"Remember, not so much as a syllable about who you are," Gwyneth was quick to remind Aston as they were leaving the castle.

"You're just jealous," Aston spoke proudly.

"You wish." Gwyneth rolled her eyes. Nobody outside of the castle and Aston's village knew about who — or rather what — Aston was. It was for his own safety as well as to keep the population at ease.

Isla kept her hood up, hands clutching the sides of it for dear life as if it were the only thing protecting her. In a way, it was. Aston had offered multiple times to change her hair color, but she insisted on keeping it purple. It was important to her for reasons she herself didn't truly understand. Besides, Gwyneth was also wearing a hood to mask her own identity.

"You know, you didn't have to come," Elric said as he noticed her tense small hands. Elric had grown much in his years of training. He had gained muscle as well as developed a more prominent tan. His long blond hair remained unchanged.

Her brown eyes flicked up to him before she shook her head, a gesture Elric couldn't fully see considering she held the hood in place. "I wanted to come with you. I might not be very useful, but I would like to think I'm of more use here than making mistakes at the castle from how worried I am."

"None of you needed to be here. I could teleport myself and pulverize that guy in-" Aston was quickly cut off by Gwyneth shushing him.

"Quiet! You're not supposed to draw attention to yourself! Besides, you couldn't do that even if you wanted to."

"Why not?"

"Because I haven't seen you teleport anywhere outside of the castle. Knowing you, you would have at least attempted it by now."

Her statement was mostly true. Aston wasn't allowed out of the castle for obvious reasons. He had attempted to teleport himself to Zetheria before but to no avail. Then he tried closer areas, but the only one that was successful was his own village. He couldn't stay there either as they would just report him to the king and queen. He hated to admit it, but Gwyneth was right.

Gwyneth was chosen to accompany him on his mission both as a representative of the kingdom and as a guide. She had vast knowledge of Halcyone despite never getting to travel beyond her kingdom. She was instructed to bring a knight along for extra safety, and it was to no one's surprise when she chose Elric. Isla invited herself along refusing to stay behind when her friends' lives were at risk. Besides, she was skilled enough with a bow.

"Is there anything we should buy last minute?" Elric asked.

"No, I think we were given everything we might need." Gwyneth shook her head. "Aston can handle the rest." In truth, they had only packed their weapons (in Isla and Elric's case) and a spare change of clothes. Aston could provide food and tents, but nobody trusted him with their fashion.

"What about potions?"

"Don't need 'em. We have me, remember?" Aston asked.

"For you, you idiot." Elric rolled his eyes. "Remember that time when Gwyneth burned your arm?"

Gwyneth had been using a candle as a means of fighting back after Aston thought it was a good idea to summon an ice puddle underneath her. She ended up burning his arm in the process, which eventually healed back on its own far faster than the human body was capable of, but still took over a week.

"You might be onto something." Gwyneth tapped her chin with her finger. "But to find a pharmacist capable of potions..."

"As far as I know, there aren't any pure Faes in Aeceria."

"Then it's impossible." Gwyneth sighed.

"If we pass through the Forlorn Forest, perhaps we could pick one up?"

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"If we pass through, we would not be passing through any of their villages, I assure you."

Deciding there was nothing else that could be bought, they made their way through town.

Aeceria's capital was easily the biggest city in Aeceria, but not the biggest city in Halycone. With its cobblestone roads and brick homes, it was one of the more modern cities in Halcyone. The silver-esque roads were always bustling with people. Either walking or setting up stalls along the sides of buildings. Housing and stores were spaced out adequately to allow room for people to walk without trampling over each other. That didn't stop people from intentionally tripping others. A young child with a warm brown complexion — half Cathruli no doubt with her cat-like ears — fell to the ground, the doll she was holding sent flying. Even though Cathrulis were becoming a more familiar sight in Aeceria, they were still unaccepted by the vast majority.

"Are you okay?" Gwyneth quickly crouched down next to the girl, pulling her hood back just a bit so as to put the child at ease.

The girl quickly averted her gaze, pressing her palms into the cold ground to stand herself up. "You're an Aecerian, you wouldn't understand."

"It's okay, I'm different too." Isla was quick to hand the child back her doll. As she did, she finally released her tight grip on her hood to reveal a little of her purple hair.

"Whoa! You're a Fae!" The girl gasped, causing Isla to quickly place her finger against the girl's lips, silencing her from spilling any more than she already had.

"And you're... Aquariot?" Aston squinted at the child who nearly doubled over laughing.

"That's a good one!"

"He... Doesn't get out much." Gwyneth rolled her eyes at Aston.

Near the entrance was a giant fountain that many Aecerians used as a wishing well of sorts. Aecerians typically believed in the presence of a higher nameless being that was simply referred to as "the Almighty". Supposedly it was from the Almighty that the prophecy came. Gwyneth and Elric weren't ones who believed in luck, but Isla sure was. So she quickly grabbed a coin out of her small coin-purse and tossed it in. 'Please, let us all return safely,' she wished in her head. The small splash attracted Gwyneth's attention who simply smiled at her friend.

Past the gate to Aeceria's capital were plains and small hills with forests to either side. A few trees and bushes populated these plains, but wild animals were rather scarce. At least this close to the capital. The only animals that would dare approach were the small harmless creatures such as birds and squirrels.

As they made their way past the gate, a few stablehands approached them with their horses. White was reserved exclusively for royalty while black was reserved for knights. Technically an exception could be made for Aston, had anyone bothered to ask if he had a color preference. Alas, his horse was brown.

Isla's steed was entirely different from the other three. A light rose almost white unicorn stood before her. She gently stroked her mane, a pang of guilt washing over her. Then it suddenly hit her. Neither the king nor the queen objected to her tagging along with. At first, she figured it was due to her closeness with the other three. No, it wouldn't be that simple. They wanted her to tag along because she was half Fae. Fae were the only ones capable of taming unicorns, and unicorns were far faster than regular horses. Should anything happen, she would be able to escape with one of them.

"Unicorns are magical beings, and in turn, only respond to other magical beings. In theory, you should be able to approach one as well." Gwyneth glanced at Aston, a smirk on his face. He attempted to mount the being who let out a sharp whinny and quickly bucked him off, causing him to land face-first into the dirt.

"Clearly, this unicorn is biased." His words were mumbled as he tried to push himself up. Elric helped him up before Aston quickly swiped his hand back. He made his way back to his own steed, not before sending a glare at the unicorn. What food did unicorns hate? He would have his revenge later.

They set off, Isla urging her mount slower to not surpass the group. Once they were out of the capital's range, the girls lowered their hoods and began talking strategy.

"Have we decided on a route?" Elric asked. Gwyneth and Aston were riding ahead, with Gwyneth struggling to keep her horse ahead of Aston. As princess, she was supposed to be the leader of the group, if Aston hadn't been desperately trying to usurp her role.

"The wall Zetheria built really isn't doing us any favors, is it?" Gwyneth inwardly sighed. Had the wall not been built, it would have been a straight shot from Aeceria. "So our options are the mountains, the Forlorn Forest, or the plains near Aquariot." None of which were spectacular choices.

"Are we going on that summer trip after all?" Isla beamed.

"Even if we avoided Aquariot, that would still set us back a month," Elric explained. "The mountains would be impossible too, especially on horseback."

"So, we go through the forest. Simple," Aston concluded.

"It's not as simple as that," Elric snapped back. "The Forlorn Forest is home to the Fae, as you well know. They're incredibly dangerous and are likely to kill us on sight. It would be like facing several hundred of you."

"Clearly not if I'm the only one capable of defeating the King of Zetheria. I say we take our chances. I'm not spending any longer with you three than absolutely necessary.

"We have to consider our safety," Gwyneth insisted.

"You'll be fine! And whose journey is this? Mine. So as far as I'm concerned, I give the orders. And I say we go through the forest." Aston urged his horse faster, meaning the others had no choice but to follow in his path. Hopefully, this wouldn't lead to their deaths.