Anciently Forbidden

Chapter 27: Reaching the sea

The group trekked for over three hours before they reached a hill. Vince was quite exhausted carrying Prince Aiji all the way. The prince insisted many times to walk on his own but Vince didn't put him down. Though he felt tired, the prince was injured by him so he should take responsibility. And besides, he also liked the feeling of carrying the prince on his back.

"We are here!" Beni said cheerfully. "At the top of the hill is a hut, you will be safe there. This place is hidden by the massive mountains at the north and west. To the south is my tribe and to the east is the sea, but the seashore is still far away so you don't have to worry, your hut is not visible at the shore." Beni stated.

"We are near the sea?!" The prince exclaimed.

"Yes, our tribe is situated near the sea. Tomorrow, you can watch the sea from the hilltop." Beni said to the excited prince.

"Dari, we have reached the sea!" The excited prince whispered to Vince.

"Yes, we did! Now you can watch how beautiful the sea is." Vince happily responded.

"Aren't you excited too? We've been dreaming about this for a long time!"

"Of course I am." Vince answered cheerfully. He understood Prince Aiji's excitement. The modern him even yearns to reach the sea, how much more the prince who didn't even see an image of it before.

"Hehe... Let's go up then. For sure you will like it there." Beni suggested.

"Dari put me down. It's just a short distance. I will be fine." Prince Aiji insisted. Vince finally put him down, but still held his hand on their way up. Beni led the way with a torch while the soldiers remained at the foot.

In less than half an hour, they reached the top. Vince felt the cool sea breeze. Beni lit a pile of woods, the flame slowly illuminated a hut in front of them. It was finely made and seemed to be newly built.

"Come inside." Beni politely invited as he stepped inside and lit a stone hearth filled with firewood.

Vince and Prince Aiji followed. It's quite spacious inside. They settled themselves near the fire.

"Let's have some food. I had someone prepare this earlier, but it's getting cold. We will just reheat this." Beni said as he took two roasted whole chicken, five huge roasted milkfish, and some boiled root crops.

"Thank you, Beni. You even prepared this much."

"Don't mention it." Beni told Vince.

"Tomorrow we can hunt, we will treat you to a meal." Prince Aiji said.

"No need, I will bring your food every day so you don't have to hunt. We have good fishermen and hunters so you don't have to worry about food."

"But I think that it's too much for us to take." Prince Aiji replied.

"Prince Aiji, you don't have to feel that way. Our family owed Dari's father a lot, so I hope you will accept our kindness so that we can finally feel at ease now. We've been carrying the debt for a long time. My late father was greatly devastated hearing the news of the great king's demise. He was very regretful that he had no chance to repay, so I hope you will feel at ease and take our kindness without hesitation."

"Beni, thank you so much. But I think you should free yourself from that debt now. For sure my father didn't expect anything in return while helping your father before." Vince told Beni. He didn't exactly know Dari's father, but hearing the elder's tale, he assumed that King Danli was a man of great character.

"I know, but I still want to repay now that I have a chance to, so I want you to accept my assistance without reservations." Beni answered.

Beni was sincere, so Vince accepted his offer. "Very well then, if it will put your heart at ease, we will be relying on you from now on. The truth is, we are helpless now and we need your help. We want to get off this island."