Time slipped by in the blink of an eye, and just like that, three days had vanished.
In those long hours, Kaelion hadn't seen the sun even once.
The thick canopy of the Arcove Forest loomed above him like a never-ending ceiling, obscuring any trace of the outside world.
Even the twin moons his only markers of time had become mere blurry blots against the gloom. Morning and night melded into one endless stretch of survival, where each second felt slower than the last.
By day two, his stomach had stopped growling; it had learned silence.
Hunger was no longer a sharp pang but a hollow echo a distant ache pulsing behind every breath he took.
Kaelion resorted to eating bark not the fresh green kind, but old fibrous strips ripped from dying trees chewed into bitter mulch that scraped his throat on its way down.
He gagged at first but forced himself to keep going.
Grass? Moldy mushrooms? Once, he stumbled upon a clutch of beetles scuttling beneath a rotting log.
His fingers trembled as he scooped them up, crushing their shells one by one on a flat stone before swallowing them raw. The taste was irrelevant; his body craved sustenance.
On the second night, rain fell, acidic and faintly purple as it stung his open wounds. Yet he let it soak him, cupping his hands to catch the drops and drink.
It wasn't clean water, but it kept him upright.
With no clean food and no safe place to rest, sleep came in short bursts interrupted by distant howls and rustling leaves, the ever-present dread that something lurked just beyond the fog.
The pain from teleportation had dulled but never disappeared; his bones still ached with bruises that hinted at cracked ribs and sprained wrists.
But Kaelion survived because he had no other choice.
His pride, the shattered remnants of the prince he once was, burned in his chest like embers, propelling him forward: crawling, climbing, limping,staying alive.
Each hour echoed with his mantra:Just a little farther...
On the third day, fortune smiled upon him as he discovered a river a muddy stream shimmering beneath a break in the canopy that allowed pale gray light to filter through.
He fell to his knees beside it and drank deeply from cupped hands before vomiting; his empty stomach couldn't handle such sudden relief. Wiping his mouth clean with trembling fingers, he tried again this time slowly.
He washed away grime from his face and tended to his cuts as best as he could before tearing what remained of his undershirt to wrap around his worst wounds.
A reflection stared back at him from the stream. Not a prince. Not anymore but a survivor.
Pale and lean, with sunken eyes and bruised skin, his cracked lips told stories of hardship. His hair was a tangled mess, matted with sap and blood, giving him an air of wildness that was both haunting and compelling.
He looked older,sharper and in his expression, something new had taken root: ruthlessness.
With determination fueling his every step, he stood up to continue his journey through the forest. The last leg had begun.
By noon on the third day, Kaelion finally glimpsed light real light! Through a break in the trees ahead, sunlight poured onto the forest floor like holy fire.
He squinted against its brightness; his eyes were unaccustomed to such illumination.
Excitement bubbled within him as his heart raced and his legs quickened their pace. Branches slapped against his face; vines tore at his makeshift wrappings but he didn't care.
He pushed through the final curtain of foliage and burst onto an open dirt road.
The sky above was vast and pale blue, clouds drifting lazily across it while a gentle breeze kissed his face.
Once he adjusted to the light, he took in everything around him and stood there in a daze.
Kaelion took three slow steps forward before collapsing onto the ground with a soft thud. His body refused to move; the shock of light, open air, and hope overwhelmed him.
His consciousness frayed at the edges as he heard the wind rustle through grass and a nearby bird chirping softly.
He smiled faintly. *I made it.*
And then darkness enveloped him.
----------
Some time later, minutes or perhaps more the steady clatter of wooden wheels approached from the west.
A simple carriage patched together with mismatched boards creaked along the dirt road, pulled by a single tired ox whose sides rose and fell with exhaustion.
Inside sat a small family:
The father a broad-shouldered man with a tanned face dusted by travel and stubble that hinted at long days without rest sat beside his gentle-eyed wife.
Her hair was tied in a loose braid as she cradled a cloth bundle that smelled faintly of dried herbs. In the back sat two children:
A girl of about ten years old who was wide-eyed with curiosity as she clutched her beloved wooden doll (its arm sadly broken) alongside her younger brother a six-year-old boy swinging his legs rhythmically while humming under his breath.
They were returning from market day in the neighboring city when suddenly...
"Papa! Look! Someone's there!" The girl gasped excitedly.
The father immediately pulled on the reins; the ox grunted to a halt.
He climbed down, his eyes narrowing as he approached the figure sprawled by the roadside. Who could it be?
It was none other than Kaelion, lying there in a pitiful state.
Blood and dirt marred his skin, and he was barely dressed thin as a wisp of smoke.
His breathing was shallow, each gasp a struggle for life.
Roran hesitated, unease creeping into his mind. "Could this be a bandit trap?" he muttered under his breath.
Just then, the mother joined him, her face etched with concern.
She knelt beside Kaelion and gently placed two fingers on his neck. A pulse! Weak but undeniably present.
"Roran," she said softly, her voice trembling with urgency, "He's just a boy."
Roran glanced again at Kaelion. Up close, despite the grime that covered him, the boy's noble features were hard to overlook.
His jawline was sharp; even in unconsciousness, he exuded an air of refinement yet there was something profoundly broken about him.
With a heavy sigh, Roran made up his mind. "Alright," he said resolutely. "Help me get him into the cart."
The boy and girl watched silently as their parents carefully lifted Kaelion into the carriage.
The girl offered her blanket with a shy smile while the mother placed a cloth beneath his head to cushion it gently.
As the cart began to roll forward once more,alone on thr dirty long road.