Chapter 9: Winners and Sinners, part 2
"Your Majesty, we found them cursing your glorious name" reported the guard
"Oh" sneered the sly man "You know the punishment, do it!" he gestured to take them away
"Hey, isn't he the one?" asked Rupza
"Ahh yeah!" said Zio
"Your Majesty, I did not punish you when you committed a crime in my Kingdom, shouldn't you return the favor?" yelled Zio
"Are you accusing the King of Herring, I will cut off your head right now!" yelled the guard and violently unsheathed the sword
"Who are you?" asked The King
"I am the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Luxuria" said Zio
"Ahh Luxuria. You have an abundance of tigers" said the King, sad to have missed the chance to hunt
"We let you go, as you did not know the rules of our Kingdom. However it is a crime to enter the forest with the intent to hunt" said Zio unfazed
The guards almost charged at them again, but the king signaled them to stop
"Alright. I will let you go but on one condition. Never set foot in Herring again" the King said arrogantly. He snickered at them and left
As they were walking away, Rupza was glancing around carefully around the palace and he caught a glimpse which would make their lives more difficult
"I have to tell you something" he whispered to Zio
Zio nodded
"Not here, let's get farther away from the palace" he whispered. They quickly walked away and reached the open fields
Glancing around making sure no one is listening, Rupza pulled Zio closer
"I don't want to ruin our friendship!" said Zio and tried to back off
"What?" exclaimed Rupza
"You are going to tell me you have feelings for me right?" said Zio
Rupza slapped his forehead. Then glared at Zio and slapped him on the back of his head
"No!" he said
"Camellia is the Princess of Herring" he whispered
"What?" yelled Zio "How?"
"I saw her glimpse when the King left" said Rupza
"Are you sure?" asked Zio
At this Rupza simply rolled his eyes and stared at him, hoping heavens would either knock some sense into Zio, or a bolt of lightning
"Alright alright" said Zio "So you really don't have feelings for me?"
"I don't" said Rupza
"Why am I not good enough for you?" asked Zio immediately offended
Rupza looked around awkwardly, trying to avoid the question
"Oye! Answer me!" yelled Zio "The Crown Prince is not good enough?" he yelled
They stayed hidden in Herring for 2 days, trying to avoid secret guards who might catch them again
"See those guys, they are clearly different from the rest of the public. I am telling you they are the secret guards" said Rupza
Zio nodded. They were looking down from the roof of the house, lying down like potato chips laid to dry out in the sun
"We must come up with a plan" said Rupza
Staking out on the top of the tree for a day, they finally got the chance to meet with the Princess. They jumped into the courtyard when she was alone
"Princess Camellia?" said Zio
The Princess was shocked to see these 2 men suddenly appearing out of nowhere
Rupza signaled him to talk while he moved a little away. They both returned together
"We are in love!" announced Zio "But she said her father will never agree"
"Already? Don't you guys at least want to know each other?" said Rupza shocked
"We have our whole lives for that" said Zio staring into her eyes like a puppy
Rupza buried his face into his palms "Alright" he said
"Princess, even though the King won't agree you should still ask him. This can be the first step of our plan" said Rupza "Are you willing to leave Herring to settle in Luxuria, please think about this clearly"
Camellia nodded. Approaching footsteps ended up cutting this meeting. The Princess turned to look at the approaching servants and when she turned around the men vanished
The King was not pleased with the thought of Princess marrying as per her wish. In fact he was angry and forbade her to go out of the palace
"I have the perfect plan" said Zio
After 2 days, a sly looking merchant with a pointed beard approached the King
"The woman who is the owner of these jewels tried to seduce me and rob me Your Majesty!" he claimed
The King and his minister upon checking found out that the jewels belonged to the Princess
"So you are saying the Princess did this? How are you lie in front of the King?" yelled the minister
"I am the great merchant Renn Tej in the whole royal trio of Kingdoms! The almonds the king eats are bought from my trades! Do you think I will lie?" yelled the merchant
The King sighed and stared at the merchant, then a shocking order was given
"Princess Camellia will be exiled from the Kingdom of Herring" he announced and left the court without another word
The whole court was shocked yet stayed silent.
Rupza quickly stuffed the disguise of the merchant in his bag. In an hour the three happy strategists made their way back to the Kingdom of Luxuria.
And Vikaya made her way back to the no-man's land, back to staring at Zar's familiar, unchanging face
"So, how was the trip Rupza?" asked Zar
"Whoa!" said Vik "I was one of the main characters, the situations were being thrown at me, I had to make decisions. It was thrilling"
"So, tell me" began the Hhital "Whose sin was greater?
Vikaya entered the realm of her mind 'Zio planned, Rupza executed, Camellia was part of all it and the King exiled Camellia'
Vikaya took a deep breath in, preparing herself for Zar's ghostly flight back to the tree
"The King" she said
"Why?"
"Because he exiled Camellia without trusting her or trying to find the truth of the situation. He took the word of any random stranger without checking his credibility. Zio planned the clever strategy and Rupza executed it being his friend. Camellia didn't really commit a sin, she wanted to live her own life and get away from her father's shadow" said Vikaya
Zar clapped, smiled and hovered back to his tree
Vikaya sighed, praying in her mind to find the solution of this infinite loop of the ammonite.