Chapter 311 - Ominous, Uncomfortable Feeling

"Big Brother, why are you up so early?"

Richaem woke up when Jorick kept turning. It disturbed his sleep. He looked out the window and saw that it was still dark.

"I can't fall asleep. It's almost daybreak. You can still go back to sleep if you want."

"But, you keep tossing and turning. I can't fall asleep when you're like that. Is there something wrong?"

Jorick looked at Richaem and was seriously considering whether to tell his younger brother about his dream. In the end, he decided that it was not yet the right time to let him know.

"I will tell you when I verified it. Right now, it's still uncertain."

"Oh, how's your training? Did your power increase?"

"It improved a lot. I can now sense where Zen…the Crown Princess is right now."

"Do you think you can teleport there without Duke Gordon's help?"

"I can try, but I don't want to risk anything."

"How come you can sense the Crown Princess' presence and whereabouts, but you can't do that with anyone else."

Jorick looked at Richaem and did not know how to explain it to his younger brother. Jorick knew that Zenia was important to him, and she had always helped her without expecting something back. Perhaps, that was the very reason why he had such an attachment to Zenia.

"I don't know why. I also want to find out."

"Can you sense my presence and whereabouts?"

"I'm not really sure since we have always been together since we got reunited. I guess I will always know where you might be since we share the same blood."

Richaem fell silent for a moment and started asking again, "How about mom and dad? Can you sense them?"

Richaem was almost teary-eyed when he asked his big brother.

Jorick shook his head, "No, but something tells me that they are still alive somewhere. We will find them."

Richaem looked directly into his brother's eyes, "Do you mean it?"

Jorick ruffled Richaem's hair and assured him, "Yes! We will find them together."

Richaem smiled and nodded his head, "Hmm, I will train harder from now on and be as strong as you, Big Brother. I too will protect the Crown Princess and make sure that no harm will befall her."

"Why do you want to protect Zen…the Crown Princess?"

Richaem grinned, "Because Big Brother kept saying that the Crown Princess had been good to you. I also want to protect the people you love."

'Love…'

Jorick blushed at the thought, and his heart began to beat fast. Perhaps, he liked Zenia more than he thought. But, he was certain that it was no more than a mere admiration and affection for a family member…or so he thought.

"Go back to sleep. I will go out for a while to train some more."

Richaem nodded his head and went back to sleep. Jorick went out of the room and trod the path leading to the training ground. But before that, he put a protective barrier around the room where Richaem was sleeping. He knew that he could not control his magic sometimes and was afraid that Richaem might be disturbed when it reached him in his sleep.

When Jorick arrived at the training ground, there was nobody there. He thought that it was a good opportunity to test his ability to teleport on his own. He was thinking of a place where he could teleport when he suddenly thought of Zenia. He already detected beforehand that they were in Shadora even though Redivo did not disclose anything about where the couple went for their vacation no matter how he pleaded. He grinned and had decided to teleport to the place where Zenia was currently staying.

* * * * *

When Vaughn and Zenia reached the port, they were informed that the departure had been delayed. The Captain of the ship had decided to make some last-minute inspection before departure. The Captain had detected that something was off with the ship earlier. The safety of the ship and the passengers were the primary concerns of the Captain.

Vaughn and Zenia stayed inside the carriage while waiting for the announcement that the ship had been fixed. Zenia's eyes were getting heavier and heavier, especially when her bedtime was getting nearer and nearer.

Vaughn adjusted Zenia's position to make her more comfortable in her sleep. After some time, the announcement to board the ship finally came. It was almost daybreak. The coachman informed the Captain of the ship as per Vaughn's instruction. The Captain agreed to the request and allowed the couple to stay in their carriage while the ship was sailing.

Vaughn still requested for a room in case Zenia suddenly woke up and would like to lie down on the fluffy bed. He and Zenia stayed in the carriage while onboard the ship to Tissuria. After an hour, the Captain made an announcement once more. He said that there would be another alteration on the schedule of arrival in Tissuria. Vaughn sighed and decided to join Zenia in her sleep. It was a good thing that they took a huge carriage with them.

The Captain could not gain access to the dimensional array, which made it possible to travel fast from Tissuria to Shadora and vice versa. A whirlpool suddenly appeared near the dimensional array. Trying his luck that they would not get sucked in the whirlpool was out of the question. 

They could wait until the whirlpool disappears. The occurrence of whirlpool in the waters, which Tissuria and Shadora had shared for a long time, was not something new. Once in a while, a whirlpool would appear even if there was no storm.

The Captain stirred the ship away from the whirlpool and decided not to wait for its disappearance. In his estimate, it might take a long time if they wait. They should evacuate the area immediately. The wind was telling him that a big storm was coming their way.

Jorick had just begun his first attempt to teleport to Zenia's unknown location when he suddenly sensed that there was something wrong in the area where Zenia was currently located. 

He whispered, "Zenzen…" 

Jorick focused his mind and energy in locating Zenia's exact whereabouts. It was an ability that he recently discovered, and he was still trying to improve it. That ability gave him a wild idea to test his teleportation skills and see if he could bring it up to the next level. 

He learned how to calculate the distance with the help of Duke Gordon, who did not let him rest until he fully grasped the lesson. He had finished three excruciating lessons from Duke Gordon. It was difficult but worth it. He was glad that he met someone like Duke Gordon and Roy to help him out. 

Panic began to creep into his heart. He also felt an iniquitous presence while he was trying to locate Zenia. If he was not mistaken, the Dark Magic Lord must be behind it, but why?

Jorick knew that the Dark Magic faction was after Vaughn, who had a pure spirit. Jorick could also detect Vaughn's presence due to his proximity to Zenia, but he could not sense his pure spirit anymore. He was certain that when they were in the port of Venetia dealing with Azer and his men, he sensed that pure spirit within Vaughn's body. Now, he could no longer feel it.

'Did I make a mistake in my calculation that day? How come he only got a tiny bit of pure spirit in him?'

He was also certain that the dark presence was targeting the ship that Vaughn and Zenia had boarded. But, he was uncertain whether it was after Vaughn or Zenia. It could be targetting the both of them. 

Jorick did not notice that he was emitting an insurmountable amount of magic. No one in the Palace of the Crown Prince was affected by it, except the magic practitioners. Jorick put a barrier around the room where Richaem was sleeping, and it did not reach his brother, who was sleeping soundly. 

Roy felt restless when he felt something in the wind that blew in his direction. They were having tea in the garden outside Wolstan's quarters. Both men could not fall asleep after Jorick went to talk to them about his dream. Wolstan was worrying about the safety of Vaughn and Zenia, and Roy kept thinking about the ominous meaning of Jorick's dream.

Roy panicked and suddenly stood up. Wolstan was startled by his friend's sudden movement. He knew that Roy must've sensed something. 

"What's wrong?"

Roy put his index finger on his lips, "Shh."

Roy tried to locate the source of that magic and followed the path leading to the training ground. Wolstan followed his friend and both men came running to the direction that Jorick had taken earlier. They thought that someone had infiltrated the Palace of the Crown Prince without alerting anyone.

Wolstan did not expect that there might be an intruder. He did not bring his sword along with him. He saw a wooden stick on the way and picked it up. It was not much of a weapon, but it could still help him in case he needed to fight. 

When they reached the training ground, they saw Jorick's body seemed to be disappearing. He was obviously in pain, but he tried to muffle his scream.

The old friends saw a shimmering light enveloped Jorick's body. They ran as fast as they could to help Jorick. But before they could reach him, Jorick disappeared right in front of them.