Kapitel 12: Apologize

At the House of Darwin,

The red eyes of a lion in front of two swords, sparkled brightly by the fire torch. Arihan's eyes unawarely looked at the bejeweled crest of the House of Darwin.

The image of Alora blurry appeared in his mind. He shook off his thoughts and rode his horse inside.

One could hear the hoots of the soldiers. A batch of soldiers was drilling before their night shift. As Arihan further moved inside, he heard fiercely clashing swords. He changed the direction of his horse and rode towards the left, away from the enormous mansion of Darwin.

The house of Darwin stands second in the security, size, and service in the kingdom. The Darwin family manufactures weapons for the country and also trades with other countries. The members of the family master the skills of war for ages.

Including his position in the court and high influence in the kingdom, Duke Darwin had a special power to identify the birth of the mages and the source of dark power.

Arihan came to a halt at the practice ground of his father and elder brother. Generally, Arihan wouldn't have disturbed the duo if not for the critical time.

"Father," Arihan called out, showing no hint of emotions. The faint frowns were obvious due to the red lady.

The man in his late forties, James Darwin had pepper hair. He was strong despite his age. He pushed the young energetic man in his twenties as he lifted his hand to abort the sword fighting.

The young man complained, "Arihan, I was winning against Father." Kaven Darwin, eldest son of the Darwin family. Next in line for the duke Darwin position. He was a bit shorter than Arihan and livelier than both father and younger brother.

Arihan merely glanced at his brother, before facing his father in respect, "Father, the dark power in the palace." He notified, waiting for his father to get out of the practice ground.

Kaven became serious. James passed his sword to his aide as he went closer to Arihan. "The crown princess has returned today." He was expecting the celebration to start in the palace rather than trouble brewing so early.

"The power is very strong. It tried to choke…" Arihan struggled to call the redhead lady as princess Alora. He clenched his teeth and reported, "...Princess Alora. Her highness could see the obsidian eyes." He felt bitter in his mouth.

"Is Princess Alora alive!!?" Kaven's focus went on the lady.

James focused on the problem. "Prepare a batch to dispatch." He instructed his aide as he untied the leather vest and went towards the mansion to prepare for departure.

Kaven caught Arihan's arm and raised his brows. Arihan wasn't in the mood to speak about the redhead lady. He needed time to calm his thoughts and think through the situation.

He fished the Queen's letter from his inner jacket pocket and handed it to Kaven.

Kaven was bewildered. Although Arihan was aloof, he never behaved in such a way. "Hey, is that the attitude with your brother? Shouldn't you be happy for the arrival of the Princess?"

He watched Arihan ride his horse away without a response. 'Who stepped on his nerves?'

…..

Although there were mages who could use teleportation magic, they could only teleport to a shorter distance. Hence the group of soldiers and James Darwin went to the teleportation portal that was the uphill between two large trees.

Passing through between the trees, they arrived at a dark dense forest. It was closer to the location James Darwin sensed.

Splitting into two teams, they went in search of the manor. But their attention was drawn to the blinding brightness in the dark night.

The massive crimson flame seemed to be ignited by the lord of hell. It was burning the house to ashes.

Without the need for instruction, a man stepped forward. His lips moved when he chanted the incantation with his hand forward.

A ball of blue light grew in his hands and he directed it over the burning hellfire. The splashing of water sounded as the ball broke, raining over the mansion.

But the fire suddenly grew larger as though it was going to swallow the forest. The breezy night wind heated, and the fierce rustle of trees could panic one's heart.

"Duke Darwin?" The man looked at James. The fire was lit by the dark power, thus it wouldn't be sufficient to use water.

James who judged the situation knew it would be a waste of their energy to save the manor. Every clue was burning into ashes.

The roof collapsed in front of them, followed by the walls one after the other. In the end, there was a pile of ash as though the manor was made of wood. A passerby could easily assume that large wooden blocks were burned.

The mages who have the power of fire couldn't perform such a strong spell. The fear lingered in some men's hearts. This was the first time they had witnessed something this frightening yet the fire didn't spread anywhere.

"Find out the lord of the manor and report to me before sunrise," James instructed and left towards the portal.

James's aide signaled the ones who have to follow the command James and who have to follow them back to the capital of the Anka.

—–––––

At Royal Palace,

Alora suddenly woke up and blinked her eyes in a daze. The chirping of the birds, the warm sun rays through the window kissing her skin, and brightening her room were how she was waking up every day. She missed their private manor.

Her face dulled recalling the night wasn't a nightmare but a reality. However, her eyes widened when the images of her slapping a man surfaced in her mind. If that man was with Orla, then she misjudged the situation.

"Alora…"

Alora turned to the door hearing the gentle voice. She sat up without hiding her uneasiness, "Father!!"

Unlike his usual clothing, Zander was in royal clothes, embellished with stones, golden and maroon thread embroidery of a dragon on his cloak. It fitted well to his physique.

Zander noticed Alora's wide eyes in fluster and strode towards her while Alora quickly got off the bed and ran up to him, "Father, I forgot to apologize to General…" She hadn't heard his name.

Zander breathed in relief, understanding his daughter was worried about little things again despite being a princess. Well, that's who she was. "Alora, he wouldn't blame you. You can apologize to him when you see him later."

Alora nodded but it struck her mind. "Later? Is he the spouse or fiancee of any princess?" Because only royals were attending the banquet to welcome Eugenie and Zander and introduce Freya and Alora.

Eugenie had an elder and a younger sister. Thus there were five princesses excluding her and Freya. Alora hadn't met anybody other than knowing that she had two older cousins and three younger cousin sisters. So Alora considered the possibility of the general being her brother-in-law.

'Banquet!?' Before Zander could respond to anything about Arihan, Alora looked out of the window and gasped. The sun was dazzling in the sky, the morning breeze had dissipated into the warm air.

She was late on her first day at the palace. "Father, I have to help Freya." She sprinted away giving no chance for Zander to speak.

Zander: "…"

He had gone to bring her to her chambers so that maids could help her prepare for the banquet.

"Alora…" He grabbed a cloak from the chair arranged for her as he rushed out. She had paused at his voice so he put on the cloak, "Don't forget, we are in the palace." Hence she wasn't allowed to go out of her room in her sleepwear.

"Yes, Father. I will keep it in my mind." She was in a hurry to help Freya, it just slipped her mind. She held her skirt of her chemise and curtsied, "Greetings to Crown Prince Zander."

According to royal etiquettes despite their relationship, she was obliged to greet them. They hadn't followed in the manor but they were in the palace.

"Silly girl." Curtsy wasn't required when they were alone. And she was successful in bringing a heartwarming smile to his face.

Alora giggled, brightening his smile. She turned around and sprinted on her feet.

The maids, the guards, and royal members stood shocked at the sight of her. However, nobody dared to stop her when their eyes fell on the Blue phoenix of Alora's White cloak. It represented that she was a royal at a higher position who they couldn't afford to offend.

Knocking on the door of Freya's chambers, Alora pushed the door open and froze at the sight. Her heart sank, and her eyes dimmed, diminishing her verve.