He walked all night, not knowing when Rue would wake up, and since he didn't find anything on the way that looked like a suitable place to sleep, he didn't stop.

He carried the Infey on his back and wondered how they would get to Dycae when they probably turned off the road. Ylre knew the locations of the towns quite well, but he really had no idea where the chapel the villagers had dragged them to was located. Therefore, he only guessed which direction they should go.

He intended to ask when they met someone in the forest, or use his compass, but neither of them worked out in the end. Of course he didn't meet anyone at night and his compass pointed in Rue's direction as always. The arrow representing bad luck went automatically from him, which was a coincidence of circumstances straight ahead. Sighing, Ylre realized he needed to buy Rue a compass so they would even know where to go.

His back was quite sore, as his injuries from the previous whipping in Infey hadn't had time to heal, but the pleasant feeling of being close to Rue was still greater. Rue was breathed softly on his back, sometimes whispering something and his voice filled Ylre with a pleasant calm.

"Qie..." Rue whispered and gently pressed himself against Ylre.

Ylre looked at him and smiled softly.

He walked for several hours yet was in no hurry. He watched the surroundings in case some wild animal wanted to feast on them and thought about the best way to get to the flow of a river. Along the way, he waited for the sun to rise and Rue to wake up. In the end, however, he slept longer than he expected. When he finally woke up, the sun had already been in the sky for a good hour and Ylre was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with him.

The Highest Infey, although they were very resistant to a number of things, poisons were not their strong points. Their guards were adapted much better. The Highest Infey were generally more vulnerable to human inventions than their guardians. Although they were physically stronger, although they had more luck, they were more respected, and Luck itself protected them, without their guardians it wasn't difficult to deceive or stun them. That's why they needed their guards.

Moreover, none of the highest ones were going to use their first-class fighting skills when they could use someone from the middle class to do so. Ylre was fine with it though...as was everyone.

He noticed movement on his back and at the same time heard Rue's confused words, "What's…happening?"

"Good morning," Ylre said and walked slowly on.

"Ylre..." Rue regained his composure, as for a while he didn't remember what happened before he fell asleep. It took a second for memories of lying by the river to enter his mind, and he blinked in confusion, "It's morning? When did the sun rise? Did I sleep that long?" he didn't understand.

"You slept so well, I didn't want to wake you," Ylre said.

Rue was still in a daze for a while before he realized the crucial thing and said, "Stop."

Ylre stopped and looked at Rue on his back, ,"Hm?"

"Let me down," although he said calmly, it sounded harsh, as if he wanted to scold him.

Ylre slowly bent down, letting Rue down and gently turned to face him, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Rue said, brushing himself off gently as he felt dirty...like he was lying on the ground, "you didn't have to carry me...you could have woken me up if you wanted to keep going."

"I'll wake you up next time," Ylre promised as he felt like Rue was angry with him.

"I'll be glad," he smiled gently, "where are we?"

"I don't know, but we took a different one...so I don't know when exactly we will arrive," he said.

"It doesn't matter... the longer journey is always better... moreover, a nice path is just as important as the destination," he pointed out.

Ylre didn't object: "I know...but it will be difficult to find the right direction," he said.

"We'll ask someone," Rue wasn't afraid.

Ylre nodded, "When we meet someone, I'll ask," he said, and when Rue agreed, he added, "Aren't you tired or dizzy anymore?" he asked.

"No, should I?" he didn't understand.

"No...I'm just asking," he said, moving forward. Still, the sooner they find their way to Dycae, the better. However, when Ylre heard no footsteps behind him, he stopped and turned again to look at Rue.

"Is something wrong?" Ylre asked.

"Nothing," Rue said, taking a step towards him.

When he came to him, Ylre stepped forward again and continued through the forest. After a while, however, a strange feeling filled him, as if there was a strange tension between them. He couldn't stand it and had to look at Rue a few times as if to make sure nothing was wrong. He was silent himself, and when Rue didn't speak for a while, he began to wonder if he had done something.

It took some time before Rue finally spoke, "Ylre?"

"Yes?" he looked at him immediately.

Their eyes met. Ylre's bright blue met golden ones, acting as if they wanted to pierce him through and through. A wave of chills went through Ylre, but at the same time he was filled with the need to apologize for who knows what.

"Next time...don't touch me without asking," Rue said slowly in a way that seemed to both instruct and warn the child. When Ylre stopped in surprise, Rue added with a soft smile, "Do you understood?"

Ylre nodded softly, "I'm sorry," he realized.

Rue smiled lightly, "It's okay, I know you wanted to help...just don't do it without asking anymore."

Ylre looked down and nodded again.

When he seemed to understand and Rue was back to normal again, they continued down the road. Ylre gave him a reproachful look, but Rue returned to normal communication very quickly...began to enthusiastically admire his surroundings and speak passionately about them. Ylre joined him, and after a while the conversation was in the same sphere as yesterday. Rue acted as if nothing had happened and Ylre tried not to dwell on it.

However, he was filled with a strange feeling. He couldn't believe he hadn't realized how uncomfortable Rue would be by his behavior. He knew very well how sensitive the highest were to touch. In their country, where they were worshiped beings, it was almost impossible to touch them, let alone have close contact with them any longer. In fact, the guardians were the only ones the highest allowed near them, and even then not always.

Touches were generally less accepted in Infey than in the normal world. In their country, where sex was a blessing of Luck and only allowed to members tasked with a creating a new Infey, even the most innocent things were considered intimate. Everyone, including ordinary Infey, was sensitive to such things, not least the highest ones, who had always been raised not to let anyone near them. Still except for their guardians.

Ylre had not forgotten any of the rules and knew that Rue wouldn't respond favorably to his touches. However, yesterday he didn't think about it due to circumstances...which led to regrets today. And besides them, as the memories ran through his head, a bitter sadness filled him somewhere inside.

***

When Shane opened his eyes, he was completely worn out. His whole body ached excruciatingly, he felt as if a herd of horses had run over him, and for a moment he completely forgot where he was.

He didn't feel like getting up. It took some time before he recognized the room, where Nielle had dragged him yesterday to have some fun with him in a different environment. Shane didn't even know how long Nielle had been toying with him before he stopped, but it was more than he could consciously take.

Shane never thought he was physically weak. In reality, he considered himself a person who could endure a lot, but he obviously overestimated himself. Because three days in Nielle's vicinity was all it took for him to be completely blown to the point that even his usually unstoppable luck wasn't helping him. Shane felt he had enough of it despite how much Nielle was stealing from him. Depleting his supplies was practically impossible, but that didn't change how shitty he felt.

He slowly sat up and hissed loudly as his ass hurt. He gently leaned against the bed, took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he wanted to continue sleeping. Shane knew he needed a break…every Lacrisan was generally weakened for at least the first week after arriving in Rinsel, but going through what he had to was truly unbearable in combination.

However, as much as he wanted a break, Nielle wasn't going to give him one, and from what he said yesterday, he had something else planned for him today.

Shane wondered if Nielle was aware that he was going to kill him like this before getting the information out of him, as he assumed was his goal. Of course, he didn't intend to reveal anything to him, but he was beginning to doubt that he would even get a chance to fulfill his duties.

When the door to his room opened, Shane just looked up slightly, trying to keep Nielle from seeing how incredibly exhausted he looked. Luckily, it wasn't Nielle who visited him in the morning, but one of the soldiers sent by the prince.

Shane barely registered what he said, but he understood that he should get up and follow the soldier. His head was spinning, every step reminded him of last night, and after the guy led him to the bathroom where Nielle had started with him yesterday, a new dose of anger filled him.

Feeling a little better after a cold bath, he let himself be led to Nielle, who sat contentedly outside by the training ground, watching the soldiers in their morning practice. He seemed quite energized, which only made Shane's mood worse. He wanted to take one of the swords next to the table and cut his throat, but he knew he couldn't…at least not yet.

"Good morning Lacrisan…how are you feeling? Ready for today?" Nielle smiled after noticing his irritated expression.

Shane would have said something, but he felt that his words had no effect, so after a while he just sighed deeply. He walked to the stairs leading down to the training ground and slowly sat down on them. His ass hurted, but it was better than standing, so he stayed on the stairs and just silently watched the soldiers in front of him. Overall, he was interested in the training of the Rinsel Army, so he didn't mind it.

However, Nielle saw it differently, "Are you sulking?" he laughed.

Shane ignored him and leaned back trying to see better. He didn't feel like talking with the moronic prince, and as suppressing the urge to kill him every time he looked at him was getting harder and harder, he tried to pretend he wasn't there.

"If you keep quiet, you won't help yourself," Nielle joked and slowly got up.

"Like if talking would," Shane said irritably as Nielle leaned in gently from behind. The mere touch of Nielle's fingers on his neck was enough to evoke an instinct of self-defense and a surge of fury that he couldn't suppress, and so he clenched his fists in an attempt to punch him.

However, Nielle simply grabbed his hand and smiled, "I wonder how you'll handle the fight with the soldiers today," Nielle laughed, "I promised them that whoever defeats you today will be able to take something from you." he whispered.

Shane stared blankly at him for a moment and jerked out of his grip. He scrambled to his feet and gave Nielle a look, "What do you mean?" he knew, but he asked anyway.

"What do you think, Lacrisan?" Nielle was amused.

Shane looked at him in disbelief and glanced at the many soldiers behind him, "You're not serious," he growled.

,,Why not? Motivating the soldiers is important…and you're acting more rude every day…be grateful…you'll help the army to rest and me to have fun." he laughed.

Shane continued to stare at him in disbelief before saying, "Are you sane? Even a dump spoiled kid like you, should realize that I've had enough," he took a step towards him angrily, "Maybe you're having a good time and no one is stopping you, but I'm still Lacrisan sent by the king," he growled,

"I knew I was going to be with some jerk of yours, but the agreement doesn't say that you can throw me to a bunch of soldiers for fun...I'm-not-a-toy," he spelled out and shoved Niella hard, how upset he was, "I'm human and this," he nodded at the soldiers, "will kill me, you piece of shit!" he raised his voice.

Nielle laughed softly and dusted off the clothes, "Well, that's very unpleasant," Nielle pointed out and he walked closer to him, "because you're not human for me." he pointed out.

Shane laughed with disbelief and shook his head, "You are the one who's not a human," he grunted in irritation and stormed off.

The soldier tried to stop him, but Nielle signaled them to let him go, laughing amused at how helpless Shane was. He looked behind him contentedly and returned to his seat thinking about how much fun he was having.

He had to go to the capital tomorrow, but today he was going to have some fun. First he wanted to finish the duties he came here for and when he had nothing more to worry about, he planned to entertain himself with the theater he had booked for today.

In truth, he didn't plan to let any of the soldiers have fun with his Lacrisan. It was enough that Shane believed in it and was properly afraid. Niella thoroughly enjoyed watching the Lacrisan's fear he instilled in them, though he saw more anger in Shane.

Anyway, he only planned a simple fight with a few soldiers. He wanted to see what kind of fighting Shane was good at, what kind of fighting he preferred and how his skills were doing. It was clear to him that it wouldn't be the most accurate since he was nowhere near his full strength, but a cornered beast could do wonders and Nielle wanted to see them. Especially after the former promise that someone would take his luck after every loss, he assumed that he would try.

So he knew that as soon as he planned which soldiers he would transfer to which places in Alycante and which ones he would move all the way to Dycae in case the Infey got there, he would spend the rest of the day having fun.

However, until that moment, he didn't care where Shane would wait for the program. Because Nielle was going to find him anywhere.

***

Shane wasn't going to stay at camp a minute longer. If it wasn't Nielle, he would have thought that he just wanted to intimidate him, but knowing this sadistic prince, he had no doubt that he wouldn't survive here. And so he made his way to the other end of the camp to the exit, from which the report won't get to Nielle right away.

Luckily, no one was following him and it didn't look like anyone was interested in his movements, so he was able to get a sword. Despite how exhausted he was, he wasn't weakened enough to sit and await execution. So after he told one of the guards that he was given prince's permission to eat in the mess hall by the back exit, he was close enough to steam out of it to the fenced section. He walked a few meters unnoticed before a pair of guards on patrol spotted him.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

However, Shane was close enough to the exit and since there weren't many soldiers, he let them come to him.

,,What are you doing? Does Prince Nielle know you're here?" they asked.

"He didn't say I can't be here. I'm taking a walk," he said and continued walking.

However, the guards stood in front of him and looked at him suspiciously.

"I can't even walk?" Shane asked monotonously, although he would rather have murdered them.

"We were told not to let you out of the camp," they said, "where did you get the sword?" the soldier didn't know if Nielle had given it to him.

"Prince Nielle gave it to me," he said, "why would I go out of the camp? I don't even know where we are." he stated and took a few steps forward before he was stopped again.

"It will be better if you come with us," they said.

"Oh," Shane sighed deeply, "I understand." he nodded and after the guards approached, Shane didn't move.

When the guard on the right was close enough, he bent down sharply and before either of them could react, he yanked the man's sword from its sheath. The metallic sound of the drawing blade made the soldiers react in a second, but it was too late as Shane already possessed two swords.

With a swift swing, he cut the chest of the soldier in front of him, and before the latter could decide whether to injure him as Prince Nielle had forbidden or not, Shane had already stabbed him in the stomach with a second sword.

The guy grunted, Shane drew his sword out and kicked him hard. The soldier fell to the ground and after Shane made sure he wouldn't go after him again, he threw the bloody sword towards them. Then he just ran to the gate, as he expected that someone would soon notice the soldiers.

He was near the gate, where several guards were standing, so he was prepared for a more difficult fight. However, he didn't intend to go easy on them, as he wanted to get out of the camp as soon as possible. Basically, he didn't even have a plan. All he wanted was to avoid what Nielle had promised him.

Therefore, when he reached the exit of the camp, he didn't even try to hide his intentions any more, and as soon as a group of five soldiers walked towards him in confusion, he put his hand on his sword. When one soldier was close enough, he swung at him violently. However, the soldier was able to draw his sword in time and block Shane's lunge.

Shane cursed under his breath as the other four caught up to him and his escape attempt became more complicated. He was clutching one sword in his hand, intending to use it to fight his way out, but he wasn't sure if he could do it against the Rinsel soldiers in his current state.

He was starting to realize how wrong he was, if he thought it would be easy and began to regret not thinking of a better plan. The soldiers in full force, moreover from a military country, were something different than anyone he had met.

Luckily he had one advantage. While he didn't care if he killed any of them, the soldiers couldn't seriously injure him in case they pissed Nielle off. Shane realized this pretty quickly when one of the soldiers missed a clear opportunity to slash at his unprotected back. In the end, he had the upper hand, and when another soldier ran to inform Nielle, even his number of enemies dwindled.

After he was able to get a second sword from one, his superiority paid off. Shane stood panting, looking at the four guys and the ground that had given him a hard time. If he was at full strength, he wouldn't be as exhausted as he was right now, and the four soldiers might be nothing. However, he was not at full strength and the soldiers in Lacris were no match for them. That's why he was finally glad that he somehow defeated them.

He considered for a moment whether to keep the sword in case Nielle and his men found him, but decided it would be better if he concentrated on running. That's why he left the camp. He didn't know how long it would be before Nielle found out about his escape, but he intended to get as far as possible.

When he was finally outside of the camp, he was able to think as he ran, what he would do now. He had no idea where he should go, but he had to return to the capital. Whatever danger he was in, it still didn't change the fact that he had nowhere else to go and Lacris wasn't open to him until he fulfilled his duties.

He knew that the most ideal would be to find a horse or meet someone who travels to the capital by carriage. If he had all his luck, he was sure he would meet someone at the first turn. However, he currently assumed that he would walk around a lot before meeting someone.

If he even managed to get away from Nielle and if he made it to the city…he intended to sort things out as he went…however, his current goal was not to get killed in a disgusting way by a group of soldiers.

He ran for quite some time before he decided that it would be a good idea to change the direction of the road. He took a random turn, thinking that he might have hit the right direction from which they had come here, and kept walking. He wasn't going slow, but he still felt like he should pick up the pace.

He walked maybe ten minutes, twenty, when he started to lose his breath. Everything in his body hurt. Although he won the fight, the soldiers hit him a few times, and Nielle's games didn't help his energy either. That's why when, after another few minutes of walking, when he clearly passed the distance of the village they visited first yesterday and heard the sound of bubbling water, he decided to stop at least for a while.

He knew he should go on, but he was really exhausted . And so he changed direction again and walked towards the water. The beautiful clear river without control lifted his mood a little, which still lingered at the freezing point and he slowly reached it. He took a deep breath and knelt on the ground trying to drink from it.

Nielle didn't seem at all interested in taking care of his basic needs. No food, no water...although he wasn't denying him any of it, nor was he giving it to him, and Shane had the impression that perhaps the king had given him an order to assassinate him.

He took a sip of water and dipped his hands into it. He enjoyed the icy stream for a moment before refreshing his sweaty face and drinking again. He wanted to curl up here and sleep, but he knew he couldn't. He had no idea where the soldiers were, but he was sure Nielle knew he had escaped. Therefore, after enjoying the touch of the cold water for a while longer, he pulled out his hands and tried to slowly stand up.

But as soon as he straightened up, a whistling sound hit his ears. Too fast to turn, too fast to react. Knowing the sound all too well, all he could do was duck slightly to the side just before a paralyzing pain hit his shoulder.

He just stood there for a moment before falling to his knees again and moaning weakly, "Aagh-"

He flicked his fingers to his back where the arrow had hit him and felt the long part of it. However, he didn't have time to break it, nor to tear it out, when his vision began to blur. He landed on all fours in surprise and gasped. He blinked a few times and shook his head, but nothing helped. His muscles trembled slightly, he felt his shoulder begin to burn, he felt the sensation begin to spread further. A mixture of fear and confusion hit his mind at what had just hit him.

It wasn't the first time he'd been hit by a poison arrow, but it was definitely the first time he hadn't even noticed the shooter's presence. He was really out of it, he knew it, and he was starting to blame himself for underestimating Nielle. Until now, he only believed that he wanted to murder him, but now he confirmed it

And although he had no idea why he wanted to do that, when he didn't find out anything from him and when the king let him know that nothing could happen to him, it didn't really matter. Because Shane knew he was screwed.

A mocking smile appeared on his face as he hit the ground paralyzed, as his eyelids closed and all the events that he had yet to do happened before his eyes. On the one hand, perhaps in relief that this disgusting life is ending, on the other hand, perhaps in amusement at how pathetic the whole time was.

And somewhere in the depths of his soul, in regret that he didn't really return his treatment to Nielle.

***

When Nielle found out that Shane had escaped, he didn't know whether to laugh or laugh. He was partially expecting that his Lacrisan wouldn't stay still and wait for him to fulfill his promise, but he really didn't expect him to break through his soldiers and escape. Anyway, he was amused by how funny Shane's effort was. Especially when he had people in every nearby village able to recognize him and catch him at any time.

However, he intended to find him before he caused any trouble. He was quite pleased with how the Lacrisan himself had given him a reason to punish him nicely again, so he hurried off to find him. He hadn't finished his duties yet, but he didn't think Shane would be too far off, so he took a break for a while.

On horseback, they covered the distance that an exhausted Lacrisan would walk pretty quickly, and so in less than ten minutes they explored quite a large area near the campsite.

Nielle was quite surprised at how well Lacrisan was hiding, and since he didn't know exactly where he had turned, it was necessary to explore all the roads. But he knew they would find him eventually, and they did. When one group of soldiers shouted that they had him, he went after him.

He couldn't wait to see his expression when he caught him, so he broke into a gallop with a satisfied smile. He reached the trees behind which flowed one of the unpaid rivers.

"Sir! He's hurt!" the soldier yelled ranning towardshim, whereupon Nielle dismounted and casually walked over to them.

He knew Shane was hurt as he had fought with his soldiers in the camp, so he expected some scratches. What he didn't expect, however, was the look he received the moment his eyes fell on his Lacrisan.

Bloody clothing with a long arrow protruded from his back near his left shoulder. His green feathers showed that it wasn't a classic weapon, and Nielle suffered a moment of shock.

"What's wrong with him?" he ran up to Shane and knelt down to him.

He drew his sword and cut off the longer part of the arrow. Then he put the end of it in his inner pocket and lightly turned Shane to face him, "Hey!" Nielle patted him on the cheek, "Lacrisan! Can you hear me?!" he tried harder but Shane didn't respond,

"Fuck," Nielle cursed as he tried to assess the situation before turning to the soldier next to him, "run for the medic, tell him I will bring him my Lacrisan, shot with a poison arrow," he touched the bloody clothes, "less than five minutes ago...feathers are pale green, length...about 85 cm...let him find out who uses them..." he spat out.

The soldier nodded, got on his horse and proceeded to carry out the instruction. Nielle ordered another soldier to help him with Shane. They slowly pulled him to his feet and Nielle let Lacrisan lay in front of him on the horse. Holding his draped body close to him, he spurred the horse into a gallop.

He had no idea what had just happened, he had no idea who had shot his Lacrisan and why, but he was sure of one thing. When his Lacrisan dies, his peaceful life will be in jeopardy as well...because the king won't miss such an opportunity to severely punish him...and Nielle knew it well.

***

He didn't remember anything at all. Rue felt like he was dreaming of something important, but he couldn't remember what. All he knew was that he saw Qie, which in itself lifted his spirits and filled him with a bitter feeling at the same time.

Anyway, he couldn't change it, so he decided not to deal with anything and continued his happy journey with Ylre. However, after about an hour of walking, a painful moaning sound hit his ears. They weren't human moans, but that didn't matter, so before he could even explain where he was going, he turned to the trees by the road.

Ylre looked at him before moving after him. He followed Rue's footsteps and asked, "Where are you going?" he wanted to know.

"Can't you hear that?" Rue asked as he continued to walk.

"I can't hear anything," he said.

"Someone's crying," Rue clarified, to which Ylre listened, but still didn't know what he was saying.

But when they came out from behind the trees after a while, Ylre caught sight of the source of the whining Rue heard. When they were close enough he could register it too, although he usually only looked out for things that could put them in danger.

A wounded fox lay in the middle of the grass, its leg in a trap by local hunters who were enjoying their catch. Seeing what was happening, Rue quickened his pace and spoke to the men.

"Luck with you," he greeted, "what's this about?" he asked.

The men looked up at him incomprehendingly, "Luck with you, boy. Can't you see? Hunting." he nodded to the basket, in which they already carried several animals that had been caught during the night.

"Hunting animals isn't right...you should let her go, living things must protect each other...if you let them live, they will let you live," Rue said calmly.

The man blinked confused and looked at his guys, "What did he say?"

"Hey!" one man walked closer to Rue, "What's your problem? Hunting is allowed in this part!" he said.

"Your rules don't matter...Luck doesn't allow hunting animals," Rue said.

"Is he crazy?" one of the guys asked the other, who just nodded.

"Look, boy," one of them looked at Rue , "you look like a rich son from a good family, so you probably don't understand, but some people make a living by hunting... so get out while we're being nice."

"I know that people feed on animals," he said, "but Luck allows eating only animals that a person raises himself. Breeding animals is allowed," he said, "when you give to the animals food, care, serve them all their lives and then they give their lives to you, it's fine...but if you're hunting animals you've done nothing for, it's wrong," he clarified.

"Not everyone can raise animals," another objected.

"Why are you even talking to him, pack up and let's go," another explained.

The man nodded. He reached for the trapped fox, which snapped at him with its teeth, but by then Rue had stepped between them.

The guy got angry: "Boy! You're hindering our work...if you have a problem, call the guards, but I assure you they won't do anything...so kindly get out and let us hunt." he stated.

A soft sigh left Rue's mouth before he looked at the fox behind him, "I'm sorry for them, they don't know."

"Enough, get out of the way!" one of the hunters ran out of patience and tried to push Rue away from the trap. But just as he got too close, Ylre kicked him to the ground.

He gave him an irritated glare and stood next to Rue as the local people started to annoy him more and more each day.

"Fucking Lacrisans!" the guy growled and stood up, "You can't do whatever you want in our country!"

"Fuck off, you bastards." one of them pulled out a short sword used for hunting and pointed it in Rue's direction.

Ylre grabbed the blunt side of the blade and irritated pushed against it, forcing the guy move the weapon in his direction.

As their gazes met he said darkly, "Everything here is our land, when he say you can't hunt, you won't," with a rough pull he ripped the blade from man's hand, making it his own. The culpit backed away in surprise and hid behind one of the older hunters as Ylre's blue eyes filled him with a strange shiver.

"What are you talking about?" one of the guys didn't understand what their problem was, but he didn't have time to say anything when Ylre swung sharply in his direction, placing the blade under his neck.

"I'm not in the mood," Ylre said and lifted man's chin with the weapon. The hunter subconsciously raised his hands and swallowed dryly, "Fuck off." Ylre said to which the guy nodded slightly.

Ylre stared at him for a moment longer, and when it looked like they really understood, he withdrew his weapon. The men took off in a second, not expecting that today's hunt would expose them to danger.

Ylre threw the blade to the ground and looked at Rue, who just sighed softly, "Why do people hunt animals?" he didn't understand and slowly bent down to the trapped fox. He gently released it and said, "Don't worry, nothing will happen to you." he lightly touched the trap.

However, as his fingers moved too close to the metal teeth, Ylre said, "I'll take it out."

"No need," Rue smiled and slowly opened the trap, allowing the fox to get out, "done, you're free." he said.

The fox snarled at him in terror for a moment, as if it didn't understand what had just happened, and as soon as her body was free, she rushed after Rue. Ylre glared at the animal dangerously and grabbed the blade from the ground again, but Rue just gently touched the fox.

The fox didn't look like it really wanted to hurt him, and apart from snarling and hesitantly raising paws in defense, didn't do anything.

"You don't have to worry...no one will hurt you," he explained, "his name is Ylre, he just helped you...we are not hunters." he said.

Ylre watched Rue play with the fox for a while, wondering if the animal really understood what he was saying or if it was just what it looked like. However, since everything seemed calm, he threw the blade back on the ground and sat down in the grass where Rue and the fox were having fun.

After the animal regained some composure and Rue was able to gain it's trust with a few touches, the vixen allowed itself to be petted without growling. Rue seemed pleased with her behavior, as if he understood her too…and maybe he did, Ylre didn't know.

All living beings were connected by luck, and since the supreme Infey were its direct source, he wouldn't be surprised if they truly understood all living creatures.

He sat there for a while and didn't say anything before Rue looked at him, "You can touch her too."

"No need," Ylre said.

"She won't hurt you," he clarified.

"I know...but I don't like foxes," said Ylre.

,,Why? You look alike." Rue laughed softly.

Ylre looked at him incomprehensibly and gave the fox a look, "Alike?" he didn't understand.

"You have a similar color...hair and fur...and you both growled at those hunters," Rue laughed softly.

"I didn't growl," Ylre pointed out, staring into Rue's golden eyes in confusion for a moment before looking at the fox. He examined it closely, much to Rue's amusement.

"You're cute," he smiled, after which Ylre blinked confused.

"Cute?" he didn't believe, "Me?"

Rue nodded, "And you're a very nice person...you growl at the bad guys, you defend the good guys," he continued petting the fox.

Ylre objected: "I don't think I'm a nice person."

"I think you are," he pointed out.

"I'm not," Ylre knew he wouldn't have a problem killing those hunters if necessary and he knew he would kill the villagers if necessary...actually he would do anything...if necessary, ,, but I'll always be good to you." He promised.

A soft laugh from Rue showed that he didn't understand what he meant, "Thank you," he said and gently stood up, "I'm good to you too, aren't I?" he asked.

Ylre smiled softly, "You always were," he said automatically.

"And I always will...people should be nicer to each other, don't you think?" Rue said.

Ylre thought for a while and stood up, "I don't know." He didn't care.

"They should... when you live longer, you'll find that it's the best... when people are polite to each other, they understand each other better," he clarified.

Ylre was silent for a moment before asking, "What if I'm good to someone, but he don't understand why I'm with him?"

"You should continue to be nice to him, he'll understand," Rue smiled and walked back to the road.

Ylre looked after him for a moment, smiled softly and followed him, "As you say."

***

Nielle expected that the local doctor wouldn't be as capable as Elyan, but he clearly didn't expect that he wouldn't be able to do anything. All he could do was slow the spread of the poison, but he clearly didn't do anything that would make Nielle wait another day here.

He couldn't even identify what kind of poison was in Shane and Nielle was getting quite nervous. Therefore, he had no choice and had to go back to the capital. With Shane on horseback, it wasn't as fast as he would have liked, but once he got going, he was able to reach the city in six hours.

The doctor told him that it would take about five hours for the poison to start working again. Time wasn't in his favor, so he had to think about how he could get back to the city as quickly as possible. He couldn't go through the main gate as his father would find out he was somewhere and didn't have time to sneak through the hidden entrances.

At first he tried to get back through the secret entrance in the same way as when he left it, but since he couldn't enter it with a horse and even found out that it was blocked, he had no choice and reached the main gate.

The party of soldiers were considerably surprised when he was allowed to pass, and after he galloped through the streets and reached the walls of the palace, he was greeted with even greater surprise by the second guard. Everyone in the palace knew that he was supposed to sit in the dungeon on the king's orders, so they just let him in without understanding what happened.

Nielle wasn't worried about word from the city guard getting to the king, since he had a few of his own people there, but as far as getting into the palace was concerned, he was screwed.

However, receiving the punishment for breaking out of the dungeon and disobeying the king's orders was still less than receiving it for killing the Lacrisan he was in charge of...and ruining the opportunity to reveal the goals of the Lacris who had sent him here. Considering that his father was furious when the Lacrisan had collapsed in front of him, Nielle knew that killing him would be pretty dangerous.

However, he had no choice at the moment and hoped that he wouldn't end up being punished for both things at once...however, it wasn't up to him, it was up to Elyan.