His First Adversity [ II ]

As the prince opened the door out of the dark space from which they came, Noname did something rather unusual; he used his right arm to shield his eyes and groaned softly....

The truth was that Noname, in the fifteen years that he had lived, had never seen the light of the sun in its natural state! The two huge windows in Lady Chan's room were polarised and tinted for greater privacy, making it impossible for the pure and actual intensity of the light of the sun to pass through.

"Are you alright?" The Prince asked in concern.

"Y..yes, I just had something in my eyes." Noname lied to his brother; of course, he wasn't alright; he had never experienced the full effect of sunlight, hence subconsciously developed photophobia. 

He was still dealing with the strain and pain in his eyeballs when his brother brought out a cloak along with a fake beard and a walking cane, initially hidden in the bush that surrounded the door from which they came.

"Here, put this on and hold on to this!" The Prince said as he handed the cloak and walking stick to him.

"You didn't tell me anything about me disguising!"

"Well, as an elderly assistant, you have to look like one!"

"Seriously! ... " Noname exclaimed softly as he put on the outfit, using the hood to shield his eyes. "...You really think anyone will fall for this? I mean, look at me! We might be twins, but I clearly look younger; I have a leaner stature and am obviously shorter than you!"

"And that's the more reason why this is going to work, because according to Fuku's second law of mischief, 'In the act of disguise, the younger you appear, the older you become!"

"Fuku's law? ... How come I've never heard of such? .....which of the Fuku even proposed it?"

"Well, you're looking at him."

"...Right!" Noname exclaimed sarcastically.

"Very well then, on we go!" The Prince said.

The two brothers were just about to move on but heard the footsteps of two guards and probably another man. They quickly ducked behind the bushes, and when the coast was clear, they got up and started off.

They walked past the bushes, onto the royal botanical farm. Noname could perceive the sweet fragrance of the beautiful flowers, but his vision distorted their beauty.

"Aren't there any gardeners here to tend these flowers?" Noname asked curiously.

"Nah, I lured them off just to avoid any unnecessary questions."

Noname was heavily astonished by his brother's reply and asked. "How did you manage to lure away all the workers on the farm? I mean, for a farm this large, there will have to be at least a hundred workers! So how did you do it?"

"It's kind of complicated. I didn't lead them ALL though, just the ones within this region... but since you asked... I poisoned thirteen of the cattle in the ranch, and I fed the rest with red cabbage to make their milk turn red! ....." The Prince answered confidently, with his lips widened in mischief. "....They are probably having a meeting with themselves concerning this 'Bad Omen," On saying this, he burst into an evil, mischievous laugh, being proud of his selfish abuse of knowledge, but Noname didn't find it really funny, so he asked—

"Why brother, why all this risk?"

"Come on, stop being such a wimp. Don't you know the gravity of the word 'FLY' when referring to a human in this current generation and at this point in time? It is something that one in a million people will get to do at most five times in their life. It's my first time flying, and being a special day, I'd like to take you along. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Well, the worst that could happen is your parents seeing you with me!"

"Don't worry, the Queen left for her uncle's."

"And the King?"

"Don't be silly! The whole kingdom knows that the only thing the King has been doing since he was coronated is nothing but to plan for some stupid battle... Our opps in fact still remain a mystery..... like we offended any other kingdom recently!"

"Yeah, a battle that might just never be...I guess.... " Noname agreed with uncertainty. "... But why?... " he continued, " ... For what reason do you think the King is planning this war?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's just scared of something, or someone, that he alone knows. Although I've never really known my father to be scared... Don't fret; no one will recognise you as even my brother, let alone a twin." The prince encouraged his brother.

 They both walked on and on, until they got to a small, narrow bridge above a fast-moving stream that separated a field of oats from the botanical farm. They got past the bridge and advanced through the field until they got to another section of the field with a far-spreading carpet of grass.

Further away, there was what seemed to be a workshop, and above it, hovered glamorously, the Royal hot air balloon! It was attached to the floor of the workshop by means of a cord ladder via a hole on the roof of the workshop.

The Prince stood in awe at the sight of the balloon; its levitation sent frisson flying around his subconsciously static body. The practical application of its concept was a whole new adventure for him, but to Noname, not getting the exact figure of what the balloon looked like made him feel nothing special; he just had to adapt to the joyful atmosphere for his brother's sake.

They finally arrived at the workshop, and upon knocking, they were met by the physical chemist's assistant – The son of Humphrey himself.

Noname and the Prince scanned the workshop in detail, for the workshop wasn't like any other workshop; it was divided with accuracy into two sections, one having the apparatus of a physicist and the other of a chemist. As they walked towards the cord ladder, Humphrey's son bowed to them and greeted the prince.

"Greetings, my Lord. I have been expecting you; please do make yourself comfortable."

"Where is your father?" The Prince asked

"He was called to the palace, but he should be here by dusk."

"Dusk! My assistant and I have no time; don't you see he's an old lad and needs his early evening medications and rest!?"

"I'm sorry my Lord, but if you could please just wait for a bit longer."

"I won't take that...!"

"My Prince..." Noname cut in. " ...We don't want to encounter any problems on the way; besides, we might be needing some instructions from Sir Humphrey, and moreover, there is a possibility that a night view from the sky is even better. I think we should consider the young lad's request."

"My time limit outside the palace is restricted within a specific range! Waiting on Humphrey might end up with me having to encroach into my restricted time, and I've read a lot of books about hot air balloons, so I probably know almost everything about it. Come on brethren, let's go!" The impatient Prince insisted and ascended the cord ladder.

Noname was about to follow suit when Humphrey's assistant stopped him.

"Please excuse me, sir, Since you'll be his guide, I'd like to know your name for accountability to my father. My father was being very strict about an elderly assistant with the knowledge of flight; he would have been stricter if he were here, since this time around, the only Prince is involved."

Noname understood his perspective but was shocked by the confirmation of his nonexistence.

'^ 'Only Prince!' if only they knew!^' He turned to the boy and quickly thought of any random name...

... Tell your father that it was Galgadoth who escorted the Prince." he said and followed his brother into the balloon.

'^Galgadoth!?...'. Humphrey's assistant was struck by Noname's very answer. ' ...That man is clearly not Galgadoth; Galgadoth was old and therefore had grey hair, and being a well-paid member of the King's Council, he obviously wasn't skinny! This isn't Galgadoth! ... This is an imposter! ... because the main reason, according to those guards, why my father left for the palace was concerning the funeral of the late deputy leader of the Royal Council....

....Galgadoth is dead! ^'