chapter 29

Princess Eleanor went to her bedchamber angry. lord Zane spoiled her evening.

"How dared he?" . She walked past Beatrice who greeted her but no response came

Beatrice wondered. The princess had never ignored her before. She was always excited to see her and to speak with her. She just knew something serious might be bothering her.

Princess Eleanor went straight to her room. She locked the door.

"lord Zane is insane for thinking he can forced me to love him. Why would he not get used to rejection and leave me to my choice". She murmured as she walked to her bed.

She was scared that he might hurt Francis. The reasoned she asked Francis to leave. She remembered at the woods after the ambushed. How he reacted when Francis called her by her name.

"lord Zane, I know you can hear me. Leave me alone. I can never have nothing to do with a demon. Thank you for always saving me in times of trouble. That is all it can get. You are my saviour".

Eleanor was leaning on the door, stepping forward, She undressed sluggishly. The princess had too much on her head. Too many things to think of.

When Kate told her that Francis was waiting in the garden for her. She was excited because she wanted to forget all what her father told her about his past.

Not so. She was excited because she wanted to meet and spent time with him. She had taken time to dressed to impressed him. When their meeting was at it peak. Some demon uses his powers against it.

She closed her eyes to imagined Francis lips on hers. How sweet and delicate it would be. She could not tell how a kiss feel like as she had never experience herself.

"poor thing". She voiced out.

"I don't know what Francis might be thinking is the reason I told him to leave all of a sudden".

She changed into her night wear and cooped on the bed.

Eleanor wasn't comfortable just lying still. She rose and unhanged her father's portrait above her bed.

She kept staring at it. Admiring every feature. He has gone through a lot.

" How did he managed to lived with so much pains of losing his innocent children just for the lust of one man". She thought.

She is yet to come up with what shall be done to Duke Williams who led his father into Blaze's den. The master mind behind all the king's plight. He and his household.

"What did he stand to gain?. Why would he do it?. How did father get to know?. So many questions were surfacing in her mind yet no answer.

The king knew about the Duke's betrayal yet nothing has been done to disciplined the Duke.

She looked round her room. Everywhere was dark except the auburn embers which flickers in the fireplace.

She reached out to the pillars of daisies which were in her drawer. She lit them and placed them carefully on the holders around the room.

Princess Eleanor lit another candlestick and hold it as she ordered her legs to the big mirror.

She looked at it. Hoping she could see her mother. To comfort her in times like this.

She stood before the mirror. Lifting the candle up to her face. "mother". She called. Her eyes became moist. She closed them. Her lips twitching.

A time when she was falling for the grandson of who betrayed her father. She needed an advised. An assurance that she was not playing with fire.

"Would Francis be any different?. She asked a rhetorical question.

"Why did this blood run through his veins?. The blood of betrayal" .

Her father hated him from the onset. Now she knows why. She knows better but how can she caution the heart not to loved him. The heart choose whom to love.

"I need you to come and comfort my father, your husband". She said.

Eleanor opened her eyes. She was looking into them through the mirror. Her father made her believed that she would be seeing her mother anytime she looked at the mirror. So she was convinced that she looking into queen Lucy's eyes.

" He is burdened. The load is unbearable in his heart. I see my father withered away, slowly". She paused and let the tears have it way.

"I also need you to direct me on the right path. Give me the courage to face my fears". She laughed. " I must be silly trying to asked for your approval to love this…". She heaved and let her forehead kissed the mirror.

"I lost the bracelet again at the river. The enemies took it. I'm sorry I couldn't protect the one thing you hold dear and passed it on to me". She wept.

Eleanor off the candle and returned to her bed. She let sleep eliminate her worries.

***

When she was asleep. A shadow came and watched over her. Like it always does. For many years now it never failed. lord Zane came. He was the shadow.

Every night he made himself available to watched her sleep. He opened the curtains and kept to allow the breeze ventilate the room which was becoming hot and stuffy because of the many candles around.

Thirty minutes later he closed them back and moved to the foot of the bed.

Eleanor rolled on the bed. She slept on her left side. Her long hair wept across and the tips went out of the bed. She was wearing a white night dress. The duvet fell off her shoulders when she rolled.

lord Zane moved closer. He held the duvet gently and cover her shoulder.

Earlier in the garden when he saw Francis almost kissed her. He had been very upset and came only to killed him for attempting to touch her.

He can't stand the sight of sharing her with anyone. Not to talked of a mere mortal. But when he saw the care Eleanor had in her eyes for him.

He couldn't do it. He loved her. He didn't want her to get hurt or hate him for killing the silly mortal.

He had been trying to win her heart in ways that any mortal man could but Eleanor's heart refused to be won.

His heart ached when Francis openly declared his love for her and the princess seems excited by it. The sight that Francis almost stole her first kiss from him make dread leaped into his eyes.

lord Zane had flown from the blues to stop the action. The breeze from his titan wings blew across them. This made Francis lost his balance but Eleanor remained unaffected.

Francis's hair was brought to his face. It covered his entire face but most especially his lips. The very lips he wanted to used and kissed Eleanor.

Her eyes were still shut waiting to be kissed. When nothing came close. she opened them to see Francis trying to pulled his own hairs off his face.

She stepped back. Trying to figured out what just happened. She felt the presence of another. She then turned to the direction where her intuition was poking at her. Her right hand side. Lord Zane was hovering in the air. His wings were the colour of burning fire.

Her once emotional demeanor stirred up and turned sour. She had dismissed Francis and left without sparing him another look.

Lord Zane had been deeply hurt by her actions. It means she didn't cared about him. He reasoned as he watched her walked out of the garden without looking back.

He flapped his wings fiercely and howled into the emptiness of the evening. Every thing in the garden were affected like fierce wind careen a ship in the waters.

lord Zane is a higher ranked demon who is most powerful in Serpent Land after his father the devil.

Tyson Odin Anaconda used to be second to the devil but when he pleaded with the Kings' stone for king Ephraim to have a child and his powers was required of him. He lost the position.

Even after he sought for a reconsideration. A proportion was given him. Till today he still weeps for all of his powers but he was judged fairly. How unkind he was to first agreed to helped king Ephraim only to have a changed of heart afterwards because it was not in his favour.

"I love you Eleanor. I will not let anything or anyone come between us". He told her and left.

In the morning when she woke. She stay put in her room all day. Refusing to give in to the persistent knocked on the door. Hoping that by the time she steps out. All the troubles she feared were just sprouting shall disappeared.

The maids tried to get her out but it was in vain. The princess missed breakfast and lunch and they were scared to death that they might be punished by the king if Eleanor misses dinner too.

Beatrice kept knocking on the door. Eleanor had make sure the door was well secured.

"My princess... The king is waiting for you. He asked me to prepared you for hunting".

She remember she was going for hunting with her father. How could she forgot so soon. She was curling up on bed. Hugging her knees to her chest. Her hair ruffled like weeds mingled with one another.

She needed to see her father to know if he is well. He wasn't looking too well last evening. He had said he wanted to spend more time with her. "Same here father". She whispered.

Princess Eleanor sprang up and opened the door. For the maids to get her prepared. She wouldn't know where to start from.

Except that she could bathe her self. She had never done other daily routine on her own. It was way easier to handle a sword than to handle a comb. Even to get dress or applied makeup was tedious.

princess Eleanor was now ready. She met up with her father. Soon they set out for the plan of the night. Hunting.

They went in many carriages. They shared one while their knights rode in others. Bernard and Steve were the coached men on the carriage the king and his princess were.

"father you looked sick, are you alright"

" I am my king" said king Ephraim.

The carriage was rocking side to side on the coarse lane. Only the churning of the wheels and the sound from the horses hooves was heard. Princess Eleanor thought if she heard her father well or the noise obstructed her hearing.

" Father why would you called me king when I'm only your child. A daughter and you are the king".

" My child soon you shall ruled over my people. I don't want you to see your self as a mere princess. You are different and special"

She was confused. Since the day before yesterday, her father had been talking to her in ways she doesn't understand. When she looks at him. She sees a man who's live is about to leave his body. Who is struck with so much burden.

"Father why do you keep lying to me. Your health is down. Every breathe in you tells. Your voice cracked when you talk. Father please you are hurting me".

Tears was dripping out of her eyes as she spoke. If she was not a princess, she would have been penalized for calling the king a liar but she was closer to his heart.

Her eyes were still sore from last night. The king looked into them. He held her hand looking out of the carriage window to see trees moved behind.

The evening was cool and calm except their heart which was throbbing like the were in danger. The king and his pretty princess.

She was looking at his nape which was facing her when he looked through the window.

"I love you father". She said in a whisper. He looked at her again and took those slender hands of hers to his lips where he planted a kissed on them. Pulling her closer, he forced her into a tight embraced. They were sobbing in each other's arms.

"I love you more, child".

" But father why do you say what you say? ". She break free from his gripped. He caressed her cheeks, her hair, her shoulders. That was how his hands kept traveling.

Then he kissed her on the forehead and held her cheeks with his palms to steady her face.

"Listen to me my child. Be careful of Duke Williams and every member of his household. Most especially that boy you went out with"

" Francis!.. father".

" Francis!. Yes". The king nodded

" Duke Williams and some of my nobles are evil. if I go to meet my fore..."

" You are going no where father". The princess interjected with a commanding tone.

"oh my dear". The king patted the side of her cheeks and left her alone.

"Even now that I'm here the kingdom is vulnerable before them. They shall misused the throne and turned my people into their slaves".

Princess Eleanor was still not understanding her father.

"Father what are you talking about?".

"A great war is coming to our kingdom. We have already been betrayed. So it time to fight and protect what is ours". He sat upright facing the coached men.

"Eleanor!"

"Father I'm here". He called her as if she was far away. " You shall act according to what I shall tell you now".

She kept her ears wide open to listen to him. Letting the tears and gushed of emotions stepped aside for the moment. She sat upright too looking ahead.

"The kings' stone is part of you and not entirely you. The kings' stone is a saviour that saved human from evil supernatural powers.

After it redemption. The worthy king who brought it from it abode keeps custody of it for as longed as any king of that kingdom do not soiled their hands.

It protects the kingdom. But if it is done contrary to the stone's nature. It must be returned till when there is another evil supernatural being tormenting the world.

Then a worthy king from any kingdom shall retrieved it and saved mankind.

Also if our kingdom that has soiled our hands and lose it protection continues to have custody of it without returning it.

There is a dark magic that could be used on it. And such person who used it shall have eternal reign. The Earth would surely be doom. Please my child. I trust you can prevent that by returning the magical kings' stone"

He turned to looked at her. She turned her head too at the same time. They were too many questions to asked but she just didn't know which.

"Placed it in the heart of the sea"

" which sea?" .

"When you are ready it shall led you there. That was the place my father told me. You must returned it there. Once you have return the stone you can focused on saving the kingdom from this person".

" Who father?"

" Emperor Cassius George"

Where would I get the power to defeat the emperor seeing that he practiced dark magic. He has conquered kingdoms. Small and mighty. Turning these kingdoms into his Empire. Now father, I have no power no more to defeat such powerful man".

"There is a Being in Serpent Land. He is a good one. You shall meet him to helped you. He is the only one who can helped you. He is most powerful. A demon".

" father why do you keep talking like you shall not be there to see everything happen".

"I am an old man. I cannot live for ever. Do what I am telling you. Meet this demon".

"What!. Father!". That was when she remembered lord Zane. Currently she is still mad at him for what he did the last time.

This was the right moment to spilt it out but how can she tell her father that she was already friends with a demon.

No!. Not friends. She was already in talking terms with a demon.

" How?" father. She questioned. "How would I start visiting a demon to asked for his helped.

Did you say he is good?. Demons are evil. Father... Wicked. Heartless wise serpent whose job is to killed and destroyed. Never father!. Nothing good can come out of him. He might be worse, even more than the emperor Cassius himself".

Her eyes dilated in her head. She never believed she just said that. lord Zane had been good to her to the point of saving her from death. He cared so much about her.

Also Joyce, the demon girl. They didn't start on a good note but she helped afterwards when she brought back her carriages and horses from Serpent Land

" I would never be happy where ever I may be if you don't go to him. Our people would be in bondage. Their future is tie to you. You were destined to redeemed them. Go to him child. Go to him".

Their carriage just stopped in front of the thick forest. They alighted from the carriage.

Their knights led the way in front, by their sides and behind. They surrounded them. The knights didn't want to take any chances. They were well armed. Not after all the recent happenings. It wouldn't be in their own time that a king would be hurt in their watched.

They entered through the east side of Golden hill forest. They walked with the help of the moonlight and the light from their torched.

Eleanor collected one torched from Steve. They were walking slowly to keep up with the pace of the aged king.

Crickets were chirping in distance and hawk howled on faraway trees. Fireflies led them in.

Eleanor didn't stepped a foot distance away from her father.

Animals which first saw them, took to their heel. From a distance the sighted a bull. Deliberately they calculated their steps to a near distance. The king turned to his warrior princess.

"Take the shot" . Princess Eleanor set her bow and arrow. Closing her left eye. She didn't want to missed it. She wanted to make her father happy if he would forget all about the pains. She took her time before she finally aimed the arrow and nailed the bull to a tree.

"Just like your father". The king said behind her with a smile that the princess saw when she turned around. The reflection of the torched made his face to be gold yellow.

When the turned around the bull was running with the arrow.

The knights sprint towards it.

"shoot the arrow". The king screamed as he jogged along.

"walked father". Eleanor said after she jogged to his side.

"You are not so strong for this".

"It called exercise child". He kept jogging in the direction of the running knights until he halted all of a sudden.

"Father" . Eleanor held him.

The king was panting profusely. exhausted from the light sprint. But they was more. He started coughing out blood.

"Father!". Princess Eleanor was in tears.

"I shall be fine my dear". She threw the bow and quiver away. When he sat on the floor.

"Father get up!. help me".

The knights helped the king to his feet. Others who were running after the bull came back with a dead bull.

They took their king back to where their carriages was. They went in and took off.