23. Home at Last

23. Home at Last
It had taken us a year to travel the waters and back. A year of sadness and heartbreak. My men still wouldn’t talk to me, but that didn’t stop me from giving orders to finally head on home. But it proved more difficult than I thought it would.

While traveling to the mainland, a new threat had arisen in the villages. Now that word went around that the Lycans were destroyed, bandits arose to pummel the villages. Killings, rape, stealing, and destroying homes were everywhere. And it was up to me to take control of the situation.

It took us four years to finally get the last of them. Waiting on reinforcements from the king took its toll on the innocent as if my father hadn’t even cared what was happening to his people. My blood boiled with rage at him, but I had to do what he wouldn’t. I was the next king; it was my duty to make sure that my people felt safe in their own homes.

Now I stood here on the hill looking down at the large palace and the people that roamed around in it. They were waiting for my signal, and I couldn’t help but see that they were itching to get to their families they haven’t seen in a decade.

With a small smile I nod my head and immediately they thundered down the hill, calling out happily to their loved ones. I didn’t want to march into the village, they have waited to long for this day. I couldn’t wait to be reunited once again with Hye-Se Young and Seong-Yu Hung. The letters ceased due to traveling to far and I missed her handwriting.

My heart starts racing thinking of the young girl by the pond in the back of my forbidden palace. It was time to learn what had happened to her. Was she married? Did she have children? Did she even live near the palace anymore? So many questions raced through my mind as I let Cho Cho lazily take us straight to my home.

I didn’t want to see my father and I didn’t care that it wasn’t him that I went to first. The man feared me anyways, so what could he possibly do to me? I head to the back way, avoiding everyone I possibly could. No one dared to come this way since it leads to my palace, the forbidden home of the cursed prince.

I gaze up into the trees that were so full of life, the sunlight shifting through the leaves giving it an ethereal glow. The day was pleasantly warm with a cool breeze hitting my skin. I was tired, but I wasn’t in too much of a hurry to get there. I missed this place more than I ever thought I would.

The old beaten path was nearly covered in new growth making me a little sad that the place was hardly ever visited. Without me here the imperial guards didn’t have a reason to visit on occasion. I hope the king didn’t forget that Hye-Se Young was still living here. I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.

I was just allowing Cho Cho to leisurely trot us through the overgrown trail, letting the branches of trees and high brush to hit me gently against the arms and legs without a care in the world. I was just so happy to be home, that in just a few minutes I’ll see the only people who actually cared that I was back.

The smell of healthy, earthy, plant life filled the air all around me, the freshness filling my lungs to full capacity. I loved it, it reminds me of home. The sweet aroma of cherry blossoms as they fill the air with their wonderful fragrance as spring begins anew for the season.

Closing my eyes I embrace the warmth of the sun, allowing my hat to fall on my back as the string catches my throat preventing it to fall to the ground. I shouldn’t let the sun burn my skin, but in times like these I couldn’t help but wanting to feel its gentle caress to warm me up. Having dark skin wasn’t favorable, but at this point I just didn’t care.

Suddenly a blast of sweetness hits my nose making me frown. I wasn’t accustomed to whatever this new smell was, and yet it was also strangely familiar? I couldn’t quite pinpoint what the sweet smell was. I make Cho Cho go a bit faster, letting him guide me as the scent becomes stronger and stronger with the mixture of cherry blossoms.

A sudden immediate feeling comes over me, a weird desperation. A desperation that was becoming so powerful that I begin to shake with anxiety to get there faster. I nearly made Cho Cho run at a gallop, but refrain doing so since we weren’t exactly in an area that he can just run free. Too many trees and rocks were around. And whatever it is was guiding us both off the nearly hidden path and straight to an unknown area I wasn’t familiar with at all.

As the flower smell only becomes overwhelming, the new scent begins to mix in as well. It finally clicked on what the new smell was. A scent of…persimmons. How was it possible that persimmons were growing nearby? They didn’t bare fruit this time of year, only in the fall. Also, if I would have known they were so close to home I would have sneaked out and picked them myself. Once the king discovered they were my absolute favorite he forbid me from ever having any, he was that cruel.

I loved them as a child, but it’s been many years since I have eaten the fruit. With the aroma getting stronger it only drove me more to find its source. I never had a driving force as strong as this one. And the only thing I could think about was finding where it was coming from.

It finally got to a point where I couldn’t go any further with my horse. So, slipping from his back I tethered him to a nearby tree and proceeded to move forward. There was no way I was stopping now. The forest was getting heavier with boulders and rocks, but I was able to maneuver around them until finally I come out into a small glade of Berk trees surrounded by long green grass that gave off an earthly glow. And standing before me was an abandoned building I have never seen before.