When Ruen glanced at Lianne while he was at the bakery shop, he saw her enjoying the lion float that was passing by. He noticed the commotion as the float arrived and saw that the platform flooded immediately with spectators because of it. He saw the little boy sitting highly at the top of his father’s shoulder; however, because of it, he wasn’t able to discern the face of the man that situated himself right at Lianne’s back.
After he bought three chocolate muffins though and walked back towards the platform, he noticed her acting rather unusually. The expression on her face became tense and troubled. By the time he realized something wasn’t right, he already saw her being hauled out of the railing by the unknown man.
Their eyes met and the alarm in her eyes was enough to instantly tell him she was in danger. He dropped the box of muffins into the ground and immediately took off to the platform like a madman on a rampage.
“Lianne!” he shouted loudly.
He saw her being pulled into the crowd of people. Though he tried hard to reach her, he was unable to. Pushing the onlookers out of his way in a frantic search for her was a good way, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.
Ruen stood at a more spacious area, frantically scanning the whole area for her, but the multitude of people in the streets made it difficult.
“Your Majesty!” A burly voice of a man resounded in the air.
Sir Brooder, the General of Combat and Skills, ran from across the street towards him. He was not wearing the uniform of the army, but instead using casual clothing to avoid attention from the townsfolk. However, his leather scabbard with the iron sword was left hanging on his side. He was in town to accompany and protect the two royals, keeping his distance at the same time, as per Lord Jared’s instructions.
When he reached the King, he instantly noticed his anxious state and didn’t miss a cold, dark glare in his eyes.
“General Brooder. I want you to come with me now!” Ruen commanded roughly.
He was angry. Angry at himself for not being able to rescue her. He wasn’t sure who took her then, but he had great doubt who the culprit was. Thinking of the possible men that could dare do it, immediately his mind rested on one man alone, Cain, and if he was right, she truly was in grave danger.
They both hastily ran back to the main harbor where the general’s stallion and the black carriage was situated. Ruen unbuckled one of the three horses of the carriage, saddled it quickly, and then swiftly mounted its back. Sir Brooder followed with his own horse.
“Your Majesty, I feel it is important to tell you this. I saw General Cain’s stallion tied up in a tavern not far away from here,” Sir Brooder spoke, catching Ruen’s attention.
The King paused for a moment after struggling to keep the colt steady. He gave the general a grim stare and then dictated acutely, “Show me the way General, now!”
They both rode the town’s busy street into the tavern half a mile away from the main harbor. When they reached there ten minutes later, Cain’s horse was nowhere to be seen.
Ruen released a displeased and angry growl. “Damn it!” He swore under his breath.
“Your lead, Your Majesty,” the general said. Knowing the Von Cavill family well enough, he knew Cain had the power to do whatever he wanted. He knows for sure that what the Lord wants now was the Princess, and he would do anything for her to be his.
“If Cain intended to bring her back to Soulisse, then they may not have gotten far enough. I will chase them from here. You go back to the ship and tell Captain Marxe to search all spaces of this town. No one will rest until we find the princess!”
After giving his command, he kicked his horse to run. Grinding his teeth as the speed of the creature increased, his thoughts wandered off to the many possibilities that might happen.
Oh, what great pleasure it would be for him in killing Cain if he will find out he has touched her, much worse harm her! His blood ran cold with the thought of it. Maybe Garlow’s teachings weren’t as useless after all.
***
“Cain, please… let me go!” Lianne appealed. She had never expected him to do such drastic measures, but it was possible that her own recent aversion towards him compelled him to do it.
“I apologize deeply for this to happen, Lianne,” Cain stated, sounding apologetic but distant. He was still holding her hand, pulling her forcefully as they walked a long rundown path towards a secret secluded docking point a kilometer away from the main harbor.
“Where are we going?” she said in alarm.
“I told you already didn’t I? To Olga,” he answered without a second thought.
Lianne made another tug out of Cain’s hold but to no avail. “Why Cain? Why there?” she asked, puzzled.
The general stopped from his steps and stood right beside a stack of crates full of gravel. They were now at the secret docking point. No other people but them. There was no light except a sole electric lantern hanging in a post, right side, a few steps away from them.
He paused for a moment and surveyed to see if there was any sign of a boat. “I need you there, Lianne,” was his only answer.
A gush of cold air passed them. Lianne flinched. “For what?!” she clarified. “Cain, for what?! Tell me!”
Cain didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled her close to his side and grinned widely.
“Our boat has arrived.”
A large sailboat, a bit old fashioned, but made of fine wood slowly appeared right in front of them. It was unusual though. For a moment, it looked like a ghost ship suddenly appearing out of nowhere. There was no flicker of light on the deck nor in the captain’s bridge. It was like the captain intended for the boat to be invisible from view.
It had two long metal masts on both ends of the deck supporting the sails. At the bow of the boat, along the right side, its name was carved clearly, Le Voyes, and on the front of the boat, right at the point, there was a wooden carved face of a woman with curly hair.
Lianne’s heart leaped in fright at the sight of it. So Cain wasn’t kidding about taking her to Olga. Realizing it, she pleadingly looked at him, feeling afraid of stepping inside the boat. Immediately, her mind rested on Ruen, who she knows for sure, was looking for her at this very moment. But, how can he find her when she will be miles apart from him in a few minutes from now?
“Cain, no! I will not go! How many times must I tell you this!” she expressed in distress. Her breathing was very heavy and her face flushed into a deep red.
He shook his head in disagreement, not conceding to her request. “You will come with me whether you like it or not, Lianne! I won’t leave you again with that man!” he gruffly stated.
Before Lianne could even respond, a man suddenly appeared at the deck above them.
“Aye! What do we have here?” the captain of the boat loudly exclaimed.
One white skinny man stood at the front of the boat, throwing the anchor down to the black water, and another white medium-built man, bending beside the captain, was drawing the gangplank down towards the concrete land.
The captain wore a devilish smile as he walked through it in a manner like he was a pirate captain – self-confident, egoistic and boorish – even though he wasn’t even in fact a pirate.
He was tall, medium built and muscled for a man his age. He had a short jet black hair, a short gray beard, and a unibrow that highlighted a pair of sky-blue eyes. His nose was a bit crooked, with a stud earring pierced at the left nostril. He wore a black long leather coat going down to his ankle, a wide blue belt around his waist, and a bronze pendant watch left dangling on his front pocket.
“Captain Mock,” Cain acknowledged, looking at him eye to eye.
“My goodness. At first I thought you out of your mind when you told me in the tavern about your plan, General, but I see the reason why now,” the captain stated as he regarded the appearance of the princess. He surveyed her from head to toe and indeed admired Lord Cain’s tastes of women.
“So, shall we?” he said, raising his hand to show the way.
“Yes,” Cain replied quickly. “And it is a must that we arrive there as soon as possible,” he added, glancing at the waxing gibbous moon at the same time.
“No, Cain!” Lianne shouted with intensity as she was being pulled towards the gangplank.
He held her hand tightly but she was wriggling it, putting great effort as much as she could. “Damn it, Lianne! Stop it or we will fall from here!” Cain expressed impatiently.
“No! I will not!” Lianne voiced out in anger. “Until you let me go, I will never stop! Don’t do this Cain. Don’t push me into something against my will!”
He huffed in exasperation and then swiftly scooped her from the ground, lifting her up to his shoulder. She yelled in defiance but he still continued to walk up to the deck. When they fully boarded the ship, he dropped her on the floor.
Captain Mock grinned at them, seeing the futile struggle she was making.
“You know general, there are a lot of ways to silence a woman,” he spoke grimly, handing a damp green scarf he had already readied. Poured into it was a strong cocktail of drugs that could cause the person who inhales it loses consciousness.
Cain stared at the captain with disbelief. It seems as though this man had handled a lot of women in the past, both willingly and unwillingly. He then used the scarf to cover Lianne’s mouth and almost instantly her consciousness began to blur and everything went dangerously dark.
***
As fast as the horse could send him, Ruen only took half an hour to finally arrive at the Regaleria mansion wherein he quickly commanded the majordomo to send search parties everywhere in the Norfew and Ardenta villages to find the princess. He was disappointed he wasn’t able to catch them up while on path, unaware that she has been at the port all along.
He continued his way towards the Soulisse mansion and after riding fast managing the dark road for fifteen minutes, he arrived at the mansion. However, his disappointment increased more after finding that General Cain had not arrived in Soulisse since the afternoon.
“Damn him! Where did he take her?!” Ruen cursed under his breath. He was about to exit the foyer when Sir Karl stopped him.
“Your Majesty,” he pronounced delicately, not wanting to rise his ire even more. “I need to tell you something.” He stood anxiously as he waited for the King to respond.
Ruen looked back at the majordomo and said, “What is it, Karl? Do not waste my time.”
Sir Karl calmed his nerves and began to speak, looking at the King with dead serious eyes.
“Your Majesty, Lord Cain has been seeing a mysterious man for quite some time now ever since the late King died. I never did know his name or even saw his face for he was always wearing a-”
“Hooded coat,” Ruen finished abruptly.
Sir Karl was bewildered upon Ruen’s exact description, but he only did nod in agreement with it.
Ruen’s expression on the other hand was that of surprise at first, but soon turned into immense worry. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he quickly exited the foyer and jumped to his horse.
“Shit!” the King furiously blurted out. Now everything was clearer. In his mind, flashbacks after flashbacks of scenes went flooding in, and it all boiled down to Lianne and the prophecy. He never had expected of it though, but now, if Lianne was with Cain and Cain was consorting with the hooded man, then she was in much bigger danger than he had initially thought.
“I’m going to kill you, Cain! I swear it!” he angrily said without even a hint of remorse.
***
It was early dawn. The darkness of the night was slowly beginning to change, welcoming the rays of the sun. The sky had a hue of violet, mixed with orange and gray. It was a beautiful sight. The open seawater was producing mild to moderate waves and the air had a heavy salty aroma.
Lianne woke up lying in a bunk bed inside a small room. Her face flushed. Her hair a bit in disarray. Scanning the area, she instantly realized that she was in a cabin. She stood up quickly, her heart beginning to pound heavily from her chest. Seconds after though, she felt a little nauseous and lightheaded apparently not from the waves pushing the boat but from the effects of the chemical she inhaled.
“What time is it?” she asked herself, feeling alarmed. “How long have I been out?!”
She sprinted towards the door, twisted the doorknob, and ran to the hallway after finding it unlocked. She hastily took a narrow metal stair towards the upper deck, not even noticing that there was a man watching her at the other end of the hallway.
When she reached the sun deck, her eyes widened in surprise. Her suspicions were right. She was indeed inside the ‘ghost ship’ she saw last night at the docking point. Turning in all corners of the boat, the only scenery that she could see was the stretch after stretch of blue water.
“No…” she uttered painfully, “this can’t be!”
“Yes, Your Highness. You’re right. You’re exactly inside my boat,” Captain Mock mockingly stated. He was standing at her back, a few feet away from her, but he then walked closer to her side, smiling evilly at the same time.
“I see that you don’t feel comfortable at all,” he stated, mocking her again.
“Isn’t that already obvious?! Can’t you see I’m unwilling to go to Olga?! Why did you let this damn boat leave the town in the first place!” Lianne angrily shouted.
“Hmmm, Cain did mention you a feisty one,” the captain said, “but know this, Your Highness.” Captain Mock then lifted her face with her chin using a small knife blade, hard as steel and well sharpened. Lianne’s eyes widened even more at the sight of it. “I am the captain of this boat, and no one is entitled to question me or command me!” he said in a gruff voice.
There was coldness in his eyes. Just like Midas. Just like Garlow. The type of men who don’t think twice of spilling blood.
Lianne hissed in silence. She felt a sudden hatred against the man. Felt hopeless against the knife blade on her chin. But she didn’t produce even a tear in her eyes.
“Well now…” Another man suddenly appeared from behind the captain. “You wouldn’t want to frighten the princess, right? Captain Mock?” Cain simply declared.
Lianne saw the general approach them.
The captain immediately took his knife blade out of view and held out a deep sigh. “Nahhh, I just wanted to show off the princess how pirate-like I am.”
Cain smiled in amusement. “I’m sorry to tell you Captain, but the princess here doesn’t take jokes lightly,” he announced glancing at her at the same time, smiling his debonair smile.
Lianne stepped a few inches away from him and stared at the ocean, frowning. A few seconds later, the two men watched her quickly leave the deck going straight to the metal stairs without even a word.
“She is a good one, Cain,” Captain Mock plainly declared, smirking at the same time.
Cain only gave a good nod and then followed the princess.
Lianne was wearing the same dress she wore last day, but what she noticed unmistakably, upon pressing her hands on her chest was the absence of her emerald pendant necklace.
“No!” she cried loudly when she reached inside her room. She closed the door with a loud bang and tossed herself in her bed to cover her face with an available pillow. “No, where could it be?”
Upon remembering the necklace, immediately her mind rested on a much painful memory.
“Ruen,” she whispered softly. Tears from her eyes began to fall down her cheeks. “How will you be able to rescue me now? I’m miles away from you.”
The door suddenly swung open and in stepped Cain.
She quickly sat up and faced the door shoving the pillow aside. With tears clouding her eyes, she wasn’t able to discern who her visitor was at first. When she realized who it was after wiping her tears dry, her heart immediately sank like a wilted flower.
“Good morning, Lianne,” Cain greeted, acting as if nothing happened.
Lianne frowned in reaction. “How could you act so insensitively when you know what you have done!” she shouted, anger simmering on the surface.
“I apologized to you back then and I will apologize to you again now. I’m sorry for taking you here against your will, Lianne,” Cain softly said.
His apology sounded almost genuine, but when he inched closer to her in bed and saw the desire in his eyes, she felt alarmed.