Nefarin village, near the Misty Forest, always had this weird, mysterious vibe. It was like its name came from some secret nobody could ever figure out. The people there lived in silence and mystery. People had been saying for ages that they were in league with demons. But what was even weirder was that these same people had once saved the Crown Prince's life.

Later, they said they did it out of guilt, but no one was sure. Their constant silence was like a wall, stopping anyone from guessing anything. Then, one day, in some strange, unknown situation, the whole village was wiped out. Nobody ever found out who the killer was or why it happened.

"Nefarin Village."

Sura said, "Good, not too far. Teleporting will be easier."

He slowly raised his hands and drew an imaginary circle in the air, like he was using light to design something. A few seconds later, the circle turned into a black vortex with a way to the village open inside.

"Go on in."

Without hesitating, she stepped inside. A space full of energy swirled around her and threw her to the other side of the portal. When the ground was steady under her feet again, she knew she was right. She was less than an hour from the Misty Forest. Thick fog, like a sea, covered everything. You couldn't tell which way was which; even sunlight was lost in the fog.

"We'll stay here for now until the Crown Prince gets here," Sura said quietly.

"The Crown Prince? How'd you know he's coming tomorrow?"

"What? What do you mean, tomorrow?"

His eyes widened in surprise. It was supposed to happen in seven days! How could Ilirian, the Crown Prince, be here tomorrow? Was she wrong?

Sura smiled, like he was enjoying her confusion. "That little prince decided to come looking for you, so he left early."

He didn't say anything else. It didn't make sense at all. It was like time had changed. If his decisions had changed, did that mean the next events would change too?

"Don't worry. He'll be fine. You just need to be ready."

She stared at Sura, fear and despair swirling in her head. "Can you... can you read my mind?"

Sura said, "We're connected through our contract. It's natural that I can enter your mind whenever I want."

She took a deep breath and said, "That's not important right now. We have to save the Crown Prince and get him to the palace, no matter what."

Sura looked around. He saw a tree nearby and, with a quick move, turned it into a small cabin. The cabin didn't look real, more like an illusion that only Sura and his companion could see.

"This cabin will stay here until the day after tomorrow. You have to get that boy here at all costs and hide him from the insiders."

She smiled bitterly. "Not a bad idea."

She walked toward the cabin. When she went inside, it was much bigger than it looked from the outside. Now it was a safe place to protect the Crown Prince, and she just had to get ready.

*****

The cold, hard ground felt like it was pulling her down. She ignored the pain in her back and looked up at the wooden ceiling of the cabin. Silence filled the space, except for the sound of horses far away that she was waiting to hear, but there was nothing.

"Ugh... I'm really tired."

Sura said with his usual sarcastic tone, "Your patience really sucks."

Then he shook his head and said, annoyed, "If you were stuck in a dark void for thousands of years like me, you wouldn't be talking about patience."

She gave a short, dry laugh.

"Heh..."

Sura slowly pulled a silver dagger out of its sheath. The tip of the dagger glittered in the cabin's light. He looked at the reflection for a few seconds and then put it back in the sheath.

"Think about your job, kid. Focus."

"Ugh... but why?"

She didn't finish her sentence before she suddenly went quiet. She felt a strange tremor in the ground under her. She quickly stood up and went out of the cabin without a word.

The village, like the forest around it, was covered in thick fog. Even though faint sunlight was passing through the fog, it made vague shadows on the stone walls. Sura moved toward the crowd to find out what was going on.

The sound of the villagers excitedly repeating "Your Highness!" filled the air. The crowd was too thick to see anything. He muttered under his breath, "This damn short height..."

His eyes looked for a good spot to see better. A wooden box, next to the wall of a house, caught his attention. He quickly went to the box, stood on his tiptoes, and tried to see the Crown Prince between the people's heads.

First, he saw a white horse with golden manes that glittered strangely in the dim light of the fog. But what really caught his eye was the man sitting on the horse. That man's hair glittered more than the horse's golden manes in the sunlight. It was like the sun itself was shining in his hair. His face was so perfect it was like he came from a dream.

*How could someone be so beautiful?* The thought crossed his mind, but then he continued, *Those ruby eyes... are they really going to lose their glow? No, I won't let that happen. I'll take care of them myself.*

He stared at the Crown Prince for a long time. The man, riding his magnificent horse, passed through the crowd with his knights. The pressure of the crowd made the box under him wobble, and he lost his balance. He fell onto the dirt ground.

"Ugh... damn it... that really hurt!"

He heard a voice, "Are you okay?"

He quickly raised his head. It was the Crown Prince's voice; a calm voice full of worry. His heart beat faster. The Crown Prince had just passed by him. How did he notice his fall?

The man knelt down in front of him and carefully looked at his scraped palms. He asked softly, "It hurts a lot, doesn't it? Can I...?"

He gestured with his eyes to his hands. Without hesitating, she held out her hands. The Crown Prince took the little girl's hands and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, they weren't ruby anymore; they had turned into a dazzling gold. The Crown Prince's magic healed the wounds strangely, like they had never happened.

"I hope I helped."

The girl couldn't say anything; she was speechless with wonder. The Crown Prince gave a small smile and disappeared into the crowd. His magic energy spread like sparkling pollen in the air, drawing everyone's eyes.

When the Crown Prince was gone, the girl muttered, "Does he always make an entrance like that, or am I just imagining things?"