Chương 78: Book 3; Chapter 77; Prince in a town

Rainee and Angus didn't reach the house they were aiming for, but instead met Ruffus and Blake heading their way. So Blake didn't run to hide as she told him.

"Of course he didn't… Why would he…" Rainee thought to herself.

"People never listen. You tell the horse to run and hide — the horse runs and hides. You tell a person to run and hide, and the person either stands and watches, or walks straight into the middle of danger…" But luckily, he seemed all good and not even scared. In fact, they both looked very happy. Ruffus looked proud-happy, and Blake awe-happy. Something had happened to make them feel like this. It didn't stay secret for too long, as upon seeing Rainee and Angus, Blake ran to them full of smiles.

"Did you see Ruffus' sword?!! It is so amazing! He said I can have one like this if I train long and try hard. I will train and try hard! I want one of these swords. But maybe not as big as Ruffus', as it looks so heavy and he must be very strong to carry a sword like this! I want one similar to yours! How do I get it? How long do I train? What do I train to get it?" Blake could not stop talking, and with every word he said, Ruffus seemed prouder and happier.

"Sword?" Rainee asked, looking at Ruffus' side, where there was no sword. She knew there wasn't any even before looking, as Ruffus' sword was at his saddle, on a horse that ran away. Now she knew why he was so proud.

"You did it!" she said in a happy and no less proud voice. Before Ruffus could say anything, Rainee lifted him up without a slightest effort and swung him around as if he were weightless. She even tossed him up and caught him again as an adult would throw a little child. All the time, she was praising him nonstop, telling him how well he had done.

For people who were already gathering around, it seemed a little bit peculiar that the girl, who seemed even younger and smaller than the boy in her arms, would behave like this with him, or even had the strength to lift him. But Ruffus didn't mind. On the contrary, the more praise he got, the happier he was.

"That's my brother!" Angus said proudly, seeing their confused looks.

"He is very strong, and he is very smart, and he can do things that others cannot even dream about." Upon hearing that, the smile on Ruffus' face, which already couldn't fit there, grew even bigger, and he seemed on the brink of exploding from all this joy and pride.

"Can we see it?" Rainee asked, putting him on the ground and ruffling his hair with encouragement. She didn't need to encourage him, as Ruffus could hardly hold himself back. He put his arm behind his back and, with a swift move, pulled out a massive sword that definitely wasn't there before. It couldn't be missed, as the sword was humongous, even larger than Ruffus himself. The long, wide and shiny blade was emanating yellow light, giving the impression that this sword was made from gold.

With a nicely crafted handle, it did resemble one of the swords artists would paint in storybooks, especially associated with kings. The sword was massive in size even for an adult, but Ruffus wielded it easily with one hand, first swinging it around, then lifting it up, full of joy and pride. Blake's eyes were shining upon seeing this sword, which had impressed him so much, again. But he was not the only one.

A whisper spread among people, and Angus said again, with lots of pride in his voice: If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"That's my little brother!" While saying that, he wasn't looking at this miraculous sword, but at his brother. Rainee was the same. A loud applause came from both sides of the street, but it wasn't the residents of this town who were clapping.

"Very impressive, Prince Ragnar!" the young officer praised him too, while clapping and walking closer. From his green uniform, everyone could easily tell that he belonged to the King's Army, the same as a few more soldiers clapping on the street.

"I am truly blessed to be here today to witness it with my own eyes, instead of hearing stories about it. And I am sure now that no story would ever do justice to what I saw just now. Your mother is going to be so proud, and I myself cannot wait to see you back in the Capital and in my class. Even King himself will not be able to convince me now that you are not ready yet to join the Royal Academy."

"Such a moment, and you have to ruin it…" Rainee said in response. But she didn't look like anything was ruined, as she was still looking at Ruffus with the same delighted eyes.

"Prince…"

"Did he say Prince Ragnar?"

"How can a prince be here?" Voices around were spreading this message rapidly.

"Royal Academy…" Blake said with even more awe than before.

"You have been invited to the Royal Academy!" From what was said, everyone was picking up different pieces of information that were most important and relevant to them.

"Do you really think I am ready?" Ruffus happily asked, looking at the officer who spoke.

"Ren, did you hear?" He turned his question to Rainee without waiting for an answer.

"Major Gerald thinks that I am ready to attend his classes! Do you think the same?"

"In the way the major thinks? Of course, you are ready. You have been ready for a long time," Rainee replied.

"It is not that you need to manifest a spirit weapon to join the academy."

"But dad always says that I am not ready," Ruffus said in confusion, putting his weapon back behind him, and it vanished out of sight.

"Yes, but by saying it, dad doesn't mean the same as the major," Rainee corrected him.

"The major meant that you are strong and skilful enough to join, which you are, and have been for some time now. Dad means that there is no reason for you yet to drop your freedom and dive into the routine of the Royal Academy, where others will tell you what to do. Dad is right, you are not ready for it, as it would be very boring for you, and the major is right, you are skilled enough to be accepted.

I would listen to dad's advice, as your skills are not going to shrink, so why rush into a place that will still be available for you at any point in the future?"

"My little princess Rainee, you are exceptionally accurate, as always," the major smiled at her.

"There is no such person as Princess Rainee, and there is no need to invent her either," Rainee said, not moved at all by this polite approach of the major.

"OK then," the major said, not getting upset, "my little lady Ren." Rainee didn't say anything in response, but a soft smile on her face disclosed that, despite what she said, she must like this man a lot. By now, the whole street was already jammed with people, and more were coming. Word had spread that there were special guests in the town, and these special guests were not just members of the King's Army who, for reasons not known to anyone, suddenly came and destroyed their working machines.

Just such an event on its own would draw people out, no matter if they were tired or not. But word was spreading that Prince Ragnar was in the town with his brother, and as Prince Ragnar had only one brother, then it must be no other brother than Prince Angus, whom everyone expected to be a future King. Whispers were getting louder and louder until the meaning of what was being said reached Blake, too.

"Are you the real prince?" he asked Ruffus, who was still standing next to him.

"I guess so," Ruffus said.

"What would be a not real prince?" he asked with a little bit of confusion.

"I don't know," Blake admitted.

"Maybe someone whose father is not the King?"

"Oh! Then I am a real prince," Ruffus said happily, "because my dad is a King. If you come with us to the Capital, you can meet him. But still, don't call me prince. I don't really like it, and if you are to travel with us, then it would be very unpleasant to hear it all the time. Call me Ruffus. I like it better. But that is if your mum allows you to travel."

"She will, she will!" Blake said happily.

"When she hears who you are, she will definitely let me go!"

"That's the spirit, my little lad," the major said, looking at Blake, "but I am afraid that you will have to wait for a little bit longer, as Prince Ragnar will not be able to travel any longer."

"Why?" Ruffus couldn't understand.

"Your mother requested that you be brought back home as soon as possible."

"But that is not fair! I am as big as Angus is, so I don't have to stay home!" Ruffus was close to throwing a tantrum.

"This is out of the question," another familiar voice sounded. The young General had returned and was now watching from afar how things were escalating.

"Why?" Angus asked in his soft and friendly voice.

"Your mother requested that all three of you be returned home immediately after you are found."

"Your words don't make much sense, as if mum wanted to know where we are, all she had to do was ask father," Angus disagreed.

"I believe that the Queen has spoken to me because our opinions on this matter match. She, same as I, thinks that it is time for you to put aside this aimless wandering around and go back home, to take the place you were born into."

"What if I refuse?" Angus asked.

"I am afraid you don't have this option," the General said, making his way through the crowd that was parting in front of him without fail, as to stand in his way would never even cross anybody's mind. But then something happened that made him stop in his tracks. This something had the shape of a little girl with a long, slightly curved sword in her right hand and cold eyes looking from a very calm face that, despite its calmness, also radiated immense resolution and confidence unusual for such a small child.

Some power was emanating from her whole body and her entire posture. Most of the people were not able to see this power, but still, seen or not, it couldn't be ignored, and everyone slowly started to back off.