23 Imprisoned

Kai walked and walked, he didn't know how much further he had to go. For every step he took, it felt like an eternity. Slowly draining away his life.

The first day ended with him parting from the adventurers. 

The second day was just an endless walk through the plains. No sight of civilization or humans whatsoever. It was empty. 

The third day was arduous. The terrain was rough and unexpected. High mountains, rivers, caves. He came across plenty of villages along the way but none of them intrigued him enough to stay for the night.

The fourth night, he was walking through familiar terrains. Mountains that reached the tip of the sky. It melted into the background. 

"You haven't slept in 4 days." Luar said after watching the boy for the past few days. Though it didn't appear in daylight, it could see small bits of Kai's vision. 

Kai rested at the top of the mountain. He felt exhausted but he couldn't stop. "I can't. And besides, less breaks means we arrive earlier."

Luar wasn't sure what that meant but it couldn't ask. It had tried to but Kai had always dismissed it with a smile. "Do you miss your father?" 

"Haven't thought about it." Kai briefly responded, staring at the view below him. He pushed himself off the rocks and advanced down the mountains.

"That's Gia. The village with the large statue of the great sage." Luar said, spotting the view that it adored most. It was as beautiful as Luar last remembered it.

The village was large and took on a rural shape. Most houses were made of wood and outgrown with plants. The village was built right in the middle of a forest. With only one clear path from the mountain.

Kai picked up Luar gently in his arms. "It's faster this way." He whispered. 

Smoothly, Kai made his way down the mountains, he had gotten scraped a few times but these past few days had gotten him used to mountain climbing.

When Kai made it through the clear path, he was met with swords shoved in front of his face. 

Guards lined behind the trees waited for his arrival. They were on high alert, seeing as how they resorted to such ways of restraining someone.

"Who are you? You're not one of the villagers." The guard questioned while he looked at his friend and nodded.

"I.. am visiting." Kai said. Unsure of the situation, Luar had gone silent too. It seems like the cat was also busy figuring things out.

"On whose invitation?" The guard pressed further, his eyes full of suspicion as he eyed the boy up and down.

His appearance was unreal. His long silver hair paired with the most bright yellow eyes. His features were soft, unlike the villagers of Gia. If he had belonged here, he would held some resemblance to the village's facial features.

"On.." Kai went silent. Why did they have such tight security just for a village entry? And why had Luar stopped talking?

"You're under arrest for suspicion attempted murder and treason." The guard claimed immediately. It was ridiculous.

The other guards placed Kai's hands behind his back and handcuffed him. They pushed his head down low as they made arrangements for his confinement. 

'Did they figure out you were the one who killed Lord Bellaire?' Luar asked in Kai's mind.

Kai shook his head slightly but the guards felt his movement and pressed his head down further. He gritted his teeth in anger, if he could, he would've ripped their arms out by now.

'I'll resolve this situation. Stay calm and do not be rash. I will save you. Trust me.' Luar said before rushing through the gates.  'Wait for me. It will take a few hours or more.'

Nobody saw the small black cat in the midst of the night. It was too nimble and camouflaged.

Kai was taken to the underground prison in the back of the village. It was in a rather secluded area. He followed obediently with his head held low, enough for his head to not be held down by someone else's hands.

Once he was in the underground prison, he walked down a steep staircase. And he reached a path and with each step he took, he could see from the corner of his eyes an endless line of rusted iron bars.

Kai followed the guards to his cell and found himself hidden behind bars again, this time with less chains. They had uncuffed him. He watched the guard locked the cell with a pair of keys and walked away.

Kai found himself looking in front of the cell across from him. It was a teenage boy that seemed around Zane's age. His eyes were cold while he held his two hands together in a prayer.

The teenage boy caught Kai looking at him and scowled. "What do you think you're staring at? You're not better off than me. Even you failed." 

Kai smiled. "Mad that you failed? Such a pity. You're really incompetent, huh?"

"You are too if you're here. Can't even murder a person that's reaching the end of their life span." The boy mumbled before looking away and staring into his own cell.

In an instant, Kai had acquired the knowledge he lacked in this situation. If he connected the pieces together..he had a slight overview of his situation.

The main concerning thing was how long does he have to stay here for?

Prison was not a lovely place to be in. The rotting and metal smell and the exploding chaos between the inmates.

From what he gathered through small bits and pieces, the people here are those who had attempted to enter the village without an 'invitation' or they had managed to enter but had gotten caught.

The security was strengthened to this rate was due to previous assassination attempts made by intruders or newcomers that intend to cause harm to the peaceful village.

It seemed like those assassins from before had gone around killing people at a tremendously fast rate. They were looking for someone it seemed.

The guards had been deployed to stop all this from happening in order to protect the village. They were one of the royal family's knights squadrons. 

Well, that's how people viewed it. But in Kai's eyes, it was to protect the important one hiding in the village that was attracting all this chaos. The king he knew now wouldn't save his people. He wasn't benevolent in the least.

Who could it possibly be? For it to be marked as treason? For there to be such a large amount of royal guards deployed?

It sparked Kai's curiosity as he laid on the rock hard bed and watched the ceiling drip with dirty drain water.

The annoying sounds of people chewing made him annoyed. Their complaints and anger as they wrecked things in their cells.

Kai wished they could all go silent.