18

The blood-stained sword by my left had probably been used to stab an opponent that caused him to fall into the pile of sand creating a little man figure on the floor.

An arrow stuck in a tree stem just like the occurrence in the forest. I imagined a knight that barely missed an arrow that was shot at his head and the evidence was clear because a  piece of knight armor was on the floor just next to that tree.

"You seem to enjoy this scenery Sage," Allesio's voice paused my imagination 

"Hmm," I murmured.

The palace building wasn't far from the gate. The journey, if I should call it,lasted about ten minutes. Most of its land was filled with trees and vegetation for consumption. If I should estimate, the palace itself only took up thirty percent of the land possessed by the royal family.

The closer we got to the palace, the more horrific the scenery was. My eyes caught a glimpse of a man who laid on the floor. I only saw the legs alone and his lifeless body.

"He was dead," I concluded, but as I got closer, the cause of the death hurt me more than the death itself. I had read several stories of war and those who died while fighting it. That scene before me was a clear image of one of those heroes whose heads were detached from their neck while they fought for the people. 

"This is not some war scene tour Sage, let's focus," Allesio's words snapped me out of those bloody thoughts.

The further we got, the more we saw horses killed and chariots destroyed. I was scared to even go any closer to the palace because I knew that those horrendous sights would haunt me for a long time.

"Careful, make sure to look around you every time, " He advised and I had no cause to complain, besides it would have been easier to avoid all that by waiting for him at the cottage but I knew I wouldn't be able to deal with the suspense that came along with that choice.

"Alright," I whispered before we took our first step into the palace. The graveyard silence was scary to be honest, I had never imagined the palace to be that quiet.

The hallway was empty as usual but pieces of broken plates and cups were scattered all over the floor. I took a quick glance at the ballroom where the Princess's birthday had taken place and it looked just as I had imagined, a total catastrophe.

"I told you, this is not a tour, keep your curiosity aside," he whispered to me and I silently obeyed.

I was afraid when I walked behind him, and even when I walked before him as well, unsure of how to position myself, I stood beside him at a very close range that our skin almost touched.

"Weak," I heard him utter amidst closed teeth but I pretended like I heard nothing.

"Do you think there would be any of them inside the palace? " My inquisitive self didn't control the question I had to ask.

"What do you think? It could be any of those so just-

As if it was to suppress my curiosity, a sudden sound caused us to freeze on the spot. It sounded like someone had jumped down from somewhere just behind us and I couldn't tell whether he walked towards or away from us because his footsteps were faint. 

"Don't just stand there, move along cowards," a familiar voice spoke to us and we both turned around simultaneously and heaved a sigh of relief when we saw that he stood there.

His face was covered in bruises, his arm had been stabbed in several parts, I saw blood stains and injuries on his forehead and that made my heart go numb.

Adriel shouldn't be going through that, he didn't deserve this much torture, I looked at him with pity and almost forgot about the Princess. 

"Why are you staring at me like that," he questioned in a harsh tone and I didn't reply, instead I walked closer to him and placed my hand on his forehead.

That was a brave move because I had never done it before, the sight of his dilemma hurt me like I shared the same body with him.

"And you brought her along?" He said to Allesio and my hand off his forehead and threw them to the side as if they were nothing. That was the same man who danced with me the previous night  treating me like a piece of junk.

"Listen Sage, just be careful is all I can say, if anything happens, don't count on us to keep you safe, it's every man for himself, you should have just stayed back at the cottage," 

The manner in which he spoke made tears to gather up at the corner of my eyes. I couldn't really tell why, but I knew it'l was something I didn't worry about at that instant.

"Come on," Adriel took the lead, and I was not sure where that journey was headed, but we walked for what seemed like hundreds of minutes whereas it was less than five but due to my hatred for passageways, it seemed longer.

We stopped before a door, which Adriel opened with a key that was attached to his armor. It was dark, but out of nowhere he took out a torch just like the one we used in the tunnel.

There again I was amazed at how he did that, I believe they had their ways as security guards. Adriel walked in first and Allesio urged me to go behind him and he came afterwards, and closed the door.

With the light, I saw a spiral staircase that led us downstairs like a basement but I wasn't sure what was down there, "Could it be the princess or was it another stop to investigate?" I asked myself.

"I say we remain as quiet as possible, is that understood?" Adriel uttered without looking back, I only got curious about what laid down there.