Episode 8

In the forest, Theodore was running hurriedly. Something big was chasing him. "Damn these beasts, weren't they supposedly dead? How the hell…?" as he complained the creature that was chasing him was closing in. Its roar trembled the forest with fear. That creature was none other than an 'Astral Beast'. As it suggests, the 'Astral Beasts' were life-forms from another plane. Encountering one in one to one battle was no joke as the creature was extremely powerful. At the fall of the third era, these beasts were supposedly suppressed by a high level of magical barrier. Theodore was irritated due to the fact that such a creature was tailing him, moreover it was supposed not to exist in the first place.

Due to his low constitution, he got tired pretty quickly in this run. As he saw his end nearing, his eyes caught a view of a big trunk lying around. "This might be my chance…" Saying this he tucked himself in that trunk and rushed towards the deeper region. As he went deeper, he felt the presence of that beast somehow suppressed. "That was close. How can such a beast be here? Didn't they die? God, I'm lost again. There must be an exit further, I should keep going" Thinking this to himself he continued walking deeper in the trunk. After a while, he somehow managed to exit the trunk. 'Now that I'm safe and sound, I should see where I am and should plan the further journey.' Was his first thought but the day was about to come to an end as it was already getting dark. He gave up on traveling any further for now and decided to stay in the trunk for the night. He gathered some firewood and lit it in order to stay warm and cook. The traps he set allowed him to catch a small rabbit. Along with some herbs and water, he was able to cook rabbit stew. After eating and relaxing a bit he took out the map to see where he was and where he was to go next. The map was so outdated yet it showed a giant fallen tree, 'Seems like this tree has been here for quite a while' he thought to himself. As he had a clue about the tree, planning a further route wasn't a big deal. After setting a few alarm traps, he went to sleep.

Here in the castle, dinner was over and everyone was in their rooms. Continuous footsteps could be heard in the hallway as Vivian was walking by the doors with a worried expression. She must have wanted to talk to Merida about going after him as she tried suggesting the idea to her while dinner, to which she didn't reply well. "You really are something, I can't even sleep now, thanks to you!" Her sudden appearance and such cold talk startled Vivian making her squeak. "I still can't get used to these tricks of yours sis." She replied while trying to catch her breath. "They aren't to get used to Vivi," Merida replied with a smile. "You are worried about him, right?" she asked Vivi out of nowhere to which she got silent for a while. "It's… It's not like that. It's just… Well… How should I put this? This time, I really wanted to go with him there." She replied in a sad tone to which Merida grabbed her hands and said, "You worry a lot, I believe he won't get himself killed, not before I give him a beating. And yeah if you insist we'll go looking for him tomorrow, only on one condition though." Her request was new to Vivi yet she agreed and asked in return about the condition. "You'll tell him, you know what I mean…." Saying this she disappeared from Vivian's view leaving her speechless. 'Tell him? What does she know?' all sorts of questions were going on her mind. With a heavy heart, she turned around to head towards her room after glancing at Theo's room for a brief moment. "Please be safe" Saying it to her mind she left to her room with a blush on her face. "Theo, if something happens…" Merida angrily thought to herself while leaning on the door and looking distantly.

The next morning, as he kept on walking, he found the region of the forest a bit odd. It was dense and was giving off a bit of a creepy aura, moreover he could sense no living animal nearby. It was strange in the forest to not see any animal, yet he had to move as he believed the beast he encountered must be on his back. After thinking for a while and coming to a conclusion that he must go on, he went in hesitantly in the dense forest region. After a while, he saw some movement, "Finally some life huh…" Just as he thought that he saw a few people walking by. He went closer to take a look at what was going on. Only to his surprise, he saw soldiers. "How…? Wait! They aren't our troops…" He was shocked as he saw the crest on one of the soldiers. It was of 'Etherblade', the neighboring kingdom. "Aye, who's there?" One of the soldiers shouted at where Theodore was hiding. "Get him." Another one ordered to which everyone started to run towards him. For a while, he tried running away from them but got surrounded at a point. "You think you can run huh?" one of the soldiers tried to talk to him but was interrupted by another one who said, "Wait! Isn't he royal? Look at the crest on his coat." 'Damn I shouldn't have put it on', Theodore cursed to himself. "We should just cut his head and gift it to his father then, shouldn't we?" The one of them who seemed like their commander spoke to which Theodore almost fell down on the ground.

Just as everyone got close to him to slay the poor kid, they heard someone walking through the bushes. There was a guy holding a basket full of berries, with a long cape and hood covering his face, it was difficult to figure out for who he was. He looked at the mob briefly before turning away and minding his business. Before he could take a step, one of the soldiers grabbed his arm and pulled in a way he lost his grip on the basket making it fall on the ground. "Where the hell do you think you are going? You can't just walk away like that peasant." The soldier was trying to intimidate him by putting his sword on his neck. There was a moment of silence before the unknown person spoke. He looked briefly at the soldier under his hood and said, "I was hungry you see." All of the soldiers burst into laughter, "Hungry, you idiot. Let me relieve you of your hunger then." Saying this he raised his sword only to be interrupted by him again saying, "That's not a way to hold a sword, and since you insulted these berries I must teach you a lesson." "What lesson? We are royal arms, what can a peasant teach us?" He looked with a cold look under his hood and replied, "Death!"