The Seven Wonders of the World

49. The Two Fugitives Plan! Who is Merry?

NOW BEGINS VOLUME FIVE OF
THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD.

Rater and his group would be sitting down at a table in the restaurant, waiting for their order to come.
As they waited for their order to arrive, the group would begin to chat about their day. Rater would speak up, as he would ask, "So, what all did you guys do today?"
"Travel with you?" said Alucard. "That's what we do all day."
"Yeah, pretty much." added Sora. "Nothing else much going on." Rater would frown, as he would think for a moment. "Well," he said, "you guys want to hear something that'll make you feel better about doing nothing?"
Alucard and Sora both raised an eyebrow, as they would speak up. "And what exactly would that be?" asked Alucard, "I don't imagine it could be anything exciting, but i suppose it can't hurt to listen."
"Yeah," added Sora, "why don't you tell us what it is, then we can see if it'll cheer us up." Rater smiled, as he began to speak, "Well, i recently learned that one of the most notorious traitors, Prince Emrun and his mentor, Lord Shijin, are currently on the run from Imperial forces."
"Prince Emrun?" said Alucard. "That runt who was after your head? He became a fugitive of his home? How do you know that?"
"I was reading one of Zoela's newspapers, she wasn't looking, of course."
"So that's where they were gone, you bastard!" said Zoela, slapping the back of Rater's head.
"Ouch!" shouted Rater, as he rubbed his head with his hand, "Damn, you hit hard."
Zoela was about to reply, but she was interrupted by Sora, who seemed more concerned about the news. "Wait, that means there's a hunt going on for Emrun and Shijin right now?" he said.
"That's what the newspaper said, yeah." said Rater, "The Emperor had given his daughter, Princess Odessa, the command to search for Emrun and Shijin, and when she captures them, he intends to deal with them personally."
"Princess Odessa?!" said Uyutsu. "Oh man!"
"You know her?" said Rater.
"Personally? No," said Uyutsu, "but she was the ideal crush for the kids back in the second village I lived in."

The entire group would laugh, as Zoela teased Uyutsu, "Oh, look who's got a crush on the Princess!"
Uyutsu would shake his head, as he rolled his eyes, "No, I certainly do not have a crush on her, she was just... well, she was beautiful, you know?"
"Beautiful or not," said Sora, "she is still the Emperor's daughter, who I don't imagine would really appreciate the affection of a commoner."
Uyutsu would nod in agreement. "Yeah, that's true, her father is the Emperor, he is probably one of the strongest men in the world. He would never allow her to marry some random village boy, even if he was the coolest dude around."
"That's the spirit!" said Sora. "Now just admit you got a crush on the princess and that's that."
"Fine, fine, I admit it," said Uyutsu, as the whole table laughed at his revelation. "But come on guys, you gotta admit it, she is pretty freaking gorgeous."
The group continued to laugh at Uyutsu's comments on how gorgeous the Princess was, as Sora would then ask, "Well, how do you think she will go about looking for Emrun and Shijin?"
"Well," said Uyutsu, "I can already imagine her leading an army of her father's forces through the surrounding areas, as they would sweep in search of any signs of the two fugitive traitors."
"She probably won't be doing any actual searching herself," said Alucard, "She would likely let her troops handle that. All she has to do is give them the orders and have them come back to her, when they find the two fugitives."
"So she's just the boss, and everyone else has to do the work?" said Sora.
"Pretty much." said Uyutsu.
Alucard shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, that's just how royalty works, for the privileged people up top get to rest, while everyone else does the dirty work."

A waiter had walked over, although he didn't have food, he was quite the young bloke, as he would have quite the slim stature, but his height would justify it as he towered over the group, pouring red wine into their glasses.
"Wine?" said Rater. "I don't drink wine."
"Oh, alright," said the man, "what would you like?"
"Juice!" said Rater.
The man chuckled. "Alright, then," he said, as he walked away to get the juice.
The group would wait while the man went to get the juice, as Sora spoke up, "Okay, so what all do you think the princess will do to Emrun and Shijin once she catches them?"
"Well," said Uyutsu. "I imagine she will bring them to her father so he can deal with them personally."
"That's definitely the most likely outcome for Emrun and Shijin," said Sora, "they're most likely going to be punished for their treason."
"And the severity of that punishment," said Rater, "will depend entirely upon her father's mood."
"Speaking of the princess," said Zoela. "I heard from a friend that she is quite the skilled warrior, supposedly, she is at the level of an Elite Warrior already."
"Wait, really?" said Sora. "She may be a princess, but she has combat abilities too? That's sick!"
"I've heard she's quite the capable fighter," added Rater, "apparently she's fought against quite a few enemies from other countries during wars and was quite successful."
"No way!" said Sora. "So, not only is she a skilled warrior, but she's incredibly beautiful, too. Man, she must be pretty popular with the guys, huh?"
"Yeah," said Uyutsu, "she is probably a catch for any guy, if only she wasn't a member of the royal family."
"Yeah, and her being the Emperor's daughter definitely doesn't make it any easier for guys either," said Alucard. "You would have to be a noble yourself or the son of the most accomplished man in the world, to be considered a proper match for her."
"You know what that means," said Zoela. "That means only guys who are as hot and successful as me would have a chance!"
The entire group began to laugh at her comment, as Sora smiled at her. "You aren't too bad looking either, you've got that sass that only a pretty girl could pull off."