"Your Highness, what… how… how are you here?" The person asked, the commanding tone shifting to a gentle one. 

Perry forced himself to inhale, exhale. 

"Ah… about that. Well… I'm sorry, let's back up a bit. What did you say your name was?" Perry asked.

The tall woman with broad shoulders took a step back with his question as if he'd physically struck her. Which, considering how many muscles she appeared to have, wouldn't have done much. Even if he used his wooden stick.

"Your Highness, you do not remember me?" She sounded so sincerely hurt, Perry had no idea how to answer. 

Perry weighed his options. He could be honest and explain the misunderstanding. Maybe she would understand and let them go peacefully. He eyed the sword she still clutched in one hand. It looked very large and very, very sharp. 

Perry chose option number two. 

"I… apologize. It's been a very long day." He sighed dramatically, wiping the back of one hand against his forehead. Would he be overplaying his hand if he fainted? "Yesterday, we were captured by the Crimson Lads."

"Lords," Myran muttered, still clutching his leg tightly. 

"Yes, Lords. The Crimson Lords. They took us, well, not them, but their lackeys. Or who I assume were their lackeys?" He glanced down at Myran for confirmation. 

"Yes," Myran confirmed. "Their lackeys took us and—"

With swift and precise movements, she sheathed her sword and stepped close, cupping his face with one hand. Perry forced himself to stand still and mentally vowed that if he ever did meet the real prince of this place, they would have words. 

"The Crimson Lords took you?" She scrunched up her arrow-straight eyebrows in a menacing way. 

"Yes, that is what I said. What happened, I mean. That's what happened." Perry felt Myran nod emphatically against his leg. 

"Did they hurt you? Are you damaged in any way?"

Perry internally weighed just how honest to be. "Well, damaged is kind of a broad term, so—"

She stepped back and pulled out her sword, glancing around angrily as if she expected The Crimson Lords to jump out at them. "I shall avenge you!"

"No, no, that's really not necessary. The, uh…" Perry glanced down at Myran, hoping he would have some answers, but Myran shrugged and shook his head. "Some members of the Royal Guard found us, and so now we are safe." It was technically true.

She paused. "The Royal Guard found you?"

Perry tried not to wince as he remembered their run-in with Captain Handsy. "They sure did."

"Then why are you not with them? Did they hurt you too?" She stepped closer, still brandishing her sword. Perry took an instinctive step back. It was always smart to stay away from pointy things that could eviscerate you. "I shall punish them!"

"No, that's also not necessary." Perry rubbed his forehead, trying to think of a way out of this. "I left on my own because… I… I'm on a quest."

She paused. "A quest?"

"Yes, precisely that. A quest. A very important one, where I have to… find something. Something very important." He tried to look as solemn as possible as he nodded. "Our first stop is the Golden Light Temple, where we shall meet its Master and learn his secrets."

She visibly deflated and lowered her sword until the tip brushed the ground. "You are going to the Golden Light Temple?"

"Yes. My guide here is taking me there." Perry patted Myran's head. 

"Then I cannot follow you." 

Perry tried not to exhale too loudly in relief. 

"Why can you not follow us?" Myran asked. Perry resisted the urge to shake him and flick one of his ears.

"What my guide means is that we are terribly sorry, but we can no longer be delayed here." Perry nodded some more and lowered his head slightly. 

"What your esteemed guide means," Myran interjected, his voice deceptively soft. "Is that it would be beneficial to have a skilled warrior with a mighty sword accompanying us. Your Highness."

Before Perry could give in to his intrusive thoughts of trying to force some sense into the boy's head, the woman shook her head, wisps of her long, silver hair blowing in different directions, and cast a forlorn look at a point somewhere in the far-off distance. "I am The Revenant, Keeper of the Graveyard Road."

Perry's curiosity itched against his skin, but he held it in. The quicker they could get out of there, the better. Myran, howeever, didn't seem to share his opinion.  

"You are bound to this place." Myran took a step away from Perry and stared at the woman with round eyes. "Are you from here? Did you perish in this battle?"

Perry cleared his throat loudly. "That seems like a very personal question." Perry tried to tell Myran to shut up with his eyes, but that was a skill he clearly still needed to work on. 

"I apologize. It is just… I have read about your kind, but I never thought I would meet one of you in person." Myran let go of him and bowed, one hand pressed against his chest. "It is an honor to be protected by you."

Perry thought about bowing too, but considering he was pretending to be a prince, it was better to just stand there and look bored. That's what most princes did, right? 

"Protecting those who travel the Graveyard Road is my honor. And meeting you, Your Highness, was my pleasure." She turned longing, acid-green eyes at Perry and smiled almost shyly at him. Her too-pale cheeks seemed slightly flushed. "The long night we spent discussing battle and fighting techniques has ever been on my mind."

Well, apparently not all princes stood around looking bored. The one Perry kept getting confused with seemed to get around just fine. 

"Yes. Well." Perry cleared his throat and glanced at the road. "We really should be going. For important questing... things and all that."

She sheathed her sword and stepped forward, extending one hand to Perry. "It has been my honor to serve you once more, Your Highness. Perhaps you will come to visit me again soon."

She smiled, and only then did Perry notice her teeth were razor sharp. He clutched his wooden stick tighter and nodded faintly. 

"Maybe. If we, uh, bump into each other again. Sure, it's a date." Perry shoved Myran with his leg toward the road. "May your, uh, aim stay true."

"I believe that is what you say to archers and other precision shooters, Your Highness," Myran said.

"Then… may your blade stay sharp? Yes, sharp." Perry shook her hand, shivering slightly at the feel of her cool skin. "We'll be leaving now. Bye."

"Fare thee well, Your Highness," she said softly. 

Without looking back, Perry all but dragged Myran toward the road. His adrenaline was starting to wear off, and he was afraid he might collapse if he didn't get the hell out of there. 

They half-walked, half-ran the rest of the way and spotted the donkey waiting just outside the limits of the graveyard. 

"Since you seem to be the only one with some sense here, get us out of here," Perry hissed at the donkey. It flicked one ear in his direction, and he swore it rolled its eyes at him. Perry felt Myran's gaze on him. "What?"

"You seem to have quite a diverse taste in conversation partners. Your Highness." Myran blinked innocently at him. 

Perry narrowed his eyes at him. "How old are you, ten? You're too young to know what that means and definitely way too young to talk about it. Especially since I am not a prince and certainly not this prince."

Myran chuckled and gestured for Perry to get on the donkey. He considered it, but eventually shook his head. "You go ahead. After all, you were very frightened just now. And you are very young."

Myran tilted his chin up and puffed out his chest. "I am twelve summers and two springs old. But since you insist." Myran climbed on the animal and Perry hurried to keep up with him. "And how old would someone need to be to talk about these things?"

"Thirty, minimum," Perry answered immediately.

"How many summers have you completed?" Myran asked, again with that fake innocent look.

"That's irrelevant." Instead of discarding his branch-turned makeshift weapon, Perry used it as a walking stick. "Are there any more graveyards on the way to this temple of yours?" 

"The temple is not mine, and no, there are no more graveyards."

"What is a graveyard revenant anyway?" Perry finally let his curiosity get the best of him. 

"A revenant is a being of wrath and revenge. They rise from the grave to avenge some wrongdoing, usually against them or one they hold very dear." Myran sighed longingly. "I thought they were mere myth, or some part of the forgotten past. I never thought I would meet one. Revenants are very ancient and powerful beings. Imagine all that she has to teach."

"Oh, I can imagine," Perry said dryly. "But I've always been a terrible student."

Myran kept talking about how he wanted to one day come back and ask her to teach him ancient fighting techniques, but Perry only half payed attention to what the boy was saying. 

His rational mind kept trying to make sense of everything that had happened, but the more he saw and the more things he experienced, the harder it got to try and convince himself none of this was real. 

And if this was all real and not an elaborate hallucination or a fever dream, then he had to figure out the rules of this place as soon as possible. Only then could he get out of that place and go back to his real life.