Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Alright then,” he responded after hearing Sky’s response. Yuan walked past her and made his way towards the room that Mayhem pointed out earlier. Yuan glanced back at the girl, to check if she followed behind him. Once they reached what seemed to be a meeting room, Yuan saw that the room was packed with burly mercenaries. As soon as he went inside, everybody fared their eyes on him, eyes furrowed and alarmed. But of course, who wouldn’t be, right? He was still a member of the Equuleus army; one of their best soldiers and a promising one, indeed. Yuan already got used to it, for when he was taken here the first time after he was saved by Weir and Mayhem, he got the same treatment too.

“Ah, Yuan!” came a lady’s voice amongst the burly mercenaries ahead. Yuan shot his eyes to the direction the voice came. Some of the mercenaries moved to the side and revealed a lady, sitting on a chair. Her dark, crimson hair was tied to her back on a bun. She was wearing mercenary clothes, although hers was more elegantly tailored than the rest. “I am so glad that you’re safe!” she chimed as she stood up. “Boy, you got us all worried! What were you thinking, going back to Elise Qualia? And after we saved you too!”

“Sorry, Haine,” he apologized, scratching the back of his head. Haine walked over towards him, and told him that he better be sorry. Yuan glanced at the lady who stood barely up to his chin, taller than sky. She may be a mercenary, but she definitely carried a different air than the rest. “Ah, I forgot. I brought a friend, Sky,” he said, introducing Sky behind him. “She was sent by Jessi. You know him, right?”

“Yeah. Weir told me about him,” she answered, before turning towards the lady. “I’m Haine Kiara, friend of Regalia. Leader of the Cartel of the Silver Moon. Fancy name for us mercs.” Then she beamed a smile. “Alright, boys. Get going. We have some things to discuss here,” she stated, ordering the other mercenaries to leave.

As soon as the mercenaries left, there were only the five of them left: Yuan, Haine, Weir, Mayhem and Sky. Yuan looked behind him for Sky, but was surprised to see her gone. He looked around the room and saw the girl by the corner. She must have been pretty shaken up by the sight of mercenaries. Ah, she really is one timid girl. Weir moved towards the table and took a seat, crossing his arms as he gave Yuan a nod.

“Alright, Yuan. Care to fill us in on the details?” Haine started, focusing her gaze upon Yuan. “What exactly happened that night we found you?”

“We were attacked by the Regalian army. They launched a surprise attack, killing our men. But...”

“Huh? That’s weird. Regalia hasn’t moved their armies for the last couple of years.” Mayhem answered. “And why would they even do that now, considering that the Soma kid is supposed to be engaged to your princess?”

“Why did they branded you a traitor, Yuan?” asked Haine.

“That is because…”

~~

On the night of the attack, Yuan was running east, away from the massacre as ordered by Zeta when he found him. The soldier continued running east as directed, and along his way, he found the dead bodies of his friends. It was a horrible sight to see and though he want to avenge them, he really can’t do anything about it right now. They were outnumbered, and if he charge into the heart of the enemy, he’d just end up dead like his friends. Suddenly, he heard a groan coming from one of the bodies that put him to an abrupt stop. Yuan looked for the source of the groan amongst the pile of bodies, and when he found it, he saw one of his friends, clinging for the little life left in his body.

“Kyo,” he called out to the man, holding on the soldier. The soldier, all bloodied and had been blinded during the onslaught let out another groan. “Kyo, don't worry. I’ll get you out of here.”

“P – Prince…” the soldier muttered, his voice weak.

“What?”

“P – Prince…” the soldier reiterated. Tears soon fell from his blind eyes.

“Yuan,” a man’s voice called out to him. Yuan glanced up to his side and saw a man standing, with soldiers surrounding him. He had black hair, as dark as the night, and eyes like an emerald. Although because of all the flames surrounding them, his eyes appeared that of a deep red.

“Lucien…” he spoke his name, surprised to see their prince there, of all places. “What are you doing here? Regalia has come to attack…”

Then there was silence, as the prince looked at him, and they exchanged glances. The silence was broken when Lucien started chuckling, then letting out a loud laugh.

“Lucien?”

“These men have all served their purposes, Yuan. They have served their kingdom well with their lives.”

“What are you saying?”

The prince then took a few steps towards Yuan, stopping short in front of a dead soldier’s body in front of him. Lucien looked at the body, staring at it coldly before turning to Yuan. “But don’t worry, Yuan. Their deaths will not be in vain. Tonight is the start of my holy war. After this night, our people will be screaming out for vengeance against those Regalian scums.”

“What? Your holy war? What the hell are you saying, Lucien?!”

~~

“Lucien? You mean, the Black Prince of Equuleus?” said Haine, after hearing Yuan’s story.

“That sounds… bad, really bad,” commented Mayhem.

“Captain Galleon came after that and pushed me off a cliff. That’s how I survived and wound up on the river where you guys found me.”

“And you came back to Equuleus because?” asked Weir.

“I was worried for my father, Hollie… and everyone. I wanted to warn them.”

“But when you got back, you were branded a traitor and ordered to be executed,” said Haine as she started to pace around the room. “This can’t be good. Now that Equuleus believes that Regalia had launched a surprise attack, it won’t be long until Equuleus mobilizes their army and attack Regalia. That will be a full scale war!”

Exiting the room where Yuan had talked with the Cartel heads, he held the door and gently closed it, making as little sound as he could as if not to disturb anyone. He let out a weak sigh. Was telling them Equuleus, or rather, what the prince Lucien planned to do a good thing? If felt as if he was bailing out on his friend. But then again, if they don’t stop him now, a lot more people will be caught up, and innocents may die. But, do they really stand a chance against the Black Prince?

‘Lucien…’

Yuan turned to face Sky as he heard her speak, asking him to accompany her around town. A good idea, he thought. That way, he could get his mind off things, even at least for now. And besides, it’s a good time to see and learn how they do things in Regalia. There may had been once a peace treaty between the two nations, however for all his life, Yuan had never once left Equuleus to visit Regalia. It didn’t really occurred to him; after all, his parents were born and raised in Equuleus.

“Sure. I’d love to accompany you, milady. Although, I really didn’t thought that you’re a healer,” he stated softly. Yes, he wondered what could be her profession and he came up with some things, such as a storekeeper, or an instructor. But a healer? It never crossed his mind. But then again, with a gentle air around the lady, it was surprising that he hadn’t thought about that.

‘Ah, so that’s it, huh?’ he thought to himself as soon as Sky told him that getting some sunlight will do him good. Yuan looked at himself; he really could get some sunlight. For the past three days, he had been holed up in the dungeons with no sunlight. Now that he’s free, why not enjoy it, right? And besides, Hollie had been nagging him to go outside and relax, but also to be careful. Not every one of the mercenaries were keen on the idea of keeping an Equuleus soldier in their place.

“Thank you, Lady Sky,” he thanked her, bowing his head a little to show his gratitude. She must have been worried for him. He glanced back to her and gave her a smile, before turning to his side and gestured for Sky.

“Well then, I shall accompany you on your rounds, milady. And besides, I still owe Jessi my gratitude. ”

As soon as Sky take their leave, Yuan followed behind.

~~~~~~

“Keiyo,” Weir called out to Keiyo as soon as he spotted the man. He had been walking around the forest for a few minutes now, hoping to find the said man. He knew that Keiyo was someone who seemed to dislike being around people; their lone wolf, actually. He stopped on his tracks when he stepped into the clearing where Keiyo was, and placed a hand inside his pocket. From what he can tell, Keiyo just finished eating his meal and was about to leave. ‘Good, he’s still here,’ he thought to himself.

Then there was silence as his eyes met Keiyo’s red eyes. Well, the man is well known for being untalkative; nothing much that they could do. But hey, he gets the job done. But then again, it would be nice if he could at least talk like any person.

“Haine called. Meet us back at the fortress.”