The Unbreakable Bow

The sacred Haal fell from his hands. The figure kept still. Despite it being under a far tree , it felt like it was inside him , gulching it , squeezing it in the process. Every bit of his body was shaking intensely. The world around him became blury as he couldn't move any muscle...

How could he forget ? Was life in Monastadt so peaceful and gentle that he forgot ? Did he simply act like it never existed? He is cursed . How can someone forget that ?

Suddenly, reality went back to normal as a hand holded his.

"Aefrine,...what is it?"

He took another peek at the figure. It disappeared.

"Nothing."

"Aefrine, please just tell me if there is something, you can tell me . What is there that you fear . Is it something I can't see?"

Damn it. What is he supposed to do now. He can't just explain it to her , can he ? Will this place become cursed, too, because of his presence? What could he do ?

It was clear what needed to be done . Enough ignoring the problem. It was simple .

"Alma, listen , I need to leave...immediately. "

"What? Wait, now? Wait , at least wait for the sun rise . Just tell me , what is it. I can help you. Dad can help . Is someone chasing you?"

"No,Alma...do you trust me ? "

"What ? "

"Do you trust me ?"

"Yes..."

"Then trust me, this once, please... I just need to leave immediately. I will go to get Larry and you go tell the king , OK? Don't worry , as soon as I leave, everything will be fine. There is nothing for you to worry about, OK? Thank you and everyone here in Monastadt, I will never remember you as long as I breathe . Thanks, really. I am sure you will be a great queen one day, and when that day comes, I will be honoured to be the one who saved you when you were little. " He took up the Haal . "I will read it every day and pray for prosperity for Tabollba. I will as well thank God for allowing me to meet a wonderful person like you despite it only being for three months. I hope you are well till we meet again . Goodbye."

"Wait , Aefrine. Isn't there anything we can do?"

"Alma , this is about me . There's no one except me who can fix it. Please just trust me this once ."

And with that, he ran as fast as he could . He didn't look behind. He just hoped that Alma would do as he told her . He used phys magic to increase his speed despite his body not being in the best condition. He didn't know how much time he had until the blury figure returned. As he finally reached his room, he slammed the door open.

"Larry, we are leaving. Give me the keys ."

"O', OK. "

He stood up and opened his jaw where he kept the three keys. As Aefrine put them in his pocket, he checked if there was anything else he should take . There wasn't really anything useful.

"Let's go , Larry."

"Yes ,master."

They left the room and ran down the hall . This was the first time that Aefrine wished not to meet any servants, considering that Larry is now with him. He didn't want to be guided anymore. He is just going to leave . To where?

Aefrine found out that he didn't have the answer to that question until he remembered his discussion with Alma . He is supposed to head south and go to Olson, and there he will get a boat and head to Hamilton , right? So,where is the exit? He never left the castle or entered it, for that matter .

Damn it.

He does need guidance again .

"Aefrine!"

He turned behind. It was the king and his daughter.

"Your majesty, thank you for everything, I wish I could stay, but I need to leave immediately. "

"Aefrine, are you sure that this can't wait for tomorrow morning?"

"I really wish it could, but it can't."

"Ok. Are you sure that we can't help you in any way or "

"Please, your majesty, the only way you can help me is to guide me to the exit."

"...fine. Follow me to the library. "

"The Library, OK. "

He knows where the library is . He ran as fast as he could .

"Hey, Aefrine, wait!"

Alma and Larry quickly caught up .

"Aefrine, is it this serious?"

"Yes."

"Can't you give me a clue, at least?"

"Well, this is my problem only. There is no need for you to interfere. I will fix it. Just trust me , and don't ever worry about me, OK."

"As you wish..."

They arrived at the library, and Alma went immediately went to the bookshelf that had the secret passage and opened it . The king quickly followed, and they all entered.

"Be careful, kids . The stairs are quite slippy, aren't they ?"

They were doing down the stairs as fast as someone could go , not like going down is easy.

They reached the final destination where the Utahraptors were kept . The king ordered the guards to bring out Aefrine's Utahraptor. As soon as it was out, Aefrine went to ride its back, but the king stopped him.

"Aefrine, I know that you are in a hurry, but just wait a few moments. This is very important for you."

"But - "

Hans went closer to his ear and whispered:

"Listen, is this something you need to do alone or you prefer to do alone?"

He thought about for some moments and then answered:

"Both."

"Both?"

"Yes,both."

Aefrine took the king's big hand and put in it one of his keys. He had put the green key.

"Your majesty, I thought about your suggestion and I agree, so don't worry , I will return. "

"Ok. Take well."

Alma was looking from far ,still debating with herself if she should eardrop in their conversation or not, while taking occasionally stares at Larry, who was standing next to her.

"Listen, take care of him, Ok?"

"I don't need you to tell me t'at. I will do a muc' better job at protecting my master t'an you ."

"Eh ?"

They were all interrupted by the entrance of Duke Rudolf from another doorframe . He was carrying quite a lot of stuff, and he dropped all of them as soon as he arrived.

"So, Aefrine, what makes you such in hurry that you want to leave in the middle of the night?"

"Rudolf. I already said-"

"Princess, I think I asked a very reasonable question. "

For some reason, Aefrine remembered what Alma had said :

"Rudolf told me that he still doesn't trust you after everything. "

"Is there something that you should tell us ?"

"No, there is just something that I remembered to do ."

"And perhaps you might want to tell us what that thing is ?"

"Rudolf-"

"Your majesty, this is for your saf- "

"I am going to meet someone. "

"Eh?"

He completely made that up . It wasn't a good lie, but it wasn't really a lie in the first place to some degree...

"Rudolf give him his stuff. "

"As you wish, your majesty. "

On the floor was a shoulder bag and a satchel and a new silver hand-axe , a small round shield , a copper mask, and a golden pauldron. The Duke gave the axe to Aefrine, saying:

"This is an enchanted axe it can send to the target it makes impact with ,a small shockwave, making them struggle in motion at least . It does have some backclash on the user , so don't rely on it too much."

And then he gave him the shield .

"This is also enchanted. It has the ability to condense the air around it in a big plate shield to provide better protection against projectiles for a few moments. I wouldn't rely too much on an air shield. If you ask me but you have good agility, I suppose you are unlikely to find yourself in a situation that you need it."

Finally, he gave him the paulton and showed how to wear.

"This one was made by the king himself. It reduces the mana needed to use phys magic. This will help you in particular, so you don't fall victim to mana exhaustion again."

"There were other stuff I was planning to make, but you need to leave now , so... I hope that will be enough. "

"It is already too much ,your majesty. "

"And now for you."

Rudolf said, looking at Larry. He pulled out from the shoulder bag a big black cloak and put on the skeleton. It covered him all except for his face.

"I don't suppose you plan on travelling with a walking skeleton in plain view , right ?"

"Oh, yeah..."

Then Rudolf took the mask and finished covering Larry's face . It looked a bit hilarious. Its eyes were small, but its eyebrows were big . Not to mention, it's a small mouth and moustache with a little chin . Its expression was neutral.

"This is also enchanted. It can shoot fire beams with medium heat. You just better not hit your master with it ."

"I would never do t'at."

"Are you sure that he can use it? I mean , he doesn't have blood ... where will he get his mana? "

Questioned Alma.

"He is walking skeleton. He will figure it out on his own. And finally, Aefrine take these."

He gave the satchel and the shoulder bag.

"The shoulder bag contains food, water and some clothing. Not too fancy ,so you don't draw attention but are acceptable. And the satchel has your money about 1 million Celtonic marks . And your new identity card, you are now born here in Monastadt on the 25th of May ,503 AWW, and your new surname is Sven, and you are currently jobless. Is that OK with you, Aefrine Sven ?"

"Yeah, it is fine ."

I mean, I wasn't born with a name . I could care less about a surname.

"Now, put your finger here and make your mark."

"Ok?"

He put his finger in a bottle of ink and marked his card . His fingerprint was now present .

"Er,... About the money, it isn't 1 million a bit too much. "

Oh, and I don't even know how much a million is. I can barely count to twenty-two...

"His majesty, wanted to give 3 millions as was the reward for the rescuing of his daughter but looking at the current state of the kingdom, I convinced him to only give 1 because that is probably more than enough. You don't want theifes following you around. Plus, Alma told me you are planning to join a guild , so money isn't really an issue."

"Yeah, you are right."

"So, that is it. You are ready to go ."

The axe fixed to his belt as well as his shield and his bags all packed he got on the Utahraptor and prepared his whip. Larry climbed up, holding the lamp that keeps away predators. Hans went closer to him and told him:

"Listen, Aefrine, I feel like I don't have the right to say this, but people out there are not as kind as you . Do not trust anyone easily, Ok? Can you promise me that ?"

"Ok, your majesty. "

"Well then, may you have a great journey. Make sure to come back."

"I will."

" Wait ,do you remember the way I showed you last time in the woods , just follow it and you will probably reach Olson in the matter of two days ..Do you want someone to accompany you there ?"

"No, thanks.....Thank you all for everything. I will never forget any of you all . I hope you all well..."

He wanted to say more, but the words were failing him.

"May god bless you all."

"And you as well."

And he whipped the beast, and it went running at full .

"TAKE CARE , AEFRINE!" Shouted Alma as she waved goodbye.

"I WILL !"

Before he went too far from them , he used soul reading.

Both the king and his daughter's souls were fulled with anticipation and joy , they only differ because Alma had empathy while Hans had fear. However, Rudolf was completely different. His soul had disappointment and digust. The blob was still there .

I can guess he never trusted me .

Aefrine didn't know how to feel about it. There wasn't much to do about it. What matters now is what awaits him outside the tunnel. He continued going to the darkness.

As Aefrine got out of view, Rudolf expressed his feelings.

"What a bizarre human . Too bizarre, if you ask me."

"Rudolf. "

"Let's hope the princesse doesn't get into trouble that we need outsiders to solve ."

"Rudolf!"

"Your majesty, you can't tell me that I am the only one who has doubts about him . He isn't a random peasant. A spirit bow , a moving skeleton, keys that change fate, does that sound normal to you ?"

"Who knows ? Stop talking like you know everything about everyone. "

"Well, at least I know what that skeleton is ."

"Rudolf, I already told you that you are just making assumptions. "

"Then what is that thing ?"

"It has too many emotions to be considered a demon ."

"Says who???"