Hidden village

"We will have to take care of Queen Daphne and if possible, even King Ragnor once and for all." The Duke declared with no fluctuation in his voice. There was no gentleness in his eyes, nor was there any humanity. All that Killian could see was pure evilness. For a second, even Killian was scared of his father. The Duke looked like he was possessed by the devil with the way his eyes were oozing with cunningness. 

It took a long time for Killian to get his speech back. Although he was fearful of his father right now, he still had to clarify the doubts he had in mind. "How do we do that, Father? It is not easy to enter the castle and killing the royal couple is beyond possible."

"Who told you that we are going to kill the couple?" The Duke asked, turning to face his son suddenly, terrifying him by the sudden movement. However, the old man was too lost in his thoughts to notice anything different about his son. To him, his son seemed to be perfectly fine, not fearful and frightened which actually was Killian's current state.

"Then, how will we achieve this feat, Father?" Killian asked trying to mask his fear. The one thing his father hated was timid people. He found them highly annoying and troublesome and he expected his son to be nothing like them. Since the beginning, Duke Zale had thought Killian to be fearless and brave. However, the man could not help but be fearful and scared of his own father who behaved like a monster at times.

"I know someone who could help us in this matter, and don't worry. Once the issue has been resolved, nobody will point fingers at us." The Duke replied mysteriously, with mirth filled eyes. His response bewildered Killian all the more. He wondered what his father was up to now and who could be the person to help them deal with the royal couple.

"Have you heard about witches?" The Duke asked when he did not hear any sound from his son. From the look on his face, the old Duke was sure that his son did not realize what his plan was.

"I have heard about them. Father, are you going to seek a witch for help?"

"Why shouldn't I? If it helps me to achieve my goals, then why wouldn't I use a witch?" The Duke answered immediately as though he was right in his decision, not allowing his son to object. "Either you take over the throne and become the king, or else, Eleanor will become the queen and fulfill my dreams. Any which way, I want full powers and the throne and it can only be achieved with the help of you two."

The Duke's words ignited a desire in Killian and now he looked forward to taking possession of the throne and why wouldn't he? Everybody sought power and strength and he too did the same. His ultimate goal was now to wear the king's crown and sit on the throne as he ruled over the kingdom.

"Father," Now his fear had vanished and in its place, there was newfound desire and willingness. "Do you know any witches?"

"Yes, I do." The Duke's eyes glowed when he uttered the words. He had been in this world for long and he had met all kinds of people, including a witch. He knew that Alastair's family was not normal just by the fact that the current king had not aged even a little since the time he had taken over the throne. Alastair was as young as ever and this was a mystery to the Duke who assumed it to be the power of the throne. He assumed that the throne bestowed certain powers to the person who sat on it and that was the reason why Alastair had not aged over the years.

Also, there was a possibility that the king had other powers that he did not know about, and this might be the case even with the previous king, Ragnor. So, in order to take down the royal couple, he had to come up with extreme measures and what could be better than using a witch for this purpose? "Although the woman I have in mind has gone into hiding, I am sure I can track her down. Since the royal couple is moving to the Fall Castle, it will be easy for us to execute the plan without any hindrance, especially from Alastair."

Killian thought through his father's words and found them to be perfect. They could go ahead and end the couple without any problems once they moved out of the royal palace. 

The room became silent for some time and there was no sound in there except for the quickened breathing of the two men. The fire in the hearth flickered lightly making a small sizzling noise before it became silent again. Killian did not know what his father was thinking, but he was sure that whatever it was would only be beneficial to him or his sister. 

His eyes were fixed on the old Duke who seemed to have remembered some memory as he went around the study searching for something. He had to pull out a few books and parchments to finally get his hand on the thing he was looking for. "Found it." He exclaimed and opened the parchment in his hand.

Killian approached him to see what his father held in his hand only to find out that it was the map of the kingdom of Oryn. However, it was not the map of the kingdom of the current state. It was an older version of the map which was sketched when the kingdom was quite small and occupied just a tiny portion of the map. 

Over the years, the kingdom had expanded and it was now the largest territory, occupying three-fourths of the map. "Father, why are we looking at this version of the map?" Killian inquired, confusion taking over his handsome face. He frowned slightly when he sensed his father's happiness and his mind become muddled even more.

"This is the older version of the map before our kingdom expanded its territory by conquering the nearby independent villages."

"I know that, Father. But why are we looking at this?" 

"Bring out the new map." Duke Zale ordered and spread out the old one on the table. Killian did as he was told and brought the newer one where the kingdom of Oryn stood proud, occupying more than half of the parchment. "Can you notice any difference in the two maps?"

Killian took a look at the two maps and other than the expansion of the kingdom in the newer version, he could not find any difference. So, he shook his head. "Look closer." The old Duke instructed and Killian followed his words, this time taking a clear look. He now saw the difference between the two maps.

In the newer version, one of the villages was missing. It was right outside the border of the kingdom of Oryn which was easy to locate in the older version. "Father, why is the village Ambra absent from the newer version? Was it a mistake made by the mapmaker?"

The Duke smiled at his son's question. He was expecting it from him since the time he had asked him to take a closer look. "No, the map maker is not at fault."

"Then?"

"It is the work of the witch. She has hidden the village from everybody's eye to save herself from the king."

"And, why would she do that?"

"How do you think the king would react if he were to find out the presence of the witch when she has the capability to end his life?"

Killian understood the situation right now. The witch had hidden the village from everybody's eye to save herself from the king. "But, why the entire village?"

"Although I am not sure about it, I have a hunch that there are other witches residing in that village."

"I get it. What do we do next, Father?" Killian asked, his eyes not leaving the tiny dot on the map that showed where the village was situated.

"We will be leaving for village Ambra tomorrow. Make preparations." The Duke ordered, sighing lightly. His brows narrowed for a moment before they relaxed.

"Right away, Father. What about Eleanor?"

"I'll talk to her. You go and make preparations."

The two men left the study to make preparations for their departure, completely oblivious to the presence of another person in the room. They had no idea that Lady Odalis had heard everything they had discussed in the room.