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I’ve spent here were the best in my life. Vilarius, you’re a good man, a great king, and the best friend a man could hope for,” Theobald said in one of the rare times using the king’s birth name.
    The king hugged his sho-ka friend then looked around, letting him go. “My troops are going to talk about two big warriors hugging each other on the wall,” he said, looking back across the bay.
    “I doubt that, sire,” Theobald laughed.
    Vilarius turned around. “Ahnon doesn’t laugh much, does he?” the king asked.
    A grave look fell over Theobald’s face. “No, sire, I asked him. He remembers laughing before he was taken to the academy. Since then, he told me he has laughed twice. Once when he got his familiar, Talon, and the last before his infusion.”
    Worry crossed Vilarius’ face, “He laughed at his infusion? He must have a few loose saddle straps in his head,” the king said.
    “No, sire. One of the council told him the life of a sho-ka and the infusion was an honor. Ahnon failed to see his point.”
    “I still don’t see what’s funny,” Vilarius said. “With what you’ve told me and I’ve gathered over the years, infusing someone is the most painful thing known.”
    “I’ll never doubt that,” Theobald said as a shudder ran up his spine.
    “I just want my son to have a sho-ka that sees him as family and not an object,” Vilarius said, turning away and walking the battlements.
    Walking beside Vilarius, “Ahnon will, sire,” Theobald assured him. “It might take a little time. If you remember, we didn’t really bond till you were seven,” Theobald reminded him.
    The king stopped and started laughing. “How could I forget? I sneak out of the castle to run away, and some thieves try to steal from me. You saved me and then asked where we were headed,” the king bellowed out laughing. “I just knew you were bringing me back to the castle,” he said, wiping the tears off his face.
    “That is not my job as sho-ka and more importantly as a friend,” Theobald pointed out.
    “Boy, was my father perturbed when we came back six weeks later,” Vilarius said, still laughing.
    “He wasn’t that mad, sire,” Theobald confessed.
    “Oh, I know now. You sent messages to him telling him we were safe, but he was still mad,” the king said.
    Theobald chuckled at the king. “Where do you think we got the money for our travels, sire?” he asked.
    Suddenly, Vilarius stopped laughing, “You mean my father sent us money so I could run away?” he asked in astonishment.
    “Yes, sire. Tanka arranged drop-offs for me to keep us supplied with money,” Theobald admitted.
    “You old dog!” Vilarius shouted and started laughing then looked up at Theobald. “You ever wonder what would’ve happened if we would’ve just kept roaming the world?” the king asked with a dreamy expression.
    “I have, sire, but then you wouldn’t have met you lovely wife Eira and about to have a son,” Theobald pointed out.
    Vilarius raised his eyebrows. “That’s true,” he said. “Next time, we’ll have to take them.”
    “Next time?” Theobald said with a blank, unemotional face.
    “Oh, admit it; you had a blast,” the king told him.
    “Never said I didn’t, but if we were to sneak out now, I would have to beat off the courtiers and bureaucrats to keep us safe and from dragging us back,” Theobald informed him.
    “Okay, we’ll take some of the army with us,” Vilarius offered.
    “Your generals are most of the bureaucrats,” Theobald pointed out.
    “We can leave them then,” the king said.
    Theobald smiled. “Count me in. When do we leave?” he asked, chuckling.
    “Maybe one day,” the king said, looking back across the bay with a sense of longing.
    The two warriors sat and watched the two suns sink into the sea, talking as friends as the four moons lit up the night sky with the stars.

Chapter 3
    At midmorning the next day, Ahnon was standing in the hall outside the royal apartments. The