The road was busy, bustling with stalls and different goods. But as they reached a certain part of the street, they started to smell beauty in the air and lust.
James moved about the way, stepping aside for nobles who had their cups full and women escorting them home.
He asked as he kept walking, Sid beside him, "Why did he... I mean, why did I even follow him here? I mean, this place is supposed to be obscene for a person like Lior, or me, if you'd say? And why did he even think that whatever they do to me at the pleasure house would impress Liliane? This place will only spoil things."
"I also wonder why you believed Lord Lucan..."
"Hmmm..." James nodded and kept his mouth shut as Sid couldn't give a very favorable answer.
And then, as they walked, James felt it, the switch in the air and feeling. He could feel dread crawling down his back, reaching his nose and suffocating him. He turned, his head moving toward a direction and he saw it.
He stretched his hand and pointed at a free space beside the pleasure house building, just right beside it. "Is that where I was pushed?"
Sid turned his head to the place and nodded, "That's where you tugged and fell into the ground, and then the horse."
"So, the prince also frequents this place?" James snickered as he moved forward to the spot.
As he got there, the feeling was mutual. He could almost feel like he was in the moment. As he stood there, the scene suddenly flashed before his face. He felt as though a hand was placed on him, and that he was being pushed to the front.
James didn't know how it happened, but he found himself reliving the moment again. His body suddenly tugged forward, and his eyes picked up the surprised expression on Sid's face as his eyes widened.
James also looked at where he had found himself pushed to, and he quickly used his hands to cover himself as a horse was just trudging over.
As he covered his face, he could feel overwhelming heat building beneath his stomach, and his body suddenly felt increasingly hot.
His hands stayed that way in the air, his head enshrouding him until he suddenly felt a hand on him, and he looked up, releasing his hands.
"Are you okay?" Sid asked, his eyes blinking at James with obvious confusion.
"I guess so…" James said, scratching his neck as he looked around. People were staring at him, and then a horse was directly in front of him with someone seated on it majestically.
He tugged at Sid's clothes as he was about to ask, but Sid beat him to it as he said, "So, why did you suddenly pull that stunt? Why did you go and stand on the road as though you wanted the horse to hit you? Thank the heavens that it didn't."
"I did that?" James pointed at his chest, visibly confused by what Sid was saying.
Sid sighed as he dusted James' clothes. He said, "Yes. I was worried but couldn't do anything as the horse was already here, and I didn't want to die with you. But it stopped. I thought I was going to watch you die twice."
"I see…" James nodded his head though he wasn't actually seeing or understanding anything. But he did see the horse and the person seated on it. The person suddenly dropped from the seat and walked towards them.
James hurriedly tugged at Sid's clothes as he asked, "Is this the prince you're talking about?"
"Huh? Who?" Sid looked bewildered as he glanced at the man coming towards them.
"Him?" He pointed at the man and then looked back at James as he said, "No… this isn't the Arcane Prince. This is the second-in-command of the prince's guards. He's the best of his people."
He moved closer to James and whispered, "He's also called the Prince's Dog, as he's rumored to do anything the prince asks for."
The man got there before them and bowed. James and Sid also bowed. Then, he said, "The prince sends a message: he requests to see you. I had gone to your house to get you, but you weren't at home and your servant wouldn't say. So I searched the city and you—"
He stopped, and James and Sid looked at him curiously as he glanced at the pleasure house, and then back at James. "You are about to enter a pleasure house. But that's true, you also almost died by the prince's hand just around this place."
"I see..." James said. Then he added, "You traced me here because the prince told you to. Anyways, I'm not interested in going to see him now. Can't I just look at the—" James ranted, but his words got stuck in his throat as a ball was suddenly hurled at him.
And the prince's guard was quick to act. He brought out his sword, its light shrouding them, and flung the ball away with it, directly in front of James.
James breathed in and out properly as he calmed down, then turned to the guard. "Thank you."
"It's nothing. You can compensate for saving you by making my work easier. Follow me to go see the prince."
'Guess it isn't bad to do that. I mean, seeing a prince is like learning about this world and whatever I've come here to do. And perhaps it's intertwined with the prince, so I'm hindering whatever by not going.'
He turned to the guard and opened his mouth, ready to talk, but words wouldn't come out. Panic rushed to James' face as he suddenly became unable to talk. His hands went to his throat, and he became increasingly unable to do anything.
His eyes darted from the guard to Sid, who scrambled to assist him and that was all he could see before his eyes shut and his thoughts remained.
'What the hell is this embarrassment in this confusing world?'
'What now!' And he blacked out, though he couldn't distinctly feel being taken until a horse galloped away.