Jayden Larkspear waited patiently outside his father's chambers for the doors to open. He usually never wanted anything to do with the king and his work, but this time wasn't one of them.

Elizah's story left him with too many questions and not enough answers. So he decided to approach the only one he could think of that knew all the answers.

"Come in," he heard his father's gruff voice say.

Jayden took a sharp breath and walked into the large room. He rarely came around to this part of the castle, but whenever he did, he always was astonished by the design and how it was maintained neatly.

The large lamps were dangling from different parts of the room, making the room seem brighter than it was. Cyprian Larkspear was seated at the head of a large table with many papers stacked in front of him, and Noxaura's eyebrows raised at the sight of her son.

"What do you want Jayden?" Noxaura asked him as she looked him straight in the eye.

Jayden immediately tore away from her gaze. He never could manage to look anyone directly in the eye while talking to them. His mother's gaze somewhat always seemed like she was digging through the depths of his soul.

"Father, I need to talk to you about something important," Jayden said. He added a tone that suggested that it wasn't any of Noxaura's business. Still, Noxaura didn't seem to care, and she remained in the room.

Cyprian's gaze flicked up to see his son's nervous figure looking around the room.

"Whatever the matter is, I have every right to know as well, being the queen and all. So tell us, whatever is the matter?" Noxaura asked as if she was mocking a foolish deed by a child.

"It's about someone in the schoolhouse. Is there a story of someone by the name of Liran Cohen?" Jayden asked. He had heard Elizah's father's name from the noble's children, but he wasn't sure if it was the right person.

All of a sudden, a strange silence fell in the room. Even Noxaura, who had a mocking gaze until then, turned to Cyprian and shared a surprised glance.

"Yes, but his name is something we don't mention here Jayden, I am sorry I can not tell you more than that," Cyprian replied.

"But I-" Jayden began, but Cyprian gave him a gaze that suggested not to question further, and Noxaura had surprisingly gone entirely silent. Jayden just sighed and turned around to leave but remembered something else he needed to convey.

"I will be leaving tomorrow to train with the troops down south. I will be back in a few days," Jayden said and turned back around.

Cyprian nodded, "Good. Also, review the trainees who I planned to dismiss while you are there."

Jayden gave a swift nod before he walked out, left with even more questions than he had wanted to ask before.

"Well there's only one last person to ask, I doubt he knows enough," Jayden sighed as he headed to his room to pack his belongings for the next day.

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After a long day of riding, Jayden had arrived at the troops' training location down at the southern part of the island. Even though Jayden had no abilities whatsoever when it came to combat, he was in charge of checking the quality of the troops. His father sent him to go check on the troops' morale in hopes that Jayden would have people to talk to, and he didn't get too lonely.

It was a tedious journey, but Jayden rather enjoyed it in the hopes that watching all of them train would somehow help him learn more. Jayden left his belongings in his tent and decided to go around the camp to find the person he was looking for.

He was sure he had seen a soldier by the name of Cohen in these camps, so he thought it was worth a shot to come to find the particular soldier.

"Um, excuse me, do you know where a soldier by the name Cohen is?" Jayden asked two older men who were talking, and they both thought for a moment before saying.

"Ah, you mean Micah? His tent is around that side. He is typically with the General at this time though," The man said as he pointed somewhere to the left.

"Thank you, I will check around there," Jayden said, and he walked through the rows of tents that were set up in the area. These troops were deployed mainly to scout the coast in case of attack from the various islands to the south that weren't on good terms with the Larkspear family. As of now, there was no war, but there was no telling when one could break out.

After asking around a few more times, Jayden ended up outside a neatly set up tent, where he heard two voices from the inside getting louder and louder. Jayden didn't realize it until it was too late.

"I'm telling you W-" A voice said, and the owner bumped straight into Jayden, who had been standing at the entrance. The man who had bumped into Jayden was much taller than him; he had red hair and grey eyes. There was another man by his side. The two unknown figures seemed momentarily confused while Jayden held his head to steady himself.

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"I'm sorry," Jayden said, and he looked to the side and noticed something strange. The two men were holding hands.

Upon realizing that Jayden had seen them, the two men's hands slipped out of each other's grasp.

"Wait a moment, if I'm not mistaken, you are the prince, aren't you?" The other man suddenly spoke, and Jayden nodded. A spark of worry flashed between the two mens' gazes.

"I'm not here for anything important. I just came looking for someone named Micah Cohen," Jayden said as he looked at the floor, trying to hide his fear.

"That's me," the man Jayden had bumped into said with a cautious gaze, "What do you need me for?"

"Can I speak to you in private? I want to ask you something," Jayden asked, and Micah looked confused.

"Alright, I'll lend Micah to you, on one condition," the other man said, and Jayden looked over at him.

"You don't mention what you just saw to anyone," Micah said, and Jayden was confused but nodded rapidly nonetheless.

"Go ahead Micah, he seems to be genuine," the other man said with a small smile. Micah sighed before lightly punching the other man on the shoulder. He sighed again and gestured for Jayden to enter the tent.

"This is probably the most private place here," Micah said as he sat down while Jayden just looked at the tent in amazement. A small table was set up with two chairs, and a lamp and some beds rolled up at one side of the room. On the other, there was a large shelf of weapons. The tent looked so small from the outside, but it was filled with different things inside.

"So, what did you want to talk about, your highness," Micah said, and Jayden could hear the mocking in those words.

"No need to be so formal. This isn't official business," Jayden said, and Micah tilted his head.

"Are you Elizah's brother?" Jayden asked, and Micah looked surprised.

"Yes. I am," Micah answered, his tone carrying caution.

"I met your sister a few days ago, and I've heard some things about your family from her," Jayden said, and Micah's brows rose suddenly.

"You met Elizah? How is she?" Micah asked Jayden excitedly.

"She's fine, but she misses you," Jayden replied with a small smile, and Micah just looked up with a nostalgic gaze.

"It's been a while since I left home," Micah sighed and said, "So what does that have to do with you coming here?"

"I heard a lot of rumors about your family, but I couldn't find the full story behind it. So I was hoping you could explain something about it," Jayden said, and Micah's gaze darkened.

"Ah. I assume even the king and queen didn't want to answer your question," Micah said, and Jayden nodded.

"Well, some of the rumors are true, while others are false," Micah said, and Jayden listened intently.

"My father was a part of the knights," Micah continued, "And he was a part of the main troops during the battle with Draconis."

Jayden's eyes widened. Draconis was a kingdom that shared borders with the Larkspear territories, but Draconis was crushed by the Larkspear kingdom many years ago.

"But at the last minute, my father left the front lines and returned home. So a lot of the rumors began to treat him as a traitor," Micah revealed slowly, and Jayden was shocked.

"Why would he do that at such a crucial moment?" Jayden asked, and Micah's gaze turned darker.

"His best friend almost died, and my sister was born," Micah said, and Jayden fell silent.

"Then the people should have understood right? And in the end, the Larkspear kingdom still won," Jayden questioned Micah in confusion, and Micah shook his head.

"Maybe they would have if he had returned to the front lines after all of this. But he was never seen again after he left here," Micah said, "Sometimes I hope that I could be the knight my father was unable to be."

Jayden looked at Micah with a new sense of admiration, "So you joined the troops of your own will?"

Micah nodded. Jayden gave him a confused look, "But Elizah said you were forced?"

Micah shook his head and said, "She was far too young to remember. I left right when I turned 16, and now it has been 8 years already."

"But you never returned home after that?" Jayden asked, and Micah just sighed.

"Sadly, no. I'm worried too much about what could happen here because there is someone here I need to protect," Micah said. He looked towards the door, and Jayden gave him a confused glance but just sat silently.

"You don't know when a war could break out here and people could die. And that thought terrifies me," Micah admitted, and Jayden understood his fears.

"But, a few weeks won't be too bad, please just think it over. Elizah's birthday is in a few days and I know she would love to see you," Jayden asked, and he was conflicted by his own actions. Sure he only had met the girl once, but he wanted to make her happy. It was a strange feeling.

"Got to say I agree with the prince on this one Micah," the other man from earlier said as he walked in.

"You were eavesdropping?" Micah asked incredulously, and the other man just laughed.

He had long brown hair tied up in a ponytail and bright blue eyes. His laugh was the type that made everyone else want to laugh.

"Micah, I promise I didn't. I just heard the last few sentences," the man said, "but he has a point you know."

The man walked over to Micah and gently played with his hair, and bent down to whisper something in Micah's ear before Micah turned red in the face and lightly punched the other man.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm William, the General of this unit," the man said, and Jayden's eyes widened.

"And Micah here is my direct subordinate," William said, and Micah gave him an indignant glance as if the title annoyed him.

"So, can you give him the permission to leave for a few weeks? OR rather force him to take a break?" Jayden asked, and William was surprised but laughed immediately.

"Aren't you a smart one? I have been trying to get him to leave for a while. I could just do that instead. Micah, think it over," William said and grinned at Jayden.

"Anyway, if you've got nothing else to say, I assume you have much more to do. It was nice to speak to you," Micah said as he glared at William before turning to Jayden. Jayden also noticed Micah's ears grow red ever since William had walked in.

Jayden nodded, "Same to you."

He walked out the entrance to the tent, hoping that his conversation with Micah could help bring a smile to Elizah's face.

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