Honey : The Empire's Treasure 431 On the Lamb?

"He will be once we arrive at his manor…" She told them as she held her head in dismay.

"Did the King do this?" She asked after a moment.

"En...we believe so. When we all realized that you and Prince Ailwin had left the banquet, we ran out to look for the two of you…" Saavi paused remembering the terrified feeling she felt when she found out Mikaela was missing.

"...When we found Prince Ailwin, he was facing off against the King and another male." She finished.

"Another male?" Mika questioned, she remembered seeing the King's steward leave before the him at the gardens. Who is this other male?

"We can't identify him, but I can tell you this...he is powerful." Jaonos answered.

When they arrived at the scene in the corridor, Jaonos felt as if he was trying to push through a stone wall when he tried to peered at the other male beside the King.

"Did he seem like a servant in the palace? A guard, maybe?"

"No…" Jaonos hesitantly answered.

"Why? Why do you say no?" Mika was all serious when asking about the other male.

"...It felt like he was stopping the King from killing Prince Ailwin and us." Jaonos answered truthfully. 

They had all heard him calling out the King's name in anger.

"He was yelled at him, saying the King promised 'them'." Jaonos recalled Rychell' and Voron's conversation in the corridor.

"Them?" Mika didn't understand who this other guy could be.

"En...we don't know who 'them' are?" 

Mika closed her eyes, thinking back to everything that has happen, Am I missing something? Are more enemies than we originally thought…and why would they want to save Ailwin?

Too many questions were going through her mind, for her to focus on seeking answers right now, she left them in the back of her head for later.

Opening her eyes, she stared at Ailwin's pallid face, and felt a tremble go through her chest. She could have lost him tonight.

Smoothing his messy hair from his face, she corrected herself. We could have died tonight.

Seeing Mika wasn't asking them anymore questions, Saavi wanted to know what happen to her at the banquet that is wasn't with Ailwin.

"Mika…"

"Hmm?" 

"What happened? Why were you and Prince Ailwin separated from each other?" She and Jaonos stared at Mikaela, waiting for an answer.

Mika glanced at their faces then thought about what happened in the imperial gardens.

When she felt the King's presence behind her, every fiber in her body told her to get away. However, he was next to her and the look in his eyes told that the minute she tries to runs, she was dead.

Keeping her cool, she attempted to buy some time for her to think of chance to escape. Despite knowing her game plan, her temper got in her way.

Mika, softly smiled to herself. If mother were to have seen what happened see her lose her cool tonight, she would have killed me before the King could.

The first attack King Rychell sent her way, hurt. It was fast, adrupt and accurate. She suspected, the King didn't want the whole palace to know what he was doing, so he used a more subtle attack against her.

When the second attack happened and she was falling to the ground, she saw her chance. Using an incantation and her Fae dust, she created a illusion of a body double made from the gardens' soil. 

It was tricky as the her body double was made crudly of dirt and she didn't know how long the Fae dust would work on the King, or if at all. Mika needed to hide her presence and also stay within a couple of meters, to operate her body double so the King couldn't catch on to the swap.

The whole ordeal drained her of her energy. Luckily, the King left shortly after killing of 'her'. 

Left by herself again in the gardens, Mikaela had to find her way to Ailwin's shuttle since she couldn't go back to the banquet now that she is 'dead'.

Exhausted and aching from the King's first two attacks, she walked in the direction she saw the King's steward go, she found some royal guards who she followed towards the palace's plaza.

Staying to the shadows, she swiftly found Ailwin's shuttle just as Braeden, with his troops, showed up at palace's gates.

Unlocking the doors, Mikaela treated her injuries and ate some medicine before storing herself in the side compartment used for holding large cargo on the shuttle.

"The King actually wanted to kill you…" Saavi stated, after listening to Mika's story and seeing the evidence of her disheveled appearance and torn gown. 

"En." Mika calmly replied. She wasn't shock by the attack, but obviously Saavi was.

Which is understandable considering Saavi was living a leisurely life of a maid in the Amara clan before this.

Saavi stared at Mika and couldn't understand why she could be so calm about this. She could understand why Jaonos wasn't afraid, due to witnessing his whole family getting murdered, but why was Mika acting this way?

Little did Saavi know that Mika would have been just as shaken as she is if she didn't experience death once already.

Worried that both Mika and Prince were heavily injured, Saavi suggested they go to back to the academy. "Isn't it better to go to the school, they have a fully equipped healing center there."

"No, he won't make it that far." Mika said taking Ailwin's pulse again.

"...but the Prince's manor would be too obivous, no?" Jaonos asked.

"It is, but it's still the closest safe place for him to get treated."

"We are going to leave the city?" Jaonos asked, remembering the warship left at the prince's manor.

"No. Just him."

"Why? Shouldn't we think of evacuating the city if the King is trying to kill you…!" Saavi shouted not understand this conversation they were having to their monarch trying to kill them.

Chapter end