"You can leave. But I won't be here when you come back."
I stared at Suri as he began walking out of the room, his face downcast.
"Wait, please!"
I called out to him, reached out to him, but he already made up his mind. I followed Suri outside as he began to run into the forest behind our house. I wanted to chase him, I wanted to find him, to comfort him and to bring him home, but I knew it was no use.
Ever since he was born, he was shunned. He thinks it's because I'm his brother, and I'm sure he despises me for it, but it's something else entirely that nobody has told him. God, I wish I told him. If I knew this would have happened, I would have told him.
The prophecy tells of a legendary hero that would be born as well as a "great calamity". However, that great calamity that we all know as the Dragon King is sealed away in a mountain not too far from our village. This is common knowledge, yes, but what Suri doesn't know that nobody has thought to tell him was the features this calamity had.
The hero of the past had black hair and glowing yellow eyes. Suri knows this because I have those features myself.
But the Dragon King has features that Suri also has. Features that are not seen anywhere. Snow white hair and red eyes.
He never questioned it, so I never even thought to say anything. He was shunned by everyone, even our parents, because he shared resemblance to the tyrannical Dragon King of the past. I tried my hardest to make him feel normal, but I never realized he would rely on me this much...
But I couldn't think about it anymore. I couldn't regret it anymore. The carriage stopped in front of our house before I could work up the courage to chase after Suri.
I swear I wanted to, but I had no choice, Suri.
The same knight from yesterday ushered me into the carriage. He sat me beside two other similarly dressed knights, all of them silent as the horse began to gallop away from my home. After saying my goodbyes to my parents and waiting for Suri to disappear in the foliage of the forest, I finally closed the curtains to the carriage.
I know my duty. I know what I must do and I know where I must go... but what's the point when my own brother is gone? My own brother who believed I was the only one who cared for him? I wish I could have taken him with me, but the knight from yesterday told me it wasn't possible. Suri wouldn't listen. Or maybe I wasn't loud enough to help him understand-
"Hey!"
The deep and demanding voice of the knight sitting beside me had me startled.
"Y-yes sir?"
"Sorry, you weren't responding and I didn't want to scare you too bad."
"N-no worries! Sorry, I was just lost in thought. What's going on?"
"We're on our way to the capital now. It should take about a day to reach, so if there's anything you need to make the trek more comfortable, let any of us know, okay hero?"
"Thank you, mister knight. But please, call me Kai."
The knights in the carriage seemed a lot less menacing when they removed their helmets and smiled at me in excitement. The one I was speaking to was especially happy for some reason.
"Is something wrong? Do I have something on my face?" I asked one of the knights.
"Sorry, I just never thought I'd get to see the legendary hero in my lifetime."
"Your eyes really do glow in the dark..."
I chuckled awkardly. It felt like I was more of a statue to these guys than an actual hero, but I didn't mind. I was thinking of something else entirely.
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After a day of travel, we finally arrived in the capital. The Kingdom of Hana was still the largest kingdom in the continent even after the battles that raged centuries ago, but it was MUCH smaller than back then, so the distance between the center and outskirts is only about two or three days of travelling to reach, hence why it didn't take too long to reach for us.
Even though I knew this and read all about our kingdom, it was much different being here in person. The gates to the kingdom were huge, and the walls were even taller. Guards were planted in so many towers along it that I couldn't even count them. When the gates themselves opened, the large bustling city was already super crowded. Nobles and citizens alike all looked like they were decently rich, and the stalls surrounding the street sold items worth a lot.
I did research, but nothing could have prepared me for this.
I was led directly towards the steps to the castle lying ahead. It was a large stone structure that had wooden scaffolding on the outside. I guess it's still under renovations.
The knights silently led me up to the castle gates before bowing and standing to the sides. I entered and was immediately greeted by a group of well dressed men and a demihuman maid with the features of a snow wolf.
"Welcome, hero. We are honored to make your acquaintance." Each of the four people in front of me bowed, the man in the middle with a balding head and orange beard speaking to me first.
I bow back.
"The honor is mine. Please, call me Kai."
Everyone seemed to be staring at me an abnormal amount again. I was used to it in my village, but this is a whole other level of embarassing.
As we all raised our heads, the noble in the center once again spoke.
"Well then, Master Kai, let me show you to your living quarters. I assume you know why you are are, yes?"
"I will be training under the general of the kingsguard, correct?"
"That is correct, but that isn't the only reason you are here now."
I am then led through the large hallway littered with gold and white walls and cielings, a chandelier made from gold, and a perfectly smooth purple carpet all the way to the large doors of what I could only assume is the throne room.