The Enchantress

54.

Prince Chaeyoung.

I could now see the dock. I had everything ready. Once we reached the dock, I was cautious of the people there. I was greeted by 3 men. The one in front walked towards me and stopped in front of me.

"Your Highness, please don't be offended as we can't bow to you here. We need to be cautious."

"That's not a problem with me."

"I am Dero, I'm from the Kingdom of Casta. My mom is of Kyria. I am the head of the rebels as well as one of the heads of the Royal guard. She's Keefa of Monit and Januf of Freyo. They're both Royal guards under me."

He led me from the dock towards a carriage. He opened it and we both went in while the two rode their own horses.

Dero gave me a bag. "Your highness, That's something you can change on for the coming days and also to blend in."

"You could all drop the honorifics, someone might hear. In here, I am not a Prince."

Dero smiled. "It'll be hard for we heard a lot about you."

I was surprised to know they heard about me.

"But I understand and should get used to it. How shall I call you?"

"Chae will do."

"By the way, I found a perfect place where you'll stay."

"I hope it's not extravagant, I just need a place to stay somewhere near the castle."

"I understand. We also need to be careful when we come to you. Don't worry it's not extravagant but it'll make you worry less."

I'm not sure if there are things that could make me worry less at this situation.

After an hour we reached Tyrian. I watched by the window how the people were. Not much could be seen outside. The town looked very dry and dull.

"Why does it seem like a ghost town? Where are the people?"

"They're working. Everyone works for the Palace in exchange for food. There's no money here. If a family have more than 3 members, two must work for the palace to sustain all of them. Only the royals and the higher ranks in the palace are living out of poverty."

It's sad to see how poor the people are.

"Here, the King's word is absolute law and no one dares to oppose him. It started with his father. He was greedy he wanted to conquer the other kingdom to get their treasure and expand their kingdom. Jaryu is worst than his father. He was the one who gave the idea of conquering and rule the whole Aevar. He grew in power as one by one he conquered all the kingdoms and took all it's treasures. He's not even contented for he learned how vast and rich Kyria is."

"The rebels have been silently fighting his father and then him for years. I'm a 3rd generation rebel myself who succeeded my grandfather and father in this position."

This is disturbing. They've been fighting in secrecy for years.

"How do you operate?"

"We put torches on roofs of random houses. Once it's lit that's a sign of a meeting. We have 10 different entrances into our secret hideout. Each entrance would be sealed and flooded once an intruder comes in."

"What if a rebel was caught with the intruder?"

"We all know the risk and consequences of our mission." He then looked at me. "After all your kingdoms have united, your reputation have reached Aevar and we all want to meet you and hopefully be led by you..."

"I understand the thirst for freedom for your country, but I don't have the power to do that. I'm sorry to say this, As of now I only have one mission. I'm entirely grateful to you and your men on helping me."

"No need to apologize. Kyria has been helping us through the years. You've been supplying us with food and this is just a token of appreciation." He then leaned nearer. "But I do know it'll be you who'll lead us to freedom. I can feel it, even my father does."

It's too flattering that they admire me this much, but I couldn't do anything for them. I'm actually the one they're helping just to rescue Mina.

We reached the place where I'll be staying. Dero led me to the upper floor and showed me the window.

"You do have a spyglass right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Watch all you can but don't dare to send messages or they'll hunt you. We'll stay low for the meantime. For now rest, for you had a long journey. We'll meet again tomorrow. Have a good night your highness." He said then bowed to me before going down.

What does he mean watch all you can? I went to the window and notice it has the view of the palace. I saw a movement on one of it's rooms. I took my spyglass and look through it.

My breath hitched as I saw Mina passed by the window.

"Mina..." My heart started beating faster as he walked past the window again. It's been days since I last saw her. She appeared to be okay. No bruises, she's neatly clothed but looked sad. She's pacing in her room.

Oh Mina. You don't know how much I've missed you. You're near yet so far.

I want to go there now, snatch her out of there and run away while holding her hand. But I know it's not as easy as it's sound. Dero was right, we need to lie low for now. At least I could see her.

Wait for me Mina. I'll save you.

~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~

Author's Note:

Hi peeps! Sorry if I upload later than usual. I'm so busy with work. I'll try my very best to publish every week. Few chapters remaining on this book so please stay tuned. Thank you all for reading. Stay safe. ✌️🤪