Sitting against the tree in the palace garden, William took a deep breath, feeling totally relaxed, as his eyes skimmed over the page of the book he was currently reading. But, as he read the words on display, his mind grew slightly distracted at the sound of footsteps approaching. Feeling a pang of annoyance, he let out a low sigh, thinking the peacefulness around him was about to be disturbed.

  Out of his peripheries, he observed as Freya, who was sitting beside him, shifted. "The king is not to be disturbed."

  William's lips curled a little at his sister's stern tone.

  The footsteps stopped, and a young male voice was heard, "But—"

  "No buts," Freya continued, her tone unwavering. "Bring whatever problem or issue to the Viceroy."

  There was a momentary pause before the young man said, "Yes, Your Highness."

  The sound of footsteps could be heard again, but this time, they were heading away from William. Hearing the footsteps begin to fade, William looked up, seeing a young male guard quickly walking off.

  William chuckled before looking at his sister, who was still glaring at the guard as they walked away. "A little aggressive, wouldn't you say?"

  Freya simply shrugged before going back to reading her book, "I'm just trying to help you have a peaceful day."

  William looked forward, his eyes scanning over the beautiful garden before him. Leaning his head back against the tree, he listened to the birds chirping around him, the insects buzzing nearby, and watched the butterflies flutter from flower to flower.

  "It is peaceful here, isn't it?" William said, his tone soft. Freya looked at her brother curiously. William's lips curled slightly as he looked around, "No wonder she often liked to come here." Freya's eyes softened. "Nicholas, too," William continued. He chuckled, "He is so much like his mother."

  Freya gave a soft smile, "That he is. I see a lot of her in him."

  William nodded, his eyes falling, "So do I." William was silent for a moment before he cleared his throat and looked back into the garden. Taking a deep breath, he said, "It's been far too long since I've taken a day to myself."

  Freya looked William up and down, "It's not a bad thing, you know. Once in a while, it's good for you to take a day to relax."

  William let out a long sigh as he shook his head slightly, "I have too many responsibilities."

  Freya huffed and closed her book forcefully, gaining a raised brow from William. Freya eyed her brother sternly, "That doesn't mean you have to work yourself to death. Do you not remember how father did such a thing?" Her eyes fell, "He never made time for himself or his family."

  William nodded, "I remember." He shook his head, "Perhaps if I had been more involved with my sons, there wouldn't be this chasm between them."

  Freya's eyes snapped to William. "You can always talk to them. It's never too late."

  William chuckled, but there was no humour in it, "I'm not so sure, sister. Don't think that I am blind to how Tristan treats his brother. I have spoken to him about his behavior on numerous occasions."

  Freya's brows furrowed, "So, you know about this murderer thing?"

  William's face tightened, "Oh yes." He shook his head, "I don't know why he acts like this. Over the years, I have spoken with his tutors, who always told me he would grow out of this behavior and advised me to let him be. But, he never did." He met his sister's gaze, "It's one reason I agreed to let Nicholas go with you. I knew he would be happier with you than here, where he would have to deal with his brother."

  Freya's brows raised, then she shook her head, "Then why did you argue with me so much when I wanted to bring him to Tri-Union City with me?"

  William sighed, "Because. He is still my son."

  Freya's eyes softened, and she looked like she was about to say something until her eyes flicked behind William, and her lips curled.

  "Well, this is a surprise."

  William looked toward the voice and smiled slightly at Josephine as she approached, "Hello, Jo."

  Josephine pulled her gardening gloves off as she smiled at William, "It's been a long time since I've seen you spending time in the garden."

  William shrugged, "I thought I would take a day and relax."

  Josephine's brows raised, before she chuckled, "Good for you. It's good to take a day to relax once in a while."

  "That's what I told him," Freya stated.

  "Yes, yes," William said, waving his hand dismissively. "I'll try to relax more often."

  "That's good," Josephine said with a smile. She eyed William curiously, "How is Tristan's engagement party planning going?"

  William let out a long sigh.

  Josephine chuckled as she proceeded to sit down beside William, "That well, huh?"

  William shook his head, "He keeps wanting to add more and more. He doesn't understand that I'm trying to keep this event formal, with some entertainment."

  Freya shrugged, "Tristan has always been the flashy type."

  "That he has," Josephine chuckled. Josephine eyed William inquisitively, "So, I've heard rumors about this party."

  William raised a brow at Josephine, "What rumors?"

  "That several noble families have requested to have their daughters meet with Nicholas."

  "What?" Freya stated, her eyes widening.

  William hummed, "And who told you this?"

  Josephine chuckled, "I know a lot more about what happens in this palace than you realize, William."

  "Wait, is it true?" Freya asked, staring at William.

  William sighed before nodding, "Yes. But I have denied these requests. The noble families are persistent, even after the invitations said Elianna would accompany Nicholas."

  Freya huffed, "The last thing I need is for him to be swarmed by noble men shoving their daughters in his face."

  William nodded, "Agreed."

  A shadow passed over the three of them, and they all looked up, their gazes turning curious as their eyes fell on Helena. She was currently coated in an emerald hue as she descended toward them. However, it was the figure Helena had floating beside her that had William raise a brow, as it was the same young guard who had tried to disturb him before.

  Helena's and the other guard's feet landed softly on the ground, and the nature magic around them dispersed.

  Freya sighed, "Well, this can't be good."

  Helena approached Freya, Josephine, and William, with her eyes set on the king. Helena bowed, "Sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty. I have news about Nicholas."

  "We were actually just talking about him," Josephine chuckled.

  William's eyes narrowed, "What about him?"

  Helena stood straight, "He and Lady Elianna managed to evade their escort. Their current location is unknown."

  Freya's brows rose before she covered her mouth and burst into laughter.

  William sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "He did, huh?" He looked at the young guard, "Is this what you tried to tell me earlier?"

  The guard stiffened, "Y-Yes, Your Majesty."

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  William's eyes narrowed, "You should've just spat that out."

  Freya looked at William, "Oh, come on, William. We did the same thing when we were younger."

  William grumbled.

  Freya laughed more, before her brows furrowed and she looked back at Helena, "Wait, what about Celine?"

  Helena cleared her throat awkwardly, "She is believed to help facilitate their evasion."

  Freya bit her lips between her teeth before giving her brother a sideways glance, seeing that he was glaring at her.

  William sighed before looking at Helena, "Go into the city and find them, please."

  Helena nodded, "At once, Your Majesty."

  Helena covered herself in nature magic before she took to the air and flew off.

  The young guard stood there awkwardly before turning and running off.

  Josephine chuckled, "Oh, Nicholas and Elianna are just trying to have fun."

  William nodded, "I know. I would just prefer it were under supervision."

  Freya smiled at William, "Well, it was always your idea to ditch the guards, remember? So, you can't blame him for thinking the same way. He is your son, after all."

  William's lips curled slightly, "I know."

  ***

  Walking through the crowded streets, Elianna found that the differences between being and not being escorted were like comparing night and day. No one stared at her and Nicholas with widened gazes, sharing whispers and seeming uncomfortable. Instead, everyone seemed happy as they spoke and laughed with each other as they walked by.

  Elianna herself had a bright smile as she looked at the street vendors' wares displayed for sale. The fine jewelry the female vendor had laid out looked beautiful to Elianna, with them coming in different types of metals, and some having jewels embedded in them.

  Standing beside her, Nicholas hummed before pointing at a silver charm bracelet, "This one looks nice."

  Elianna followed his gesture, then shrugged, "Yeah, it does." Her eyes flicked back to a pair of silver earrings with blue gems she had been looking at.

  "Do you like these?"

  Elianna looked at the vendor, a nice-looking elderly lady, who smiled as she pointed at the earrings.

  Elianna smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I do."

  The vendor picked up the earrings, holding them in the palm of her hand, "These are made from real silver and embedded with sapphire gems."

  Elianna tilted her head slightly, "How m—"

  Nicholas held out his black credit keeper before Elianna could finish her sentence. With a smile, he said, "We'll take them."

  The vendor raised a brow at the black credit keeper, but said nothing as she took it.

  Elianna looked at Nicholas, "Don't you want to know the price?"

  Nicholas looked at Elianna, smiled, and shook his head, "Nah. It doesn't matter if you like it."

  Elianna's lips curled, and her face warmed.

  "Here you go."

  Elianna and Nicholas looked at the vendor, noticing she was holding out Nicholas' credit keeper and the earrings, now in a small bag.

  Nicholas took the credit keeper and the bag, "Thank you."

  The vendor nodded, "You're most welcome." She smiled politely, "I hope you and your girlfriend enjoy the rest of your time."

  Nicholas' eyes widened, and Elianna's cheeks turned apple red.

  Nicholas cleared his throat, "She's not—"

  A blast of fire caught Nicholas and Elianna's attention, and their heads whipped to the left, where they observed a crowd forming.

  "I wonder what's going on over there," Elianna said.

  "Most likely some street performers," The vendor said.

  "Street performers?" Elianna said, feeling her excitement build. She looked at Nicholas, "Want to go check it out?"

  Nicholas looked at Elianna, and his lips curled as he saw the excitement in her eyes. He nodded, "Sure." He jerked his chin, "Come on."

  Elianna smiled excitedly as she followed Nicholas toward the crowd. As she got closer, she could hear people yelling, clapping, whistling, and cheering. Once they reached the edge of the crowd, Nicholas began to weave in and out of people, and Elianna tried to keep up, but people were starting to get in her way. She was beginning to think she was going to lose Nicholas when she felt him take her hand. Her chest warmed at his touch, and he pulled her along as they traversed the crowd, eventually coming out on the other side.

  Elianna's eyes widened in glee as they exited the crowd, seeing that they had entered a roundabout. In the center of the roundabout was a large, beautiful fountain with sculptures of humanoid beings, with water pouring out from the sides into the pool beneath them. Then, dancing around the fountain were two petite females and a muscular male, all dressed in similar red and blue apparel.

  One of the females ran up to the male as he got down on one knee and raised his arm, palm up. The female jumped up, placing her foot into his palm as he stood up. There was a sudden blast of wind magic from the male's palm, and the female was propelled high into the air. Water magic began to swirl around her, sparkling in the sun like shimmering diamonds, before it burst apart, creating a rainbow around her.

  Elianna gasped in wonder at the beautiful display of magic, and the crowd around her cheered and clapped. She watched in amazement as the female fell back toward the male, who used wind magic to slow her descent before catching her.

  Whipping her head toward Nicholas, Elianna asked with excitement, "Did you see that?!"

  Nicholas looked at Elianna, chuckled, and nodded, "Yeah, I did."

  Looking back at the street performers, they watched as the second female flipped through the air, before landing in front of the other two. She fell to one knee as she drew a wand from her boot and raised it to her lips. Taking a deep breath, she blew out, and a stream of fire erupted from her wand, which quickly wrapped around her and her companions like a snake. The fire began to gather above them before forming into a fiery bird that suddenly flew high into the air and circled around.

  The second female ran out, surrounding herself in water magic before she began to do cartwheels. The firebird flew down and began to circle the female as she cartwheeled. The cartwheeling female's water magic began to glow from the bird, putting on a beautiful orange display as she moved throughout the roundabout.

  The female them stopped, gathered her water magic into a ball, and shot it high into the air. The firebird immediately followed the ball of water, circling it. The man waved his arms, creating a ball of wind in front of him, before shooting it at the ball of water and the bird. The bird and the ball of wind suddenly struck the ball of water simultaneously, creating a beautiful, sparkly explosion.

  The crowd around them cheered, with Elianna and Nicholas clapping and smiling as the performers stood and bowed together. Elianna looked at Nicholas with a brightened smile, "That was amazing!"

  Nicholas looked at her, returned her smile, and nodded, "Yeah, it was." His gaze flicked past her, and his eyes widened.

  Elianna quickly followed his gaze, seeing three gavarian guards exit the crowd, enter the roundabout, and look around. Elianna looked back at Nicholas, "Think they're—"

  Nicholas took Elianna's hand before she could finish her sentence, and quickly pulled her through the crowd. A giggle escaped from Elianna's lips as it felt exciting to have to run from the guards. They had a few close calls of running into them ever since they managed to get away, but had thus far evaded them.

  As they exited the crowd, Elianna and Nicholas laughed as they quickly walked down the road, passing by several vendors who called out to them, trying to sell their wares.

  Elianna grinned at Nicholas, "Well, that was fun—" She yelped as Nicholas quickly pulled her into an alleyway. She whispered, "What is it?"

  Nicholas pressed his back against the wall, hiding in the shadows, and Elianna followed suit. Nicholas whispered, "More guards."

  Elianna followed his gaze, staring out the alleyway into the road, watching as people passed by. Then, she observed as a group of four guards and a mage came into view, their expressions focused as they looked around. Nicholas snapped his fingers, and a wave of nature magic washed over Elianna and Nicholas as he turned them invisible.

  "Is it me, or does it seem like there are more guards around?" Elianna asked, watching as the guards walked by.

  Once the guards were out of view, Nicholas snapped his fingers, making them both visible again. He sighed, "Most likely. They're probably out looking for me." He pushed off the wall and began to make his way toward the other end of the alleyway. "Come on."

  Elianna nodded and began to follow him. They exited the alley and looked around, seeing more vendors and people.

  Nicholas looked at Elianna, "Which way do you want to go?"

  Elianna shrugged and smiled at Nicholas, "I don't know. You pick."

  Nicholas chuckled, before he hummed as he looked left and right, "Let's go—"

  "Is that them?!"

  Nicholas and Elianna's heads snapped behind him, seeing guards coming from the alleyway they had just been in.

  One of the guards pointed at Nicholas and Elianna, "It is!"

  "Crap," Nicholas said, his voice tight.

  The guards began to run toward them, "Your Highness, Lady Elianna, please wait!"

  Elianna looked at Nicholas, "We should go!"

  Nicholas nodded, and Elianna yelped as he suddenly picked her up bridal style. Elianna's eyes widened to the size of moons, and her cheeks grew hot as Nicholas held her close.

  Elianna stuttered, "W-What are you doing?!!"

  Wind magic began to circle around Nicholas, "Hold on!"

  Another yelp escaped from Elianna as Nicholas jumped high into the air with wind magic. He jumped onto the front porch of a building before jumping again onto its roof. Elianna instinctively wrapped her arms around Nicholas' neck as he suddenly glided forward, propelled by his wind magic.

  Looking over Nicholas' shoulder, she observed as two of the guards jumped onto the roof, before running after them.

  "They're chasing us!" Elianna yelled.

  "Figured!" Nicholas yelled back.

  Elianna looked at Nicholas, about to tell him to put her down, as they could probably move faster without him carrying her. But she didn't, as her lips curled, as she loved the feeling of him holding her like this. Then, her eyes widened, and she yelped as Nicholas propelled into the air again with wind magic, landing on a separate roof.

  Looking over Nicholas' shoulder again, she watched as the guards gave chase, and she grinned at the excitement of running away. She watched as the guards prepared to jump over a building, but stopped as a raven suddenly flew in front of them, stopping them in their tracks.

  Elianna mentally thanked the raven before looking at Nicholas, "We gained some distance."

  "Good," Nicholas yelled, suddenly moving to the side.

  Elianna held onto Nicholas tightly as he led them to the edge of the building, before gliding them off. Elianna tensed, thinking they were going to fall to the ground, but the wind magic around them allowed them to descend onto the ground slowly.

  Nicholas carefully placed Elianna's feet first onto the ground, and Elianna looked around, seeing that they were in a large alleyway. Looking back at Nicholas, she watched as he waved his hand, and there was a sudden flash of emerald energy. Her brows raised, seeing herself and another Nicholas standing before her, with herself in Nicholas' arms. Suddenly, they burst into the air, surrounded by wind magic, before gliding away on the roof of the building.

  "Over there!!" A voice sounded from above.

  Nicholas and Elianna looked up, watching as guards quickly jumped over the building, moving toward the other Nicholas and Elianna, who glided away.

  Elianna looked at Nicholas curiously, "Was that an illusion?"

  Nicholas grinned at Elianna, "Yep, an afterimage. It only lasts for a minute, but it will give us the time to escape."

  Elianna smirked at Nicholas, "Nice."

  Nicholas jerked his chin, "Come on." He began walking down the alleyway. "Let's go shop around some more."

  Elianna smiled and nodded as she began to follow Nicholas. But she and Nicholas stopped as a raven suddenly landed in front of them.

  Elianna raised a brow, "I've seen a lot of ravens out today."

  Nicholas tilted his head slightly, eyeing the raven, "Same." He shrugged and began walking forward. "Come on."

  Elianna nodded and began to follow Nicholas. She looked back at the raven, and the next moment, it was enveloped in an amethyst light.