CHAPTER 4 – The Duke of Sussex  

I

It has been two days but the Lycan Princess from the Kingdom of Gold Valley has not arrived yet. She was supposed to be in their palace by yesterday.

Duke Simon of Sussex has been restless since this morning. He needs to know why Princess Shelyca has not arrived yet. He called on his Assistant to try to contact the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Gold Valley.

“Aron, contact King Andreios and Queen Lusica of the Kingdom of Gold Valley. We need to know if Princess Shelyca was able to leave their palace as scheduled.” Duke Simon instructed his Assistant.

“Yes your highness.” His personal assistant excused himself from the Duke after vowing his head.

After a few minutes, the Duke’s Assistant returned with worries plastered on his face.

“Tell me Aron, did the Princess leave their palace as scheduled?” Furrowing, he asked. He noticed the expression on his Assistant’s face when he returned after following his order.

“Your Highness, according to the Queen of the Kingdom of Gold Valley, their daughter Princess Shelyca together with her Personal Assistant, Krista left their Palace as scheduled. They are now worried why she has not reached our Palace yet.” Aron replied to the Duke with a worried tone.

Duke Simon furrowed more and then worries too flashed in his eyes. “What happened to the Lycan Princess?” He asked while his mind is thinking of something to do to find the Princess that he truly likes.

“Have you heard any news or anything that might l**k to the missing Lycan Princess?” Duke Simon asked Aron again. His heart is racing.

Aron shook his head with sadness. He knows how important the Lycan Princess is to their Duke. “None yet, your Highness; but I will check the news tonight and see if we can find something that might answer our worries with regards to the missing Princess Shelyca.” 

“Aron, prepare my helicopter, if until tonight we will not hear anything or see the Lycan Princess enter the Palace, I myself will search for her. I offered marriage to her parents; the very reason why she travelled going here. Therefore, she is my responsibility and I have an obligation to find her and bring her back to the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Golden Valley.” The Duke said with firmness yet sadness in his voice. He was so excited to meet the Lycan Princess once again. He only met her once in a royal gathering and there and then, he knew he found the one for him. He will not allow anything or anyone to snatch her away from him.

II

At the Thregonad Village, Princess Shelyca is already worrying about her parents. Most probably by now, the Duke of Sussex already gave word to them that she has not arrived yet in the Sussex Palace.

She needs to find a way to return to their place. She needs to talk to Dareon. She peeped in the window again and without seeing him anywhere through the window, Princess Shelyca decided to get out of Dareon’s house.

She was greeted and treated hospitably by every Thregonad villager that she passed-by as she walked out of Dareon’s house. As if they know her.

“May I know where Dareon is?” she asked one of the women that she passed-by. She seemed not to understand her question or most probably her language, but hearing the name Dareon, she pointed to the east direction going to the nearby forest.

“Can I go there?” she asked once more but the woman just looked at her with confusion on her face.

She smiled at the woman and tapped her left shoulder. “It’s okay.  I will just look for him there. Thank you.”

The Thregonad woman just smiled back at her then left after making a quick nod.

She walked to the forest. As she saw and smelled the forest, she suddenly missed her home. She made a deep breath and walked fast inside the forest trying to look for Dareon. Her wolf Sheenei wanted to control her, wanted to come out and run the woods but she reprimanded her. 

“Sheenei, it is not time to relax or enjoy; we have a problem to solve first. We need to return to the Kingdom of Gold Valley,” she talked to her wolf, which suddenly became silent as if offended.

As the wind blew, Princess Shelyca’s eyes narrowed as she smelled something nearby; definitely not Dareon; something like the smell of an old wine or beer. She looked around but she saw nothing except trees and some flying birds and monkeys hanging around, transferring from one tree to another.

“Dareon! Where are you?” she shouted, hoping Dareon could hear her. With such a voice, other creatures looking for prey in the forest suddenly turned their heads to the direction where the woman’s voice came from. 

Dareon on one hand, who was waiting for these other creatures to pass-by his hiding place, furrowed, when he heard the woman’s shout. He knows who she is; annoyance yet worries evaded his prior focused mind to fight. He forgot about his plan to make a surprise attack on these two creatures the moment they pass-by his hiding place; all he could think now is the safety of the Lycan Princess. From bluish, Dareon's eyes turned into those deep brown eyes; fears for the safety of the Lycan Princess, whose beauty at the onset mesmerized him, overwhelmed his whole being.

The two other creatures suddenly run to the direction where Princess Shelyca is standing. Their eyes grew wide when they saw the pretty Lycan Princess wandering around.

The two creatures looked at each other and grinned mischievously. They found a beautiful prey to devour.