章 18: Confessions

"I am in love with you"

Her eyes broadened. She was so surprised because she had tried to hide how she admired him by being mean to him. She couldn't help but tease him sometimes when she wanted more attention from him.

But Anthony had always been so busy with the king and that was another thing she liked about him. He was dedicated to his work and it wasn't just surface value. He wasn't two-sided.

[A nice quality, indeed]

When the King's former aide had had an accident with one of the new horses that were brought into the stables- the unruly horse had kicked him in the head. The poor man had internal bleeding and didn't survive it. He was dead in days. Then, they brought this slim and tall man who had intelligent eyes, and Greta had always been drawn to brilliant people, whether male or female.

"Since when?"

"I had always known you to be beautiful, yes, I never liked some of your teasings but cherished whenever you spoke to me. Back in the Ziviel Kingdom, I looked forward to seeing you every day, Greta. When I held you in my arms before the princess and I left for our journey, I knew you were special to me", Anthony explained.

"I liked it too, Anthony"

He moved closer to her, "I thought about how I was going to tell you throughout my travel... I... I don't know how you feel about me", he looked to the ground.

"You have always had a special place in my heart, stupid", she took his face in her hands.

"Really?!... are you being sarcastic, Greta? Please don't play with me, not at this..."

She kissed him before he could finish his sentence.

[He talks too much, sometimes], Greta thought.

* * *

The visit to the Taterra Kingdom rubbed off on Ruby wrongly and it made her withdraw a little.

"Those people must know something. I can bet on it"

"What do I do to find out what they know?"

"Things are going slowly. Is there something I'm not getting right?"

She was pacing in her room.

Somehow, the Red Kingdom felt like home but she knew she needed her own home very soon. This wasn't her kingdom and restlessness was beginning to creep in little by little.

"I'm going for a swim"

She had met Anthony and Greta outside. Greta was beside the fireplace roasting a duck and Anthony sat behind her putting Greta in between his legs.

[Such an informal position, something is definitely going on between these two]

Anthony stood up casually with a smile on his face..."Okay, Princess. I'll stay here with Greta"

I gave him 'the look'... he chuckled and went back to where Greta sat.

[I will get all the details later. They had better not leave anything out]

She felt so happy for them that she forgot the worries that rocked her mind just moments ago.

* * *

One week passed.

"I need water", croaked Ling.

But no one was there to hear him talk more of getting him water.

He had allowed himself to be punished for two reasons. First, it was his queen's order, and secondly, he thought he deserved it.

He had seen the demon prince when he was still a child and had hidden what he knew. He didn't tell the king about the appearance of his son, or about the energy he sensed from the boy even at such a young age. When his tutor had informed him of some transformations the boy was undergoing, he kept those to himself too.

With the queen, Ling knew he let her down.

"I made her feel she was paranoid or overreacting"

"I was wrong"

[Only 7 more days]

"Only", he said then laughed.

That was a wrong move because the pain that erupted in his chest made his head fall involuntarily to one side. He almost lost consciousness.

There were pains in every joint in his body.

He could summon his raven to fetch him some water even if it'll be in drops but he needed his hands for that action. Ling had noticed immediately he was captured that the chains they used to bind him weren't ordinary chains.

[Queen Zyne must've gone through a lot of trouble to get these]

A shimmery white mist appeared before him, then he noticed it developed a face that started splitting in two. Roaches poured from the space the dividing faces were creating, rushing towards his own face. His reflexes activated, and forgetting he was chained, he tried to duck.

"ARGH!" Blood flowed from his wrists.

Then he opened his eyes, "Hallucinations. They are beginning to feel real as the days go by"

[How long will I be able to endure this?]

Then he had an idea.

* * *

The burial of King Zain was grand. He had lived a good long life.

Even though the Queen was seen weeping, people, even Prince Sek, knew that it was a celebration of life. His father had reigned for many many years, won battles, and secured The Red Kingdom. Prince, now King Sek, was very proud of his father, and it showed in the way he organized the ceremony.

King Sek noticed Ling's absence. That was very unusual.

"Where is the warlock?", he asked a soldier behind him.

"No idea, Sire. I will find out as soon as possible and return to you with answers, sir"

"Do that. I hope he is okay"

He looked at Seth... Seth immediately came to his side.

"How are you holding up, brother?"

"I am okay but concerned about the wizard, Ling. He isn't supposed to be absent during an event like this one. It's too unlikely. Can you get to the bottom of it for me?", King Sek asked.

"Sure, I will. Do what you need to do. I will handle this", Seth replied.

"Thank you, brother"

Seth bowed his head and left Sek's side.

* * *

Just as Seth stepped outside the palace's walls, he heard in his head, "SETH, IN A CAVE, LING"