10: Rei Lyashi and the Exiled High Prince

Liran grinned with delight at seeing her friend escorting an elderly man out of the courtyard.

"Aiden-ta!" A handsome knight of short cut black hair and wide, glassy blue eyes rushed for the younger shield warrior with eager, opened arms.

Aiden coolly side stepped to avoid the bear-hug. "Brother, what are you doing here?"

"Aiya, there was a time you ran into my hugs." Darien moped and brightened when he added that he came to pay his bill for one of his ronin's treatments.

"This is your brother?" Liran blinked as she took in the man's image of a broad and muscly body in dark hardened leather armor and buckled boots.

Like Aiden, a round iron shield was at the man's back and a longsword rested in his belt scabbard. But unlike her companion, he was slightly older, very expressive and jovial. Still, the family resemblance between them was so strong to share the same symmetrically shaped nose.

"Woah, who is this gorgeous sight for sore eyes." Aiden's brother looked Liran up and down then gave him the thumbs up.

Aiden cringed and shook his head. He formally introduced the man. "Liran-sai, my big brother Darien-ta. We share the same father but his mother is the first High Queen."

Everyone gulped at Aiden's casual dropping of his brother being a High Prince.

"Oh, um, I don't know, do I bow?" Annoying Imp nervously scratched his head.

"Aiya, you don't need to bother with that sort of stuff. Just call me Darien-ta. Or big bro is fine too." Darien jovially reassured the big friendly imp. "Oh, you have some big muscles there for an imp. How much weight do you lift?" He eager squeezed and tested Annoying Imp's biceps, looking further impressed.

"Are you sure you're a prince? You don't look like one." Bosnia casually blurted, which had Clover fretting and telling her to pipe down. But she didn't hear her or chose not to. "I mean, he doesn't look like one either." She pointed to Aiden.

Darien caught the twitch of Aiden's right eyebrow and burst with laughter. "Right you are. Well, I'll tell you a secret." He leaned in close, reeling her in and whispered, "We're exiles."

"Brother, that fact isn't something you should share around. We're meant to keep low profiles, remember?" Aiden soberly reminded his brother.

Darien heaved a sigh and slung an arm around his baby brother. "And didn't I tell you to go off and scout the lands."

"You also said find good people. I'm here because of them," Aiden matter-of-factually answered.

Darien chuckled. "At least that no nonsense attitude of yours won't give you ugly wrinkles."

"Boss, we're all good to go." A burly looking demon-like humanoid approached Darien from one side of the wide verandah. He was followed by a dark skinned alfaren woman wrapped in bandages all over her arms and neck, another demon looking wraith of a man and a dwarf. Everyone of them was armed and ready for battle.

"Right, time to go then." Darien attempted to hug his brother one more time and missed. Instead he messed up his hair. "Well be a good boy and have fun."

Aiden sighed as he let him do his thing, but he didn't hide his concern. "Where are you going?"

Darien's expression was serious when he added, "Aiden, you have your task. If you're capable, find us at the old tower of Irelon by Stemer."

Aiden frowned as he watched his big brother and his ronin leave the courtyard.

"Liran-sai." Rei warmly greeted her with a cordial hug.

He was lean in simple green robes tied at the waist, his flowing black and red streaked hair tumbling to his waist with half held up in a simple ponytail smoothed back off his delicate, heart-shaped face. A gentle warmth lingered within his almond shaped bright green eyes. Compared to most men Liran knew, Rei carried an elegant handsomeness to even turn men's heads. And his alfaren wife was just as elegant and an image of refined beauty.

"You look well. I hope life has been good to you."

"A lot more peaceful than running through the valley of the Trepid of Falgath." Rei saw her companions.

Liran introduced them: in particular, Annoying Imp and Clover's injuries.

As Rei was tending to them, she turned her attention to the beautiful alfaren woman of brown hair, soft green eyes and features adorned in a fine teal gown of silk and chiffon. The woman stood poised on the courtyard's wide verandah.

"Liran-sai!" She warmly called out while gently rocking her sleeping baby wrapped in a light blanket.

"Mirana-la." Liran rushed over to greet her and fawned over the baby. "He's adorable."

Mirana nodded and allowed Liran to hold him, smiling as her friend gently cradled and rocked him.

"He's going to break hearts for sure. Just like his parents." Liran flashed her friend a cheeky grin.

A sad nostalgia came upon Mirana for Liran. Her friend never said it nor anyone who wasn't in the know would be aware, but it would still be hurting the woman for the child she lost. She cast aside the feelings with an endearing expression and took back her child who was sound asleep.

"Oh I have a gift for the little mage. I bought the perfect heijin grimoire. I hope you like it."

Aiden saw Liran pull out a pocket-sized black book encrusted with the dark silver orchalium, which was a suppression material common for heijin and mage spell books. Even if it's a common type, it looks expensive, she must've saved up a fair bit to buy it.

Mirana looked surprised to see a fine gift for her baby. "This looks expensive. Are you sure?"

LIran nodded. "To be honest, I got it at a discount when I healed the traveling merchant selling it. He said it was untampered and gave me a seal of unlocking." She handed her a small scroll.

"I don't know what to say, thank you. At least that's one less thing to worry about." Mirana was excited as she examined the grimoire using her magic. It was blank and ready for a mage.

"Rei, look, our son has his first grimoire." Mirana proudly showed her husband, who nodded with approval.

A jarring explosion shook the courtyard so dust showered over heads. Another made some of the potted plants break and fall apart.

"What's going on?" Mirana fretted as she held her baby close.

Suddenly, the sounds behind the courtyard gates was a cacophony of screams, clashing steel and whirring droning of magic being released.

"I'll handle this. Take Mirana and the baby to safety." Liran ordered Rei and stopped his protests with a head shake. "Protect your family."

"LIran-sai." Mirana began her protests.

"I need you and your son to be safe." Liran pleaded with her eyes, which made Mirana nod with understanding and prod Rei into motion.

Rei and Miriana gathered all their manservants to them, then disappeared into the building while Liran re-entered the courtyard space and unwrapped her lute.

"You can all go with Lyashi-vai," she coolly said to the others, with her focus on the gate and force smashing against it. "This is my fight. You don't need to be a part of it."

"And miss this fight, not a chance!" Bosnia licked her lips as she crunched her fists in her human form.

"You've been kind to us, we shall repay the kindness." Clover nodded ready to fight.

"It's against the knight's code to walk away from a fight endangering civilians." Aiden soberly answered with his weapons ready to go. "Besides, you'd likely collapse from stamina drain again."

They looked at Annoying Imp and Rat.

Rat groaned when he could see the imp's answer from his expression. "Fine, we're in. The pretty boy knight is correct. Bard, your stamina can't hold out if they're casting magic."

Everyone slipped into a fighting focus as they watched the gates being smashed apart.

Boss Scarface entered with a new crew of bandits. This time they all had split colored hair like his: heijin capable of wielding magic.

"Hello sweet cheeks. Miss me."