They knew famously the ballroom for the extravagant balls it hosted, but now it only felt like a burden for Franklin as he accepted the third dance within the first six minutes of the commencement. He accepted the young woman’s hand with a stiff walk, and they began swaying on the dance floor.“My, you’re even more handsome up close. What do you do for fun?” The girl muttered as she looked up at him.“My fun would not be entertaining for you. I am sure of it.” Franklin could not imagine the girl in his arms swooning at such a statement, but goodness, she did. The work they would put in just to be within royalty. He wondered why they did such a thing.“I understand. Would you like to know what I do for fun?” He had to give her points for being relentless. She was a prissy thing and didn’t accept him to not be interested in her.“Not particularly. I hate dancing. There, that should be one thing you should know about me.” Franklin said, looking anywhere else but at her. He was praying si

Franklin was on the ground coiling as though he was still falling, and it wasn’t until he heard Prentice’s laughter and feet walking over him did he realise he wasn’t falling but dying of embarrassment. Prentice continued laughing as he watched Franklin picked himself up and dusted himself off. He looked around the place and sees it to be dark and cold. Colder than where they left over the wall. He shivered for the first time, thinking for a while they won’t be able to feel warmth all that much. Prentice scanned the area for intrusion and then he captured a moment to take it all in. This was once something beautiful, ruined by the hands of a tortured soul, he said inwardly, feeling the hurt emanating from within. Franklin came up behind him, and with a growl, he said, “You can act more professional than that you know, Prentice?”“I supposed, but you said you wanted fun. Being quiet would not do.” He mocked Franklin’s words as they continued walking, looking for a place to rest for t

Feeling hurt and broken inside, Franklin could no longer follow Prentice anymore. The look of disappointment on his teacher’s face made him feel something that he worked hard to not feel, and that is being a failure. Even though he often failed, he came back stronger and hit back harder each time. It has been nonstop for eight years and even though he still has lots to learn, he never aimed for failure, ever! As Prentice was walking and left him behind, Franklin took a risk by heart and death and bid him a silent farewell and left the other way.“Why couldn’t I just left the book right where I found it? Stupid!” He argued with himself.“I can’t do this to myself, nor Prentice. I need to go,” he said inaudibly. He left to go the other way.Franklin felt angry with himself. He felt angry at finding the book, and he felt angry at even opening and reading through the book. He wished he could go back in time and burn the book instead. Furthermore, he thought to himself, if the book brought

Prentice had been given the cruel gift of seeing the bad side of the future. When he saw that Franklin would play an important role in saving the Grand Forest, and he would lead him here, all his life, he hadn’t expected to lose sight of him so soon. On the off chance, he wanted to keep an eye on Franklin since he had been spiraling lately, and his future was somewhat blurry each time Prentice took a look into it.Wondering where he was, but not losing sight of their mission, Prentice moved stealthily on, and made sure that Franklin could find him when he was ready. Prentice knew that the only way Franklin can grow was by himself, and also with a shot of reflection and a dash of truth. So, he drowned the thought of Franklin from his mind, and with a heavy heart he went in search to find the woman he was sure would help him sort his mission. He realized that he was going against all that he believed, and this case might be stronger than he was. The forest was only a protector, it had a