The faint sound of small animals hidden in the woods took over the silence as En and Kraden walked to their destination. As the clouds allowed the sunlight to bathe the land from time to time, for a moment the tapping of their shoes hitting the gray walkway joined the singing of the creatures they couldn't see.
En curled his fingers around the white flowers, examining his surroundings as they strolled down the path. Large trees with black trunks and blue leaves filled most of the area. Some of the saplings' leaves could be seen spread on the ground, awarding a brighter color to the dark soil.
He focused his view back on the path ahead, wondering how long they had walked since leaving the small town. Now that he thought about it, it felt as though it had been several minutes.
"I never realized the place where past kings rest was so far from town," said En, breaking the silence.
"You think so?" Kraden tilted his head a little. "It's not really far, actually. You must be really anxious to reach there and feel as if time is passing fast."
En's brows rose. "It could be."
It wasn't the first time En was visiting that place. Although he didn't visit his ancestors that much, except in moments his father would request his presence, he remembered that the trip to reach the cemetery didn't feel so dragging. He agreed with Kraden, maybe the anxiousness of seeing his father's grave was the reason he felt that way.
As he thought of his father, he tightened his grip on the delicate flowers, realizing that seeing his father's grave would set in stone that he was really gone forever. He breathed in, trying to keep calm. He couldn't express those kinds of emotions now. Not in front of Kraden. Not ever.
He set in his mind to be a man and be strong.
The clock ticked for a bit more as the duo explored the land. Slowly, slowly, En noticed that the pathway expanded the more they strolled, shifting into a wide clearing with a small number of trees spread around. On the horizon, he could see signs of infrastructure as he spotted tall white walls hiding the environment behind them.
"We're almost there." Kraden increased his pace.
En replied with a nod, breathing in again as his heart suddenly spread nervousness. He tried to follow Kraden's pace as he wondered why he was feeling so nervous. He was only going to see his father's grave. There was nothing to feel nervous about, yet his heart couldn't stop racing.
As they slowly reached the area with tall white walls and silver gates that had two statues of dragons standing on either side of the entrance, En saw two people walking toward them. Approaching the duo, he saw that one was a slim woman in her early forties and the other was a fit man with long dark hair.
En's brows rose as he recognized the individuals not far from him.
"Sister Reina," said Kraden as they reached them, "What a great surprise. I never thought I would cross paths with you here."
Reina gazed at them. As she blinked her dark brown eyes which had shades of yellow on the contours, En noticed that his aunt looked older than the last time he saw her, which was almost a year ago. The wrinkles around the corner of her eyes were more visible and the strands of gray hair were noticeable on her long dark brown hair that cascaded on her left shoulder with a low ponytail.
"Ah, Kraden," she said with widened eyes. "What a surprise. What brings you here? My brother's burial wasn't long ago and I'm guessing, you have been at the funeral."
"You're right; I was there." Kraden touched En's shoulder. "I'm here to accompany this boy. He wasn't in there when his father was buried and didn't have the opportunity to visit him until now."
YOU ARE READING
The Fallen Prince
Fantasy♌-- Book III of the Astral Guardians Series --♈ To fulfill his late mother's dream has always been En's aim in life. Even though he's not sure he will succeed bringing peace between Eteria and Celestia, he promised himself to at least become the nex...
