[ SHE'S JUST A CHILD ]

The sun had set, and the moon was about to appear. Expectations were over and hope had set in. The day had come to an end, but the night was still young. Dark night and starry sky was what the eyes could see, but anticipation was what filled the heart.

Preparations were then to welcome the queen and her entourage back to the city of Kelvindor, and Marcus was the happiest of them all who couldn't wait to see the queen. It was late in the day, but the queen's entourage was yet to enter the city.

The nobles of the city could have retired for the day, since the time they expected to see their queen had passed, but they stayed on their feet on the streets of Kelvindor, waiting to welcome their queen who they so loved.

Seeing the queen was an opportunity non of the nobles, and even the commoners would want to miss. So being on the street for how long it will take was not their problem, but for the queen to come safely.

After an unexpected hours of wait, the entourage of the queen finally emerged in the city, bringing joy and excitement to the heart and faces of her people. They cheered and hail their queen, expecting to have a glimpse of her, but her carriage slowly passed them to the palace.

With a broad smile on his face, Marcus stayed in front of the knights and guards to welcome Azura back to the palace. Seeing Azura's carriage entering the gates of the palace made him more excited, but not because Azura had arrived.

He was expecting a good news only Azura could give him, and undoubtedly, he was sure the news would be the key to the success of his plans. He had made sure of that and hope everything goes as he planned.

He approached the queen's carriage immediately it got closer to him, thinking of helping her out. He waited for Azura to get out after Lucia and Maria got out of the carriage, but nobody did. He looked around and couldn't find Lora as well, which got him to panic.

"Where's the queen? Why did you leave her behind?" He asked the ladies, in panic of what Azura might be up to.

"Your Majesty, we did no leave anyone behind. Her Majesty is already in the palace." Lucia answered, and everyone who came to welcome Azura was surprised to hear her.

" What are you saying? We've been here waiting and now you say she's already in the palace?" Marcus asked doubtfully.

" Yes Your Majesty." She replied simply.

Marcus took to his hills and entered Azura's residence in a hurry to see for himself if what he heard was ture. Immediately he left, a gust of wind swept many of the people around, off their feet, pushing them to different directions.

Marcus was not an exception. He was pushed to the walls of the building by the wind. Thankfully, no one was around to see him fall. He got up, straighten himself and continue with his run.

He barged into Azura's bedroom and to his surprise, Lora was seated at the bedside with her legs crossed, flipping through a book. And Azura was sleeping comfortably on her bed, with Chesa by her side sleeping as well.

"Your Majesty." Lora stood when she saw Marcus. As if she had been expecting him, she placed her right hand on her chest and bowed to him in a form of greetings.

"Why didn't you informed me when the queen got back?" Marcus asked angrily, ignoring Lora's greetings. He had expected everything to go his way, but from the sight he was seeing, he needed no one to tell him his plans just failed.

"Her Majesty instructed me not to. She nodded to rest and asked not to be disturbed by anyone." Lora lied to save her self and her queen.

" Out." Marcus instructed strictly.

Lora bowed to Marcus and left the queen's bedroom obediently without saying anything, knowing Azura and Chesa were under the protection of the masked man.

She was sure Marcus wouldn't dare do anything to them in the palace, and even if he tries to, the masked man would be there to protect and serve them from his evil crotches.

Marcus sat by Azura on her bed and examine her, by pushing the strands of hair on her face back to her ear. Something within him told him both Azura and Chesa were not sleeping but unconscious.

Their breath might be study, but he knew Azura would have waken up when he touched her, if she was just sleeping. He stood from her side and started pacing in front of the bed, not understanding what was going on.

"It they're both unconscious, that means what Lion said is true, but how did they get here without anyone knowing?" He asked as he kept pacing.

He knew his plans failed drastically, but that wasn't his worries, he had many other plans to try his luck on. The fact that Chesa was safe with Azura, made him think he might have an enemy he doesn't know about.

"It couldn't be the masked man, he had no idea what I was planning, and Azura wasn't aware of what was going on, so who is this savour?" He asked himself.

All this while he kept pacing and talking to himself, an angry looking man with red eyes was seated in Azura's seat, glaring at him with deathly gaze hat could've killed him if it was time for him to die. The owners of the red eyes was just few steps away from Azura's bed, but Marcus couldn't see him .

His presence was counseled with an illusion, helping him eavesdrop on the king without being noticed. With the anger boiling in him, he could have killed the king instantly if he had his way, but he had to wait for Azura's judgement.

After pacing and talking to himself for a while, Marcus left the bedroom, but not without giving Azura a kiss on the forehead and staring at Chesa as if she was his greatest enemy.

Abesselom stood from the seat and walked to the bedside. He sat beside Chesa and caressed her checks after pushing her blonde hair backwards. His mind kept pondering on the incident earlier, especially the words from the leader of the men.

"I clearly know who she is, and her father personally gave her to us. She's the princess of Celestial Kingdom." He kept thinking and didn't know what to make out of those words, which kept playing like a loop. What if the man was telling the truth.

"Why does your father want you dead? I think I need to follow him to find that out." Abesselom said and stood from the bed, he placed a light kiss on Azura's lips and vanished into thin air.

__________

"What? You wanted to kill that child? why?" Pearler asked, not believing what Marcus just told her.

" I can't get what you asked for, so getting the girls out of the way was my only option." Marcus replied and Pearler felt guilty.

She didn't want to do the lust potion Marcus had asked her to prepare, to be given to Azura on Chesa's 10th birthday, knowing that would give Marcus the chance to have access to Azura's body, and she couldn't afford that.

Hence, she asked Marcus to get her Azura's spit or blood, to make the potion solely for Azura, saying no one will be affected even if they take it. That way it can be added to Azura's food and even if Lora taste it, she won't know. But now she regret asking for that.

She might not like Azura or her daughter, but killing Chesa was out of her plans. She never liked Azura being the first wife of her husband and the queen of the kingdom, but she loved the fact that Azura was not giving Marcus access to her body, and she wanted it to be like that. But now she might just have to give up, if Chesa's life would be at stake.

"I wonder who's daughter she is, I'll know why she's so lucky if I get to know who her father is." Marcus said suddenly, bringing Pearler out of her regretful thought.

"I'll find a way to make the potion for you, so don't think of killing that girl again. She's just a child." Pearler said angrily and left Marcus's study without waiting for his permission.

Marcus felt like Pearler was changing and he couldn't understand why. He knew if she change, all his plans would be know to Azura and maybe to the entire kingdom as well, and he was not ready to risk that.

All this while, Abesselom was present in the study, listening in on their conversation, He felt like he had heard enough and was about to leave after Pearler left, then he heard Marcus talking to himself again.

"She's not the only one I want to kill, but anyone who goes against me, except for Azura." He felt like smashing Marcus's head when he heard him saying that, but he had no choice than to disappear from the study without saying anything.

__________

" I've been waiting for you, where have you been till now?" Gideon asked in his masters head immediately he saw him appear in the room.

" Selom town." Abesselom said simply, replying telepathically to Gideon. He was too angry to talk, and the best way to stay calm himself was to communicate with his pet telepathically.

"What? How? I thought that town was hidden from the sight of men?" Gideon asked surprisingly.

"Not anymore." Abesselom answered.

"But how did you get there?" Gideon asked again.

"Through an underground tunnel." He said.

"What were you there for?" Gideon asked and Abesselom knew it would be a long story to tell. Instead of telling him, he gave Gideon access to his mind and made him see everything he saw for himself. Starting from when he went to the clearing in the forest to when he got Chesa back home.

"You didn't believe what the man said right? That it was her father who gave her to them? Gideon asked after seeing everything for himself.

" No I didn't, because it wasn't her father who gave her to them." Abesselom replied with his mouth this time.

" Then who did." Gideon asked importantly, wishing he had gone with Abesselom to know everything.

" That pretentious and greedy king did." Abesselom said, and calm demeanor he had after reveling what happened to Gideon, vanished from his face, replaced with anger.

" But he's the girl's father, so why would he?" Gideon asked, not understanding what was going on.

" He's not her father, he never was." The anger that was building up in Abesselom's body was getting unbearable, making him speak on top of his voice.

"If he's not her father, then are you her...." Gideon couldn't complete his statement when he was sent flying away forcefully.

Realization hit Abesselom really hard in the heart, which caused him to turn sharply to his pet. And the cause of his turn made several things in his room scattered on the floor, due to the guest of wind that followed his movement.

"No! That's not true." He said to himself.