56 Prince Nicholas of Erā Part 1

I dreamed of her again. My love. It was hard living in the world without her. Here, I have nothing to protect but myself. When I am with her, I am sure that she's okay. But now that I am not with her, I can feel them, who has a thirst in blood wanted her dead.

I decided to slip off from my bed and walk out of my room towards the kitchen. I am living on Erā just a little far away from the castle. I do not wish to live in the castle for the reason that I always saw the greed of people inside that hell. This world has never been perfect, it's no compared to the world outside. Everyone has their greed, ambition, obsession, and mostly, dark secrets.

"I still wonder how your life would be if you are married." My baby sister Almira speaks who is freely sitting on my chair with a fancy cup on her left hand while reading an old book from my shelves.

"I wonder the same, sis." She's the youngest on the daughters and sons of King Elliot, my father. "Do you remember the girl that I told you?" I asked and she peeked on me from the book that she's reading. "Her name is Adhiti," when she remembered, her eyes lighten and put down the book.

"Yeah, the girl you said that is your soul mate?" I nod at her.

"She's back. I found her. However, she's not safe."

"Then why did you left her?" she furrows at me and sipped on her cup.

"I had thought if I make a wrong decision." I pour a coffee on my cup and sipped on it. "I missed her." I murmur looking at nowhere. When I looked at her, I found her grinning from ear to ear.

"Then go to her."

"It is just, I cannot go back outside the world. Everyone around there is in danger and from here, I need to make a move."

"Damn you. You are such a fool." She goes back to her book and murmurs. "Why are men are all fools?"

I walk towards the open window and reach for the fruit of the apple. I pull the fruit and take a bit on it. I studied my sister and I wonder what she's doing here. She should be in the castle for her class but she's here, reading on my dining table.

"Early this morning, I had heard from the people that there's a human who had entered the portal from the outside world." She told me that makes me stop from taking another bit.

"Which direction?"

"Pyr." She answer with a glanced on me. I hurried up taking my black cloak. "You should take a bath first. They won't kill her not until they had decided on the fifth day."

I did take her counsel on taking a bath in a hurry and wear my black clothes, boots, and put a handmade knife that nobody will recognize that it was from Erā inside my boots. On the fifth day, they will burn her or worse cut her head off. I need to warn Flame. I just wished that he won't betray me. He needed to protect her too. She's the light of the Pyr.

I use my black horse to go on Harbor to ride a ship on the way to the Pyr. I have to be there before the fifth day. I thought that it would be clear riding on the way to the Harbor but I got blocked because of the arrival of Princess Amanda, the Princess of all the Princesses. Her carriage stopped and I climb down my horse. The door opens and I immediately dropped one knee and stay my head down.

"You must be in a hurry, Prince Nicholas." Her sweet voices made me raise my head to look at her.

"I am on my way to see a friend," I told her. She smiles sweetly and signed me to stand. She walks towards me and gently put her right hand on my left cheek.

"Take care on your way. And please," she took my hand. "Please give this to your dear friend as a gift." I clench my fist on the cloth that she gave to me. 'It will keep her safe. And as long as it is with her she can find me.' She spoke inside my head. I nod my head and put it in my pocket.

I am curious about how she knows that I am meeting and saving a human. There are lots of mystery about the Princess. But I remain on trusting her because she's like a mother to me. Even though my father had done bad things on the Princess that includes sexual harassment, she kept me by her side after the death of my mother when nobody wanted to love me as a son.

"Go now, my Prince. You don't want to get late on your rendezvous." I nod my head and immediately ride on my horse.

****Adhiti****

A cold ground is all I feel. I just wished that I was back on the forest laying down on the grass taking all the refreshing wind. It wasn't refreshing here, because all I smell is metal, oil gas, fire… I open my eyes and slowly sat up. I looked for something to lean on and I was closed to the wall.

I looked for my sword, and archer but even my bag is not with me. But good thing that I felt my phone in my pocket. But what does the phone do? It is still useless because there is no signal here. Footsteps, someone is coming. The metal clings as a man appeared in front of bars holding a torch.

"Get ready poppet! You have an appointment with the King." He spoke so deep that it could drown me.

"Oh, thank goodness." I stood and walk towards the bars. Two men came with cuffs and chains. "That's very unusual." I have to keep myself cocky before I burn them all. But today, I shouldn't show what I can do. Right? It would be a disaster because there are five kingdoms, one of them might cut my head off. It wouldn't be so nice.

Damn, these chains are heavy and these boulders are dragging me. Their legs are all long and I am too short in them. At least my height had level their underarms. I was lead to the extravagance hall. The floor is so clean and clear made of marble. Even the handle of the torches is made of some expensive metals if it was from the outside world.

In the end, there are two big seats and at least five other seats on the left and right. Maybe thrones for Prince and Princesses. So, where's the King and others? I thought that I have an appointment. We had reached the front but a bit away from the shiny glamorous thrones. Then, there's the clicking of fabulous shoes. Geez, when did they come from? They all looked like Dracula. The man in red velvet cape who stood in front of the left throne in the middle which I guess is the King makes his servant pushed me down to kneel. But instead of kneeling, I sat my butt on the cold floor and folded my knees like Indian sit. There's no way in hell that I will kneel on some person.

"I didn't tell you to sit." He said. His children I guess who are younger and some are at my age or ahead of my age sat on their thrones. I just shrugged. The guards on both sides were about to pull me up but the King sign them to just let me.

"You see, dude. I don't kneel to anyone." I told him.

"Sorry I'm late!" a familiar voice makes me stopped from being brave. "What's the occasion and why is there—" he stopped in front of me and checked me. I glare at him. "Oh," his eyes widen and lips in the shape of O. "Why is the beautiful lady in cuffs?" he turned to the King.

"Flame, sit down!" the King orders. Flame winks at me which I don't know what the sign is about. He walked towards the right where the boys are just right after the King's throne.

"Speak your name." the King orders, I pull down my hood and sigh. I did not answer or even talk. There's a silence. I check every faces on his side and stopped on the little girl who smiled at me. I smiled a little and looked back at the King smirking.

"I wanted to defend myself," I told him.