"Your Highness, where are we going?" my two soldiers who were still not aware of my current situation continued to annoy me.
"Where's chief? Nilo is also not here. I didn't see them yesterday either," Henry complained.
"Yes, they are not loyal to our highness like us," Merlin stated. Following that, I heard Henry shushing Merlin.
Their conversation only made my head hurt more.
I was still not feeling normal. I was found unconscious in my chamber by Flora yesterday morning. I had to convince her to not tell the queen by eating a mouthful of medicine.
After that, I was keeping my mouth shut all this time. What is there to talk about? After what I've done, Victor left. He is nowhere to be seen. Isn't that what I really wanted? Now that I've got it, I could only keep my mouth tightly zipped.
Today on impulse, I got out of my room and started to walk toward the dungeon. Henry and Merlin met with me at my palace's entrance and started to follow me from there.
When we reached the dungeon area, I told my soldiers to keep quiet and follow. The dungeon was a bit darker than usual. It might be because of the moody weather outside. I stumbled on the wall and found my way into one of the cells.
It was the cell of our first prisoner, the Dagresh spy.
His hands and mouth were tied well with clothes. I've asked Merlin to untie him. Meanwhile, I kept looking at the royal seal in my hand.
The next night, after Victor left, I still couldn't sleep a wink. He was destroying my peace. Besides him, I had so many things in my mind. Edward was in search of James, so he would definitely find my dungeon den in no time. Before that, I had to release the Dagresh spy and others from there. Or else, I'll be in greater trouble when every one of them confesses about their abduction.
Therefore, that night, I slid into the royal treasure room with the help of Henry and Merlin. Victor had once taught me how to navigate through each and every room of the palace without being caught. I was obviously using his technique. And finally, I've stolen the royal seal successfully. Not one but three of them.
Once Merlin finished with the untying, I handed the spy the seal and the clothes Henry had carried with him.
He continued to look at me unwaveringly. "You are all in danger. Run back out of here as fast as you can," I told him.
When we moved to the next cell, the scholar who accidentally got kidnapped looked at us expectantly. He was already aware that we were going to release him.
"Mn," I signalled Merlin to untie him. Once his mouth was untied, he started to plea, "Your Highness, I wouldn't let out a word. Trust me," he said.
"You better not," I furrowed my brows. I felt bad for him since he got entangled with us for no reason. I handed him a pouch with five hundred coins. "Take this as my apologies. You wouldn't have earned this much without being kidnapped," I calmly said. His eyes widened in shock but he accepted the reward.
I knew very well that none of them would make a fuss since they were all side characters from the book. Unless Edward caught them and ask for the truth, they wouldn't be going around telling the truth. Even if they do, I had better plans.
When I released the lotus inn manager, I gave him a different warning. "I hate traitors. Still, I'm letting you live. Be grateful," I said. Unexectantly he kneeled down and apologized leaving all three of us in shock.
"I wouldn't leak your secrets, but you no longer belong to this country. Leave my country," I said. He nodded in agreement.
I let Merlin and Henry help him and moved to the next cell where we were keeping the Letresh junk. These days, he only got consciousness once or twice. So I didn't expect him to stay awake when I reached there. Surprisingly, he was looking at the entrance, awaiting me. I was a bit taken aback when my eyes met his. All I could see in his eyes was vengeance.
This was the first time I confronted him after the incident in the forest. Honestly, I was scared without Victor next to me. Still, I've managed to reach him and untie the cloth covering his mouth.
"Sl*t," he immediately told me looking right into my eyes. It was as if he had been waiting for me to untie it so that he can say this. My hands clenched and my eyes reddened. "Sl..." he tried and the next thing I know was that I had already smacked his face.
"Dare say that again!" I hissed.
His face twitched in pain. But that didn't bother me. If only Victor was there, all his teeth would have fallen with a smack. Comparatively, this was not enough.
He took his time to regain the shape of his twitched face. "Where is your paramour? Not following you today?" he asked scornfully.
"..." I kept quiet. I was not used to violence so I needed some time. "Victor, is he... that good?" he wickedly asked.
"..." I was still silent.
"His skills must have pleased you a great deal" he sneered. "Sinner," he spat.
"Sinner?" I frowned. "Then are you a saint?" I gritted my teeth.
"I'm a man," he replied.
"So?" I titled my head.
"It's common for a man to be in casual relationships," he said making me sick to my stomach. "All men are the same. Even your paramour."
That instant, I was reminded of how Victor looked with those reddened eyes in front of me. The devotion I saw in his eyes twisted my heart. I was more than sure that I was the only woman he ever loved. Victor had always been pure.
I shook my head. "Don't talk about him with your tainted mouth. You are not qualified to talk about Victor," I said.
"That dog must have licked your boots well. You are so smitten," he sneered.
"Shut up," I stepped forward.
"He'll leave you one day, and I'll take you over" James shouted.
"...." this indeed made me feel insecure. If this beast tied to the chair in front of me unleashed itself, what would I do without him beside me? Even my brother, mother or father wouldn't come to my rescue. Without Victor... I couldn't think further. Now that he is really gone, I felt so anxious.
"You'll have to release me one day, just like you did with others," he crookedly smiled. "Then you'll have no escape from me," he continued. His lecherous eyes once again ogled me. This time I was enraged. He purposely looked me up and down and licked his lips.
"You'll be my toy," he said.
I once again smacked his face. "Behave, you garbage. You are still alive because of my tolerance," I said.
"Ha ha ha," he let out evil laughter. "Once I'm out of here, you'll see what hell looks like. I'll make sure to pay you back," he said.
"James," I look out the dagger Victor left on my balcony last night. He may have forgotten it or left it purposely. It worked. It gave me the courage I needed. I looked at the evil creature in front of me.
"You can talk all you want. But how long do you think will it take for me to slit that throat?" I gently placed the dagger on his neck.
"If I kill you here," I continued, "nobody will know," I whispered.
He seemed a bit startled and pulled his neck a little behind.
"There, I'll be burying you there," I pointed to one of the corners. "Even your ghost will be stuck inside this dungeon forever," I continued.
"You mad woman," he shouted.
"Or else, I can also slice your fingers. One finger a day," I raised my eyebrows and looked at him. "What do you think?"
"You... you..." he stammered. His confidence level seemed to have glided many levels down. "You're e... evil," he muttered in a low voice.
"It's good that you know," I said. Be careful," I gave him a final warning.
"Your Highness, are we gonna release him?" Henry and Merlin were at the entrance. They chorused. Within seconds, they once again chorused. "Let's not release him. He is no good."
"We won't," I plainly said. I had to hide him here as long as I can.
"Tie his mouth together, he talks too much," I carelessly told them and reached the steps. I kept walking and only stopped once I reached the lake. The cold wind and the blue waters couldn't cure my troubled self. I gently pulled out the black handle of the silver dagger from my pouch. It was not something exquisite. It cannot be that costly either. Still, it looked dangerous and magnificent, just like him.
"Victor, I'm scared," I muttered looking at the dagger.
I didn't know how long I stayed there. It was already dark when I reached back to my chamber. There were no words from either Nilo or Victor.
My room where I had been sleeping all this while was suffocating that day. 'Maybe I should just flee to Dagresh,' I thought. Then I thought about the Dagresh king. He will definitely kill me if he found out that I was Edward's sister.
He was not safe in Astrana. I was not safe in Dagresh. 'There is no way for us to stay together,' I fell on the bed.
Was there?