Travel The Distance

Chapter 9

I've made another collage. Luckily, this time it didn't take me an hour. I added a photo of Momo (plus it looked better with 5 people. The 4 person one just looked a bit off) but she won't look like that the majority of the time in the story. 

*Shoto's POV*

A couple of weeks had passed since a wave of power had swept the kingdom. Several reports of nature spirits breaking away from their sources of life had been brought up in my father's courts which I had to sit in on. It was extremely dangerous for nymphs and naiads to stray too far from their source of life, they could wither and die if they don't find a new source soon enough. The reports said that all of these nature spirits were all going in the same direction. The north-west. The territory which my father had given up to Bakugo Katsuki in order to keep both my brother and me alive. Any fool could see that it was no coincidence that a power surge had come from that direction and suddenly nature spirits were all risking their lives to get to the north-west. Bakugo had achieved something. I could see the unease in my father's eyes as he ordered a party of scouts to go to the north-west and see what Bakugo was up to. I could see the fear in his eyes as only one of those scouts returned, on the brink of death. The scout, who I later found out was called Awase, luckily survived. That didn't change the fact that something was happening in the north-west and my father was not happy.

"Your majesty, it is still a possibility that the scouts are alive. They could have been taken captive." one of the courtiers spoke up hesitantly. Everybody drew a collective breath, it was common knowledge that you didn't contradict what the King had already set in stone. My father was adamant that all of the scouts, but Awase, had been slaughtered. To say anything else would be to openly defy the King, at least in my father's eyes. Father narrowed his eyes at the nervously sweating courtier before bringing his fist down on the arm of his thrown, making the clash of his metal ring and chair arm ring around the room. "Enough! They are dead! A lost cause! That is all there is to the matter!" Enji roared like the almighty lion he so likes to compare himself to. "We shall move onto the next order of business. Aizawa, what's next on the agenda?" my father asked, turning to one of his closest advisors. 

I was practically falling asleep in my chair, situated beside my father's throne on the raised dais before I was snapped awake by Aizawa's bland voice speaking words which I dreaded. "The next subject which needs your attention is the potential engagement between Prince Shoto and Princess Yaoyorozu Momo of the far off Creati kingdom." Aizawa's monotonous voice drawled. I was quite fond of Aizawa Shota. Unlike a majority of my father's advisors and courtiers, he was rather straight forwards and held no hidden motives. He said what he meant and lead his life by using logic and not money. His husband, Yamada Hizashi, and daughter, Eri, were both very sweet as well. Yamada was also another of my father's advisors, although he wasn't as 'important' as Aizawa. 

"Ah yes, I recall that." Father said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "If I recall correctly, the Princess should be arriving at the castle fairly soon.". Aizawa nodded and looked down at the sheath of parchment in his hands, eyes slowly flickering across the paper before his lazy gaze was back on my father. "Yes, that's correct. She will be arriving within the next three days. The castle staff have been cleaning the castle and preparing her quarters for a few days now. Kayama and Yamada have been preparing the welcome ball which you requested. It is to be hosted this Saturday, provided Princess Yaoyorozu has arrived by then." Aizawa muttered just loud enough for everyone in the room to hear as he yawned slightly and slumped back in his seat. Father nodded his head and turned to address me, "Be prepared, Shoto. You'll have to make a good impression on this Princess. Also, throughout the courting process, I won't be allowing you to go on any of your little expeditions. The relationship between our Kingdoms which your marriage will cause is of the utmost importance." Father lectured me. Throughout the entire lecture, I was being subjected to, in front of my father's entire court, all that was going through my mind was the peculiar events which could all be connected to the north-west. It seemed that Chief Bakugo and his tribe wouldn't be leaving my mind for a while.