Terros arrived outside the castle, hovering in the air, he saw the three n also floating in the air fifty ters away from him. They seed to have followed his warning not to get so close to the castle so that the King's minions can't strike them easily.
He zood towards their location. "Good morning, guys!" he greeted them.
"Good morning, Grandpa!" the n replied in chorus.
"No news yet?" he asked.
The n shook their heads.
"We arrived here as early as 5:00 in the morning, no one exited the entrance of the castle yet," replied one of the n.
Terros breathed deeply. "I see... we just have to wait then... maybe the cursed King will release them today," he said feeling optimistic.
"Hopefully," replied one of the n.
They waited patiently in the air.
Two hours later, the sun is getting hotter, they take shelter under the shade of the tallest tree in the area. Each of them takes turn in watching for anything or anyone that might launch an attack on them.
anwhile...
Underneath the ground.
The black n lined up the prisoners in front of the King.
"My king, they're ready to go!" the leader of the black n said.
"Good!" the King replied. He looked at Graven. "Choose two of your n to stay behind. They will beco my assurance that this ti you will obey my command!" he ordered.
Graven groaned and looked at the King angrily. "Why would I choose two of my people to remain here? I won't leave them behind!" he said adamantly.
The King laughed. "That's not for you to decide! If you refused my order... then no one can leave my place!" he said loudly.
Graven took a deep breath. He looked at the downcast faces of his n, he knows that everyone wants to go ho now. But he doesn't have the strength to choose any of them to stay in this dark place. He feared that the King will torture them after he leave them behind.
The King saw the hesitation and fear in Graven's eyes. "Are you afraid that I'm going to torture them? Don't worry, rest assured that I won't harm them as long you follow my command," he said.
Graven released a deep sigh and looked at his n's faces one by one. Damn, he can't do it! This is the kind of torture that the King wants him to feel, to make him fell the agony and guilt of doing sothing against his will. He was torturing him ntally and emotionally!
The King looked at him wearing a bored look in his eyes. "What? You can't choose yet?" he growled.
Graven bit his lower lip in agitation. He doesn't want to leave anyone behind!
"Alright, since you don't have the heart to choose any of them, then all of you will stay here for one month as my prisoners!" the King said. He was about to leave the chamber but two of the prisoners from the back shouted.
"We volunteer to stay behind!" the two n said in unison.
The King looked at them and nods his head. "Good! Take them away and locked them in a room!" he ordered at the black n.
The black n took the two prisoners out of the chamber.
The King then addressed his guest. "Alright, I'm done with you all. You will be released soon!" he said and left the chamber without giving them a second glance.
Graven sighed. He had a feeling that every ti he failed to bring Laura here, the King will retain two more n underground until in the end... he is the only one standing!
This can't go on for a long ti! He needs to find a way to get rid of the black liquid from their bodies or else they will be forever at the rcy of the cursed King!
A few minutes later.
The black n returned and put Graven and his n inside a room shrouded in darkness.
Then a smoke appeared out of nowhere and infiltrated the entire room, knocking the n unconscious.
The black n entered the room and removed the shackles from the prisoners feet and hands.
Half an hour later.
When Graven and his n opened their eyes, they're already lying on the ground of the castle minus their shackles!
The n wore a bright smile on their faces as huge relief washed over him.
They imdiately stood up, bolted towards the entrance of the castle and sprinted like crazy towards freedom outside!
Graven was left behind, devastated by the fate of his two n that were being held prisoner by the King. He wanted to go back underground to save them but he feared that the King will kill them before he can rescue them, besides they have the poisonous black liquid inside their bodies, the King can easily kill them all in one strike!
He released a deep sigh.
Outside.
Terros and the n rejoiced after seeing their comrades running outside the castle's main door.
They greeted them with hugs and loud cheers.
Terros scanned among the n. "Where is your Lord?" he asked.
Due to the excitent and happiness of getting out of the castle alive, they forgot about their master.
They all looked at the door of the castle with confusion and fear in their eyes.
Finally... Graven exited the door...everyone cheered in gladness.
Terros went to Garven's side and hugged him. "Welco back, son! It's nice to see you again!" he said.
Graven smiled at him. "It was a close call for us, old man! This is our second life," he said, misty-eyed.
"I know..." Terros said.
Graven looked at Calder and addressed his n. "Listened up. Let's vacate this place now before the King changes his mind! You all go back to South Pond Town while I continue finding my missing wife!" he barked his order.
"Yes, my lord!" the n replied in unison.
A few minutes later, the n vanished from the place along with Calder.
Terros saw the sadness on Graven's face. "What is it, son?" he asked.
"Right now, two of my n were being detained by the King underground to make sure that I will bring Laura to him next ti," he said sadly.
"That's bad!" Terros replied.
"I know!" Graven said with a gloomy sigh. Let's go back to your place, old man, and continue our conversation there," he said.
"Alright, let's go!" Terros agreed.
The two n disappeared from the castle.
A minute later.
They reappeared in front of the bamboo house.
"I'll just stay under the shade of the tree," Graven said.
"Okay, just take a rest there. I'll have Veronica prepare so food for you," Terros said and went to the wooden staircase, he climbed the stairs in big stride and reached the door in no ti.
After he closed the door behind him, a smiling Veronica was already waiting nearby.
"Wow! Graven is back, safe and sound! I'm happy for him!" Veronica said.
Terros smiled. "Yeah, he and his n were lucky to be alive this ti. Ironically, they were saved by the antidote administered to them by the King, the sa person who gives them the poison itself," he said.
"Well, we can expect more scenarios like this in the future unless we can find the cure that would eliminate the black liquid inside their bodies so that they don't have to go back to the castle again and again," Veronica said with a sigh. The n's problem is now beco her own.
"Yeah, you are right!" he said. "Can you please cook so food for Graven?" he requested politely.
"Sure! I'll prepare so food for the two of you!" Veronica said and turned around heading towards the kitchen.
Terros exited the house to continue chatting with Graven. He found him staring at the horizon wearing a miserable look on his face. "Are you thinking of your n that was held by the King at his place?" he asked.
"Yeah and among other things. There's still the missing Rebecca, the problem with my wife, the poison inside my body, and my two n left behind in the castle," he elaborated, counting his bad luck with a deep sigh.
Terros pondered Graven's bad luck for a mont. "Son, your life is not this complicated and chaotic before. Do you know when and how these problems started?" he asked him.
Graven stared at the old man for a few seconds - wondering why he's even asking him the unpleasant question. "What do you an?" he asked.
Terros sighed. "Son...please don't get mad at for what I'm about to tell you..." he said.
Graven took a deep breath. "Go ahead... tell what you have in mind right now."
"You might agree with or not, but your life went chaotic because of your entanglent with Laura. Is it worth it? Is your wife worth all the trouble that you have undergone nowadays?" Terros asked.
Graven breathed deeply. Does having Laura in his life worth all the trouble? He loved her so much despite of everything, and yet she's having an intimate relationship with his twin brother as of this mont. Is she worth all the trouble? If he based his answer on his recent anger and jealousy, he will answer a big...no!...right away. He has to go back in ti when he and Laura were experiencing pure bliss and love in each others arms, he extract strength from those sweet mories.
He released a deep sigh. "I love her so much, old man," he replied. "To answer your question, yeah, she's worth it!" he told the truth.
Terros nods his head. "Okay, since that is your answer, I assud that you will never give up your wife and you have no plan to surrender her to the cursed King, am I right?"
"Yeah, that's right!" Graven replied.
"So... you're ready to sacrifice your life and that of your n just to protect Laura?" Terros asked in disbelief.
"Not really. As long I'm alive... there still hope of finding the cure that would sever the ties between and that cursed King. There's got to be a way out..." Graven said confidently.
"Have you ever thought of surrendering Laura to the cursed King? They're the original couple since a thousand years ago? The King won't harm Laura," Terros continue suggesting.
"No...especially that Laura is pregnant with my child or my brother's child," Graven revealed.
Terros eyes widened in surprise. "Oh...that... I did not expect that..."
" too..." Graven said.
"Oh...well..." Terros murmured in frustration. He arrived to a simple solution for Graven's problem but t a dead end instead.
"What's in your mind, old man?" Graven asked.
"I have this crazy plan to just surrender Laura to the King so that he will release you and your n from the poisonous black liquid. Then you will find a way to save Laura after you and your n are free from the King's clutches. What do you think of my plan?" Terros suggested.
"It's a good plan. The King won't hurt Laura, but I'm not sure if he will allow his lady love to continue carrying another man's child...What do you think the King will do to the baby?" Graven asked.
Terros was speechless for a mont, using Laura to solve Graven's problem is difficult indeed because there's an innocent baby involved! He shook his head and sighed.
"Food is ready!" Veronica's voice rang in the air.
The n rose to their feet and went to the house to have a good al in the kitchen.
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