"Prince, I'm sure the king would give it up for something!" Kobe responded.

"I've offered everything already, Kobe. Three months ago, I gave up hope of May's illness possibly being cured. I pleaded with him that when the time comes that May does pass, he uses the eye to bring her back," said Yvall. "I told him anything he needed of me within reason, any amount of riches. I would retrieve any object he needed for his collection, I would make any sacrifice needed. But he stayed vigilant that it be used on me or him only," Yvall continued.

"Perhaps now that he sees his daughter is dead, he would reconsider a trade?" Kobe asked.

"Do you really believe my father would consider a new offer?" Yvall responded. Kobe, in his child-like innocence, responded, "It's worth a try, isn't it?"

Yvall took a deep breath and turned his body in the direction of the king's quarters. He signaled Kobe to follow and began walking. As he walked, he flipped through everything he could offer his father in his head. There was nothing he could come up with that his father would accept. But by the time he had realized this, he was already at the door of his father's room, standing there with Kobe. Then the king heard the door slowly creak open. He sighed as he saw Kobe and Yvall enter. While Yvall looked at him with a cold gaze, Kobe stood with his head down in the king's presence.

"Yvall... and Kobe," the king spoke in a stern tone. "What possesses you to come directly to my quarters unannounced, and with a servant at that? What could you possibly have to tell me that has not already been said?"

"Father, what in this wide world could I offer to you in exchange for that eye?" The king looked back in disappointment. "Once again," the king said, "once again you've come and offered a deal you know you could not keep your end of."

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The king chuckled as he said, "How many times does a conversation have to occur before you understand what was discussed, Yvall? You have nothing to offer me," the king scowled. "No power in my army, no objects for my collection, no plans for my battles!" The king, madder than ever before, claimed, "Your life has been soft, easy. You've truly worked for nothing, Yvall, and that I do regret. For now, I see the consequences of your upbringing. You believe you have value simply because you are my son," the king spoke truthfully. Yvall had not cried since his mother died. Yvall had no troubles at all being the king's son.

"I had to risk my life to obtain that eye. At any moment it could have woken up and I would have been dead," the king said. "And you believe you could offer anything—" the king froze mid-sentence. He stood, and Yvall could tell his mind was moving like gears in a machine. After five long seconds, a smile crept along his face and he spoke.

"Anything?" Kobe and Yvall stood with a confused expression on their faces. The king clarified, "You said you would do anything in exchange for that eye." The king said with a smirk on his face, "Yes, father, anything," Yvall responded with hope, knowing his father had one deal he was willing to make. Kobe and Yvall stood in anticipation, when the king finally spoke, "The land I reign over stretches far, Yvall, but not as far as to my liking. As far back as I remember, the pests of Vallta have kept their territories tight. I send my soldiers to take it, but each time they come back with their tails between their legs, admitting they only caught a glimpse of the creatures before retreating," the king said with an angered expression on his face.

"P- pests?" Kobe questioned. The king looked down at him with all of the power a king could have over his subjects, looked back at Yvall, and said, "The goliaths of Vallta, slay them all, and the eye is yours," the king spoke, and a cold shiver went down Kobe's spine. Yvall, with an expression of disbelief, said, "No, father, please, anything else."

"There is nothing else," the king said.