To the castle

"Get out of my way! "Victor rushes through the two knights and opens the gate. Filip, one of the knights is looking at Marcus, the other knight, with wonder. What got Prince Victor this stressed? They could see how the frown on Victor's forehead left traces as he smiled faintly on his way towards the carriage.

The soldier leading the carriage jumps down from it as he stops the horse in front of Victor who stands tall in front of the gate. He kneels and bows in front of the prince.

"Rise! Show me the girl!" Victor rushes the soldier to lead the way. the man jumps in the carriage and uncovers Ilona. A small girl is showing concern as the man dressed in majestic clothes is staring at Ilona.

His heart sinks when he sees the pale skin of his beloved. Victor restrains himself from showing too much emotion but inside he burns to touch the girl. He wanted to jump in the carriage and take her in his arms. But, not now ….

Filip and Marcus are behind him.

"Sir, we have to hurry. "Filip reminds him that they have to arrive tomorrow with Anise.

Victor turns towards them. His cold eyes and tensed jaw make the two knights turn stiff.

"Anise is not here. We will take Ilona instead. On your horses and let go! "His voice is sealing their tongues and they leave to mount on their horses. There is no need to argue with Victor nor do they can argue with the prince.

"You will stay here! I will take the carriage. "Victor looks at the soldier in the carriage and the boy jumps down bowing a little.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The soldier keeps his head low.

Victor takes the reins of the carriage and looks again at the soldier. "You will be rewarded for this. I promise."

The soldier raises his head and looks him in the eyes, then he bows a little. As the carriage is turning to leave, Lily is waving at him. The soldier is waving back and smiling.

Filip and Marcus are behind the carriage.

"Leave! Go and announce to the King that the journey will be delayed! "Victor thunders and the two knights get closer to him.

"But your majesty …" Filip is trying to make him aware that they can't leave him alone.

Victor cuts his speech short saying, "Listen to what I say! You can send guards after you announce the king if that makes you feel better. "He looks at Filip with a frown. He can protect himself just fine ….

"I will, your majesty. YEA! "Filip leaves in a gallop along with Marcus. The dust is seen in the distance as they get out of his sight.

Victor is lost in thought now that he is alone. His mind wonders if she will be fine till they arrive at the castle …and if the king will allow him to marry Ilona. He might die along with her if Silas was against his idea.

"Sir …. where are we going?" A fragile voice is heard from the carriage. Victor almost forgot about the little girl that is with him.

He turns to see her." We are going to the Sunny Castle. "His terrible cold face makes the girl finch. The prince warms up a little seeing the girl's reaction. "Don't worry! Everything will be fine."

His tone is denoting his determination to make that happen. He needs to believe that everything will be fine. At least for now ….

"How is Ilona? Did she get better?" He glances at the girl that still has her eyes closed.

"The fever stopped …but she is still not opening her eyes," Lily reports what happened in the two days since they left the camp. "Her breathing is better too …maybe she will get better as you said." Her eyes sparkle with hope.

In the past few days, she realized that Ilona was stronger than she initially thought. If the girl was still breathing after two days of continuous hops in the carriage, she might be able to survive another day.

"I will try to get there in less than two days …" Victor looks at Lily.

They are already on the hill and the village is seen in the distance. The field is covered by the shadow of the sunset. It was already late when they left and now the sun was replaced little by little with the moon.

Both are silent. Lily is checking out from time to time Ilona who seems to not be as pale as before. The little girl puts a water compress on the girl's forehead.

In Lily's mind are thoughts about the girl she takes care of right now. So, he was a she? And her name is Ilona not redhead? Lily couldn't bring herself to ask Victor since he looked pretty scary.

"Ilona …" She whispers as she looks at the girl that has her hair tangled up. Lily takes a comb out of her pocket and tries to brush Ilona's hair.

Victor glances at Lily. His voice wants to scream at the girl to leave Ilona alone but he doesn't say anything in the end.

"What's your name?" The man asks with a low tone as he glances back.

"Lily, sir!" She looks at him and then concentrates on brushing Ilona's hair.

"Are you fine with coming with Ilona to the castle? "His eyes look at her small hand that brushes carefully the tangled hair. How can he also take care of this child in that damned castle? What if ….

"I am, sir. The lady took care of me instead of taking care of herself. I have to repay her someday. I will go where she goes …." Her face was sad and her hand brushed against Ilona's cheek.

"You seem to be a good girl. I will let you take care of Ilona under one condition. You have to start learning at the castle how to be a doctor. "Victor is making Lily turn to him shocked.

"Can I? Sir …. I don't even know how to read …" Her face became more and more sad. Lily is feeling sorry for her poor education and she realizes that she might not be of any good to Ilona.

"You will learn. Do you want to give your best for Ilona?" Victor knows how the girl feels.

In all his childhood years he was a not-so-educated boy. After he met Ilona when he was around ten years old, Victor pushed himself to study and become the most intelligent man. He might not have become the smartest by now, but he sure is smart enough to protect and take care of Ilona. That's all that mattered.

"I want to be of help…. I will do my best, sir! "Her voice became full of hope and determination.

"Good. I will guide you through. "Victor smiles faintly and turns to lead the horse that took a wrong step making the carriage swing through the hard stones.

...

The two knights arrive at the gates of the castle. The big iron gates open and they get inside in a slow trap heading towards the main door of the castle.

As they arrive at the front door, they dismount and let their horses to the guards that protect the entrance.

"Filip, sir …. Are we going to be safe?" Marcus glances at the older knight. Filip frowns.

"No. We are not safe at all." His cold voice makes Marcus fear the events that will unfold. The young knight never felt the fury of Silas so Filip is worrying for the unexperienced boy.

The door that will reveal the hall of the throne is opened by the guards before them.

Filip takes a breath and Marcus stiffens as he follows the man towards the throne on which stands Silas.

The king raises his eyes and looks down at them. His hair shadows his face and his arms and legs are relaxed. As they get close, his dark eyes see through the strands of hair. Silas stares at them in silence.

Something wrong happened …..

"Where is Victor?" His cold voice freezes the hall. Silas is waiting for answers.

Right after Victor left a few days ago, Albert went missing. The king was angry that he couldn't calm down his wife. He needed to find Albert, but now Victor seemed to step on his tail too ….

"WHERE IS VICTOR? "His voice thunders.

The knights feel the tension in the air and guess that something else must have been the reason for his loss of composure. They gulp when the king stands up and walks down the stairs towards them.