The village was livelier than I expected, maybe because it was still daytime. 

Stalls lined up on both sides of a narrow street; the afternoon sun was warm today, even though it was fall. Merchants called out their prices as villagers moved among them, carrying baskets of fresh bread, fruit, and vegetables. The warm scent of baked food mingled with spices and herbs welcomed us. 

I walked beside Elara, keeping my hood, which was given to me, pulled low so no one could recognize me. Elara’s grandmother insisted on giving me the coat since it was cold today. Elara wore a simple dark coat as well. She carried her basket with two loaves of freshly baked bread, potatoes, and beef for their dinner tonight.

“I still need to sell some herbs before going back home,”  Elara said, looking at a stall ahead of us.

“Do you think this is a good stopping point for us to part ways?” She asked. 

I scanned the area around the marketplace, and a familiar figure stood several stalls ahead. A man with dirty-blonde hair fell loosely around his forehead, contrasting with his blue-gray eyes.

Jake! I was relieved to see a familiar face. He must have been looking for me. Jake was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a large, imposing frame. He was wearing a black coat.

“Do you know that man?” Elara asked. She followed my gaze in Jake’s direction.

“Yes,” I simply responded.

“Well, I’m glad that a familiar face is here for you. You must be relieved.” She turned her body to face me. 

“Well then, Mr. Evren. I wish you a safe journey back home and a speedy recovery. Please don’t push yourself too hard.” She smiled politely at me and turned back in Jake’s direction and nodded in greetings to him.

“Thank you so much for taking care of me when I was unconscious, Ms. Elara. Also, I appreciate your grandmother’s care for me as well.” I smiled at her.

With that, we both parted ways…

She continued walking to the stall she intended to sell her herbs at, and I went towards Jake’s direction. 

“Your highness!” Relief washed over Jake’s tired face. 

I motioned to him to lower his voice so we wouldn’t get exposed here. I looked back at Elara, and she seemed busy talking to the merchant. 

“Your Highness, where were you last night? I looked everywhere when you didn’t return by sunrise.” Jake got closer to me to inspect my appearance. 

“Also, who is this woman, Your Highness?” Jake asked, looking towards Elara’s direction.

“Let’s talk about this later, Jake. We need to get out of here.” 

With that, we both walked away from the village, leaving Elara by herself with the merchants. Now is the time when I will go back to the castle and rest for a bit.

“Your Highness, why are you limping like this? Are you injured?” Jake asked. 

I was distracted by the village’s liveliness that I forgot about my injuries. 

“I was ambushed last night.” 

“What?!” Jake yelled. 

We continued walking farther from the village back to the capital. 

“Jake, we have eyes on us. So, don’t yell out loud and don’t expose us here.” I motioned to him to lower his voice again. 

Jake has always been the loud and energetic type. Ever since we were kids, he always fussed about my well-being. He’s been a loyal friend to me since then. 

“What about the rumors, your highness?” He asked 

Ah… The rumors are what got us to this situation in the first place. 

Someone apparently met a mage here in this village and claimed to cast healing magic on people here. However, magic is illegal now. Almost thirteen years ago, a war broke out between our kingdom and the neighboring country; monsters were involved because some mages from the neighboring kingdom controlled them. However, we somehow won the war, and monsters were barred from villages to protect our citizens. It was believed that mages here helped us win the war and keep us safe, but for some reason, they were banished from our kingdom shortly after.

I also lost a very close friend of mine shortly after the war. I was only thirteen at that time, and she was ten years old. I was devastated when I learned of her disappearance. She vanished without a single trace, leaving me alone in that madness of a castle. People in the castle talked about how she and her family were mages, and that’s why they disappeared. 

“I wasn’t able to find out more information about the rumors. As I said, I got injured by assassins, and then the young lady you saw earlier took care of me last night. I am indebted to her and her grandmother, Jake.” We stopped by a small cafe for a short break.

I was in too much pain for it to become unbearable to walk around. 

“How far are we from the capital?” I asked.

“About an hour away by walking, sir,” Jake stated.

“I came by a horse; would you like to use mine and I walk beside you back to the castle? You look to be in very bad shape.”

“Yes, I think it’s better that way,” I replied.