Jamenous, a prince, with the help of a sorcerer, Yorick, discovered his father was a fake and had killed the real father. Jamenous tried to avenge his father but failed, so the king had an excuse to order his death. Jamenous flees and meets Janet, but her real name was Janettia. She doesn't know that Jamenous, who claimed to be James, was a runaway prince, and Jamenous didn't know who Janet was either. But her identity was proven dangerous, because a group of fighters tried to kill her (apparently for no reason). She killed them all, but during the fight 'James' was seperated. He then meets Jen (Jennifer), a traveller. She tells him that he has run from his homeland to his kingdom's greatest enemy's territory. They plan to go away, but gets caught by slave-traders. One of them, Jacques, was a well-known enemy to James's kingdom, so during a brief time of release when a powerful noble, Maximilien, tries to buy the him, James proved himself by fighting all the slave traders and setting the other slaves on loose. But that only got Maximilien more interested in owning him, and he succeded. Jen was forced to leave. Maximilien took him to his home, and there James met Yohji (Yosquared), Maximilien's adopted son. Yohji was always studying and reading, yet he was often lonely, so James became his friend. Meanwhile, Janet argues and receives orders from a mysterous man who tells her to find someone named William. Jen, on the other hand, mets up with a boy name Lou.
Louis(Lou): Junior soldier Jen(Jennifer): Traveller
Jamenous(James): Prince Janet(Janettia): Spy
Willaim(Will): Exile Sandra(Sandrina): Slave
Josephine(Jo): Musician George: Prince
Titania(Tia): Advisor Yohji/Yosquared/Yarvocio: Poet
Yorick and Urrick: Magicians
Jacques: Slave-Trader
Maximilien: Father, powerful noble
Lucius: Head of secret service
Faymond: Captain, William's brother
Charoles(Charlius): King
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James spent the majority of the night talking to the girl. She was a complete stranger to him, and not a very big talker, nevertheless she was someone who would listen and talk to him without wanting to kill or kidnap him. In these times, where Jamenous was now practically a fugitive from the royal court, he needed people to help and support him, he needed to have friends.
"My name is James," Jamenous, or, now to be known as James, said. "I came from Vinfai, but I want to leave that place."
"For what reason?" The girl had asked.
"I prefer to keep them private." He answered.
"Very well then, you keep your secrets, and let me keep mine."
That was their first conversation. The second one was more enlightening, as he learned who the girl was.
"I never actually tell people my real, true name," she said, "but remember this name - Janet. I was brought up in Vinfai, but I do not know whether it is my birth place or not. I was an orphan at a young age, and it was a kind man who took me in. Don¡¦t ask me how I became an orphan, for I will not answer you."
She had been in awe of Silver when he woke and spread out his wings. "A winged horse! I never thought I'll see one in my lifetime." Silver seemed to like her, but was more reluctant in allowing her to touch or ride him. James didn't think much of it.
In bright daylight, James did not want people looking up and seeing a winged horse. Instead he treated Silver like a normal horse and rode normally, except with Janet behind him. They made it out of Moonlight Forest without incident, and soon were on the road. No one looking at them could guess the horse was a winged one and that the boy was a runaway prince. By some unspoken agreement Janet was going to travel for a while with him, at least till she gets to wherever she needed to go to. "Where are you planning to go?" James asked.
"That is my own business," she answered. James knew by now that Janet was very reluctant to tell him anything about her, but he knew he would be the same. If Janet asked questions regarding his identity, he knew, like her, he would prefer to keep them silent. So he didn¡¦t ask any questions about her past, and neither did she.
"I don't know where I myself am going to go." He had once said softly. "I just know....anywhere except Vinfai. I can¡¦t live there anymore. Yet I have no family or friends outside of that kingdom."
"What are you, a runaway from your own home? Or are you an orphan as well?"
"............you could say that." Since his mother was long dead and he discovered so was his father, James was, in a way, telling the truth.
It wasn't long before they arrive to an inn, and they stopped for some food. James was glad he had brought plenty of money out when he left the palace, and was able to pay for his meal. Janet refused to allow James to pay for her meal, and paid her own. James got the feeling she did not like being dependent on someone when she could do it herself. As they ate, James became aware of an uncomfortable feeling he was getting.
"Janet?" He asked.
"Yes?"
"I have a feeling.....that we're being....followed ... almost as if we¡¦re¡K.watched." Upon hearing that, Janet immediately stopped eating, and her eyes flew to almost everyone around them. After that, she swallowed her last bite of food, and then leaned forward to whisper something to him.
"James, the man to my left dressed in green with a sword on his lap is watching us, as is the group behind you." James froze; he stared at Janet for a while, and then casually looked over to her left, then behind him. The men were, indeed, watching him. But as soon as they saw that he noticed, they immediately looked away.
"You must leave, they're after me," James and Janet hissed at the same time. Then both blinked "They're after you?" They both asked again. They stared at each other, suddenly more suspicious of the other. Then again, who wouldn¡¦t be suspicious of someone who had several swordfighters after them? They would've start questioning the other right there if they weren't being watched by several swordfighters.
"Let's get out of here." Janet said. James instantly agreed, without warning they both stood up and walked quickly towards Silver. When the men also looked like they were leaving, they broke into a run. At that, the men, indeed, did sprang up after them. Hurrying, James and Janet quickly jumped on Silver's back.
"Go!" James urged, Silver sprang into action immediately, sensing the urgency. He broke into a sprint and ran off, behind them, the men cursed. James let out a sigh of relief. There was no way any of the men could outrun a horse. They were safe now, and he was very relieved.
That was, until Janet said "they have their own horses!"
Sure enough, James heard the gallop of several other horses behind them. He spared a glance over his shoulder and saw the men all on horseback, riding after them. Each horse bore two riders, one with a sword, and one, to James's horror, with bows and arrows. These were not just thieves, as he had been hoping that was all they were. These were professional warriors.
"Dunk!" Janet cried out. James obeyed, and even Silver lowered his head. Not a moment too soon, as an arrow sailed towards where their heads had been a while ago. Before they could straighten up, another arrow whistled by them. "James!¡¨ Janet hissed. ¡§They're gaining on us! We have" -another arrow narrowly missed them- "to fight! Or at least, one of us has to!"
"You expect me to fight? At the moment I'm busy holding on the reins!" James answered. "You fight them! I can't concentrate on the road in front of me and fight behind me at the same time! I¡¦m only human!" Janet nodded, and she pulled out her sword. Without warning she jumped off Silver, to James¡¦s complete horror.
"Hey what are you...!!" James never finished his sentence before Janet's sword flashed. There was a cry of pain as one of the riders closest to them dropped on the ground holding his chest. At the same time the second man exchanged a few blows with Janet before following the first man on the ground. The two men were immediately trampled on by the other horses. James saw Janet settling on the new horse she had, then leading it back towards the other horses. Ignoring the arrows that narrowly missed her, she rode towards them with her sword drawn, in one swift motion her sword went through two more men's neck. They both dropped to the ground dead.
Janet leaned to her side and sliced through another man. A man tried to stab her, but she only blocked it with her sword, and then she flicked it back towards the man. An arrow came shooting towards her from behind, and she jerked down, but she grabbed on the stabbed man as she did so. By dragging him down, the man was the one to be pierced by the arrow. Stealing the now dead man's knife, Janet turned around and threw it back towards the archer. The knife dug itself between the man's eyes. That man dropped down, and his riding partner grabbed the bow and arrows before shooting three arrows at one time towards Janet. She swayed to the side, and the three arrows landed on another man. Her fingers wrapped around the man's neck, then shoved him towards his partner, knocking him off the horse. One of the men started shouting.
"Janet! You might as well just stop killing! You¡¦ll never defeat all of us! One of us will kill you in the end! You bloody murderer! You daughter of the dogs! You cowardly servant of...!" He never got to finish his sentence when a pin found itself in his throat. He yanked it out, but despite this he still dropped to the ground a minute afterwards. Janet ignored this, she just continued on fighting with the other riders.
One might think James wouldn¡¦t be in trouble, since Janet was distracting most of the attackers. Well, you are wrong. At James's side, he was having his own problems. While Janet had managed to distract most of the riders, one of the riders still managed to catch up with the runaway prince. This rider's partner was missing; he was probably one of those on the ground. The remaining rider was right now exchanging blows with James, while at the same time their horses was running forward in high speed.
"What the hell do you want?!" James asked as aimed a blow at the man's chest. He blocked it.
"I want yours and Janet's life!" The man answered as he slashed his sword diagonally down, James leaned backwards down, but his sword came up and blocked his opponent¡¦s.
"So you're really not after me? Janet's your main target? You don't know who I am?" James asked. Then he pushed himself up and knocked his enemy's sword off him. If the man¡¦s answer was positive, it would be a huge relief for him.
"If you're with her, you must be one of her colleagues! You must belong to HIM as well!" The man yelled as his arm was flung back. It returned quickly, the sword aimed for James' neck.
"I have no idea what you're talking about! I don't belong to anyone!" James replied as jerked to the side. Instead of returning a sword blow, this time he allowed one of his feet to come out and kicked the man's side. Mentally, he was greatly relieved; these men were not after him, so they don't know he was a prince. However...they were after Janet. As soon as they got out of this fight James was going to ask Janet a few more questions. Respecting her silence on her past or no, he needed to find out why several professional fighters were after her.
"Ow! Do you take me for a fool? Would a thief admitted his crime if he was caught?! Of course not!" Still rubbing his side where James kicked him, the man punched the prince in the stomach as hard as he could. James flinched, but still managed to make a comment.
"Yea, you're a fool alright! One of the unspoken rules of swordsmanship, you don't stick your hand towards someone with a sword!" With that James grab the hand that had punched him and pulled. He knew he could easily kill the man now, but James always tried not to directly kill someone if he could help it. By pulling him off his horse the men¡¦s death would be because of being trampled on. He watched as the man let out a cry as he tumbled to the ground, however, the man¡¦s hand came out and grabbed onto James' clothes. James' eyes widened as he was pulled down as well. "Janet!" He cried out.
From behind Janet heard James calling her name and turned around. Just in time she saw James being pulled down from Silver and falling to the side....and rolling down towards a cliff. She was horrified. "James!" Stabbing the last remaining man, Janet quickly rode towards the cliff. She saw him rolling down with the man that he had been fighting with. They continued rolling down, down... into a rapidly moving river. All Janet could do was watch as the two figures fell into the water and was caught in the stream, sailing quickly out of sight.
~
Sunset. The clouds were lit with pink and red. Splashes of pale blue showed what was left of the sunny day. It won't be long now, before night falls again.
For people like Jen, night was not a good time.
The lone female traveler looked up at the sky and sighed. She had been traveling for days now, and she wasn't sure what to do with her life at the moment. She had run away from home after her father tried to sell her as a slave to pay his gambling debts. As her mother had died years ago, there had been nothing to lose. She decided to flee, thus she had taken a few things dear to her, some money she had secretly kept for years, and a dagger that once belonged to her mother. A friend of hers who supported her choice had also given her some money and food.
Now, the money and food was starting to run low now. Jen was starting to worry. She needed money to buy food. If she ran out, she was going to starve. She promised to find a job in the next town she sees, earn some money, and then leave again. She had to get as far away as she could from her home. To avoid getting lost she had followed the Caloto River, and she had grown used to seeing the river's occupants. Fishes, pieces of plants, a boy........
Wait a minute, a boy?!
Jen's senses snap back into her when she saw a boy floating in the river, seemingly unconscious. The river was pushing him on shore now, and the boy was washed ashore. Jen slowly walked forward, her hand clutching on the dagger underneath her cloak in case a fight started. The water splashed ashore again, lightly slapping the boys face. At that, the boy stirred slightly.
Jen studied the boy carefully. The clothing was torn and dirty, but it seemed to be made of a material only the rich middle-class and above could afford. The boy had blue-black hair, and as his eyes slowly opened Jen could see they were pale blue. Jen herself had blue eyes, but they were tinted with silver. Her own hair was brown and wavy.
"Yorick...." The boy whispered, then he choked out some water after saying that. "...Silver....Janet!" His half-opened eyes jerk open and he sat up. Then he groaned as his body sang with pain. He must have collided with something in the river. He blinked several times to get the water out of his eyes, and became aware of the girl beside him. "Did you save my life and pulled me out of that river?"
"No," Jen answered. "The river pushed you out." Extending her hand out, she helped the boy onto his feet. He was still slightly shaky, but he could stand. "May I ask, who are you?"
"James." The boy answered. "You?" She told him her name, and he nodded. James looked around the place and then sighed. "Oh great....I¡¦ve thoroughly soaked by the river and now I'm in a new foreign place when I just lost my horse and companion."
"Whatever were you doing in a river? Fell in?" Jen asked jokingly. The boy did not smile.
"Yes, actually. A man dragged me in with him; you didn't see him did you?" Jen shook her head. James sighed again. "So no source at all. Where am I now anyways?"
"Where do you think you are?" Jen asked. The boy frowned.
"Somewhere in the outskirts of Vinfai? That¡¦s where I set out from." He guessed. ¡§This river should be the Calato River, so I should still be in Vinfai.¡¨
"No," Jen answered. "You are wrong; Calato River may belong to Vinfai, but it¡¦s also set as a border for that kingdom, and you¡¦ve crossed it now to the other side. You are no longer in the territories of Vinfai anymore. You're in that kingdom's enemy territory. You are now in Euinfai."
~~~~~~ UP NEXT CHAPTER ~~~~~~
As bad luck will have it, Jen and Jamenous meet up with slave-traders! Not only that, one of them is Slave-Trader Jacques, a well known enemy of Vinfai. Caught as slaves, Jen and Jacques are taken into town and about to be sold. There they meet Maximilien, a powerful noble of Euinfai who tries to buy Jamenous. Jamenous, as a prince, would of course never give up his freedom without a fight¡K.
