You meet Aster, King of the Fresh Pines

It takes nearly a whole day to reach the city, but eventually you and your kidnappers are standing in the city of the Fresh Pines. The fauns are staring at you, curious about your arrival, but respectfully keep their distance. A few recognize you as well, calling out your name and smiling as you wave your hellos. You've haven't been allowed to travel here much, the distance much too far, but it certainly seems like a friendly place to live. You imagine that you would have loved growing up here as a faunt.

You eventually arrive at the castle. Well, your kind call them castles, but they resemble a modest human manor more than the towering things they call castles. Not that you've ever seen one really, but you remember the pictures in the story books your birth father would read to you as a faunt.

The group leads you to the main room, where the King has been impatiently waiting for your arrival. King Aster has always been a strange faun. He's much taller than any faun you've ever met and, instead of the browns, greens, and greys that most fauns have in their eyes, his are deep purple color. Also, while he does have quite impressive horns, they don't spiral like most fauns. His have grown straight, only curving a bit at their ends. Many blame the fairies for his looks, though no one knows for sure what caused his strange appearance. You meet his eyes for a brief moment before bowing. No need to accidently challenge him in his own home.

"King Aster, it's been a very long time." you say, rising from your bow but keeping your eyes glued to the floor out of respect, "I wish the circumstances had been better."

"I don't have time for pleasantries." he says, the cold tone of his voice making you flinch, "Do you know why you've been brought here?"

"I've been brought to heal Prince Sorrel." you reply, "From what my... escorts have told me, you approached my father for help and were sent away. I promise you, if there is anything I can do to heal your son, I will do it."

Silence fills the room. You don't dare to look up. While it would be the downfall of King Aster, you don't doubt that he would kill you at the first sign of disrespect.

"And what do you know of my son's illness?" he asks.

"Not much, your highness." you answer, "I've heard that you've searched far and wide for some to heal him, but none have been successful. The entire affair has been kept quiet I assume, since I didn't know the faunt was sick until your escorts took me."

"Raise your head, Prince." he says.

You do as he says, eyeing the king nervously. It's obvious that whatever has been ailing his son has been happening for some time now, as he looks broken down and ragged. Bloodshot eye, dark bags underneath, and a thick line of white now colors his once red hair. "I know I am young, but I promise that I will do what I can." you say, "I am not my father. I will not sit by and let a child suffer when there is something I can do... Even if all I can do is ease the pain."

"And tell me, young Prince, what is the price you ask for such help?"

"I need nothing from you. But, if you must insist on something, all I can ask is for my freedom."

This makes the king pause, eyeing you more curiously. "Your freedom? Did your... escorts say that you would be trapped here?"

"No, King Aster." you say, not wanting to bring them trouble, "I... I spoke with them on the way here and what they told me about my father shook me to my core. That, along with the realization that, to him, I'm nothing more than a breeding machine he wants rid of, has altered my view of the world. When I heal the prince, I ask that you do not return me to my father. Let me have my freedom to choose what I do and who I love. For that, I would owe you greatly."

"You are aware what you would be giving up?" he asks, more concerned than angry now, "You would be giving up your title. You would no longer be the Prince of the Ancient Forests. You would have no hold over the throne."

"As if I have any hold now?" you retort, "Roan is in line for the throne and, if anything should happen to him, Clay would take over. Should something happen to both of them, I'm sure Father would gladly hand the throne over to one of my nephews when they come of age. I don't have any right to it... At least, that is what I've been led to believe from the stories I heard."

You had heard so much on your travel to King Aster's home. Your disappearance had been realized within an hour, as your family had apparently planned to give you to a suitor as soon as you got home. Your captors had been very careful to hide themselves and you away. They had done such a good job that your father's soldiers hadn't even noticed you mere feet away while they spoke of you. You heard them talk about how all the searching was a waste of resources. How you would never take the throne and that the only reason they were looking was either to put on appearances or to get whatever dowry your suitor had brought in exchange for your hand. It had truly put your place in the royal family into perspective. You weren't the heir or the spare, you were a pawn to be traded away. What would they do if your suitor died? Would they take you and any children you produced back? Or would they have left you to rot? The answer you came up with terrified you to the core. At first, you wanted your freedom so you could study magic without your father's disapproving gaze. Now, you just want to be seen as Forrest, not the Prince.

The King, in spite of his own grief and pain, looks upon you with pitying eyes. "Is that was King Atticus is like now? One who leave children to die and abandons his blood the first chance he gets?"

"I would believe so. But, enough about him and me. What is most important is Prince Sorrel. Time may be of the essence and the sooner I can see my patient, the better for all of us."

He nods and motions for his guards to leave the two of you be. Once they are gone, you motions for you to follow. They must not know how badly the prince actually is. You follow the king further into the castle, praying to any god or goddess you could think of. You need to be able to save this boy.