The room was small, dark, and musty. The stench of vomit and urine also hung heavily in the air. A small window, about the width of two palms, illuminated the place and nothing more. The floor seemed to be covered in hay based on how people’s boots sounded upon them. It seems that there aren’t any chairs, beddings, or even a wash basin in Langrion’s side of the room.
Shia’s squinted her eyes. She couldn’t see Langrey directly, but she knew someone was sitting down to the ground in front of her. In an instant, the figure rose, and grabbed the steel bars that had separated them from each other.
As Shia’s eyes became more adjusted to the dark, she could see a towering familiar figure. She looked at his face. Despite the lack of sunlight, Shia could see how gaunt his Langrey had become. Beads of sweat were pouring down on the prince’s face, and his hair was messy. She wanted to cry to him and shout his name, but she couldn’t. She needed to do what she has to do.
Langrion picked up the ring Shia had thrown down against the hard floor of his cell. The ring on his fingers felt unusually warm, or was it because Shia had just worn it? He turned it around and saw that it matched his mother’s signet ring in appearance, but that signet ring was hanging securely around his neck. He had carried it with him ever since the day Shia had given it back. Even after spending a night together with Shia, he did not give it back to her because he was waiting at the right time to propose to her, and she knew that Nana’s death wasn’t the right moment. Now, he starred back at the duplicate ring she had tossed to him eagerly. He was perplexed. Where did this ring come from? Also, why did she give it to him? Under the dim lights, Langrey was surprised to see that he could make out the figures in its insignia. Unlike his ring, there was only the figure of a single heron at the left upper corner of the cross. Then by and by, Shia’s words earli
Dawn crept in quickly for Shia. She barely slept as she thought of the things they needed to do today. On the other bed next to her, Khalis, presently acting as her lady-in-waiting, stirred. “Shia, it’s time.” Shia nodded. The plan needed to be executed at a specific hour before the wedding. The help that had been promised to them won’t be available until that time came. If they were too early or too late, the king might be able to sense that they plan to escape and stop them. They didn’t want to risk it. “I’ll check on the void with the mage. You go ahead and get dressed. You need to be present for breakfast and get ready for the wedding ceremony. I’ll be back after breakfast.” Shia nodded. She hoped in her heart that Langrion remembered the codes they had talked about when they were riding at the back of Gavil’s wagon a few weeks before. She also hoped he had enough sense to use the ring to open up a portal. Otherwise, they’d have to proceed
By the time that the great bell of Gaulane chimed twelve times, the preparation for Shia’s wedding had been complete. The servants had donned her into the dress his majesty had picked for her the day before. They had braded her hair upwards, revealing her long, slender neck and had decorated her hair with flowers and jewels of every kind. “Please add more pins to my hair,” Shia requested. “It’s already well secured, my lady.” “It’s alright. I just want to make sure it’ll not fall. Please add more.” Thankfully, the servant had consented to her request. They added more metal pins to her hair. If her hunch was right, she would need them badly today. After the servant finished fixing her hair, Shia tentatively looked at her reflection at the mirror. She looked like an exquisite porcelain doll – a soul less, lifeless caricature of beauty, which perfectly fitted the position of a queen to a vile old king like Caldwell the First. Satisfied, S
Shia’s eyes weren’t deceiving her. The figure descending from the void was Langrion! “Let her go!” He stuck a sword at Sirion’s hand, but just as Sirion had said, human weapons have no effect on him whatsoever. The sword slid from his body, as if his skin was covered with an invisible shield. Although the attack did not hurt Sirion, it helped to loosen his grip on Shia’s ankle, enabling Shia to crawl quickly away from him and stand on her feet. “What a surprise! You’re still alive! You are one lucky insect,” Sirion spat. “Sending an assassin to kill us while we were inside a monster’s stomach weren’t enough! Try harder, brother!” Langrion made another attempt to slice away Sirion’s body, but his sword just grazed smoothly in his stomach. “Insolent fool! Do you think your feeble attempts can beat a god?” Activated by the ash-colored cursed one staying closely by Sirion’s side, the possessed bodies suddenly started to clo
At the mere mention of Edelfina’s name, Langrion’s mouth hung open. “Listen, about Edelfina -” Before Langrion could finish what he was trying to say, however, Khailis and Marmie waved their hands towards them. “Hey, lovebirds, is this place alright? Should we set up our camp here?” Khailis yelled from the top of the clearing, just a few feet above them. “I think it’s okay,” Shia responded to them. “Let’s go ahead and help set up camp,” Shia said, dragging Langrion’s hand along as she walked faster towards Khailis and Marmie who had reached a clearing in the summit. Langrion could only scratch his beard with his remaining hand. So, Shia was still misunderstanding the relationship between him and Edelfina. He must make this misunderstanding clear as soon as possible once he gets another chance to talk to her. After they had chosen the perfect spot, everybody set up for work at the camp. Shia made vines and plants appear from the earth,
Langrion unfastened the cape in his back and laid it against the ground. “W-what are you doing?” Shia said. Her heart was beating faster in her chest. What on earth was Langrion thinking of doing here, of all places? Langrion stroked the top of Shia’s head and moved his lips closer towards Shia’s left ear. “Let me prove to you that I love you, Shia. Let me show that I love you until your heart is content...” Even without hearing Shia’s answer, Langrion had already started to kiss the length of her neck gently. The kisses travelled down to her clavicle and into her left shoulder. He lingered at her skin a little bit more intensely, leaving a slight red mark at the back of Shia’s neck. Her insides began to tighten into knots. She was so nervous, she wanted to faint. Without a thought, Shia waved her hands and mentally instructed the shrubs to create a soft bed of leaves underneath Langrion’s cape. She made the trees bend down, enabling the
‘Angry’ was an understatement if one was to describe Caldwell’s feelings on that day. Like he had suspected, his lovely bride was a no-show at the Grand Cathedral. What’s worse, his most important prisoner had escaped the heavily guarded cell he had slaved away for many years to build, and it was almost destroyed by a fire into smithereens just within minutes. No, he was not just angry. He was furious! Fortunately, he had saved face by not announcing his wedding to the public on that day. He had only made private arrangements with the bishop, so if something like this should happen, he could contain the news more effectively. True enough, he only needed to murder the bishop, some clergymen and a handful of servants to keep everything at bay. The only thing he hated was that no one had seen how his young bride had left with her lady-in-waiting, and no one could also tell him how his cursed nephew had escaped when his cell had caught fire. Their
Lady Edelfina woke up with the dreadful news. “My lady, the king – he’s dead!” Talita exclaimed in one breath. For a second, Edelfina’s body trembled in shock. That was such sudden news! However, it was only a mere second of thought. The next thing she had felt was utter delight. “The king... is dead? Are you sure?” She couldn’t help but smile as she clasped Talita’s sleeve. The king is dead! That vile, stinking, rotting garbage of an old man is dead! What great joy! “Yes, my lady. He was found dead in his study this morning. The Royal Inquisition is currently investigating the cause.” “I see... I’m sure he died of natural causes, given the shock he received yesterday...” Edelfina stated. Indeed, yesterday was also a joyful event. Edelfina had left the castle early on the day before to fret somewhere. She didn’t want to bump into that Andry girl in her wedding dress, and she wasn’t invited to her uncle’s wedding. Not that she c