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"Friends are angels that lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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"Come on, you got it."

"He's walking." A joyous voice spoke. A blurry face crouched in front of him, his arms out, smiling.

"You can do it, almost there."

Sky's eyes opened, he was curled up in a blanket in the cart, Jordan sat on the driver's seat, Ian looked at him, sat up against the side of the cart.

"You okay there, man?" He asked. Sky nods, sitting up. Ian stared at him, he shakes his head a bit. "You sure?" Sky nods again, not speaking. "We're nearing Avalon City." Sky nods again, still not speaking. Ian stares at him. "What's going on? Why aren't you talking?" Sky didn't answer, he stayed silent, which irritated Ian. 'Silence is normal for him, but it still irritates me. Usually, if he stays silent, chances of him breaking that are low...unless you are Falicia, then breaking that silence is very high.' Ian thought. Ian sighed, looking away. "Nevermind." Sky looked out the back of the cart, staring at the plains, hugging his knees, wincing when he touched his wound. Ian looked at him. "Does your leg still hurt?" Sky nods. Ian sighed irritated. "You know, talking is an option, Sky." Sky smiles a bit.

"I know," Sky mumbled.

"Then why are you staying silent?" He asked. Sky shrugged his shoulders, saying nothing. He rolls his eyes, Sky smiles at him.

"It irritates you, that's why." Sky said to him making Ian not help but smile a bit too.

"You're irritating," Ian said. Sky chuckles.

"Yeah, I know. But you put up with me."

"Kinda had no choice, man," Ian said. Sky looked out the back of the wagon, Ian losing his smile. "But seriously, what's up? What's going on with you?" Sky loses his smile, thinking before he talked.

"I...I don't know. I just don't want what the General said to be true." Sky said.

"Why not? Come on, man, you're a prince, a King actually! That's amazing--" Sky gripped his pants.

"I don't want to be a king." Sky said interrupting Ian. "I don't want to be a prince, I don't want any of that, I just...I want to be a nobody, I like being a nobody." Ian stares at him for a few seconds, Jordan was gonna speak when Ian cuts him off.

"Remember back when we were kids and how we use to dream about what it would be like to live in a castle? How we would rule Etora together?" Ian asked. Sky nods, looking at him.

"That was a stupid dream of ours, Ian, that we made up when we were kids." Sky said. Ian shakes his head.

"Yeah, but one of us is getting the chance to live that dream," Ian said. Sky shakes his head.

"I'm not fit to be a king or prince. I'm not leader material, I like being to myself, not some leader." Sky said. Jordan chuckled making the two look at him.

"That's the same thing Prince Tyler said to me, he was supposed to be a Fleet Commander, not a Captain like he is right now. But he told me that he rather be in charge of a small group of sailors and not an entire fleet. It's the reason why he wasn't in charge of the navy branch for Estron, well...at least one of the reasons." Jordan said. Sky looked away from him. Ian glanced at Sky and back to Jordan.

"How did you get to be General of Estron's Army then?" Ian asked.

"Contrary to popular belief, I wasn't given the title automatically, I started out as a recruit just like everyone else. I worked my way up through the ranks, and a year after I got the rank of General, I became General of the Army."

"What's the difference?" Ian asked.

"General is a rank lower. General of the Army means you are in charge of the entire army, you are a rank under the royal family. The Princes' are the same, Prince Zachary is a General, Prince Ty is a Captain in the Navy. One of the best Captains in the military actually despite his young age." Jordan said. Ian nods a bit, curious.

"Wait, how old is Prince Ty?" Ian asked. Jordan smiled a bit, thinking.

"I believe he turned 21 last year--"

"Wait, so I'm four years older then him and he is already more accomplished than me?" Ian questioned. Sky tuned them out, getting lost in his thoughts. He was conflicted, he didn't know what to think, he doesn't want to believe what Jordan said but at the same time, he does. He's always wondered what his parents were like and now that he has the chance to know...he doesn't want to know.

He doesn't want to be a prince or even a king, he doesn't want to be a leader, he likes the village life, he likes Hazia and wants to stay there. He's always felt more comfortable there than anywhere else, sure he's curious about his family history, but he feels like he doesn't belong in it anymore. Sky rests his head against his knees, staring at the floor. 'I can't do this, I'm not fit to be a leader of anything. I just want to go back to Hazia, act as none of this happened.' Sky thought.

Sky felt a pressure building up in his chest, he's always had high anxiety and this whole scenario hasn't been helping him. Falicia was always able to keep him calm, she was always able to keep him thinking straight but now he's on his own and he doesn't like it. Sure Ian helped but it was something about her that just made him feel better, made him feel like he had a safe place.

"Sky," Jordan said interrupting his thoughts. "No one is expecting you to be a perfect king right off the bat, so don't be so hard on yourself. You didn't grow up in a castle, you grew up in a village, so cut yourself some slack." Sky didn't answer him, he just stayed hugging his knees, staring at the floor. Ian's eyes soften as he stared at Sky.

"You'll be a great king, Sky," Ian said. Sky looked at him, Ian gives him a smile. "You're a natural at being a leader, you've done it plenty of times at home." Sky looks away from him.

"Those were hunting parties, Ian. There's a difference between a small group and an entire kingdom." Sky said. Ian nods, agreeing.

"Yes, yes there is," Ian said. He hesitated, he smiled a bit. "Falicia believes in you, she may not know you are meant to be a king, but she would support you the entire time." He sees Sky's cheeks turn a light shade of rosy red. "She's always there for you, man, we both are. We won't let you do this alone, you can always count on us to have your back." Sky smiles a little.

"I know." He said. He loses his smile, not speaking again.

"What? What are you thinking about now?" He asked. Sky looked at Ian and then away.

"Nothing." He mumbled. Ian bit his bottom lip. 'He's always had confidence issues, but it's been a lot worse lately. This is why I wanted Falicia to come with us, she knows how to talk to Sky and make him feel better.' He thought. Ian leaned back against the wall, staring at Sky.

"You know I can't read your mind. If something is bothering you, you can always talk to me." Ian said. Sky didn't say anything, he didn't even look at him.  He was gonna say it was nothing but he couldn't get the words out. He felt guilty and depressed, he knew why but he didn't want to burden Ian with it. Sky looked at him, forcing a smile on his face.

"I'm just tired is all, I'm fine." He lied. Ian frowned at him, Sky lost his smile and looked away again, he laid back down, putting his back to Ian, using his jacket as his pillow. He gripped his jacket, staring at the wall, it was the dream. 'Was that...no.' He thought as he subconsciously touched his head. He bit his bottom lip. He's had plenty of dreams like that but most of the time they end up as nightmares, they end in panic and it never made sense to him. He closed his eyes, he didn't fall asleep, he just wanted to relax, not talk to anyone and be alone with his thoughts which weren't hard to do for him with tons of them racing in his head.

He could put a lot of things together, some things made sense and some did not. He knew he acted differently than other little kids when he was little in the village and it always confused him as to why they always are seen to know how to have fun while that was a foreign concept to him when he was little. And while yes, he was a little kid, like 8 or 9, but little kids automatically know how to entertain themselves and know how to do stuff that is fun. Sky would usually never know what to do, Ian was the one who pulled him along, guiding him and teaching him stuff. It wasn't until they turned into teenagers that Sky became more of a loner, Ian's dad teaching him how to shoot an arrow so he could hunt which was most of the time the only time they could leave the village. Sky got good at archery quickly, but that was more of the hunting side of it, never in an actual fight against another human being. 'I guess that quick learning of archery wasn't because of skill, it was because of my family's abilities.' Sky thought to himself. He bit his bottom lip, he stared at his hand, he hesitated before he sat back up. Ian looked at him. Sky looked over at Jordan.

"Hey, General." Sky said.

"Just call me Jordan, Sky. When we are in Avalon don't use my military rank. But what's up?" He asked. Sky looked away from him.

"Isn't the Skylen family corrupted? What makes you think that I-I wouldn't end up ruling like King Izic?" Sky asked. Jordan gripped the reins a bit, he was wondering when Sky would ask him that.

"Because you didn't grow up in a palace, you grew up in a village. You didn't grow up like Prince Anthony or King Izic did, you grew up separate from that." Jordan said. Sky looked away, not speaking again so Jordan continued. "Just because our families are one way doesn't mean we have to follow them. If I had followed my father, I wouldn't be where I am today. Just because corruption is in your family doesn't mean you are automatically labeled as black-hearted. Power doesn't corrupt people, it's the people's fear of losing that power that corrupts them." Sky only glanced at Jordan, still not speaking, and Jordan didn't know what else to say but this. "I know how it feels to have a family like that, Sky. But don't let their expectations or desires cloud what you truly want. Be the leader that you want the people to see you as, not the leader the people want you to be." Ian looked at him.

"What the hell does that mean?" Ian asked. 

"That means be yourself, make decisions on how you feel is right or wrong, don't let others make decisions for you," Jordan said. Sky gripped his jeans, he was thinking, he looked at Ian.

"You really think I-I can do this?" Sky asked him. Ian shook his head a little.

"Yes and no. But that's why you have friends, we'll help you, we won't let you do this on your own, Sky." Sky looked down at the floorboards, he rested his chin on his knees, the conversation ending and it was only a few moments later before Jordan spoke again.

"We're coming up on Avalon City."