“They said that her head is displayed at the palace gates for everyone at the capital to see!”

“How horrendous…”

“Poor girl. She hasn’t even presented yet. Who knows, maybe she could’ve been an alpha!”

“What on earth was she thinking, defying the king?”

A year.

Akemi wasn’t sure, but it felt like a year had passed since the shock of Hanako’s death electrified his soul to a halt. Time has never stopped for Akemi, not even the news of his father’s death was enough to put an end to time. When he was younger, he believed that when the king dies, everything just ceases to exist. That without a king, the whole kingdom would refuse to function. Yet that has been proven wrong many times during his life.

King Reijiro’s death opted for the court to find a new suitable king. No one dared to stop them, not even the deceased. How was it so easy for them to keep on moving when the person they revered was dead?

Hanako is dead.

He didn’t even know what was going on. How did she die? Where did she die? What were her last words? Her last thoughts? Why did she die?

Why did she have to die?

Second thoughts only come just before leaping. Akemi didn’t have time for second thoughts. He ran out just before he could. Hanako was dead and the new king wasn’t to blame. It was he. If he hadn’t stopped and involved himself with that stranger he met, he could still be in the capital. Desperately trying to find someone to help. He didn’t care whether no one did, as long as he was nearby. Nearby Hanako.

Months.

“That’s the ill fate of a traitor to the crown.”

“Maybe if she didn’t try to assassinate King Kosuke, she could still have her head.”

“She was already a queen, what more did she want?”

“It would make sense, though. Prince Akemi could have become king if he didn’t disappear. She was disappointed.”

Akemi blinked, staring at the wooden ceiling for far too long, making the back of his eyes hurt. Eyes empty of tears from crying earlier. The incoming headache brought by his heat just aggravated his foul mood. He wants to make the traitors suffer. Let them experience the shame and exhaustion he and Hanako faced. To let them feel what it’s like to be lost and hopeless.

The door creaked open; he didn’t have to look to know who it was. As Hikaru sauntered in, Akemi noted the faint scent of Count Rowan coming from him. His immediate reaction was to bite his lip, not wanting his mouth to start pooling. The medication hasn’t kicked in yet.

“Hajime? Are you okay? You’ve been staring at the same spot for almost an hour now.”

Hours.

He has been in the room for only an hour after the news of Hanako’s death. Yet, it felt like a whole lifetime had passed since her passing. Every second that went by seemed to be equal to weeks. But no, he has only been in this room for an hour. He wanted to mourn. If he could, Akemi would mourn for two lifetimes, one for Hanako who could’ve lived up to a hundred if she wasn’t mercilessly killed.

Hiding from the truth and pretending Hanako didn’t die seemed very appealing to him at the moment.

How pathetic of me.

“Well, since the medication is going to put you to sleep in a few—” Hikaru stopped short at the noise erupting outside. He approached the window, looking out before sighing. “They haven’t found the prince yet. Those guards have been patrolling all day. I guess they have decided to look into the buildings now.”

Akemi’s attention was quickly diverted to the man peeking out the window.

“They’re conducting a thorough search now?”

“Looks like it. They’re entering the shop across from our inn. They’ll be here soon.” Hikaru then turned to Akemi with a smile. “But don’t worry, I’ll make sure to tell them that only omegas are allowed up here. Maybe they will be kind enough to send a beta soldier instead.”

This is not good. Not good at all.

“I’ll be right back. Let me just go and grab you a bowl of soup, okay?” Hikaru left the room, and immediately, Akemi got up. This was no time to mourn and feel helpless. He had no time to mourn at all, not when he was in danger.

I promise, Hanako. I shall mourn properly once things have calmed down.

Departing is never easy; Akemi knew that all too well. And contrary to some, he believed the one who leaves has less burden than those who are left behind. Right now, it didn’t sit right with him to just walk out without thanking Hikaru and his husband for their kindness.

But he would be doing them a favor if he did rather than the royal guards finding him here. Not only would he be endangering his life, but the people of the inn as well. Akemi didn’t want Hikaru and the rest to suffer because he merely existed by their side.

I’ll come back… soon.

Without much said, Akemi grabbed his belongings and left the inn as discreetly as he could. It wasn’t a walk in the park, gathering up all the courage he had left and running for his life. He was already aware of the judging stares directed at him. Luckily, the medicine was working as time went by, lowering the number of pheromones exuding out of his glands. The only downside was, that he was getting drowsy too.

Hide. Hide. Where to hide?

Not knowing where to hide, Akemi followed the scent of the sea. A few moments went by and he found himself at the port where he remembered the stranger telling him to board a boat to the kingdom of Elysium. The loud cries of seagulls and the rough waves splashing at the boats greeted his eyes. Fishermen docking with loads of fish in their nets. The carefree smiles on their faces slightly saddened him. All were unaware of what happened at the capital, how many lives were lost, and how the mighty kingdom fell within without much of a hiccup.

No matter how many times he wished and denied it, Akemi was still the prince of Soleil. And no matter how many times he wanted to turn back time, the dead will always remain deceased.

“What… what did I do to deserve this?” Akemi whispered to himself. Drowsiness crept up on him, haunting him to sleep anywhere. “Goddess Amaterasu, is this my punishment? For praying to escape my fate?”

But of course, no answer came.

❘༻᯽༺❘

The moon was hidden behind the dark clouds, thunder rumbling from the east and west with the billowing wind breezing through trees. The storm that has been brewing up since then was now going to unleash its fury upon the citizens of West Siera. Windows being closed heard around the streets, echoing at the small caving Akemi found near one of the shops at the port. It was a great hiding place except it smelled awful. The foul stench made it easier for him not to fall asleep but was making him nauseous.

Fighting off sleep since his departure from the inn, Akemi huddled close to the wall and pinched his nose. He would certainly want a bath right now or tomorrow morning to wash the stench away.

A dog howled and the next thing Akemi knew, droplets of rain started to fall. Not too lucky peasants still out on their walk from wherever they came from started running and seeking shelter. Some of the boats on the pier were akin to cradles rocking in the wind. Hoping that it wouldn’t flood, Akemi wrapped the cloth he had around himself tighter and silently prayed for safety.

So cold…

Feverish and hungry, one would succumb to fatigue. However, Akemi couldn’t despite his body wanting to faint any second now. He didn’t want to be discovered during his sleep. Already weakened, he can’t run if they discover his hiding place so his best bet is to stay hidden as much as possible. To cause no disturbance and be the beggar people would ignore.

“Do you think tomorrow they will be able to find the lost prince?”

“I sure hope so. He’s been causing the new king so much trouble by just going missing.”

Paying no heed to the two drunk folks laughing under the rain, Akemi pinched his finger. Again, and again. He pinched it when he felt it go numb. He pinched it when his eyelids were close to meeting. He pinched it again in irritation brought by the cold.

The worst thing to happen? I might die here… or get taken advantage of.

A rush of footsteps went past him, prompting Akemi to keep his eyes on the ground until the sound stopped somewhere in front of him. The telltale scent of dominant pheromones caused him to shudder, terrified of what the outcome might be. Immediately, his thoughts were that one of the soldiers searching for his whereabouts had found him. Akemi froze and chanted words in his head, hoping the image of a lonely beggar would ward the stranger off.

Go away. Go away. Go away!

Heart beating faster than ever, fainting on the spot grew more and more possible. Calming himself down, Akemi held in a breath and waited.

“Hajime? No, that’s not right…”

With his trembling cold hands, Akemi removed the cloth and looked up in surprise. Count Rowan stood there, damp strands of hair covering his other golden eye.

“Why are you out here in the rain, Prince Akemi?”