Far, far away from the party happening at Apolo's mansion, there was a grand castle hidden in the midst of a dense forest of black trees and red leaves. In one of the countless hallways of this castle were two children dressed in rather worn and sweaty robes. They were slowly walking as if searching for something they had lost, dragging their legs behind with each step, appearing genuinely tired from their search.
—Where could Helena have gone?— one of the children, who had a particularly pointy nose, asked.
—No idea, but we've been searching for her for hours, Apolo, that's for sure...— complained the other child, whose body was a bit plumper than the one he was walking with. Fortunately, he had a much more handsome and adorable face. However, half of the beauty of that cute, chubby face was hidden behind a silver mask.
—Supposedly, we were going to explore the forest together— Apolo said, wiping the sweat from his face with his robe—I know what to do, Homero! What if we ask one of the servants for directions?
—Oh, great idea, Apolo!— Homero exclaimed, looking around the hallway and realizing there wasn't a single servant to ask—What if we head to the gates? There are always guards guarding the castle gates; maybe they know where Helena is.
—Alright, the first one to get there gets the other's dessert!— Apolo yelled, running like a maniac towards the castle's entrance.
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—Hey, that's cheating, don't run! I never agreed to that bet!— Homero shouted, chasing after Apolo, but the truth was that his older brother was much more agile, so he ended up losing the "bet".
—I'll take your dessert!— Apolo shouted, touching the castle's entrance door.
—No! Of course not, it's my dessert and mine alone! I'm going to tell Fausto you're stealing my desserts again!— Homero responded angrily while struggling to catch his breath.
—Such a coward...— Apolo muttered, opening the castle doors with some effort since they were too big for a normal child to open.
The doors opened to reveal two guards dressed in somewhat worn leather armor, both men were amputees and seemed to have been former soldiers who were offered this job. This somewhat violated the traditional isolationist policy of the Black Forest realm, but clearly, no one dared to bring up the topic to the castle's lord.
—Is something wrong, kids?— one of the guards asked without following any protocol.
—Yes, we lost Helena, do you know where she went?— Homero explained.
—The blonde girl with light eyes?— the other guard asked.
—Yes, that's Helena, have you seen her around here?— Apolo replied impatiently.
—The girl went with an old servant into the forest— one of the guards explained—Supposedly, they were going to pick some flowers, but it's been a long time since they returned.
—Well, thanks for the directions, do you know which way they went?— Apolo replied—We'll go look for them!
—Go that way, just remember to come back before nightfall, or we'll tell your father, and you'll end up being punished— the guard said, raising his arm and pointing in a particular direction in the forest, seemingly unconcerned about the children leaving the castle to wander into the middle of the forest. It appeared quite normal for them to do so... or the guards were just very lax with their duty.