Ling x Wanwan | Random Story

Chapter 2: Strange Things

Ling was deep in his thoughts. As always. Painfully busy analyzing the problem at hand even at his own coronation's banquet.

He is now the king. His father lies on his royal bed all crumpled like a leaf, and he is becoming another him. Another ruler to fail solving the biggest problem. Another king to rot or worse, die along a dying planet.  And now there is an additional mystery to unravel? Ling's head ached further.

He recalled the girl with golden brown hair who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Who broke his trance only to lead him to have more dizzying conundrums. He remembered her face being blurry and her terrifyingly foreign clothes.

A face marked with brown streaks, and tiger eyes.

The sound of the celebration was a mix of lively songs being played and people cheering for the new king. Almost everyone is drunk. A good opportunity to sneak away from the feast.

After all his curiosity is increasing every time the brunette crosses his thoughts.

~~~

"Look at this girl here, she must be a witch from the wastelands"

"You're right, her face and clothes says it all."

The knights guarding her prison room conversed and laughed as Wanwan cried silent tears. This was a strange place. A very foreign one. This was not her home. She wondered numerous times how she will escape , but never quite finding the right answer as all the other plans she had formed in her head proved themselves improbable.

The prison wasn't an ordinary prison. It can electrify a prisoner who dares to touch the bars. There are several guards along the hallway leading outside. There is only a window but jumping out would result in instant death. Even with her agility and strength there is no way she can survive the fall.

Tears continued to fall from her sullen eyes. Although, almost drowning in her tears, Wanwan doesn't intend to give up.

She stood up and headed toward the open window, she poked her head out and examined the side. It was little and probably insufficient, but the small platform created by the cemented line on the side of the wall outside had proposed to her, a ridiculous idea.

~~~

Ling entered the castle Montella and rode a mana-based elevator up to the high prisons.

The sullen atmosphere of the place greeted the new king. It was all so quiet and brimming with hatred and longing until he saw a soldier running about.

"Y-your majesty!" The soldier looked shocked

"Where are the others?" Ling asked calmly to the noticeably panicking knight in front of him.

The knight immediately answered and bowed down pleading to be spared.

"I-i'm sorry, w-we're sorry your majesty! We have lost her, the witch she disappeared in thin air sir!"

Ling's brows furrowed in annoyance.
This is infuriating. The towers are high and the guards are aplenty, and even the bars are embedded with magic. But the prisoner still disappeared?

He gritted his teeth, disappointed at his self for not anticipating this turn of events.

What if she is a powerful witch from the outside world? An unknown creature possessing great powers?

~~~

Wanwan braved through the cold wind warmed by the blanket she incorporated to her clothes to protect her from the cold. She holds onto the cracks of the wall tightly as her feet walked daintily on the small path created from the design of the wall.

She sees it from afar, the small path is leading toward roofs where she can walk and explore to find an exit or a way down. Even when her legs are shaking from the anxiety of falling from such heights, she continued to walk.

She misses home already. She thought that she must first get herself out of here and think about getting home later. That is if she can find a way.

Wanwan remembered the green hills surrounding a lake. She can still vividly see the dark oak cabin of her parents erected beside it, and her cozy cottage hidden near the Riea falls. The land of Liatris was her home. A place full of fairies and magical creatures who can transform.

It was there where the happiest days of her life transpired. Even the worst one.

Her clutch against the cracks tightened. There's still home to come back to. She assured herself. One strong gush of the wind, however, brought her back to her current situation. The blanket she tied in and around her body like a jacket flew backwards albeit still intact around her. The lightness of the cloth threatened to carry her away along the controlling wind, like a parachute.

She regretted it. She was stupid for bringing this blanket with her. But she was cold. The climate in this foreign land was a stranger itself, whose embrace was something she couldn't welcome even when it had already encased her being within its caress.

Wanwan gritted her teeth. The wind grew stronger in time, whipping upon her face and body. Until it was so strong that it carried her away. A force further encouraged by the blanket she brought, it acted like a parachute and the winds took her away.

~~~

Ling instructed for the alarms to be resounded all throughout the castle. He couldn't risk a stranger, who might be a witch, to be roaming about, knowing powerful beings are dangerous and must be feared.

Although just as his servant was about to leave to trigger the alarms, the blaring sound of it suddenly reverberated, shocking him.

Did something bad already happen? This was his fault. His fault. His fault. He wasn't competent enough. His fault.

Ling overcame his nasty thoughts. A question, however, lingered in his mind. Why is the alarm already blaring?

And then it happened. A flash of light greeted his eyes, until a streak of magical beam made its way toward him, aiming at his heart. Ling threw himself out of its way but he was a bit late. The beam grazed his shoulder and another one was shot. It pierced through his left thigh, making him bleed.

What is happening???
An attack to the castle, to the kingdom?

An attack to the new king?

A rebellion? A coup d'etat?

Ling ran toward the knights asking for help. His injury was minimal but it was bleeding. The knights, however, tried to capture Ling, pointing their spears to him. It was all unexpected. He didn't know what to do nor who to suspect whoever is behind this. After all, even the knights, 'his knights', couldn't be trusted.

Ling held his royal emblem tightly and whispered a chant. A spell to teleport. 

"Isyller amis"

Blue smoke rose from the ground where he was standing, and it grew into a poisonous mist. The knights ran away in retreat.

~~~

Ling stumbled upon near the river right outside the castle walls as he appeared out of nowhere. He ripped a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around his thigh to control the bleeding.

He then washed his hands in the river, getting rid of the blood that has latched onto it.

He moved quickly right after. The troubled king didn't know what to do or who to trust. After all, how can the kingdom who loved him so much do this to him?

He decided he needs to gather fruits from the trees for survival. So he headed toward the apple trees. A bizarre sight greeted him right away even from a distance. As he got closer the picture got clearer. There atop an unsuspecting apple tree, lies a brunette whose hair was tied up into two buns, one at each side of her head, struggling from getting stranded on the branches and twigs. Seeing the markings on her face and her tiger eyes, this is no doubt the  witch.