Elena stood by the kingdom gates, waving goodbye to those who had come out to see her.
Her grandparents were still in the castle, as it was inconvenient for them to see her out. Her
grandmother had cried and hugged her tightly when she was leaving, and she promised her
grandmother that she would be back. She also made her grandmother promise to be strong for
her and her grandfather. She wanted to come back to a lively castle. Her grandmother had
nodded her head, adhering to her wish.
Mac and Wazir had followed her and Forest to the kingdom's gates. Forest was adamant
about not leaving her alone, and Elena surmised that he was still in trauma from her kidnap
incident. Mac was trying so hard to hide his tears, and so Elena promised him to try and create a
branch of the Red Queen's restaurant in the kingdom of Tush, making his dreams come to life.
Mac immediately brightened and stopped his tearing, enveloping her in a big hug. Wazir also
hugged her tightly, which she returned, but Forest, for his life, didn't want to get close to Wazir.
Elena had snickered. The poor man had been tortured enough by Wazir.
She mounted her horse and turned to face Forest, who had already climbed his, and with
one final goodbye, she made her way out of the kingdom of Neba. Once she left the gate, she and
Forest headed east towards the Kingdom of Tush. According to her grandfather, it would take
them three days before they reached the southern part of the kingdom. That would be their first
entrance into the kingdom of Tush. They are to ride straight for another two days if they wish to
arrive at the northern kingdom early. They rode for three days straight, only taking intermittent
rest, before they finally reached the border town of the kingdom of Tush.
The Kingdom of Neba
Back at the palace...
The king was in his study, signing off some documents. A map was laid widely open atop
his desk, and some little stone mannequins were arranged strategically. The Queen burst into the
room, startling the king from his work. When he saw his wife, he stood up immediately and left
his desk to help her.
"I'm fine." The Queen said when the king reached her.
"Is anything wrong?" The king asked, genuinely worried. The Queen's face was
scrunched up in anger, and the king could feel that he was the cause of her reaction.
"Did I do anything wrong?" The king asked nervously.
"You ask yourself. Did you do anything wrong?"
The king gulped. There were so many things he had done wrong that his wife would
disapprove of, so he didn't know where to start. He meekly bowed his head in front of his wife.
The Queen released a sigh at his submissive behavior.
"Why didn't you tell me that the kingdom was in danger?"
The king raised his head immediately, a serious expression on his face.
"Who told you?"
"Certainly not Wazir. And besides, you know I have ways of finding all these out. But it
was so obvious with the number of times your war generals have entered your study room these
past days."
"I didn't know you were keeping an eye on me."
"I wasn't. I merely wanted to visit you, but anytime I came, you were always in a meeting
with those men."
"But darling, you know you can enter at any time!" The king said, looking aggrieved.
"I know. But I figured that since it was with your army generals it had to be something
important. It was just now in the privacy of my room that I put two and two together."
The king looked at his wife, waiting for her to continue.
"That was the main reason you sent Elena away isn't it? Not just to practice for her
revenge, but so that you could protect her."
The king sighed, nodding his head defeatedly. The Queen moved to the visitor's seat in
the king's study. The king stood beside her, helping her to settle down.
"Who are they?" She suddenly asked.
"We don't know. But word goes around that they wear nothing but white garments, with a
white hood over their heads."
"Have there been any records of them attacking the people?"
The king shook his head. "None. Although the information has it that they would start
their attack in the coming week. A poor conjecture, but at least done by one with clairvoyance.
"By clairvoyance, you mean?" The Queen asked, looking at her husband seriously. Her
husband nodded his head, his expression mirroring that of his wife.
"Hmmm," the Queen exclaimed, tapping her hands softly on the desk.
"I doubt that we have done anything to bring about the harm of our kingdom, and though
I am not saying they we are one without enemies, this attack is much too calculated. Pray tell,
have you checked in with our neighbouring kingdom? Something tells me this is more than just a
normal attack." The Queen reasoned, waiting for her husband's response. When she didn't get it,
she looked up at him only to see him grinning widely at her.
"Darling, I have missed you so much!" He said, bursting into tears. The Queen was taken
aback by his outburst, but she still dragged the king into a hug.
"Oh my, stop this at once. You're a king remember?" She chided lightly, slowly caressing
the king's back. The king nodded his head, muffling his choking sobs by the Queen's shoulder.
"I'm sorry too. For leaving you for so long." The Queen whispered after a while. The
sounds of muffled sobs and quiet consoling filled the huge room, wrapping it in an aura of relief.
*****
Somewhere in the kingdom of Neba...
Wazir stood behind the hidden alleyway, leaning against a wall while whistling to
himself as he kicked away clumps of sand. He constantly looked around as if waiting for
someone. After a while, he sighed and faced the sun, frowning when he saw how low it was in
the sky. He grunted angrily and pushed himself off the wall, heading out of the area.
Suddenly, a being shone and popped out of the air right in front of him.
"Oh heavens!" Wazir exclaimed, holding his hand to his chest as he tried to calm his
beating heart.
"You couldn't take the normal human route?" He asked his visitor.
She had white hair flowing all the wait to her ankles. On her right hand was a plain
wooden staff. She stood proudly, merely reaching Wazir's chin. Her eyes had no pupils, leaving
only the whites of her eyes. Yet as uncanny as that seemed, Wazir felt she could stare deep into
his soul. Her face was young, she was probably around the same age or a little bit older than
Elena, but something told Wazir that it was just a mask she had put on to hide her actual features.
She bent her head, looking at Wazir quizzically.
Wazir sighed, dropping his hands from his chest.
"Why have you come?" He asked her, his face suddenly serious. She remained quiet and
instead continued staring at Wazir. When he was close to being fed up with her incessant stare,
she opened her mouth and replied,
"Son of sight, it is time."
*****
The Kingdom of Pres.
The King's Palace…
The Queen entered the room, closing the door tightly shut behind her. She walked
towards the figure atop the bed, handing him a huge towel. He took it, nodding his head as a
form of appreciation.
"Navina," the figure called out after a while. "It has been three days since we came here,
yet still we haven't had a proper audience with his Majesty. I know you wish to take your time to
welcome us, but I know you well my dear sister." He rubbed the towel softly on his head.
"You are hiding something." He declared. Queen Navina gulped, looking at her brother in
awe and guilt. She bowed her head and sat down by the bed, placing her tightly joined hands on
her lap. Her brother, noticing her expression, walked towards her and stood at her front.
"You know you can tell me, anything sister." He said, moving his hands towards her
cheek and dragging her face up to meet his stare. He looked at her, silently urging her to confess
her guilt.
She released a deep sigh and placed her hands on her brother's hand, the one he put on
her face.
"Truthfully, the king doesn't know about ever seeking the help of the Allikans." Her
brother scrunched his eyes, confused.
"And why is that?"
She rereleased a deep sigh and bowed her head, not able to look her brother in the eye.
"It was of my doing." Her brother looked at her curiously.
"Explain."
"Remember that period when you were training to take the warriors exams? I had told
you of a man I wanted to marry."
Her brother raised his brows. "And I suppose that man is the king?" Navina nodded her
head.
"Yes, he was. But sadly, he wouldn't have me." Her brother kept quiet, waiting for her to
go on.
"Whenever I made my advances, he kept on insisting that I stop my foolishness as he had
his love waiting for him back home. I thought that was stupid. Here he was, clearly seeking help
from our leader to defeat his brothers, and meanwhile, his love just sat back doing nothing for
him. I knew I could help him. I knew I could make him become a better person than he was. All
he just needed to do was to accept me. But he didn't."
"He had a meeting one day with the head of the clan, and I do not know what was
proposed of him, but he went out of our clan angrily–"
"One thing that I am curious of sister," her brother cut in, "Is of how he knew about us.
We were still hidden, bidding our time before we began the great purge."
"Even I do not know. When asked, he said that he doesn't even know how he found
himself there, just that someone directed him to our hideout, telling him that we are the strength
and voice of the King of Tush."
"Hmm, so even he didn't know our true identity then." The Queen nodded her head.
"I went to meet him when he was about departing, and I got him to stay for one more
night, promising him that I would talk to elders for his sake. He disagreed, saying that he didn't
want to be indebted t me. I insisted, begging him whilst telling him that even if he doesn't accept
my feelings, he should at least allow me to help him in this small matter. He hesitated at first but
then agreed albeit reluctantly. I was very happy that finally, I could do something for the man
that caught my eye."
"I did a little digging and found out that the elders declared that they would only help him
if he married one of their own, and also would support them when the day came. He disagreed at
the first mention of the deal, saying that he cannot bear to marry a second wife, as he loved his
first wife too much for that."
"I was so sad and envious of the woman who had stolen his heart. I imagined me being
the one who received all of his attention and sadly, I knew that wouldn't happen. Except of
course, if another method was adopted."
Her brother scrunched his eyes. "Another method? What do you mean?"
"I met with the chosen one brother." She declared after a moment of silence. Her brother
gasped loudly, shock and fear evident in his eyes.
"No. Please tell me that what I am hearing is wrong."
The Queen shook her head slowly, clasping and unclasping her hands on her laps.
"I got her to give me the Blood."
"Oh, Navina!" Her brother exclaimed, dragging his hands through his tattooed head. She
continued bravely, despite already feeling the severity of her actions.
"I went to the king, giving him the Blood under the guise that it was a powerful potion
used by our warriors, capable of giving them intense strength. He was reluctant at first, but I
urged him to take it, swearing on my life that it wasn't poison."
"He took it at the end, hesitatingly, but his shock could be felt all over the room when
suddenly he was able to make use of magic, albeit a little, and was ten times stronger and faster
than he was normally. He was so happy, and I was proud and happy, knowing that I had done
something for him.
Her brother looked at her gravely and said, "But at the cost of his freedom. Little did he
know that once he drank that which you gave him, he was susceptible to the power of the chosen
one, easily made as one of her minions and doing exactly as she bids. And I can only guess what
you asked her to do to him."
Gulping, the Queen shivered and replied slowly,
"I asked her to make him adhere to every wish of mine. With no questions asked or any
suspicions held..."