Ryan's Point of View
Days had passed since I last left boy, unconscious and buried under the snow. The storm had finally died down, and I decided it was time to check if he had survived the trial. As I approached the place where I had left him, I was surprised to see that he was still there, alive, though barely. His body, once limp and on the verge of death, now seemed to have gained a strange resilience. "Did he really survive?" I thought to myself, staring at him from a distance. I could hardly believe it. His condition was worse than I'd expected when I had left him there, and yet, here he was—alive.
I knelt down beside him, looking at his still figure, and then with a sigh, I began to drag him through the snow. His body was heavy, but I managed to pull him to the cave where Mia and I had been staying. The cave was hidden well, sheltered from the harsh winds and covered by layers of snow and ice. Inside, a small fire burned, casting flickering shadows on the stone walls, providing some warmth against the bitter cold outside.
The interior of the cave was dimly lit by the orange glow of the fire, which crackled softly, its warmth filling the otherwise cold and silent space. The shadows it cast danced on the rocky walls, giving the place a feeling of eerie solitude. I could hear Mia's soft breathing as she slept near the fire, wrapped in layers of furs. The flickering light illuminated her delicate features, and I felt a surge of protectiveness over her.
I propped boy up near the fire, his body still motionless but now out of the cold. I sat down beside him, staring into the flames. I wasn't sure why I had saved him. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was something else. Either way, he was alive now, and I would need answers.
Several hours passed. The fire continued to crackle softly, and the warmth had begun to reach boy body. His eyes fluttered open slowly, his gaze unfocused at first. He seemed disoriented, unsure of where he was. For a few moments, he simply stared into the flames, lost in thought. Then, his eyes found me. He didn't say anything at first, just continued to look at me, as if trying to understand why I had saved him. Finally, he whispered, his voice raspy and weak, "Thank you."
I didn't respond immediately. I wasn't here to play the hero, and I wasn't looking for gratitude. I studied him for a moment longer before speaking, my voice steady and flat. "Who are you? And why are you out here?" I asked, not particularly caring about his well-being, but I needed to know if he posed any threat.
Boy hesitated for a moment, as if he was weighing his words. Then, he began to tell his story. He spoke of being the heir to Duke Robane from the Kingdom of Obelia, a land I had heard whispers of. His mother had died trying to protect him, killed during their desperate escape. His voice faltered when he talked about it, and for a brief moment, I saw a flicker of pain cross his face. He spoke of his childhood, of happier times when he had been friends with Princess Athanasia and Lilian York. His voice softened when he mentioned their names, as if recalling a distant memory that brought both joy and sorrow.
He had been separated from them during the chaos and had fled north, towards the lands of ice and snow, as his mother had instructed him before she died. The entire time he spoke, I listened in silence, not reacting to his words. He seemed to be waiting for me to say something, to give him some kind of comfort, but I offered none. I wasn't here to sympathize with anyone.
As Felix finished speaking, there was a long silence. The crackling of the fire was the only sound that filled the cave. I pondered his words, but something in his story nagged at me. Obelia, Athanasia, Lilian York—these names struck a chord. "Could this be the world of *Who Made Me a Princess*? But that doesn't make sense," I thought, frowning. "In that story, there was no war between the gods. And the Kingdom of Obelia didn't fall in such a way."
I tried to piece together the fragments of information in my mind, but nothing lined up. The timeline was wrong, the events were different. "Perhaps... this is a different world altogether," I mused quietly to myself. There was no point in trying to make sense of it all. Whatever this world was, it wasn't the same as the story I knew. There were too many differences, too many inconsistencies. I sighed inwardly. "It doesn't matter. Overthinking it is pointless."
Felix must have noticed my silence because he turned to me, his eyes settling on the sword strapped to my side. He stared at it for a long moment before speaking again, this time with a hint of hesitation. "What is your name? Do you know the Princess?" he asked, his gaze still fixed on the sword.
I frowned slightly, caught off guard by the question. "Ryan Jerga. My sister is Mia Jerga," I replied flatly. His question annoyed me, though I wasn't entirely sure why. "And what makes you think I know your princess?" I added, my tone cool and distant.
Felix looked a bit embarrassed for a moment, shifting uncomfortably. He gestured toward my sword. "The inscription on your sword… It bears the name Athanasia," he explained quietly.
For a moment, I didn't say anything, staring at the inscription on the blade. He was right, but that didn't mean anything to me. The sword had come into my possession by chance, and I had never paid much attention to the details of its origins. I let out a small sigh and dropped a few more pieces of wood into the fire, watching the flames flicker higher. "It's just a name," I said, dismissing the subject.
The cave fell into silence again. The warmth from the fire slowly spread through the space, but it still couldn't chase away the sense of coldness that lingered between us. Mia stirred slightly in her sleep, mumbling something incoherent as she curled closer to the fire. I stood up, lifting her carefully and placing her on my back, securing her with a worn leather strap. She was light, her small body fitting easily against mine.
Without another word, I glanced down at Felix, who was still sitting by the fire. His face was pale, but he looked better than when I had found him. "Come on," I said suddenly, my voice calm but firm.
Felix looked up at me, a bit confused. "Where are we going?" he asked, his voice filled with uncertainty.
I glanced back at him, my expression still unreadable. "Food," I said simply, cutting him off before he could finish his sentence. I turned and walked toward the mouth of the cave, not bothering to check if he was following. He would come along—he didn't have much of a choice.
Outside, the wind had calmed, and the snow had stopped falling. The sky was a dull gray, the sun hidden behind thick clouds. The cold air bit at my skin, but I was used to it by now. I heard Felix's footsteps crunching in the snow as he followed behind me, still wary but with no other option.
The forest beyond the cave was quiet, too quiet. There were no signs of animals, no birds in the sky, no rustling in the trees. It was as if the entire world was holding its breath, waiting for something. I tightened my grip on my sword, ready for anything.
Felix followed closely behind, his gaze shifting nervously around the barren landscape.