96 COMING TO TERRA 1

Zoe stared at Raigon without succumbing to his intimidation. "You mean I will be your slave as long as I am in your kingdom?"

"Not really but most likely," Raigon answered back as he seemed to be determined to push on with the idea. "I thought you must have trusted me by now. You know how difficult this is for me but I'm risking everything here for you."

He was right. She was stunned at his openness to share his confidential past, not just to her but to the tribe. The act indeed made her heart open to trust in him.

'But what if he ordered me to do something against my will?'

Zoe cleared her throat. "Will that be infinite?"

"Yes," Raigon answered with a devilish smile.

Zoe froze for a few seconds and pondered on the unwritten contract that Raigon is laying out for her.

Then he added. "I know you're too queenly to say yes to this. I better bid my farewell now. It's getting late and you still have a game tomorrow," Raigon concluded as he stepped backward and picked up his bag. 

He turned his back on Zoe and was about to leave when Zoe stopped him from his tracks.

"Yes, I'm in." She uttered behind his back.

'Just as I expected,' Raigon thought to himself. Zoe's not the kind who backs out on a daredevil challenge.

He pivoted back. "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go!" He commanded her, which made her jerk up as she scurried away to get her things.

Raigon snickered as he shook his head. He glanced up at the night sky and wondered what the stars had planned out for them for tonight.

His mind was screaming no. He knew he was being irresponsible. Maybe it was the confidence that the Norfolks gave him that made him act recklessly. Or is it his heart that would deteriorate if he wouldn't make any move to make her his?

"I'm coming!" Zoe shouted from inside the tent. Her pulse was beating at a rapid rate as she trembled while putting all her necessary stuff inside her backpack. She saw her antidepressants, but she didn't bring them with her.

"It's time to lock horns with the past head-on!" She muttered with determination in her glimmering eyes.

"Aren't you done yet? The sun will rise at any time soon." She could hear Raigon from outside of the tent as he rushed her up.

Zoe pulled up a pen and a sticky paper with her cold and clammy palm and wrote a note for Kristie. "Don't wait for me. If anyone comes looking for me, tell them Mr. Gao gave me his tent because he had to leave early tonight. I'll be back, I promise."

She hid it under Kristie's pillow and dashed outside. Raigon was already walking a few distances away from her.

"Wait for me," Zoe wheeled forward so she could catch up on him. "We're not on your territory yet so don't boss me around." She muttered after breathlessly running to his side.

"Give that to me," Raigon held out his right hand and asked for her backpack. Zoe pouted and gave it to him. As soon as he got it, he sped up his pace again and sprinted towards the eastern side of the beach, far from their fellow Norfolks' tents.

"Are you even listening?" Zoe was now yelling at him as she ran like a marathon runner.

"No plans for changing your mind yet? Tell me while we're still here," Raigon asked her without even turning his back or changing his pace.

"Not at all!" Zoe snarled, to Raigon's amusement.

At a distance, Zoe could see a boat and a man waiting for them.

"Weren't we supposed to look for a taxi? Aren't we going to the airport?" Zoe grilled on him in which she received no response from him.

It only took a few minutes for them to reach the deck. Zoe realized that the man who was waiting for them was Raigon's assistant, Azra. And he didn't bring a noisy motorboat but a simple wooden one.

While Raigon was talking about his country, Zoe was thinking of Iraq or Afghanistan, where terrorists are most common as she heard them on the news. But thinking of it, they were too far to go to just hopped on a boat and oar. This means that his land must just be nearby.

"Greetings, sire, milady." Azra bowed to them. Raigon just nodded at him.

"Hello, Azra," Zoe waved her hand at him.

"She'll be coming with us," Raigon ordered in a curt manner.

"Y-your Highness?" Azra stuttered in aghast response to what his master just said.

Raigon didn't answer back as his feet stepped on the boat. Afterward, he held out his hand to support Zoe.

'Your highness?' Zoe thought to herself. That was way too highly to address someone, and it looked like he was not joking around when he said that.

'Is he like a prince or something?' Still, she kept her silence as she obliged to Raigon.

Azra didn't show any sign of disapproval after that as he seated himself again and oared the boat.

She hugged her backpack as she slightly shivered from the freezing ocean breeze. Noticing his discomfort, Raigon reached out for the thick coat that Azra brought with him and covered Zoe with it. 

"Thanks," Zoe replied as she curled up inside the coat. It is as warm as a fireplace in the winter season.

"Did you see anyone suspicious on your way here?" Raigon asked Azra in a low and authoritative tone.

"None, your highness. But the largest number of Ng guards were on the eastern outskirts. We could easily sneak up on the western area."

"We're not going back to the castle just yet. Let's go back to Mount Hengcheng."

"Yes, your highness."

Zoe felt like she was entering a magical realm as she listened to their conversation. Castles and your highness. She has only heard of those words in storybooks.

Wanting to make sure that she was not dreaming, she moved closer to Raigon until she could feel the warmness of his body seep through hers.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. 'This is real,' she thought to herself in bewilderment.