Beyond this World - Dragon warrior (Book 1/?)

Chapter 13 (Part 2)

He asked awkwardly looking around and then he saw a girl sitting on the bed. "Oh..." a faint stream of mana reached him and he felt her strength; like a unique smell he recognised the person before him although he was confused by her general shape.

Lloyd squirmed around between Aaron and the prince before he himself saw Tundra in the corner of the room. He smirked ready to tease Aaron of hiding a girl in his room. "Aha!" he exclaimed and said nothing after that because of Aaron's death stare.

"Alright, both of you, out." Aaron hurried them to leave, practically picking them off the ground and throwing them out. While he argued with the two by the door Tundra lied down and fell asleep. Aaron was slightly let down they couldn't continue where they left off. He kissed her forehead and whispered "Rest well..."

The prince remained waiting by the door for Aaron to come out while Lloyd stormed away. The squires that passed through the hallway greeted and were often puzzled just what the foreign prince was in the squire's bedroom quarters. Jamal waited and eventually Aaron did come out.

"Hey." Jamal spoke while leaned against the wall opposite of Aaron's bedroom door. Aaron nods, greeting him back, leaning next to him. "So... Tundra?"

Aaron let out a conformational "Aha..." There was a brief pause on both ends. "Tea with the princess?"

Jamal nods with a "Yup. We have been getting to know each other better..." and with that they sank into a silence; it wasn't an awkward silence but a silence to appreciate their ladies. It didn't last long; Jamal was crawling on edge glancing towards Aaron and hastily averting his eyes just in time before Aaron glanced back at him.

Aaron grunts followed by an exasperating sigh that sounded like a dying whale. "I can see something's on your mind; just ask already. You will stare a hole into me like that." Though this was no way to speak to someone of a higher status Jamal didn't take Aaron's careless speech to heart, he preferred it over empty formalities.

"You know I'm sensitive to mana and inner energy of things, yours has increased drastically from the last time I saw you." Jamal pushed himself away from the wall and turned to face Aaron with astonishment written all over his face.

This was not what Aaron was expecting was eating out the prince but he listened to Jamal's remarks on the subject at hand. "Increased by how much?" Jamal looked at him and scratched behind his ear.

"Let's say your original strength was equivalent to a grain of wheat; your current strength is 50 grains." Jamal estimated. "I'd say you are almost on par with me in terms of accumulated mana; however I doubt you have much experience with casting magic."

"None, really..." He replied and began to ponder about what Jamal told him about his strength. The two of them were not so different; both must keep their abilities secret from others. He did his best to block out the thoughts of and unforeseeable future where his or Tundra's true self is revealed to the point where they are exiled from his one and only home for good. His inner energy began to stir and fluctuate.

"Aaron!" Jamal shouted and shook him pulling him away from those thoughts. Jamal's worried expression and cold sweat told him this wasn't the first time he shouted his name just now. "Are you alright? That was terrifying!"

Aaron Looked lost for a brief moment; he responded with a snappy nod and threw his head back. His obvious reluctance to talk about him led Jamal to dismiss this topic.

"Either way, I look forward to having you around again; it has been rather dull in between sleep and hanging out with the princess." He smiled and went on his merry way.