"This is the start of many losses for the Redwing kingdom!

" Monk shouted as he went off and marched forward with his army.

Ray was tempted to walk forward and forget about the deal they had just made, but the others reminded him if he was to ignore the outcome of the battle, then they would lose respect for him as a leader and as a person. A true person kept their word, and a king was expected to do so more.

With nothing else to do, the group decided to camp there and then, they would not be moving for three days after all. They pitched their tents up, only having moved a few hundred meters from their last spot. This time it was on top of the tree root, up against the trunk of the tree.

After being in the giant forest for a few days, they realised that they hadn't run into many beasts. They were unsure if this was due to what happened at the fortress or perhaps something else altogether, but it made them more comfortable with camping out in the open like they were doing.

When night came, the soldiers did the only thing they could do, drink and eat. However, Kyle hadn't spoken to anyone. He had grabbed a large bottle of wine and headed off away from the others to sit on his own at the edge of the root, looking down.

The four young knights seeing this, went ahead to speak to him, wishing to comfort him.

"You did well in that fight, Master Kyle.

" Flynn was the first to say as he bowed down.

Kyle took a big swig from the wine bottle, glanced in their direction, and carried on drinking. That was when Wendy noticed that there was another empty bottle by his side.

"I think it would be best if you were to take it easy on the drinking.

" Wendy suggested. 'There might be a time where we need you to fight.

"

This made Kyle chuckle.

"Need me, do you think this kingdom needs me? Look at me, I lost one fight and now I'm being ordered around by a young knight.

"

"I think you fought very well in that fight.

" Claire added.

"If you didn't take that initial blow in the beginning you would have been able to use your full strength, and would have won.

"

"But I didn't win,

" Kyle snapped back.

"And because of that, we are all here in this strange situation.

"

"Don't worry, I'm sure there will be a chance where you can prove yourself in battle.

" Flynn encouraged him.

"Maybe you might meet the giant man again, and beat him yourself.

"

"Maybe,

" Kyle mumbled.

The kids didn't know what to do. It was clear Kyle was depressed but none of their words were getting through to him. Then, unexpected footsteps were heard coming towards them, and when they looked at who it was, they could see it was Van.

In his hand, he had a ppuch and he was handing it over to Kyle.

"More wine?

" Kyle asked.

"Take it, it's orange juice.

" Van said.

"I think I will do just fine with the wine, young prince.

"

"You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and move on from this. Sitting here won't change the outcome. Trust me, I know better then anyone.

" Van thought back about how he had spent years mulling over Amy's death, how he had felt like it was his fault.

During that time, he had done nothing to fix that, nothing to stop it from happening again.

"I see the prince has found a new set of balls, now that he has the white stone. You know you probably still would be nothing without that?

"

"Kyle, Prince Van has saved us, even from the Dragon. He is only trying to comfort you.

" Wendy complained, noticing that Kyle's remarks had gone too far.

"You can sit here and feel sorry for yourself, or you can do something about it. Train and keep fighting so you never lose again.

" Van said walking off, and the kids decided to follow him.

They didn't know who this was, but it was not the Kyle they were used to.

When they all went to sleep that night, Van did so feeling nervous as he did every night. He was the one who held the white stone and there was an assassin out there. Because of this, one of the Red wing leaders would be asked to keep guard outside the leaders large tent while the others slept.

Finding it hard to fall asleep, Van looked around to see who was in the tent, his eyes hovering over Harry for a second who seemed to be asleep. He had recently been acting very odd around Kyle. Although, at least that was what Kyle claimed.

The others that had spoken to Harry thought he was no different, Lenny had said he had seen instances of Harry acting weirdly but the others couldn't see it. Still, it was an option that he could be the assassin.

The only one that wasn't in the room was Kyle, who was outside on guard duty. Van didn't know how much he had to drink and was hoping he just hadn't fallen asleep. With the use of Ki, one could get rid of the effects of alcohol, but that was only if they wished it.

After glancing outside and seeing Kyle stood upright, Van decoded to go to sleep. In the middle of the night, he started to feel incredibly weak.

He felt a hand pressed up against his mouth and he was jolted awake. However, he couldn't move his body. At first he was unsure whether it was a dream ro not, but when he looked around he could see that everyone was in the tent just like him.

"Thank you for that little pep talk you had with me earlier,

" The man on top of him said.

Trying to assess the situation, Van finally had a clear look at who was on top of him, it was Kyle.

Moving his finger tips, Van tired to reach for the white stone in his pouch to see if there was anything he could do.

"I already took the white stone, so don't think about trying to use it, oh and if you're wondering why I'm doing all this. It's because I'm the assassin you have all been looking for.

" Said Kyle.

*****

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