Race

In Hadia, the only port City in the whole of Wize. 

The Sulten of Hadia, Burak, looked at the Paper he was holding and kept on staring at its contents. His mind was adrift thinking of what to do and the right step to take concerning the issue.

He was already dealing with the issue of Amresh and Sworis falling to Jai's hand and it seems the war was finally taking shape into a huge conflict. Of course, this was inevitable at some point, but this new development changes everything.

The prince was alive. It meant the heir to the throne and the rightful king was somewhere out there with the worst possible person, Rashid. Burak already knew how power-hungry all Sultens were and Rashid was the cream of the crop. A relentless and cunning bastard like Rashid would do everything in his power to keep the prince in his grasp

"I need to make a move," he thought.

As if on cue, a knock sounded on the door. He called for the person to enter.

A young woman entered the room and bowed slightly in greeting. 

"Sit, Fatima," Burak said.

"Yes, Father."

"I have a mission for you."

"What is it, Father?" Fatima asked

Burak handed Fatima the paper. She opened it and read the contents: "To the allies of King Ken, Prince Kin is alive and he's in Bintan."

Her eyes widened in shock. "What?! How? How is this possible?" she exclaimed.

"Well, I haven't confirmed it yet," Burak admitted. "But if this is true, then it's crucial that we get to him before anyone else does. That's why I've called you. I want you to go to Bintan and bring the Pr— no, the King, to Hadia. It's time we show our full support and loyalty to the royal line. Once we have the King, even righteousness would be on our side," Burak explained.

"Fatima, you must not fail."

"Yes, Father," Fatima responded determinedly.

"Good. Take what you need immediately and leave alone and quietly. No one must know where you're going, is that clear?"

"Yes, Father," Fatima said, she was delighted that her father was entrusting her with such an important mission. After all this while, he was finally recognizing her effort in the army. She was glad. Little did she know, however, that just hours before their conversation, Burak had sent assassins to Bintan to kill Kin, even as his daughter set out to rescue him.

He planned to eliminate the boy under the pretense of defending the future King, further strengthening his justification. Burak smiled, running the plan through his head. 

"What an unfortunate Prince. Did he truly believe I would fight a god sword and win only to hand him the throne?"

While this was happening in Hadia and Jubai, the same was happening all over the kingdom of Wize. All the Sultens had received reports at the same time that the prince of Wize was alive, and each of them had sent their Henchmen to either capture or assassinate the Prince. They all knew who Prince Kin was and the type of Prince he is. It was safe to say that the Prince was far from being the leader Wize needed. He was a stupid, fat, and a spoilt brat that could barely do anything right. None of them felt any form of allegiance towards the Prince. It would have been better if he had died that night with his mother, there was no way any of them would give the kingdom to the Prince. And so, the race to Bintan had begun.

Inside Rashid's office in Bintan...

Kin stood before Rashid as the Sultan of Amresh settled into his chair and focused his attention on a piece of paper. Rashid remained silent, ignoring Kin who stood there completely confused.

For ten minutes, Kin had been waiting on Rashid, yet the Sultan hadn't uttered a single word. Ever since that night three weeks ago, Rashid's behavior had become increasingly strange. The pressure of choosing a side was clearly taking its toll, especially now that Sworis and Amresh had fallen to Jai's hand. Being the only one left was a significant problem for Rashid, but could that explain his bizarre behavior?

"Did you do something to piss him off?" Ashell asked after another five minutes of silence.

"Well, my entire existence seems to do that," Kin replied, "but apart from that, I haven't done anything wrong."

"Maybe he received more bad news, Kin," Ashell suggested, noticing the paper Rashid was staring at.

"How does that involve me? If he received bad news, Ramon would be the one he calls, not me," Kin countered.

As they spoke, Rashid finally broke the silence. "Who are you?" he asked.

Kin's heart began to beat faster. The question caught him completely off guard. "What?" he stammered, his voice betraying his sudden panic. Had Rashid somehow discovered his true identity? He forced himself to remain calm. "Don't let it show, fool," Ashell said, as she noticed Kin's distress. "Let him land first before you jump to conclusions."

"Are you some kind of child spy like those from Eru?" Rashid pressed, his gaze piercing.

"No, my Lord. I've never even been to Eru before," Kin replied, hoping to sound convincing.

Rashid studied him for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Finally, he spoke again, his voice softer than before. 

"You know, Ashin," he began, "being powerful can be a lonely place. You may be a powerful and wealthy, or even strong person, but when you look around, you find out that despite being surrounded by people who claim loyalty to you and your cause, you soon realize you are all alone. No one truly likes you or believes in you, not even your own blood."

Kin remained silent, unsure how to respond. He understood the loneliness Rashid spoke of, but the boy hadn't yet found the answer to his own isolation.

"Hey, what about me?" Ashell piped up, echoing Kin's thoughts.

"Hey, you're a part of me, so in a way, you're as lonely as me," Kin retorted.

"What? You damned brat!" Ashell cursed playfully.

Suddenly, Rashid stood abruptly from his chair and approached Kin, his eyes locked on the boy's. "How is Jamila?" Rashid asked. "Is she still having trouble sleeping?"

Taken aback by the unexpected change in topic, Kin stammered, "She's... she's sleeping fine, my Lord. Although she gets scared in the middle of the night, but it's nothing the maids and Lady Jasim can't handle."

"Good, that's good to hear," Rashid said, a hint of relief in his voice. "I have a secret mission for you, Ashin."

Kin became curious. A secret mission from Rashid? What could it be?

"What is it my Lord?". Kin asked

"I want you to take Jamila, and leave Bintan".