Winter Festival in Theapan (Part 25)

Vorbuk felt strange as he danced with the commoners. There was no room for him to refuse as the beat of the music and the joyous people gathered round swept him away as if he had been swallowed by the sea.

The prince, Leo, was not the only one who went to dance with the commoners. He could see the others among the crowd as well. Daryl was the only one who did not join in the dance as he stood further back. It seemed natural that Daryl would not join them as the man's worry was on whether or not they would cause more trouble before they returned to the palace.

Vorbuk almost felt sorry for Daryl carrying such heavy burdens on his shoulders to watch over the others as much as he did. However that feeling only came over him briefly as his mood increased the more he saw the others enjoying themselves and soon he found himself enjoying the dance among the crowd.

In the dead of night the music and dance filled the street. There was nothing fancy like fireworks but from the sides of the crowd Vorbuk could see werewolves who used their own skills to show off for their fellow commoners. He could even see a few who juggled torches to create a fire display that entranced the younger ones attention. It was different from how the nobles celebrated but it was something that almost gave a feeling of being back home for Vorbuk seeing titles hold no meaning for the commoners.

I guess I missed it more then I thought. Vorbuk thought to himself as he found himself comparing the two places.

"Vorbuk," Prince Leo called out for him as the prince clashed against Vorbuk. Grabbing hold of Vorbuk's arm and pulling him out of the crowd as he continued to speak, "Come on!"

"Where are you taking me?" Vorbuk's throat in human form still released a low growl at the prince's sudden action of pulling him along.

No, the prince must be worried we'd be separated on the way out of the crowd. Vorbuk calmed himself as he tried to find reason for the prince to pull him along.

"I thought I saw-" Prince Leo paused when they made it to the edge of a alleyway. Glancing around he tried to locate someone he'd just seen.

Vorbuk was not sure what or who the prince was looking for as he shook his arm free from the prince's grasp and asked him, "What did you see?"

"It looked like we were being followed by a woman. She seemed familiar as well..." Prince Leo felt puzzled as he had just seen someone watching them from afar. They could not have gone far in that short span of time. Yet there is no trace of them here.

Vorbuk sniffed the air as he tried to ponder the prince's words. It did not take long for a strangely familiar scent to be caught by him. Someone was indeed hiding in the ally before they made it over to check it out. However there was no trace of them now so it was clear that they did not want to be noticed.

"Who could be tailing us like this?" Vorbuk muttered the question as he tried to consider the possibilities. There were too many people that could be aiming for their lives. If it was a threat it was a good thing that he knew in advance. "No... which one of us are they even after?"

The mood grew silent for a long pause. It was difficult for either of them to comment on that question. Besides themselves everyone that was with them tonight had people that could target them. It was possible that it was not even themselves that were the target.

"No, it was most likely true that we are the target." Vorbuk sighed heavily as he considered their enemies list to greatly outweigh the others at the moment.

Prince Leo could not refute that as he nodded and glanced back at the others who were still enjoying their time around the festive atmosphere as he spoke, "Didn't King Micah mention being stalked by the queen of Kaepis?"

"You think it was her?" Vorbuk asked.

Prince Leo couldn't be certain of it, "It's impossible to know for certain but as long as it was her we wont need to worry about anything serious happening."

"You've seen her before so you-" Vorbuk had hoped he prince would have been able to recognize them.

"I didn't get a clear look but I could tell they were female from their figure." Prince Leo felt frustrated that he didn't get a clearer look at the person.

Vorbuk hesitated before speaking what was on his mind, "We should head back to the palace."

"Huh?" Prince Leo wanted to refute but he knew that it would not be safe to linger around the commoners gathered around the area if the person following them turned out to be a threat. It would only put innocent people at risk and he understood that clearly. He would never want to put others at risk simply because he was enjoying his time with the others.

However that was the prince when he was sober enough to think rationally, "I don't want to go back!"

"No," Vorbuk grabbed the prince by his clothes and dragged him back towards Daryl, "We're heading back with the others right now. Do you intend to keep me out until daylight?"

"What's the worst that could happen?" Prince Leo struggled to try and escape the grasp of Vorbuk but was too weak from the amount he'd drank throughout the night.

[ Axania Queen has taken an interest in you. ]

Fuck. A single word came into his mind as Vorbuk saw that message.

I knew that scent was familiar... It was the scent of a dragon!

What does she want from us?

Vorbuk had heard about what happened to Axania recently. It was not a good sign for him that Axania was destroyed by the god Chynir. Nobody had any idea what happened to the queen. Whether she was dead or alive was unknown to others as the queen was classified as missing.

The dragon queen did not like to get involved in matters between the mortals and yet she had taken and interest in him. Vorbuk felt strange when he saw that message from the god that spoke to him. He was not sure which god it was but he was certain that the messages were actually from one of the gods.

Is this a good thing? Or a bad thing? Vorbuk questioned the queen's intention.

"The capital could end up in a similar state as Cista's." Vorbuk muttered his honest thought when he imagined the dragon queen going on a rampage in his newly acquired capital.

"... What?" Prince Leo felt confused by those words that made him suddenly flinch.

"Let's go back and rest for tonight. When you're clear minded tomorrow we'll talk about it." Vorbuk urged the prince to head back to the palace. He could feel the prince slowly giving in and following him without any further problem.

"... Alright." The prince did not need much coercion from Vorbuk when the matter involved the lives of others being in danger. Even if he was a bit drunk he was still someone who had a kind heart. That kindness was one of the reasons Vorbuk found it easy to be friends with the prince. He was not someone who became selfish at the cost of others.