"And where are you going, hero?"

Aston stopped in his tracks, a shiver climbing up his spine. He should have known they wouldn't trust him not to run off. He sighed but continued walking as he spoke, "I'm going to Zetheria. I'm fully capable of fulfilling the prophecy on my own. I don't need your help."

Gwyneth knew it would be impossible to talk him into coming back with her, so she followed. "Prophecies aren't as simple as you might think. There are plenty of details that are left out. For example, you might be the one to kill King Vishnal, but you would never otherwise step foot in the kingdom without our help."

"So, you're saying the only reason I succeed is that I agree to your help?" He continued walking, pushing a branch away that would have otherwise hit his neck.

"Exactly- Ouch!" Gwyneth rubbed her temple. The very same branch recoiled back, smacking the side of her forehead.

"So, what would happen if I don't agree? Would I still make it?" He continued, never looking back to make eye contact.

"One would argue that you never choose that." She massaged her head a little more, ducking under the branch struggling to keep up with Aston whose pace was only increasing.

"Well, that's what I'm choosing right now. Or will I inevitably suck up to you and return? Basically, what you're implying is that I don't have a choice. My fate is already sealed."

"The Almighty gives us the freedom of choice..." she began but immediately lost her words as she thought about it. She had always been taught that fate was never predetermined. Then how would the prophecies be explained? What Aston had said was exactly true, wasn't it? It was the finer details that made the prophecy come to life. If they couldn't be controlled — if their choices were only an illusion — were they walking a predetermined path? Gwyneth shook her head. "We don't know what those choices are. I could be mistaken, and you could choose to leave us behind. Or perhaps I'm stubborn and continue with you and we meet adventurers who better suit your taste and fulfill the prophecy with them."

"So, it really is up to me..." He paused, finally spinning around to face his companion. His face contorted as he struggled not to laugh. Her hair was completely tangled, dirt-stained her face, and a small bump was near the top of her forehead. Not at all princess-like.

Gwyneth didn't understand his puzzling look but continued with what she had to say. "You had trouble using magic earlier, didn't you? Why was that?"

"I... I don't know." Aston turned around, this time to face the lake before them. There was a giant clearing that was mostly taken up by the lake. The water reflected the setting sun causing it to take on an orange and purple hue. Something about it was calming. Had he been here before? He couldn't remember. He used to like climbing the cliff near the waterfall to get a better look at it, something he was often scolded for. He sat down knowing Gwyneth lacked the strength to physically drag him back to the village. "There was something about facing an actual danger. It... scared me."

"No wonder your focus was off." Gwyneth took a seat beside him, running her fingers through her messy hair in an attempt to detangle it.

"Yeah, no kidding." He picked up a pebble, skipping it into the lake. Gwyneth wondered how many moons of practice it took to perfect. Or maybe it was magic? "At the castle, magic was so easy. The stakes weren't raised, and I could take my time focusing. I never had to worry about dodging swords or Elric pushing me out of the way. ...Well, maybe the latter."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Does that make you wish you had trained?"

"No." Aston clenched his fists. He didn't need to train; he was above that. Even if a small part of him wished he had, he would never admit it to the others. He would figure it out sooner rather than later. He was already learning from his fight with Lucas. If he really needed to, he could train on his own. Away from prying eyes.

Gwyneth had also doubted his words. "I don't doubt that you will eventually learn to use your magic. But in the meantime, wouldn't you like to have something to fall back on? Like a sword?"

"I could literally recreate Elric's sword if I wanted to." That was the thing about creating objects — Aston would have had to have touched the object before. The staff at the castle made sure he touched a bunch of camping supplies before they left.

"But Elric's sword doesn't have special powers like this one does. Who knows, it could save your life." Gwyneth tried to convince him. "Besides, I think I've read about that cave before. Not the sword part — I'm not sure why that was missing from my copy — but there's only one cave in the village as far as I'm aware. The whole trip should take less than a day."

The idea of having a special sword with powers like no other was tempting. If it was only a day trip it wouldn't be so bad, would it? Besides, they were already saving time by cutting through the forest.

But they had already lost time entering this village.

"Fine. We get the sword, but we leave right after. Okay?" Aston asked, a grumpy frown on his face.

"That was already the plan, yes." Gwyneth nodded her head, giggling a little at how quickly Aston changed his mind.

"Good. Let's start heading back."

They began their trip back before Gwyneth suddenly came to a halt midway.

"What's wrong?" Aston asked, noticing her gaze was on a specific tree. Wait, wasn't this the tree that had whacked her in the head before? He had briefly noticed when he glanced back after hearing a faint ow.

Gwyneth's eyes remained fixated on the malicious branch before raising her hand above her head as if measuring the distance between her and the branch. "Wasn't this branch lower before?" She slowly turned to Aston.

He shrugged. "Maybe I pushed it away at an angle."

No, Gwyneth was sure it remained fixed right above her eyes. She had to duck under it, after all. This must be the wrong tree, there's no way a branch could suddenly move, right? Of course, there was always the chance of Fae magic. Gwyneth shuddered, quickening her pace.

And nearly stumbled back when two people approached out of nowhere.

"There you are!" Elric sighed in relief.

"We were worried when the two of you didn't come back!" Isla explained, her eyes darting between the two before her. Her hood was up again covering her hair. Had Mathilda's words gotten to her?

"The villagers said the wolves come out at this time of night. It's not safe out here, let's hurry back to the village." Elric beckoned to the two taking the lead. Isla remained at the flank with her bow. Out of the four of them, she had the best hearing. It wasn't as good as a pure Fae's, but it was still much better than a human's.

The rest of the trip back remained uneventful. Lucas was standing at the entrance to the village, his arms crossed as his back leaned against one of the houses. "Took you guys long enough." He scoffed. "The inn has already prepared for your stay. It's on us tonight."

"I suppose this will be the only time during our journey we will be offered such generosity." Elric turned to Gwyneth; his expression unreadable.

She nodded. "We thank you for your generosity."

"Pft. Don't thank me, thank the elder." Lucas glanced away. He was obviously irked, but the group couldn't discern why.

"But you're the princess." Aston was still focused on Elric's words. "Don't you have people thrilled to help you?"

"In Aeceria, perhaps," Gwyneth answered. She was fully aware there were those in Aeceria who didn't think too fondly of the royal family. However, that wasn't what she was referring to. "Outside of Aeceria people could care less. Except maybe Aquariot, where we're not going." Aquariot was on good terms with both Aeceria and Cathrul (the latter engaging in friendly rivalry). They remained neutral with Zetheria, mostly due to the geographical distance between the two. Even the Fae didn't pay much attention to Aquariot.

"I thought you would have princes from every kingdom throwing themselves at you." Aston smirked.

Gwyneth rolled her eyes. "Not every kingdom has princes."

Lucas recalled that Aston wasn't one for learning. Clearly, that hadn't changed in his time at the castle. Part of him wondered if the princess was only here to tutor him on the outside world. She didn't have much use otherwise and could even be considered a burden considering her inability to fight.

He was grateful when they finally reached the inn. He didn't know how he would put up with this group of misfits the next day.