"No. I want to come," I insisted.
Demitri and I scowled at each other for a moment. His glare was never faltering, so at the end, I sighed.
"If you're concerned that I'd make a burden out of myself, then no need to worry. If ever something happens to me, I will not hold you responsible for it. After all, it's my decision. I'd be fully accountable of my own actions."
"And you think it's that easy? We don't even know what kind of danger is waiting there. And you want to come?"
"Well, can you blame me if I want to do something? If I want to help?"
"You'd be a great help, sure," he said with pure sarcasm.
"She's determined. Why don't we just let her come?"
I glanced at Prince Evan. Then I drifted my gaze back to Demitri with my brow raised.
"See? Prince Evan agreed."
Demitri threw a deadly glare to Prince Evan. "This is a coup
Are you sure this won't kill both of us? I asked Raja in my mind. 'Why would we be killed? Think about who your companies are. The three mighty princes of Solterra, the strongest in their kind. Plus another prince who certainly has another ability aside from charming women. Do you really think they'd let the crown princess die?' Hmm. I guess not. But what if the enemy is stronger? What if in the middle of the fight I'd be alone and helpless? 'And why would you be helpless? You have your ability, Ophelia. Honestly, you can do whatever you want with fire just if you put your heart in it, like it belongs to you, a part of you.' I shook my head doubtly. I agree with that but definitely not now. I'm in the process of practicing my ability yet. I can't do big things. 'Trust. Just trust, my lady. If you just trust that you can, I know you can do it.' That somehow consoled me. After I packed a bit of things, I went down the hall withou
"But wait. Bordello?" My brows furrowed when I realized what word was used. "Oh. Sounds like a good place." Prince Evan smirked. He exactly knows what to expect in that kind of place. Probably because he's a regular or what. "Take note that we will not go there to have fun," Demitri said with a warning tone. Great. We will be going to a whorehouse, after all. "But this man named Orion, why can we only see him there? Perhaps, is he the owner of the bordello or just a customer?" "That is for we to know yet. The mountain spirit didn't go very specific. So I guess we have to find out ourselves," Prince David answered. The moment the sun rose over the horizon the following morning, we were already set to get back to our tracks. There was no time to waste considering the Queen's condition. The healers gave us more or less two weeks so we should get back as soon as possible. We stopped by the small community beyond the woods. And soon
"Blood of the Wise is a very rare wine, Your Highness. It's one of our collection, but we only have one..." Fear was evident on Orion's voice but he sounded like he was implying that he can't give it to us because it's the only one."I'm willing to pay. How much?" Demitri got something on his pocket, a pouch of gold I suppose, and it fell down before Orion's feet."We can give you more if you want. Just give us the wine," Prince David said."We're willing to negotiate in terms of the price, but we don't have lots of patient, Mr. Orion. I hope you understood what I'm implying." Prince Martin was dead serious as he said those words. Gone the playful smiles and smirks. All I can see now is a lethal prince who would not hesitate of killing someone."What is happening here?" I heard a new voice just a second after the door opened.We all turned to see the newcomer.A man probably around Orion's age. Tall, lean, wearing a black cloak and a black h
The sound of birds and insects filled my ears when we entered the dark forest of West Evergreen, one of the few forests in the west that is situated beyond a river, and is not commonly visited by people for two reasons: first, because it's said to be cursed, second, because it is where the dangerous cave of the magical healer is known to be situated.'Now I'm not sure if this decision is right, Raja. This forest literally screams the word: DEATH.''I guess you are right. This forest is indeed scary. But you are already here, are you not? It is too late to back out now.''Don't you have any contingency plan? You know, like some sort of escape plan or something?''My apologies, but I have none, my lady.'I groaned a bit."Are you all right?"I cleared my throat. I forgot that Demitri is very close to me and would notice my every move or reaction."No—I mean yes, I'm all right. I just got irritated with the buzzing bees."
"What an adventure." Prince Evan hissed when a group of bats welcomed us the moment we went inside the cave. The bats were quiet thoughtful, weren't they? "What else should we expect here?" Prince David asked and had his sword ready. "Evan?" "My knowledge is limited, David. I know nothing about that matter. Why didn't you asked the nature spirits since you can talk to them?" "If they have given me answers, do you think I'd ask you?" "If I knew all along, don't you think I wouldn't have told you—" A loud, sudden rumbling made me jump. We all turned back, and there, we saw the entrance of the cave blocked by a wall of stones without even a small hole. "Great! We are trapped." Prince Martin cursed. "Maybe the exit is at the other side," Demitri said. "Or maybe that magical healer is insane and traps anyone who goes inside his cave and then kill him without effort afterwards," Prince Evan said, fingers playing on his
'How?' I asked Raja.'Blue dragons have only one weakness. Fire.'What? You should have told me earlier!'Even if you have the ability to manipulate fire, I don't think you can make an arrow out of fire. One should hit the eyes of the blue dragon with a fire arrow. It won't kill him but it can blind him for moments, then the princes can do something to paralyze him afterwards.'Fire arrow. I had never did that nor I tried. I also don't think I can do that, but...I looked at the Demitri... Prince David... Prince Martin... Prince Evan. They are all struggling to defeat the magical dragon in order to save the queen. Will I just stand aside and do nothing while th
What did you say, Raja? You are only joking, aren't you? You can't be serious. 'My apologies, but I'm serious, my lady.' 'So, what? You are really telling me that he asked me to marry his son? That's ridiculous!' My eyes drifted to the magical healer. He was also looking at me, smiling creepily. He locked himself in this cage for God-knows-how-many-years. It's not impossible that he had lost his mind or there's something like a problem going on his brain. Why would he ask me, a stranger, to marry his son anyway? Plus I don't know anything about that man and even if I would find him, won't it be too weird for us to just marry because his father just said so? 'He has been waiting for you for many years, my lady.' That made me more confused. 'His son is sleeping for decades down the River of Flames. A clairvoyant once told him that only the lady whose ability is fire and is a fire dragon summoner can go into the River of Flames and awaken
"Are you feeling sick, Your Highness?" one of my court ladies asked when I didn't leave my bed yet."No. Just a minute." Truth is, I feel like my body is so heavy that's why I don't want to get up. Probably because of the journey. Or maybe due to the stress I've went through last night thinking of how I would say to Demitri and his family that I will leave. At the end, I couldn't think of a strong alibi."How is the Her Majesty? Did you hear any news?" I asked while I'm in front of the huge mirror and the court ladies are assisting me in wearing all the necessary layers of clothes which is a burden to every living lady."We heard that she is already awake and is now doing well, Your Highness."I sighed in relief. My soul can now finally have its peace knowing that the queen is safe from the dangerous poison. To know that is enough for me even though no one will know what sacrifice I have to make. At least I know that I did what is right and could be