Crowned Prince | hendery

39: The Real Battle of the Kingdoms

The princess was stubbornly guiding the near lifeless crowned prince in her arms. Hendery was much larger than she was, yet she was dragging him along through the depths of the forest that they had passed through just earlier today. The princess did not care that her head would hit against tree branches, nor did she think about how her legs were aching; all that bothered her was Hendery's body as it went cold.

"Stay with me," she whispers as she takes a few steps forward. Although she was sure that she was whispering these words to herself rather than him,. "Hendery," she breathes out his name as her body is much smaller than Hendery's but with the rush of adrenaline, he was carrying him into the cave that they seek shelter in.

"Clear a table!" That was how Illia greets the men within the cave.

Taeha watched as people moved in a hurry to finally open a space for their medic to attend to the needs of the prince. Although the table was cleared there was no one else in that room that dared to touch the prince or carry him to the free table. It wasn't until Taeha noticed that Hendery's weight had gotten lighter on her shoulder that she noticed Illia's help.

Upon placing him on the table, the medics took it upon them to lift the prince's shirt and what Taeha had feared was right in front of her. His bruises were turning purple in color and others a color that was becoming too concerning to even describe. It was so clear that blood was circulating internally in places that it wasn't supposed to be.

Taeha tries to voice out her thoughts, but as her mouth opens there is nothing coming out of them.

"We had arrived at the academy earlier to see that he had fallen to the ground from repeated beatings from prince Misha."

"Prince Misha?" Aisha, the rude girl from earlier, comments on the mentioned name.

"He is their acting lead in command."

"Acting?"

Illia turns to look at Taeha, who continues to look out of it as she watches the medics make due with what limited medical supplies they had on hand to save the prince.

"The princess," Illia's eyes move towards the prince, "explained that the situation must be a lot deeper than it appears."

"What about the royal family, are they truly—"

Illia's silence was enough. If the royal family were still alive, they would have seen glances of them, caught people talking about them, but their absence was concerning and only seems to confirm the first matter that was taken care of when the war broke out.

Aisha's legs go weak as she leans against the cave wall. She blinks a couple of times, trying to hold herself together, but she wasn't doing it as well as she hoped to. She turns to look at Hendery and her expression turn dim. "Then upon the death of the prince—"

"He is not dead." Taeha's first words echo inside the cave, and even the medics that were in panic looked at her. The silence and the words of the princess seem to echo not just between the three nobles at the side but also between the medics who were panicking earlier. "He shall serve as your king."

Illia's head snapped towards Taeha. "Princess, you cannot—"

"He would not have sacrificed his life for the people that relied on him if he could not be a king." Taeha glares at Illia. "He values the people more than he values himself. He is nothing more but replaceable."

"Princess!" This time it was Aisha who called her out.

"Princess, we cannot promise the nation without a king—a king." Illia looks at her with furrowed eyebrows and eyes that search for her.