"Royce!! My brother!!" Lucy screamed loudly and she immediately ran to hug her brother's body tightly.
Of course Royce immediately hugged Lucy back. And Royce's hug was much tighter on Lucy's body which was thin but healthy. The man inhaled Lucy's sweat on the girl's neck. Then Royce's tears flowed back down his cheeks.
The sky is already dark. And the only light around them came from two flaming stick torches stuck firmly into the ground.
So no one knew that Royce was crying in Lucy's arms. But Lucy could feel that her brother was crying. Royce's tears seeped into Lucy's dress fabric on the left shoulder.
"Royce? Are you crying?" she asked. She immediately let go of her hand.
Then Royce knelt down to level his head with Lucy's. "I'm fine, Lucy." Royce said of course he lied. His tone sounded shaky.
Lucy stretched out her hands. She wiped Royce's tears on the man's cheeks. "You can't lie to me. Where are mother and father? Then, Frans and the soldiers took whose body?" Lucy asked with a very innocent face.
And Royce was unable to speak. Athena and Nancy dared to get closer to King Arthur's body which was now lying on the dry forest land.
Athena immediately covered her mouth. Then Nancy immediately hugged her daughter. They both cried silently because they were so sad for the king's death. Meanwhile, Aubrey could only be silent by sitting hugging her knees and leaning against the wall of the small building. The girl did not dare to approach anyone and she had been very scared ever since.
In the next second, Lucy stepped closer to her father's body. And the girl immediately screamed hysterically when she found out that in front of her was the lifeless body of her father. The girl screamed and cried, until Royce continued to hold Lucy's body tightly.
Everyone could only lower their heads and be silent. Royce was still trying to calm Lucy. But the girl is now screaming for her mother. It seems that Lucy is also worried and misses her mother.
"Where is your father, Athena?" Ask Royce. And Lucy still always crying in his lap.
Athena turned and immediately wiped away her tears. "My father went after your mother, prince. Haven't you met him?"
"W-what?? Your father is back in the palace??!!" Royce was shocked and couldn't believe it. He immediately stood up from his seat. And Lucy also had to avoid Royce for a moment. The girl trotted over and threw her body into Aubrey's arms who had been sitting quietly since earlier.
Athena and Nancy were also confused by Royce's surprised reaction.
"What's wrong, prince? How are things in there?" ask Nancy. Her face looked very worried. Of course she was very worried and could only guess how her husband was doing there.
Royce slowly could only lower his body and just sit on the forest land without wearing any mat. His appearance was completely messy like a street child who was never taken care of by anyone. His hair was messy, his face tired and there were many cuts and bruises. Then the expensive silk clothes that he wore as a sign that he was the crown prince, the clothes now looked messy.
Royce's clothes look torn in several places. The man was bleeding from the head, until the blood looked dry. And his hands seemed powerless to hold anything but to hug his body which was very fragile today.
Athena came closer and she stroked Royce's right hand which felt so cold. Royce was still reluctant to speak and the man could only cry silently while swallowing all the bitter tragedy that happened today.
"You can tell everything later, prince. My mother and I will not force you." Athena said in such a gentle voice.
Royce wanted to hug Athena and lean on her. But he was too ashamed of Athena. He was ashamed because he looked broken and defeated, and he could not protect his own parents.
"My mother is dead, Athena." Royce said. His voice sounded so weak and desperate.
Those words instantly made Athena and Nancy just sit still, their bodies frozen. And Nancy was thinking wildly about how her husband was doing.
But the woman still tried to restrain herself from urging Royce. Nancy tried not to ask again. He just let Athena interact with Royce. As for the six soldiers and Frans, they started to sit down to rest. However, two of them are trying to find a source of water to find drinking water needs.
"One of Jackson's troops, managed to shoot an arrow into my mother's neck. My mother died before the big war started. And when my mother died, finally the soldiers decided to throw a bomb until the palace gate was destroyed. Dozens of enemies who were hit by the bomb, they died. But hundreds more made it into the palace because the main gate was destroyed. The great war happened. I joined the war after placing my mother's body in a safe part of the palace. And we all ended up losing. The number of Jackson's troops was very large, Athena.
"And they all seem to be ready for war. They have a lot of weapons too. Until finally me, Frans, my father, and King Philip. We were surrounded. There were only six soldiers of the kingdom left. We lost, Athena. Suddenly, Jackson just let King Philip out. King Philip is safe and maybe he is still traveling to return to his palace. He will definitely come here with his troops. Although I'm not sure about that myself. Shortly after King Philip was expelled from the palace grounds, suddenly an arrow went into my father's neck. My father died right then and there. Jackson was really cruel. I think Bella planned all of this, including planning to kill my parents."
Royce explained so long. Then he sighed and wiped the traces of his almost dry tears.
Athena couldn't help but stare. Royce's explanation was so deep in her head that she felt like she was witnessing it all. "I'm sorry, prince."
"No problem."
"Then where is the queen's body?"
"Jackson didn't give me the chance to go inside the palace again, Athena. And Frans kept me from going in there. We ended up leaving feeling devastated. My mother is still in there, Athena." Royce said. Her tears came out again. The man really couldn't hold back his sadness anymore when he told her about it again.
Athena rubbed and lightly patted Royce's right shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, prince. I can't stop Queen Victoria. If I could---"
"No, it's not your fault, Athena. Maybe my mother's fate was like that. She looks like someone who really misses me and my dad. She didn't seem to want to part with us, so she was determined to follow us into the palace and didn't care about the situation there. I hope Jackson buried my mother's body well. That's all I hope."
Athena could only lower her head. Staring at the dry ground she sits on. Dry ground that was slightly illuminated by the dim light of the torch flames. "Sorry if I ask, but haven't you met my father, prince?"
Royce immediately shook his head. "I'm sorry, Athena. I really didn't meet your father. Did he return to the palace by walking down the sewers again?"
And Athena immediately nodded her head. "Yes."
"If your father returns to the palace like that, then there are only two possibilities. The first possibility, he was desperate to enter the palace to look for my mother. The second possibility, he chose to return here knowing that the palace conditions were that bad. But if he chose back here, he should have been here since this afternoon." Royce said.
"Yeah, I thought so myself too." Athena said. Then she took her mother's hand. She tried to calm Nancy, who seemed increasingly agitated.
Then, all heads turned to the west. They all sat up straight and looked alert, for they all heard the sound of footsteps stepping on dry leaves. And followed by the sound of a cart wheel being pulled slowly.
The four soldiers immediately stood up swiftly and they brandished their long swords. They prepared to attack if the footsteps came from members of Jackson's squad.
But apparently not, the footsteps came from two men who were walking by pulling a cart that had two wheels.
"Father!!!" Athena immediately ran past the four soldiers. The girl immediately hugged her father tightly. She did not care how the smell of sweat on her father's body. And Nancy immediately smiled in relief.
"Uncle Edgar?" Ask Royce. He also immediately stood up and stared in disbelief at the existence of his uncle.
Edgar smiled and immediately hugged his nephew. The man was also still holding back the pain from the stab wound in his stomach. "I brought your mother's body, Royce." Edgar said.
*****