Author’s Note: I had this chapter 80 complete. Then, my computer shorted out. So, please excuse the crappiness of this chapter. And try very hard to focus on the cuteness of Exodus, instead. ...Because he won’t be cute for long, with where he’s going.

(...And if you are what you eat, I could be you by morning.)

Chapter Seven: Royal Escort

Renze studied the obstacle course quietly, his eyes trained firmly on Sylvan. The boy was beautiful, even with his human body. His dark skin was blanketed with a thin sheet of sweat, causing it to shimmer as he moved briskly through the course. Due to the heat, he had removed his shirt. It only added to his beauty. His lustrous, curly brown hair flowed around him, even though it had been tied up. His face was contorted with concentration; his eyes burned. Renze’s mouth felt oddly dry as he watched the boy’s limber body slip through the obstacles. Even though Sylvan looked like a human, his beauty was untouched. As if drawn by a magnet, Renze felt himself drifting toward the boy. Sylvan didn’t so much as pause in his swift movements, not noticing the demon’s approach. He leapt through the final obstacle, nearly colliding with the General.

“...General,” he panted, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. Renze stared for a moment, regaining his composure. Calmly, he handed the boy a towel.

“...Excellent work. You’re ready to fight in the next battle,” he said officially. Sylvan nodded, then quickly saluted. Renze smiled. “At ease. Just act as you would around a close friend... unless we’re in battle. Until then, We’re just friends...” Sylvan smiled.

“Friends. I like that thought...” he said, brushing his sweat-drenched hair from his face. “Speaking of. How long would you say it should take the patrol to reach the village?” he asked. Renze thought for a moment.

“With the weather as warm as it’s been... and the larger size of the patrol... and the simple fact that Akira’s in charge of the patrol... I would give them at least two weeks before they reach the village. Once they reach the village, I’m hoping they can get through it peacefully.” He flicked his tail slightly, as if worried about the sanity of sending Akira’s patrol in the first place. Sylvan opened his mouth to respond, but respectfully closed it. He had to trust the General... if he couldn’t trust him... then who could he trust?

“...I see...” he murmured, wiping his face with the towel. “I suppose there’s nothing I can do except to wait patiently for their return, then.” Renze nodded.

“It sounds horrible, I know, but... try to take your mind off of Annai for the next few weeks. Find something else, anything else, to focus your mind on. The time will fly by,” he said gently, resting a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“General Renze.” Renze turned as a demon entered the training field. He was a tall, lithe,reptilian demon dressed in exquisite but obviously weak garments... a guard from the castle. Hisvivid red hair clashed against the white saluted him as he approached. The older demon returned the gesture dutifully, smiling faintly. “...Good to see you again, Renze, and...” His green eyes strayed to Sylvan, and narrowed. “...A human?” His voice took on an obvious hiss.

“Half.” Renze cleared his throat. “Leis, this is our newest recruit, Sylvan... even half-blood counts in my eyes. Sylvan, meet Leis... Captain of the Royal Guard.” Sylvan nodded quickly, and Renze continued. “Now, Leis, what brings you to the army?” he reassumed his official tone, and Leis nodded.

“We’re in need of a royal escort... His Majesty wishes to have Prince Exodus removed from this village. As of yet, the Humans have not attempted to attack the other known demon village–”

“Well, of course not!” Renze interrupted. “There are no civilians in that village, only bounty hunters, assassins, criminals, and those who are trained to become bounty hunters, assassins, or criminals! The Humans would rather slaughter themselves before risking an attack there.”

Leis cleared his throat, unaffected by the General’s outburst. “...Or the surrounding area. As such, the king wishes to move the prince to that location as soon as possible. The princess will remain in the castle to assist His Majesty, as she is of age to do so. Your mission is to assemble an escort, and have this escort see the prince to the village. Once there, the escort will inject the prince with extract of the Memory Plant–”

“...Then the king has no plans to see his son on the throne...” Renze whispered, stunned. “He wants the boy’s memory erased.”

“Please, General. The king would do nothing of the sort. It is a very low concentration of the extract. After ten years, give or take, the boy’s memory would begin to return! And this is a Royal Order, Renze. Not something you can turn down so easily. Now, how soon could you have the escort assembled?” Leis asked, ignoring Renze’s stupefied expression. Slowly, the General’s face slipped into a sly smile.

“...Tonight, if my planned escort agrees.” He smiled. Leis eyed him suspiciously.

“...I’ll inform the king. Have them at the castle gates by sundown.” With that, Leis left.

Sylvan eyed the General. “...Is that not the same village the patrol was heading for?” he asked. Renze nodded. “...General, I could go with the royal escort! I could search for Annai when we reached the village. And you know you could trust me with the prince.” Renze shook his head rapidly.

“Sylvan, I’d send you in a heartbeat... if you didn’t look like a human. You would never make it out of the village alive...” He brushed several sweaty locks of hair away from Sylvan’s face. “...And I like you too much for that. No, I have two others in mind.”

LeFox groaned as she read the letter. Fury smirked. “See, what’d I tell you? We’re babysitting!” she exclaimed sarcastically. “And guess what else? We’re babysitting the prince.” LeFox tore the letter in half.

“In case anyone had any questions, for the record, I hate kids!” she yelled, ripping it again and tossing the shreds on the floor. Zephyr promptly swept them up, smiling to himself. LeFox snarled. “Can you believe this?! They’re hiring us, as mercenaries, to escort the prince to a new village. The eight-year-old prince, who, I’ll take the liberty of assuming, is a whiny little, ‘Are we there yet?’ brat. How can they expect us to do that? Why don’t they send the Royal Guard...?” she asked angrily. Fury shrugged.

“I dunno. I heard, ‘you’re going to be handling a dangerous liquid, while traveling to one of the most dangerous villages on the face of the planet,’ and I thought, ‘Hell yeah.’ I kinda forgot about the kid, I guess.”

“...You guess? You guess?! How do you forget about an eight-year-old menace?” LeFox took a deep breath, resting her forehead in her hand. “...Fine. We’ll do it. Whatever.”

Renze studied the liquid in the syringe. How high was the concentration...? And was it truly the Memory Plant extract? Leis would believe what he had been told... the lizard had always been like that, gullible. Renze, on the other hand, wasn’t willing to take the chance. It was no secret that the king wanted his daughter on the throne. When his second wife had given birth to a son, the king had been more than a little upset... he had raised Psyche to take over the throne when he passed away. A son interfered with this plan. And the king would do anything to keep things going according to his plans... even if he had to poison his own son...

Renze’s eyes widened as he realized what this liquid could be. Poison! Of course! He walked outside, searching for a subject to test it on. He found one quickly - a lone frog sat beside the small pond the village used for water. The cat-demon snatched it up before it could hop away, injecting it with the fluid. Then, he sat it back down.

And watched.

The frog took several hops in the general direction of the pond. Then, it shuddered. Its legs jerked violently... before it finally collapsed. Renze sighed deeply, greatly disappointed in the honesty of his king.

“...Poison... it was poison...” he whispered, scooping up the dead frog and tossing it into the trees. Half of the fluid still remained in the syringe. The poison meant for the prince. By the time everyone had realized the king had lied, the young boy would have been dead. Renze leaned against a nearby tree, struggling to keep his breathing even. He would have been sending the boy off to his doom...

“Renze?” He looked up, startled to see Natau standing a few feet away.

“Nattie, the king wants to kill his son,” he choked out, his eyes wide. Natau nodded sadly, taking a few steps closer.

“I know. Everyone knows... and Zephyr told me about LeFox and Fury’s mission... are you sure it’s really Memory extract?” he asked. Renze shook his head.

“It isn’t... it’s poison. But I can see the logic in giving the boy the extract... he legally becomes king at age eighteen, and no one could question it then. Until then, it’s best that the boy remembers nothing of his past here, or his lineage. If he tried to return, lawfully, Psyche or her father could order his death. Come. We have to find a low concentration of Memory extract by tonight.”

LeFox fingered the syringe, eyeing the small child in front of her. He was already falling asleep; his eyes were drooping. Fury lead the way several feet away, clearly not tired in the least. She held her sword in front of her, lighting the path before them and cutting away any brush standing in the way. Exodus walked between them, and LeFox brought up the end - this way, Exodus couldn’t fall behind or get lost. LeFox glanced upward, her eyes resting on the eery blue light emanating from Fury’s sword.

“...Fury,” she said quietly. “We should stop for tonight. He’s tired.” Fury glanced over her shoulder, smirking.

“Aw, is LeFoxie going soft for the little boy...? Fine, you two stay here. I’m gonna keep going... you know, mark a path for tomorrow. At least until we get out of the forest. ‘Night.” She vanished into the shadows of the trees. LeFox turned her attention to the small fox-demon.

“...Okay, Your Highness, you’re free to sleep,” she said, sitting on a fallen log. Exodus pulled a blanket from the pack he’d been carrying - a light one, if appearances proved anything - and draped it over himself. He used the pack as a pillow.

“They want to kill me,” he said. LeFox glanced down at him, the syringe dangling from her fingers. “It’s poison. I know it is. Father said it was a memory potion of some kind... but it’s not.” He looked up, his green eyes focusing squarely on hers. “You’d do it, too. You’d kill me... with that poison you hold in your hand right this second...” His eyes slid down, resting on the syringe. LeFox was mildly startled that such a young boy could grasp the idea that he could die tomorrow. If she gave him the poison, she could kill him. And he seemed relatively calm about it. How strange...

My mission is to deliver you to the village, then inject the fluid. Nothing more, nothing less... what more do you want from me...? That I spare your memories, or your life, if need be? Who would know...? I would. And Zephyr would know... she shook her head.

“My duties come first.”

Author’s Note: Whee. Done. On to the next chapter... in another year or so...