The Prince of Ash (BxB)

Plan

As the sun peaked over the horizon to light up the small camp, the three woke up slowly with different morning routines. Lin first woke up to stretch and then gather by the burnt out fire to try and light it back up. Next, Isen got up and immediately began to practice with his spear and arrow against a nearby tree with quiet grunts of force. Lastly, Wyder rose from his slumber very sleepily and yawned.

"Lin, get me some Darjeeling tea please." He groaned. Lin looked at him, snickering at the situation before faking a cough and glancing at Isen for help. Isen shut his eyes, contemplating what to say.

"The best we have right now are maple leaves, will that suffice you, my lord?" He asked, expecting a sarcastic answer from the prince. Instead, Wyder stared blankly at him before hugging and turning back over on the ground with a loud groan.

"I miss Andrich. I miss father. I miss mother. I miss everything." He said quietly, slamming his fist to the dirt ground as the realization hit him. Lin and Isen looked towards the ground in response, unsure how to answer his statement. Lin the. Looked up with a faint smile and walked over to Lin with his hand held out.

"Your highness, let Isen and I be your family from now on! We'll protect you care for you just like we've done!" Lin exclaimed, grabbing onto Wyder's hand and pulling him up off the ground. The two looked at one another silently before Lin quickly embraced the prince in a warm hug. Wyder didn't return the affection, but accepted the hug as something he needed at the moment. Once the two parted ways, Wyder stood up to dust himself off and looked to Isen and Lin who were both waiting on a decision from him on what to do. He scratched his head, unsure what path to follow as both would, more than likely, be highly dangerous to follow through with.

After a few moments had passed, Wyder picked up the map that was in the ground and pointed to it without uttering a single word. "We must leave for Grismore now. The earlier we get there, the better the chance of survival for us." He said, folding the map and putting it away in his vest. Isen nodded, but stepped closer to Wyder with a concerned gaze.

"Prince Wyder, should we not change your clothes to help hide your identity?" Isen questioned him. Wyder held out his arms and looked down at his attire which was extravagant and expensive looking at the very least. He sighed in response, glaring at Isen.

"Then what should we do about it, Mr. Perfection?" Wyder cackled. There was a sudden moment of silence as no one spoke and Isen stared right at Wyder without blinking. Wyder stopped laughing, noticing that Isen and Lin were both quiet. Rather than talk to them, the prince complied with their suggestion of changing his clothes and began to rip at his expensive attire to make it look like that of a commoner. Once finished, his long white sleeves were now ripped to shrewd up to his elbows while his pants were simply torn open. As for his shoes, Wyder scuffed them up against the rough ground, damaging the fancy black leather apart to expose a dirt colored interior. "Does this world, Isen?" He asked, raising his arms out and turning around in a circle to show off.

Isen can closer to inspect the destroyed outfit before placing his hands into Wyder with a grimace. "The insignia of Andrich must come off as well, my lord." He said, tearing off the metal insignia that was stuck right in front of the dirty white jacket. Wyder nodded, hiding his sadness before turning around to face Lin who was frowning.

As soon as he finished taking the insignia off, Wyder tosses it to the ground in a fit of rage and stomped on it. "If only father hadn't been such a cruel ruler... none of this would've happened! I loved him, but I see the error of his ways... I pity the poor demi-humans he forced into slavery work, it was wrong if he to do so." He wept softly, kicking the insignia deeper and deeper into the dirt. Lin stood beside him and put an arm around his waist with a blank look. Wyder stopped and looked down at him, confused but also relieved in a way.

"They've been treated like that for centuries, so don't blame it on your father alone. It isn't right what he did, but he also isn't the first to push that sort of treatment. You didn't do anything either, Wyder." He said calmly, rubbing his back to further help calm the prince. Wyder rubbed his eyes and smiled faintly with a softened expression.

"Thank you, Lin. I'm glad you're here. No one else understands me like you do." He said, hugging the slightly shorter Lin in a warming embrace. Lin blushed, smiling happily as he returned the prince's affection. After a few silent moments, Isen cleared his throat loudly to present his agitation with the whole situation.

"We must get moving to the city we pointed out if we want to make it there as soon as possible." He said, walking away towards the direction of their destination. Lin and Wyder let go of one another, smiling brightly at their hug whilst running towards Isen as they both shouted at him to not leave them behind...