Chapter 2 - The Prince and The Deserters

Here's chapter 2. Again, special thanks to Kay for proofreading and nitpicking.


Chapter 2 - The Prince and the Deserters

"...So you want to accompany me to hunt down the deserters?" Rein sighed as he looked at the cloaked figure, "Are you stupid? I don't owe you anything so I see no point in taking you with me...Just go home... Your Highness."

"Look, it's important, okay?!" Prince Jedge shouted at Rein, glaring up at the bounty hunter, "I'll pay you twice the amount that Grell offered!"

"Once I accept a job, I do not intend to stop mid way....boy," He didn't let it show, but this conversation was gnawing on his patience much like it was wearing down Jedge's.

"I'm not a boy! I'm old enough to take up the throne!" Jedge growled at Rein angrily. The anger on his face dissipated for a moment as he lowered his gaze almost worriedly, "...Please, I have to speak to them!"

He must be really desperate if he's willing to beg to a mere bounty hunter, Rein thought, his hands clenching and unclenching around the horse's reins in his hands. Lowering his gaze to meet the prince's once more, Rein spoke up, "...If you want me take you with me, I require you to tell me the whole story...about the soldiers' desertion..."

"You've heard it all from Grell, what more do you want!?"

"I want to know YOUR reason... It’s not everyday that I have the honor of seeing a prince beg to me," Rein said off-handedly, watching the young prince grit his teeth in anger. If it weren’t for the fact that he soon spoke of the reasons behind his actions, Rein would have thought that the inexperienced mage was just about ready to remove one shoe and fling it at his head in frustration.

With a huff, the prince crossed his arms and looked away as he explained, looking much like a boy who had just been scolded, "As much as I hate my old man, I don’t want them to be killed, even though he has valid reasons to, okay!? They are good people..." the prince lowered his head, "But because of my old man's stupid mistake to try and explore the Shadowlands, they lost many of their comrades! Still, my old man doesn't want to admit that he was at fault...that’s why....that’s why the knights left...That's all there is to it, now take me to their hideout!"

The bounty hunter took in this information, falling silent for a moment, so the king did not want to admit that it was his fault that all those brave knights died in vain? Rein thought, seems like… a change of plans is necessary...

Nodding briefly, he looked down at the prince once more, mentally wondering if he should have squatted down at least. The conversation had made his neck feel rather tired, considering the prince’s build, "...Very well then. You may come with me. But remember, I don't really care what your relationship is with them. I have a job to do and I will complete it, no matter what it takes.”

The prince frowned at that, perhaps fearing for the worse at Rein’s tone of speech. However, he himself knew that at that moment, he did not have time to hesitate, "...I understand..."

"Well then, we should get going before the sky turns dark" Rein said calmly as he got on the saddle of his horse and motioned for the prince to sit behind him, "But make sure the guards do not see your face when we exit the gates."

The prince nodded and got on behind Rein, albeit with a little difficulty and pulled his hood over his head, hiding his face from view. With Rein’s approval of his appearance, the two then proceeded towards the north gates.

Rein passed through the northern gates without any problems. The gate guards have been told about Rein and so they only ask for his name. Once they confirmed his identity, they stepped aside to let the mounted bounty hunter pass. They did not even bother to ask about the child sitting behind Rein, thinking that perhaps the Regent had appointed a guide to point him in the right direction.

When they reached the Forest of the Moon, night had begun its reign of the sky, where Rein decided to set up camp at the entrance and continue when day smiled upon them once more.

"Just sit there while I make a fire," Rein said sternly as he tied his horse’s reins to a low branch.

At first, Jedge considered hitting the taller man for his choice of words, but merely nodded and sat at the corner while watching Rein gather some fallen twigs and small branches from the ground. This was no time to act like a spoiled brat. He looked on as Rein piled them together neatly, promptly producing a pair of makeshift flints which were the stones near his feet. With a few easy flicks of his wrists, sparks flew from the striking of the stones and soon, flames were eating away at the tinder, burning brightly and crackling merrily.

Having solved the problem of poor lighting and lack of warmth, Rein sat by the fire, the metal of the long weapon he carried with him gleaming with the campfire’s glare. Rein seemed to be rather fond of his weapon, given how he was polishing it. It resembled a standard spear mounted knights use but with a small blade resting just below the spear-head. Despite its size, it appeared menacing enough should it be wielded by capable hands.

After a moment of silence, Jedge grew uneasy with the stillness, "Interesting spear you have there," he mused, watching Rein wipe at any grime or dirt from the weapon in his hands.

"It's called a halberd," Rein replied, not once looking up at the young man, " It's effective both as a stabbing weapon as well as a slashing weapon. It's most effective against mounted units like cavaliers."

"I see...” Jedge nodded slowly, getting up from where he sat to sit closer to the fire. Night had fallen and he simply wasn’t dressed thickly enough to welcome the evening chill, “This is the first time I've seen something like that," the prince took in every detail as he pulled his knees up to his chest, holding his hands out to the fire to warm them.

Rein shrugged, "It is not usually used by knights these days so to find people who use them is quite an accomplishment.”

“Aren’t you going to praise me for finding you, then?” the prince said with a cheeky grin, looking at Rein expectantly. The bounty hunter made no move to do so and simply rolled his eyes.

Just as Rein was wiping his halberd, something caught his attention, compelling him to monitor his surroundings. Rein frowned.

"Seems like we have an uninvited guest..." Rein remarked, loud enough for Jedge and their ‘guest’ to hear them.

Just then, a figure jumped out of the darkness of the nearby bushes. The figure wielded a pair of well-crafted scimitars, both of which were rather long and curved, a fine choice for an assassin. The mere movement of their ‘guest’ was enough to tell him that it was most certainly female and this piqued his curiosity. If it were a man, he wouldn’t be too impressed by the weapons, but he was, given how heavy they looked.

Rein got up and pointed his halberd at the mysterious attacker. He studied her, estimating her age from her build, perhaps her armor to anticipate the speed in which she would move and soon, his gaze fell upon the eye-patch over her left eye. Despite the ‘deformity’, he was surprised at her beauty. The odd mix of the nature of his assailant and her appearance amused Rein.

Without hesitation, the woman lunged at Rein, slashing at him with the heavy-looking scimitars with such force and grace that he hadn’t expected from her slender arms. Rein parried the attack easily, the clash of metal ringing through the air and pushed the attacker back, as his weapon required a little space to ‘breathe’.

Rein raised an eyebrow when the woman growled. She had barely lost her balance, but it sounded much like she hadn’t expected to meet someone of Rein’s caliber in a place such as that they were in. Quickly analyzing his opponent from the simple moves she had performed, Rein knew this was a fight he could win. Perhaps he could even question her...

"L-Laria!?"

Rein’s gaze flicked to where the prince stood, flabbergasted at the sight of the woman. In return, the woman stood rigid for a moment before slowly backing away and disappearing into the darkness of the forest like a shadow.

"Laria, wait!!" the prince was about to follow her, but her rapidly vanishing footsteps and the eerie darkness of the forest forced Jedge to stop in his tracks.

"...A friend of yours, kid?" seeing that the threat was gone, Rein lowered his weapon, keeping on his toes in case she brought ‘friends’ with her.

The boy sighed, looking rather disappointed when she left, “.She... was my bodyguard... and personal maid..." Jedge murmured, shivering a little and rubbing his arms, "I heard she's the second in command of the deserters," compared to the fiery prince who demanded control over his kingdom earlier in the morning, Jedge looked like a lost puppy with nowhere to go as he sat back down by the campfire, staring at the dancing flames.

"Hmm...Interesting." Rein grinned, his eyes tracing the route the woman took. Perhaps this job isn’t as drab as he thought it would be.

"...I'd like to make a deal with you, bounty hunter."

"Oh? And what sort of deal is it?" the bounty hunter in question propped his weapon into the ground, balancing his weight so he would be partly leaning against his halberd as he waited for Jedge to speak.

"I want to talk with the deserters at their hideout...If it fails...then you can do what you want." Jedge said with a determined face, the fire returning to his eyes.

Rein sighed. The prince is extremely stubborn, if not a little difficult to deal with...but this might work in Rein's favor. He knew he couldn't take on an entire brigade of deserters head on, so this might be a good way to ambush them.

"...Sounds reasonable," Rein lied as he extended his hand, "You have a deal, prince."

The prince nodded, standing up and shaking Rein's hand – the deal has been sealed.

"We will begin tomorrow," Rein announced, pulling his hand out of the prince’s and moving away so he could make a make-shift bed with a sheet of leather for the prince. "Get some rest. I'll be on look-out."

Jedge simply nodded to that, getting ready for bed and perhaps grumbling for a moment or two on the quality of his bed, but fell asleep quickly as the warmth of the fire comforted him. As the prince slept, the bounty hunter standing guard was scheming... Planning ahead of time various cards he would play when the hideout was discovered.

He sighed and looked up at the night sky. He could barely contain his excitement as the grin he had spread. Kings, Regents, princes and deserters... Along with the situation he had landed himself in, this was going to be one heck of a job to finish.

-To be continued-