Chương 47: Chasing the Prophecy

"He will not be happy with what will happen next," Midel's eyes turned white as he looked in the direction of the South Kingdom. "We ruined his plan and it will not be long before he will look for Yllana too."

"It seems she is pretty popular. I wonder if the news about her being the Accursed One has spread far and wide already?" the empress tilted her head as she asked Lucien. Her wide eyes painted an innocent look, but he knew better. This was an empress at a young age. She was chosen by the emperor when their clan fell on his hands. And she lasted for almost three years on the throne. She is not as innocent as she looks.

"What was the emperor looking for when he started that tournament?" Midel's eyes turned back into its deep blue color. He placed his hands behind his back and his lips thinned into an almost scorn before the empress' eyes.

The empress squinted her eyes when her question was not answered by any of them. "Tell me first if the other kingdoms know she was cursed." She pouted her lips and crossed her arms across her chest.

Midel saw stubbornness in her eyes. 'Typical of a princess of a fallen clan,' he thought. He turned to Lucien for the answer to the empress' question. "Lucien, you tell her."

"We met an oracle when the war between the North and the Cursed Lands ended a few months ago. She instantly knew and called her 'Accursed One'." His words answered the empress' question.

"If they knew, and they see her, don't you think that she is in danger? Didn't you know what the Grand Mage and Grand Oracle said about her being the Accursed One?" The empress continued, there was disbelief in her tone. How could the people around her do not know how special she was? How could they protect her if they are not aware of the dangers that lurk behind them?

"We were always on the move. Nobody ever tells us what the Grand Mage or the Grand Oracle declared." Midel was getting irritated at the empress roundabout statements. Why doesn't she just say it out to end all this nonsense? He shouted in his mind. Obviously, the empress is trying to tell them that Yllana has something that piques the interest of all the four kingdoms within the land. She is just adding suspense to them.

"The decisive battle between the demons and the four kingdoms will be led by a girl with red hair and red eyes. Her influence over these four kingdoms has something to do with her battle with the demon king. The Cursed Lands was only a small region of the power of the demon king. He is raising an army of demons in different regions in the kingdoms. Only she holds the power to defeat him. Those are their words." Lucien's face stayed cold. He was brushing off Yllana's hair that has fallen on her forehead. It looks like he was not even listening.

After a few seconds, a burst of resounding laughter disturbed the birds from the trees. A dozen or more flew from the branches startling Larika. "Oh, ho ho��you make it sound like she will be the hero of the four kingdoms." Midel even held his stomach while laughing. Tears formed from the corner of his eyes as he slowly stopped.

When Midel's laughter was the only sound echoing in the forest, he coughed twice and stopped entirely. He looked awkwardly at the two pairs of eyes staring at him.

"I believe their words." He stated firmly. A blush creeping on his cheeks.

Lucien just shook his head and looked away.

"I thought you are an oracle. You do not believe in the Grand Oracle's words?" Larika stood up and eyed Midel up and down. "Isn't the Grand Oracle the highest in your ranks?"

"I am not questioning his talents nor his rank Your Highness," Midel hissed the words 'your highness'. He let out his breath in a huff and turned away.

"If you have anything against the Grand Circle, do not openly snide them just as you wish. Even the trees have ears. You are not in the position yet to challenge them." The soft breeze blew. Larika also turned her back to him and a shadow passed over her face.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Why are we lost again? What is happening? We took the right route, I swear!" Her voice trembled. Her back went wet with sweat. This is not supposed to happen. They were taking the correct path from the forest. She knew that path since she was a child. But suddenly, the path they were treading turned into an open hill with no houses in sight.

"There's just…grass. Yllana needs the antidote. We have to find someone." Midel's eyes also darted back and forth. There was an internal struggle within him that he could not voice out. 'Should we go back? Would it be too late then? Or should we move forward?' he scratched his head while peeking at Yllana's pale face. Finally, he sighed and asked for Lucien's decision. "What do you think we should do?"

"I think-" Before Lucien could continue talking, something heavy fell on their backs. When they tried glancing at what hit them, there was nothing. But the pressure kept on pushing them down on the ground until their knees gave in and hit the ground hard. Larika screamed as the stabbing pain crawled from her knees to her spine. Midel and Lucien felt that heavy pounding pain on their backs.

When Lucien's knees hit the ground too, he held up his arms to catch Yllana who was on his back. "Idiot…wake up," He gritted his teeth while and his veins started bulging on his neck and arms. He was already kneeling while holding the unconscious girl with red hair. When he looked at her face, he saw that she was calm. There was no sign of struggling from her unlike the three of them.

Larika's upper body felt like ripping apart. She wailed as tears continuously flowed down her cheeks. Her teeth were almost digging her gums from the inside. But they could not see anyone who was doing the torture to them. That is when it hit Larika. Her pupils constricted as she forced her neck to look up. Several small veins popped from her neck. Blood dripped down on the dirt road covered with thin snow. Red spots soon appeared where she was standing. She screamed one more time when she felt her skin on her neck ripped.

From a distance, Larika saw a purple robe lined with a golden dragon on its edges. "The emperor," With only a few gaps between her teeth, Larika managed to acknowledge the owner of the purple robes.

It danced with the wind. There was a smile on the emperor's face seeing the three people below him scream and shout from the pressure he placed on them. When he raised his hand, the pressure was lifted. Larika's eyes widened and she took a step backward.

"Tch, still trying to escape my love?" The emperor was floating in mid-air when he spoke to Larika.

"I will always try to escape as long as I am alive."

"Stubborn." The emperor started to walk down and face them. From four corners of the open hills, four old men with graying beards dashed like rays of light. Lucien instantly summoned his staff and placed it in front of him and Yllana. Midel, on the other hand, pulled the empress' arm.

"Do not try to be a hero," he carefully whispered to her. His eyes glanced at Yllana for a moment. The empress nodded to Midel when she saw his signal.

The four old men in four corners did not utter a word. Their eyes just darted from the emperor to them. "What do you want with us?" He asked with ragged breathing.

"Her…and her." The emperor pointed at the empress first then to Yllana.

"Are you mad? You just kidnapped a few people a few days ago. And now you are showing your care? Do you care, really?" The empress's voice was loud and almost a shout. She ripped a piece of cloth from her skirt and tied it to her neck.

"You are my wife. But you are choosing to run away with these people." Cold black eyes stared down at the empress. She felt her body shiver. The cold winds have stopped blowing, but she could feel an intense coldness from the man before her. He is dangerous. Even when if he is a child when facing other people, she knew that the child she was wedded with was never a child from the beginning. He changes every full moon as a man who absorbs life force to survive. If he could not consume life forces at that time, his power will go out of control and he might end up killing everyone on sight. She remembered how her father tried to bargain with the emperor only to find out that they were all killed.

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