Waking up was easy, rather it was getting easier. Although it wasn’t because Cedric was finding it easier to sleep, rather it was the opposite. He couldn’t get used to the new luxuries he had and couldn’t fall asleep comfortably. Honestly, the bed was too soft for his liking, and he was tempted to start sleeping on the floor. Though that solution sounded backward, and he thought it would be easier if he just got used to the bed. Even with almost a dozen pillows it still didn’t feel right, and he decided that it was early enough. He didn’t need as much sleep to feel refreshed as of late and decided that this was as good of a time as any.

He pushed himself off the bed, finding it annoying to feel his hands sink into the soft sheets. Maybe he could just stuff his bed with rocks, it would probably work just as well. That would probably be a mistake, plus his parents wouldn’t want him to be sleeping on rocks. He had told his parents of the situation and had sent for them. His request was easily granted. He had only been in the capital for a few days, and he was already coming to terms with the looks. It helped that they were usually of admiration, and nothing like those he received in the past.

He got ready quickly, settling for wiping himself down with hot water. He could’ve had a proper bath but didn’t like wasting time on things like that. After he finished getting ready, he headed down to the first floor. That had been a bit of a surprise, but his home actually had two floors to it, and a spare bedroom that he wasn’t using. Although, he did get a bed in it so that his parents would have places to sleep. The building wasn’t super large though, and he didn’t need anything like servants or staff. Hearing that he could get someone like that surprised him, but he found the idea of that to be a bit too uncomfortable. He didn’t like the idea of someone watching him constantly.

The building was made of wood, and the stairs and floor creaked under his weight. He hadn’t realized, but he had been steadily gaining weight as he took the elixir. Hopefully, that would stop soon, otherwise, he would have to be careful with the type of furniture he bought and might even need to move. That sounded annoying at best. As he reached the ground floor, he turned the nearest corner and entered his kitchen. They had filled it to bursting as he needed over triple the food of a normal person. He didn’t even know how to cook and had mainly just been throwing chunks of meat into a pot with some salt. It was good though. Today he settled from just grabbing some pieces of bread and cheese.

He snacked on them while filling a pack with dried meat. This is all he would need for the trip, well that and some spare clothes. Though he had prepared that earlier and already stuffed them into another pack. Once his food pack was filled, he started heading out. The way his house was designed, he had a narrow hallway that led to the front door. The hallway had a few openings. One for the kitchen and another for a living space. At the other end of the hall was a bathroom that was mirrored on the floor above. A staircase rested beside the entrance to the bathroom.

He ignored all that though and grabbed the pack he had left by the exit. He had both packs slung over one of his shoulders, easily able to handle the weight. When he left the house, he wasn’t all that surprised to see someone waiting for him. There was still over an hour before he needed to go to the city gates, but there was usually someone assigned to watch him.

A quick glance showed his sword resting on the ground outside. He didn’t keep it inside as it was heavy enough to crack the wood. There were a few small kids by it. They were pointlessly struggling as they attempted to raise the sword. It didn’t budge, not even as one of the kids pushed against it with all his weight. He tried to put on a smile, but the thoughts of what he was going to do made it strained. The children noticed him though and moved away from the sword. They didn’t say anything. That’s how it usually was too. The only people that actually talked with him were the knights or other chosen.

The kids silently backed away, dispersing into the street like wild animals. Cedric only picked up the sword casually, resting it on his shoulder with a simple motion. Without speaking to his watcher, he started heading towards the front gate. His gaze naturally fell downwards as he thought of the upcoming battle. Thankfully his hands were full, otherwise, he was sure they would be shaking. He was surprised that they weren’t anyway. The streets were quiet this early in the morning, though he heard the footsteps of the occasional passerby.

Since his gaze was already facing the ground, he had no problem focusing on his steps and managed to avoid falling altogether. He didn’t think he would, as that was basically the only thing he had been practicing since finding more free time. The thought of learning the sword or something sounded like the smart thing to do, but it didn’t seem all that necessary. The lessons with Sir L would be enough for that, and he was too strong for normal training to feel like it was having any effect.

Trudging through the quiet streets made him feel a little lonely, and the silent watcher only added to it. With most of the chosen being out on missions and even Sir L being busy, he hadn’t been able to talk to anyone over the past few days. He didn’t realize how alone someone could feel. For his whole life, he had been at the center of attention, whether it was for his defects or his power. Even now there was a bit of that with looks he received from people, but no one spoke to him. In the past, he could expect insults or commands, but now he received nothing. So long as he wasn’t needed for something, not a single person would seek him out. That was frightening in its own weird way.

“Hey, why do you look so down? Trying to scare someone?”

At first, he didn’t think the words were directed at him, but he recognized the voice. Turning he saw Brigid approaching. She had a watcher of her own. Unlike him, she had a smile on her face, and he couldn’t help but try and reciprocate it. One of the few people he called a friend, and he didn’t want to meet them with a frown.

“Nothing like that, just tired and a little anxious.”

His words were a little shaky, as he got rid of the last vestiges of loneliness. He didn’t feel much relief as fear of the upcoming battle started bubbling up. It wasn’t for his life, but the lives he would need to take that really bothered him. Still, he found the courage somewhere and pushed through to focus on his friend.

“Yeah, me too. Though I heard there weren’t going to be as many chanters in this city as last time.”

She sounded relieved as she spoke, and he wondered if she shared his fears. The information did help him relax a little, as that would mean that he would have to kill less. Plus, the king’s new orders meant that they wouldn’t need to kill chanters who weren’t fighting. Apparently, they had devised a way to stop them from chanting though they had to do something willingly for it. Still, it was a testament to the king’s goodwill. He had developed a way to save chanters from their cursed powers.

That was the biggest news since their victory, and it made him want to protect the man more. A person like the king needed to stick around. Nobody would be able to replace him, and he wanted to make it his job to protect the man. One day he would accomplish that, but for now, his immediate concern was talking to his friend.

The conversation went smoothly, and time went by a lot quicker than it had been going before. In the midst of it all, they had arrived at the city gate. The army was slowly building them already. The trip alone would take a week, and the battle could only start after that. This was all for the final preparation. He looked over the army of knights and ascended. He didn’t bother counting the people, and also knew that they would be picking up more during the trip. This was a city they needed to take, and they were pulling out all the stops. A full ten chosen and twice as many ascended as the previous battle.

Honestly, he was afraid of the carnage he would experience. Although having a friend with him was enough, he didn’t let his gaze fall downwards again. Instead, he kept his head up as he talked with Brigid. Despite the presence of ten chosen, everyone’s focus was on other people. His own glances kept following the man who stood with the generals. He wore a robust cloak and had a slight potbelly. While he may not look like the prince or princess Cedric had met the other day, the man was undoubtedly a member of the royal family.

The ninth prince was fat compared to the others, but he was still blessed with some of the unnatural strength that all members of the royal family had. It wasn’t something that could compare to the elixir, but they were stronger than average people. More importantly, this meant that a prince would be joining them on the mission.

He was known as the Prince of a Thousand Seasons, but Cedric didn’t think that really fit the man. His red cloak and a tight-fitting black suit made him seem a bit odd. His confident grin and obvious disdain for the situation didn’t help. Not all of the royal family were equal, and Cedric developed some inherent dislike of the man. He shook his mind of the thought, knowing that it wasn’t fair. He would try and speak to the man at least once during the trip, though he didn’t know if that was actually possible.

As he was watching the man, he heard something else that caught his attention. It started out a rumble in the distance but built into something far more recognizable. He winced at the sound, bad memories resurfacing for a second. He pushed them down as he saw Brigid waving back towards the entrance. He glanced there and saw a large crowd of people cheering. Her family was probably among them, but Cedric was busy trying to separate the cheers from shouts. The similarity was jarring, and it filled him with something he couldn’t understand. He could feel some sweat building on his back, but he found himself looking back at the crowd instead of shrinking away.

The army didn’t immediately depart several people going to say goodbye to their family and friends. Brigid was among those, but Cedric only took some steps away. Even if his family was there, he doubted that he would be making any goodbyes like the ones he saw.

He was close with his family, but not in that way. They were nice to him, but they would never be the ones to approach him. No, that stopped happening a few years back. Even his parents could only handle so many looks and words before they decided to stop interacting with him in such a way. They would never say anything, but he knew that they couldn’t stand him. He was hoping that would change now but didn’t know. Although, he would find out once he came back though. Now, he was getting scared of the return, and he hadn’t even left yet.