In King Sek's chambers sat Queen Zyne.
Sek had invited her for breakfast in his private chambers and had her best meal prepared to soften the ground for what he was about to tell her. Sek knew how his mother reacted to matters concerning his half-brother, Seth. He was lost as to where to begin the conversation from.
"Ling is back, right?", King Sek said, making a mental note to send for the wizard later in the day.
"How do you know he was away?", she replied.
Sek knew his mother too well. It might not have been obvious to other people, but he didn't miss the guilty look that she tried so hard to hide.
"It is my business to know everything going on in my king-"
Queen Zyne interrupted him, "If that is the case, why haven't you found out what happened with the lovely princess, Ruby?"
"Mother, I know what you are doing. Ling was chained in a cave. Only me... or you, have the authority to do that to him. Please, Mother, explain what that was"
Queen Zyne was furious. She didn't like being questioned. But Zyne knew that she had to answer him. Sek was the king now, and it seemed like it wasn't her son demanding an answer, but the king of the Red Kingdom.
"Remember that dream I had?"
[Oh my goodness... not that nightmare she said she saw Seth]. "Yes, I do"
"I told Ling about it, told him how I knew it was more of a vision than a dream. At that time, Ling was aware of the demon prince's appearance..."
"I wish you would stop calling him that", Sek said.
"That is what he is, Sek. Do not interrupt me if you want to hear anything from me, son", Queen Zyne warned. She continued, "...Then I asked him if what I saw was how the boy looked. He blatantly lied to me. Looked me in the face and said, I was worried for nothing. He had to learn a lesson, Sek"
"That was too harsh, Mother. He would have died"
"But he didn't".
Queen Zyne got stuck in her thoughts as she remembered what Ling had told her. In her mind's eye, the way it must have happened began to play...The way the horns would have stuck out of Seth's head, fangs so long, reaching his collar bone, blood dripping from his maniacally stretched lips. She closed her eyes tight, trying to dispel the horrible scenes.
"What is wrong?", Sek reached over the table and gently touched her hand.
She withdrew from the touch and open her eyes... which had become red from the pressure exacted on them.
"Mother?"
"I do not feel too well. Can we continue this later?"... she stood up from the chair. "Fanis"... Queen Zyne called to her assistant, "Lead me to my chambers"
King Sek stood up, guiding his mother till she got to the door where Fanis had just walked through. "Take care of her. Get the physician to check up on her, NOW"
"Yes, My King", Fanis replied and left with the Queen.
[I couldn't talk about Princess Ruby], he thought.
Sek was beginning to think of the princess frequently... more than normal.
"What kind of problem is this?"
A small voice in his head said, "You are the King. You can get anyone you want"
[I wouldn't do that to my brother], he thought, replying to the mischievous voice in his head.
"What can he offer her? He has no inheritance here? What can he possibly give the princess? But you, on the other hand...", the voice said.
"STOP!", he shouted and grabbed his head. Closing his eyes, Sek drew several deep breaths in a bid to arrange his thoughts.
"Brien!"
Brien came into the room.
"Call my brother for me"
"My King, he just left the palace with the man that accompanied the Princess of the Ziviel Kingdom"
He stared at Brien. "... ..."
* * *
Seth had gone to fetch Anthony from the infirmary and had almost caused a scene there when the royal physician requested for a note from the king.
With fear and trembling, he had said, "My Prince, p-please, it was the king who ordered his treatment. We need a go-ahead from him to release the patient"
"I will tell my brother myself that I came to get the patient. We have work to do. Leave my way or I will uproot you. Choose one"
The physician had sidestepped even before Seth finished the statement.
"Good. What is your name?", he asked the man sitting down on the bed watching them.
"Anthony"
"Anthony, follow me!"
When they got to the spot Anthony had taken them to... Seth noticed that the man was still cradling his head. "The hits must have been hard. You are lucky and strong, you know"
Anthony hadn't gotten used to the fact that this man had one snake eye and was wary of him.
When they had been riding their horses, Anthony gave a safe distance, which irritated Seth many times till he understood why he was lagging behind. [He is scared], Seth thought. [Come to think of it, he should be], he laughed at his thought.
"Lucky, maybe. Strong, no. I couldn't even protect the princess. I feel so useless"
"Do not say that. You are no fighter, so it is expected. Besides, no one planned for such to happen, otherwise a soldier would have been assigned to guard her"
[These people... this man. Why is he so concerned about Princess Ruby?], Anthony thought. "We will soon reach where we stopped to camp that night", he said.
"Good. Now, put away that fear and ride beside me. We must hurry", Seth ordered.
* * *
Seth walked around the area, looking for clues, no matter how little, that would point him in any direction at all.
Unknown to Anthony at that time, when he attacked the first man that had come out of the bushes, he had torn a piece of the man's clothing.
A few feet away from the roots of the shrubs, a deep purple material laid there on the soil.
"What is this, Anthony?"... Seth asked, picking the piece of cloth up.
"OH! IT IS FROM THE MASKED MAN"