“How is she, Your Majesty?”
Lord Jared carefully asked when Ruen finally exited his private cabin. He looked distressed and exhausted, wrinkles and a hard frown marring his handsome face.
It had been five hours since they left the port of Olga, sailing back to Regaleria on the royal ship in the middle of the night.
Traveling back to Regaleria as soon as possible was the best thing to do for mainly two reasons. One was that it was safer for the princess to be as far away from the cave as possible while the blood moon was still high and second, for the King’s sake, so that he wouldn’t burn the entire city down because of his raging anger.
“She’s still sleeping, ” Ruen answered plainly, but he had a tense look on his face.
“Do you need anything, Your Majesty? Coffee perhaps?” Jared offered knowing the King would probably pull out an all-nighter this evening, making sure he would be awake when the princess finally opens her eyes.
“Yes, that would do well, Jared, ” he agreed. “Were you able to find any answers?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I have a witness during her abduction. The boy’s name is Lloyd, and he wanted to-”
“I want to see the boy now, ” Ruen interjected.
Lord Jared bent his head and looked down the floor. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but the boy left quickly after I talked to him before we sailed.”
“Why so?”
“Apparently, this boy is an errand boy in the ship of Captain Mock, the Le Voyer.”
“Hmmm, I see.” Ruen released a disappointed exhale.
Lord Jared proceeded to explain everything and all the while, the King’s expression turned solemn.
“General Cain was the one who hired the captain to bring them to the City of Olga yesterday night. The boy was oblivious of who she was but he can tell she was unwilling to be taken aboard the ship. She kept herself inside her room the whole journey, Your Highness. The boy only knew then she was a princess when they arrived at Olga. He said a hooded man ordered the general to take her to a cave, and that was the last time he saw of her.”
“So the general was indeed conniving with the hooded man, ” Ruen remarked, clenching his fists.
“Apparently so, Your Majesty.”
“That explains the continued excavation of the cave after Garlow died.”
Regret filled Ruen’s eyes when he realized it. If he knew then, he would have used all his power to shut down the excavation permanently. He remembered he ordered the excavation to be stopped, but it seemed Cain didn’t do as was ordered.
“Well, uhm, Your Majesty.” Lord Jared looked up, giving the King a worried look. “The boy told me something very important.”
Ruen gave the majordomo a curious brow. “What is it?”
Lord Jared was hesitant at first but decided to tell him anyway. “He overheard the hooded man saying he was going to resurrect the late King using her blood.”
Immediately, the King’s expression turned sour. “Damn it!” he blurted out in rage. “Just as I thought!”
He remembered the hooded man visiting Garlow while he was sick. He knew then that there was something rather odd about the man. The late King never showed any worries about his sickness and his impending death as it seemed he had actually been planning his much-anticipated resurrection.
The Felic book stated that the emerald stone would need a blood sacrifice, but it never mentioned to whose. However, it mentioned the Vhillana Family being its sole guardian. If that statement meant anything, anything at all… that would be connected to the princess for sure.
“We were lucky we got there on time and save Princess Lianne, Your Majesty, ” Lord Jared announced, catching Ruen’s attention. “With that amount of collapse, I don’t think anyone would be able to get out of there alive, ” he added, thinking about the general and the hooded man buried inside the cave. However, there was an uneasy feeling inside him that possibly it wasn’t the case.
“But still, that doesn’t give us any details about what happened to her inside, and how she received that damn wound, ” Ruen hissed in displeasure.
Remembering the chest wound, he cringed. It was a bit long, about five inches in length, but it was just a superficial cut. The doctor in Olga had vouched for that detail, but there was a vein that was severed, hence her adequate blood loss. Ruen always knew Cain had feelings for the princess, but why would he allow the princess to be harmed in the first place? It didn’t add up at all, but the question was enough to gnaw at his nerves.
“Will you ask her when she wakes up, Your Majesty?” Lord Jared queried.
“Yes, I have to, Jared. I need to know.”
***
A dark horizon greeted Lianne as she stood on a cliff. Below it was a hundred-foot drop towards a rocky ledge. The wind was strong and icily cold, but it didn’t seem to affect her. She just stood there, staring blankly into the darkness looking like she was waiting for something or someone.
From out of nowhere, a man’s voice tenderly called out her name. She turned to her back and saw Ruen standing a stone’s throw away from her.
She extended her hands wanting him to hold her, but a sudden horror painted her face as she saw her hands tainted with blood. When she looked down, it was clearer that the blood was coming from the right side of her torso.
An agonized shriek came out of her mouth and in the distance, she heard her name called out again in a strong, hasty fashion.
“LIANNE!”
“Lianne….”
“Lianne.”
Her eyes opened widely when her senses stirred. Her hearing heightened and she could clearly hear someone’s voice speaking her name. A warm hand was holding her left hand tightly like it didn’t want to let go. Though her eyes were still a blur, she carefully scanned the room and with a few efforts of blinks, her gaze rested on the man that was sitting at the edge of the bed.
“Ru-Ruen?” she voiced out, her throat dry.
“Yes, I’m here.” The King inched closer and this time she was able to see his worried expression clearly.
“I… need water.”
Ruen nodded and swiftly, took a glass of water already readied in a tray laid at the bedside table. He carefully propped her head up, assisting her to drink, then placed her back against the comfort of the pillows. He didn’t miss her wincing in pain throughout the whole process though and it made him feel more unsettled.
“Thank you, ” she gently said, staring at him with a great amount of warmth.
Ruen gifted her a smile. He brushed her cheeks with his palm and cleared a tear when a bead escaped her eyes.
“You’re crying, ” Ruen stated.
“I… I had a bad dream.”
“Tell me, so that I can drive it away.”
Lianne looked down and remembered the painful memory with difficulty. “I thought… I thought I died, ” she answered, and then held her breath, waiting for his reply.
Ruen kissed her in the forehead ever so gently in reaction. “You’re here with me now, Lianne, breathing, your heart beating. Don’t be afraid anymore.”
“Ruen…” she sighed, touching his face.
He took that same hand and kissed the knuckles which showed faint scratches and bruises. “You don’t even know how much I was worried, Lianne. I thought you were gone for good. It made me almost insane.”
“I too had the same thought, but I held on the hope that you’d come and find me. Thank you for saving me, Ruen, ” she replied remembering half of her ordeal inside the passageway and remembering him taking her into his arms. However, a gasp of surprise escaped her mouth then. “Oh no! Are you hurt anywhere?”
He shook his head and chuckled. “No, I wasn’t, but you are.”
He looked down at her dressed chest wound while Lianne followed.
The moment she saw it, instantly surge of memories came flooding inside her, memories of back from the time inside the cave. The pillars. The lifeless body of Garlow. The dagger. The blood. Everything! It was beginning to refresh again.
She placed a hand on her chest and cried out in dismay. “No… Ruen!”
The King, seeing the distress in her eyes, comforted her through an embrace.
“Shhhh, don’t be afraid. I’m right here, Lianne. It’s over. It’s over. You’re safe now.”
“I can’t… believe that just because… of greed, my family are all… dead! And now, because of Garlow’s insane… belief, I’m being… dragged again. When will… I be finally free?!”
Ruen could feel her pain. He could hear the tremble in her voice. He could feel her body shaking.
He hissed in anger at the thought of what she went through. She didn’t deserve it. She didn’t deserve it at all.
Clutching her shoulders tightly, he tried to comfort her as much as he could.
“You are free Lianne. Free. But I promise you this. I will protect you, even if it meant my life.”
“How did… everything come to… this? I never knew that… this was the reason… why Garlow had been… keeping me inside the… mansion,” Lianne pointed out, taking in as much of his warmth and scent as possible. Her stare fixed at the French window of the private cabin. Outside it showed a dusky atmosphere. The sky was a hue of bright orange and sky-blue. A sign of early dawn.
“Even Cain changed, ” she added without even knowing that Ruen felt a sudden hostility just by hearing the general’s name.
“Lianne, I would like to know everything that happened when you were inside the cave, ” he requested sternly. His expression turning tense. “I know it will be hard on you, but I need to know. For your sake… and mine. I hope you understand.”
Lianne withdrew from their embrace and met his stare. From there, she could see his flaming anger. She had always known of his hostility towards Cain, but now, this was no ordinary matter. She knew she had to tell him.
A minute of silence surrounded them, and after a while, she finally broke it.
“The hooded man was a priest in Vhillana. He is the one who shared my family’s secret to Garlow. Come to think of it, I don’t even have an idea about that damn secret and here now, it’s actually the main reason why he had to attack my kingdom and kill my family!” She hissed, trying to hold back the tears from falling down. She had to be strong now. She had to face the truth despite how painful it was.
Ruen only remained silent but kept a steady stare on her. It was hard to see her relive the pain, but she had to, for him to find out a better way to protect her.
“Lord Cain helped the priest in abducting me. He was his henchman so to speak, but I couldn’t fathom why.”
“How did you get the wound, Lianne?” Ruen asked abruptly, changing the subject.
“That priest wounded me with a dagger, then took a cup of my blood, ” she answered as she felt another pricking sensation on her wound. “Garlow’s body was lying there Ruen, and for a second I believed that he would come to life once again and reign more terror over this kingdom. I couldn’t live with that! I wouldn’t be able to handle the truth that I helped him succeed in his wicked plans!”
Her tears streamed vigorously down her cheeks. Having to suffer being imprisoned was fine for her, but thinking of the possible many towns and people destroyed and killed just like the City of Olga was another matter.
“What Garlow had done to this kingdom is already enough, ” Ruen stated through clenched teeth. “I will not permit him from doing any further damage. Not even beyond his grave.”
Feeling comforted by his words, Lianne finally felt secure with him. She reached out and placed a hand on his chest, her touch burning his skin. “During those moments, you were always on my mind.”
“I deeply apologize for causing you worry, my princess, and I’m sorry it took me time to save you.”
She smiled slightly, accepting his apology.
He moved closer and cupped her chin, slowly tilting her face to meet his. Then, his lips were upon hers, moving gently and rousing the longing that they both had been keeping.
“Lianne, I love you, ” he whispered in her ear.
Lianne cried even more, but not by the pain but by the happiness of finally being in his arms again.
There was too much destruction under Garlow’s rule, that was a fact everyone couldn’t deny, but in the midst of the chaos, the pain, the hatred, they had found each other. Both hearts abandoned. Both without families to cling to. No warmth to hold onto.
And for that much, Ruen and Lianne had to thank Garlow.