Light from the Shadow

Chapter 34

Ayna and Lord Remwar were still sitting inside his mansion in Solbaru. The house he moved to after his daughter, Ares, married the crown prince, Helten. His old house in Remwar had been left to Ares' brothers to manage. The new house was a gift from his son-in-law so the elderly couple could see their daughter anytime they wanted because he knew his wife's parents would refuse staying under the same roof with the emperor they hated so much.

"You mean you are trying to overthrow the current imperial house and name Rishi the new emperor?" Ayna was startled by what she just heard. She wondered if it was alright for Lord Remwar to utter such brave statement in front of a foreigner like her.

The lord nodded. "It was his to begin with."

"Does Rishi... I mean Prince Taya, know about this?" It felt weird to call the librarian by his other name. And with a royal title in front!

The lord dodged the question. "I'm afraid we don't have much time, Your Highness. Tana Tehra aims to conquer the whole continent and more and more countries have recently fell under Solbaru. If this keeps up and we don't stop him... Remblan will be in danger too." He clenched his fists.

Ayna could predict where this was going. "What do you want me to do?"

Lord Remwar was silent for a moment. "Is magi real?"

The princess did not say anything. She waited.

"The history of it wiping a whole city. Was it true?" He asked.

"You and I know well Remblan is a neutral country." Ayna said.

The Remwar ruler lowered his head. "Your father said the same thing 15 years ago."

"My father?"

"When I went to ask for his help... when I suspected that Tehra was planning something against the imperial family..." The elderly man began to tear up. "I knew the king wouldn't be able to break the agreement for us but I was desperate... Mehari was then the strongest empire in the continent and Tana Tehra was its greatest general. No one could match his military prowess in war."

Lord Remwar got up from his seat and walked to Ayna's side. He lowered himself and sunk his head to the floor.

"My Lord!!" Ayna exclaimed in surprise to see a man knelt before her. She quickly got down to her knees and helped the lord to stand up but he refused.

"I know I'm shameless to beg like this but I have no other choice. Please Your Highness! If the power is true, please help us!"

"But I..." What could she do?

Suddenly a man walked into the room. "My Lord?!!" The man was shocked to see his leader kneeling on the floor. He and Ayna persuaded the elderly man to return to his seat. It took a while before the lord calmed down.

"Is there something?" He knew something had to be urgent for his people to visit his house without prior announcement.

"I heard a knight from Remblan is going to be executed publicly in the square tomorrow! People are talking about it now."

Ayna's mind turned blank. ...Jyaga? The image of her childhood friend being executed sent shivers up her spine.

***

"I don't want to imagine what you were doing with this." Rishi said as he crawled out of a crack on the wall.

Kuan who was already on the other side of the wall, laughed. "Nothing harmful. When I was bored of studying or training, I used to use this route to escape the palace. It's far from the main pavilion and there are fewer guards here."

Rishi cleaned himself from the dead leaves that were stuck in his pants.

"Now that we are out... do you have plans? I'd like to look for the prin..." The prince suggested but was cut by his companion.

"Let's go see Lord Remwar." The librarian said decidedly.

***

"What did you do to my people?" Ayna was shouting. "Release him now!!"

Helten smiled. Just as he predicted, the princess had come to him on her own. "Please sit, Your Highness." He showed her the seat in front of him.

"I have no time for the likes of you!"

The crown prince chuckled. Not many people dared to talk to him in that tone.

"Why are you here? Weren't you locked up by Kuan???" When Ayna found out that Jyaga's execution was ordered by the crown prince, she thought it was strange.

"Why do you think?" Helten asked.

"Where is Kuan?"

"Kuan is waiting for his punishment. He dared to help that man and turned against his own country. If he was found guilty, he could be hung for treason."

Ayna was horrified. "How... how could you? He is your brother!!" She wanted to hit the prince but the guards grabbed her arms as soon as she raised her hands.

"Bear with me for a while, Your Highness. I need you to find him."

"What... what are you trying to do?"

"You'll know soon." Helten smiled and struck her in the neck.