Just when I quietly went out of the double doors, a warrior spotted me. I cursed and ran away as he chased me down the seemingly endless hall. Others followed him and suddenly he was before me. I abruptly halted. How could he be so fast? It was like he just teleported.
I swallowed as I was surrounded by five elite warriors like me. Judging by the first warrior who spotted me, he wasn’t a weakling at all. With his remarkable agility, he could be a better fighter than me.
I slowly took out Ponpon from the scabbard. “Are you sure about this?” he asked in a loud whisper, looking at the warriors who took out their own weapons that I’d never seen before.
They had high-tech guns that would surely destroy me if I got hit. But I guess what they had in their hands were far more high-tech and sophisticated than the ones I saw at the Banatan. I heard that some of these were laser beams that would turn something—or someone like me in that matter—into nothingness—like it had nev
I was so worried. My sister was all alone. And… and the King might take the chance to… I refused to think about it. I mentally shook my head. Then I looked at Rugien, scowling.“It didn’t occur to me to tell you about it. Besides, you didn’t ask the King’s whereabouts. You didn’t wonder why he wasn’t sitting in his throne for the past few days? You’ve been assigned there for more than three days now.”Yes, it just occurred to me when he said all this. The days that I was assigned to the palace hall where the throne was placed was empty. I didn’t even have any idea why he wasn’t there. Right. I was too busy thinking about Rugien and the preparations for the selection of the Grand Crown Princess. I was too blind to see why the King wasn’t present there at all. Really! I acted so stupid and illogical lately.I slapped my forehead, feeling dumb. “Can I go out of the palace?”Rugien looked at me. “You can’t. It’s against the law. If you’re not ordered to do
How could Rugien read my mind while blocking his? I wondered once again. I caught his sly smile while looking at me. I pursed my lips.“You know what? You’re so unfair!” I complained.He snorted to tease me more. “Are you done eating? Are you full?”“You keep shoving food into my mouth. Yes, I am! Why?” I raised my chin, feeling irritated on how he was treating me right now.He then took my hand, raised it, and kissed it. It was so sudden that I was speechless. The subtle electricity traveled all over my body, stopping in the centermost of it. He stood up and almost dragged me out of the Warriors’ Hall.“Don’t you have to change so we can discreetly go out of the palace to visit your sister?” he quietly asked and glanced at me with a toothless smile.It was like he was playing with my feelings, taking things lightly even though they mattered a lot to me. I wanted to cry all of a sudden because of his teasing and playing at my expense. The corners
Right, Shahrae didn’t know the story yet. So, I explained it to her. She was speechless with amazement. I laughed at her then.“I didn’t know this would happen. But you know what? I do really love him. And… and I know that he feels the same… although it’s too fast, isn’t it?”But my sister just slowly grinned with a dreamy look on her face. Right, she was a hopeless romantic. I should’ve remembered that.I cleared my throat. “But I have no doubts about it. And… he’s done everything for me… to keep me safe… to help and support me even though I don’t ask for it… He’s just amazing, Shahrae.” I told her everything what I felt for Rugien—that this wasn’t superficial or anything that was fake or impossible or even infatuation. This was real. Everything was real between the two of us. Fast-paced it may be but I had no complaints about it. I was feeling lucky with him and to have him. I wouldn’t feel like this if I weren’t. I just knew it for myself. Deep inside in my hear
After a few moments, I asked Rugien that we go to Zelian’s house. I explained to him that the elder was the only one I could trust that could protect my sister while I am not around. And he could do something about this situation, too. I was sure of it.Zelian welcomed us in his home, which was only a couple blocks away from ours. It was near the farm field where he grew his favorite hot spice plant. It was known to be not from our world but I had no idea where it came from. I had already tried eating it mixed with some dishes and I loved how it burned my mouth as I kept on eating it. It was like a challenging food.From the kitchen window, the wide farm looked bountiful and nice, with the red-orange sun bathing the refreshing view of the beautiful horizon. The green plants bore small yellow and red fruits, which were hot and spicy.I sipped the glass of fruit juice that was offered to us by Zelian’s wife, Dalrina. I thanked her with a smile and she exited to leave
I blinked as if it would undo what Rugien has just said. I gulped down another lump of saliva.“W-what did you say?” I asked again dumbly.“I don’t think I can go through that ceremony when my heart wants you, Xerra.” His eyes were like beseeching mine.I looked at him with a weak smile on my lips. “You have to. You yourself said you need to buy time… for whatever it is. Do you think your father will just listen to what you have to say? He’s going to do everything, using his power, so that you’re not going to be with me who’s only a half-breed… who’s without real roots in this world. And because you’re from the royal family, it is important who and where your bride-to-be is from. Besides, you know that I want your father’s head for killing my mother. And he knows it!”Rugien blinked. His brows were knitted tightly together. “You still think that he’s behind your mother’s death?”I let out a deep breath and looked away from him. My eyes settled on the el
“Are you crazy or what?” I heard Rugien’s angry voice when I was back in my room. I didn’t know that he was already waiting for me there and was informed about that scene to boot. By whom, I could only guess. However, I didn’t say anything, merely taking off my scabbard with Ponpon in it. I placed it on the nightstand that was next to my small but comfortable bed. Then I took off my boots off to sit down in my bed with my back supported by pillows. I crossed my ankles without a word, still, and did not meet his eyes.He blew his face in exasperation and put his hands on his hips. “Why are you acting like this? Do you want to have justice for your mother’s death or do you want to die?”I still didn’t say anything. What was the point? He already knew the answer to those questions he hurled at me.“You’ve just accused him of murdering your mother, Xerra. How long do you think he’ll tolerate your acting like this, huh?” He paused, looking at me intently. “And ho
My eyes fell to the Creyer that the King didn’t go without. I presumed that his powers also came from that mysterious staff. It glittered despite its dark color. It was because of the diamonds, which were one of the components that the staff was made up of. Well, from what I heard of.“What’s this commotion about?” the King gently asked that it was almost impossible to hear.The two warriors let go of me. I shook my arms once and slightly bowed to him just like the others did. Then I looked at him straight in the eye. “I-I had to talk to you about something…”“We have nothing more to discuss, Xerra. Whether it is about your mother, your sister, or about yourself, there’s nothing left to talk about,” the King said with a low tone but it was filled with danger. Then he left with the palace healer who gave me a warning look before following the King.I followed them with my eyes as the warriors bowed to the King respectfully. I took a deep breath. I had t
I cursed in my mind. I immediately turned around to exit the room. However, the door was closed from the outside. How come I hadn’t noticed it? I cursed again. I quickly decided to levitate higher than usual and used the darkness to conceal myself. It was just in time when the three guards checked behind the curtain.They checked around but they hadn’t seen me. I used that time to sneak behind the King’s throne noiselessly. After a few moments of checking around the throne room, the three guards decided to stop searching and went back to their respective posts.My problem now was how to get out. I peered around me. At this moment, I couldn’t just use my telekinetic power to open the lock outside when I had no idea who could be there.I weighed my odds and solution of the current mayhem I was in. There was no doubt that I’d be punished for entering the palace hall when I wasn’t assigned here anymore and to be present here at this time was even more difficult