M:   The brothers and Mandoria bid Saxon good night, and they too decided it was time to hit the hay. Mandoria was also worried the kids might try something so he made sure their window was locked because they preferred to sneak in through windows rather than doors. The two weren't actually planning a prank tonight, they didn't even have a snake to put in Saxon's bed, but they were going to get him eventually.

"Father, you never told us who you found today," Mandara said before Mandoria left. The king hesitated, should he tell them who he found, how would they react?

"It was England," he eventually said, "he and Saxon don't get along that well so he came looking for him."

The brothers exchanged looks of understanding, they remember that Saxon said he and his son don't like each other, "yeah, Sir Saxon told us that too," Derogan said, "he said that he didn't like him because of his eyes, which seems like a stupid reason to hate someone for."

"Well, that's just how it is sometimes, like how humans with white skin think they're above those with darker skin." Mandoria said, he didn't want to mention the insurgent stuff, "but let us not discuss this before bed, you two get some rest now, and don't play any pranks."

"Ok, goodnight Father," the brothers said in unison, Mandoria smiled and kissed them goodnight on the forehead, and left once they were tucked in. As he walked to his room, he was thinking over the events of that day, and wondering how cautious of Saxon should he be.

N:   Just as he was waking up, Saxon squinted as his room was filled with light. He sat up, looked out of the window, and realized that the sun was high in the sky, which annoyed him. Why had he not slept in the night before? When he had eventually pulled himself out of bed and gotten ready, he opened the door and peeked outside, hoping there were no prankster princes around with reptiles. Heading towards the dining hall to eat, he realized that he did not feel that hungry so instead he headed towards the training grounds.

When he arrived there, he saw that there were no knights there, so he decided to set out ten targets to practice. Inside the small building, he tried to find some throwing knives but only found daggers, which he decided will do just fine.

When he grabbed a bunch, he headed outside and plopped them next to him so that he was ten meters in front of the first target. Picking up a dagger, it felt reassuring in his hand as he balanced it in his hand. He stared at the target, lifted up his arm, and flicked the dagger.

It hit right in the center. Satisfied with the result, he moved on to the next target, repeating the process but adding ten meters every time. Each dagger met its target; however, the last two skewed a bit to the side, so Saxon repeated those two again until they hit the center.

M:   The Mandorians had been up for a while, Mandoria and Derogan were busy with his lessons, which he hated but wouldn't say anything about it. Mandara's teacher had called in sick so he had another day off, and not knowing what to do, he decided to go into the forest near the training grounds to hang out with his bird friends.

As Mandara was talking to a raven that he had become good friends with, he heard some noises coming from the training ground behind him, he turned to it and saw Saxon out practicing. Since he had nothing else to do, he decided to go over and say hi, the raven following close behind.

Mandara stepped out into the open and called, "Dahver Sir Saxon, decided to sleep in?"

N:   "Seems my body decided to go rogue and sleep in," he scoffed as he threw another knife, which embedded in the center of the target. He hummed in content, grabbed hold of another dagger and planned where it should land. He got bored of the repetitiveness by then so he decided to mix it up and form a ring with the daggers on a target.

While he was training, he saw the raven in his peripheral vision and wondered why it was nearby.

"Have you been talking to that raven over there? It seems quite attached."

M:   Mandara turned to the raven and smiled, "Yup, we've been chatting for a few years now and are good friends, I call her Silver Streak because she has a few feathers on her wings and tail that are white instead of black."

Mandara then made a few raven calls and held out his arm, Silver Streak flew over and landed on it. The young country walked closer to Saxon so he could meet the bird, "she is very friendly and likes people, which makes me think she was someone's pet that escaped, but she never confirmed it when I asked."

Silver Streak then made a call that sounded like she said "hello".

N:  "Hello there," he replied, chuckled when he heard its call, and placed the dagger he had in his hand on the ground.

He reached out to stroke its breast feathers, his fingers slowly brushing. He was about to move towards its wings but hesitated when his finger was just above them. When the raven did not retaliate, he petted the feathers, captivated by the white ones.

"I was wondering," asked Saxon, while he was petting Silver Streak, "if I could visit the nearby town? I would like to see how life is here in the kingdom."

M:   "I don't see why not," Mandara shrugged, "Father and Derogan are having lessons so it's just us, and unlike my big brother, I would rather not train to fight when I'm not supposed to. And just beyond the town is The Eye of Ora, so we could go there too." He then spoke to Silver Streak, "what about you Silver, you want to come with?"

The raven flapped her wings excitedly like she was saying yes, Mandara chuckled and scratched her chest, "well it's settled, and since you can't fly, Sir Saxon, we can just walk there. Though a bit of a warning, people here tend to revere us as deities so don't be surprised if people start bowing for no apparent reason."

N:   "It would be nice to see the Eye of Ora," he commented, and when he heard what the people did, he was surprised. Deities? That seems a little much. However, he quickly nodded, packed away the equipment, and followed Mandara towards the town with Silver Streak flying above them.

Along the way, Saxon was thinking back to what Mandara said. "Does Prince Derogan enjoy his lessons? It seems that he-," he paused to find the words, "-has opinions about being king."

M:   "No, he hates them," Mandara said, "Father usually has to spend a few hours trying to find him before they get their lessons started. He thinks Derogan is being a typical rebellious teenager, but after the encounter with Prussia last year, he's just afraid that he'll have to deal with him when he's king. He hasn't told Father yet because he doesn't want to disappoint him, and he's made me swear on my wings that I wouldn't say anything about it either."

Silver then called from a tree that she landed on, causing Mandara to snicker, "she said that back when she was living in her flock, the males would usually fight over who gets to be the leader and that she doesn't understand how someone could be so willing to give up the title."

Eventually, the two made it into the main town of the kingdom, it was quite large for a town and could have been called a city by the kingdom's empire neighbors. It was bustling with activity as people were walking into businesses or merchants driving their carts to and from the town. Silver Streak decided to stay perched on Mandara's shoulder so the resident birds of prey wouldn't decide to make her a snack. Just like Mandara said, the humans were very respectful of the countryhumans, they would move out of the way for the two to pass by and greet them with hellos and smiles, a few did even bow like predicted.

N:   "Sometimes, Mandara, the thing that is your destiny is not what you desire," Saxon remarked, "Sometimes you just want to do what feels right to you."

When they arrived, he was immediately captivated by the town. He walked around, watching as the people around them hurried around, greeting the people who greeted him.

When someone bowed to him, he stood in shock as he did not know what to do, and tried to pick up the person to stand.

"Please, I pray you not to bow," he asked the person, "I'm not worthy of it."

"Humans," he muttered used his breath, shaking his head as the person walked away. "So," Saxon turned to Mandara, "what is the best place to visit in this town?"

M:   "I don't know, I have been here so many times and still haven't been everywhere, some places Father says I'm too young to go to." Mandara said, he then heard his stomach growl and that gave him an idea of where to go first, "I'm kind of hungry so we could to one of my favorite bakeries, they make sandwiches there that are delicious, though most everyone here speaks Mandorian so I'll have to translate for you."

He started leading the way to the bakery when he thought of something and flashed Saxon a challenging smile, "I bet you three gold pieces that you can't eat something with spice in it."

Silver Streak made a sound like she was laughing, for Mandara had already told her about Saxon's fear of spice.

N:   When Mandara mentioned food, he realized that he had not eaten yet so he agreed to go to the bakery, and accepted that the prince would have to translate for him.

After hearing his challenge, he was momentarily afraid and not sure if he should accept. However, Saxon was not the type of man to back down from a challenge and, after some thought, he marched up to the young country.

"I accept your bet," replied confidently, and he stretched out his hand, "lead the way, young prince."

M:   Mandara chuckled, "I can't wait for this, and you won't know what spice they put on it since I will be translating for you, but I will be merciful and not get you the spiciest thing there."

Mandara steered the two to the bakery, and even though they were countryhuman royals and weren't normally charged for anything, Mandara always carried a pouch of coins to pay for things, as he knew that it was helping the business.

They found the bakery and entered, a few people greeted them but mostly went about their business. The man behind the counter greeted the two and started talking to Mandara like he was an old friend, even reaching out to pet Silver Streak, and after a minute the young country turned to Saxon and asked what he wanted.

N:   "I'm not quite sure, but I'm fine with anything that has meat in it," he shrugged. It was his first time ordering from this shop so he did not know what to choose. When Mandara started to translate, he remembered the bet, "also, nothing too spicy," he quickly added. He did not want to lose this bet.

While Mandara was translating for him, he gazed at the view of the local businesses, watching as items were exchanged, when he noticed some movement around the corner that looked peculiar. Not wanting to leave Mandara, and also because he was hungry, he stayed put but made a mental note to check it out later.

M:   Mandara merely gave Saxon a mischievous look when he said nothing too spicy, then he ordered a mustard sauce with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper in it, not enough to ruin taste buds but it should give a nice kick, and he made sure to ask for a large jug of water to go with it, just in case.

"And because I am nice, I will get you a sandwich with no spice for when you lose and can't eat the spicy one," Mandara said.

Once the orders were ready, Mandara took out his pouch and paid for it, leaving a tip for the birdseed they gave them for Silver Streak. The two took their sandwiches to one of the tables outside the bakery so they could enjoy the warm summer day. Mandara set the plate of birdseed down for the raven and started munching on his sandwich, eagerly waiting for Saxon to eat his.

N:   Saxon stared at his sandwich in his hands, wondering if he made the right choice, if he should risk his taste buds. Screw risk, he thought, as he took a large bite from the sandwich. He was not going to lose a bet to a kid.

He instantly regretted taking a large bite as he began to cough from the spice; however, he still kept on chewing. After taking a large swing from the jug, he continued on his quest to finish his sandwich. From someone else's point of view, Saxon did not look great with his already red face turning redder and tears from the spice.

Finally, after two full jugs of water, Saxon triumphantly slammed his glass on the table; held out his hand, and said hoarsely, "you shouldn't bet against a man who would not back down from a challenge."

M: Mandara was giggling as he watched Saxon eat his sandwich, he had seen many countryhumans who visited his father break down from eating Mandorian food, but the fact that Saxon powered through it instead of giving in was both admirable and slightly humorous.

When Saxon finished and announced his victory, Mandara gave a small applause and Silver Streak flapped her wings in congrats.

"You got me, Sir Saxon," Mandara admitted, "most people I would bet against would back down after the first bite, so very well done."

As promised, Mandara took out his pouch and gave up his three gold pieces, saying, "you earned them, and since you ate the whole sandwich I assume you don't want the non-spicy one I got you?"

N:   "I think that my experience from Sir India's spices and all the other countries I have visited did pay off," he croaked as he took the gold pieces. He was about to put them in a pouch but then he realized that he was not wearing his own clothes, so he uncomfortably held the coins in his hand for the time being.

"As for the non-spicy one, I don't think I will be able to tell the difference between that and the spicy one for the next couple of hours," he laughed, but he started to cough again from the sandwich, so he grabbed for the jug for water only to find it empty. He stood up, indicated that he would get a refill while Mandara finished off his food.

Saxon stood by the bakery as he waited for the jug to refill when he saw the movement from before, so, not caring if the jug was refilled, went to check it out. He turned the corner to find himself surrounded by a group of humans. Disguised to not give too much attention, they all held a dagger to him; the leader of them walked up to him from behind and whispered, "You are under arrest by the order of the Kingdom of France."

M: Mandara was preoccupied with his sandwich to notice anything suspicious, however, Silver Streak saw a few people sneak into an alleyway next to the bakery. She cocked her head in confusion -having not seen Saxon go over there- and decided to check it out. She flew over to perch on a nearby box and croaked in shock at seeing Saxon surrounded by people with daggers.

The raven wasted no time in flying back to Mandara and telling him what was happening. Mandara's face turned grim, those people must be working for England and had snuck back into the kingdom to finish the job. Mandara told Silver Streak to go get Mandoria while he tried to help Saxon, she did as told and flew off for the castle while Mandara made for the alleyway.

"Stop," he shouted, but when he saw how many people there was he was silenced by fear. He saw Saxon in the middle and quickly tried to regain his confidence, He flared his wings in a threatening manner and said, "you can't take him, he is under the protection of The Kingdom of Mandoria, my father is on his way as we speak and will have your heads."

Mandara's attempt to sound threatening wasn't working and his threat sounded more like a scared whimper.

N:   Saxon turned around when he heard Mandara and smiled a little at his attempt of sounding threatening.

"Please," he said, almost apologetically, to the leader, "let us settle this like gentlemen." He proceeded to throw one gold coin into the air to switch their attention from the young country to it, and when this was achieved, he attacked.

He caught one of the men by surprise, who was watching the coin, when he yanked his dagger from him, he fell to one knee when Saxon kicked him on the shin. Another soldier caught on and raised his dagger, only to have a gold piece thrown at him at his head, causing him to drop his dagger. Saxon grabbed the other dagger, and now feeling more confident, parried and wielded the daggers in both hands.

The scuffle continued until Saxon stood over the soldiers, who were on the ground; alive but injured enough so that they would not escape. Saxon himself got a few hits but since he was an entity knew they would heal quicker than the human's wounds. One soldier tried to get up, so Saxon threw the last gold piece at him to keep him down.

"Can I not enjoy one day in peace?" he muttered to himself as he collected the gold pieces, he turned around to see that Mandara was still standing at the entrance of the alleyway.