In the middle of the night, Alexander could be seen walking in the streets. He had a hat over his head, and if anyone had seen the way he was double checking his surrounding to make sure he had not been seen, they would have been suspicious of him.
Alexander kept going until he finally came to a stop in front of an old house, that looked abandoned. He knocked on the door, but no one responded, and then he knocked again.
This time, the door opened, and an old man holding a candle could be seen standing by the door. "What do you want, boy?" He asked.
Alexander looked back again, as if checking if no one had followed or seen him, before he then faced the man, and said, "Um… I heard that you sell tickets to get to the kingdom of Valtoria."
"You have come to the wrong place. We don't have such a ticket." The man said, and intended to shut the door, but Alexander held it, his desperation showing in his actions.
"Please, I really need it, and I know you are the only one that can help me." Alexander begged, "I need two boat tickets headed to Valtoria."
The old man sighed, and then said, "Come to the booth in two hours time. It's two-hundred gold coins for the two tickets."
Alexander smiled at the man in gratitude. "Thank you very much!" He said, as he hurried back home to his mother.
His mother was already packing a few of their clothes when he came in, and he immediately joined her.
"Alex." His mother hesitantly said, "The more I think about this, the more dangerous it seems. Let's forget about this idea. If we get caught, then you will be in danger."
Alexander just smiled at her, as he continued packing. "Mother. I've given up on a lot of things by living in this house. I had to degrade myself just so I could survive here." He then looked her in the eyes. "But… I'm not going to live like that any longer."
"Alex." His mother called his name, as his words made her emotional. It made her feel like cursing herself for bringing a child who she couldn't protect into this cruel world.
Alexander went to her, and held her hands. "At the very least, let's live the rest of our lives doing whatever we want to do, from now on." He said, and his mother nodded.
With that said, he then backed his bag, and held the other bag which belonged to his mother, and he led her out of the house.
He first of all peeped from their half-opened door, before he then came out together with his mother, sneaking out of the house, and out into the streets.
But unknown to them, two of the men servants had seen them sneaking out, and one of them immediately went to Edward's room.
Edward had some guests in his room, who were mostly ladies, and they were chatting and laughing. A man from the neighboring Kingdom, Valtoria, had brought some jewelries, and the ladies were trying to convince Edward to get a ring for himself.
"All these jewelries are as beautiful as all of you. Today, I'm in a good mood, so you all can take one each." He said, and the ladies cheered in excitement.
"Young master." The manservant said, as he entered Edward's room.
"What is it?!" Edward yelled, not liking how his fun time was interrupted.
"Please excuse me." The manservant said, as he went over to Edward's side, and whispered into his ear.
….
Meanwhile, Alexander and his mother had hurried over to the booth, and they saw a man standing guard outside. The man then signaled for them to quietly come in.
As they entered, they were greeted by the presence of many other people that were intending to flee from the kingdom. From old men and women, to even little children. They were all in the booth, patiently waiting for when the boat would leave.
"Hurry, and head to the very back." The man standing guard said to them, and Alexander went with his mother to the back.
After his mother had taken a seat, he then said, "Wait here. I'll be back. I need to get us the boat tickets." Then he patted her shoulder, before then left.
His mother stood up, and wanted to go after him. For some reasons, she just couldn't be able to calm down. It was like she sensed that something bad was going to happen.
But she paused in her tracks, when her son's words from earlier replayed in her head. "Mother. I've given up on a lot of things by living in this house. I had to degrade myself just so I could survive here. But… I'm not going to live like that any longer."
At the end, she could only go back to have her seat, feeling helpless.
Alexander, on the other hand, went to the house of the man that was in charge of selling the tickets. The house wasn't far from the booth, so he didn't have to walk for long. He was allowed to enter the house, and he greeted the man.
"Here is the amount you asked for." Alexander said, as he dropped a total of two-hundred gold coins on the man's table. "Please hurry and give me the tickets."
The man took the money and dropped two tickets on the table. "I only sell tickets to people once. Do you know why that is?" The man suddenly asked.
Alexander didn't say anything, and the man continued, "That's because the people in the boat either make it safely to Valtoria, or they become food for the fishes due to their trip not going so well, and lastly they could get captured."
"Do you know how most of them end up though?" The man continued to speak, instilling doubt and fear in Alexander's heart, but the fear he felt was not for himself, but for the life of his mother. "Most of them end up getting captured. If you are caught, you die in the worst way imaginable, and if you don't get caught, you will have to continue running for the rest of your life."
"This is the last chance you have to change your mind." The man said as he looked at the doubt that was in Alexander's eyes, mixed with desperation. "You still want to go?" He asked.
"I'll get on that boat, no matter what happens." Alexander replied to the man.
"Very well, then." The man nodded, "The boat leaves by one in the morning. You must not even be a minute late. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." Alexander answered, and left the house.
….
At Ronan's house. Ronan was in his room, preparing to leave for the forest, and join the others. He took out a box from his safe, and opened it, bringing the Spellbook of the damned out of it.
He began to flip through the pages, and when he got to the last page, he then carefully tore it off, and put in into the box, and back into the safe. After that, he then hid the book beneath his clothes, as he went out of his room.
His wife saw him, and went to him. "Are you going to Alethea?" She coldly asked.
"Wife. I have no time to explain right now. I'll tell you everything once I've returned." Ronan said, and was about to leave.
"Please don't go!" She worriedly called out to him, "It's all over now, anyway."
Ronan narrowed his eyes at her in confusion. "What… do you mean by that?" He asked as he started getting suspicious.
"I'm saying that it's all over now. I told the shamaness from the castle everything!" She clarified.
Ronan's face constricted in anger and shock. "And why in the world would you do that?"
"You really don't know?" She said in mockery, "The mark that appeared behind William's ear… it's because of Alethea, isn't it? It's because William developed feelings for Alethea!"
"We must break Alethea's curse in order to save the kingdom from Nimueh's dark magic, and yet you went ahead to give information to the enemy?" Ronan questioned as he looked at his wife in disbelief.
"Who cares about this damn kingdom, when my son is slowly dying there in his room! Nimueh said that if only Alethea dies… if only she dies, then my son can live."
Ronan shook his head as he left, feeling tired of trying to make his wife see reasons, but his wife held unto his hand, stopping him.
"She also promised that she would cover up all that you've done, and that you won't be punished for your crimes, if only you don't interfere. So please don't go." She begged, but Ronan pulled his hand away, and stillleft.