Prologue

Ryder kept running. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he couldn't afford to stop now. If he stopped, he'd get caught, and getting caught meant death. And right now, Ryder was not ready to die. So, he kept running and running and running. He didn't stop moving until the thunderous footsteps behind him seemed to cease. Realizing that he had outrun his pursuers, he began to slow down, eventually coming to a complete stop in front of a cave. He took a look around him, noticing the woodlands that encased him. He exhaled a sigh of relief as he leaned against a tree. After a few minutes, he reluctantly pushed himself off the tree and headed towards the cavern.

He heard a familiar voice when he entered the cave. "Prince Ryder. I see you've safely escaped."

Ryder looked towards the owner of the voice, seeing an old friend emerge from the darkness of the cave. He smiled at his friend. "Christoph."

Christoph was Ryder's closest friend and most trusted palace guard. Ryder never went anywhere without him. Ryder tightly hugged his companion then let go, looking Christoph up and down as he searched for any sign of injury. Ryder noticed that Christoph's bright crimson hair that normally reached down to the middle of his back was pulled up into a ponytail, and his lime green eyes looked just as tired as Ryder felt after running for two hours straight.

"So, Chris, what's our next plan of action? Father and Mother have been killed and the palace has been taken over. Guards swarm the palace grounds and they've even started going into the Town of Ebolgen. There's no way we can just wander about without being caught."

Christoph leaned his back against the wall of the cave and nodded his head in agreement. "You're absolutely correct, Your Majesty. After your brother, Prince Malaki, took over the castle, there is almost zero chance of us escaping the kingdom unscathed. I believe that the best course of action would probably be to remain here in the cave while we wait for things in the kingdom to die down."

Ryder looked around the cavern and spotted a boulder on the ground. He went over to it and sat down, crossing his legs in a rather princely manner. He hummed at Christoph's proposition, eventually saying, "I think you're right, Chris. I suppose it's the only thing we can do for now. Why don't we get some rest? It's been a very long day."

"I agree, Your Majesty."

With that, Ryder laid down on the boulder and finally let the sweet relief of sleep pull him into a sweet oblivion.

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