Cinder-knight (bxb) ||completed

13th rule| back.

The tweets of robins and wrens polished the morning breeze as the sun liberated an array of silver streaks. The fresh scent of Lavender was flitting in the castle dorms, battling hard against the smell of yesterday's waste to ultimately gain vantage.

Eric, who was up and running, stretched his limbs while brushing his teeth. The effects of the magic Charming had used on him were long gone and for that, the knight was grateful more than anything.

But once seeing the stalls that weren't crowded by bathing, laughing and whistling knights anymore, unlike how messy it used to be, the red head found himself being depressed. He couldn't help but wonder what his friends must be doing. Had they found the princess? Or at least a good place to stay the night?

Talking about the princess-

Eric's eyes widened and he almost slipped down the bath floor. 'Fuck fuck, I forgot!' he unconsciously did a small spiral and ran out, not even managing to finish his duty at the garderobe as he buckled down to work in only a towel. The other knights howled at his half naked frame that stumbled across the keep in urgency.

"Oh my lord!" he screeched and got into his clothes, while some who were still sleeping on carelessly-sewn rugs whined and tossed from side to side. As Eric puffed his cheeks, his feet shook on top of the the last tread he had descended down to. Now, when the deadline for him to face the prince started coming nearer, he couldn't help but gulp.

The wind hit the donjon in cohesive waves while the stony gargoyles sieged in their spots, Eric, on the other hand was dying internally as he ran to the kingdom gates, halting in his tracks once seeing there was no one waiting for him at the portcullis.

Did Prince Henry leave without him?

Had he been too late?

Numerous thoughts circulated in his mind while he looked around, appearing as a switched-on hurdy-gurdy to the guards on patrol, who stared at him in confusion. He was spinning like a carousel at a carnival, stuttering out words that borne no meaning behind themselves.

If Prince Charming had gone alone, then how long would it take for him to be killed? Attacked by terrorists? Or even worse, dragons?

But he had to be sure, so just in case, he ran to the battling ground. No prince was there. He lunged towards the human-mage quarters, only to come back to his original spot feeling dejected. One by one, he searched the kitchen, prince's room, throne room, donjon and even the dungeon.

Yet he couldn't find Prince Charming, so he ended up strolling towards the horse shed although he was sure the prince wouldn't be there.

But at least he might be able to find Avianthan, which was a plus.

"Sir? Is Avianthan here?" he asked the goatee bearded groom from before, who pointed out a stall at the corner of the shed without turning to look at him. He was petting the same foal, and Eric stared at them in awe for a bit before walking towards the said stall, sighing in glee once he saw Avianthan sleeping soundly in a pit of hay.

By staring at her peaceful frame, Eric failed to understand how such an angel-looking thing could get so damn violent. But since everyone's attention was on the case of Cinderella's misplacement and not on anything else, the trouble Avianthan had caused during the parade was completely forgotten. Thus, Eric and the mare was let off the hook.

"Can I get a horse?" Eric heard someone asking the groom, and that was enough for him to snap his head behind, feeling tingles surging through his body at the sight of Prince Charming, who turned to him and smiled a little before reverting his gaze back to the stablesman.

The groom in question, didn't seem to recognise the member of the imperial family. In fact, he seemed too ignorant to do so. But Charming didn't look like he minded.

"And who are you supposed to be, kid?"

"I'm from the third order and I've been chosen to search for the princess. If you don't want to trust me, I can show you my flag. It's still in the trophy chamber though." lied the prince, as smooth as possible.

However, the groom didn't look so sure, "Why is that I've never seen you? My memory is pretty good, and I certainly don't remember someone like you coming to take your horse for the parade or patrolling around here."

"I got recruited yesterday," Charming smiled, "I uhm.. I was trained outside, so it explains why you've never seen me earlier."

Uncertainty flashed before the groom's eyes as he stared at the prince for a good two minutes. But then he sighed and signalled the royal to pick a horse, making the blond grin up at him before choosing one of the well-built geldings.

"Can I take Avianthan? I'm paired up with him for the quest so.. I need a horse too," Eric added slowly, and in return, the man let out a tired sigh.

"You know what, do whatever the fuck you want."

---------

After a lot of trouble they had to go through at the gates, (which was being interrogated by several knights about why they were heading outside, and also some stating that they had never seen Henry in the knight-quarters before) the prince and the ginger managed to ride their horses past the capital before an hour could pass.

Except for the few times Avianthan tried to jump on nearby food stalls, not a lot of things happened. Eric was looking at Charming's back as the prince was taking the lead, and he couldn't help but laugh quietly at the way the younger bounced up and down- although that's certainly not the way a knight should behave.

"So ginger, do you perhaps have an idea about where the witch's cavern could possibly be?"

The knight glanced at his Prince for a second before looking back at the road. Eric let out a hum while inwardly fighting the butterflies that danced in his belly. But it was hard, since the all mighty prince's back never left his sight.

Eric couldn't understand how Charming could be so charming while clad in a dirt stained waistcoat that was low-cut, a plain evening shirt with single folded cuffs and a wing collar. The cufflinks, however, stood out, as two zion blue sapphires were pivoted in them, glorifying the amount of wealth that hovered behind the nobility.

"I've heard that witches normally live in abandoned castles on top of a mountain, my prince." Eric fumbled with one of his suspenders while saying so.

"Is that so?" Henry muttered, "I suppose we can travel till we're met with a hill. If not, we can just buy a map."

The knight nodded affirmatively, and after about ten minutes, the prince stopped his horse in front of a city library. He pointed at it so that his knight would know what he was up to, and Eric understood, although he didn't find it ideal to let his prince walk into such a place alone. But in the end, someone had to stay to take care of the horses, and it ended up being him.

"I'll be quick, don't worry," Charming said before disappearing into the crowd. Eric groused while clenching his fingers around the gelding's harness and grabbing Avianthan by her neck area, so that she wouldn't try to perk her muzzle at the people passing by.