I got to know the crown prince for seven days. Exactly a week after he came to our door with his ghastly arm wound. He left for our neighboring kingdom, Vidiya.
Within the seven days I had gotten to know him, I could say that we became friends. He helped me with my chores like cooking, gathering firewood and herbs. Having someone to talk to was a huge break from the monotony of my chores.
Another thing about him was that he seemed very determined to overthrow the Dark Lord. He was always speaking of what it would be like when the Dark Lord is no more. I imagine it in my free time. A life free from fear.
The fourth day after the departure of the crown prince, I went to pick herbs in the woods as usual. I spotted a lot of fresh mushrooms at the base of a huge rock. This would go well in tonight's dinner, I thought. Speaking of dinner, I was back to cooking by myself without anyone's help. Herb picking became lonelier too. I took in a deep breath and stood up from the rock where I had been whiling away my time.
It was already sunset. Anymore delay and dinner would be late. Papa disliked it anytime dinner was late so I hurried home.
I heard loud voices while I was outside our house. Papa and someone else. They were arguing over something. Suddenly, I felt a shove from behind and I fell on my knees. My basket of herbs and mushrooms fell to the floor and rolled away. Then, I was grabbed by the collar and led to the courtyard.
"I've got her." The man who dragged me along announced. I saw that there were a number of men, like six of them dressed like... The Dark Lord's soldiers! Oh no. They must have figured out that we hid the crown prince in our home.
One of the men turned to me. He looked like their leader. He was burly and had a mean looking grin.
"Well well, if it isn't the traitor's daughter. A pretty one you are. I wonder how you will taste if I..." He said, running his fingers from my collarbone towards my chest. I immediately swatted his hand away. His touch made me feel so irritated I thought I was going to be sick.
"A fiesty one eh?" He asked with a cheshire grin. "I would like to show you what fiesty is. Too bad the Dark Lord wants you first."
Papa obviously disagreed. He tried to break free from the grip of the two men who held him back. "You will not touch her, she has nothing to do with this. I'm the offender, take me instead!" He yelled at the gang leader.
The man shook his head. "Nope. We're not here for you old man. We're here for her." The man took a lock of my hair in his grubby hand and brought it to his nose, closing his eyes and pretending to love the scent.
Next, he signalled one of his men to come and take me away. But I couldn't let them take me away just like that? Then what would happen to Papa?
"No, I won't go with you!" I screamed. I writhed and twisted in the man's arms. If only I could free myself, then I would run to Papa's side. The man was just too strong.
The leader of the gang back to face Papa. "You know the punishment for being a traitor, Horace. Why did you still do it?" He asked.
Papa looked back at him with cold eyes, the coldest I've ever seen on him. "I owe no loyalty to your king. I don't serve him."
The gang leader chuckled. "I know you don't. But you could have still pretended that you did."
"Then who would be the fool Stark? Me or the Dark Lord?"
The gang leader had no answer to that. "Well. Now that you've proven yourself, there's no saving you."
Then it happened faster than I could blink or think. One of the men ran a sword through Papa. I saw his eyes look at me for the last time before they became void of life. It was like all time had stopped and everything froze the moment that Papa's body hit the ground.
All my life, I had learnt under Papa, one of the greatest physicians I knew. I had seen different people die from horrible sicknesses and sometimes, even mild sicknesses. I always felt bad whenever we lost a patient and I would mourn for days.
But I have never seen someone take another person's life before. And the life that was taken was my father's, the only family I had in this world.
"No." I whispered. My voice failed me. Was my mind making up this scene? Was it a figment of my imagination? Was it real? The more I stared at Papa's body, it didn't move. It just laid there with blood spewing out of his wound and his mouth. Death was a sickness no physician could cure, Papa would tell me and now he was dead.
"No!" I screamed as I found my voice and wriggled more violently until I managed to free myself from the soldier's grip, then I ran to Papa and shook him as hard as I could. Hot tears fell quickly from my eyes to the floor and unto Papa's body that was now growing cold.
"Papa, wake up. Please."
This time the soldiers carried me and hauled me on his shoulder so I couldn't escape again. I kicked and screamed and I felt frustrated that it was all I could do, but the man carried me away regardless. He carried me to a carriage and pressed some sweet smelling substance in a cloth on my nose. It was the powder of dazing flower. I knew what it was because we used it a lot in the infirmary.
After inhaling it, I felt woozy and I dropped. Last thing I remembered was a potato sack being thrown over my head.
* * *
I woke up with a splitting headache. Curse those morons who the dazing flower on me. Didn't they know that the amount they had used on me was enough to kill someone?
I opened my eyes and I saw light. It was day time. How long had I been out, and worst of all, where was I?
I recalled all the events from yesterday and how Papa had been killed. My vision became blurry from the tears that came. Now I was truly alone. Why did they have to kill him? Couldn't they have put him in prison or something?
I cried myself to sleep and only woke when the doorknob to the room I was in jiggled. Someone was coming in. Maybe it was the goons from yesterday.
The door opened and a man came in with a young lady by his side. The man was sharply dressed like the stewards I usually saw in the houses of noblemen back in our village. The steward-like man was middle aged and he held a pocket watch in his hand. The young lady, a little younger than me, probably sixteen held a tray in her hands.
Steward like man came to me and bowed a little. His peppered brown hair was combed back so he looked very smart.
I sat up on the bed I had been lying on all this while and sniffled.
"Ah, the Daughter of Horace our former head physician. It's an honor to meet you." The man said to me.
"Who are you? Why did you bring me here?" I asked in a voice that was hoarse both from being drugged and from crying nonstop.
"I apologize. Let me introduce myself. I am Gilbert, the steward of the castle estate of Kerva. The Dark Lord ordered me to meet your needs until he's ready to see you, milady."
So I was right. He really was a steward then. The castle estate of Kerva? I was all the way at the capital city, under the same roof as the Dark Lord?