Although thankful so that she wouldn't have to be hassled with finding a way up, she was still wary of the prince since he was hostile, observing every bit his move. As she got on the vine and it lifted, he moved away as if pulling it, but he wasn't holding anything in his hand. Her hunch was even more proven when she finally got back above ground where she did not find the vine to be connected to anything but somewhere in the bushes. Just as she thought, he is using his power.
Lupa suddenly felt goosebumps. It was a peculiar feeling she experienced, meeting the being she had only ever seen in her memory finally in person. His presence seems somewhat ethereal to her. She's almost afraid that if she were to touch him, her hands would simply go through his figure.
"There, I have helped*---*PUNCH!", before he could even finish his sentence he was met with a strong punch to his face that even with his headpiece, he still felt it. Lupa had probably broken her wrist but it was worth it.
He clenched on his mask and looked at her baffled.
"That's for, breaking my cart", Lupa panted. "And this…", she kicked him in the stomach. "For fucking insulting me when I was being nice!", she cursed as she tried to catch her breath. The prince was dumbfounded, he didn't know that kids here would be so violent.
Later on, the two did not utter a single word to each other as they ascended up the mountain with Lupa involuntarily leading the way. It is only right because the boy may not know how to walk on soiled mountains. He was already feeling upset that his white robe was sullied with this brown dirt where as in the deserts he never had this problem.
The kick he got from the girl was certainly a fiery one, but it did not hurt him. Now, he has no choice but to follow behind the footsteps of a mad child as to not make a fool of himself. He felt like he was falling and so did his best to keep balance, he has never walked up a hill before.
When they finally reached the top, Lupa offered her hand to help the prince, he may have glared at her but he took her gesture, already exhausted. A moment of silence and panting as they both tried to catch their breathe with the boy sitting down on the grass and the girl, anxiously waiting for her heartbeat to settle. Their relationship isn't off to a very nice start.
The two looked at each other as the bell from the temple rings, it was probably lunch time. The boy looked away to the direction of the temple, then suddenly a commotion inside the walls started.
* "The prince is messing!", someone yelled. And with that, he sprung up to escape, he did not want to be found just yet.
* "Find him!", another voice followed and the sound of clang armors followed. The soldiers were looking for him and drawing their swords.
Lupa notices this to her ease.
"What are you going to do now?", she asked."Are you going back inside?"
The prince moved a step forward but then stopped.
"No…for a moment, I'd like to escape", the prince was already on edge but he was contemplating on his determination. He spoke Edzhilan very well which stunned the girl.
The sound of heavy footsteps were growing more rushed and the afternoon heavy. In that moment Lupa couldn't even think about fulfilling her role anymore, being a child herself, in her eyes all she sees is a little boy not wanting to be found
"In that case…follow me", she sighed and turned her back on him as she clenched on her broken wrist.
"If you'd like, you can come disappear with me", she looked back at him and smiled as she took his hand and started to run.
It may have felt like a natural run for the girl but it was different for the prince. All of a sudden it became a moment, it was subtle for the prince, it felt like her momentum was registered within him that he could see her in such a slower pace, now finally having a good look at her. Half her face and body covered in burnt scars while her orchid pink orbs blurred with the reflection of the sun as she squints her eyes , her smile making the afternoon even more brighter than it already was with her background in the shade of the trees. Her silky black her bounces as she runs. He let her guide him through the forest. It was like he was invited by a fay to stroll the forest as they ran. Although he lives in a desert, his hands were always cold, but this time, hers was warm. Maybe it's the roughness of her palm but he was never held like this before let alone be offered freedom.
As the boy and the girl escaped, the guards rushed and ran all over the temple calling out for their prince where they could not find him.
The temple was in chaos looking for their missing visitor. The King himself was beginning to panic as he called out his son's name, searching all over the place. While the staff were even more worried for they knew that if the young prince could not be found within the day, the foreign king shall have their heads served on a plate. Everyone was panicking, looking into spaces where a child might fit thinking that he may just be hiding.
"Drazhan!", the king yelled as his mind begins to wonder different conclusions and assumptions to where his boy might be. Was he too hasty in this trip and now the price he must pay is losing his son? Are his enemies unto him?
"Please fear not, You're majesty. His highness is safe, he will be back shortly". An old blind monk spoke, sitting on his mat whilst calmly pressing on his prayer beads while the others were in fright.
The King stopped in his footsteps. "Who is this insolent monk?", his hearing twitched as he turned to the blind elderly.
"P-please excuse him, Sire. He is an excellent foreseer but he is the oldest one of us here"
"A foreseer you say, then tell me, where is my son".His majesty turned even more agitated and demanded with his sword in hand raised and ready to slit his insolent throat but the monk merely chuckled gracefully.
"Children are merely being children, Sire. It is not right to rob them off of what little time of innocence they have left, especially his highness, considering the responsibility of the future you wish to impose on him"
The king turned silent. For a moment, he had been enlightened, he was appalled with himself that he began to contemplate. How could a blind man see a thousand lights more than him who has perfect vision.
…..
The children hid in bushes as they waited for the guards to finally leave after a while of searching for the prince outside the temple, luckily they were called back with a signal of a whistle. They thought they had been tricky when their escape and giggled at their mockery of the guards, who were the finest soldiers in his kingdom. Even if they looked hard enough, they still wouldn't be able to find them with the young prince hiding from them with his power.
Now they cheered in success. The guards are gone at last.
"Looks like we lost them", Lupa chuckled and emerged from their hiding spot. She did not even know it was thanks to the boy using his ability.
"With your help nonetheless", the boy thanked.
"Why are you running from them anyway?", Lupa asked as she put her hood back on.
"The rite is taking too long, so I ran", he answered with a white-lie.
"Wow, a true devotee", Lupa joked as the prince got up. She wasn't too bothered by his mask anymore, she can guarantee that it is indeed him. The protagonist.
She observed as all the depictions and descriptions of him flashed from her memory like that of reading a book. 'The Almighty'. 'The Great He'. 'The God on Esthella'. 'The Great Fhorlorn' . He was called all sorts of names. But as he is now, he certainly does not look that almighty but rather just simply a child who is a bit too bright for a dark minded creature like Lupa. She would compare him to a depiction of an angel.
" I dislike crowded company", the boy shrugs.
"So, you'd rather fall unto and break a stranger's cart and threaten her to death than stay in their company?", she mocks as he took off his headpiece and revealed his brown hair, his face still covered with the mask. Lupa's eyebrow frowned from the reveal but by this time, she recognized that it must simply be part of his disguise.
"By coincidence, I did not know it was stationed directly below me"
"That was my source of living you dipshit", Lupa lied and snatched his headpiece and hid it behind her back but he couldn't seem to care less, every bit of her intention was to spoil his face.
"If you show me around, you'll be compromised", he stood not caring about her complaint.
"I don't make deals with strangers whose face I don't even know and was just rude to me"
"Do you like to hold unto grudges a lot?"
"You must be too ugly for the eyes to bare"
"It's tradition", he answered sourly after she ignored his question and tried to get his headpiece back.
Lupa turned quite for a bit to agree. Seeing how cold he was with her, she did not expect such a request. Things were finally falling into place with the story which most certainly delights her.
"Fine, but I haven't forgiven you yet. Only if you say 'Cockscot', I will",the boy froze and turned to her judgingly. It was not a word nor tale meant for young children to know specifically but somehow, they both do.
"No", he frowned being uncomfortable, now thinking that she might be a weirdo.
"Then, I will not be your friend", Lupa turned her back on him and started walking away but the prince quickly grabbed her shoulder so she looked back at him. The two stared fiercely at each other for a moment, daring.
"Cockscot",he muttered defeadtly so she turned back at him even more. He feared he might never have a chance to explore a real forest ever again.
"Right in front of the temp--"
"COCKSCOT!",she did not expect him to yell out the cuss.
"COCKSCOT"
"COCKSCOT"
"COCKSCOT!", the boy mercilessly repeated.
He must have been so fed up with living his life isolated in the palace for him to get this desperate for such a poor tour in another country, Lupa thought and how it was so pathetic of him before she bursts out laughing. And the boy breaks into laughter seeing her astonished reaction. The temple walls were echoed with the children's glee that the only thing the King can do was listen to its peace in silence rather than caring about his son swearing for he had never heard the boy laugh before.
*Cockscot originated from a short tale Lupa read in one of her mother's book. Apparently it's a popular story. It was about a man with an enormous groin who knocked up every single prostitute on entertainment house he goes, to the point where they could not walk the next day. And his name was Scott. Thus, the coined slur term 'Cockscot'.