~Carter Bradford~

"Yes, my son, diplomats are on their way to Castle Heywood."

"You're not normally like this… Did you finally realize how terrible of a leader AND a father you've been, and wanted to make things right?"

Father let out a hearty laugh.

"Oh, you are quite the humorous person, Valb'rgur. Or, should I call you by your preferred human name, 'Carter Bradford'?" he spat in disgust.

I growled in anger, revealing my sharp set of teeth, my fist shaking at my side from the humiliation. "You know why I don't use my real name, Father!" I shouted to the posh figure.

"Yes, yes. I know. You want to hide your shame of being a failure. You just couldn't bear to be called by the honorary name of Azelinus, knowing everyone would assume you to be just as good as me," he mocked, pacing around his judge-like stands he and his representatives stood at as he spoke.

"For God's sake…" I whispered, resting my head in my hands. Sayyaf squirmed next to me from the fiery tension that filled my father's court. I felt a bit bad for dragging him here with me, but I knew my father had some valuable information Sayyaf could tell his faction. I was hoping we could possibly make my naive father slip out information accidentally.

"Anyway my son, let's cut to the chase, shall we? We came here to be professionals, so let us be that way, yes?" he said in a posh tone, sipping on red wine from a glass that was placed on his countertop where he sat behind. One of his maids -or should I say slaves- came up to me with a platter filled with wine glasses. I politely declined with a shake of my head. My father and his cabinet may be bastards, but his citizens surely aren't.

"Fine," I mumbled. "I brought Sayyaf of the Forest Wolves with me for his diplomatic past, and also to collect intelle-...erm, to ask a few questions."

"Is he a war veteran? He sure looks the type, if the battle scars and the alcohol on his breath tells me anything…" he said, a mocking smile forming on his muzzle.

"I thought we were supposed to be professional, King Azelinus." he spat back.

My father let out a loud grunt of disgust, and looked away from us. After his short fit, he leaned in to us, with his hands interlocking and resting on the countertop.

"What is it you truly wanted from me, son?" he said, changing his tone to be serious, "We can sit here fighting like children all day, but it won't get us anywhere."

"Good, we got immaturity out of the way" I replied.

"We need a compromise. We know you want to eliminate the Basitin city of Heywood for territorial purposes, but I think instead you should try and negotiate with the Basitins. Since they use our lands, we should have them pay taxes. The Snow Wolves get more money, and the Basitins get to stay. Everyone is happy."

"Yes, that is a good plan, my son. I have already sent some diplomats to 'negotiate' with the Basitins. I hear they are having a meeting today as well. I hope they make it time," he said, slowly starting to laugh softly. His laughter started to get louder, and suddenly his representatives started to laugh with him, all of them equipping a devilish grin. The court was filling with hideous laughter, and I didn't know what to think. I spun around me with fear and anxiety to see what the hell was going on. Sayyaf grabbed my arm and looked me dead cold in the eyes.

"These people are mad. We need to get out of here!" he shouted over the unnerving laughter. He lead me by the arm out of the psychotic laughter of the courthouse and into the streets of Ridgegate. Many people crowded around the court, staring to me with hopeful eyes. The crowd was a mix of Snow Wolves and Basitins, waiting for answers. Sayyaf stopped at the top of the stairs, looking among the horde of citizens with confusion and awe.

"What the hell are all these people doing here?" Sayyaf asked me.

I shook my head unknowingly.

"Your guess is as good as mine," I muttered.

A young Keidran lady stepped in the front of the crowd. She looked up to me on the long stairs, holding her hands to her chest.

"Carter Bradford, the people of both the Snow Wolves and the Basitins from Castle Heywood need your help," she said with a wobbly voice. The crowd behind her cheered in agreement.

"What can I do? I know I'm the King's son, but that doesn't mean anything! It's not like I'm the prince! I'm sure you people know, but my father is the last of five in the Azelinus bloodline that can become King or Queen."

"We know you can't become king," she responded. "We aren't here for that. What we do know is how much you hate that wretched fool. We are here for your help."

"I'm guessing you want me to end my father's reign somehow? Let's face it, that's not going to happen, even if I wanted to. Look, I love to help, but I'm just an inventor. And a bad one, to make it worse. I can't single handedly take down Skuli with just my magic and a petty shortsword," I said, revealing my weapons to show the crowd.

The Keidran looked into my eyes.

"You aren't alone, Carter Bradford. We all are here for your mission. We are the local militia!" she shouted, the crowd become active again.

"They are right, you know," Sayyaf said, softly grabbing my shoulder for attention. "You aren't alone. You have me and the group. We would more than willing to help."

I couldn't help but to smile. My father was cold and terrible person, and to think so many people knew how I felt made me happy. Maybe after all is said and done, I can finally move on from all the pain and neglect he has caused me.

I nodded to the crowd. "I will do as you ask!" I shouted. They all let out a happy cheer once more.

I held out my hand for a halt. "But! I need some time to prepare. When I return, we will be ready for battle! When I am gone, form a plan. We will come back as soon as we get everyone organized."

The young girl stepped closer to me. "Thank you, Carter. We knew you could be trusted. Meet us at the old church house at the edge of Ridgegate. I'm sure you know where that is."

She wasn't wrong. I grew up in the humble little town of Ridgegate with my mother. Of course, my father being the "big bad ruler" he is, he left us in the dust to do what the hell he does. I know what he didn't do, however. He did fuck all for our family, leaving my mother to have to support me.

I exited the trance of thought, and looked down to the young woman who stood only a few inches below me. I never looked properly at her to make any real observations about the girl, as I was too busy rallying the crowds that were brought to me. Everyone started to separate from the small crowd and returned to their normal lives, flooding the streets every which way. The only person that remained of the crowd was the girl next to me.

She looked into my eyes with her own. They flashed a brilliant silverish-blue that I couldn't help but stare into. She held my wrists with her soft hands and proceeded to speak.

"I can't thank you enough, Carter," she said with a relieved smile, tears building in her eyelids.

I shook my head slightly, "Don't mention it. I'm glad the people feel the same as I do. Say, are you the leader of this resistance group, Miss…?"

"Vera Sullivan," she announced with a gentle smile, "And yes, I am the leader of some sorts. I help run this group with a few other folks, but I'll discuss them later."

I looked at her with uneasiness. How could such a sweet girl lead this mob? Chills rippled down my spine from the thought.

Sayyaf stepped in beside me and leaned into my field of vision. I jumped back a bit at the sudden blockage of my sight. My cheeks lit up with a red color, and I pushed Sayyaf back, not putting a lot of force into my rude gesture.

"Can't you see I'm talking here?" I whispered angrily to the fox, gritting my teeth. He snickered a little, obviously amused with his rather impolite intrusion.

"We need to go, we have other manners to attend to," he ordered, washing out all the childishness that he had succumed to moments ago. I peered back to Vera, looking for approval. She reluctantly gave a nod, looking down at the ground for a moment, then back up again.

"Goodbye, my friends. Please, come back as soon as can be. We need this menace taken care of. For all of us."

Those words struck me harder than an arrow. I felt as if a metal ball had sunk into my stomach. This people are more desperate than I am, I thought in despair.

Sayyaf caught my attention once more, "Don't worry, Carter. These people will be fine. I'm sure Zander, Liviana, Caine… Hell, all of them will help! Even if they don't, you've got my support. Not even as a spy, but as a friend."

Tears started to flow slowly from my eyes. I couldn't help but smile at the unconditional love that came from these travelers. Why help a low-life inventor, especially if that involves putting them in danger AND eliminating one of the world's most powerful person?

I threw my arms around Sayyaf and squeezed tightly. He hesitated at first, but slowly he returned the hug gently. We stood there for a few moments, just hugging. It was nice, to finally have friends again. I spent so much time hiding away from my shame and neglection, that I forgot what it even meant to live. I think this was it, to be honest. Just having people to rely on through thick and thin.

Sayyaf slowly released the hug. I did the same and wiped the tears from my eyes. I looked down in shame and scratched the back of my head.

"I'm sorry about that. I don't know what came over me…" I tried.

He smiled and patted my shoulder, "Don't apologize. Sometimes, crying is the only way to express and relieve your feelings."

I nodded.

A heavy sigh passed his lips, and he stretched out a bit. "Let's get out of this mess, shall we? I'm getting sick of this place."

"Yes, let's. Should we go find Caine and Amelia, or go directly back to Zander and Liviana?" I suggested.

Sayyaf shrugged and started to walk down the road that led out of this town without warning. I scrambled to follow and catch up with him. I ran through the surprisingly empty streets to get next to his side.

"Wait, Sayyaf!" I shouted behind him, huffing a bit as I spoke. He stopped and allowed me to catch up. "You never answered me!"

He smiled a bit. "Sorry. We are going to see Caine and Amelia. Something tells me that the others will be with them as well."

I nodded in agreement and signalled to press forward. As we started to make our way back to Castle Heywood, I couldn't help but look at the beautiful sunset. It was a magnificent sight, the sky flaring a brilliant red, orange and purple combination that looked like it was from a masterpiece. I smiled at the wonderful sky-show. Something told me everything was going to be alright now. I finally found some good friends, plus for the first time ever, someone besides me wants to see my father gone.

"I did it," I thought peacefully to myself, "I'm finally happy."

~Zander~

"Wake up, Zander."

I was rudely awaken by the subtle kick of Liviana's paw-foot-thing. I moaned a bit, shielding my eyes from the blinding light of evening sun. I looked around a bit, scanning my surroundings with squinted eyes. The air was cold and bitter, but I noticed no snow on the ground. A few trees lined the dirt path I laid next to.

"Wha…?" I attempted to say, still dazed from my previous sleeping state. "Where am I?"

Liviana shook her head. I noticed she no longer had her eyewraps on. Probably got sick of them always squeezing her face.

"You've been sleeping for an hour already! I thought you wanted to nap, not go to sleep," she barked.

I looked around a bit more before turning back to Liviana. "Where are we?" I asked again.

"We are in the middle of the road between Northwick Traders and Castle Heywood. You were taking a small nap from all the walking we did. I have been sitting here for forever waiting for you."

I chuckled a bit in embarrassment. "Did I really sleep for that long? Sorry about that, Liviana. Guess I hadn't got much sleep with all this travelling. Is there a way I can make up for this?" I asked.

She slumped down next to me, arms crossed and a grumpy look plastered on her face. She looked down and grumbled, "Some dinner would be nice…"

I looked at her a bit sideways, "Why didn't you just get something from our pack? We have a few pre-made meals."

She gave me a dumbfounded look and shook her head slightly.

"I didn't feel like rummaging around in the bags like a fool," she admitted.

A wash of realization flowed over me like a massive wave. I brought my hand to my face and buried my face in my hands.

"Right… You're blind." I mumbled.

I slowly raised from my sleepy position and shuffled over to our pack. I undid the ties that bound the sack together and looked into the contents of the cloth bag. My hands fumbled through maps, books, a few slips of paper, a pair of glasses, and some oddly placed marbles to get to the wrapped meals. Before continuing the search, I turned to the Basitin doctor.

"What do you want to eat, Liviana?" I asked her.

She turned to the sound of my voice and dropped the pebble she was messing with. "What is on the menu, my chef?" she jokingly asked.

I scanned the selection and turned back to her, "Well, we have some baked potatoes with minced parsley on it, some cooked fish with a side of carrots-" I said before getting cut off by a small squeal of excitement. I looked over my shoulder to see what the commotion was about.

"We have fish?" she asked, bouncing a bit as she sat.

"Um… Yes. We do have fish." I responded slowly.

"My gods, it's forever since I've had fish!" she said hastily.

I lifted from the kneeling position I'd been in and took out the wrapped fish. "I'm guessing you want the fish, then?" I asked.

Her happy smile quickly faded, and she cleared her throat. "Yes. I would love to have that fish," she tried to say professionally.

I chuckled at her attempt, sitting down in the process. "Liviana, you don't have to act professional near me. We're friends now! We should act that way." I advised, handing her the still warm fish. "When did we cook these?" I thought to myself.

Liviana unwrapped the fish and started to eat. I took the lute from my back and idly tuned it. It had been a while since I got the chance to play. I slowly turned the knobs on the lute and strummed each string accordingly. I noticed that every time a plucked one of the strings, Liviana's ears twitched a bit.

"Where did you learn to play the lute?" she asked out of the blue.

I straightened out my back a bit before answering. "I'm self-taught, for the most part. I later took classes for it, but that's a different story," I said, waving my hand in the air as I spoke. " Back in one of the many towns I lived in when I was about 9 or 10, I found this old thing just thrown away near my house. I decided to give it some love, and tried to play it.

"After a while of messing around with it, I was onto something. I started making random melodies every so often and remembered them in my head. After about a year's worth of training, I started to play for tips to help out our family. I suppose the bard life just chose me after that."

I looked over to Liviana who was gently eating her food. "I never thought I'd end up like this. What an odd week it has been…" I said softly.

She lifted her head and stopped eating, looking towards me instead. "I'm glad I got entangled in this. It's good to have a break from work and make some great friends like you. It's been forever since I've been away from Farnfoss."

I sighed. "When I grew up, we moved everywhere, so I wasn't used to being tied down to a single location, so it's good to be moving again. The bard job I had paid me very well, so I had to stay in that crumby town for a few years. I'm sure when this is all over, I'll have to go back there and sell my soul back to the damn job."

"You don't like your job?" Liviana asked with a concerned look.

"No, I do, it's just I hate being tied down in a single place. I just want to travel and see the world, you know? Learn music from different cultures and such."

Liviana's eyes lost their normal violet sparkle. She looked down at the ground and sighed deeply.

"I know how that is…" she whispered, choking up. I saw a few tears drop from her clouded eyes to the cold, hard ground below us. I couldn't help but feel bad. She had it worse than I did, since people actually depended on her. My job was to make the drunks and low-lifes happy while they slowly rot in the bar, while her's was to save peoples lives and make sure they live long. Polar opposites, I suppose.

I scooted closer to the Basitin and wrapped my arm around her shoulders without warning. She looked towards me in surprise.

"I thought you didn't like touching…?" she softly questioned.

I smiled. "Just this once." I assured her.

We sat there for a bit, just listening to the cold winds rustle the few trees that dotted the horizon. It was moments like these that I wish I could lock down and come back to when I need happiness and comfort. I could hear her softly breathing below my grasp, sobbing a bit too. I squeezed her shoulder for more comfort.

She giggled a little, "I hope Caine doesn't get the wrong idea about this…"

I laughed too. "No, he'll understand. It's not like this was meant to be romantic at all, because if it was, I'd probably throw up," I joked, "This is what friends do. If they need a shoulder to cry on, than they best give up everything they are doing to be supportive."

"I wish more people were like that," she said with a hint of bitterness.

I nodded. She wasn't wrong at all. Most people hated each other for no reason at all, plus the fact half of the world is still racist, even after that damn war a decade ago.

She slowly stood up, her doctor uniform blowing gracefully in the now picking up wind. She extended her furred hand towards me, looking above me in an odd fashion. I accepted her offer, and we both lifted me off the ground. I stumbled a bit from the sudden lift, but quickly regained my balance.

"I think we spent enough mucking about, so how about we head back to Castle Heywood now?" Liviana suggested.

"Of, course. We should g-" I was suddenly cut off by the sound of a blade hitting wood. It sounded like it came from behind me. It was almost like the sound shook my body. I spun around to see the source of the sound. I was greeted by a sight I didn't want to see.

Bandits.

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion at this point. I saw a handful of bandits, probably four or five of them. One of them, a snow wolf keidran, had already attempted an attack, except my lute had blocked charged at me, but I felt frozen. One of them had grabbed Liviana, and was now desperately fighting him off and screaming. I felt a sharp prick in my shoulder that sank deep into my flesh. Immediately after that, a large force pushed me down onto the ground.

Shock turned to realization as everything turned back to normal speed. Liviana's screams got louder and louder as my senses came back from the frozen, slow state I'd been in. The pain in my shoulder got more intense, and I noticed the dagger that stuck out of me. I had to help Liviana.

I took a deep breath and slowly pulled out the blade from my left shoulder. I tried to be as quiet as possible so they didn't notice me. The blade was deep in, and the pain was so intense. As I lifted the blade from my arm, I tried to think of the moment before this. How did this happen? Why did this happen? What in the god's names did this ruffians want with us?

In a snap, the blade was quickly released from my wound and blood flew from the dagger to the air in a horrific way. The blood splattered onto my bard outfit, covering the lush green with the red of blood. I slowly made my way up on my feet. My eyes were locked on the bandit that had Liviana in his grasp.

The bandit was a really ugly human, his blonde hair flopped from a dumb looking leather cap that rested on his hairy head. His scraggly, long beard occasionally touched Liviana's face as she struggled to remove herself from his strong grasp. No doubt this man was going to win the battle unless I acted.

I heaved a bit, holding the dagger in my right hand, and letting my injured left arm dangle. Rage flooded fear out of my body, and I started to dash towards the blonde bandit. The others noticed my sudden movements, but they were too late. I threw myself on top of the ruffian, Liviana spinning from the sudden release of his hands. When we hit the ground, I forcefully lifted the dagger up and flung my hand sloppy to his throat. It went straight in, spurting blood everywhere. His grey eyes were filled with surprise and the sudden realization that his life was at an end.

I did the same action again, making the blood from the dagger fly all over the ground around us. At this point, tears started to flow from my eyes, and I closed them tight as I let the moist droplets fall from my face. I stabbed him once more before being forcefully ripped of the oaf from one of his buddies. The same bandit that stabbed me in the shoulder was the one that took me away.

He spun me towards him to look at him. His blue eyes were filled with sadness for the loss of his friend. His sadness quickly turned into anger, and I saw him make a fist at his side. He quickly lifted his fist and clocked me straight in the jaw. I flew into the ground, holding my face from the pain, blood now transferred to it from my hand. I noticed the other started to run from the scene, taking our knapsack with them. My eyes darted back to the keidran that stood before me. He took his chance to strike, and his paw flew backwards and into my face. my head hit the ground, and just like that, I was knocked out.