P R I N C E K A L M I N
It's been three days since Aphia with Alpin and Elbrus with his Fifth Order left for their expedition in the eastern part of the kingdom. They need to check the area since we are receiving a lot of complaints and information that monsters are attacking a few towns at the foot of the mountain.
Aphia and Alpin did a very well job in their combat skills combination. They have mastered their powers and combination attack in just a week of training. They are also communicating well. Alpin can easily understand Aphia's emotions, hand signals, and movements. He is even bothered if Aphia is silent and doesn't talk to him. It is like they are connected. They have a strong bond that no one can destroy. They are the perfect partner.
I wonder what they are doing at this moment. Alpin likes to play with Aphia, and I wonder if he is bothering his master. Aphia sometimes asks for my help to play with Alpin since he's very energetic as if he has unlimited energy stored in his body.
"Kalmin?" I looked at the king questionably. We are doing our monthly rounds at the farm, market, Capital City, infirmaries, and other establishments. We would like to hear directly from our people their concerns, issues, and needs that we need to solve. It is our way of reaching out to our people and witnessing how they work to provide for their families.
"What is it, your majesty?" I asked.
"You are spacing out, my son." He said as he tapped my shoulder. "Is something wrong?" He asked.
"Nothing, your majesty. I am fine." I answered, and he looked at me suspiciously. "Is there something you want to ask me?" I asked.
"You are back to your normal self whenever the priestess is not around." He stated as he chuckled, and I looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean, your majesty?"
"Well, you are quiet, your eyebrows are knitting together, you look like you woke up at the wrong side of the bed, and you are ignoring your admirers as always." He said. I looked around, and I found several women looking at me. They shrieked when they noticed that I threw them a glance.
I sighed as I diverted my gaze back at the king. "I am always like this, your majesty."
He shakes his head while looking at me. "No, son. You are a different person whenever Aphia is around. You are expressive, vulnerable, happy, and real when it comes to Aphia." He said.
I diverted my gaze away from him and cleared my throat. "Am I?" I asked. "Are you sure it is not your imagination, your majesty?" He laughed at me.
"Your mother and I knew what we saw, son. We saw through you. You don't have to deny it. We are your parents." He said, but I did not respond, so he laughed at me.
"I don't think so, your majesty," I said, and he laughed louder. The king seems happy. I wonder what is making him happy.
We continued our rounds. We spoke with the leader of each group to know their concerns. The king immediately promised them to help, and he instructed our people to do the necessary action right away.
I like how the king treats our people and how our people respect him for being a good leader. I wish I could do the same when I became the king. I wish I could lead the kingdom like what he is doing. He is my role model and my hero.
"Your mother opens my eyes for those who are in need." He suddenly said while we were walking on the street as we checked the market. "Your grandfather taught me to help our people, but your mother taught me to have a heart for those who were in need." He added.
"Your mother was a princess, but she has a soft heart for those people who need more attention, help, and understanding. Her good and pure heart made me fall in love with her." I looked at him, and I found him smiling.
The king love to teach me lessons about life and leadership. It was the first time he told me how he fell in love with the queen.
Unlike any other prince and princess, our parents were not arranged to marry each other. Our father fell in love with our mother in a natural way. She was the princess of one of our neighboring kingdoms. They always met on every occasion and later on became friends.
Our mother always told me that a good foundation of a strong relationship is friendship. They started to understand and know each other as friends, and later on, romantic feelings bloomed between them.
The queen wanted me to fall in love with someone like how they did, but because of my character and attitude, she got scared that I might not find someone who would fall in love with me. So, she decided to set me up to numerous ladies from different kingdoms, prominent families, and aristocrats.
Wait, why is he telling me about it?
I was about to open my mouth to ask the question in my mind, but I stopped when he suddenly laughed at me. Is he reading my mind?
"I am telling you about it because I want you to find a lady just like your mother. Your mother and I want you to marry a future queen who has a soft heart for those who are in need and for our people who needs a good leader." He said while smiling. "You need to find someone who will stay by your side no matter what happens, who will support and guide you to be a better person and a better king, who will fight for you and with you." He added, and all I could do was stare at him while I was processing all the words he said.
"Thank you for giving me that advice, your majesty. Please rest assured that I will follow your advice." I said as I bowed my head, and he nodded.
We were about to enter a specific establishment when a messenger pigeon landed on my shoulder, and it caught all of our attention. The pigeon has a red ribbon on its neck, so it means it was an emergency message. I hold the pigeon and get the message attached to its foot. I hurriedly read the message, and I quickly felt my body get numb.
"What is it, son?" The king said, and I handed the message over to him.
"Please grant me the permission to go back to the castle immediately." I managed to say as I felt my hands trembling in anger.
"Calm yourself down first, Kalmin." He said as he tapped my shoulder a few times. "Do not let your emotion block your clear judgment. You have to gather all the information first, come up with a decision, and then execute. Do you understand me, Kalmin?" He asked, and I nodded.
"I understand, your majesty," I said as I tried to calm myself down.
He nods. "You may go. Take care of yourself. Bring your commanders if needed." He said, and I bowed. I ran as quickly as possible and rode my horse to get to the castle.
Even I am trying to calm myself down, my heart still beats abnormally, I feel chills all over my body, and I hardly breathe. It is the first time I felt something like this. It is a strange feeling. I couldn't believe I could feel a lot of emotions all at the same time.
When I got to the castle yard, I found Erskine and the other mages healing the knights of Fifth Order. I looked for Elbrus, and I found him kneeling on the ground while looking at me. "Forgive me, your highness." He said as I approached him.
His legs, arms, and face have stains of blood. His head has a bandage around it. His knights from the Fifth Order are all injured, and most of them are severe. "What happened, Elbrus?" I asked after analyzing the situation of our knights. Erskine and the other mages know what to do. I don't need to instruct them to heal all of them.
"We were a few kilometers away from our destination when suddenly the bandits attacked us. It was midnight, and we were in the middle of the forest when they ambushed us."
"We were surprised and weren't able to defend ourselves properly. We managed to escape from them, but…" He trailed off. "It was too late when we noticed that the priestess was missing. We came back to the place where we were ambushed, but we did not find them. We tried to look for them around the forest, but we failed to find them as well."
I was clenching my fist and my jaw while he was talking. I can feel my anger eating my sanity, so I let out a deep sigh. I tried to remember the king's words and kept my composure. If anything happens to Aphia, I don't know what will happen to them.
"Gather all the available commanders. I need them in my office in five minutes." I ordered my attendant, and he immediately followed.
"Make sure you are back to your usual self and strong enough to fight in five minutes," I ordered Elbrus, and he looked at me in surprise. "But I will still punish you for neglecting your duty as commander," I said before walking away.
I must come up with the best strategy for how to retrieve Aphia. I am sure the bandits have something to do with this.