The King's Beloved

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"Luna … Luna …," Rania softly called out to Luna who was laying back in her bed, sleeping. 

"Ugh," Luna grunted. She slowly opened her eyes. "Rania? What is it?"

"You fell asleep. Ducis brought you back but … what happened? Why did you fall asleep when you just woke up a few minutes ago?" Rania informed her, though she herself was puzzled about what happened.

Upon hearing Ducis' name, Luna jolted up from bed - she suddenly remembered the zealous kiss they shared. Her eyes shut open and her cheeks blushed red. 

"Ah … ha-ha-ha-ha! W-what happened? Ha-ha-ha … Nothing! Nothing at all!" Luna tried to lie but her tone suddenly changing gave it away. Plus, her stiff expression and blushing face.

Seeing her blush, even Ducis' ears reddened. The two tried to avoid each other's eye contact, immediately averting their eyes and turning their heads away from each other.

Noticing their suspicious reactions, Rania and Elliot shrugged and just laughed off the matter. Whatever it was, let's just say it was a "couple's secret" as Elliot mentioned.

"Well, if you're awake, we should get going now," Elliot reminded them.

Everyone nodded in agreement and not a moment had passed, they were now back in Anguis Solum, in front of the next gate they needed to go through. Now this gate was made from different types of stones with irregular shapes, piled up together to form an arc. Regardless of its variety, it was still pleasant to look at. And like usual, there was a black hole at the middle of the gate. The team jumped inside and blinding lights welcomed them.

When they opened their eyes, they saw houses made of woods and planks … a lot of them, filling the whole surroundings. The houses stood near each other, not even an inch of space in between. They stepped their feet as they spun their heads around, surveying the place, and they felt their shoes rubbed the soil they were stepping on. There were barely any footpaths for them to properly walk on so the mud stuck on the soles of their shoes. Wherever they were, it looked like a town, with barely any people in it.

The whole place looked like one of those medieval villages you'd see in history books - only this time, a bit more impoverished. The light fog that covered the whole village didn't help, too, making the town look gloomy and desolate. 

The team walked around the town for a bit. They noticed that there were little to no stalls, or restaurants, bars, or any shops at all which were common things you'd find in a town. Luna, who was so enthusiastic a moment ago, turned uninterested when she saw there was nothing special to do in the village as compared to the last gate they went to. She was looking forward to trying new things … or foods, rather.

And most of all, they also noticed the villagers were acting rather … strange for some reason. Everytime the team got near them, they would shut down the windows and doors of their houses. For the very seldom stalls, they would pack up, and go away, far from them. It was as if they were all avoiding them.

Once done making rounds to the whole village, they decided to take a rest at the village square, where a waterless, and dilapidated fountain stood erect. 

"Arghh … what is wrong with this place?" Luna whined. "And why are the people acting so weird - hiding from us? Did we do something bad?"

Rania and Elliot brooded over the fact. 

"Hmm … If only we could talk to someone," Rania tilted her head.

"But they're all avoiding us," Elliot added.

"And we can't just force our way inside their homes".

"Or forcely make them talk to us".

And the three sighed in unison. Ducis was simply watching over them, not reacting to anything at all. His mind seemed to have wondered elsewhere.

THUD!

Elliot sprang up from his seat when he heard the sound and saw an elderly woman fall from the ground, a few meters away from them. He hurriedly went to her aid. Rania and Luna followed along. Elliot helped the elder woman get up and supported her up to the fountain where she could take a seat. She was very weak and her legs looked feeble. Her gray hair and ashen eyes were striking signs of old age. Elliot wanted to help lift her up with magic instead, but for some unknown reason, he couldn't activate his magic - so he guided her instead. 

Once seated, the elderly woman looked at her hands. Her movements were slow but she looked like she lost something. Rania and Luna picked it up. The poor elder lady dropped two pieces of stale bread from her hands. And since she dropped them, they were now covered in dirt all over. Seeing this, tears fell from the elder woman's face. But she kept her hands open, asking Rania and Luna to give them back.

Elliot, Rania and Luna felt their heart sting upon seeing the reaction of the elder lady. Rania bit her lips to stop herself from crying. She immediately ran towards the lady and smiled at her. As she and Luna walked towards them, Elliot patted the elder woman's back in an attempt to console her.

"Madam, I'm so sorry it fell," Rania sweetly talked to her. "But don't worry, we have some food and we can replace this instead". She rummaged the bag she carried across her body and took out the lunch box she made with Elliot this morning. 

Elliot copied her. He, too, brought a bag, with food inside it and some other necessities they might need. Ducis advised them before they departed. Elliot took out his lunch box as well and offered it to the poor lady. "W-we also have water, go drink something ma'am, you look exhausted," he added, noticing the dried lips of the lady.

The lady cried even further. She drank the water in one gulp and hugged the boxes of food as if hugging them with her dear life. Luna turned her back from them and started crying. She could no longer stop herself from crying, seeing all that was happening. She sniffed and wiped her nose and cried silently. Ducis lowered his head and frowned at the situation.

"Madam," Elliot gently called out to the elder woman. "May we know what happened here? And … is there anything we can help with?"

The elder lady inhaled deeply and wiped her tears before she answered. With a hoarse voice and slow speech, she answered, "This village … is currently in the brink of dying. Not long ago, a war took place, killing all the abled men, and plundering all that we had left. Now the town was left in ruins and only a few of us, who luckily survived, continued to dwell in this place. Mostly because we had nowhere else to go".

"Where is your king? Was there no one who protected this village?" Elliot furrowed.

The elder lady shook her head and smiled bitterly. "Oh, my child, we don't need no king. We have too many of them scattered around the planet … yet all they do is wage war and conquer one another. It has become a game to them. And our lives were nothing but entertainment for them".

At these words, everyone's eyes widened. They all clenched their fists in anger and gritted their teeth in helplessness. Rationality told them that they were just inside another realm, and this was probably a test they needed to pass. 

But … why? Why did it all seem so real? 

Why was it in their hearts, they felt that something like this actually happened? 

Something so sad yet something so utterly true. 

It was as if life slapped them hard in the face.

As if reality told them that the world didn't run on fairy tales. 

And again they were reminded of the harsh and bitter truth about war and its effect on people's lives. 

Elliot felt his stomach churn, and his heart flowing with emotions. He didn't understand what he was feeling but there was this … anger and sadness that he felt at the same time, combined with agitation and pain, yet with tenderness and empathy. 

He felt like he wanted to do something for this elderly woman in front of him and for the whole village as well. 

It was none of his business, and there was still a trial and a temple they needed to go through and find, but … he couldn't just ignore them.

It was as if his heart was shouting back at him …

"Go! And save these people!"