temper, if only a little. Sure it would be bad for them, but worse for his father. He knew that, even at twelve Markus knew that things would be bad. The Emperor had all of Ethia in an uproar over Adar’s abduction from the White Palace. It was clear that anyone who had even a small involvement in his disappearance would suffer greatly.

His anger was curbed by that thought of what might happen to them if the Emperor ever discovered their part in events, and also by the thought of never being able to see his family again. Maybe he didn’t particularly like them all the time, but they were his family after all. He’d miss them after awhile––probably.

But it didn’t mean he was going to give up. His friend needed Markus. “He’s not well, pavi. Those monsters messed him up in the head. I’m the only one he’s holding conversations with right now.”

A sadness came over his father’s features. Finally! The stone facade had cracked and he was showing some sort of emotion. “I know, son. I don’t like seeing him like this either, but this isn’t something either of us are going to be able to help him with. We will have to leave it to his mother and Aragon to handle. He has to leave Ethia. The longer he stays here, the more likely he will be found.”

Markus shook his head. His own black curls blowing annoyingly across his face and trying to invade his mouth. He spit them out of the way so he could speak. Why did everything have to be difficult today! “No, pavi. We can’t let that happen. His brothers will kill him. He can’t go back there, no matter what.”

His father replied sagely and with a small glint of victory in his gray eyes. “I agree, that’s why he has to be sent away, and if you will stop arguing with me and go say goodbye to your friend, I will finish making the last bit of arrangements.”

Markus felt like he’d been hit with a great sledge-hammer of defeat. He should have known his father would lead him here, but Markus supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. There was a reason why most people stepped lightly around King Rainus Nador. He might not have the Perception Dome-ni, but that man had spent enough time around the Emperor. He knew how to pursade people to his cause, even if they were dead set against it. But then, Markus never really had a chance to win, when said man was your father and the boss of you.

The boy stood alone after his father had left with a sour feeling in his gut. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He and Adar had been nearly inseparable in the five years the little Prince had stayed at River Palace with Markus’s family. Only when Adar’s father had claimed him and made him move away to the White Place, had they been torn apart. Adults sure did know how to ruin stuff.

It had been agony missing his friend. Markus had traipsed about River Palace without his shadow to follow him for months. It had been lonely, but bearable because he knew he’d see Adar again at some point. But if he left the Empire, there were no guarantees that Markus would ever see his friend again.

Anger rolled through him like the crashing waves in a storm. It was the Zahn brothers’ fault. This was all happening because of their stupid jealousy. If they had just left Adar alone none of this would have happened and his friend would not have nearly died at the hands of those monsters.

Thankfully, Aragon had stepped in. He had done what everyone else was too scared to do. He got Adar and his mother out of the palace before the Zahn monsters could strike again. Now they were on some backwater planet. He hadn’t even bothered to learn the name of it. He was just happy that Aragon had reached out to pavi, and his father had brought Markus along.

They’d been here for two weeks hiding out in a sweltering jungle cramped in a tiny shack in the middle nowhere. The adults were constantly huddled together talking in whispers. Adults could be so stupid sometimes. Why bother whispering? Adar and Markus were the only others around, and Markus caught enough of the conversations to know what was being said anyways. He took special pride in his eavesdropping abilities.

But he didn’t like what he heard. In fact, he wished he hadn’t eased dropped at all. What he heard had made him sick to the stomach. Time was running out. It wouldn’t be long before the Emperor found them, and the way the Zahnian Legion was gridding off the Empire, there didn’t look to be any safe place for Adar to go. The only way out was beyond the Ethian border. No one would think to look for him there, at least that was pavi’s hope.

Markus shivered. He had heard stories about the great beyond, and none of them good. There were monsters greater than anything ever seen in the Empire outside that barrier. He didn’t much like the idea of his friend going there. What if the something worse than even the Zahn brothers got a hold of him?

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No. He couldn’t think like that. Aragon was good at what he did. He was the best, in fact. That was why pavi had recruited him as a Protector all those years ago, and then allowed Aragon to transfer the bond to Adar after he was born. Somehow pavi had known, even then, that Adar was in far more need of protection than himself. So as long as Adar had Aragon, then his friend would be alright, at least physically.

Mentally, that was a different story. The carefree and sweet little boy Markus had known was gone. Markus could see that as soon as the five year old had arrived at the jungle planet two weeks ago. It made Markus’s heart hurt just remembering it.

There was fear in Adar’s eyes where there had been none before. Even worse was that Adar didn’t chatter and smile like he used to, instead he just watched everything and everybody like he was waiting for them to strike out at him. Any loud noises made him jump, and he didn’t like anyone touching him.

At first Markus was at a loss of what to do, but Adar’s mother said what he really needed now was to feel safe. So for fourteen days they had reversed roles and Markus had became Adar’s shadow. Everywhere the five year old went, Markus followed, watched, and looked out for him.

It was just about the hardest thing he ever had to do in waiting patiently and letting Adar lead the way. Markus was used to being the leader and telling everyone what to do––well, other kids and servants that was, and occasionally adults that weren’t his parents. But for once he put that all aside. He was determined to to whatever he needed to help his friend get better.

By the third day, Adar had started to say small words to Markus, and by the end of the sixth, Adar had crawled into Markus’s bed that night and snuggled up against him. That was when Markus figured things would be alright, that Adar would be able to turn this around. With enough time, his friend might even be himself again. It had loosened up the tight feeling he had been having in his chest since Adar’s arrival to the backwater planet.

But now pavi wanted to split them up! He wanted to send Adar away and was forbidding Markus to go. Markus had already considered sneaking a ride on their ship, but he knew Aragon would find him and throw him off. The Protector would never allow Markus to come, not without his father’s permission. And pavi wasn’t budging.

The rage roared through him and Markus opened his mouth and screamed his frustration. The jungle echoed with his anger, and yet, it seemed as uncaring and unfeeling as his father. But then he heard a whimper, and Markus’s heart froze.

He frantically searched the jungle around him. The sound came again. He zeroed in on it. This time he saw the top of a blond head behind a fallen log. Markus rushed forward. He peered over the top of the dead wood to see the boy huddled there. Tears were streaming down his face. Markus jumped the log and went to squat beside his friend.

“Why are you angry?” Adar cried.

Markus stretched out a hand to touch the boy’s knee to reassure him. Markus was glad when he didn’t pull away. “I’m not angry at you, Adar. I’m just upset at something pavi said, that’s all.”

“Promise,” Adar sniffed as he stopped his crying for the moment.

“Promise.” Markus sat down on the ground beside the boy and slowly put an arm round his shoulder. Adar stiffened, but he didn’t pull away. “What are you doing here? I thought you were taking a nap.”

The boy shrugged, and scratched the top of his blond head where a black flying bug had just landed a moment before. Markus missed the boy’s long hair, but Aragon had cut all the length and curls away to make the boy look like a servant so to sneak him out of the White Palace. “I woke up. You were gone.”

“I know. Sorry. Pavi said he needed to talk to me.”

“What about?” Adar looked at Markus with his bright blue eyes full of trust.

It made Markus’s heart seize up. How was he going to tell him? How could Markus make him understand? But the bigger question loomed in his mind. How would Adar be able to cope without Markus? Adar still wasn’t really talking to his mother or Aragon either, not unless the boy deemed it absolutely vital to do so. Markus had been the one he had felt safe enough with to have actual conversations with. This wasn’t fair! Didn’t they care about Adar and him being okay? How would he be okay without Markus?

“Listen, Adar. I have to tell you something, and you aren’t going to like it. I don’t like it, but pavi is being stubborn and I don’t think I can change his mind and believe me, I’ve already tried.” Markus let out a long breath, trying to steady himself for what he knew he must do. This felt too much like being a grown up and he didn’t like it one bit.

“You are going to be leaving with your mother and Aragon to somewhere safe very soon. You can’t stay here in the Empire, or they will find you and take you back to the White Palace.”

Adar shook his head. “NO! Don’t want to go back to the bad place!”

“I know. That’s why you have to leave, so you won’t have to go back there.”

Tears were now streaming down the boy’s face in a flood. “Didn’t like it there. I want to go home.”

Markus’s heart almost broke. He knew Adar was talking about River Palace. That was his home, not the White Palace. He wished anything he could take Adar back there and that they could go back to the way things were before the Emperor had decided to claim Adar as an Heir. Markus felt like screaming, but instead, he kept his voice as steady as he could make it.

“You can’t. They will find you there. You have to go far away. Outside the Empire.”

Adar sniffled for a bit, then he wiped his nose and nodded as if he was reluctantly accepting it. “You come with?”

It was like he’d been stabbed straight through the chest. It hurt so much. For a long minute Markus didn’t know what to say, or rather, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. But he realized that he had to. There was no getting around it.

Yavit!

He knew it was a bad word, and he didn’t yavit care!

Pavi was going to be coming soon and tell them it was time to go. That they had to go their separate ways. As badly as Markus didn’t want to tell Adar the truth, he didn’t want his friend leaving thinking Markus had abandoned him. No, that would be a terrible betrayal and Adar had gone through enough already.

“I can’t,” he finally managed to whisper. The truth hung there out in the open for a long moment before Markus found his voice and was able to continue.

“That’s why I was so angry. Pavi won’t let me come. He says if I do, they will come after my family.”

“NO!” Adar cried. “I won’t go without you.”

Markus realized that he had started crying too. He couldn’t stop the tears even if he wanted to, and he didn’t. Why did this hurt so much? It felt like he was dying inside. “Sorry, buddy, but I can’t think of a way around this. I wish I could, but I’ve been out-parented. But it’s alright. This will be good for you. You will get to grow up and not have to worry about the crazy stuff going on around here. You can be free.”

“NO!” Adar cried stubbornly. Anger flashed in his eyes, and Markus knew that he had to get control of this, or Adar would throw one of his tantrums. Once that started, there would be no reasoning with him.

Markus wiped his tears away, turning so he was facing his friend full on and he started talking in his firmest voice. “Listen to me. If you don’t go, you will have to go back to the White Palace. And if I go with you outside the Empire, they will take my family away. So we have to do this, Adar. We have to be strong and say goodbye for now. Can you be strong for me?”

Markus didn’t like that he sounded very much like his father in that moment, but it seemed the only way for him to do this important thing. He had to save his friend, even if he couldn’t be with his friend any more. Maybe it wasn’t fair, but what else could he do? Pavi had spoken.

Adar nodded his head vigorously in the way only a five year old could.

“Good. You be strong and I will be strong, and maybe one day, when all this is over and we are all grown up, we will meet again.”

“And be friends again?” Adar said, and there was a hopeful look in the small face.

Markus couldn’t help but smile. He smiled so he wouldn’t start crying again. He smiled so he could show Adar how to be strong. He smiled to hide the rage that threatened to consume him. “And be friends again.”