The air harshly howled around Valeriana, bringing her long hair to lively dance with the flow of the wind. Her clothes, which were loose, whipped around her body with the sound of the cloth being thrashed around violently. Valeriana squinted, feeling that the coldness against her eyes made them go dry. She started blinking rapidly later on, seeing as she was having a hard time trying to look ahead of her.

Glasses would be nice to have right now.

But, oh dear lord! How she screamed bloody murder as she clung tightly on the thick mane around Avaro's neck. It was hard to disregard the pain that throbbed on her palm as she continued to cling for her dear life. The winged lion advanced faster than she ever did in her seventeen years worth of age, and although she found the speed highly exciting, there was a feeling inside her belly that sent her insides flipping in all directions.

She didn't know if she was supposed to feel euphoria, having been given the chance to be with this airborne creature as he soared above, or feel the fear of being dropped to the ground abruptly. It wasn't exactly that far, but how it would hurt to land on the cold and hard dirt of the town of West Monte.

The speed and the foreign feeling of flying made her nervous, but for some reason, it made her feel free as well. It seemed as though she was missing out on something entirely.

It was fun and scary.

She didn't even know what the purpose of flying off was. But, she sooner got the idea when Avaro aimed straight for Lord Lienhard. It made sense for Corvan to use this opportunity once and for all to cease the troublesome lord while he had a worthy ally by his side.

Avaro folded his wings and shot for a quick dive, making the girl scream even louder as if she was riding a roller coaster. She could feel the hum in her ears as they zoomed straight to the ground, their destination set on one course—which was no other than Lord Lienhard himself.

Before they hit the man, Avaro skillfully spread his wings and buffered most of the force in the impact with them. As a result, they all but gently tackled the man to the ground, a deafening round of gasps ringing around them as about more than a dozen pair of eyes witnessed the scene unfold as a result. A man carrying a basket of fruits scurried away with a startled yell, causing a few of the freshly ripe treats to fall out.

It was really eye-catching to have a magnificent familiar appear out of nowhere and land directly on a man in the middle of the street.

Lord Lienhard groaned from under the massive body of Avaro, mumbling a few things in complain. "I never expected someone to jump on me. Good lord."

"O-oh my gosh." Valeriana stammered as she struggled to get off of Corvan's familiar. Her legs felt wobbly that she almost fell over, but she sooner managed to find the strength in her legs. She crouched by the lord's side, obviously concerned. "A-are you alright, Your Highness?"

The girl held her mouth close, feeling the need to vomit everything she ate a few moments ago.

"I don't think I have any broken bones."

'I express my humblest apologies to thee, he who carries the blood of the Chosen.' Avaro bowed his head. 'This is all but an order from my contractor.'

"Avaro and I are sorry. He's only following Corvan's orders after all. If there's anyone to blame this, it's him." Valeriana told him as she gently nudged the beast to the side and helped the lord to stand back up on his feet.

'Child, do tell the lord that this beast means no harm.' He told Valeriana.

"He means no harm." Valeriana said.

The king's brother eyed the girl with surprise before eventually bending his hips forward. "How surprising." Lienhard said, grunting as he popped a bone in his backside with a crunchy sound. "Ooh." He breathed out in relief before continuing. "You can understand the words of the Celestial Beast, Valeriana my dear?"

"Huh?"

"A Celestial Beast, or a 'Vileamis Niemu'. Whatever term, it means the same." He pointed out.

"O-oh." She shook her head. "So that's what it means? I've been wondering what the heck he's been talking about a while ago." She said, scrunching her brows from the lack of familiarity from the words the beast had spoken.

"You are not familiar with the Ancient Language?" He asked, stretching a little bit more. "What have you been learning in the academy all this time, then?"

"I think that learning the Ancient Language is actually a subject meant to be learned by third years. I'm not even on my second. Or maybe that was fourth. I heard someone say something about it, but I didn't pay much attention. My bad." She ranted.

"Is that so?" He paused for a moment. "Oh, right. I forgot. Those born in wealthy and high-ranking families are given the privilege of learning the language without having to wait for their fourth year in the Academy. The complexities of the language make it impossible to understand without being properly taught and learning the language comes equally with great responsibilities so they're given only to those who managed to at least survive for half of their training years." He scratched his head from the confusion.

Corvan suddenly landed from above, landing smoothly on the ground in an elegantly crouched position. He stood up, all composed and poised despite the recent marathon he just ran. Beads of sweat trickled down his skin, dripping down from the sides of his face and coating his forehead in a thin, glistening sheet.

'Valemiuer is a very sacred tongue. Learning it is serious business.' Avaro said, giving little regard to the arrival of his contractor.

"I don't really understand half of it but my guess is that it's very important?"

"Why, of course." Lord Lienhard then groaned. "I'm barely on my hundredth year of age, but goodness me, I'm getting old." He chuckled. "But, my dear, be aware that learning Valemiuer is very crucial to those who want to excel in battle."

"Why is that?"

"Because, with whatever kind of Power Control you have, controlling it with the ancient tongue makes it a hundred times more powerful than ordinary."

"Wow, really?" Valeriana remarked. "But I think it's useless for me. I don't have any of those anyway." She muttered in disappointment, feeling her excitement suddenly vanish.

'What dost thou mean?' Avaro questioned. 'All Valemnians have distinct controlling power bestowed upon them.'

She didn't answer his question since she didn't understand herself anyway. Luckily, the arrival of the others saved her from having to answer.

"I'm glad this whole chasing business is over, then." The fourth-ranker muttered with a hidden tone of complain underlying his voice.

"Ugh. I'm dead tired." Elfre panted.

"A little workout is good, Elfre." Raziel winked. "I don't mind being sweaty in the least."

"Oh?" Elfre looked up at him with her brows raised. "I would've expected the opposite coming from you."

"Come on." Raziel chuckled. "I look good in glistening sweat, don't you think?" He brushed back the hair that was matted to his face.

"Like hell you do." Elfre said, scoffing. "That's disgusting."

Meanwhile, as Elfre and Raziel debated over the sixth-ranker's inborn charm, Genevieve went to Valeriana's side and started fussing about her recent wound that reopened once again. With the burst of Genevieve's healing power from a while ago, the wound was able to partly heal. Although, with the obvious strain it was put on, there was no helping it.

"We've got to change those bandages! They're soaked with blood!" The younger twin exclaimed. "You're really careless!"

"I'm fine, really. It's nothing." Valeriana tried to assure her, but was brushed aside without hesitation.

Corvan huffed. "She should blame that on her own stupidity."

"Shut up, you ass! You should blame it on your inconsiderateness!" She argued.

And while all hell broke loose between the fifth and the first once again, the form of the eleventh-ranker hunched over was noticeable enough despite it all.

Keelan was panting, but wasn't about to give up. He took the first few moments catching his breath before he stomped over to the king's brother with a fierce glare. "You better give back what you took!"

It seemed to Valeriana that he didn't care about disrespecting someone of higher status when it came to his love for food. The girl would dare say. If he was forced to choose between a grand buffet and room full of priceless treasures, he would choose the first option.

"I will now." He chuckled. "Can't a lonely man play with kids once in a while?"

"We aren't kids anymore and you know that!" Elfre pointed out adamantly.

"I was just trying to get you kids to loosen up." He shook his head in amusement, still bent on calling them 'kids' despite their obvious protests. "You looked like you were all ready to go as rigid as ice from the tension. It seems that this little game did a good work."

"You never really change, do you? Nevertheless, I never really expected it to be this easy." Corvan sighed. "No matter. Is everyone here?"

Oh, how they didn't know. If the king's brother was actually serious, he could've easily managed to outrun them if he liked. Still, he kept those thoughts to himself with that familiar smile gracing his lips.

The fourth-ranker glanced between everyone and saw the twelfth, the eleventh, the third, the fifth, the first, and the list went on. Everyone in total was present in exception for two people. There was no sign of Rowe or Aneeka among their little group.

"Is Aneeka still facing 'that' problem?" Lord Lienhard asked them.

"Yes." Tamara nodded. "She still hasn't gotten over it."

"You have yourself to blame for that!" Keelan exclaimed, pointing at the lord. "Now where's my food?!"

"Easy now, child." He patted Keelan on the back. "I will make it up to you."

"My hungry stomach cannot wait!" The eleventh-ranker wrapped his arms around his own stomach, trying to suppress the growl that nevertheless came. "I want my food!" He said in the manliest way he could muster while pointing at the lord. "You owe me!"

"Pathetic." Corvan muttered.

Tamara hit him on the back of the head, practically knocking him over. "You're starting to sound like a seriously spoiled brat, you know that?" She said indignantly.

"The bottomless void you call your stomach. Will it even ever be satisfied?" Zevlin asked, quirking a brow.

"Ow." Keelan rubbed the part where Tamara hit him and frowned. "It's not my fault I'm hungry!" He yelled before turning to the king's brother. "Where's my food?! Don't tell me you ate it all!"

Lord Lienhard chuckled humorlessly, trying to feign innocence. "You see . . ." His voice quieted. "When I was tackled . . ."

With a look of pure horror, Keelan diverted his attention to the ground, now serving as a plate for his precious meatballs. With a cry, he fell on his knees. "No!" He exclaimed, his eyes burning. "I-it still must be good. I mean . . . it didn't stay there for more than a minute, it should—"

With a growl, Tamara kicked him on the back from where she stood and scowled at him. "You're disgusting, Keelan! It already fell! As soon as it did, it's inedible!"

"How can you say that!?" Keelan cried. "You're wasting perfectly good food!"

"It's dirty!" Tamara pointed out. "You're going to get sick eating that!"

"Do you even have an ounce of grace within you, Keelan?" Raziel looked away in disgust.

"B-but . . ." He stammered and his bottom lip quivered. His forest-green eyes twinkled with sadness as a gentle caress from the wind sent his neck-long, strawberry blond hair dance around.

Everyone groaned.

Keelan then stood up, turning to the person who was responsible for taking his meal away. His hands firmly gripped the shoulders of Lord Lienhard and started shaking him vigorously. "It's your fault! How could you! Now I don't have anything to eat! And it's all because of you!"

"I never actually realized he was this obsessed with food!" Valeriana murmured, her hands unconsciously caressing Corvan's familiar. "It's not normal at all!"

'This one believes that 'tis inevitable.' Avaro purred. 'From the start, even Abelard Keiffer himself had an unhealthy obsession with food. 'Tis in his blood.'

"It runs in the family, huh. I guess that's reasonable."

Keelan continued to shake the lord tirelessly, not realizing that his action caused his hood to go out of place. As the cloth shadowing his face fell, it revealed a face that greatly resembled his brother's. Valeriana could see, though. Though his eyes were twinkling with amusement, they were also wide. His head continuously banged to the direction Keelan shook him to but he wasn't doing anything to stop it.

"Dear goodness." The lord grumbled. "You're making me dizzy." He said.

"Keelan! Unhand him!" Charles scolded. "Despite his foolishness, he still is the brother of the king!"

Keelan stepped back in hesitation. "You have to promise!" He then said.

"Alright, I do. I promise." Lord Lienhard muttered, raking his fingers through his golden hair with a relieved sigh.

Valeriana felt somewhat taken aback by the sudden revelation of his appearance. Being the younger brother of the king, he knew that they resembled each other. The similarity was shocking though. He didn't just possess a resemblance. It seemed to Valeriana that he was a younger, more cheerful, and vibrant version of King Laedin.

While the king possessed an air of maturity, his brother was the complete opposite. The dimples on his face made his image further childish than his actual age.

This man didn't look a day older than eighteen.

The golden hue of his eyes gleamed with glee. "You're all much energetic than how I remembered you all to be when you were younger."

And yet, he was far older than she would be able to guess.

Shaking out of her reverie, she spoke up. "Your hood."

"Hm?" He looked at Valeriana questioningly.

"Your hood." Brindon pointed out, repeating the girl's words. "Hurry."

He soon got what they were trying to say. A round of gasps came from the civilians as they all scampered to get to their knees at the sudden realization of who was in their presence. They were watching everything happen all this time—not that the Twelve haven't realized.

"Hail!" A voice above all else echoed. "We are in the presence of a member of the royal family!"

Lord Lienhard hurriedly dragged his hood back up, covering his exotic features with a groan. "How frustrating. I just found a good place to hang out to and this happens. You kids really bring me trouble."

"Do not go blaming us for something which obviously is your fault." Tamara huffed. "If you didn't start this chasing business, we wouldn't have had to actually end up with this." She spread her arms out, referring to everyone around them currently prostrating themselves.

"No matter." Corvan said. "Let's get out of here before the whole situation worsens. Avaro, continue to carry Valeriana. It'll be hard for her to get away alone."

There was no denying what Corvan said.

"But Aneeka and Rowe!" Valeriana protested, hesitantly mounting Avaro's back again.

"They'll be able to handle themselves just fine." Corvan answered.

"You summoned Avaro, Corvan? Why? You almost never call out on your familiar." Genevieve asked, as they all broke into a run to escape the scene. "And Valeriana's riding him. I would've never guessed."

"You only noticed now?" Zevlin teased his twin.

"Of course not! I've just been dying to ask but because of the show Keelan was putting up, I was distracted!"

Zevlin snickered at the excuse of Genevieve, making her frown.

"The stupid witch is hopeless when it comes to keeping up." Corvan told them. "She's a clumsy fool."

"Do not call me a fool! And stop insulting me like I can't hear you!" Valeriana growled.

'Do not worry, lheuim ansur.' Avaro chuckled as he, too, started to run with the rest. 'Heilm juaire means no insult to thee. He's merely teasing.'

"Teasing? Like hell with the face of his."

'Do trust this one's words, my child.' He said. 'Thou wilt only fuel the fire by acting aggravated.'

Valeriana smiled at the pun Avaro gave. In a way, fire really suited Corvan's personality.

"I guess."

"What are you smiling about?" Corvan grumpily asked. "You look stupid."

Valerian clenched her teeth shut at the insult, but tried not to let it get to her. Instead, she stuck her tongue out at him. "You're just jealous, Jerk-waden!"

"Jerk-waden?" Genevieve raised a brow at the new nickname.

Everyone else looked in their direction despite needing to look ahead to watch out for any obstacles while they ran.

"I mean. He's a big jerk wad." Valeriana reasoned, scratching her head. "So I took a part of his name and combined them."

They all stared at her as if she grew two heads.

Tamara started laughing. "Ha! That's epic! Nice going, Val!"

"Very creative indeed." Lienhard chuckled.