Chapter 34: Strange woman

Nathaniel and Benjamin were walking down the large hallway of the castle. Maids were seen dallying around going about their chores as they spoke in hushed tones.

The pillars had been decorated, a sign that his coronation ceremony was so near. It didn't help but made the Prince so nervous. He wasn't ready for it. He knew it deep inside him.

"In four days, this place would transform into a fighting cage of attention. Congratulations again, Prince Nathaniel." Benjamin tried to ease the nervous air his friend had around him.

"Way to lift my mood." Nathaniel spoke with gritted teeth as he sent a side glance to Benjamin.

The man had his topaz eyes focused on a figure clad with a brown cloak walking discreetly to a corner.

"Your Highness..." He called out in an urgent whisper while his voice sounded strained.

"What is it this time? Are you trying to tease me again?"

"No. See for yourself!" Benjamin nudged his chin to the direction his eyes were.

Nathaniel cast his gaze on the figure who adjusted a candelabra discreetly and his expression turned dark. He recalled that his father was showing symptoms of a grave illness that was going to render him dead.

And again, his coronation was in four days! The people trying to attack him were so impatient. He wasn't even crowned yet!

Nathaniel had been doing some secret investigations that no one knew about. It was only his trusted friend Benjamin who was aware, but Nathaniel never went so deep in his investigation yet. He just started it.

Sigh...

He grabbed his sword that was dangling on his waist and he followed after the figure which was unaware that it had been sighted.

In the tunnel...

Her delicate hand grabbed the torch that was lit, and she used it to guide her way down the stairs. Her face was concealed by the cloak she wore leaving her lips revealed. It appeared tanned in the orange light.

Behind her were two masculine figures with their swords pointed at her back. They would take her by surprise and render her immobile.

Prince Nathaniel would never imagine that someone who wasn't a royal would use this secret tunnel. It only confirmed his assumption. The King was not sick but had been made sick... deliberately!

As she was about to press a hidden button to exit the tunnel, she felt the sharp blade graze her neck. It made a chilly sensation swim down her spine and she froze.

Nathaniel grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her to face him. He wanted to move the hoodie that covered the face but her swift movement surprised him.

She swang the torch she held at his face, but he was lucky to dodge it. At the same time, Benjamin started to attack her with an intensity that said he never cared if she was a woman.

She would have injured the Prince and he wouldn't like it. That was why he attacked. To his greatest surprise, the strange woman dodged his move by throwing a five-star blade at him.

It spiraled in the air like a boomerang and was heading straight to his face. Benjamin swang his sword as soon as it was a nose distance away from him. The blade ricochetted back to its source and she extended her torso backward to avoid it.

It happened in slow motion. The hoodie was about to be revealed, but her hand went to hold it firm on her face. At the same time, two swords were pointed at her neck.

Her posture was so uncomfortable, and without support, she was sure she would fall and get exposed.

She could not hold on any longer and her body dashed down at a speed one couldn't fathom.

Underneath the cloak, her eyes grew wide and her lips moved. As she was about to land to her doom she dissipated into a dark mist. The torch she held fell to the ground and rendered them in complete darkness.

"Shit!" Nathaniel cursed out in a guttural voice.

"She escaped. She's pretty skilled and dangerous at the same time." Benjamin's voice resonated in the dark tunnel, it was obvious he smiled while saying those words.

"This is one reason why we should make sure no one gets out of the Castle alive! Let's get out of here and order the guards to lock the gates. That woman must be brought to me, unscathed." There was danger looming around him as he said those words.

The authority he possessed right then was so sovereign, it could make anyone listening bow in adherence to his words.

Benjamin nodded and together they looked for a way to get out of the tunnel made of stairs.

___

She fell backward on the muddy ground and she remained still. The cloak concealing her face revealed her electric blue eyes and stared at nothingness in pure fear.

She started to tremble because she narrowly escaped the Prince and his friend. If she was ever caught, she wouldn't be given the chance to speak up. Even though she had evidence, the people whom she was working for would twist it to their favor.

'I have to endure all these for now... If this is to save my sister from that Witch!' She ground her teeth and slammed her eyes closed as she remained lying in the mud.

...

The urgent bell rang loudly all over the castle, alerting the workers. Most of them wondered if a war was about to break out because it had been decades since the last war and since the bell rang.

They hoped it wasn't a war because no one wanted to clean a mess after. Besides, their king was in no position to fight a war right now. As for the most powerful general, he was out of the Kingdom.

It was a very terrible timing for a war.

"Find that Witch, no matter what!!!" The guttural voice of their Prince sliced through the air, sending a freezing sensation down their spines.

It had been a long time since they heard of witches. What was going on right now?