Terregrell Kingdom is one of the richest and most abundant kingdom in the world. It is also a peaceful place where the people are free from war and poverty. It's almost perfect if you ask me. But there is just one tiny problem that people tend to overlook.
I am Prince Dervlon, people say that royals doesn't see the world like how civilians do, but it kinda feels like I'm the only one who sees the world the most like a civilian than any civilian does.
You see, people here are born with two types of eye pupils, a cross or a pitchfork, or as we like to call it——Cross-eyes and Fork-eyes. Though we aren't any different from each other, other than our eye pupils, the treatment both parties get have a huge difference.
Cross-eyed people are free, protected, a blessing that needs proper care, whereas Fork-eyed people are like prisoners, either enslaved, or dead. It's…odd, most of them seem to have done nothing wrong at all, but I heard my dad said something about a huge group of Fork-eye declaring to overthrow the kingdom in the name of every Fork-eye and caused terrorism everywhere.
I mean that's kinda true and wrong at the same time…? But whatever, who am I to judge the king?
I got off the balcony into my bedroom and lied face down on my bed, groaning in boredom when my dad walked in.
"Son, I have something to discuss with you." He said.
"What is it, dad?" I lifted my head and looked at him.
"Dervlon, I'm already a man with a face covered in wrinkles, I think it's time I get down from the throne and let the next generation take over, and I want you to do it." Dad said it like a wise old Chinese master.
Of course, I wasn't interested at all, so I complained, "Huh? Why do I have to do it? Can't you pick any other of my brothers? What about Servetye? Or even Ardreq? They're a better pick!"
"True king rules not with talent, but with love and respect. That's one thing that makes you stand out from your brothers."
Love and respect? Like I have that, I scoffed and said, "But I'm not really interested tho…"
Suddenly, Dad's face turned dark, blood vessels visibly pop out on his forehead, "Well son, your choice is not my problem, for I will make you king," he stepped outside my room and grabbed the door handle, "no matter what!" He slammed it. Damn, dad sure is fierce.
But being king is soooo boring, I'll have to work all day, keep the kingdom in peace, have a great responsibility…ugh, not for me.
I decided to clear my mind from the thought by taking a stroll through the kingdom. It was lively, like usual. But the part I hated the most is that everywhere I go, the civilians who see me always bow to me, every one of them. Like I know I'm the prince but, can't they just leave me alone, even just once?
Just then, one of the civilians who bowed to me continued his conversation with a friend which caught my attention.
"Have you heard? Words are spreading that there is runaway Fork-eye near the streets."
"What, really? Someone better capture that Fork-eye before anything happens."
A runaway Fork-eye? Someone must have let it slip away. Either way, it's not really a big deal. I doubt a person who's been starving for days could bring any harm to us. God I swear, these people.
The longer I walk, the less people were in sight. Of course, this part of the street is practically empty, only thing that attracts people here are this small tea shop and that grocery store that is always empty in storage. Anyways, I should go, this place is bor-
Suddenly, I heard panting and rushing footsteps approaching from the alleyway. And before I knew it, a boy my age appeared from the alleyway and crashed into me, causing us to collapse on the ground.
I slowly got up, my head was dizzy after hitting the ground, I shook my head a bit and yelled at the boy, "Hey! What the hell man? Whatcha do that fo-!"
He raised up his head and I saw it, a pitchfork-shaped pupil in his eyes.
"You're a Fork-eye." I gasped.
"H-huh? Y-y-you're the p-p-pri-prince!"he stuttered so hard it was difficult to understand him. Wait, is he the runaway Fork-eye the people were talking about just now?
"Ah-I-I'm so sorry Prince Dervlon!"he suddenly bowed down to me.
At a time like this, I was completely shocked and confused. This is the one that escaped? How did he manage that? He's almost all skin and bones!
"I think I hear him! He must be here!"the voice of someone came from afar, the voice became louder and louder.
The Fork-eye's body was shaking like crazy, his lips trembling as he aggressively turned his head left and right, seemingly trying to find somewhere to run. His face was covered in fear, I could feel the quick pace of his heart beating from his eyes. I gulped.
"Hey, Fork-eye! Listen to me!"
"Huh-ah-wha-y-yes? Prince De-Dervlon?"
"I heard him again, over here!" In just a few seconds, a few town guards came out running from the alley to find only——me.
"Prince Dervlon!" They bowed. "Have you perhaps saw a Fork-eye wandering the streets?"
"Fork-eye? Yeah sure I did, he bumped into me and ran away, towards that way I think." I pointed the direction for the guards and they left hurrily.
I watched as they ran away far enough until I can't see them, then I exhaled.
"They left, you can come out now."
The Fork-eye slowly came out from an empty wooden box and looked left and right, then left again. Guess he was actually terrified.
He stepped out of the box, walked up to me and said with a shaking voice, "P-Prince Dervlon, t-tha-thank you…for h-helping me."
"You alright? Gosh, what did they do to you?" I asked bluntly.
He replied with silence, staring at the floor, every breath he took had a shaky feeling.
I realised it and said, "Whoops, my bad. Didn't mean to put pressure on you."
Then, he sniffed, and then tears flowed through his long and messy hair covering his face. But it wasn't tears of sadness or fear, it was tears of gratefulness.
"Out of everyone in Terregrell, I never thought that it would be you to save me, Prince Dervlon.…why…?" he asked timidly.
I stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed, "Stereotypic beliefs don't work on me. So don't worry, your pupil shape doesn't bother me the slightest."
He stared at me, his mouth slowly curving up, then dropped, and he lowered his head again. Seriously, what's on his mind?
"C-Can I…Can I work as…your slave?"
"What?" we stood there in complete silence. He looked nervous but somewhat determined. Whereas me over here was completely baffled. Work as my slave? What's going on?
"Why…do you wanna become my slave? I thought you just escaped being one." I asked.
"I-I want to repay…your kindness." he still sounded scared, but he spoke with sincerity.
I shook my hand and said, "Oh there's no need for that. Besides, if you become my slave it's still the same treatment you had back there."
"No it won't!"
"H-huh?"
"Ah! I mean uhh…I'm don't think Prince Dervlon is the type of person to…torment slaves…"
His sudden shout shocked me, but what he said afterwards felt…quite personal, but not in a bad way.
I chuckled, "Oh what the heck. Alright then come on." I held him by his hand and pulled him to the royal palace.
"Woah! Uh…yeah!" I heard his surprised voice coming from behind me, but that's not all, I think I heard a smile.
So I took him in as a slave, or I would like to call a servant, yeah that sounds better. His name was Vallowet, I call him Val for short. Val would help me out everytime whenever I'm having trouble. I told him not to get too close to any other of my family because they'll actually treat him like a slave. Sometimes I would teach Val how to read and write, and we grew beyond just servant and owner.
4 years later…
I turned 18 this year, my parents were helping me organise a royal ball. First ever time in my life, a royal ball made for me, I'm surprisingly more excited than I thought I was. To keep the excitement for the day of the royal ball, I decided to clear my mind from the thought by taking a stroll through the kingdom.
"Shall we head off, Vallowet?"
"Yes, Prince Dervlon." 4 years from now, Val was skinny and miserable. Now, he's wearing a fancy suit that I convinced my parents to let him keep.
"You're still getting along with that Fork-eye?" my brother Servetye appeared out of nowhere and said, "You should keep a distance between the two of you, who knows what this slave of yours might do?"
"Servant, brother. I'll see you in the evening. Come on, Val." I walked out the palace without looking back.
Servetye looked as I left and scoffed, "Like I'd care what you call that thing, you only still have him due to the fact that our parents adore you, so much so that they'd select you over greater options like me to be king."
We walked off.
Servetye smirked and sighed to himself, "How idiotic of me to let out my emotions like that. Just you wait Dervlon, your big brother shall bring you the best birthday gift ever. Hehehe…"
"King…that reminds me, didn't you once mention the king will pass down his throne to you, Prince Dervlon?" Val asked.
"Hm, yeah I did, but I'll pass the opportunity. Being king is too much work and anything that happens in the kingdom will be my problem." I said.
"I get your point." He chuckled, then thought for a moment and said, "…but, being king means you'll have control over the rules and laws, specifically the life of countless Fork-eyes like me. If I were king, even with all the hard work and responsibility, if I can change the destiny of every Fork-eye, then I won't mind the stress."
I stared at him, then laughed softly, "Yeah you're right, perhaps I'll think about it for your sake."
"You have my gratitude." he smiled.
We walked into the big street and I wowed, "This street is decorated beautifully today! Shall we head in?" I said to Val.
He smiled and nodded, "Absolutely…actually, will you excuse me for a bit? I need to go to the restroom."
"Heh, sure. Remember to not show your eyes as much as possible, that would minimise the troubles." I instructed.
"Noted." He bowed and left.
Now, I'll just walk around the streets while waiting for him. The streets are full with lots of new stuff, how interesting. Oh a tea shop! Perhaps I'll have a sip. And so I walked into the shop to be greeted by the shop owner.
"Welco-oh Prince Dervlon! What a pleasant surprise!"
"Wilgred? Hey, long time no see!"
Shortly after, I took a sip of their recommended tea and said sarcastically, "This, might just be better than the ones you used to make."
"That's the best sentence I've received from you, Prince Dervlon." he laughed.
"So Wilgred, you starting a new life in this street?"
"Precisely, and I'm only getting this amount of customers thanks to my genius." he smirked.
"Haha, what is it? You changed your recipe?"
"Not at all, it never changed."
I was speechless for a moment, then laughed it off, "Then I must have almost forgotten the taste of your tea. What is this genius thinking you were talking about?"
He chuckled, "You see, all I did was——change places!"
"Huh? There's no way that's it!"
"Of course there is, think about it. If a group of people from one small part of the kingdom disliked it, doesn't mean everyone does, right? So I figured the way to make my business work is to run it at a place where people like these sort of tastes." he explained.
"Heh, you had that big of a confidence to assume the problem isn't your tea." I mocked.
"Of course, my tea is the best in town." he joked as he brought a cup of tea towards a young woman. I didn't know it yet, but when I saw her I was stunned by her beauty and elegance.
When Wilgred walked back, I tapped his shoulder and asked him, "Wilgred, who is that girl?"
"Oh, her? That's my daughter Loanii, well, adopted." he said, "Why'd you ask?"
"She looks…so beautiful. You don't mind if I…?" I hinted.
He laughed, "Oh I see how it is, do as you please, but I warn you, she is not so easily swayed by fancy words."
"Heh, watch me." I said as I walked towards her and sat on the chair in front of her.
"I assume you're Loanii?" I said as gentlemanly as possible.
She looked at me with her cold eyes as she took a sip of tea, then replied in a surprisingly warm tone"Affirmative, and you must be Prince Dervlon."
"Nice guess, but I'm actually your future-first-love." I playfully flirted.
She smiled softly and said, "How enthusiastic of you to think you can make me fall for you."
"I don't think, I know." I rested my face on my palm.
She softly chuckled, "Confidence of a prince, you're an interesting one."
"So you're interested then?" I grinned. "There's a royal ball at the palace a week from now, will you attend it as my date?"
"Why me? Don't you have any other options?" she asked gently.
"Simple question, you're more beautiful than girl I've ever met."
She was surprised by my sentence, I could tell. Then she laughed and said, "You're quite straightforward, even for a prince. Indeed, you made me interested just a little more than any boy I've met. I'll gladly accept your offer."
I cheered in my heart, then I said, "Alright, then I'll see you next week, Loanii."
"See you next week, Prince De-" she saw Val outside looking for me, I didn't know why, but when she saw him, she immediately rushed into the restroom. I didn't overlook it and went to meet Val.
"There you are Prince Dervlon, you seem to be in a great mood right now, did something happen?" he said as he saw me smiling ear to ear.
"You bet, and let me tell you Val, next week in the royal ball, other than eating and dancing, there is one more thing I'm going to d-" suddenly I heard cries of help.
"Something's up, let's go look, Val." I immediately rushed towards the sound.
"Yes Prince Dervlon." he followed closely behind me.
When I arrived, I saw a crowd standing idly as they watched a person getting brutally stomped by a farmer, next to them was a basket of vegetables all over the ground. I shouted at the farmer, "Hey! What are you doing to that woman over there?"
The farmer stopped when he saw me, "Prince Dervlon, oh thank god you're here, can you please help me punish this Fork-eye?"
"Punish? What did she do?"
"This bitch disobeyed me. I paid thousands of money to buy her and she can't even carry my crops properly." the farmer said as he spat on her.
I went silence trying to process the words he just said, "H-Huh? Don't you see how skinny she is right now? Of course she can't carry your crops, she looks like you haven't fed her enough."
The farmer angrily pointed at me and said,"Prince Dervlon, there is no way you are siding with that bitch right now. She is a Fork-eye, why should I waste my money to feed her when I only bought her to carry my crops?"
"Cuz she is also human! And humans need food to stay alive, you are making zero sense!" I yelled.
I was really pissed, but I calmed myself down and went to the Fork-eye woman. I reached out my hand and asked, "Don't worry, you're okay now."
Seeing this, the farmer walked towards me and yelled, "Prince Dervlon, stop interfering our business, she's mine to use!"
Then, he tried to grab to wrist of the woman when his arm got grabbed and twisted.
"Aargh! What the hell?!" he looked up in pain and saw Val glaring menacingly at him.
"Please keep your hands off my master, will you?"
"Y-Y-You're a Fork-eye too!" he exclaimed.
"P-Prince Dervlon, h-help m-me." the woman aaid as she started tearing up.
I silently helped her up, I didn't say anything.
"Prince Dervlon!" the farmer yelled, "you can help the Fork-eyes however you want, but as long as the law towards the life of these Fork-eye is here, we'll treat the Fork-eyes however we want!"
I stood silently, then I whispered to the Fork-eye girl, "Wait for a week, I promise I'll do something about this."
I turned towards the farmer, "Very well, you can have her however you want. Come on Val."
"Huh? But Prince Dervlon…"
"Val, let's go." I smiled.
"Prince Dervlon…" he sighed in confusion.
He let go of the farmer and walked away with me.
"Prince Dervlon, what about the woman? She'll be enslaved again." Val asked worriedly.
"Val, I change my mind, next week in the royal ball, other than eating and dancing, there is two more things I'm going to do." I said firmly.
"Prince Dervlon…" Val sighed in relief.
I calmed my emotions and held my hand behind my head, "But before that, I'll just have fun at the ball."
A week later…
It was the day of the royal ball, the dance floor flooded with people, dad was giving a welcoming speech to the crowd while sitting on his throne. Val and I were standing at the side of the dance floor.
"Prince Dervlon, remind me again who are you waiting for?" Val asked.
I grinned, blushed a little and said, "The first thing I want to do is to go on a date, Val. She was invited and will be here. In the meantime, get me a drink will you?"
"Absolutely." he bowed and walked off.
Val is quite good at doing his job as a servant, guess that made my decision 4 years ago even the more worth it.
Just then, I spotted Loanii entering from the big door. I immediately went over and greeted her.
"Good day, m'lady. Shall we head towards the dance floor?" I said.
She chuckled and said, "That's really unlike you. But yeah sure, let's dance."
So we hit the dance floor, we danced together like an old married couple. It was the happiest moment of my life.
I didn't notice, but Val was already standing there looking at us. He looked shocked, surprised, happy and sad at the same time. I never knew it was possible to have so many emotions at the same time.
When I realised, I stopped and brought Loanii with me towards Val and said, "Ahem, Val, meet my date, her name is-"
"Loanii…" Val whispered.
The music ended.
"H-how do you know her name?" I asked in confusion.
Loanii suspiciously looked away, trying to avoid eye contact with Val. Val stared at her, then he looked at me and asked, "Where…did you find her?"
"Find? No, we met by coincidence…in Wilgred's tea shop, Loanii is his adopted daughter."
"Adopted…?" tears started leaking out his eyes, he asked Loanii, "Loanii…how long have you hid from me?"
"Hid? I don't even know you, I don't know what you're talking about." Loanii denied.
"Wha-Loanii, it's me, Vallowet, your twin brother. Have you forgotten?"
"Twin brother?" I thought, what was Val on about?
"I don't have a twin brother, you found the wrong person. Plus, you're a Fork-eye, why are you in here?" she rebuked.
"Um-Loanii, this is my servant, so he has access to the royal palace." I explained, still confused.
She went silent, but Val was still talking desperately.
"Loanii, why are you trying to hide it? We haven't met for years, and now the first thing I hear you say is your denial of our blood relation?"
"Of course we aren't, isn't it obvious? I'm a Cross-eye, and you're a Fork-eye, that's the one thing that separates any relation! I'm not your sister, I don't have a brother, and you are freaking me out with your attitude!" she exclaimed, it froze Val.
"So please…leave me alone…" she said while trying to hold back her tears. For some reason, she held her hand at the right side of her face that was covered by her long hair.
Seeing this, I took action, "Val, I think it's best you go rest and stay away from her." I ordered.
"But…yes, Prince Dervlon." he bowed, and left.
Seeing Val disappearing in the crowd, I felt a small sense of guilt, was it okay to just tell him to leave, should I have helped him out?
More than that, I'm still confused on their relationship, so I asked Loanii, "Um…Loanii, what was all that?"
She closed her eyes and took a light breath, then said, "It's nothing, let's just focus on the dance, shall we?"
"Yeah…sure…"
At the bar counter, Val sat at the side and stared at his cup, energy sucked away from his eyes. He mumbled Loanii's name quietly under his lips, his breath became rougher and rougher, his tears slightly leaking from his eyes again.
"So please…leave me alone…"
"I'm a Cross-eye and you're a Fork-eye, that's the one thing that separates any relation!" Loanii's words echoed in his head.
"Cross-eye…yeah, why does she have a Cross-eye? Is she really not my sister? But, her name is Loanii…" he thought, and thought, and thought…
"You're going already? It's only been half an hour!" I asked.
Loanii smiled with a tired face and said, "I'm really sorry, I don't feel that well. See you next time." and she left.
Loanii walked down the street, into the tea shop where Wilgred was wiping cups.
He noticed her and said, "You're back already, Loanii?"
"Yes…father…" she said as she rushed towards her room and lied on bed with her face down, groaning.
Wilgred saw it, sighed and went into the room and sat on her bed, "Did something happen, Loanii?" he asked.
"I met him."
"Who, the prince?"
"My brother."
"Your what?" Wilgred said in shock, then he sighed, "Tell me, Loanii, what happened?"
"My twin brother that I once told you, turns out he was Prince Dervlon's servant…we recognised each other but…I-I denied him…I pretended weak and…s-scared…I don't…t-think I can face him again…" her voice cracked slowly as tears streamed down her face and soaked the mattress.
"Do you love him?" Wilgred asked.
"I-I do! He used to be the only person that mattered to me…" she exclaimed, then slowly lowered her voice.
"Then what are you so afraid of at the first place? Why didn't you go get him?" he asked strictly.
Loanii turned her head towards Wilgred and said, "But…father…that's not the main problem…"
She brushed the long strands of hair covering the right half of her face, revealing a Fork-eye.
"It's this. If anyone finds out, even Prince Dervlon, I'm scared of what's going to happen, I don't want to lose anything anymore…" she said as she cried again.
Wilgred sighed and said, "You know, last week after Prince Dervlon left our tea shop, he started a commotion."
"Huh?" Loanii exclaimed softly in confusion.
He continued to speak, "Turns out he was arguing with a farmer who treated his Fork-eye slave poorly. I saw the whole thing, at the end he lost the argument because the law wasn't by his side, but he left looking determined for something."
Loanii stared at him and asked, "What are you trying to say…?"
Wilgred smiled softly and said, "Prince Dervlon doesn't seem like someone who would see you any differently because of a Fork-eye. If anything, he might protect you like how he protected your twin brother."
These words changed something in her, she wasn't sure what it was, but she suddenly had an intuition telling her to go.
She wiped off her tears, stood up, kissed Wilgred on the cheek and left, "I'll see you soon, father! Thank you!" she said as she ran towards the palace, her heart filled with determination.
Wilgred stood as he watched his adopted daughter running out the house and smiled.
"She really grown so much, huh?"
At the same time, when Loanii was running towards the palace, she didn't see Servetye and some guards surrounding the farmer who was arguing with me.
"Prince Servetye, are you here to get revenge on me for what I did to your brother last week?" the farmer said cautiously.
The light shone behind Servetye's back, showing a shadowed and menacing face, "What? Oh no, of course not, like I'd give a crap about what happened to my idiot of a brother. I've come to have you do something for me…" he said sarcastically, his voice containing maliciousness.
The farmer gulped and said, "What it is?"
Servetye grinned.
***
Back in the palace, my dad stood up from his throne as announced, "Attention citizens, as you all know, today is a day of celebration of my youngest son's 18th birthday! But, this isn't all, as from today on, Dervlon will become your king!" The crowd cheered.
I gripped my fist, knowing what I shall do and walked towards my father. As I walked up the steps, I saw Val at the bar counter. He stood up and clapped, i could faintly see his tears.
When I walked to the very top to meet my father, I kneeled on one knee. My father smiled, then he took the crown off his head.
"Dervlon, from today onwards, you are no longer a prince, you shall be King to all of Terregrell." he announced as he reached to crown towards my head. "You shall vow to protect and manage the entire kingdom, and lead Terregrell towards the future!"
The crown was on my head, I finally became king. But what I planned hasn't been done yet.
"King Dervlon," said my father, "Now that you are king, what are you going to do?"
I hesitated, then said, "Well, father, there is one thing I have been wanting to do for a long time."
At the same time, Loanii ran into the palace and went towards Val, panting.
"Loanii? Wha…what are you doing here…?" Val asked in surprise.
"Brother.." she said.
That one word surprised Val even more, "Loa…"
She panted and continued,"Brother, I want to…apologies for what I did and-"
"Wait, King Dervlon is announcing." Val cut her sentence.
"King Dervlon?" Loanii looked up at the king's throne and saw the crown on my head.
"Let's discuss what we have to after this, okay?" he said with a moved smile.
She stared, then she sighed in approval.
"There is one law I want to change." I said.
The crowd gasped, my father showed an expression of shock and said, "Dervlon, changing the law is a big decision, are you sure?"
I hesitated, nodded and said, "Yes, I won't change my mind. And the law I'm going to change…is 'Law 23: Fork-eyes are to be stripped of human rights'."
The crowd gasped even louder. Val watched, knowing I was going to so this. Whereas, Loanii, stared in shock.
"Just like that? No that's too straightforward! Who knows what might happen!" these words stuck at her throat.
My father stood up in rage, "Dervlon! What do you think you're doing?!"
"I'm doing what's right, father! The Fork-eyes don't deserve this torment!" I yelled back.
"Have I never told you?! Fork-eyes once terrorised the kingdom! You can't let that happen again!"
"THAT'S OLD NEWS, FATHER!! I NEVER SAW LOTS OF FORK-EYES, BUT THE ONES I KNOW WEREN'T MERCILESS TERRORISTS! THEY WERE HUMAN, LIKE US! THEIR PUNISHMENT IS LONG GIVEN! SO LET ME SET THEM FREE!"
I yelled, I shouted, I exclaimed. Right at that moment, I said everything I've always wanted to say. My hatred towards the injustice and discrimination, I spitted it all out.
My father went quiet, and the crowd started thinking.
"You know, he might be correct."
"Now that he said it, it does make some sense. His Fork-eye servant is quite a nice guy too."
The crowd discussed together, some agreed, and some didn't, but there is progress. Soon, the majority of the crowd was cheering for me.
That moment was a moment of success to me, I smiled with my mouth wide open. I looked at Val, and he was silently congratulating me with Loanii.
I looked at them, curious about what happened between them. Val gave me a thumbs up, and I grinned at him.
I looked at my father, he sighed and nodded.
"Yes!" I cheered silently.
I looked at the crowd and said, "So now I shall change this law and-"
"Hold your horse now, gentlemen." A voice, not very loud, but powerful enough to grab the crowd's attention. It was Servetye, walking into the room with a great amount of soldiers behind him.
"Have you ever considered that this might not be the case?" he said with a charming and prideful voice.
"What do you think you're doing bursting into the room like this, brother?" I asked strictly.
He smirked, brushing his long hair to the back of his ears and said, "Isn't it obvious? I've come to speak for what's right. You don't actually want peace between we Cross-eyes and those Fork-eyes, do you?"
The crowd murmured. Val and Loanii looked at him, confused.
"What are you on about, brother?" I exclaimed.
He walked to the center, not a sound of shoes tapping was heard at all, he raised his hands to the air like he's holding a spirit.
"Ladies and gentlemen in the room, have you ever thought that King Dervlon might be planning on restarting the Fork-eye incident?"
Gasps, gossips, murmurs, the crowd couldn't believe what Servetye had just said.
"But Prince Servetye, why would you think of that?" a person asked.
"Oh isn't it obvious? There is no way the Fork-eyes have changed after attacking us twice, right?" he chuckled and said, "What if, he is trying to lift the Fork-eyes' privileges so they can have a full out massacre once again? I mean come on, he's the one who all ways play around with a Fork-eye."
At that moment, I was filled with anger from his words, and I yelled, "Val is innocent, brother! If you want to spread lies, do it elsewhere!"
"Lies? Well then, shall I bring in an evidence?" he clapped his hands twice, and the farmer walked in.
"What's he doing in here?" asked Val.
"Who?" asked Loanii.
The farmer? What is he doing here? What's he going to do? I was confused, really confused.
Then, the farmer spoke, "Last week, King Dervlon had a fight with me trying to protect a Fork-eye. But that's not all! He whispered words to me, telling me that once the great massacre happens, we're all doomed!"
Everyone in the room was shocked.
"What? Is that true?"
"I can't believe that! King Dervlon actually said that?"
"See? I knew he was a traitor!"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Val exclaimed, "King Dervlon will never do such thing!"
"Vallowet, what are you doing!" Loanii whispered.
"HE WANTED TO LIFT THE FORK-EYES' PRIVILEGE SO THAT WE'L BE ON EQUAL TERMS. HE DOESN'T WANT WAR! HE WANTS TO PROTECT THE ONES WHO'VE BEEN SUPPRESSED! THE MAN'S A LIAR!" Val shouted like his life depended on it.
He stood up for me. That was the first thought that popped into my head. I felt a sense of warmth in my heart.
"You call me a liar? I ought to-" the farmer pulled up his sleeve, but then he was stopped by Servetye, "That's enough, go back. As reward for your cooperation, I'll excuse you from my possible actions." he whispered.
The farmer nodded and left, leaving Servetye who turned his head to Val.
"Oh really?" Servetye responded irritatedly, "And why should we believe in you, Fork-eye? Who knows if you're in with his plan?"
"Wha-" Val wanted to yell, but he knew his identity wouldn't help him.
"King Dervlon isn't that kind of person, right?"
"Of course he is! Siding with Fork-eyes is something a traitor does!"
"But he's trying to help them!"
The crowd got into a fight, with half on my side and half on Servetye's.
"So father, do you still think Dervlon is worthy of the crown?" he said and purposely shifted into a sarcastic tone when he said my name.
"I-I…" my father was stuttering for a decision.
Suddenly, his words formed a thought in my head.
"Servetye, brother…" I said, "You…just want the throne, don't you?"
"Interrupting conversations now are we, brother?" he mocked, "Now make your decision, father."
I got more and more fed up with Servetye's actions and yelled, "Answer me, brother! Last week, you said that father adores me so much he would rather give me the throne than to you! You were jealous, weren't you?!"
"Jealous? Don't make me laugh. I was born for the throne, brother. You? You were a mistake that happened to live long enough to steal what should've been mine!" Servetye suddenly snapped, that's when I knew, he was an unredeemable force of pride.
"So in consumption by your own jealousy, you are creating fake rumours so I'll lose the throne, is that right, brother?" I said, not just for him, but for the entire crowd to hear.
"Wait was Prince Servetye lying all this time?"
"Such a high ego he has, there's no doubt he is lying."
"Whose side should we be on right now?"
Hatred towards Servetye grew amongst the crowd and my father scolded, "Servetye, as the oldest son, do you have no shame of your actions? You could've ruined your brother's life!"
The hate comments said by the crowd echoed in Servetye, his breath grew rougher as his grin grew wider.
He lifted his head up, and let out a soft chuckle that turned into an unsettling laughter, "Shame? Not at all!" he said mockingly.
"But well, it seems my plan failed. Soldiers!" he lifted his hand as the soldiers all stood straight for his commands.
"Clean up the crowd." his tone dropped.
***
After just a few seconds, my own party turned into a bloodbath. Innocents were butchered by Servetye's cold hearted soldiers.
One by one by one…many people are dying right now because of…me? That right, I was too reckless, too confident in my plan, and that gave Servetye a chance to strike.
"It's all…my fault…" I whispered to myself tremblingly, my knee suddenly weakened and I fell, tears stained the floor.
"King Dervlon!" Val shouted as he tried to ran up the stairs while Loanii followed behind.
All of a sudden, someone accidentally knocked down a lamp and the fire touched the curtains, spreading all over the room. The fire weakened a pillar's grip and it collapsed on the stairs, blocking Val's way to me.
"King Dervlon!" Val desperately yelled.
"Vallowet, we need to find a place to hide or we'll get killed!" Loanii pulled his arm and said.
"But, King Dervlon is-"
"We can't help him right now! He's blocked by a pillar, now we're the ones in danger! We must hur-"
Before Loanii can finish her sentence, Servetye sprinted towards our direction and leaped over the pillar.
"Wasn't that…?" Loanii breathed out.
Fear grew in Val's eyes, knowing exactly what would happen.
"King Dervlon!"
***
The crackling sound of fire muffled the screams of the people, but I didn't hear it, I didn't hear anything at all. I saw the people finally supporting me, escaping the outdated fear, then I saw it all crumble into nothing in a split second.
Why? Why didn't I think twice? Why didn't I hesitate? Even just for a bit? Then, the sound of a fight slowly became loud enough for me to hear.
"Servetye! Stop this now!" my father was gripping Servetye's dagger swinging arm tightly. Their arm pushed against each other.
"You really are strong, father! But not strong enough to get rid of that failure of yours!" Servetye yelled mockingly.
"Stop this, son! We can still talk about this!"
"I'm no son of yours anymore!" He yelled, then lower his voice and whispered, "You don't deserve to be my father."
Servetye forcefully pushed my father to the ground and stood amongst the flame, only his silhouette was visible. Then he laughed.
"How poetic! A pathetic father risking his life to protect his favourite child! And the pathetic son risking his life to change for the better good! It's. Just. Perfect!" he said gleefully and sarcastically.
"Father…" I said weakly, my vision was still blurred by the tears.
"Dervlon…my son, I'm sorry…you have to experience this…on your first day of adulthood." he groaned and said.
"Hey! What are you mumbling about?" Servetye said like an old drunkard, then stabbed his dagger on the floor closely next to my father's neck and whispered fiercely, "Did I allow that? You old waste."
My father gritted his teeth, then he grabbed Servetye's neck tightly, catching him off guard.
"Dervlon! Run!"
I was shocked, but I had to listen to father, I stood up and took a few steps before my legs collapsed.
"Wha…I can't feel my legs…what's going on?" I breathed out these words as I struggle to try and lift my legs.
But Servetye was struggling too, "Let…go…you…" he clawed his nails on my father's arm. Then, by instinct, he removed the dagger from the floor and stabbed my father on the arm. My father screamed loudly in pain and let go of Servetye.
"Father!" I shouted, at least I thought I did, but I didn't, the words clogged in my throat as I watched in terror.
Blood stained the floor, my father fell down while gripping his wounded hand. Servetye took the chance and lifted his dagger.
"So long, you bearded garbage."
Blood splattered everywhere, the same time my heart sank into the deepest pit. I couldn't do anything, I just…watched.
Servetye pulled out the dagger and swinged off the blood. Then he sighed, "This dagger was actually forged for your death, Dervlon. I wanted to keep it in the most perfect shape so you would give me a satisfying scream. But I guess it doesn't matter anymore."
He walked towards me calmly, humming a twisted melody, then he chuckled and said, "You know I always wanted to learn French, it's elegant, charming…"
The throne was destroyed in one kick, "…and everything you say will always sound harmless in a specific tone."
Servetye walked over and stepped on my arm, then he showed a wide grin on his dark face.
"So…" he pressed my arm down harder and raised his dagger.
"Au revoir, mon frère."
Suddenly, a familiar footstep rapidly approached us and pushed Servetye onto the ground.
"Loanii! Take King Dervlon and run!" he shouted.
"Why you little…!" shocked, Servetye grew furious and tried to push back, but Val was unexpectedly really strong.
"Val?!" I exclaimed in confusion as Loanii lifted me up and urged me leave, "King Dervlon! We have to run!"
The fire roared again, it's about to consume us all. Loanii started urging me more hurriedly. I took a deep breath, stood up and yelled at Val, "Val! You better meet up with us later!"
Val didn't look at me, probably because he was struggling with Servetye and might lose if one mistake was done. But what I didn't know is what these two have planned.
I yelled again, "And…I don't think I'll be able to live as a royal anymore so…just call me Dervlon!"
This time, Val turned his head, looked at me and smiled reluctantly. Then he looked at Loanii and nodded.
Seeing this, Loanii nodded back, grabbed my hand and ran out the room.
"Soldiers! Chase them! Don't let them get away!" Servetye shouted desperately.
Loanii and I ran, as fast as we could, holding on to our exhausted breath as Servetye's soldiers chased after us. I couldn't take it anymore, I was out of breath, and that's when Loanii pulled me into an alleyway.
"They turned that way! Go!" the soldiers said and stromed through the alleyway. After they left, the lid of a dumpster slowly opened, and out came Loanii peeking.
"Alright they're gone, let's go!" Loanii said as she pulled me out the dumpster and dusted her dress.
I retched and said, "I never knew you'd be the type of person who would think of these ideas."
"We don't really have a choice now, do we? Besides, me and Vallowet hide in dumpsters all the time when we were children."
I was a bit surprised and asked, "You and Val-you mean you two are actually twins? Then why do you have a Cross-eye?"
"I'll tell you later, let's just rest for now." she said as she cautiously walked into Wilgred's tea shop.
"Loanii you're ba-" Wilgred paused when he saw us in our burned up clothes and asked, "what happened to you? And Prince Dervlon is here too?"
"It's just Dervlon now, too much stuff is going on so can I rest here for a bit, please?" I explained exhaustedly.
***
"…this is too crazy for me to comprehend, you mean to tell me the palace is burning right now?" Wilgred said in shock.
"Yes, and I don't know what to do from here…if I stay here, they will eventually find me and I'll be a burden to you two. Plus, Val is probably still fighting inside there, if he doesn't get out in time, then he will still die no matter who wins." I said, guilt building up in me.
"We'll find a way, Dervlon." Loanii patted my back to calm me down.
Suddenly, there is a knock on the door. "I'll get it." Wilgred said as he walked over to open the door.
"Don't! We don't know who might be at the door, let's look through the peephole first." Loanii said cautiously.
Wilgred stuck his eye at the peephole and saw a group of citizens who all looked mad, in front of them was the farmer.
"This might be bad news…"
***
Back at the palace, Val was still pushing with Servetye, "Let me go you Fork-eye!" Servetye demanded furiously.
"I won't let go! You plan to kill Dervlon!" Val shouted.
"It's weird…" he thought, "…how is this Fork-eye so strong? Even that old man couldn't pressure me this much!" He tried to kick Val, but Val was standing sturdily, like his foot was stuck on the ground. He tried to move his dagger, but Val was gripping on his wrist as tight as an anaconda.
Without enough strength to fight back, Servetye grinned as he broke out in a cold sweat and said, "Well, isn't it your fault that Dervlon got into this mess in the first place?"
Hearing this, Val's eyes widened in anger and he stared at Servetye, "What do you mean?"
"Did I stutter, Fork-eye? If it wasn't for you, would Dervlon think about become king? If he didn't decide to become king, would all of this have happened?!" Servetye yelled with a smile.
"That's not-"
"Don't you think that Dervlon is mad at you for implanting that thought into his mind?!"
"That's not it! I-" Val desperately tried to deny Servetye's words, but he didn't know that his entire life, living solely to serve me has made him lose his own self acknowledgement, causing him to easily doubt himself, and Servetye knows that really well.
Then it hit him, "Am I…the cause of all this…?" he asked himself.
He got so lost in his thoughts he started loosening his grip, his hand started trembling under Servetye's force. Servetye took the chance and shook off his hand, then he attempted to stab Val right at the head.
"Haha! You reacted to that? I'm impressed!" Servetye laughed as Val grabbed the dagger with both hands, the tip were atoms away from his eye.
***
"That old man is at the door?" I said as I stood up and stepped back. Loanii held my arm, showing a worried face, "He was in with Servetye's lie just now, is he planning to turn the people against us?"
"If he's doing that then nowhere in Terregrell is safe for you two except for here, which they might trash if they find me hiding you…" Wilgred explained.
"Nowhere in Terregrell is safe…" I whispered, clenching my arm and looking down.
"Dervlon, remember what I told you the last time we met?" Wilgred asked.
"That your tea is the best in town?" I looked up and replied in confusion.
"No…the one about me moving my tea shop." he sighed and said.
I gasped lightly in realisation. Voices of the conversation I had with Wilgred echoed in my head.
"You see, all I did was——change places!"
"Huh? There's no way that's it!"
"Of course there is, think about it. If a group of people from one small part of the kingdom disliked it, doesn't mean everyone does, right? So I figured the way to make my business work is to run it at a place where people like these sort of tastes."
"You understand what I'm trying to tell you, right?" Wilgred asked.
I was stuck in a difficult decision, was Wilgred telling me to…leave Terregrell?
He sighed, "I'm not forcing you, you can choose not to. That is, if you have a better plan. But right now, this is likely your only option. Think wisely."
I don't think I can, I can't leave Terregrell, not when there is a crisis at the palace! I started this, so I need to finish it. I need to stop Servetye and save Val! But with the soldiers out there…must I really leave?
Then, the image of Val smiling at me the last time suddenly popped into my mind.
"Val…" I whispered. I suddenly had a clear goal in my mind, and I knew that I will not
hesitate about it.
***
The fire continued to crackle, the floor was stained with blood of hundreds of people, and in the midst of all this were Servetye and Val.
"Although you're a Fork-eye, you're fun, so let's converse before I sent you to the afterlife, deal?" Servetye said as Val was holding onto the dagger for his godforsaken life.
"Screw you! What do you…have to converse with me?!" Val struggled to shout, as his life is hanging by a thread.
"Oh we have a lot to converse about, like how me staging the second Fork-eye incident led to our current situation!"
Val's heart sank, his eyes shook in disbelief, "What…did you say?"
Servetye grinned wickedly, "Oh you Fork-eyes are actually born highly intelligent, quite a threat to my throne, since it was said that kings are allowed to pass the throne to people other than their descendants…"
He purposely misses his dagger stab and slashed his cheek, then he stepped on Val's stomach violently. Squeezing out a painful scream from him.
Val's scream echoed through the room, and this only made Servetye more excited. He proceeded to continuously kick Val on his entire body, except for his head.
"My plan! Was just! Pure! Genius!" he shouted each sentence with each kick. Then he stopped when he saw Val was completely vulnerable and took a breather.
"Threatening a large group of you people to reenact the entire incident just so father would grow a trauma. Then I took the chance to tell him that slavery is the best way of oppression. Sounds sketchy? Well it worked~" he said it with a weirdly casual tone, like he was a delusional fantasy child.
He kneel down near Val's body, his conscious already drunk from his ego. "So? Am I not a genius? This fire, those bodies, the entire belief system, all me~"
Val struggled to speak, he was coughing nonstop from the injury he endured.
"That's why…"
"Hm? I can't hear you! But guess I don't have to!" Servetye wiped his dagger clean.
Val suddenly grabbed Servetye's legs.
"Huh…?"
Val coughed again, then he lifted his head with a wide and strong smile on his face, "Suddenly I don't feel guilty anymore! Now die with me!"
As Servetye was still trying to comprehend how Val could shout, he was dragged into the fire, his entire body started burning.
"IT BURNS! STOP!!! LET GO OF ME!!" Servetye screamed painfully as he desperately tried to pull away from Val.
"LIKE I'LL LISTEN TO YOU!! I'M NOT YOUR SLAVE YOU DESPERATE PSYCHOPATH!!! I'M A STRONG AND PROUD FORK-EYE!!! AND I WILL NOT LET GO EVEN IF I DIE!!!!" Val screamed, his mind was clear, he wasn't wrong, he wasn't guilty, he was finally free.
"My service for Dervlon ends here I guess…" he thought, even when his situation was desperate and chaotic, his thoughts were peaceful and quiet.
Then, his hand fell.
All burnt up, Servetye jumped out the fire and tried to crawl his way out with an entirely weakened body, determined to kill me.
Then he heard a crack.
Servetye looked up on the wall to see a crack on a burning pillar. The hot fire has weakened the pillar's grip, and the crack deepen. Soon it broke and started tilting towards Servetye.
"No…NO!!! I HAVEN'T HAVE THE CHANCE TO KILL DERVLON YET!! I CAN'T DIE!! I DON'T WANT TO DIE———!!!"
Crash!
That day, Val and Servetye left in the fierce pit of fire, as I witnessed it by the door.
***
The knocking on the door grew more and more aggressive.
"Come on, Loanii." I grabbed Loanii's hand and started walking to the back door.
"Dervlon, where are we going?"
"We're leaving Terregrell."
"Huh?" she exclaimed in shock, "Don't we have any other choice?"
I shook my head with an apologetic face, then said, "I'm really sorry, you shouldn't have been dragged into this. But now you have, and even if there is a place in Terregrell that is safe, we'll still be caught eventually…"
I bowed my head as an apology, then she lifted my head with both of her hands.
"Dervlon, you don't have to be sorry, I dragged myself into this. I could've just ran but I didn't, that's because I want you to live. Now lead the way, King."
"Loanii…" I smiled.
"There is one thing I still want to do."
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The people outside were visibly extremely upset about us not answering the door.
Wilgred hurried us and said he'll stall them, we nodded, then left through the back door.
Wilgred hesitated, then he opened the door, "Hello there people, here for a drink? Sorry for the long wait, I was using the restroom."
The farmer threw Wilgred's small talk to the side and asked what he came for, "Where is Dervlon and the blue-haired girl? I saw them walking in here!"
"Oh, they already left after a drink. Why?" Wilgred responded carefully.
"There is a huge fire in the palace, Dervlon and that girl were the only person who were seen escaping. So we believe an explanation must be given." the farmer yelled angrily. The crowd was supporting him by doing the same.
"You don't care about that! You just want to please that Servetye!" Wilgred thought.
"Okay, first, someone better put out that fire in the palace. Second, Dervlon would never! He's a kind kid, so whatever hatred you have towards him is really unnecessary."
"We can't trust someone completely!"
"Yeah! What if he actually did it? the crowd argued.
Wilgred sighed, "Well it would be useless telling me this since they're not here. You can leave and search for them elsewhere, have a search party or whatever, but tell Prince Servetye that I'm in no relation of what happen-"
"Ah ha!" The farmer pointed at him with a smile like he was a detective who just cracked a case, "I never mentioned Prince Servetye once in my conversation!"
Wilgred eyes widened in regret, he stepped back a few step.
"So you do know something!"
Loanii and I ran towards the palace as we tried to avoid Servetye's soldiers. The smell of smoke spread outside rapidly, but I rushed in anyways, leaving Loanii to check for soldiers.
I wanted to shouted for Val, but before I can, I saw him burning in the fire as Servetye desperately crawled out, just to get crushed by a burning pillar.
Val…died…?
I watched as the monstrous fire consumed Val's body and swallowed him whole.
Loanii hurried in and said, "Dervlon, there's soldiers coming this way, let's-"
She lifted her head to see Val's dead body. Then she put her head down and covered her face with one hand as tears runned down the gap between her fingers.
"Dervlon, let's go."
"…mm."
We hid from the soldiers through the smoke and walked through narrow areas to avoid being noticed.
Loanii told me we should keep pushing until we have passed through the Gate of Terregrell, but I didn't have the energy to run anymore. My hands were shaking, heart was racing, eyes were unable to concentrate.
"Val actually died, for me of all people." I breathed out.
Loanii heard it and held my shoulder, "Dervlon, I don't think I should tell you this, but he was planning to die in Servetye's hand from the start, for you."
I looked up and saw her strong-willed face.
"For you, he was willing to die, because you are the most important person in his life. I don't know how things started with you two, but I'm sure he was the happiest Fork-eye in all of Terregrell. So…"
She held my hand palm and slid her fingers through mine, "Do what he wanted you to do, survive, do whatever we can to keep living. Okay?"
She was trying to act tough, but she was visibly trying to hold her tears. I sighed and
nodded with a smile.
"Okay, now let's go!"
We continued walking, sneaking through alleys and dodging any attention. Until we saw Wilgred being held down and interrogated by the crowd led by the farmer.
"So, you're not going to tell us where is Dervlon and that girl?" the farmer asked.
"They have done nothing wrong, they don't deserve your torment!" Wilgred barked.
"Sir, it's been ten minutes and he still refuses to answer! What should we do?" one of the
people in the crowd asked.
"What should we do? Beat him until he speaks of course!" he said as he crack his knuckles.
Wilgred smirked, "Beat me? Go ahead, do whatever you want! Prince Servetye probably doesn't even care for you right now, so you're just wasting your time!"
Veins popped out of the farmer's head, "Like I said, Prince Servetye has nothing to do with this! I'm only doing the people a FAVOUR!" he brutally kicked Wilgred in the
face.
"Fath-" Loanii almost screamed and I covered her mouth and shushed her. Then moved my head at the direction of the gate.
"You should be ashamed for hiding someone who's trying to ruin our lives." the farmer stomped on Wilgred, then he stopped in exhaustion.
"…ashamed…?" Wilgred tried to breathe, then said, "You…should be the ashamed one…lying to the people so they can help you in your fake little retribution. You want to
know where they are? Fine! As you're talking to me now, they are almost at the
Gate of Terregrell!"
"What?!" the people turned their heads to see me holding Loanii's hand and sprinting
straight towards the gate.
"You sly little-" he kicked Wilgred in the chin and called the people to chase us.
The noise attracted Servetye's soldier and they wasted no time to come at us in full
speed.
"RUN QUICKLY!! DON'T STOP UNTIL YOU STEP OUT THE GATE!!" Wilgred shouted at us, then he thought, "Aww…they're already holding hands…"
Seeing that they can't catch on to us, the farmer yelled at the gate guards, "I'M UNDER PRINCE SERVETYE'S PRIVILEGE!! CLOSE THE GATE NOW!!!"
Hearing this, the lazy gate guards stretched their body and slowly got up to pull a lever,
the gates slowly lowered.
"Damn it you old man!" I thought, I didn't say anything to use all the energy in my body for
my legs.
The gate lowered and lowered, in a few seconds, it was already lowered to human height.
Seeing we are about to get trapped, I shouted at Loanii, "GET DOWN!!!"
In our last effort, we dived under the gate door and escaped.
The farmer grabbed the bars on the gate and yelled, "Damn you! Get back in here!"
"I rather not, give up you old man. Like Wilgred said, you're wasting your energy,
Servetye is dead." I said.
"You little-"
"Sir," one of the townspeople came up and said, "Let's give up on them and go put of the fire in the palace! They're starting to spread outside!"
"But-uh…damn it, fine!" the farmer ran with the crowd.
"Heh, see you later, old man!" I teased.
"Don't call me an old man! My name is Vercon! And I'm 45!!" his voice echoed through the empty streets and disappeared.
"Yeesh, okay Vercon." I said mockingly then helped Loanii up. We turned around to see a beautiful natural scenery. The trees were enormous, and the wind was refreshing.
I took a deep breath, then I turned to Loanii and said, "Now, let's fulfil Val's wish and survive, okay?"
Loanii nodded with her eyes still stuck at seeing the scenery. "But where can we go? We don't have documents or anything to move into another kingdom. Don't tell me we'll be living in the wild?"
I chuckled, "Don't worry. There's a kingdom close from here called Alvace, their king was
friends with my father, I heard he's quite generous. We can stay there until things in Terregrell calm down."
I held Loanii's hand and started walking to our destination. I turned my head to see
smoke coming from the palace.
"Goodbye, Val." I nodded my head at Terregrell and left with Loanii.
8 years later…
There was a festival celebration in this street of Alvace Kingdom today. The streets was flooding with people. Not a surprise, people in Alvace are known for being very
active.
"Dad! Dad! I wanna see the food!"
"Slow down, Fyllid, we're all going!" I exclaimed.
I turned to Loanii and said, "Let's go, Fyllid is waiting."
Loanii smiled, "Alright. You excited, Desynia?" she playfully asked our baby daughter whom she held in her arms. Desynia let out a cute chuckle.
"…It's been 8 years, huh?" I said.
Loanii looked at me and asked, "Why'd you bring that up?"
"It's nothing," I scratched the back of my head and said, "It's just, looking back now, I think it's ironic how we went from almost dying to starting a family
together."
"Yeah…we really had an extreme youth experience, didn't we?" she looked at the sky, "We really fulfilled Vallowet's promise."
"Yeah, but let's focus on the festival for now, okay?"
"Mhm."
"Mom! Dad! You're so slow, come on!" Fyllid urged.
"Alright! Coming! Let's go Loanii." I held her hand and said.
"Right."
A few moments later, a man wearing a cloak handed me a cup of tea, "Fancy a cup of tea,
mister?" he asked.
"I'd love to, how much is it?" I took it and asked.
"It's a free
sample, go ahead."
His voice sounded oddly familiar, but I didn't overthink it and took a sip, then I
realised, this tea tasted just like…
"Wilgred?!" I exclaimed.
He took off his hood to show his face, he was beaming in joy, "How's my son-in-law doing, you even brought me grandchildren?"
"Father? Oh it's been so long!" Loanii exclaimed in excitement, "Kids, say hello to your grandfather!"
"You're my grandfather? You're so big!" Fyllid said bluntly in genuine amusement.
Wilgred chuckled and picked him up, "Now that's not a nice thing to say to your
grandfather, is it?"
"Wilgred, what brings you here?" I asked.
"Oh, yep, hold on." he took a sip of his tea and walked towards a table, "let's talk about this as we enjoy my delicious tea, shall we?"
After a long conversation, I said, "So, in summary, Terregrell has rebuilt, and they want me to go back and be king?"
"Exactly, and better yet, the farmer was caught guilty of deception and Servetye's actions were brought to light, now the Fork-eyes lives freely for the first time in 24
years." Wilgred explained.
"That's really great to hear." Loanii said relaxingly.
Wilgred smiled at the daughter whom he let go 8 years ago, and is now a heart-contented housewife.
"Now, for the question, do you want to go back to Terregrell with your family and this time,
become a proper king?" Wilgred suddenly shift into a strict tone.
Hearing this, I lowered my head to think. And after a moment, I lifted my head and said, "Wilgred, I'm sorry, but I don't want to go. I know I'm being selfish but, there must be lots of talented people in Terregrell. As for me, I would like to just stay here with my family, where I'm away from royalty."
Hearing this, and seeing how close our family are, Wilgred sighed.
"Well then, I guess there's no convincing you. But I would like to bring you somewhere, takeit as a small trip, okay?"
After a few hours ride, we arrived at a cemetery. Wilgred walked up the hill of graves and urged us, "Come on, I want to show you something!"
We climbed the bumpy hill and finally arrived at the grave wanted to see.
"Here we are! Dervlon, I believe you still remember this man, right?" Wilgred said as he showed me a grave with a familiar face on it.
"Val…"
"Val…lo…wet?
Dad, isn't this the name of your best friend you mentioned?" Fyllid asked.
"…yes. Yes it is, he was the best friend I've ever had." I said, showing a relieved face,
"Your mother's twin brother, he was a great man."
Wilgred kneeled in front of the grave, "Come on, let's pray. For Vallowet."
I nodded, and we kneeled, for Val who lived his entire life serving, who stood up for the
people he loved and cared, who sacrificed himself in his final efforts to save
me.
"V…Va…Val…?" Desynia spoke.
Fyllid gasped, "Dad! Desynia said her first word!"
Loanii smiled, "Good job, Desynia. What a wonderful first word this is. Right,
Dervlon?"
I stared at them with mixed emotion, then broke into a smile.
"Yeah, you're right."
End.