The Scarlet Phoenix and the Prince of Winter

Chapter Twenty Seven

The journey back to the Palace was quiet and scary. It was quiet because the Crown Prince was sleeping beside me, his head leaning over the window. I guess he was very tired from all that he did just to get the two of us out there alive.

Imagine having to carry another human being while fighting those goons. I may not be that heavy but still, my weight was not a joke if you were trying to fend off those evil guys that were trying to capture us. The Crown Prince really shocked and impressed me. I know that I was already biased in the first place, but I was also sure that even a bystander who could have seen what he did back there earlier would have not believed what he or she saw.

The Crown Prince not only threw those daggers accurately at his moving targets, but he also managed to remain standing when some of those men were able to go near him and attack him with their weapons. It is not a common skill to be that strong-willed and to be dangerously powerful in that kind of situation. It was then that I realized how excellent he is in any field that he can do. Truly a great King in the making.

Thanks to him, we managed to survive that ambush attack. But still, even if we were now heading back to the Palace, I could not help myself from getting scared and all. What if someone stops this snow carriage and then attacks us again? Will the Crown Prince still be able to defend us from them? As much as I believe greatly in his capabilities I think that he would not be able to repeat that feat that easily in case someone attacks us again. I think he already used up his strength for the day, that is why he is now fast asleep beside me.

I looked at him worriedly while he sleeps quietly. I watch him breathe and pray that we also manage to return home safely and that nothing bad happens. His face was peaceful and handsome and I think I will not be able to forgive myself if something bad happened to him back there at Kajos.

Why did we even go there? It was clearly a trap, now that I think of it. Even a child would realize that those guys were waiting for us to show up and get this golden bracelet from that secret hiding place behind the house's old tapestry. It was frustrating to think that whoever was behind this managed to lure Prince Kao to go there with me.

I bet my whole life that it was their main goal the whole time. The reason why they let themselves to be seen there, circling and staying suspiciously there near the house was for us to get wind of that so that we would go to that ancestral house. It was a very clever trap that they set for us and we gladly bit it.

But if that was what really happened, then a very big question needs to be answered. Who is the person behind this? I don't think that those goons were acting on their own. Because if they did, then they would have known what was there in that ancestral house that they have to get from us once we manage to retrieve it safely. Someone else is behind this, and the scary part is this unknown person knows a lot about me and my family.

To be honest, I don't know what to think anymore. My Aunt is still missing and I believe that she was abducted. But if her abductor is the same person that was behind that trap in Kajos or a separate person, I don't know. I am so clueless and I hate it. I have never been this scared for my life, and I'm pretty sure that if it wasn't for the Crown Prince I think I would have been abducted too. Or worse, killed.

The Crown Prince woke up minutes before we arrive at the Palace. He still looked restless and a little bit groggy from the nap that he just took. "Why do you look so pale?" he asked me first when he saw me beside him sitting as stiff as wood. "Are you still afraid that someone might attack us here?"

I nodded because I know that there was no point in hiding my fears from him. He is the only person that knows all of these things so even if he's the Crown Prince, I have no choice but to share with him how I feel. That's the only thing I can offer to him right now, my genuine reaction and feelings towards what just happened.

"Don't worry, we are safe now. No one can enter this area if you're not someone from the Palace," he said softly. I know that he was trying to comfort me and I hate to admit it, but it was not really effective this time. Whoever this person is, this person behind that Kajos trap or the person who took my Aunt--- I think I will remain afraid of him or her until he or she gets caught. That is the only way this anxiety and paranoia of mine evaporates.

And I think Prince Kao knows this because he suddenly held my hand to which I was very much surprised. Blood rose to my cheeks from what he was doing right now. I mean, what is this? Why is he holding my hand? He doesn't usually do this!

Before I could even speak, he took a deep breath and looked at me softly while still holding my hand. "Rainha, I am sorry for what happened. I take responsibility for what happened. Because of my selfish act of wanting to go there, I exposed you to a terrifying scene and experience and I would never be able to take it back from you. So again, I want to apologize for dragging you there..."

I could not believe what I was hearing. So he's apologizing! "B-But I also wanted to go there... I actually believed that we would find a clue about Aunt Milca's whereabouts there... But I was wrong. We were both wrong. It was a trap---"

"I know," he said, gripping my hand tightly which almost gave me a heart attack. "I should have realized it sooner. I should have guessed that they were there waiting for us to get that bracelet. But I did not saw that coming. I failed you and put you into trouble. And now it has cost you your mental peace."

"I will be okay," I said, trying to smile so that he'll be convinced that I will not break down from that. I don't want him to feel guilty. That's the last thing that I wanted to do. "Don't worry too much about me. I can handle this."

He smiled at me and for me that was everything. "I know that you are a strong woman, Rainha. But still, you don't deserve this stress that I have given you. I wish that you'll forgive me for bringing you there."

I shook my head. "I forgive you, Prince Kao. Besides, I was never angry with what you did in the first place. You just saved me from those bad guys. You were incredible in that battle. I should have believed in you more back there. I thought that both of us were going to die."

This time it was his turn to shake his head. "That's the only thing that I was thinking when I was fighting those guys. They were saying that they needed you, right? I bet that if given the chance, they would have taken you with them. And that was my mission. I was not going to surrender you to them. Not even in their wildest dreams."

My mouth was in a perfect 'O' when I heard him say that. How is it possible that he makes me fall in love with him again and again and again? The Crown Prince has this ability to say and make things that make my heart flutter and seriously, I don't like what is happening anymore. It is as if I was born to be his number one supporter, follower, and secret admirer. Is there anything with him that will undo all these feelings that I have for him? I guess not.

The snow carriage finally stopped in one of the sheds where these vehicles were kept, and the two of us went down silently with our faces covered by hoods and masks. The Crown Prince reminded the coach of the carriage (which was one of his loyal Royal Guard subordinates) not to tell anyone about this trip. Then we stealthily trekked back to one of the back entrances of the castle.

When we reached the main landing, just outside the main gate, we stopped after checking that no one else was here other than us. "Rainha, this is where we have to part ways. I don't want anybody from the Palace to see the two of us together. That would be very dangerous for you."

I nodded, although the wild side of me wanted for us to get seen by somebody so that they would know who the Crown Prince was 'seeing.' I had to bite my lower lip again so that I would stop grinning from that horrible and naughty thought. "I know. You should go first," I said to him. "I can just walk a little later and tell whoever will see me that I just went to get some linen from the laundry shed."

He nodded and he looked pleased with my possible alibi. "That's a good idea! But I think it will be better if you'll be the one to go first."

"Why?"

"I am not going back to my room yet," he admitted.

That made me curious. "Then where are you going? Don't tell me that you are still planning on going somewhere dangerous?"

"Well, I need to go to the dungeons."

"The dungeons? At this hour? Why?"

"This is the only chance that I have to go there. You know how the Palace has its own eyes and ears during the day, right? And I don't want anybody else to know that I went there."

"But why? What are you planning, Prince Kao?"

"It's that golden bracelet of yours," he said to me which surprised me again. "I have to research about it as soon as possible."

"Can it not wait for tomo---"

He immediately shook his head making me pause in mid-sentence. "Certainly not, Rainha. I can't wait for tomorrow. I need to know something about it now."

"Okay... But why do you have to go to the dungeons? Why there?" I asked curiously even if I know that it was certainly a question that a court servant like me should not ask a Royal Family member like him. But I can justify my question. Normally, if the Crown Prince wanted to know or have to research about something, he would go first to the libraries on the castle. You can find anything there, almost any topic. So why the dungeons?

As far as I know, the dungeon houses several key rooms that only some high-ranking officials could access. One of these important rooms that are located in the dungeons is the armory, where the Royal Guards store their weapons. It is also where the main prison cell is located, which houses about a hundred criminals. Criminality in Aure is really low because of Prince Kao's radical initiatives lately.

"I have to talk to one of the prisoners there," he told me.

"What? Who?"

"An old man called Tyroh. If I remember correctly before he became a criminal he was a blacksmith so I think he can tell me something about the bracelet of yours."

"A blacksmith? What's that? Someone who makes weapon?"

"Yes, but also someone who makes things, in general, using metals."

"Oh. And you think that he knows something about the golden bracelet?"

Prince Kao nodded. "That is what I think. So I have to go to him and ask him personally about what he knows about that bracelet. I might get the answers we needed. Which reminds me, I have to borrow the bracelet from you, Rainha. I want to show it to him personally."

"Oh, alright."

"I'll return it to you, don't worry."

I shook my head. "Oh no, did I made you feel that I was having second thoughts of letting you borrow it? Of course, I trust you, Prince Kao!"

He smiled cheekily at that. "Well, if you completely trust me, you have to doubt me too. You have to doubt everyone in your surroundings, Rainha, I think that this person who is behind all these bad things knows you personally."

"That's what I was thinking too," I told him. "But I completely trust you. There is no reason for me not to trust you. Or else..."

"Or else?"

"Or else I will spread the word that I am the woman that you are seeing," I joked. "If you did not return the golden bracelet."

He laughed loudly at that, and I have to shut him up by covering his mouth with my hand in case somebody hears us. When he became quiet, I handed him the bracelet and he put it inside his coat where he was hiding those daggers of his. Then he told me that he was already leaving. He went inside the castle first despite his protests that I should go inside first.

It was a good thing that I managed to convince him that he needed to reach the dungeons before someone else will see him. The Royal Guards might pretend that they did not saw him through his orders but what if someone else spotted him? That would be problematic.

I was thinking about the possible rumors that would spread in case somebody sees the two of us together all the way to my headquarters. It was quiet when I opened the door, and I was about to tiptoe to my bed when I heard someone started to talk.

"And where have you been, Rainha?" Jang, my best friend asked, who happened to be in front of me. Her eyebrows were raised and her arms were folded. I was doomed.