“Faelix? What’s going on?” Syrion asks me, helping me alongside Nalik shove their clothes into duffle bags while Ivorix stands behind us with Aryones in his arms and a backpack of things for the babe in question slung on his back. His worried and nervous stare burning a hole into my back. “You’re scaring us, just stop and explain what’s going on. Please.”

“We need to leave, I’ll explain more when we get into the ship Denlen and Ryliar are preparing for us. But for now, we need to hurry and leave. We are not safe. Please just help me pack, so we can go quickly.” I tell them, zipping the bag I had finished filling closed and handing it to Nalik, then going into their bathing room with an empty one to grab their hair and skincare products, even stuffing a few towels and their robes and other toiletries into it while I was at it. Rushing back out with it slung across my stinging back and motioning for them to grab the two duffle bags we filled with all of our necessary clothing and shoes, then to follow me out the room.

I was stopped by Ivorix before we fully stepped out of their soon to be former room, “Take Ary, let me carry that bag. Your back hasn’t fully healed yet and we can’t have you in the most pain if we run into trouble.” He says, giving me little choice in the matter as he forces our little one into my lower pair of arms and tugs the bag over my head and off my back to sling it over his own shoulders.

With a soft sigh, I adjust my hold on the bundled up Aryones so he wasn’t uncomfortable and lead the three of them out of the room and through the halls of the palace. I was more than a little glad that they all only wore socks as we snuck around and were able to keep their steps as silent as physically possible. We thankfully made it to the ship bay without any issues, but it seemed that we weren’t so lucky to continue on without any because we immediately spotted none other than Ocalan speaking with Ryliar a few ships down from the one I told Denlen to the prepare for us.

“What is that guard doing in there? That’s one of Prince Faelix’s guards, correct? Is prince Faelix going somewhere? Why didn’t he tell me?” She asks the handler, sounding more than a little irritated.

Fuck, how did she know we would be here? Did father put her up to this like Pyrion suspected?

“He was just simply wanting to check that the ships were in top shape, since he was discussing going on a trip with his pets someday. After the snow thaws, of course.” Ryliar cleverly lies, keeping her attention on him without issue after he catches sight of me over her shoulder. “You know his lack of trust in his father’s men after all, so he had asked the guard and I to do a check of it for him while he lets dear Ivorix take care of his back.”

“He should be letting the nurses do that work, not that needy pet.” She scoffs, practically spitting the word ‘pet’ out like it disgusted her, as we started to sneak along the wall behind her towards the correct ship that was thankfully left open for us to get in.

It was a shock to hear her speaking this way, but glancing back at Ryliar after ensuring Syrion got into the ship and is able to take Aryones without issue, showed that he wasn’t shocked by it in the slightest. It irritated me to know now that this wasn’t the first time she spoke like this, though hearing how the irritation in his tone as he spoke calmed my own, “How many times have I told you not to speak of him that way? If you don’t stop, I’ll see to it that Prince Faelix knows about how you insult the one he cares for so deeply.”

“Are you serious? Do you not find their relationship just as unusual as I do? He’s trying to raise born traitor with what’s supposed to be his toy. He’s lucky I’ve yet to inform his father of the little brat he hides in his room.”

“You’ve been telling his father things about his life? Do you know how much of a betrayal that is to him?” Ryliar’s question was almost my exact thoughts as I assist Nalik next, handing him the bags that Ivorix had been carrying.

“Of course I have, I was employed by his father, not him. My loyalty to the emperor, as yours should be. Or would you rather lose your head for siding with his son?”

“My loyalty is to the pets of the palace, that includes the one you seem to have such an issue with. And I have done nothing but make sure to do the job that I was hired for. I was not hired to spy, but to care for and handle the pets of the palace when their masters cannot.”

I heard another scoff from her, then a gasp that caused my head to snap in their direction, only to meet Ocalan’s wide-eyed stare locked on me and Ivorix at the entrance of our ship. I grabbed Ivorix and practically tossed him into the ship, knowing I’ll be beating myself up over it even despite the need to get him out of harm’s way immediately. I came to be more than a little thankful that I did when a gun shot rang out through the room only moments after I threw him into the ship and felt the bullet that would have hit my lover whiz passed me had I not done so.

My enraged glare snapped to a now frozen Ocalan staring at the spot where Ivorix stood behind me just moments prior. I pulled my pistol out and directed a shot at her leg just as her gaze shifted to meet mine, the bullet piercing meat of her thigh before she could turn around all the way, collapsing the moment she put pressure on the now injured leg. The cry of real and genuine pain that escaped her was like music to my ears while I watch her collapse and clutch her thigh. After all she was so prepared to potentially kill someone so dear to my. Why shouldn’t I enjoy the cries of the kind of pain she’s never had to experience while working under me?

“You think you can just run after threating my lover’s life? Without any consequences?” My voice didn’t feel like mine anymore, not with how low and filled with the burning fury of a wildfire. Even the low, dark laugh that bubbled up from my chest as I took slow strides towards her didn’t sound like me, but it clearly struck raw and unwavering fear in her, fear that showed clear as day on her face when she turned to stare up at me from where she fell. “You have failed to realize the position you have placed yourself in, Ocalan. Not only have you betrayed me by insulting my lover and reporting to my father, but now you’ve tried to hurt my lover. I’m sure if you had the chance to, you would have started to blackmail us with our child as well. You won’t have that chance any longer.” I pin her down with my foot on her chest, a pair of her hands immediately grabbing hold of my leg in a futile attempt to remove it while the other pair was clasped together in front of her face. “Preying to the gods won’t help you here, you know they won’t care enough to intercede.” She was silent, her eyes widening at the sight of my pistol now aimed directly at her face, the safety flicked off and my finger on the trigger.

“Prince Faelix, please-” The shot rang out, her pleas being silenced as the bullet pierced her skull and wedged itself into the floor below her. It was odd watching the life drain out of her in that moment as the blood pooled around her head and shoulders. It was a satisfying sight, yet also heartbreaking. She was once someone I trusted, only to turn out to be a traitor to me and a safety risk for my lover and the child I’ve come to see as my own.

It was that child’s screaming cries that broke me out of the trance Ocalan’s death by my gun put me in, kicking her cold hands off my ankle and hurrying towards the ship to ensure that everything was okay.

“Shh, it’s okay, Ary. It’s okay. I’m sorry that loud noise happened, I’m so sorry, sweetie. It’s okay.” The collective apologies and shushes I heard from all three of them within the ship before I even entered immediately eased my anxieties. They’re okay, everything is okay. Or as okay as it can be at least.

I let a sigh and turn to meet Ryliar’s gaze, Denlen standing right beside him staring at the corpse not far from their feet. One of his hands were holding his forehead, another covering his mouth, and his remaining pair of arms were crossed below his chest. He looked understandably perplexed, the fingers at his forehead moving up and combing through his short maroon curls, brushing between his horns that looked much like pale tree branches devoid of life… if Nalik hasn’t decorated them with flowers and leaves, of course. I focus back on Ryliar.

“I trust that you’ll feign horror upon ‘discovering’ her body?” I ask, earning a nod from the man. I understood his stance on this matter. He does not work for me, nor does he really work for my father, after all he was hired my mother. He works to protect the pets of this palace and that’s where he will remain, even with three of them leaving, he must stay because there are many others that still need his care. I look back to the still perplexed guard, “Denlen, are you coming with us?”

My question seemed to snap him back to reality as his gaze snapped to mine, “Yes, I’ll be coming with you.”

“This will most likely be considered treasonous.”

“Helping you house a Drendirian child from the Emperor would be considered treasonous too, Prince Faelix.”

I look down and away in thought for a moment before speaking again, “I’m no longer your prince. As of this moment, I’m just Faelix. Now let’s hurry before someone else finds us out.” It was an odd relief to renounce my position and crown, like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

He nods and hurries over and into the ship, and as I’m about to follow, Ryliar takes one my hands and press a folded piece of paper into my palm. “Go here. Get rid of your ship before you get too close to it, so your father can’t track your location. You will be safe there for a little while but be sure to be on the move as soon as you can be. There may even be a ship there that you can fix up and use.” I was shocked that Ryliar knew of somewhere safe for us to go and wondered how he knew of such a place but was more than thankful that he did. Our journey will go a lot smoother with this chance.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, just go and keep all of them safe.”

I nod then run to the ship and quickly close it up after climbing in, telling Denlen to start heading to the coordinates on piece of paper that Ryliar gave to me once he’s started the ship, not stopping to analyze why the handwriting looks oddly familiar. I just simply hand him the paper and give him the same instructions that I was given, then go to sit behind Ivorix on the floor a few steps away and wrap my arms around him and little Aryones, who’s thankfully stopped crying. I pulled Ivorix into my lap and held him close to my chest as I bury my face inro his braided hair. Feeling Syrion’s soft fur on my lower right arm moments later, wrapping it around them as they tucked themself into my side. When I peeked out from Ivorix’s hair, I saw Nalik in Denlen’s lap being cradled by his free pair of his arms that were wrapped protectively around the small human while the other pair steered the ship. Then I glanced down at Syrion, curled up into my side, tightening my grip one them and my lover as I hid my face in his hair again.

﴾﴿﴾﴿﴾﴿Ivorix﴾﴿﴾﴿﴾﴿

“We’re getting low of fuel, Pr- Faelix. Uhm, can you help me refill the tank?” Denlen has been struggling with referring to Faelix by just his name for the past couple days we’ve been traveling. It makes Nalik, Syrion and I giggle a little under our breaths each time he corrects himself mid-word. Including now as I feed Aryones his bottle and the three of us sit in a circle, trying to decide which of the packaged meals we want to eat.

Faelix sighs out a soft “Yes,” as he pushes himself to his feet from his spot behind me. He’s been rather tired and quiet since we had left the palace, likely still figuring out his feeling about what had happened with Ocalan before we left. The warning he had gotten from his eldest brother about her being dangerous to have around Ary was enough for me to understand why things went the way they did, especially after hearing her talk about our little one as if he was some sort of criminal simply for existing. Though I know I should him talk about what happened later, I don’t think it’s good for him to go on without talking about it.

“Let’s have the meat stew, we haven’t had it in a while. Plus, those two probably need something a little heartier than what we’ve been choosing lately.” Nalik points out, Syrion and I nodding along in agreement.

“We’ll probably need it too. Based on the instructions Ryliar gave us and where Faelix and Denlen plan to land, we’re going to end up having to travel on foot for some time.” Syrion sighs, standing to grab the bowls that were in the ship for the missions that usually took several days. “We need to keep up our own strength and energy just like those two.” It was Nalik’s turn to nod in agreement along with me.

“I’m certainly not excited about that part.” I sigh, looking down at the nearly empty bottle Aryones was still suckling on. I already know Aryones will not be pleased during that part of the trip. I hope he doesn’t cry too much, that will just draw attention, and drive us all mad while he’s at it.

“Make sure you leave behind anything we don’t need, the cart can only carry so much.” Faelix reminds us as they put our bags of clothes and toiletries and other necessities in the cart Denlen and Faelix set up after we landed around midnight. They’d woken us up a few hours after doing so, though when the sky was still dark. I sigh as I adjust a still sleeping Aryones strapped to my chest with one of the many scarves we use as a top, it was surprisingly effective to keep him snuggly held to my chest. “Ivorix, are you sure you’re okay? I can carry him if you want me to.” He offers for probably the tenth time this morning, helping me adjust Aryones carefully enough not to wake him.

“I’m okay, Faelix. I’ll switch with you in a few hours, like we agreed.” I reassure him, pulling him down enough for me to press a kiss to his cheek after barely suppressing a yawn.

He presses his forehead to mine for a few moments before pressing an ever so gentle kiss to my lips. “Alright, but if you get tired beforehand, just tell me, okay?” I nod, leaning up to press another kiss to his lips for a long moment, then we step away from each other to go back to readying ourselves and the group to start our long trek through the forest we’ve landed in. “It’s going to take us a few days to get to the coordinates that Ryliar gave us. So grab something easy to eat on the go and let’s start our journey now so we can get there sooner.” He says, looking over at the other three before going on to set up some lanterns at the corners of the cart, Denlen righting all the necessities in the cart with Nalik’s help and Syrion picking through the food before handing each of us a mixed nuts and dried fruit.