Harbinger Of Doom: The Attainer

55. Back To The Prince.

One month later

The snow fell in fat flakes, covering the woods in a blanket of perfect white. The smell of damp pine trees in the air was fresh and clean. The skies above had an unholy mixture of shale-grey and pasty streaks. A team of about a dozen men in bodyguard uniforms waded through the snow as they climbed a terrain. It had been a terrible hike for them for the past one month. They were all lamenting the inconveniences they had faced for the sake of their fellow.

"It's been a month. Still, there's no sign of Seven. At this rate, we might not even make it before we see him."

"His highness had commanded us not to return if we can't find him. We don't have a choice. Unfortunately for us, he was chased by those men to who knows where. Where in the fucking world is he??!"

"That guy has a lot of questions to answer. Is he deliberately hiding himself?!?"

"Ugh, I miss Madam Nora's noodles. We've been feeding on wide fruits and quarries while roaming the forest like vagabonds. It irks to imagine that we're searching for that guy as if he's a gold mine. Fuck it!"

"Speaking of which, he seems to be very important to his highness. His highness has so many guards but hasn't settled ever since this one got missing. He's very lucky to win the attention of his highness."

"Hey! Bro look ahead. Who's that?" Their leader called their attention to someone in the woods. They gaped wakefully at the silhouette before trotting towards them.

"Excuse us, Mister."

They couldn't believe their eyes. The person bore the same resemblance to Seven, but there was no headband which was part of their dress code around his head. His face was looking calmer and his gaze was lacking familiarity. They had to confirm his identity themselves.

Lores could tell they had gone through a lot judging from their appearance. He smiled at himself. "Prince Of Nan has been searching for me."

"When would you eat a steam bun if given to you?" The leader asked. Naturally, this question would sound stupid to anybody. If the gentleman man they approached was part of their league, he would have no problem interpreting the coded question.

The gentleman brought down his gaze with a smile. "Immediately, so it doesn't get cold like the snow in winter."

The guards began to mumble words of relieve. Their days of suffering had come to an end. The leader of the team happened to be a meticulous person. He wanted to ensure they had found the right person. The young person in front of them was looking quite different from who they had known. He posed another coded question.

"How many buns can you eat?"

Lores looked at him and answered fluently. "Seven."

"He's the one!" One of the guards announced gladly.

"Whoa! I can finally get to eat Madam Nora's noodles again!" Another jubilated.

"Bro where have you been? You recognized us at first, no? Why didn't you let us know?" The leader whined in both relieve and agitation. Lores only chuckled. He was delighted to reunite with his colleagues. He argued playfully.

"What? Were you expecting me to jump around and scream at the top of my voice?"

They got to the palace at nightfall. The whale-bone white snow encrusted the gardens. Lumps of ice could be found on the flowers and windowsills. The flogging squalls of winter blew, and a tomb-like silence haunted the vicinity, the scenic prestige behooving its name: Snowfall Palace. Over the prestigious architecture, the pearly moon was as cold as water.