Just as Frederick and Azura left the forest, they were greeted by the sight of a man on a white unicorn, and a troop of around 200 men and women.

Frederick immediately broke something off his neck and threw onto the floor. He started running towards the man on the unicorn.

“Uncle Gabriel!” Frederick shouted as he ran to Gabriel and hugged him. Azura walked towards the thing that Frederick had dropped and saw an amulet, it had protective power against time and decay. She looked at it and suddenly realised why he had it, the forest behind her had always felt strange, almost as if it had been in that state for millennia, never changing.

She looked back at the forest and saw not the lush green she had seen inside of it but a burnt, destroyed and decaying forest.

By the time she woke up from her daze she saw that the prince and that man he named Gabriel were walking towards her.

She quickly chanted something and her eyes lost their crimson red, instead replaced by bright azure eyes, though if one looked very closely they could see a faint red outline on her iris.

She looked at the man named Gabriel in front of her. He looked around 30 years old and looked to be around 6’5. He towered over Azura’s 5’5 and only a head taller than Fredericks 6’1. His face although not enough to be considered handsome, could still find love easily if he wished. His grey eyes looked as desolate as the forest behind them.

He wore standard soldier armour with a green cape on his back and his sword sheathed on his hip.

“Uncle Gabriel, this is the girl that saved me her name is..” Frederick suddenly stopped, he didn’t know this girl's name even though she saved him. He turned to her and looked at her expectantly.

“My name is Azura, I wonder what these lords’ names are?” Gabriel and Frederick both were startled as they didn't expect such etiquette from a girl who looked like she was a beggar.

“I am named Gabriel Straus of the Night legion. I heard that you saved Prince Frederick and, in return asked for a place to live in the palace and have necessities you require?” Gabriel looked at the young girl who barely looked 16 with fascination. If he could recruit this girl to become Frederick's bodyguard, he would not have to worry about the Prince’s life.

“Yes, I saw that the prince was in trouble so I had to help him. The prince had promised a reward, therefore, I only asked for what was necessary.” Azura looked so sincere that Gabriel had no choice but to accept that she really did care for Frederick's life.

It was only then that he noticed the black unicorn that was laying down at the entrance of the forest.

“Th..This! A wild unicorn! How wonderful, even the rare black colour. This chance could only be given once in a lifetime. The gods must have rewarded me for all the services I have done for the empire!” Gabriel instantly felt joy beyond compare. Although he had a white unicorn, they are of the most common types. To have a black unicorn within his Night legion would truly give him more prestige to stand above his friends!

When Gabriel was only five steps away from it he felt abruptly a cold and hard blade press against his neck.

“Take one more step and your head will no longer belong to your body” Azura looked at Gabriel as he started sweating. How did this girl get to him without him noticing?!

He started to back away to Frederick and saw the girl go to the unicorn and sit down on it. He looked at the unicorn only to see no protest, in fact, there was even a slight hint of happiness in its eyes.

“This unicorn is mine and its name is Artemis. You have your own unicorn, use it.” Azura said as she stroked Artemis’ smooth fur.

“Yes, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, I did not know that the unicorn already has an owner.” Although Gabriel didn’t feel threatened by the girl's glare, as soon as he remembered that the girl had snuck up on him without his notice he immediately apologized.

As Azura sat and watched everything on Artemis the camp of 200 soldiers packed up and started loading everything onto carts.

“Hey, I’m sorry for uncle Gabriel acting that way. It’s only that black unicorns are the rarest of colours you could find within the unicorn race so he could not hold in his excitement of seeing one.” Frederick sat down near the unicorn and looked at Azura. She had a beautiful yet cute face, her bright red lips were contrasted by her blue hair and azure eyes, truly a beauty one could not see in a century.

“So, tell me about your empire. As you can tell I am not from here, I come from the other side of the forest” Azura lied straight through her teeth but Frederick just looked at her and nodded.