Chapter 13

Maria knelt down to my height and cupped my face. I know she was curious about what had happened in that room, but she didn’t really say anything instead she stared at me. She gave me a small kiss on the cheek and left to go to that grumpy old man’s house. As soon as she left, I felt someone watching me. I have been feeling that since the king left.

“Who’s there?” I didn’t get any response back, so I looked over to the place I felt like I was being watched. There was no one there, but a painting. I went up to the painting and scanned it carefully. Was I just imagining it?

“Alex! Want to come to a meeting with papa? Papa is going to meet King Howard and he wants to meet you.”

“King Howard?” I tilted my head a bit out of curiosity. Could the guy I just met be King Howard.

“Yeah. He is the king of Bisea.” I nodded and clapped my hands to show that I am really excited. Why was I visiting royalty back to back today? Why did the King of Bisea specifically want me? A carriage was waiting outside as we went outside. It wasn’t a carriage from the house because there would be a running horse symbol on it, but instead, there was a symbol where a tiger was opening his mouth almost like it was roaring. The carriage had large wheels that made the height between the ground and the bottom of the carriage big.

Albert held my hand and started to help me along the stairs to the carriage. I knew how to go down the stairs by myself, even if there are times that I still stumble over my feet. Once I reached the end of the stairs, I started to get leg pain. I really should start exercising, so I could build up my strength. I knew how to wield a sword, but I needed to get used to my body and strengthen it up. The coachman gave Albert a polite smile before opening the door. Albert tried to pick me up so we could get on, but I pushed away his hand. I needed to do everything myself from now on. 

The step was higher than I could step, so I used my hands to push myself up. When Albert saw me struggling, he reached for me again. I stared up at him and shook my head. I hopped on one of my legs, so it would be easier. I succeeded. The carriage floor was not that high up, so it was easier for me to get on. I could hear the coachman start clapping for me. The seat was easier to get on, too.

I looked out the window to see the city. I never really went out of the house since I got kidnapped. I saw many stores and merchants. There were kids playing with each other on the roads and people laughing and talking with each other. A smile slowly formed on my face as I watched everyone smiling so happily until ten minutes later. We entered the slums. Kids were looking at me, no it was the carriage. They had looked like they wanted it. One of them smiled at me. Before I could smile back, a hand covered my eyes and another hand grabbed me back.

“Why are we going through these filthy slums.” From the tone of his voice, I knew he was angry.

“I’m sorry, duke. The other way is blocked, so we had to take this way to the castle.”

“Fine, but hurry up. I don’t want Alex to see these filthy scums.” In that conversation, I lost most of the respect I had for Albert. I never thought he had such a cruel side to him. Albert closed my eyes till we got to the heart of this kingdom, the palace. It was tall and big like you would expect any castle to be. It wasn’t as big as the kingdom of Flores though. 

Albert took his hands away from me, so I could look back out the window. There were many soldiers stationed everywhere. I saw a bunch of soldiers training. Some of them gave me a little smile as I made eye contact with him. The grass was cleanly cut and the bushes were proportionally cut. It didn’t really take us that long to get to the main palace. 

Albert picked me up and climbed down from the carriage. The coachman did try to lend a hand, but Albert swayed him away with his hand. Albert put me down once he walked up the stairs of the main palace. There were many types of flowers, welcoming us in. There were a soldier and a couple of maids at the front of the door. As we walked through the open hallway and got closer, the maids bowed down in respect. The soldier had a relaxed face and made eye contact with Albert.

“General Alfred!” A small smile formed on the general’s face as Albert called out in a mocking tone and bowed. 

“You know you shouldn’t address me formally anymore. You’re a duke now.” Albert started making a little pout with his lips. This made the general laugh out loud. “I can’t even believe you even became a duke with that behavior of yours.”

I could see the maids started to squirm a bit. It must be hard to keep on bowing so low. 

“Rise.” When I realized my tongue slipped, I looked down. I could feel all the stares that were directed at me.

“He knows how to speak.”

“Well yeah. He is three years old.” 

“We should get going. The king has been waiting for you for a while now.”

“I can’t even believe that scaredy-cat crown prince became a king.” Albert shook his head and Alfred was trying not to laugh. Wasn’t that like slandering a king or something? But they look so chill like it didn’t matter to them. Once Albert stopped laughing from his own words, he took a deep breath. “Then shall we go?”

A cool breeze hit my face as we went inside the main palace. We didn’t see the throne right away, instead, we saw a hall that led to the throne room. Everyone’s footsteps clicked as they walked down the hall. I look down at the floor. It was so polished that I could see my own face. There were many couple portraits throughout the hall. I squinted my eyes to read one of the wooden boxes that were right underneath the portraits.

‘King Salvador and Queen Caline.’

I guess they were the past king and queen of this kingdom. Out of all the portraits, one of them caught my eye. The queen in that portrait was so pale that she was white as snow. Her white glowed in the background light and her eyes were redder than rubies. Something was off about her. I think it was her eyes. It looked dead as if she never experienced any type of happiness. She didn't even smile, even when her husband had smiled brightly next to her. I looked at the wooden plank below it.

‘Queen Eclaire.’

“Announcing that Duke Albert and General Alfred are here.” The next moment the door opened up wide to let us in. I met a pair of cold, blood-red eyes staring, with no emotion.