The Old Woods was a dense forest. Tall, thick dark wood trees grew close together. Their branches were interwoven into an almost solid canopy overhead. Massive roots rose from the ground making archways and trip points along Marley's path as he picked his way through,painfully slow. The smallest creatures of the forest seemed to dance at his feet. They would skitter around, coming just close enough to Marley to get a sense of him, then dash off. It made him feel like a slow-moving planet with many small moons dashing around him. The thought made him smirk, but if he was a planet, Omnira was his star. His longing for her was so deep he could feel it in his bones. What was worse? He couldn't even pinpoint when he started feeling this way. The only thing he was sure of was, after that kiss, he belonged to her. Period. She had a grip on his heart and there was nothing he could do about it. As he trudged through the forest, he swore by everything good in the universe, if he had to burn the whole world to make it back to her, he would. He thought about the way she felt in his arms. Her supple lips pressed against his. His heart ached at the thought. He quietly cursed the fact he didn't have more time with her before he left.
Marley's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden realization that he had entered a small clearing. He could hear flowing water not far off and the scene felt oddly familiar. He kept going until he came to the bank of a small creek. He knelt by the water, washed his hands and face, and drank. As he looked around, he noticed this place looked exactly like the spot where he saw Azaacar in his vision. He put his hand in the water, dug his fingers into the creek bed, and said a quiet prayer for Azaacar to protect Omnira and her mother until he returned.
Grayson jolted awake as the chime pinged harshly from his room door. He wasn't expecting any visitors, he didn't want any. He was about halfway across the room when the door pinged again. "I'm coming, keep your shirt on!" he shouted at the door, instantly annoyed. When he opened the door, he saw his mother standing there barefoot, disheveled, and angry. As soon as she laid eyes on him, she smacked Grayson on the back of his head, causing his teeth to slam together. She shoulder-checked him as she entered the room, irritation coming off of her in waves. "How are you such a moron?" she barked. Grayson turned around, following her movements, confused and even more annoyed. "Greetings to you too, mother." she wheeled on him. "Don't 'mother' me boy! You have had some of the finest tacticians in the Rednas Empire as your tutors. How could you be so stupid?" Greyson stretched and yawned, dramatic in his indifference. He gave his mother a bored expression "What am I being blamed for this time?" Lastirk looked at him with a fire in her eyes that bordered on madness. "Everything! It was all you, wasn't it?" she began to pace as she talked. "The plot on his life, his disappearance, the fight in the slums, it was all your doing! It all makes sense now. You've always hated him, of course you wanted to get rid of him." Greyson chuckled. "You give me too much credit, for once." he said wryly as he sat in his desk chair, his legs crossed. "I'll admit, I have been jealous of my so-called-brother my whole life. There he was, this random dog-handed all the perks of a Rednasi prince like it was his birthright. He was trained and treated like Rednasi royalty, but he never appreciated it. Worse than that? He was good at it. Everything he did he excelled at, even the things he didn't want to do!" Greyson stood, breathing heavily. His eyes were hot with the threat of tears. "I couldn't catch him, I couldn't compete. He made me look bad at every turn, and he wasn't even trying!" He pointed a finger at Lastirk. "When you gave us our assignments, at first, I was glad. I felt like it was finally going to be my time to shine. My chance to beat him, at something." He shook his head like he was disgusted with himself. "I wanted to impress you so badly, but it was like you didn't even see me. When he went missing, you lost it. You went nuts looking for him like he was your actual son." He turned from his mother, shaking his finger in her direction. "That. That's when I knew I had no chance. He was your golden boy, and you never intended to put me over him. When we found him, I attacked the village, the plan was to draw him out and put him down. Then, I realized if I took him out, you would blame me and I would never ascend the throne. But if I got you to get rid of him, there's no way you could blame me. So, I sent a couple of my guys after him, so you would have to abide by your own law and clear my path to the throne."
They eyed each other for a moment before Lastirk spoke again. "What about the assassination scheme?" Greyson waved a hand in front of his face as if clearing a bad smell. "I'm not a cloak and dagger person, you know that. That was completely the doing of those old fools you made overseers." Lastirk crossed her arms and thought for a moment. She tilted her head to one side and glared at her son. "So basically, you used me, you manipulated the system to get what you want." she said, more a statement than a question. Grayson shrugged "basically." Lastirk started out the door. "I'd be impressed. But I don't like being manipulated. You might have what it takes to rule after all. If you weren't such an emotional child." Greyson leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Just you wait." After the door closed, he added, "and you won't have to wait long" as a wicked grin spread across his face.