One week, that was how long they had to wait before they go after the traitors and Christian Ddraig was frustrated and bored. Looking out the window, he could see some Hephatantian battleships being prepped for the no doubt viscous battle that awaited them on the traitors island base down south.

"They don't have much." he thought as he looked at the frankly small battleships in comparison to the Viper.

He wondered just how important this island had been to the Lunar Empire that it was stocked with some weaponry that Chris was sure belonged to older models which the Empire hadn't probably used in years. The first mental note that he made was to speak to Ishtar about potential trade in that area.

"Does something have your mind, Argentum Ddraig?"

His attention returned to the room and the elf seated ahead of him. She was old with hair had that long lost its strong crimson for a snow white and though wrinkles were upon her face, she still retained a somewhat youthful experience. It left Chris wondering if she was in her late four hundreds or five hundreds.

She was a nice lady, but Chris would do anything to escape this therapy session. He regretted ever agreeing to Ishtar's command and do absolutely anything other than spill out his feelings to a stranger. He had spent an entire week coming to the therapist and Chris was like a school child, counting on the minutes until the end.

"Argentum Ddraig?" she called once more.

"I am sorry, Aris Mutinta." he responded with a shake of his head. "I was just thinking about the city."

"Vant?" the therapist asked him with a look of interest. "What exactly about it?"

"We have been here for close to two weeks and I don't know much about Hephatan... I mean, I know its history but I don't truly know it's people and what they want ."

"You have had many meetings with the High Council and much of his governing officials, isn't that as best of an understanding about the people as you will get?" Mutinta asked and Chris had to stop himself from bursting into laughter.

He had spent a lot of time alongside many politicians after his return and if there was one lesson that his father and experience had beaten into him, it was that Politicians and leaders more likely than not had distorted views on what the people they represented wanted.

"I wouldn't call their views and accurate representation." he politely responded. "Leaders might not realise it, but they separated from their people."

""That must a pretty lonely experience." Mutinta stated and Chris would have responded in agreement had he not seen the look on her face.

"Oh, are you seriously.... are you still trying to psycho analysis me?"

Mutinta smiled and directed him to the wall clock. "We still have two minutes before our session ends."

"You are diabolical."

"Thank you, I try." Mutinta sat back with a wide grin as the clocks arms finally passed the sixty minute mark and a new hour was born. "Though on your thoughts about the people of Vant, why don't you ask them. I know that there will probably be plenty of red tape but it might also be a breath of fresh air for you."

Mutinta might not have realised it, but she had just offered to Chris something which he had seen his grandparents and parents do a lot. Not walking with the people whilst having a big show as the King or Queen, but through putting down the throne and walking in disguise.

When he had asked his father why they did it, Roland had responded saying. "Because a ruler is naturally distant from their people. It's so easy to lose touch with the common man's reality, this helps us keep grounded and to hear opinions which might not like, but we need to hear them."

"Thank you for your advice, Aris Mutinta." he said as he rose up from his seat. "Until our next session."

His bedroom was simply three floors above Mutinta's office. The building which Avalons high officials had been given to occupy simply had a hundred of them and yet it was crawling with thrice that number of people. From Hephatan officials to some of their fellow Avalonians who were sleeping upon the ship and coming to the building either to visit their compatriots or to carry out any duties that they had.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

In his one week here Chris had not received his friends only once... well, he only received Ursa and Thor. Pyrrha apparently was doing something important and after his last encounter with Hamanymu, he could tell exactly blame his friend, didn't mean that it didn't sting.

"You can always seek him out and apologise." he remembered Aris Mutinta's words.

He shook his head and cast away such thoughts, not because he wasn't interested on burying the hatchet with Hamanymu, he was just afraid of facing his friend. Something that regardless of how much he tried to ignore Mutinta's observation on the matter, he could ultimately not ignore.

He shook his head and escaped the depths of his mind to the conscious world. Looking around he could see that every person he passed would pause to look at him acknowledgement of his presence. He knew that it would be impossible to walk out the buildings doors as he was and travel Vant without anyone knowing that he was Christian Ddraig, prince of Avalon.

He had to be sneaky and thankfully, one of his uncles was Avalons greatest spy. Dolton had taught Chris a few tricks before the young Prince had left Avalon and even upon his return, allowing the prince an understanding of the tricks of espionage. He went to his room and turned on the television set to channels that showed the streets of Vant and with special attention to the person's in his similar age bracket, Chris drew up an idea of what the Average Hephatantian in their twenties looked like.

What came next was going through his wardrobe for the right clothes which the government had graciously filled his wardrobe with. Next came the hair styles and whilst Chris didn't like it, he was able to create a ponytail that matched what he had seen on the screen.

Next came the hardest part, sneaking out of the second most important building on the island. This step took everything as he managed to avoid being sighted by hiding under a passing dinner trolly after distracting the Hephatantian pushing it. The trolly was rolled down to the kitchen and from there Chris managed to sneak about until he stepped out of the backside of the building and to the streets (it sounds easy, but it took him two hours).

Standing on the streets of Vant, not a single head was turned to face him, to them he was just some twenty year old with some nice clothes, nothing special to look at and that was a success.

XXXXXXX

The city of Vant had an exotic nature to it with its buildings covered in painted seashells that created beautiful and intricate patterns that almost seemed to shimmer under the rays of the sun.

Chris did his best to hide his awe at the sight of these buildings. He was pretending to be an average Hephatantian after all, it would seem odd to the passerby's if he paused and gawked at everything which he saw. The only thing that he paused to look at was the massive posters which were draped on most sky scrapers.

Some Hephatantian's would pause and look at a image of their High Council pointing at them with the words, Stand For The Freedom Of Hephatan Against The Empires Oppression, Remember The Massacre Of 56.

"At least try to not make yourself look evil." he thought as he looked at it.

A man standing besides him, holding a duffel bag scoffed before saying. "The Empires Oppression?, what about Avalons oppression?"

Chris turned to face him in suprise and he asked the man. "Not a fan of Avalon I guess."

"Are you." the man spat out. "They come down and they are giving our glorious High Council's orders to use us like some kind of weapon against our countrymen and the Empire next."

The man sighed and rubbed his face in exasperation. "I thought that when we beat off the yoke of the Empire, we would be okay. But I dread that I will die in some foreign land, fighting under the orders of a commander who isnt even my own."

"Yeah, that sucks." Chris could not blame the man. Sure, he had a wrong view of Avalon, but if Chris was in his position, would he have thought any differently.

The man took a deep breath. "I am sorry kid."

"It's okay." he shrugged. " You signing into base today?"

"Yeah, look at me complaining, but signing up to go fight because the pay is good." the man laughed. "I am Alfrith Smithson by the way."

"I am Ambrosius Hunterson." Chris lied as he shook Alfriths hand. "We will be comrades or we are already comrades... I don't know, haven't signed into the base yet."

"Don't worry lad, we veterans will look out for you rookies!" Alfrith laughed as he playfully slapped Chris's shoulder. "Now go, drink, party and visit a brothal or the person who you are that close to. Enjoy your life kid."

Alfrith then walked away in better spirits and Chris was not sure on what make of his first interaction with the first ground level Hephatantian citizen that he had spoken to. He shook his head and chuckled before he continued walking through the streets, but instantly two hands grabbed him from the side and dragged him into an alley.

Chris managed to steady himself and flipped his attacker over the shoulder and onto their back. He then brought his knee upon their chest to pin them down as he manifested a ice shard that he brought to their throat as a threat.

"Wait, it's me!" Pyrrha shouted and Chris was taken aback as he looked at the elf beneath him. The elf had also changed her clothes and rather than donning her armour, she was dressed like ordinary Hephatantian citizen.

"Pyrrha?" he asked her in suprise. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I would ask you the same thing. Why are you sneaking out of the hotel to go visit brothals!"

"WHAT!"

Chris felt his face heat up as he struggled to comprehend what had just escaped out of her mouth and he lessened the force of his knee upon Pyrrha's chest and she used it as an opportunity to knock him off and pin him to the ground with her on top.

"Don't lie to me, I heard what that guy told you. So go on, talk!" she demanded and considering what she just said, Chris could help himself but laugh. "What's so funny?"

In between his laughter, Chris whizzed out. "It's just.... It's just that you think I snuck out of the hotel to go to a brothal of all things and you are so mad!"

Pyrrha's face fell in realization and her knife ears became droopy in a mixture of shame and frustration. She took in a sharp deep breath and got off of him as she snapped. "Stop laughing okay. This is the last time that I show you any care."

"So, you followed me?"

"I saw you sneaking out of the hotel and I thought that it was serious but then I heard the whole brothel thing and I was confused...." she hugged her knees and lowered her head to hide it from Chris. "... Why are you out here anyway?"

"We have been on Hephatan for more than a week and we will be gone soon, but have we ever heard what the man on the ground has to say. I figured that maybe I could try to understand them as one of them."

"So you won't be coming back soon?"

"Nah." looking at her, Chris felt a mischievous thought pop into his mind. "Who knows, stick around me and we can have that date that you spoke about."

Pyrrha gagged as if she had been drinking a bottle of water and Chris felt his smirk grow wider. His smirk dropped when he heard some footsteps to his left and he turned to see ten men who could best be described as looking to be of ill repute.

"Look at what we have boys, a pair of lovers in our terf." their leader said as he brought his hands to his belt to emphasis the knives that hang there. "I hope you both had a nice roll in the hay, because you are gonna need to pay for rent... or, the girl can share some of that..."

The guy never got to finish as Pyrrha grabbed the dumpster and threw it so hard at it that it sent him flying down the alley and through the wall at its end. The other gang members didn't seem to get the message as they drew their own weapons and summoned their elemental powers. Chris and Pyrrha rose to their feet as they prepared for the nine fools who had no idea what they had just stepped into.

"So much for a date." Pyrrha said as a spear of flame was birthed to life in her hands.

"Come on, a beat down before a lovely dinner, it's the date package." he responded as he drew upon the threads of magic within and constructed blades of ice. "Let's see if they can put up a fight."

For the next four minutes, the thugs did not.