Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Terra

Chapter 4 The Demon In You

Sol wasn't quite sure if what he was doing was the best thing for his Kingdom or if he was just being childish. In one month, Sol would turn 18 which means it has almost been an entire year since he obtained the Shining Giant. Leaning in on the edge of adulthood but still seen as a child by many never sat well with him. The truth is that Sol currently has more authority than most because of his status. But with it came the absurd amount of responsibility that he never thought he would think of having before picking up the sword. The very sword whose flame couldn't even hurt another star demon.

What else could he do but carry on? Since Jordan was expected to go with Crystal, the group Sol put together decided to hide away in the empty barn where they were currently keeping Sköll. As Sol, Jordan, Yvonne, and Cinder waited around for nightfall to interrogate Hendrick in his cell, Jordan tried his best to get well acquainted with Yvonne and Cinder since they had never met before. "So if you're an inventor, what kind of stuff have you made?" Jordan asked her. "A gun that shoots walnuts, a small clock that makes the most annoying sound ever when it goes off, and-" Yvonne lifted up her prosthetic leg on top of a crate as a footrest and crossed her other foot over it to get in a more relaxed position with her hands over head. She leaned back in her chair and gave him a smirk. "...this mean kicker here."

Jordan thought back on one of her answers and had a confused look on his face. "Why would you make a clock that does that? That sounds horrible." Jordan was as blunt as he could be about his response but didn't expect Yvonne's reaction. "Thanks! I made it specifically for my teacher who snores louder than a barking dog." As Sol was grooming Sköll with a brush, a thought occurred to him. "You seem to make a lot of things that annoy people. That walnut gun for instance..." Sol added. Yvonne shrugged. "Because people annoy me back. You learn how to get creative with that."

"Perhaps you can create something that can help us instead?" Cinder suggested. "Like what?" Yvonne asked. "Let's try to think. Wouldn't it be helpful to get to the border as quickly as possible? Sköll is fast but I doubt we could all ride on his back, not that he would let us anyway. This wolf is bound to follow Sol when we go and we don't need anyone using him to track us down. We can bring him with us by having him pull a wagon we can all ride in. A wagon that can handle bumpy terrain, sharp corners, and can withstand the speed the wolf travels." As sound as Cinder's logic was, Sol knew there was just one issue. Sköll's size. "We're trying to sneak around the Kingdom of Terra, not tell all of the dwarves where we are by saying, 'hey look we have a giant wolf that's bigger than a bear'."

"We can cross that bridge when the problem is more relevant. We need to keep our focus on Hendrick." Jordan suggested. Yvonne got up from her spot and started to look for materials she could use to build a wagon. "You guys can focus on Hendrick. My sweet Cinder just gave me an exciting challenge. I have a wagon to build. No one speaks to me for the next couple of hours- except you Cinder. I'm concentrating." The glow that sparked in Yvonne's eyes meant that her brain was in full throttle.

That was when Sol and Jordan took a step outside of the barn to pass the rest of their time until sundown. Sol had figured that leaving at night would have been the best option. Not as many soldiers would be awake to prevent them from committing their plan and it wasn't as if there were that many soldiers stationed in Luminar to begin with thanks to recent events. Walking through the streets of Luminar, Sol and Jordan approached a particular building where inside, a set of stairs would lead them to several different dungeon cells. Standing just outside was a single guard.

"Excuse me sir." Sol called out to him. "Prince Sol? What brings you out here late at night?" The guard asked him. "We have a prisoner in there that we have to interrogate. It's some pretty private stuff." Sol explained. "Of course. Take as much time as you need." The guard got his keys out and unlocked the door. Both Sol and Jordan got in with ease and the doors were closed behind them. "Being royalty sure has its perks." Jordan said as they both descended down the stairs. "It's not always fun. Actually, most of it isn't."