When the sun rose high on the sky of the next day, Samuel offered his help to the castle’s servants with some of their chores, and also to get friendly to them and asked for some information regarding to what was happening. So from a servant, Samuel learned there were a string of missing cases happening in the city for the past few months, and the number was high, what Samuel had heard from Lord Harduin’s conversation with his father last night, was on the low end, typically the number of victim was around five or six, and what worst was the victims were all women, mostly teenager to young adult women. That was why the streets was empty and had been heavily patrolling since.

“Samuel, over here,” a women called for Samuel.

Found Emma was waving at him from a hallway corner, Samuel gave his thank to the servant he was talking to and came to Emma.

“What’s it, Emma?” Samuel asked.

“They found Elesil” –Emma lowed her voice.

“What? Really?” Samuel delighted by the news.

“Yes, one of Hi’s servant told me,” Emma said, “I was told that Elesil now reside in an inn not far from the castle, we could meet him today, I have the address.”

Soon after that, they set out to reunited with their missing companion again, through the emptied streets and be questioned by some patrols, the pair finally arrived at the inn where Elesil residing. In front if their eye was quite an establishment, a mid to high-end lovely three stories inn with plastered white wall and red painted wooden beam and flower bed enclosed the building’s perimeter. The man at the receptionist desk, put on a wide grin to greet the pair, Samuel somehow find his smile was forced, not because smiling to customer was his job but because of the stress shown in his eyes, his speech was a little stuttered when he directed them to Elesil’s room on the second floor.

No one answered them when they knocked on the room’s door, but quickly they heard footstep from inside the room and then the sound of the lock clacked open. Samuel and Emma’s eye were wide open and they couldn’t hide their surprise when the door was fully wide open. Stood at the doorway and greeted their eye was a Downer man wearing a cobalt blue cross-collards robe of Aulacia’s royal guard.

Interlocked his fingers, the man bowed then stepped aside and invited them inside. Hesitation and bewilderment gripped them like the clutch of an eagle. What was the meaning of this? Was this some kind of prank? Trick? Samuel wondered to himself, but Emma on the other hand was worrying about the worst, that somehow the Aulacians had learned her identity? They looked at each other for seconds didn’t know what to do, until Elesil himself stepped on into the doorway and invited them inside. Samuel was glad that he saw Elesil remained unharmed, but somehow… Samuel couldn’t comprehend it, somehow in the second he saw Elesil stepped into the doorway, he felt something… something or some kind of aura was radiating from Elesil. But he quickly put that aside, for when they got inside the room, they saw, the sunrays shined on the beautiful silk robe of the Downer young woman sat on the table next to the window in the room, sipped and savoured the taste and aroma of the tea in her cup, the pair again glanced at each other in awkward silent.

“Ugh… princess? Why’re you here…?” -Samuel broke the silent.

“Uhm… how is your tea master Elvas?” – instead of answer, Hi glanced her eyes at Samuel and Emma, and spoke to Elesil.

“It was excellent; Green Jade tea was indeed worthy of its fame” –Elesil sat down in front of Hi- “Thank you for your gift, I am graceful.”

After another sip of tea, Princess Hi signalled all of her attendants to leave the room.

“So, I was curious…” –Princess Hi turned to Emma and Samuel, her slender phoenix eyes glimmered with suspicion and some hint of delight- “That is… how was and man with an Bricatia accent could be cousin with a woman with a heavy Celgealia accent, and imagine my surprise to hear that you two have a Elvas friend” –after another sip, she continued- “Such odd company you three were, If remembered right, your Uppers are not exactly get along well with Elvas” –With an eyebrow raised, Hi rested her temple on her fist and stared at Samuel and Emma waiting for an answered.

“Highness” –with right hand on his chest, Elesil voice his thought- “All sentient beings are multifaceted, you cannot just rely on rumour and stereotype to judge an individual like that.”

“Ah… yes” –broke her silent, Emma tried to came up with some rationalization- “And the reason why we have such difference accent was… because my mother… was his mother’s sister, whose are Bricatian. Then my mother… married to my father a Celgealian merchant. After that they moved back to Celgelia then have me, I grew up in Celgealia, so… that’s why we had difference accent.”

“Hoh… is that so? So then why are you two travel this far up north of Bricatia and with an Elvas no less?” Hi intrigued.

“Oh… it’s because… his mother had found a great match for my cousin, so he was accompanying me to northern Bricatia for my wedding, and Elesil is just my cousin long-time friend, he travels with us for safety reason… you know the bandit and all that, the road is not very safe these day.”

Hi didn’t responded, just took her time sipping and enjoyed the rest of her tea, leaved the rest of them in awkward silent and wonderment about what the Aulacian’s princess was plotting inside her head. Then without a word regarding to what just happening she stood up and bade Elesil goodbye, as Hi stepped passed Emma and Samuel toward the door, the pair breathed a sigh of relief, thought that the princess of Aulacia had been convinced by Emma’s lies, but an “oh” came from behind them made the hair on their neck all stood up.

“How about… from here on, yours three just travel along with us, you know for safety reason” –Glanced back at the room, Hi offered her help to the three.

“Er… I’m very appreciated for your offer, Your Highness, but I think we had bothered you enough, so we…” –Emma tried to refuse.

“Come now, I insist, it not every day that I can met an Elvas.” –with a piercing gaze and a smirk on her face, Hi emphasized on the word “insist”.

“Thank you, Your Highness” –Emma accepted Hi’s offer.

“What was you two thinking…” –Elesil sighed after Hi’s footsteps were finally gone- “…Asking them to help find me, what if they find out your identity, lady Blanchardlette.”

“Not me, It’s her idea” -Samuel grabbed a seat for himself.

“Well… that the only way I can think of to find you at that time, beside Samuel was injure” –Emma’s body finally deflated from all the stress.

“Oh yah… why’re you want to hide your identity anyway?” -Samuel curious, as the group gather around the table.

“Well… my kingdom and her kingdom was having some… dispute, it’s… complicated, I just afraid that they would use me as a bargain chip against my father,” Emma said.

“Well, luckily thay she’d brought that story you made up on the spot” –Samuel spoke, his mind started to took interested in the tea’s aroma and signalled Elesil if he could take a sip.

“Uhm… I doubt that” –Elesil passed his cup to Samuel- “She clearly suspicious about all of us, and will definitely have a close eye on us from now on.”

“Well… up we slip out now, they won’t know” –finished what left in Elesil’s cup, Samuel’s mind was blown- “Holy shit! This stuff is awesome!”

“And how far could we get, we only have one velelis left and not to mention the travel expense” -Elesil concerned.

“Well… we’ll find some way out, perhaps hitch a ride on some merchant wagon train?” –Samuel suggested.

“That… might work, I think” –Emma agreed.

After a few minutes discussed their next move, the group packed up what left of their belonging and leave the inn. When they reach the ground floor, what they saw was the thing that would disrupted their plan. It turned out the Aulacia’s princess was not leaved entirely, and stood between the inn’s door and the group were five of the Aulacia’s Royal Guards, that had accompanied Hi a moment before and were left behind at the inn so that they could make sure that the princess’s “guests” would present when they convoy was on its way again.

“Er… Elesil,” Samuel whispered, “Can you do anything about them? like some magic trick to make them go away.”

“I rather not” -Elesil shook his head- “It might cause some political incident and I really do not want to be the cause, do not worry, the road to the Eternal Forest is still long, we will have another opportunity.”