"This place is way too long." Alan grumbled.
For the past however long, the group had been briskly moving through the castle.
Still, it was quite a sight, each hallway they passed by, were furnished in luxury, some hallways had ceiling to floor windows allowing an extravagant view of the capital.
Suddenly curious, Alan decided to ask. "How big is this castle?"
"The castle?" Julia hummed. "I'm not sure, it's probably really big."
"...That's why I'm asking..." Alan shook his head, and turned to Iris.
"Why would I know?" Iris raised a brow. "But it's most likely somewhere in the kilometres."
"Yeah, I figured."
Alan was about to ask another question when a vaguely familiar figure appeared in front of them across the hallway.
"Sister?" He called out, immediately rushing over. "Where have you been since yesterday?"
"Oh, Arlo?" Julia smiled.
It was Arlo, as he was approaching, he suddenly paused, turning a bewildered gaze towards Alan and Lucian.
"Uh..." Arlo looked confused. "I know I asked if we would meet again, but I didn't think it'd be this soon."
"Yeah..." Alan shrugged. "Me too, I meant I'd see you at the ceremony."
"Hmm." Arlo nodded, then glanced at Julia and Iris. "I see you've met the two of them, and somehow ended up making them wear a blindfold...?"
His brows were knitted, not in annoyance but in pure confusion.
"Well, yeah, I didn't think this would happen either." Alan offered a casual shrug.
Step Step
As they were casually speaking, someone else, very familiar to Alan, arrived.
"Filth?"
"Why the hell would you even greet someone like that."
It was Alden, the very same person Alan pretty much tormented for the past six years.
"Why are you here." Alden frowned. "Actually no, why on earth are you wearing a blindfold."
Then he quickly noticed the other three. "...Why are all of them wearing a blindfold?"
"Oh!" Julia suddenly jolted. "I am?"
"I am as well..." Iris muttered.
Then the two of them quickly removed their blindfolds, before placing it within their dimensional artifacts, it seemed they even forgot the fact they were wearing the artifacts.
"Well, I guess I don't have to wear it as well." Alan unwrapped the fold, following him Lucian did the same, before placing it in their individual artifacts.
"Princess and lady Iris." Alden quickly bowed, having realised their identities.
"Why are you two here?" Julia raised a brow, glancing between Alden and Arlo.
"Well, news of your return spread fairly quick." Arlo replied. "What on earth were you thinking, leaving the castle in the first place."
Julia lips curled downwards into a tight frown. "Am I not allowed to venture out?"
"…" Arlo remained silent.
"I will do as I wish, don't interfere." Julia sternly warned him.
"…Understood." Arlo slowly nodded.
Julia nodded back, then resumed striding forward, although her pace was slower than before.
Alan didn't intervene in their conversation, instead he simply followed behind Julia, along with Lucian and Iris.
Alden tilted his head and asked. "Where are you lot going?"
"To her garden." Alan replied.
"What?" Arlo's eyes flew open, then immediately followed the group. "Sister, are you allowing them entry into your garden."
"Yes." Julia answered calmly.
Arlo's face was complex, as if he wanted to say something but just couldn't, Alden also trailed along, unsure about what's going on.
"You've been to her garden?" Alan asked curiously.
"Uh… well yes." Arlo nodded slightly. "However, it's not exactly a garden…"
"How does that even make sense." Alan shook his head, not believing his words.
The group once again fell into silence, only their rhythmic steps echoed through the hallways as they continued forward.
...
'Strange.' Alan silently thought to himself.
Their path towards Julia's garden was oddly quiet, without encountering any of the servants of the castle.
Which was weird, after all this was the royal castle, it was to be expected to see countless servants, but strangely enough, they hadn't seen a single one.
Alan glanced at Julia and Iris, they were moving without a change in expression, as if the absence of the servants was natural.
Alan looked away, turning his head to the left towards an open sector of the castle, there behind the pillar he finally sensed someone.
Looking carefully, it was two maids, hiding behind the stone pillar, silently whispering to each other.
His steps faltered for a small moment, overcome with an odd sense of déjà vu…It was a treatment Alan had seen before, it was the very same way the maids treated Alan and his mother back when he was a child.
Suddenly something clicked in his mind, the odd absence of maids, the way they avoided the group, their silent conversation.
'No way.' Alan's eyes widened slightly as he stared at the back of Julia's head. 'There was no way they would treat the princess like that.'
Alan shook his head, shaking off his thought process, he refused to believe the princess could be treated the same way he was.
"We're here."
As he was silently wondering to himself, Julia announced their arrival to her garden, Alan halted in his tracks, raising his lowered head to properly see his surroundings.
Crimson, the moment Alan entered the garden, a wild field of red flowers greeted his eyes, from red roses, to scarlet tulips, the large variety of red flowers were breathtaking as he observed the environment.
Then Alan noticed a particular flower, as such he slowly approached it, before kneeling to hold it in his hands.
"You have these too..." Alan muttered, quietly stroking its petals.
It was a crimson dahlia, it was relatively uncommon to find, but it was also his favourite flower.
During his time as Leon, he decorated every home he lived in with flowers, which mostly included the dahlia, there was no special reason behind his choice, he simply found the flower to be pleasing to the eye.
But every flower he put up died fairly often from neglect, as he was often not home due to his missions.
The dahlia symbolised elegance, inner strength, commitment and dignity, it also represents hope from how it remains graceful under pressure, how it thrives in harsh conditions, how it blooms in seasons other flowers fade in.
All of which had absolutely nothing to do with Alan, he chose it due to its appearance, still he couldn't help but feel related to it.
While he was absorbed in his thoughts.
"I also like the dahlia." Julia arrived, crouching beside Alan. "Do you know what it represents?"
"No." Alan replied, despite knowing it's meaning, he lied, trying not to have a conversation about the flower.
"It represents strength."
It didn't fucking work.
"It represents perseverance..." Julia whispered. "That's why it's my favourite flower."
"We like the same flower, then." Alan lightly smirked, rising from his position. "Well, how about the rest of your garden?"
"Yes." Julia grinned, as she stood up. "Follow me, I'll show you the rest of the garden!"
Alan smiled faintly, following along.
...
"That's my pond!" Julia gestured towards a hollow within the earth containing a large volume of crystal clear water, the surface gave footing to small green lily pads blossoming with ruby lilies.
"Looks nice." Alan gave his approval.
"That's my gazebo!" She pointed in the distance, a freestanding roofed structure with open sides, ushering one into the shade.
"Ah yeah, cool resting spot." Alan nodded.
"That's my lake!" The place she was looking held a long ribbon of water, flowing gently along the slow current.
"Whoa, cool but a little unusual to be in the garden."
"That's the training ground!" Julia smiled, staring toward a vast flat area of concrete, the place was littered with training dummies, weapons and other equipments.
"Oh! That's... uh, why the hell is that here."
"That's the lounge!" There was a circular table, surrounded by long pieces of furniture...
"Oi, why that even here."
"That's my bedroom!" She sprinted up to an extremely out of place box in the middle of the garden, before opening the door.
"Excuse me?" Alan's face instantly crumbled the moment he saw the interior, it was a large room, there was a sofa area, small kitchen and massive bed...
"Why the fuck is all of this in the garden?!"
"I told you." Arlo looked smug, nudging Alan with his elbow. "This isn't exactly a garden."
"Man, you shut up." Alan knocked him in the head.
"Why it's in the garden?" Julia tapped her chin in thought. "It's convenient?"
"That doesn't mean, you fucking live there."
"Why not?" This time Iris spoke. "I also sleep here."
"You what?" Alan belatedly realised another door within the bedroom, hoping his thoughts were wrong he quickly reached it, twisting the knob.
But once again his face fell completely. "The hell are you two doing living here?!"
"Why don't you just live in a garden?" Julia asked, her expression held interest.
"Actually, that's not a bad idea..." Alan muttered, rubbing his chin, seriously considering it, well, as everyone already knows Alan isn't normal.
Meanwhile, Alden was utterly befuddled, staring at Julia's bedroom unsure of what to even say, he couldn't understand why the fourth princess of the Northern continent was staying in such place and conditions, without any personal servants.
Alan had the same thoughts as his half brother, but he actually voiced his opinion. "Why are you even living here, without any servants to help you?"
"Because I don't want them." Julia replied, her voice held a certain edge. "This part of the castle is far from the entrance, so no one even comes here, so I decided to just make this place my own."
"Is that so." Alan nodded in slight understanding, from what he could piece together, Julia truly disliked the royal castle. "So, what was this place originally? You know, it's kinda big."
And so Alan dropped the subject without diving deeper into Julia's personal issues, by turning the attention to the area.
Well, he was also curious, this place could not be a simple garden it was far too spacious for it to be, holding numerous ponds, an entire river, countless flowers and a massive training field.
"Umm..." But Julia's response didn't answer his questions.
"You don't know, do you?" Alan plainly stared at her.
"No..."
"Honestly, I kinda expected that." Alan shook his head, then walked out of the bedroom, the moment he did he saw Lucian.
"What are you doing."
Who had his head planted to the ground with his body kneeling?
"What do you think?" Lucian asked back, without rising from his awkward position.
"Do you think I'd be fucking asking if I knew?"
"I'm listening." Lucian replied, with his ears still pressed against the ground. "You feel that too, don't you?"
"...Yeah." Alan nodded slightly, his previous relaxed demeanour vanished as his face instantly assumed a solemn expression. "I felt it the moment we walked into the castle."
From the moment they passed the entrance, Alan's instincts and intuition immediately pick up extremely particular presence... no presences.
Below the royal castle a sick, stomach churning aura was leaking, normal people wouldn't pick up on it, but Alan sure did.
And for some reason, that same aura intensified the moment they arrived at Julia's garden, Alan wasn't simply observing the garden for the sake of it, he was actively trying to find the source of this foul feeling he was perceiving.
Alan kept his eyes on the group the whole time, observing their expressions to see if they could feel it too.
Alden and Arlo remained obvious, their faces nor their behaviour revealed they could.
But Julia and Iris had a slight reaction, it was small and quick so much so anyone would've missed it, but Alan didn't, their reaction seemed as if the two were used to the unpleasant atmosphere.
Lucian seemed to also detect something actively inspecting the surroundings, such as right now with his ears squished against the ground.
'Does this have something to do with that secret Iris mentioned?' Alan silently thought to himself.