Chapter 54 - Departure

Still sat as if she were a statue, princess Gallienne waited. A day had passed since she sent Piers to Dorchester. The sun's blazing heat didn't affect her highness however, the same heat which melted people down in Staxius's home province – proved to be beneficial here. Neither was it cold nor was it hot, a perfect balance, the wind, and subtle breeze added to the picturesque scene. Eyes fixed on Brisnet Heights; her reflection was cut short by Theodore who brought her the scroll from castle Garsley.

"Cunning, very cunning." She smiled upon reading it, "- the people in charge of Dorchester are very perceptive. However, this attempt to provoke me into not attacking is but a waste of energy. Arda will have her freedom." Lazily, she crumbled the well-written letter, stood up, and threw it in the direction of Dorchester's noble district. Within that same motion; after the throw was made, she turned around and headed for her room.

"Princess Gallienne," two knocks were heard afterward. The young butler in training was sent to her room once more. This time, however, he didn't shudder for he'd grown resistant to her aura. The door swung open almost hitting him. Nimbly, he stepped back and avoided any injuries.

"What is it?" she asked sharply without wasting time.

"Her majesty the queen has ordered me to give you this." A letter bearing a red and gold seal with the Ardanian crest; a tree, was handed to her. "Insolence, how dare they order me around." Her hands tightened into a fist. Half of the letter tore apart by her fit of rage. "You boy," her gaze changed from the letter to the unsuspecting butler.

"Y-yes," his voice broke.

"Wait for me a moment, I have a job for you." The door slammed shut. On both occasions, the door wasn't opened physically, rather, the princess used magic. His newly found confidence began to seep away; questions invaded his thoughts.

"Am I going to get killed? Will I become her new torture partner? Is my life as a virtuous man over? Mom is going to kill me." The shoulders relaxed, the confident pose he held broke down, it was tiring on his stomach as well as lungs for it was difficult to maintain. The sliver of hope he had of living a peaceful life slipped away. Out of fear, he backed away slowly and crouched down beside the wall.

On his right, a display figure bearing black armor and to his right a small table on which two cubes rested. It stood out among the plethora of relics and valuables, the cubes were mundane at best; one was black while the other white. The white one was laid to rest on the black one.

"Theodore," she called out.

"How may I be of service?" he lifted the bed sheets and knelt beside the princess who wore nothing but a nightgown, during the day.

"I want you to escort that boy outside to Arda; I personally want him to be the envoy. He's inexperience and lacks common courtesy, this lack of manners will anger the Ardanian people for they are very strict when it comes to speaking with that so-called queen. If they so much as lift a finger or let out a slight glimpse of animosity; I want you to defend that boy's life at all cost. In no way are you to slay without prejudice, only the people who try and hurt the boy are to be eliminated. Now go, you have your orders."

"As you wish."

Nonchalantly, Theodore headed outside, grabbed the boy, and got ready. The boy was dressed elegantly and without holding back: the most expensive suits, accessories, and shoes were made available for him to use. A few minutes later, aided by Theodore; the young boy looked as handsome if not even more so than a noble. Hence, the envoy accompanied by his escort was sent out.

The evening drew close, the sun's bright light changed into one of a dimmer and dormant color. Clouds were nowhere to be found, castle Garsley felt empty, in particular, the throne room. Only Millicent sat with Undrar beside her. In front, directly under the massive chandelier: Staxius, the silver guardians, Fenrir, and Eira. Everyone was ready to head out. Staxius looked the same with the exception of a blackish colored scabbard with a golden dragon embroidered in it on his hip. Next to him, Eira stood with a massive backpack and a hat over her head. The silver guardians were all armored up with the fabled adamantite armor which they had stored away as a sort of punishment for letting Staxius die. However, seeing as he was alive; the punishment to deliberately make them less powerful was lifted. Lastly, Fenrir, she wore nothing but a skimpy buttoned-up shirt with tight pants and a massive backpack filled with potions, spare weapons, and other items which may prove useful.

"I guess it's time for us to part ways then," Staxius spoke as everyone intently stared him down.

"Indeed, we shall be leaving first seeing as we have a lot of ground to cover." Adelana soon left with everyone nodding their heads as a sign of goodbye.

"See you soon master," Fenrir jumped in for a hug, and began to lick his face; she transformed into her usual wolf form. Ayleth and Annet were going to travel on her back seeing as she was faster than any normal vehicle in her true form. The decoys were to be sent to scout as well as disrupt anything that could hinder the evacuation process.

Only Eira and Staxius remained, their gaze continually met and averted each other. They both were scared to speak to one another, for Staxius it was out of necessity – he didn't want to answer any of her questions. For Eira on the other hand, it was totally unrelated, she was embarrassed to look at him.

"Seeing as the sun is about to set, Undrar, Millicent, I'll take my leave." He turned around and left, giving his signature wave, the door closed. A pin-drop silence followed afterward.

"You missed your chance to bid him farewell," Undrar added jokingly.

"It's hard to speak to him when his face is devoid of emotions." She sighed.

"Eira, my darling, I'm going to miss you." Millicent jumped out of her chair and ran towards Eira. A tight and uncomfortable hug followed. "I'll miss you too, aunt," she freed herself from Millicent's arms that locked around her like iron chains. "So, you didn't convince him to let you accompany him in the end, all that talk about you spending some quality father and daughter time, a waste of time isn't it?"

"Stop it, it wasn't a waste of time; us spending time together isn't going to happen. Father is secretive and stays alone, either scheming, trying to figure out some problem, or making weapons and inventing spells. That man is too much for me." Her frown turned upside down.

"Well, he did give you a goal now didn't he?"

"Yes, I'll win that inter-magical tournament and make the Haggard name known to all once more." She exclaimed.

"Keep that energy for when the car comes by, your trip will be long and not to mention you'll be transferring during mid-year, without going through the examinations. You better stand out there, and lastly, enjoy every moment of it. For the next four years, you're going to live alone, away from us. You better come back home with a trophy and an SSS-rank." Undrar concluded her speech and smiled. As if copying Staxius, Eira left the same way and gave out the same wave. The room dropped dead silent.

"Now then Millicent, we've got our jobs to do, let's make castle Garsley a haven as well as a stronghold."

"Undrar," Millicent's tone seemed saddened, "-you knew, didn't you. You knew that Staxius never truly was back with us; I get the feeling that he isn't the same guy anymore."

"Time goes by, people change, some die and some live, that is life, my dear Millicent. Don't get swept under the flow of time, live for the present, don't regret the past and don't fear the future, that is how one is meant to live."

Outside, a large obnoxious rumbling faded into the distance, the silver guardians were gone. As a gift for returning and as a sign of their newly reformed alliance, Thunderstain sent over two cars.

One had a fiery red color while the other was as black as the void. As expected, Staxius took the black one, the car that was sent over was newly made; a new generation of vehicle, more performing and much faster with a slick design. The engines on these cars were robust, any amount of mana no matter how dense it was, the car could take it.

The beauty of this iron steed took Staxius by surprise. He was baffled by how it looked, elegant as well as highly sophisticated. All the research and discovery made in the past sixteen years were embedded into that single vehicle. He wasn't the only one however, most of the villagers standing there were mesmerized, a crowd soon surrounded both cars. Some spoke of it being a curse while others thought of it as the god's transport. The people of Dorchester weren't really known for their intelligence; this was due to a poor upbringing, away from all the technology and knowledge.

"Hey," a soft palm grazed Staxius's back softly. "Hey there Eira," he smiled. "What the hell are those?" Eira saw the cars for the first time. "AREN'T THEY EXPENSIVE." She yelled, her legs shook, she realized that the vehicles Staxius got gifted were worth more than one million gold coins. Only six were ever made, the black one was named Shadow, while the red one was known as the Red-fury.

"F-father, those cars were made by m-mages, e-each one has different properties as well as functions; they are basically moving weapons. W-where did you g-get those." Her mouth remained wide open.

"I mean, there's nothing much to it really, Thunderstain gave me them as a sign of our renewed alliance." He casually explained.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN RENEWED ALLIANCE WITH THUNDERSTAIN?" She took a minute to compose herself, "You mean that Thunderstain? The information brokers, the allegedly nonexistent corporation that only nobles have access too?"

"Yeah, that's them. They aren't that well hidden, to be honest, their leader is a bit on the shy side, but we get along just fine."

"S-so you p-personally k-know the leader of that organization? Anyone who knows that name is either killed or vanishes mysteriously." Her hand covered her face, she was embarrassed.

"What, I know I have good contacts, I'm not being cavalier about this, I know I'm awesome." He pulled out his tongue jokingly. "Here," he placed the key to the Red-fury in her hands.

"W-what are you doing?" She unwillingly dropped the key, instantly he caught it and spoke, "It's a gift from me to you. I have two of the damned things, sell it, crash it, do whatever, just don't let anyone else drive it if it belongs to you. Promise me that and you can enjoy it."

"Surely you jest father, that thing is more precious than my life." She continued refusing.

"Shut up," his voice got stern, "-have you forgotten that you're the daughter of a noble? You belong to the Haggard name, yes, unknown now but trust me, the Haggard family will become a force to be feared. You need to make an impression, also if the director of the academy is still Paien, send him my regards and tell him that you are my prodigy."

"T-thank you father." She accepted in the end. Upon closer inspection, said cars only held two-seat and the front bared a crest, the crest of a dragon, the crest of the Haggard family.

"Excuse us if you would, but you guys are in the way," Staxius spoke, no one paid attention. "FREE DRINKS AT THE TAVERN," he yelled. Almost like a pack of starving wolves, they rushed inside while screaming, 'ya-hoo'.

"This is where we part ways now Eira, have fun in Rosespire, I shall see you soon." Both doors closed, the car turned on, the sound it made felt like a thunderbolt hitting the ground; the flashlights turned on, "greetings Staxius Haggard." Both cars simultaneously responded to the users.

"Staxius, I'm sending over two cars, one for you and one for Undrar but she probably won't accept it so give it to Eira instead, I've already programmed the red one to respond to her mana. May they help you in the future battles to come. This is all I can do, I'm sorry." While sitting, Staxius remembered part of the conversation he had with Rose last night.

"Rose, you truly are awesome. Time has come for us to depart and save Dorchester." Like flashes of lightning, both cars vanished, one took the right while the other left, hence, each member took to their separate ways even if it's temporary.