Princess Mizhka and The Brothers Four are
back at the house. They continue their dinner. This time, they have a lot of food on their table.
"Aye! The perks of being the village's hero. Free food!" Quade says as he gets large servings of food from the table.
They are full of bruises and blood, but they don't mind at all. Princess Mizhka is worried about them.
"Are you sure you are all alright?" she asks.
"You should not worry about us," Julian says. "We have been beaten far worse than this before. This is nothing serious."
Clint gets something from the fireplace. It's some sort of concoction that he brewed in a pot.
"Here. This would help us for our recovery," he says while pouring some to everyone's cup.
Princess Mizhka couldn't bear the smell of the concoction. It smells like different kind of mixed medicines. The Brothers Four drink from their cup and acts like they magically regains their strength. Princess Mizhka has not even touched her cup. Clint notices this.
"It's just a recovery potion. Nothing to worry," Clint says.
Julian tries to convince Princess Mizhka, "Mileena, Clint is an alchemist. Aside from being an expert in explosives, he is also a master of potions and concoctions. You need this to regain all the strength you lost during your hike in the forest."
Princess Mizhka looks at them. They are all looking at her, as if waiting for her to drink her potion. She feels pressured, she slowly raises her cup and drink the potion. She feels like vomitting but she is trying to her best stop herself from doing so. Everyone cheers after she finished her cup.
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Leilah and some other servants have just finished their work. They are on their way to the servants' quarter to take a rest. On their way, the bump into Prince Merick.
"Leilah, I need to speak with you," Prince Merick commands.
The other servants who are with Leilah bows their heads and leave.
"Your highness, is there anything I can do for you?" Leilah asks.
"Don't you play fools with me, I know that you have something to do with the princess' disappearance. Why don't you just confess?"
Leilah is confused about what Prince Merick is saying. Prince Merick signals Leilah secretly. He is pointing out the other servants who are hiding to listen to their conversation. When Leilah realizes this, she goes along with Prince Merick's act.
"My prince, I know nothing about what you are talking about," Leilah tearfully says.
Prince Merick angrily grabs Leilah by her arm and pulls her closer, "Liar! You can not deceive me!"
Prince Merick draws his head closer to her ears and says, "Meet me at midnight in my room. Don't let anyone catch you."
He lets go of her and leaves. Leilah proceeds to the servants quarter.
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"We'd let Mileena sleep in the bed for the meantime, we all sleep on the floor," Julian says to his brothers and Princess Mizhka. There is only one bed in the house.
"Hey! That is unfair! We each have a schedule for sleeping in that bed," Aryen contests. "If you want to give up yours, then so be it, but don't force anyone to do the same."
"She's our guest, Aryen. We should be more considerate with her. Besides, she wouldn't be here for long," Julian replies.
"I don't have problems sleeping on the floor," Princess Mizhka butts in.
"I'm willing to give up my bed schedule," Quade exclaims and raises his hand. "Who else does?"
Clint raises his hand and speaks, "so do I."
Without a word, Julian raises his hand and smiles. The three look at Aryen. Aryen feels the pressure.
"Urgh! Fine!" Aryen forcefully says and raises her hand.
Julian reaches for Aryen's head and locks it in his arms playfully, "That's my brother!"
"You owe me this one," Aryen irritatingly says.
Princess Mizhka is deeply touched with their act.
"I really am grateful to all of you. Someday, I'll make sure that I will repay all of you," she says in a sweet voice.
"Alright! Then it's to go to bed now --- I mean for you, Mileena. On the floor for the four of us," Julian cheerfully says.
They all prepare for slumber.
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As midnight comes, Leilah secretly leaves the servants quarter. She makes her way to Prince Merick's room, evading all the guards who pass her way. As she reaches for his room, he knocks at the door. Prince Merick opens it and let Leilah come in.
"Thank you for accepting my invitation," Prince Merick starts. "We haven't talked yet since that day when Mizhka escaped."
He continues, "First of all, I want to thank you for helping us."
"I'm willing to do anything to help out Princess Mizhka," Leilah replies.
"But I have to warn you, always be extra careful. The king is already suspicious of you."
"I know that, my prince," she says. "But as much as you are worried about me. You should worry about yourself too. If the king discovers that it was your idea to let Princess Mizhka escape, you will be in great trouble."
"I can take care of myself. But thank you for your concern. But there's one thing that I want to know."
"What is it?"
"How did you sneak Mizhka out of the castle without anyone noticing?"
Leilah thinks for a while. Then she reveals the truth.
"My prince, there is a hidden passage in the castle that nobody knows of," she explains.
Prince Merick is surprised, "A hidden passage?"
"Yes. My mother discovered it when she was still alive and serving in the castle. She told me about that hidden passage but make me promise to not tell anyone about it and only use it in real time of need. And I thought that the situation we had was justifiable," she narrates.
Prince Merick is in awe. How could he or anyone in the castle not know about this hidden passage?
"My mom said that it could have been created by some soldiers centuries back for emergency purposes," she continues.
Prince Merick then asks, "can you show me that hidden passage?"
Leilah is thinking, confused whether or not to show Prince Merick about the hidden passage.
----------
Leilah leads, Prince Merick follows her. They make their way to the library and reach a large old book shelf. Leilah pushes the book shelf, and it reveals a large hole.
"There is the hidden passage," Leilah says. "It leads to the forest."
Prince Merick is amazed, "Brilliant! How can no one has ever seen this before?"
"The casle has been a thousand years of age. Possibly, there are more secrets in this castle that has already been buried," Leilah explains.
"I want to try this out," he says. "Come with me."
"At this wee hour of the night?" she blurts out.
"Yes! This is the perfect time, everyone is resting. Nobody will catch us. Come on!"
Prince Merick pulls Leliah by the hand. Leilah has no other choice but to go with Prince Merick.
The two travel an underground tunnel. After a few minutes of walk, they reach uthe end of the tunnel and come out to the forest.
Leilah leads, Prince Merick follows her. They make their way to the library and reach a large old book shelf. Leilah pushes the book shelf, and it reveals a large hole.
"There is the hidden passage," Leilah says. "It leads to the forest."
Prince Merick is amazed, "Brilliant! How can no one has ever seen this before?"
"The casle has been a thousand years of age. Possibly, there are more secrets in this castle that has already been buried," Leilah explains.
"I want to try this out," he says. "Come with me."
"At this wee hour of the night?" she blurts out.
"Yes! This is the perfect time, everyone is resting. Nobody will catch us. Come on!"
Prince Merick pulls Leliah by the hand. Leilah has no other choice but to go with Prince Merick.
The two travel an underground tunnel. After a few minutes of walk, they reach uthe end of the tunnel and come out to the forest.
Prince Merick wanders around. He's enjoying the scenery, while Leilah is a bit anxious. She is worried that they might get caught.
"Prince Merick, I think we should be heading back. We might get caught by guards roaming around," she warns.
Prince Merick holds her hands and says, "Calm down, as long as I'm here, I will protect you."
He pulls her and runs around the forest. They reach a part of the forest that has a lot of fireflies flying.
"This is so amazing," he exclaims. "I have travelled around the world, but I have never explored my own kingdom."
"Armadonia has a lot of wonderful places," she says. "Places that you can never see in any other kingdoms."
Prince Merick and Leilah wander around happily, without any worry of being caught. He is genuinely amazed as he meets creatures in the night that he has never seen before.
"Leilah, did you know that ever since we were young, I have already liked you," he says, much to her surprise.
"What do you mean, my prince?" she asks.
"I lke you , Leilah. Since I first laid my eyes on you. I haven't had the chance to tell you how I really feel because we were still young and still unsure of how I feel. But when I returned to Armadonia, and saw you again, I felt that same feeling that I felt way back then," he narrates.
Leilah is speechless. She doesn't know what to say. Prince Merick is disappointed. He takes this as a rejection. His cheerful face fades and turns into sadness.
"I'm sorry, your higness. I-I just don't don't what to say," she apologizes.
"It's not your fault. It's me who should be apologizing. I'm sorry for putting you in this situation," he regretfully says. "Maybe we should be heading back at the castle."
Prince Merick and Leilah is on their way to the hidden passage, when they suddenly hear noises coming.
Leilah says, "It might be the guards. They'd catch us.
"Quick! Hide!" Prince Merick alerts Leilah.
They both hide behind a giant boulder hidden in tall bushes. Prince Merick peeks to check who's coming. He is shocked as he sees a big group of men marching, and they seem to be headed to the castle. Prince Merick spots a pin in one of the men.
"It's the Aldeans!" he whispers.
"Aldeans?" she asks.
"Yes. A nomadic group of men whose aim is conquer different kingdoms by infiltrating them. And I think they are here for Armadonian castle."
"We should do something."
Without thinking twice, Prince Merick and Leilah run fast to the hidden passage.
END OF CHAPTER 7