Midsummer Sunrise.

The Solar Fever had been terrorizing the land of Gasheka for a couple months already. Children, youths, adults and the elderly… all succumbed to it. For Prince Saga, the eldest son of the Crown Prince, this was all new. It's true that he had heard some rumours about a certain sickness but he hadn't thought it was serious at all. He didn't know people had died until his own grandmother, the queen of the nation, passed away three days before.It happened suddenly. She was fine in the morning when he went to pay her a visit, but by the time the sun set, she was already agonizing in her bed. She had a high and fast fever, and then she was gone.The palace soon became erratic, everyone was afraid to have caught the sickness, and even more afraid to have been the one to bring it inside. It was well-known that the king didn't really care much for his wife, but it was also well-known that he liked to get revenge any time he could. Someone would have to pay for the queen

—What? You won't say anything, Your Highness?Saga was frozen. He was defenseless.When he was a teenager, so many years before already, he had to learn how to properly fight. It was only part of the things that were expected from a Prince. Saga, however, skipped most of his classes. He didn't like the idea of a fight, he feared pain, he didn't want to hurt others either. Saga had always been more keen on art and pleasure, he had valued a good time over anything else.But at a moment like that, when he felt the end was near, he regretted his past choices a bit. Maybe he should have learned how to fight a little.—Have you come to kill me?—No, I can't kill you here. We're in Maki's home, if a prince were to die here, Maki would be in trouble. And I won't cause trouble to my friend.—Have you been hiding here all this time?—No. I just came back to Itewi City. So I sneaked into the mansion like I used to a

Saga had gone into the forest, Dari was sure of it. The Prince wasn't sthealty at all, and so he had left many signs behind him. But even with all those marks, Dari and Sheshu couldn't find their master.The forest was too dense, too big, too dark. And it was also cold and dangerous. Saga was clumsy and wasn't really what one would consider lucky, so Dari was afraid he could have fallen and wounded himself. Perhaps he broke his ankle, perhaps he fell on a rock and broke his head.What would they do if Saga was hurt? They were all trained to tend small wounds, but if it was something big…—His Highness is probably fine —would say Sheshu, trying to make Dari relax a bit. He was a good leader, but always way too worried. She thought it was his biggest flaw—. He's not dumb. He might be lost, but he's probably just sitting on a rock waiting for us.Dari nodded, although Sheshu's words didn't change anything. He had already sent the sig

The forest in which Saga was trapped didn't seem to have an end. It appeared after Kiya left him behind, he saw it grow. First there was a lonely sapling, a plant he couldn't recognise, and then there was a tree, then a dozen and now… How many of them were there?He kept walking, there wasn't anything else he could do, yet the scenery remained unbothered. The same trees repeated after a certain sequence that Saga was already learning, but that only made it more difficult to count them and he wanted to count to at least keep himself entertained with something.How long had he been there? Time seemed inexistent, it didn't pass yet there was a breeze that made the trees dance and that suggested that time wasn't really frozen. At least not completely. Perhaps it was just different, the rules of his world didn't apply to that place.It certainly

—I think I was in hell —said Saga.He had woken up just an hour before but he was already sitting restless on his bed. He wanted to go out, let the summer air fill his lungs. However, at least three out of his five caretakers said that it wasn't going to happen, and so it didn't happen.—And how is it? Hot? —Ragi was the most interested in whatever his master would say. He was sitting by his side with a spoon in his hand and a bowl of porridge, ready to feed his prince.—At first it was fine, but then it became really cold. I don't remember much though. But…—Yes?—I think I heard Taru. He was here when I woke up, I guess he was talking to me.—Yeah, sure, Your Highness.—Where is he now?—He's tied up in the carriage.—Why?—Because he's our prisoner and he might escape.—He's not our prisoner.Ragi blinked a couple