Chapter 23: A centaur!

"Again?" Kalon muttered to himself as he looked up at the old man. He didn't remember meeting him once, yet he said that they had met before. He felt a little embarrassed by not recalling who he was.

"That's right, Eli has always been a huge help, and he was one of the people who stood by your mother's bed when you were born and also raised all of the guard dogs here. You remember when you used to play with Roxy, don't you?" Dorian asked with a questioning look on his face.

He understood that Kalon was young when he kicked him out of the palace, but the thing that Dorian didn't know was how much Kalon had forgotten about the time he spent living there. But to Kalon, everything just seemed like a distant dream.

He had a few memories about the place, but most things seemed hazy but when Dorian mentioned the name Roxy a memory of a small white puppy rolling around on the floor came to the front of his mind.

"Roxy? I think I remember." With doubt in his voice, Kalon said, but the conversation had already moved on without him as Eli asked Dorian why he had come to see him.

"So what can I do for you today?" Eli asked with a smile as he looked upon Dorian and Kalon.

"Well, it's a bit of a sensitive issue, so I assume I can tell you without worrying that it will leak to anyone can't I?" Dorian asked with a smile. Eli looked up at him and sighed.

"It always is when dealing with the emperor. So what is it?" He laughed and then asked again. He seemed to be used to dealing with Dorian's requests, and Kalon could tell how close they were at first glance. It showed that Eli was a trustworthy man. Kalon felt like he could relax around him.

That couldn't be said for most people within the Sylton empire, especially the races that ate humans. He always had to watch his back, so it was awe-inspiring that he had met another person that he felt as though he could trust. Kalon looked up at them both in admiration as they talked casually.

"Well, I need transport for Kalon here. He is doing a job for the court, and he needs to head to the mountain pass border. I trust that you can do it?" Dorian asked with a smile.

"The mountain pass? What in the world have they gotten children doing for them? Don't you know how dangerous it is to head there even for someone with your power?" Eli asked but then stopped mid-sentence as he forgot who he was talking to for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Eli said in defeat, but Dorian didn't seem to overthink what he said.

"It's fine, don't worry; you're practically family. I don't mind it. But it is his choice, isn't that right, Kalon?" Dorian asked, bringing Kalon into the conversation.

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"Yeah, I want to do it. No one is forcing me." Kalon said with a smile as he looked up at Eli.

"So it's like that? Well, okay, it's not like I can refuse you anyway, but now I don't feel bad about taking him there if he is willing to accept the consequences." Eli said with a sigh and then thought for a moment.

"So, do you want to get there fast? Or do you want to get there in comfort?" Eli turned his head and asked Kalon directly. He figured since he was the one who was heading there, it would be for the best to ask him how he preferred to travel.

"I want to get there as fast as possible, please," Kalon spoke with a smile once again as he thought about how fast he could get there and then come back to rescue his mother.

"I thought as much. Kids these days are so impatient." Eli said with a sigh before looking back at Dorian, who had yet to say anything.

"Is it okay with you if he rides there with Roland?" Eli asked Dorian.

"Of course. If he isn't too busy, of course, then it's fine." Dorian replied to Eli's question and then looked down at Kalon, who was still smiling. He seemed to be happy about the fact that he was doing something to help his mother out.

"Then let's go and speak to him and see if he has the time to spare," Eli said and then led Dorian and Kalon down a small dirt road at the edge of the palace to a small stone house just outside the wall.

They walked down the path to the house's front door before Knocking on the dirty old wood and waiting for a reply. A few moments went by before the door was swung open with enough force to send a breeze towards them, which made Kalon clench his eyes closed to avoid getting dust in them.

"Who is it?!" A thick and deep voice shouted out, sounding as though he was in the mood to kill whoever knocked on the door, but a gasp soon followed it.

"Your highness. I apologise; I didn't know it was you." The voice called out again, but this time was followed by the trotting of hooves against the ground.

Kalon opened his eyes after feeling that the dust had settled, but he became shocked by what he saw as he did. The man at the door looked to be human with short brown hair and wasn't wearing a shirt just like Eli, but as Kalon looked down, he saw that the man's lower body resembled a horse.

"A centaur!" Kalon said with a gasp as he recognised the type of monster that was standing by the door.

"What about it, kid?" The centaur spoke in the same deep voice with a threatening tone as he looked up at Kalon. Then quickly remembered that the emperor was standing beside him.

"I'm sorry, sir, I lost my temper." The centaur bowed his head down to Dorian again and apologised for his rudeness.

"It's okay, Roland. I wouldn't punish you for something like that when we are coming to ask for your help." Dorian said with a smile but then gestured for Kalon to stand beside him and Eli.

"This is my youngest son, Kalon," Dorian said, but before he could say anything else, Roland bowed his head once again.

"Your highness? I apologise for my attitude towards you. I hope that you can forgive me." He said while looking down at Kalon even though he was bowing.

Everyone went quiet as they waited for Kalon to say something.

"It's okay. I'm used to it." Kalon said with a smile as he looked up at the Centaur. Dorian, Eli and the Centaur remained silent as they all knew that the youngest prince was treated terribly by everyone. But Dorian was quick to move the conversation along.

"Well, um. I hoped that you could help me with something, Roland." Dorian said with an awkward smile on his face.

"Yes, Certainly," Roland said without hesitation.

"But I didn't even tell you what it is," Dorian stated, sounding confused as to why he accepted without knowing anything about what he was going to ask him to do.

"You don't need to, your majesty. I serve your empire, sir, and I will do anything to help." Roland said with a smile on his face that said he was plotting something, but it didn't seem malicious, so Dorian accepted his response and carried on with what he had to say.

"Well then, This is what I want you to do." He then explained everything he had told Eli to Roland and moved forward with the plan to get Kalon to the mountain pass as soon as possible.