Racing Towards a New Journey

It has been more than a week since Prince Leonidas and his mother were both arrested and are awaiting for their trail to begin. In the meantime, the gossip about them continues to be spreading even further away from the palace as it slowly begins to arrive in the different noble houses wondering what will happen next.

In the meantime, palace life returns to normal as everyone has decided to resume their daily activities and put out of their minds what occurred at the ball and that is what the emperor’s wives did as they decided not to let this interfere with their social lives.

On one sunny morning the emperor’s wives decided to have morning tea together to catch up with one another after not seeing each other for so long. Empress Aurnia invited Queen Anastasia and Queen Ana Victoria to enjoy some lovely tea together.

“Thank you for coming to this little gathering I decided to have at the last minute,” Empress Aurina says thanking her guests.

“Yes, of course, your majesty, it is an honor to be here,” Queen Anastasia thanked the empress.

“Yes, I, too, am honored to be here in your presence and not have Queen Teigra here causing trouble like she has caused for herself and her son,” Queen Ana-Victoria points out.

“Now, now, we do not have to use formalities when we are together, after all we are like sisters after all and I will not allow any rude talk going about poor Queen Teigra. She has chosen her fate in supporting her son in his vendetta and now she will pay for her crimes,” Empress Aurnia says as she sips her teeth.

“Very well, shall we discuss the gowns at the ball?” Queen Anastasia suggests.

“Yes, there were very lovely this year. I did especially love the one Lady Aurora was wearing. It really was the bell of the ball,” Empress Aurnia.

“She sure has grown to be a splendidly fine young lady, and it seems my son has taken a liking to her as well,” Queen Anastasia comments.

“I do hope there will be a decision soon about the succession because I would love to see things to change in this kingdom before our sons create their own kind of chaos here,” Queen Ana- Victoria mentions.

“Yes, I agree,” Empress Aurina said, as she took a sip of her tea.

The empress and the queens continue their conversation, but it is interrupted by Prince Mathias walking in to speak to his mother.

“I do apologize for interrupting your tea, your majesties, but I would like to speak to my mother about something important.”

“What is it Mathias?” his mother asked, a bit surprised her son is visiting her in such a manner.

“Mother, I wanted to inform you that I will be leaving soon on a journey that might be a good asset to the kingdom and I might be away for a while,” Prince Mathias explains to his mother confidently.

“Very well, you have my permission to go, but make sure you take extra guards with you and did you inform your father about this?” Queen Anatasia asks before he leaves.

“Of course mother, the last thing I want to do is worry you and I have already sent father a letter through my page informing him about my journey,” Prince Mathias explains as he walks over to his mother and kisses her cheek.

“Then, all I can say is to stay safe and come back home soon,” Queen Anastasia says, as she bids her son farewell.

“Thank you mother, I will write to you about my journey,” Prince Mathias said, as he was leaving the room. “And a good day to you, your majesties.”

The queens bowed to the prince and resumed their conversation.

Prince Mathias, now in the hall, walking back to his room to prepare for his journey, he is accompanied by his attendant.

“Your highness, how did it go with your mother?” he asked.

“It went well. In fact, she has given me her blessing to go on this journey.”

“Very well, shall I notify the guards?”

“Yes, only the ones you absolutely trust and make sure to tell the servants to pack only the essentials for this trip.”

“Of course and what about you, your highness?”

“I will be writing a letter to Lady Aurora inviting her to accompany us.”

“Is that wise?”

“Yes, I believe she will be a good addition to our….”

Suddenly Prince Mathias could not finish his sentence as he is having a flash forward vision of his brother Prince Leonidas escaping prison and returning with his army to take over the kingdom. Prince Mathias comes back to his senses and he realizes there is not much time to execute his plans and he has to hurry.

“Are you all right, your highness?”

“Yes, I am fine, now do what you were told. I will be in my bed chamber,” Prince Mathias said, as he is catching his breath.

“Of course, your highness.”

After his attendant left, Prince Mathias collected himself and quickly walked back to his room to write the letter to Lady Aurora inviting her on his quest. Since he did remember in their last conversation, she mentioned some mines she knows of that might help with his plan to outsmart his brothers.

Entering his room a few minutes later, he unbuttons his coat and throws it on the coach and goes straight to his desk reaching for his feather and a piece of paper to write the letter.

Dear Aurora,

I am writing this letter to tell you we are all set for our journey together. I wanted to know where shall we meet. I shall be leaving soon to a neighboring town to begin some trade agreements for the kingdom. Please send me your response as soon as you get this message.

From

Prince Mathias Arcenciel

Once finishing up the letter, he quickly walks over to his messenger hawk and attached the letter to it and let it fly.

Now that this task was taken care of, he decides to wait in his bed chamber to wait for her letter.

He sits on the coach waiting and decides to call on Rion for some advice.

“Rion!”

Rion enters the room as quickly as he can to serve his prince.

“What is it that you need, your highness?”

“I was wondering what would be a good gift for a woman?”

“What do you mean your highness?”

“I want to give a gift to Lady Aurora when we meet at the rendezvous point in a couple of days.”

“Well sir, I do know women from my experience love flowers, jewels, or if you truly know this person something that plays into their character,” Rion explains.

“Yes, Rion, go to the library quickly and find any book that describes anything about rare jewels,” Prince Mathias said.

“Yes, your highness,” Rion said, leaving the room.

Exhausted by the day, Prince Mathias dozes off since all he has to do is wait for Lady Aurora’s letter.

He hopes she does say yes about meeting at the location he provided then it will mean she might be interested in him after all.

All of this waiting is for the hope of one simple letter.

With one prince waiting for an answer, the other half of a potential couple is busy finalizing her preparations for her trip to the magic ore mine. She is not the type of person sitting in a carriage doing nothing, she is the type of girl who loves to keep her hands busy.

“Is there anything else you need, my lady,” her lady in waiting asked.

“No, that will be all. Please make sure my carriage is ready to leave,” Lady Aurora orders.

“Of course.”

Her lady in waiting left her room and Lady Aurora resumed packing her things. “Ok, notebooks check, lanterns, and writing tools are all here.”

Then she stares out the window noticing a hawk is flying towards her. As it comes to a stop, she notices it is Prince Mathias’s hawk. She also notices a letter attached to his leg and starts to read it.

Dearest Aurora,

I know you said you will be leaving for your trip to the magic ore mines, so I was wondering if we can meet at the town called Nigelstad. It is close to the mines and you wouldn't have to sleep outside. I will meet you out of there. I am only waiting for your word and I am on the road. See you soon

-Prince Mathias

Lady Aurora quickly writes back to him and sends her messenger hawk to the palace.

As she finishes up, she quickly leaves her room and runs towards her carriage taking on the road. She does hope the letter arrives on time to the prince, so they can meet up close at the same time.

It seems Lady Aurora and Prince Mathias are on the same wavelength, as it seems it woke the prince up from his nap. It took longer than expected for the hawk to arrive back at the prince. He did get excited to see the hawk and took the letter out of the hawk’s foot.

Dear Prince Mathias,

Thank you for the letter. I can use the company while exploring the mines. It will be a great help having a friend with me. We can meet in Nigelstad before heading to the mines. So, I am looking forward to seeing you there.

-Lady Aurora

After he reads the letter, he rushes out of his room and heads out to the carriage.

“Rion, we are leaving now. We only have a day and half to arrive at Nigelstad.”

“Yes, your highness,” Rion agrees.

Prince Mathias and Rion step into the carriage and they are off to meet up with Lady Aurora.

Lady Aurora having a bit of a head start has already been on the road for about three hours now. It was starting to hit nightfall, so Lady Aurora decided to take a short break before heading to the town. All she can think about is Prince Mathias and how she could help him achieve his goal. The magic ore mines might help her complete her experiments , but maybe there are other mines around to help the prince in his own goals. Either way, hopefully what she finds can truly be free from their destined paths.

Before continuing on her journey, she writes to Prince Mathias a letter to let him know where she is. She sends her hawk once again to the prince hoping it reaches him on time.

In the meantime, Prince Mathias is also on his way to Nigelstad, but his route is a bit bumpy for anyone to handle. “Explain to me why we took the bumpy route?” The prince asked. “Because your highness, it is the slightest faster route if we want to catch up to Lady Aurora and also it will keep preying eyes away from the carriage for your protection,” Rion explains.

“Yes, but next time, find a better route or I will send you to the stables to clean the horse droppings for life,” Prince Mathias warns.

“Yes, my apology, your highness, next time,” Rion apologizes.

“Good.”

Prince Mathias looks out of the carriage window trying not to show his anger any longer and notices a bird flying towards them and Prince Mathias recognizes it as Lady Aurora’s hawk. He quickly brings it in and takes the letter off of its foot once again. He quickly opens the letter.

Dear Prince Mathias,

I got your message. I should be arriving in Nigelstad by tomorrow afternoon, which according to the map is in Hoyce Valley. See you there. I also have something important to discuss with you once you arrive.

From

Aurora Diamant

“What she says, your highness?” Rion asks.

“She says she will be arriving in Nigelstad by tomorrow afternoon. It seems she took the direct route there. She sure is brave handling the bandits on the road,” Prince Mathias explains.

“She sure is brave and not wanting to waste any time, so what shall we do, your highness?”

“We have to meet her by tomorrow, so let the drivers switch places whenever they can because from here on out we are not stopping from here on out,” Prince Mathias orders.

“Right, your highness, but this might ruin the morale of your guards,” Rion warns.

“I do not care. I will pay them triple their wages if they do this for me,” Prince Mathias answers, eager to get out of this bumpy road.

“Very well,” Rion said, as he gave the driver and the guards their new orders.

Now in full speed, Prince Mathias and his guards are finally making some headway with their journey as they now increased their speed, even though they are traveling through dangerous roads. Unfortunately, there are still more dangerous roads on their way, but they will not keep Mathias away from Lady Aurora much longer.

Once Prince Mathias thought they made some progress and seems they are reaching the town according to his calculations, he decided to give his guards a break before resuming on their trip.

“Let’s rest up here for the night. We still have a bit of ways to go to get to the town of Nigelstad. Thank you again for dealing with my crazy suggestions on the road,” Prince Mathias said. “Alright, get some food and rest since we have a long day tomorrow ahead of us.”

With everyone resting up, Prince Mathias sends Lady Aurora a letter about their progress and when they might arrive in the town.

Meanwhile Lady Aurora, being far ahead of the prince and only eight hours away from Nigelstad, decides to give her bodyguards, the Onyx Knights a break to rest up and get something delicious to eat. Some of the Onyx Knights decide to have the night watch before turning in for the night.

“Thank you all for coming with me on this journey. I know it might be a long way for many of you and I wish to thank you again. Now please get something to eat and rest for the night,” Lady Aurora orders her knights.

Giving out orders to her knights is more exhausting than solving the most complex mathematical equation.

“Alright, everyone. Get some food and rest and we will be riding again in the morning,” the Onyx Knight Commander orders.

“I’m exhausted. I’m going to bed early. Commander, you are in charge,” Lady Aurora said, walking inside her tent.

“Yes, my lady,” the commander said, accepting his orders.

With this night done and over with, it is now time to resume their journey. It seems after two days of traveling both Lady Aurora and Prince Mathias finally arrive in the town of Nigelstad. Sadly, they both arrive on the opposite sides of the town and it was time to find an inn to stay while on this trip.

It turns out they both have the same idea of checking into the same inn as they literally bumped into each other outside.

“Prince Mathais, it is so good to see you again. I am surprised you got here so quickly.”

“Yes, it is good to see you too, Lady Aurora. Well, my path was a little bumpy, but I rushed here to meet up with you.”

“How about we go for a walk to stretch out our legs for a bit and we can have a little chat?” Lady Aurora suggests.

“I would like that thank you,” Prince Mathias said, as he began walking with her.

“Alright there are two places I want to check out around here before we head towards the mines.”

“Ok, take the lead,” Prince Mathias said.

Lady Aurora takes the lead and the prince follows. They begin talking about their road trips and how they try desperately to see each other after being apart for a while. They soon arrive at the restaurant without realizing it since they were busy talking so much.

“So, is this your secretive location you were talking about?” Prince Mathias asks.

“Well one of them anyways.”

“Right, shall we go inside?” Prince Mathias asked.

They headed inside to the restaurant and sat at a booth by the window. The waitress comes over with glasses of water and menus. They thanked her and she left.

“How is this your secretive place, if this is your first time here,” Prince Mathias asks.

“My father brought me here when I was six and the food has always been amazing,” Lady Aurora said.

“And what is the second secret location you wish to tell me about?”

“Well, you will have to wait after we eat.”

“Keeping secrets as always.”

“Yes, women do have their secrets.”

“Right.”

The waitress returns and Lady Aurora and Prince Mathias pick a few things from the menu and hand back the menus to the waitress. “I will get these right away.”

“Thank you.”

The waitress soon leaves and they resume talking.

“Alright, maybe I should tell you the real two locations I wish to talk to you about.”

“Tell me.”

“Well, in this valley, it is famous for its mines. There are many gems, ore, and gold.”

“I am assuming you are interested in the magical ore mine.”

“Yes, I believe if I go to the magical ore mine it will help me expand my research and get my experiments fully operational.”

“Very interesting, will this also help me with my projects as well?”

“Um….”

“Here are your orders,” the waitress said, coming with their meals.

“Thank you.”

After much talking and exhaustion, they both took the first bites of their meals.

“Yum, this is so good,” Prince Mathias teasingly said. “Care to try some?”

“No, I am good. My food is equally as good as yours.”

“Come on, just one bite,” Prince Mathias begs.

“Fine,” Lady Aurora said, opening her mouth.

Even though she accepted, he is a bit nervous doing the deed now. He might be a prince and can get any girl he wants, but in this case, she might be someone he can care about.

Slowly, he moves his fork closer and closer to her mouth and once he puts it on the inside her mouth and she chews. “Wow, you are right, this is good. Maybe, I will get this the next time we come here. Prince Mathias blushes, and says, “So, you are talking about the mines?”

“Yes, well, that is the second surprise. I was viewing the maps of this valley and it turns out there are mines here that are said to be filled with minerals, but there is something else you might find.”

“And what is that?”

“It is for me to not know and for you to find out. Here is the map with directions to the mine. I also believe there will be other surprises waiting for you.”

“Thank you. This will help me earn some money on my own and not rely on my father’s money for my projects.”

“Yes, that is the first thing I learned. When my father’s enemies want to threaten him, he always makes sure every member of the family starts to have their own type of income in case any of us needs to escape one day.”

“That is a really good philosophy.”

“Thanks, Father sure is wise.”

“Thank you again for letting me join you on this. It is a shame we will have to depart from here tomorrow.”

“It is fine. We will get to see each other at night once we get back from the mines.”

“Yes, that might be true.”

“Lady Aurora before we continue on. I wanted to thank you again for including me on this trip.”

“It is my pleasure. We are helping each other. There is a catch though.”

“What do you mean?”

“You see, I was thinking we can split the profits of the highest ore or mineral we might find in these mines, so we can both profit.”

Prince Mathias coughs and says, “Are you serious?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I would have to think about it.”

“Don’t take too long or I will take my business somewhere else.”

“Very well, I will give you my answer after I explore the mines.”

“That seems fair. Partner. Now shall we finish our meal before they really do get cold?”

“Yes.”

As one couple is having a good time, a different kind of couple is trying to get their situations back in order. Lady Sirena, part of the half of having troubles, is trying to figure out how to free Prince Leonidas from prison. She has been spending weeks trying to find out any information to free Prince Leonidas. All the news she has been gathering and all lead to dead ends. Then one day she manages to find some information from her sources, so she quickly writes a letter to Prince Leonidas and sends a messenger bird to the prison.

Dear Prince Leonidas,

I have some interesting news to share with you. I recently discovered that a certain noble from the neutral faction wishes to join the noble faction and help you. We can later discuss and go more into details.

From

Sirena Rubis

“I hope he can trust me after this,” Lady Sirena said to herself.

Now having finished their lunch, Lady Aurora and Prince Mathias continue speaking about their business plans and upcoming projects to advance the kingdom. They did not know how late it was getting after talking for hours.

“Well, we better get some sleep. We are going to be busy the next few weeks,” Lady Aurora mentions.

“Yes, so that is why I am going to get a head start.”

“What do you mean?”

“I am heading off to the mines tonight. Thanks to the map you kindly provided.”

“Yes, but I thought we could talk some more at the inn,” Lady Aurora said sounding disappointed.

“Don’t worry, we can talk as soon as I get back.”

“Do you have the equipment and workers to help you?”

“Yes, my men are quite skilled in this sort of thing and they did gather the tools we needed for the mines.”

“Well, at least you are starting to think like a businessman. The first rule in business is having the tools, information, and people we can trust to achieve our goals.”

“I will take that to heart.”

“You sure do. Now have a safe trip to the mines. I will see you after.”

“Yes, I will be waiting.”

As Prince Mathias gets into his carriage, he begins to worry about Lady Aurora. She is an amazing young woman. She can be a challenge as it seems she knows so much more than he does in life and he can learn a lot from her. He just realizes too that his heart is beating so fast and cannot stop thinking about her. Without her noticing, he left two of his strongest imperial guards behind to insure her safety. It is the least he can do after sharing the whereabouts of these mysterious mines.

Back in Rubis estate, Lady Sirena is still awaiting for her messenger bird to return with Prince Leonidas' answer.

“I wonder what is taking so long. He has to have gotten my message by now. It is not like the prison is very far from here,” Lady Sirena said, speaking to her maid. “Oh, I need some refreshments now!”

“Yes, my lady, right away,” the maid said, running out of the room.

“Seriously, I never thought helping others would take this long. My word it is a total pain.”

“What is wrong my lady?” her head lady -in- waiting asking with worry.

“It is nothing. It is just the fact, I had to go through a lot of back doors to convince Count Zircon to help me free Prince Leonidas and to assist the prince in his goals in order to take back his claim for the throne,” Lady Sirena explains.

“It is kind of trying to help the prince, but are you sure he wants your help?”

“Shut up!”

“I am sorry, my lady.”

“I am sorry. I am just tired of waiting.”

“Of course, I will leave you and will let you know if there is word about the prince. It might be hard since they are not exactly allowed to receive news from the outside.”

“Very well.”

While Lady Sirena is eagerly awaiting for some news, Prince Leonidas is with his mother in their cell just planning and rotting the day away.

“How long do you think they will keep us here?”

“I am not sure sweetie, but you did arrange for the death of the daughter of an important nobleman, so that is a crime.”

“If I knew that, then I would have killed the whole family instead of one stupid girl.”

“And that is why we are here, my dear boy.”

“You are here because you are my mother and know about my plans.”

“Yes, well, if you haven't gotten me involved in your plans, then maybe I can get you out.”

“Yes, mother, I know. It seems someone else thinks the same way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take a look at the window.”

“A bird. Isn’t this one from the Rubis family? What a fine bird.”

“Looks like there is a letter attached to it. You better read it.”

Prince Leonidas takes the letter out and reads it is from Lady Sirena.

Dear Prince Leonidas,

I have some interesting news to share with you. I recently discovered a very powerful noble from the neutral faction is responsible for keeping you in prison, for what you did to Lady Aurora. I also have some good news, Count Zircon, from the neutral faction, is willing to join your cause and will help in any way he can. We can discuss more of the details later.

From

Lady Sirena Rubis

“Oh, wow. This is interesting news that could help me greatly. Alright, then. I’ll see how useful this noble is,” Prince Leonidas said. Then writes a letter back to Lady Sirena in response.

Prince Mathias rode all through the night to Hoyce Valley, exhausted riding all night. Upon arriving, he and the rest of the travel party begin to rest up before heading towards the mine. The one thing he could think about is hoping Lady Aurora’s map is cracked up in what it is. On a personal note, he cannot stop thinking about her.

While Prince Mathias is on his way to the mines, Lady Aurora has trouble sleeping. She could not stop thinking about the moment she spent with the prince. With that in mind, she begins packing her things and decides to head out earlier than expected.

“Commander, get the carriage ready, we are heading towards the mines earlier than expected.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The commander of the Onyx knights begins to give orders to the knights, so they can head out. Lady Aurora walks into the carriage with her things and is ready to leave. With the guards ready to leave, they are off to the mines.

Since it is only about two hours away, it was not long after they soon arrived outside the magic ore mine.

Lady Aurora exits her carriage and stares at the entrance to the mine. She takes out the map of the ore mine and is ready to begin.

“Commander, please make sure the area is protected and have the others set up camp. Make sure also the mineral extractors are ready to go inside as well,” Lady Aurora orders.

“Yes, my lady,” the commander said.

Lady Aurora continues to read the map awaiting for her party to head inside.

“My lady, we are ready to go,” the commander said.

“Thank you.Alright, let’s go see how big the magic stone ore mine really is,” Lady Aurora said, having a sparkle in her eyes.”

Lady Aurora and her party enter the mine and are surprised to see what they have discovered. Many color stones can be seen lighting up the cave and giving out a powerful magical resonance.

“Oh wow, there’s an extremely large quantity of magic stones here. It’s impressive,” Lady Aurora said, excited as she was reading her magical ore device she created for this excavation.

“Lady Aurora, should we report this discovery?,” an Onyx knight asks in shock.

“Yes, but not until we discover what this cave has to offer. We should start collecting samples as soon as possible,” Lady Aurora orders.

“Yes, my lady.”

At dawn, Prince Mathias begins his own excavation in the gold mine. “Gentlemen, let’s get started. We want to make our ladies proud,” Prince Leonidas cheers on. “Yes.”

Prince Leonidas and his excavating team head inside the cave after breakfast hoping he can finally begin to get back on track in his goals.

Excavating, riches, and emotions stir up so much on journeys, so turn the page to discover what is in store for the unexpected.