Pretty soon, Delilah disappeared from sight and Leo was left alone in the dark. Then, a twig snapped. His eyes widened and his heart began to race. "Delilah? Is that you?" But then, he heard a deep growl that could curdle the blood of any living creature. A pair of shimmering orange eyes stared at him from the darkness. The creature stepped into the path and Leo stared in horror. It had pointed ears and its mouth was open, exposing sharp needle-like teeth that were dripping with saliva. Its whole body was muscular with veins popping and it looked ready to pounce any second. Leo stared at it, paralyzed. A wolf? Oh no. The wolf growled and lunged at Leo. He opened his mouth but no sound came out; Leo forced his legs to run. He pushed his way through the undergrowth but it wasn't long before he realized there was more than just one.
Then, he felt Delilah enter his mind. Don't try to outrun them. Wolves are remarkably fast. Look for something around you that could help. Leo frantically started searching around himself for anything that could help. Soon, he spotted a beehive hanging on a branch. He stared at the wolves, terrified as they crept closer, surrounding him. Then, instinctively, Leo threw a rock at the beehive with all his strength and quickly dove into a nearby bush. The beehive fell a few feet away from the wolves and they cautiously sniffed at it. Soon, the whole hive of bees was chasing after the wolves. Leo peeked out at the emptiness before confirming it was safe and climbing out of the bush. Delilah then spotted Leo and a relieved look painted her face. As soon as Leo caught his breath, they continued deeper into the forest.
Eventually, Delilah and Leo reached the end of the forest. In front of them was a wide river that seemed to stretch for miles in both directions. "I'm guessing we'll have to cross it," Leo said. "There's no way around." Delilah nodded and pulled out rope from her bag while Leo collected some logs. Since Delilah had lived in a cottage alone in the middle of the forest, she was talented in survival skills. She instructed him on how to build a raft and in thirty minutes, they had a small raft that easily fit both of them. They pushed the small raft into the water and climbed on quickly. The raft smoothly floated through the current, and they used logs as paddles to guide the raft through the water. Leo grinned as things seemed to be going well but his smile disappeared when he felt the current's violent push. They had reached the middle of the river and still had about ten meters left until the other side, but water crashed onto the raft and the current flipped the whole boat. Oh no. Before he knew it, Leo felt a punch of cold water in his face. The water was blinding him and he couldn't find a trace of Delilah. He started to panic. Delilah? Delilah? He tried to scream for her, but when he opened his mouth, seawater rushed down his throat, choking him. Losing his breath, Leo began to flail around, which only served to push him deeper into the ice-cold water. He felt Delilah enter his mind. It's okay. I'm right here. Something tugged at him, guiding him back towards land. They gasped for air, coughing up water and Leo sighed as he realized that they were back on the same side. Demoralized from the failure, they took a moment to rest, but as Delilah lay in exhaustion, Leo suddenly jerked up. He had an idea.
A short while later, they collected logs and boulders and had rebuilt the boat. Delilah provided the last of her rope and tied them to the boulders. This time, the boulders were used as anchors, fastened down to the boat, while Delilah and Leo lifted and dropped them into the river to withstand the current. It was a brilliant plan and had worked. The boulders held them to the bed of the river so the current could no longer knock them over. Before the sun set, they reached the other side of the river and abandoned the raft. Leo couldn't help but laugh. He felt achieved and looked at Delilah, but she held an uneasy look on her face. When Leo glanced up, he was reminded that it wasn't yet over.
At dusk, they were up, creating a plan. While discussing, they were walking up to the castle with the plan to disguise themselves as guards so they could enter the palace without suspicion. So, Delilah cast a spell on them to disguise them as guards where their original clothes were swapped with chainmail along with a sword. It was easy to enter the palace under disguise, but the unfamiliarity brought them trouble.
As they marched deeper into the palace, it appeared busy with people of all sorts of classes running around. The goal was to find Tylorne, get him under arrest, retrieve the rightful throne, and save the people. Delilah made it sound simple, but Leo couldn't help but feel nervous. He tried not to let his thoughts wander off, and tried to focus more on their mission, but struggled. Delilah had told him that he would have to figure out how to use the Ring of Destiny before he could defeat Tylorne. But what force did he possibly have within?
Soon, they entered the throne room where King Tylorne lounged on the throne. Workers were running around since a feast was being prepared for the king. Tylorne ordered people around while the guards stood their watch. All the guards seemed to know their positions, but obviously, Delilah and Leo did not. Their unfamiliarity with the preparation brought a backfire: Tylorne, who happened to notice their confusion and misplacement of position, called them over. He told them to take their helmets off and left with no choice, they obeyed. Delilah's hair fell over her shoulder and Leo's birthmark was clearly exposed. They were just caught committing treason, and worse, Leo was the rightful heir to the throne.
King Tylorne was furious that Leo was the crown prince: "Seize them! They are to be put in the dungeon with no food or water. Tomorrow, I will see to them as they are hung in front of the land!"
"No!" Leo cried out in desperation. But as much as they struggled, it was no use, only making the situation worse. As Delilah attempted to snatch one a sword, a Tylorne ordered a guard to break her arm. They set her on the ground while a guard stomped on her arm, shattering the bone. The brittle crunch of her bones echoed through the room and Leo cringed at her pained scream. The guards then coldly manhandled Delilah and Leo, bringing them to the dungeon, throwing them in, and letting them await their death.
Stuck in the dungeon, Leo lost all hope. Delilah laid on the floor, clutching her arm, and trying to cope with the pain. He started to feel tears stream down his face "What kind of leader am I? All I did was brought everyone to their doom." Leo sobbed. He let the tears come. He let them burn his eyes and blur them until he could no longer see. Hearing Delilah's pained groans did not make it any better. Leo couldn't bring himself to look at her, as her arm hung at an awkward angle, helplessly at her side. Moments later, she would lose consciousness from the pain and it was all his fault, his fault of their failure. Because of him, Delilah was suffering and now the citizens would all die in poverty. Leo's efforts were all in vain. "A hero," he laughed darkly. "More like a failure. Why did I even come? What was I thinking? That I could take overthrow a king?"
"Prince Leo, what's life worth if you give up so easily," said a strange, yet surprisingly familiar voice. A thin man with white hair and beard came out of the shadows. Why did he seem so familiar? Then, the man introduced himself as Merritt, but somehow knowing his name did not answer Leo's familiarity with the mysterious man. Leo was wary of the way the man stared at his ring while talking to him, but he wasn't aggressive towards Leo. In a low, soothing voice, he gave Leo a powerful speech that Leo found himself wanting to believe: "Being a hero does not mean succeeding without failures. Life is full of obstacles and facing them with an open heart and mind will be your biggest success." Leo was lost deeply in thought, reflecting on what Merritt was saying. "You have to achieve greater things not just for the people around you, but also for yourself. Facing your challenges is one of the biggest obstacles you will have to overcome. Look inside yourself and find your greatest incentive. This will be your most powerful strength."
