"Do you think the general is going to be a problem for him when he becomes king?" Aurora asked. She was seriously considering going back and burying the tip of her sword in the general's abdomen.
***
"Why did you release them?" The general's direct subordinate asked when the general returned to his study like he was in a trance.
". . ."
Seeing the general remained quiet as he stared at nothing in particular, the general's subordinate walked to him and waved his hands in front of the general's face to snap him out of the trance he was lost in.
"Uh?" the general asked very surprised to be faced with his subordinate. "How did I get here?"
"I don't know, you walked through the door. What about the prisoners the prince brought over?" the subordinate asked hungry for some gossip.
"What prisoner?" the general asked feeling very confused by what the man was saying.
"The prisoner you were informed that the prince caught for some fun. I heard he thought the Traveller looked like his unknown old friend that was why he wanted to bring him over for a chat.
"They said the prisoner did not agree so the prince had to tie him and force him to come to the camp against his wish. Poor traveller. It must be his bad luck to meet the crazy dull prince. It is a good thing that you are putting him under control.
"You look tired how about a night of barbeque and enough alcohol?" the subordinate asked trying hard to get the general back into the jovial bulky general he used to be in the study although it was a totally different way from the way he behaves around the prince.
"A prisoner . . .?" the general asked as he scratched his head in a total confused state like a foolish man given the task of a genius.
"Yes . . .?" the subordinate replied as he began feeling frustrated. He was actually thinking he will get to enjoy some meat from the general but it seems none of that was going to happen today.
"Get out. I need some time alone," the general ordered as he walked to his big wooden chair and sat on it and began massaging his head. He was feeling serious throbbing head ache like a blacksmith had turned his head into a metal piece on his work table.
"I could massage you," the subordinate said as he got a cup of cold water from an earthern vessel and walked to the general.
The last thing he wanted was to get on the bad side of the general so he was willing to do anything to please the general. The general sighed as soon as he took over the massage.
After hours of massaging the general's shoulder and head, his hands were aching and he was desperately in need of a seat to sit on.
He might be a soldier who was forced to stand for days when he newly got recruited as a soldier but he has gotten older and his legs were aching so badly.
The general suddenly brushed his hand off and stood up. "I remember the prisoner. I remember who that prison is. That prisoner is a wizard. He casted a spell on me," the general said as he stood up angrily.
"How is that possible. You are clearly not someone who could get bewitched by a powerless wizard," the subordinate continued to speak pleasingly to the general despite the free new pain he now felt on his already aching hand from the way the general had hit his hand.
"That is why I must find him and put him to death," the general declared angrily. He could not believe that the small statured man he met could have been a wizard strong enough to bewitch him.
He could remember looking into the brown eyes of the young man. He actually saw the eyes turn green and that was all he saw before his body began moving on its own accord and he woke up in his study.
"Should I get some men ready?" the subordinate inquired ready as always to serve the great general.
"Yes. I will get my sword and we will move," the general ordered. He felt his ego get squashed into a paste due to the fact that he fell for the spell of a wizard.
If he goes with so many men, it will be hard for him to get bewitched again, right? As he grabbed his sword, he was imagining how hard he was going to hurt the Traveller until he gets so weak that he won't have the strength to breath.
Afterwards, he will pluck out the prisoner's eyes, those very eyes that changed colors and that looked so much like the eyes of the princess who he wants to see suffer as much as his step-sister wants her dead.
He headed out with his men to find the prisoner first planning to return to take care of his nephew afterwards.
***
"They headed out," the prince said as he stared out of the window of his chamber. He knew who his uncle was going after but as far as he was concerned, the man was long gone and his uncle will never find them.
"Your highness, those men, do you believe them?" his companion who came from the palace with him and was about five years older than him asked.
"I don't believe everything they said but for the first time since I left the palace, he saw sincerity in someone's eyes towards me. Someone who is not you," the prince said sounding a little emotional. "All that I told you, you must not let anyone know about it, okay?"
The subordinate nodded his head seriously. He was going to keep his mouth shut after all there was no one he talks to like the prince. He has no friend he could tell the secret to.
"It is lunchtime. I am famished. I need to eat a lot of chicken. And have them bake some cake for me," the prince ordered rubbing his stomach.
"Your lunch is already prepared and served," his companion replied glancing at the laid table.
"When?"
"When you were staring outside," his subordinate replied looking down. At times he really could not understand his master.