Kingdom: Another World

Chapter 38: Realization

"Oh, yeah? Where are Vice and Rio?" I heard Emil asked.

I stopped.

"Hmm?" Emil muttered when he saw Oril, Chris and Phillix looked at each other.

They shrugged.

"Dunno. They must have gone to wait for the West king." Chris answered.

"Oh. You're right." Emil said. "I'll join Sydril, then." He said and went out.

Silence filled my room.

"Yelena." Phillix called. "Did something happen between you and Vice - ?" he asked.

I didn't answer. He sighed and didn't ask me again.

…

"It really looks good on you." Chris praised. Phillix took a picture of me.

I just rolled my eyes. They just laughed.

"Yelena? Woah! I almost didn't recognize you!" Rio said when we saw her flying towards us. Her cheeks flushed red. "That really looked better on you." He said and smiled. Her glow became pink.

"Hey. Get a hold of yourself or Oril will get mad at you – " I told her and we all laughed. "Vice…" I called when I looked at her.

She forced a smile. "You really look like a princess now." She said. "Not like a muddy person when I first saw you – " she said and laughed.

"Huh? What? What happened? How did you meet Yelena?" they all asked her. She told them she saw me in the forest, drowned in quagmire. They all laughed.

I smiled. We're better off this way – I thought. I clutched my chest when it hurt. The corner of my eyes watered. Argh! s**t! Why do I feel like crying? I'm just attracted to her, aren't I? I thought. So why - ?

"Yelena?" I heard Vice called. "What's wrong? Why do you look like you'll cry – ?" she asked, worried. She was about to touch my face when she stopped. "Sorry." she said and pulled back her hand.

I smiled. "Ah. No." I said. "Sorry. I'm just crying. It's the first time I wore this so I'm overjoyed – " I said, and laughed.

"Yelena, you're like a kid – " Phillix said. We laughed. I saw Phillix sighed. "Yelena." He whispered. "You just realized what you really feel, haven't you?" he asked.

I froze, then my tears fell. "Yeah." I sniffed.

"Woah! She really did cry!" Rio said and laughed.

They all laughed at me. I pouted. These times are my acting skills the best used. I thought. "You meanie - !" I said and rubbed my eyes. They laughed. I just had to laugh at the pain that I felt. I thought. Because it's too late.

"Yelena…" I heard Rio's voice inside my head. "Hang in there." she said.

I looked at her. She's laughing with the others. I smiled.

"Princess." It was Chris. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm okay." I muttered.

"That's great." she said.

I smiled. "You're all so nice, guys…" I said. They all stopped and looked at me. I smiled. "Thanks for being my friend." I said and my tears fell.

"Hey, hey!" Chris said. "Why should you cry? It's not as if you're leaving, right?" she asked.

I chuckled. "Yeah. I won't leave…" I said and looked at Vice. I closed my eyes and smiled sadly. "Yeah. I won't leave…" I said.

…

"Welcome to the East Kingdom, Your Majesty." Phillix said, he's standing beside me as we welcome the West King. "We're deeply grateful for your presence." He added and bowed down to the West king.

The West king nodded. "Well, then. Let's all start the meeting." He said.

…

"I haven't started the quest to find Ria for two things." I started, sitting in the high chair. We're having a meeting regarding the evil king and saving Vincent.

They're all looking at me.

I sighed. "First of all, I don't know what is the evil king." I said. "Is he a monster? A dragon? A spirit? Or – " I said and looked at all of them. " – a human like us?" I asked.

They gasped.

"And second, I haven't started because I don't know where to find the evil king. How can I start if I don't know where I'm going?" I asked.

The West king nodded. "That's right." He said. "We have so little information regarding the evil king." He sighed.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I started researching in the library a week after I came back. I still haven't found one." I said. "That's all." I finished.

Silence filled the hall.

I sighed and turned to Phillix. "Sage, if you may." I said.

Phillix nodded. They all looked at him, confused.

Phillix cleared his throat. "Greetings. If you still don't know me, I'll introduce myself again." He made a slight bow as he placed his hand on his chest. "I'm the Sage's son, Phillix." He said. "I came here to aid the princess in order to fulfill the prophecy." He took a deep breath.

They all nodded.

"To start, I'll share with you all the things I know about the evil king." Phillix said. "My creator, the great sage, first encountered the evil king when she was little. She's an alchemist, yet she can't fight him since she was a kid and she doesn't know how to control her powers. Her home… was gone in just a night." He said.

They're all shocked. I grimaced. I'm thankful he shared these all to me beforehand… I thought.

"And so to repent her sin for not saving her people, she built this country." Phillix continued. "But twenty years ago, the evil king appeared again. And this time, she fought him with her life. And so, the country was saved, even if it was split into two." He took a deep breath. "In order to fulfill her last wish, which is to see the country as one again, she made the prophecy." He said. "But the thing in question here is, the evil king. When my creator died, all her memories were transferred to me when she created me. And thus, I can say – " he looked at them. " – the evil king that appeared 18 years ago was the second one."

They all were shocked. "What?!"