*** IMPORTANT! In the original summary of this story, I said that this would happen before the False Prince, and the book would happen after this, I have now changed it! The first book does not happen, but Jaron does meet Tobias and Roden, and Conner will be exposed, so don't worry. I don't believe the second or third book will be taken away though, but I won't be making you, Guest and lonelyimsolonely, for the reviews. You both wanted another chapter, so here it is! Enjoy!***

Though both Kerwyn and Jaron were still in shock from seeing each other, they both turned serious when the conversation started. They had entered a room at the end of the hallway from the children's dormitory. The room was small, but it held a couch, an armchair, and a stone fireplace, along with some house plants.

The room was usually used by the cooks, Mrs. Turbeldy and Jaron. The smaller children enjoyed the room whenever they could, but they couldn't all fit in it without someone being left out. But now, the room was only occupied by Kerwyn and Jaron, who were sitting on the couch, and Mrs. Turbeldy who was sitting in the armchair.

Mrs. Turbeldy looked confused, her brows knitted together, but waited patiently for an answer. An answer that was hard to form into words. Finally, after about a minute of silence, Kerwyn spoke.

" I take it you are very well aware, that Prince Jaron disappeared four years ago at sea?" It wasn't really a question; the whole kingdom knew about it, but Jaron figured Kerwyn was trying to give out hints so that the actual truth wouldn't come as such a big surprise.

Mrs. Turbeldy nodded but didn't seem to realize why the question was included in the conversation.

" And... his body was never found, right? Do you know why?" The confused woman shook her head. " It's because, Jaron wasn't on the ship, that was attacked by pirates. He escaped it, before it set sail, without anyone knowing. " A surprised expression from Mrs. Turbeldy. " For a few weeks, Jaron survived in Avenia, before Prince Darius found him. Soon after, the King went to meet him. But... the King forbid him from coming home so that if something happened to the royal family, Carthaya would have an heir.

" For years, Jaron has lived as a normal person, disguised, as one of the citizens, under a false name and past. "

Even after the last sentence, the older woman didn't seem to connect the clues. Finally, Jaron, who had been silent the whole conversation, spoke up.

" Mrs. Turbeldy?" The woman turned her head towards the boy. " Sage isn't my real name."

Mrs. Turbeldy's eyes widened and her mouth fell open, once she realized what the whole conversation meant.

" You... you're..." The words stumbled out of her open mouth in a mess.

" Prince Jaron. " he finished.

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Mrs. Turbeldy was in such a shock, that Jaron had to get her a glass of cold water from the kitchen. But after a moment, she seemed as good as new, altough shaken.

Seeing this, Jaron finally turned to Kerwyn and asked the question that had been bugging him for a while.

" So, what are you doing here?"

Immediately, Kerwyn's face hardened and paled. He suddenly found it hard to look Jaron in the eyes. The teenager noticed this and felt worry invading his mind, paralyzing his thoughts.

" Jaron... your family's been poisoned."

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Jaron stood for a moment in front of the door to the children's room, wondering how he was going break the news to them. The news, that he would be leaving.

His heart ached at the thought of his family being poisoned. If what Kerwyn said was true, they were dying, but still alive, at least for a few days. They were going to leave in the middle of the night so that they would arrive in Drylliad at the same time the next day, making the possibility of being seen very unlikely.

They would be gone by the time the children had fallen asleep.

Quietly, he grabbed the door handle and stepped inside.

The children, from age three to eight, were laying in bed, but not one was sleeping. Immediately, all of them sat up, eyes tired but curious.

" Who did come, Sawe?" one of the three-year-olds, Dylan asked, mispronouncing his name, and getting confused with the choice of words. The question proved that at least one of them had spied on them through the door.

Jaron smiled, and walked over to the toddler's bed, sat down, and pulled the boy under his arms. They were soon joined by six other children, all of them trying to get as close to him as possible. The other's grabbed their blankets, and sat on the floor, staring at him expectedly.

" Why are you sad?" One of the girls asked, and Jaron turned his head to see Leah, a six-year-old staring at him. Her hair was a brownish-red and her eyes were the color of the sky.

I took him a moment before he could say the words, and even then they came out barely louder than a whisper.

" I'm leaving. "

Horror appeared on all their faces and the ones who were already next to him, gripped onto his clothes as if trying to keep him from leaving.

" No! You can't go!" They all screamed, and Jaron felt his heart being torn to pieces.

" Guys..." Jaron took a deep breath, thinking what he would say. " I'm going to tell you a story.

" A long time ago, there was a boy. He was young and adventurous. But, he didn't know how to survive on his own. He was selfish, always though the servants would get everything done for him. But one day, everything changed.

" He was separated from his family. His parents and his brother. Away from everything familiar. He was alone. And only then, he realized, how much he had actually depended on everyone else. He was lost.

" Then one day, this father came and said he couldn't come home. And for years, the boy thought no one cared. That was until he realized why his father hadn't let him come home. "

" Why?" one of the boys shouted, but the rest of the children silenced him with murderous looks and a few slaps.

" Because he was protecting his son. From dangers, that faced his family. Bad people. The boy didn't have a good relationship with his father, and the case was so bad, he thought his father hated him. That he didn't care. But he did care. Because he had saved his son's life. And the boy was very grateful for that. "

A moment of silence. Then:

" What happen to the boy?" It was Dylan who asked the question, again forgetting how to say the words.

" The boy grew out of his selfishness and started respecting others. He started caring and taking care of people who needed him. If someone who knew him before he changed saw him, they wouldn't know he was the same person.

" Now... the thing I'm trying to tell you is... the boy went through struggles, and one of them was losing his family. Losing people he depended on. But he moved on. He learned how to live without them always being there. And that is something you will learn to do without me. "

The children looked down, their faces sad, but understanding. Jaron was surprised that the story had made his eyes water. It had told of him; everything he had gone through. It made him realize, that he really did miss his family.

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Although the plan was to leave after the children were asleep, it turned out not to work, as the children had refused to go to sleep without saying goodbye to him properly. So now, as Jaron strapped the foods Kerwyn had with him onto his horse, he could feel the dozen pairs of eyes on his back.

His horse, Taran, was patiently standing by the side, a saddle already on his back. Taran had been born six years prior, from Jaron's horse, Caitlyn. He was fast, strong, and pure black. Giving one last hug to Mrs. Turbeldy, the cooks, and the children, Jaron mounted Taran and encouraged him away. He hadn't made it sixty feet before the shout rang out.

" Sage!"

Jaron turned around, to see the children rushing towards him, as fast as their small legs could carry. He slid off his horse, kneeled onto the ground, and opened his arms, welcoming the orphans into a massive embrace. Tears brimmed his eyes, and he saw many of the children were already crying.

" Please don't go!"

" Stay here!"

" We're going to miss you!"

Words mixed together, as the children pleaded him to stay.

" I have to go, guys. But, even if I'm not here, you have to keep going. Help Mrs. Turbeldy. And... just live your lives. I love you, guys."

And with that, he was up, on his horse again, galloping away, but his eyes never left the small figures, standing on the dirt road, not even after they faded from view.