King Aiden and Pavo awaited Arden at the castle gateway,

 

'It is late, almost middle of the night. Where is he? I am worried, 

his ill temper may cause harm to him and the kingdom. I agree, I 

could not give him more time after his mother passed away. But my 

duties kept me busy. 

I thought he would understand, but he grew so 

stubborn and hardheaded. How is this going to work if he gets 

annoyed so soon? I know he has not liked the idea of reaching out to 

Anmara for help, but still....' Aiden paused as he caught sight of

Arden. 'Why....There you are, how many times….'

'That is quite enough, father. You always rely on others. Do you 

think I am incompetent?'

 

‘Never! I do not think less of you son. Why would you assume 

so? We do not have a choice, but to….'

 

'Did you get their assistance then? Prince Theoden! Weak and 

spoiled, is he the saviour of Deladra?' Arden smirked, 

'Why are we below Anmara? Why do they lead the alliance? Just because they are 

a larger isle and have more resources? It does not mean we have to 

bow to people like prince Theoden. 

He does not even have the courtesy of respecting a king. You might let it slide, 

but I have seen how he talks down to people. He does not have any responsibility or 

clue of reality. He does not care for things going on around him, 

except for himself. Is he the future leader of the alliance? I'd rather die 

before I hand over my kingdom's fate to a man like him.'

 

'Forgive me for interrupting sire!' Pavo cut in. 'I do understand 

your concern, but we have to take facts into consideration. Our army 

has come down to less than a half due to the fyredari and we are in 

need. This is not a good time for pride,' he tried to reason.

 

'So, should we plead? Get down on our knees?'

 

'We are not pleading, sire. Now that the truth is out, they will 

help free us from the fyredari attacks. If it turns the other way round, 

then we can raise our concerns.'

 

'Why don't we reach out to Enara instead? Why does it have to 

be Anmara?' Arden suggested.

 

‘Anmara's vast force is the solution to our troubles. Once this 

ends, we need its abundant resources to rebuild our ports and armies. 

We cannot turn a deaf ear to the rules of the Alliance and contact 

another Isle for forces without informing Anmara. 

Moreover, Enara is the smallest one amongst us, their forces half as much and 

resources barely enough for their own needs. Although Enara is 

home to some of the greatest warriors known to the isles, they are 

peace lovers. King Orrin always sides with the strongest and would 

not dare to go against Anmara. 

I have also heard that they are desperately seeking prince Theoden's hand in 

marriage for their princess to earn their favour, but Anmara has not responded yet. 

Hence reaching out for Enara will be foolish especially in these times.

 

Do not underestimate me Arden, did you think that your father 

would take a step without considering everything' Aiden reasoned 

with his son.

 

'Prince Theoden for their princess? Have they even met him 

once in person? They wouldn't have if they did.' Arden was more 

aggressive than ever.

'That is not of our concern, sire. We have to look into our own 

matters for now.' Pavo tried to reason

 

'Prince Theoden will stay and stand with us. They have an 

obligation to the alliance, we have honoured it for so long and will 

make sure they do too.' Aiden had been confident with the decision 

since the start.

'Oh... then wait for your precious prince's approval then!' Arden 

stormed away.

'Do not worry sire, the prince will soon turn around.' Pavo 

assured.

 

'I hope that day is near Pavo, or maybe I am getting more 

impatient with age,' he sighed.

Prince Arden stormed off to his chamber. It was on the same tier 

of the castle on the corridor adjacent to the kings. It had a huge porch 

facing the woods behind the castle, but Arden hardly went there.

 

Rather than standing there idly, he enjoyed riding against the wind 

while he could feel it behind his ear, his chamber had a glass arch as a 

roof rather than a traditional one as he loved sleeping under the open 

sky. 

His chamber was lavish enough for a prince, but he spent more of

his time outside the castle than inside. One of the reasons for this that 

the king was unaware of was his scandals with every other maiden in 

the nearby towns, taking his rage out on them. No one would dare 

speak of it as the ones who dared would never see the next dawn.

 

He had always envied Theo to the core and the discussion at 

supper only made things worse. He poured himself a drink,

 

'Why doesn't anyone see it? I am better than Theo in every way. A leader 

bow to me, including the princess,' he drank up and smashed the glass 

into the wall in rage.

'I will never give up. Never!', he yelled, his voice echoing out into 

the air.

Unexpectedly a fierce gush of wind came in from nowhere and 

pushed him back. He ran into the porch but it was not windy out 

there, the silence was disturbing. 

He walked back into the chamber and there it was again, this time it pushed 

him away harder. His hand reached for his sword.

 

'Who is it?' he yelled looking around as the lights went out.

'Show yourself!' he commanded, swinging his sword in the 

dark.

 

The lights lit by themselves one after the other as he watched in 

awe. As the last one lit and Arden stared at it, a dark shadow appeared 

behind it on the wall but there was no one standing in front of the 

light. 

He was stunned and slashed his sword restlessly in the same 

spot. He saw the sword slashing the shadow but there was no one 

there. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and when he peeped again. 

There was nothing on the wall.

'I am not drunk, am I?' he took a deep breath,

 

'ARDEN!' a deep spooky voice startled him from behind, but he 

found no one as he turned around.

'Show yourself coward, playing tricks with my intoxicated 

mind? You will pay with your life once I find you,' Arden searched 

behind the drapes breathing rapidly. It was driving him insane.

'NOT YOUR FOE BUT A FRIEND, I HAVE HEARD YOUR 

ANGUISH AND HAVE COME TO YOUR AID.'

'Who are you to come to my aid, and what do you know of me?' 

Arden snarled as he kept looking everywhere to find someone.

'YOU WISH TO RULE ALL.'

Arden froze the instant he heard it,

 

'YOU CAN FEEL MY PRESENCE, I AM SURE YOU WILL 

DELIBERATE.'

The silence that followed was disturbing.

'What was that? A ghost? A spectre? Am I imagining things? Or did 

beasts from the seas showing up at our ports' Arden laid back on the bed 

gazing at the starry night. 

'I must be losing my mind? Curse you Theo!' he 

took a deep breath and soon dozed off without a clue.