More than That || Royai

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

The carriage screeched to a halt, jerking Riza awake from her slumber. Astounded, she looked around frantically, forgetting briefly that she was still on the way to Acrelia, their enemy's territory. She heard Liam curse under his breath.

"Sir Liam, are you alright?"

He nodded, "Yes, of course, princess. I should be the one asking you that."

"I'm fine," she replied, pushing away the curtains to get a better look of their surroundings.

They were currently stranded in the middle of nowhere with one of the carriage's back wheels trapped by a large stone. Riza sighed, somehow predicting this was going to happen; it seemed as if nature itself was trying to warn them of the dangers ahead, but why did it have to be at such an inconvenient time? If she were to estimate, the journey had taken about two days already, which had to mean they were at least somewhat close to the castle.

Her legs were already sore from all the sitting, hence why she hated traveling so much. As a knight, she preferred to do things that involved activity; however, she knew they wouldn't let her out, as much as she wanted to help them.

"Princess, are you alright in there?!" the driver called out to her.

"We are fine, sir!" Sir Liam answered back, pushing the door open. He stepped outside and surveyed the environment while Riza waited inside, a bit anxious.

After what felt like ages, they finally managed to free the wheel, allowing them to move again. The driver announced they would arrive shortly and she could feel herself growing more and more uneasy as they neared the castle. What if she messed up? What if she didn't say the right words? What if she angered the king?

"Hey," came a soft voice. "Don't be nervous, Riza. I know it's hard, but we all believe in you," Liam whispered, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Riza nodded and forced a smile.

"If he tries anything, just tell me and I'll come kick his ass," he added, crossing his arms.

She couldn't help but laugh at such a statement. "If you can, that is," she replied with a grin. "But I think I will be alright. Knowing I have your support is more than enough. And don't forget, Liam, I'm still better at archery."

He muttered something along the lines of 'bully' and turned away, while Riza silently laughed. Soon after, the carriage stopped abruptly and she felt her heart rate increase for a brief second. One of the other knights opened the door for her and she stepped out slowly, her eyes landing on the castle in front of her. It was quite large, being nearly double the size of the castle in Seotis. Being a knight, however, the size of the castle did not intimidate her.

"How are you feeling?" Liam inquired with a worried expression.

"I'm alright," she whispered, brushing past him. Her eyes traveled over to the palace gates, where two guards were standing idly by the entrance. They waited for a while, but no one approached them. She shot Liam a puzzled look. He merely shrugged and pointed at one of the guards. When she nodded, he strode over to the shorter-looking guard and attempted to ask where the king was, but the guard didn't react at all. The man stood still, as if he were a statue, making Liam wonder if the guy was trying to test his patience.

He sighed after several attempts to talk to him. "No luck.." he shrugged as he walked back to Riza.

She sighed too, still deep in thought. "We should wait. Maybe the king had something urgent to attend," she replied, more so reassuring herself than Liam.

Suddenly, there was a faint sound of a sword being unsheathed.

"Princess!" Liam shouted, eyes wide in surprise.

She had barely any time to react before a sword was pressed to her neck. Liam ordered the other knights by the carriage to draw their swords, but it was too late; they were already surrounded.

"Princess, you say?" she heard the man's voice.
His breath tickled her neck, sending shivers down her spine.

"I don't believe I ever answered your king's letter, yet he still ordered you to come?"

"Let go of her, you bastard!" Liam yelled, drawing his sword.

"Don't you dare speak to his majesty that way!" one of the guards hissed, pointing the tip of his sword at Liam.

Majesty? Liam looked taken aback, immediately regretting the words that had just come out of his mouth. He knelt down to the ground and apologized, explaining that they did not wish to fight them.

The king did not look convinced, but released her anyway. "Go back," he said authoritatively, narrowing his eyes at her. "I have no wish to make peace with your kingdom."

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Riza answered, turning to face him. She was instantly met with piercing onyx eyes, nothing like she had ever seen before. His baby faced visage made him look much younger than he actually was and she could tell that such a face could easily deceive others into believing he was innocent when he was far from it.

"I believe that was an order," he replied, slightly more irritated than before. When no one bothered to move, he grew impatient. "If none of you move," he began, looking around. "then I will be forced to execute all of you."

"Why?!" Riza shouted, furious. "We have come all this way just so we could try to renew our peace with you! Is peace such a bad thing? The longer we continue to fight, the more our kingdoms will suffer. Don't you understand? Don't you care about the well-being of your people at all? Not even the slightest?"

"I could care less. They could fend for themselves."

"Is that so? Then, they were not wrong about you after all. You're just a ruthless tyrant who cares about nothing other than himself, even going as far as killing your own parents-"

He grabbed her wrist roughly, pulling her towards his chest and leaned forward, his mouth only inches away from her ear. "If you mention anything about them again, I won't hesitate to turn your little kingdom into ashes," he hissed before releasing his grip.

Riza stood there in silence, figuring it was best not to anger him any further. As much as she wanted to strangle him right then and there, she would be risking her kingdom. She couldn't afford to be reckless—not at a time like this.

"I will only consider making amends with your kingdom if the princess chooses to remain here alone," he glanced at Liam, "with me."

***

I am very very sorry for the late update! I apologize again for the short chapter, but I will try to make the next ones slightly longer. Until then, stay tuned!