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Nicholas fumed with rage when he heard the news of Oriana’s escape. He pushed everything off his table.
"Idiots! How did a young, weak woman escape the palace under your watch?" he barked at the guards, Adelaide, and Gwen, who now stood in front of him.
Adelaide stepped forward. "It’s nobody’s fault; she switched places with her sist—"
"Shut up!" Nicholas glared at the young woman in front of him. Turning his head to look at Sophie, who was forced to kneel with her husband, he demanded, "You! Where is your sister?"
Sophie furrowed her brows. "My sister? You know we both don’t have the best relationship, so she didn’t tell me anything."
But Nicholas’s patience was already running thin. With a strong force, he slapped Sophie, causing her to fall down. Galen rushed to help her stand up.
"I am not here to entertain your stupidity...where is Oriana? This is the last time I’ll ask," Nicholas said, drawing the sword from one of the guards and pointing it at Sophie.
Sophie backed away, her whole body trembling with fear. She knew it would cost her a lot if she helped Oriana, but she wanted to make up for her past. Though it wasn’t enough, she wanted to try, even if it involved giving her life.
"I do not know where Oriana is," she replied, staring back at Nicholas with no hint of fear in her eyes.
Nicholas nodded. "You are already useless to me. Die without cause, then." He raised his sword, ready to strike her down.
"Nicholas!" Fidelis burst into the room. Though he was still recovering, his strides were firm. Beside him were Jasmine and her two sons. The boys hid behind their mother, afraid of what was happening.
"What are you doing right now?" Fidelis frowned, turning to Adelaide and Gwen. He said, "Are you both going to watch him kill her?"
Nicholas threw his head back, laughing like a maniac. When he opened his eyes, something evil lurked behind them.
"I see what is happening. Fidelis, I was going to let you rest and die quietly for the sake of old times. But you helped your daughter-in-law escape, right?"
Rubbing his forehead, Nicholas cursed. "I’m trying my best to be good to all of you...why...why..." He ruffled his hair angrily.
Fidelis took another step forward. "Nicholas, you have the chance to leave behind all your mistakes and be a better person. I will beg Adric to forgive you."
"Beg Adric?" Nicholas chuckled dryly. "I guess I haven’t made my orders clear. Guards!"
The guards rushed inside the room, standing at attention as they waited for Nicholas to give his orders.
"Lock all of them in the dungeon without food until they’re ready to talk," Nicholas ordered. When the guards moved to drag Sophie and Galen away, Nicholas pointed at Fidelis. "And him too."
"Nicholas!" Adelaide stepped forward, trying to defend her father.
"What? Trying to play the role of the good person suddenly? Stand aside and be queen, or join them and be punished!" Nicholas spoke like someone with no emotions, his eyes looking like those of a madman.
Gwen dragged Adelaide back. "Let him be," she whispered.
The guards moved to drag Fidelis away, but Jasmine tried to stop them, and they pushed her back roughly.
"Sister, Mother...don’t let them take Father," she pleaded, trying to hold her father, while at the same time, Walter and Kai tried to help their mother.
Nicholas scrunched his face in disgust. "All of them, lock them up."
"No, not my children...they did nothing," Jasmine tried to protect her two sons, but all of them were hauled out of the room by force and dragged into the dungeon.
Back inside the room, Nicholas ordered the remaining guards,
"Comb every part of this kingdom; the villages, borders, forests. Find Oriana, and if she is with anyone, do not hesitate to kill them. They are all rebels who pose a threat to the crown. Do not return to the palace until you find Oriana," Nicholas’s voice boomed in the room.
. . .
The tolling bell continued to sound from the palace. Oriana bit her lip. Soon the guards would be outside looking for them. Without saying anything else, she tugged Freya’s hand, and they left the street, running into a nearby forest with the physician following behind them.
"We have to leave Avon’s borders before nightfall tomorrow, or they will find us," Oriana said, breathing heavily as she tried to run with all her strength.
The physician ran faster, going to stop Oriana. "You need to be careful...the child in your stomach is still small, and I wouldn’t suggest rough movements," the man said after catching his breath.
"He’s right," Freya muttered, holding Oriana’s hand to stop her from running any further.
Oriana looked around the forest they had now entered. "But we need to leave; we can’t get caught. We need to get to Adric if we want to save everyone who has helped us."
Freya nodded. "Yes, Madame Rosalie is waiting for us with horses to leave. All we have to do is get to the border, and she has taken care of everything else."
"That’s fine then, but we can’t use the local carriages; they will know. Our only hope is the forest. Now let’s go," Oriana’s voice sounded confident, but her legs were trembling.
She was scared, scared of being caught. She didn’t want to go back to the palace, not without Adric at least. And she was pregnant, another human was now growing inside of her, depending on her. Everything she did now was going to affect her and Adric’s child.
"Let’s increase our pace then," Oriana remarked, looking around the forest they were walking through. It looked dangerous and wasn’t somewhere anyone should be, especially at night.
As they continued their journey, the sky grew darker. Oriana was starting to feel sick again. She wanted to throw up, but her stomach was empty, and she was tired.
"Let’s rest," Freya suggested when she noticed the princess was now looking very pale and might pass out at any moment. "I can make a camp here."
Oriana, feeling too tired to disagree, nodded. "We should." She bent down, her hand touching her knees as she tried to take in fresh air.
The physician who had been walking behind them ran to them. His face was ashen, as if he had seen a ghost.
"They found us! Hide...Hide!!" the man shouted.
Oriana and Freya held each other tightly, looking around for a place to hide. When they found a tree nearby, they squatted, holding each other’s hands tightly.
The two young women closed their eyes as they waited for the horses to pass, but one stopped right above them.
Freya squeezed Oriana’s hand, her palms turning sweaty. The girl’s whole body trembled with fear as they waited in silence to see what would become of their fate.
After a few minutes passed, Oriana and Freya were about to let go of their breath when a fire torch cast its shadow on their faces.
"They’re here..."
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