The Crimson Prince： Awakening 38 Chapter 9: Loss And Hope

'Find them.' Leo woke with a start. That had clearly been Will's voice. It was just as clear as it was when he heard it at the Java Joint. Before he opened his eyes, he saw two rows of cottages lining a street. It was too dark to make out for sure but he thought he saw fields on either side as well.

Sitting up in his sleeping bag, Leo stretched for a moment. The spot he took to sleep was undoubtedly where Will slept when he lived in the small area. The tree seemed like the right place to lay a sleeping bag.

Slowly, Leo began to put on the old tan farmers clothing Bianca had found in the cottage. They had already stored their clothes within their bags the night before so as to not forget. Lastly he took off his gla.s.ses. Something he had never had the ability to do before. His aura sharpened his senses including sight. For the past few weeks, he only kept them on as a sense of normalcy in the chaos he had been thrown into. There's no such thing as normal anymore. He thought as he stared at the spectacles. With a sigh, he put them in his pack.

Looking at the cottage, Leo wondered just how long Bianca was planning to sleep. The sky was just starting to lighten up as he got out of his sleeping bag and went for his friends room.

"Time to wake up." Leo said as he knocked on the door. "We are leaving in a few hours."

Almost as if she wasn't even asleep, Bianca rose from the bed and went outside. She was already dressed in the plain tan rags.

The two of them sat down outside as Leo took out a frying pan with a pack of eggs from his bag and summoned a flame. His concentration was enough to keep the fire above the earth as he heated up the pan. Bianca produced b.u.t.ter, bread, a few plates and utensils from her own bag.

Making breakfast, they didn't say much as the scrambled eggs were being cooked. Maya summoned a flame and toasted a few slices of bread to go with their meal.

When the food was served, Leo chuckled. "An upgrade from jerky I suppose." he said with a smile. He could almost see the drooling expression Will would have had if they were along for the ride in his first travel through the land.

The two of them ate mostly in silence as the sun slowly rose. When their meal was finished, Maya took the dishes to the well to wash while Leo packed up camp.

Within an hour, Leo and Bianca stared at the cottage. They left it the same way they found it. The only thing that showed they were ever there was the plain rags they wore.

In moments, Leo turned to Bianca. His ring began to s.h.i.+mmer in silver flame as he summoned his sword.

The two of them agreed on a routine before they left. Whenever they could train, they would for at least an hour.

Bianca looked at her own ring. She had gotten so used to fighting alongside Leo against Will in their sparring sessions, it seemed wrong when she looked up to see Leo's sword in his hand facing her.

As she looked at the sword, she thought of Will's. Her companions blade wasn't so different from her boyfriends. It had the same silver blade and guard with gold wiring the hilt in intricate patterns, almost like a spider web. The only difference was the silver aura surrounding Leo.

When Will relied on his weapon, Bianca noticed the emotion he alway had. He was always desperate or angry, his aura reflecting his intentions. The crimson gold he emitted always seemed to cry out to burn his enemies.

Bianca looked at the silver aura surrounding Leo. There was no emotion surrounding him or the blade, it was like the weapon was just as cold and calculating as the owner. Whenever he drew the weapon, it seemed as if Leo always lost his playfulness.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Bianca activated her ring. Crimson flames engulfed her as she prepared herself. The games wrapped around her as if to become armor. The more she used it, the more it felt as if she were wearing it instead of the flames only surrounding her.

Will's words rang in her ear. She was to defend him as if armor. That was part of her vow, what have her the lineage weapon. Standing in a cloak of flame, she couldn't help but feel defenseless for him.

The two of them sparred for only half an hour. The awkwardness of Leo only attacking Bianca felt off. The two were used to attacking like a sword and s.h.i.+eld, not as separate ent.i.ties.

Finis.h.i.+ng with nothing truly eventful, the two friends allowed their weapons to be stored back in their rings before heading down the trail once again.

The wagon marks veered of in the direction they had to take, the opposite way of which they came. With bags in hand, the two friends set off once again within the wood line of the road.

Within an hour, Leo spotted the first patrol. There were only two of them on horses. In crimson breastplates With gold boots, gauntlets and helmets, they looked like a mockery of Will's aura.

"What are they thinking?" one of the knights asked as they rode past. "Killing so many, What exactly are we supposed to be protecting?"

"We don't get paid to ask questions." the other said. "Besides, it was only the elderly."

Bianca could hear a sigh coming from the other knight. "I remember the days when n.o.body had to die."

"Those kids did have an odd look to them though." the other guard mentioned. "It was determination, not mourning. It didn't suit the occasion If you know what I mean."

If he wasn't wearing a helmet, Bianca could almost picture the disappointment that must have been shown in his eyes.

With a nod of his head, Leo moved further into the woods to avoid detection. The two of them used their aura to mask any noises as they made their way past.

A few hundred feet out of the area, Leo and Bianca moved closer to the road once more. The dense trees seemed to be thinning out.

Within another few hours, the woods disappeared from view making way for crops. With their cover all but gone, Leo and Bianca moved back to the road.

In the distance, Leo could make out a few buildings coming up. As they got closer, the image Will left in his mind played out in front of him. "We found them." he said quietly to himself.

Though they were at the edge of town, Leo could almost feel the other auras awaken.

As they walked closer, it felt as if the place was deserted. No one was in the field working. No kids were in the street. All of the cottage doors were closed. If not for the auras he sensed, Leo would have thought the place was a ghost town.

"I know you are here!" Leo allowed his voice to ring out in the deserted town. "We are friends of The Crimson Prince!"

Doors slowly opened as kids no older than they were piled out. Heads looked their way as tear streaked faces shown with vengeance emerged.

A man who looked to be in his twenties in the same tan grabs as Leo and Bianca led a group of at least twelve kids made their way to them. He had sandy blonde hair and from a distance Leo could see his blue eyes Two of the kids lined behind him, one was smaller with shoulder length hair, the other was Leo's height with shorter hair.

"He said his friends would come." the older man said as the group stopped a few feet short of Leo. "How do I know this isn't a trap?" he asked as he looked Leo and Bianca over skeptically.

Leo chose not to answer, instead he allowed his silver aura to s.h.i.+ne. The flames covered him from head to door. Following suit, Bianca allowed her crimson aura to come forth.

"These flames were given to us by the Crimson Prince." Leo said with a determined look. "If you are here, he has given you the gift as well." he looked over the small group of people and continued. "We can help train you, but it'll have to happen while we continue through Crystallia. If we are to rescue the prince, we need more numbers."

"What about after he is rescued?" the elder of the group spoke. "He has been gone for almost fourteen years, what would stop him from leaving again?"

Leo looked the man in the eye. "Will found out he was from this world almost seven months ago." he made his voice as sympathetic as he could. "As soon as he got to this land, he saw the injustices that had been committed in his father's name. We are not here to look for survivors." Leo looked at the thirteen with a serious expression. "We are looking for volunteers. Those willing to bring the Prince back in order to storm Ebonhart."

A few of the faces lifted as hope returned to their eyes. "The king has been kept from his kingdom for too long." Leo let his voice boom out around them, his declaration heard by their ears as well as their hearts. "Join us to put the wrongs done to your people right, to cleanse this land of corruption, and to end the advisors rule!"

All skepticism left the eldest members face. He closed the gap between himself and Leo with an outstretched hand. "My name is Roy," he said as Leo grasped his hand. "That was spoken like a true advisor to the king."

Leaving Leo with a confused look on his face, the man named Roy turned to the group of twelve. "What is your decision?" he asked them. One by one, the faces of the teenagers lit up as they cheered at the hope for the future.

"Good. Then line up!" he yelled and at once they all made a line without so much as a fuss. "We will all present ourselves to to the friends of the Crimson Prince."

Before he continued, Leo stopped him. "If we are all to work together in the future, you may as well know our names." he gestured to Bianca who seemed to be a little overwhelmed. "This is Bianca, and I am Leo." he pointed to himself. "We grew up with your prince. He has been a great friend to us through the years. I know for a fact he would thank every one of you if he were here."

Roy turned around to Leo once more. "He already has thanked us. By giving us the chance to fight for our right to live. We have all lost someone last night, it was only to the homes where the d.u.c.h.ess of darkness went that he was able to gift." Leo a.s.sumed it was a name for Maya. "He left me a message to give you as well." Roy gestured to Leo's bag. "He told me to have you look in his bag."

Leo eyed Roy for only a moment before shrugging off the pack. In moments, he pulled Will's pack from his own and opened it.

Usually, the bag was charmed to only allow the owner to grab something from the inside, but as soon as Leo put his hand inside he felt a large wooden object. With some effort, he hauled out a large wooden box and set it before the group.

Opening the chest, Leo's eyes grew wide. With a sigh he looked at Bianca. "I swear this man planned his own capture."

Confused, Bianca looked into the crate. She couldn't help but burst into laughter. Leo only smiled in astonishment as his eyes swept over the cast amount of rings within the chest. He could tell only by looking at the quant.i.ty. It was enough to supply an army.

As the entire group was already lined up, Leo gestured Roy forward.

"State your name." Leo said with authority in his voice.

"Roy." the other spoke, his eye never leaving Leo's.

"Roy," Leo's voice rang around the group. "Do you pledge to be a friend and weapon to the Prince of Ebonhart, the crown capital of Crystallia?"

Roy's ears perked up to the familiar pledge, he must have heard it when he was younger. He was old enough to have seen what the kingdom was like all those years ago. With widened glistening eyes, he nodded. "Yes."

Leo summoned his sword from his ring, the familiar silver aura surrounded them in flames. To Leo's surprise, the silver took a almost invisible hue of gold. As the dim gold and silver flames sprang in a cyclone around them, he put the flat of the blade on Roy's shoulder. "Welcome soldier, to the Royal Flame Crusade."

As Leo talked, Bianca took a ring from the chest and slid it on his finger. Immediately, the rings gem turned a deep red. As the changes happened, his aura sprang to life to join Leo's. In a moment, his ring took shape of a hand axe. Unlike Leo's sword or Will's , Roy's weapon was obsidian black with red wiring.

Roy looked at his new weapon and back to Leo. "I will treat it as my greatest treasure."

Leo nodded. "You should, this weapon is irreplaceable."

Roy walked past Leo and took his place among his new ranks. He stood to the right of Leo as Bianca was on the left. He kept his weapon drawn in front of him as he cupped his hands in front of him, closely resembling a guard posture.

Leo's eyes went to Bianca and nodded in her direction. When she looked into them, she almost gasped. His eyes had changed to silver with specks of gold. "Lets continue."

Not trusting her voice, she only nodded to Leo to continue. What happened to the funny kid I hung out with all these years? She thought as she watched him recruit each member of the group.

She hadn't noticed up until that point, but he wasn't wearing his gla.s.ses. The nerdy look he once had with his sweat s.h.i.+rt he would always wear along with the gla.s.ses and long hair have him an endearing look. Now that the two parts of his ident.i.ty were gone, Bianca felt as if she were looking at an entirely different person. Confidence radiated off of him. A commanding presence was clearly visible, and his eyes at that point almost looked royal. Bianca wondered silently just how long he had been that way.

As the last member Chloe was sworn in, the gold and silver flames expanded around the group. Crimson from each of them added to the cyclone. From the flames, a voice rang out from within the minds of each member. An ancient voice with a regal air to it. Though Bianca couldn't hear it, she knew what it said. WELCOME TO THE ROYAL FLAME CRUSADE.