Unaware he was being followed, Drayce ran until he reached the wall surrounding the entirety of Vermillion Palace, which was covered in thick layers of ornamental vines that perfectly wrapped themselves around the wall, hiding every inch of the stone wall from top to bottom with their leaves.
When Arlan reached the wall, he was confused because he could not find Drayce anywhere. He was confident that he was not mistaken that Drayce came in this particular spot. How could he have vanished? Was it also…magic?
'Unfair! If you use magic to leave, how can I follow you? Oh, maybe he climbed over the wall?'
Pouting, the little guy walked along that wall, randomly pulling those hanging vines to check if they were sturdy enough to carry his weight. He decided he was going to climb up the wall.
However, after his third pull, his hand felt like he grabbed mere air. Pushing the vines aside, he discovered that there was a hole in the wall which was being completely hidden by these plants. It was a small hole, but it was big enough for a five-year-old boy like him to squeeze through.
'Did he go through this hole?'
Arlan's disappointment vanished. Without a moment's delay, he passed through that hole and found himself on the other side of the wall in less than a minute. However, he was covered in dirt, and his hair even had leaves caught in it.
The little guy looked around but the red-eyed boy he was following could still not be seen anywhere. All he saw was a lawn with the uneven ground covered with grass. There were unkempt trees and random plants, as well as a path made out of white-colored stones, some big while others were small, but aside from it, the place was empty
'Seems like no one comes here,' Arlan concluded. It seemed to be a part of the royal palace far away from the residences and the administrative buildings, an abandoned area where even servants do not frequent. 'But where is he? Did he not come here?'
While he was wondering if he should head back, he heard the loud screech of an eagle approaching towards the ground. At first, Arlan was scared, especially since he was alone, but when he narrowed his eyes, he recognized that it was Drayce's pet.
'Aha! Found you!'
Quickly, he followed the direction where the eagle was heading to. Several minutes later, he reached a place where the ground had a downward slope, and at the bottom was a shallow pit full of white rocks both big and small. Some were even so big they should be called boulders instead of rocks.
His adventurous spirit triggered, Arlan did not hesitate to go down the slope, though he was being careful with his steps because he was sure it would be painful if he made a wrong step and fell on that rocky ground.
Soon enough, he reached the centre of that huge but shallow pit that was filled with boulders larger than his body. He could not see where the eagle landed, but he was sure it flew towards this part of the pit. After wandering for some time, Arlan noticed a small cave-like place in between boulders, and if his guess was right, Drayce should be hiding inside.
Arlan walked closer, and even without entering, he could already see the eagle and the red-eyed boy huddled inside this makeshift hideout. The tiny cave seemed like it could only accommodate about two to three adults.
Drayce was curled like a ball, hugging his knees with his face buried in the circle of his arms. Although he was not letting out any sound, Arlan was sure he was crying.
The blue-eyed prince said nothing and simply sat beside the crying boy, putting his short arms around his body to hug him.
Drayce flinched but said nothing, and Arlan also stayed like that without a word.
After a while, with his face still buried in his arms, a small voice asked, "W-What are you doing here?"
"Do I need to answer that?"
Silence enveloped them.
After a while, Drayce spoke again, "Go away. You're dirty."
"Aren't we both equally dirty? Your hair has a leaf on it as well."
"You're dirtier."
"Am I?" Arlan said in an innocent tone. After a while, he patted Drayce's head with one hand. "Whenever I cry, my sister hugs me like this and I feel better afterwards."
"Who said I am crying?" Drayce snorted.
Arlan sighed as it was obvious this little guy was crying but was acting tough.
"If you are not crying, let me see your face."
"I don't wanna."
"See, you're crying."
"I'm not. My face is just dirty. I don't want you to see my face dirty."
Arlan burst into a laugh. "Fine, you are not crying. You are just sad. Hugs can cure sadness too."
For the next minute, Arlan continued to hug him in silence.
Drayce wiped his eyes sneakily and raised his head as if showing he was not crying and asked, "Why did you follow me?"
Arlan let him go and stretched his arms next to him. "I was worried since you ran off."
"I am fine," Drayce replied firmly.
"Hmm, I can see that," Arlan replied sarcastically.
After another short silence, Drayce asked, "Aren't you scared of me now?"
"Huh?" Arlan looked at him. "Why would I be scared of you?"
"Didn't those kids tell you I am a monster?" Drayce replied, "And today you saw what I did."
"Hmm, well, I admit you did surprise me. The paper suddenly went 'whoosh!' and it's suddenly on fire. I think that boy's hand probably got burned…"
Drayce felt nervous listening to him, but Arlan said something else that Drayce didn't expect.
"...but if I were you, I wouldn't have let them off lightly. I would have completely cut off their hands for drawing my mother like that and I would have ordered the knights to pull out those tongues which dared to call her a witch. They just openly despised the royal family, and that's a crime that could land them to prison! So what if they're kids? Pfft, you are a prince, you know? You are the only son of the Queen. Those ill-mannered kids should be properly punished."
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