124 THE CURRENT SCENARIO

"Where did she go?"

Raigon immediately asked Azra as soon as he reached him.

"My lord," Azra addressed Raigon in a bow.

"She went off to find her friend."

"Do you know her? Do you know where she lives?"

Azra gulped. 'He must not remember her just yet or he will act recklessly again.'

Still, he answered him truthfully.

"Yes, my lord. But she lives outside the Capital. And you are not physically able to walk far just yet."

"I know. But perhaps after my full recovery, we can possibly visit her."

"Yes, Your Highness." Azra made a salute and bowed. 

Though deep inside he was thinking a different thing.

'His mind may have forgotten but his heart doesn't. My ill-fated master!'

Raigon shushed him immediately.

"I have instructed you to never address me as the prince in public, didn't I?"

Raigon glanced around to see if anybody heard him.

As he did so, his eyes caught on an eating place that seemed to offer delectable dishes.

"Let's have a quick bite and go back. The Queen Mother must have been worried about me."

"Affirmative, my lord."

It was an eatery that offered different kinds of dishes including seafood. 

Raigon ordered some mussels. But while trying to unbeard them, his forehead scrunched up in a frown.

"This is strange. I think I have done this for someone before. But I can't remember."

"Maybe you did it for your younger sister, Ptincess Taia, my lord."

Azra tried to clear his head. 

The Queen gave him a strict order to never let the Prince be anxious about anything to prevent his condition from exacerbating.

The Crown Prince was not aware of how the medicines are negatively affecting him until that moment.

"Maybe, you're right."

As they were eating, Raigon tried to listen to conversations around him. 

"I heard someone tried to sneak in the City boundaries that's why there were more royal guards than usual."

"I hope Lord Vigo found the culprit soon. We could not have another bloodbath in the City. Our economy has already stabilized and grown. And our children are already growing up in an environment of peace and tranquility."

"Don't worry, Lord Vigo's excellent in his combatant skills. I'm sure he will keep our city safe."

Raigon cleared his throat. "And of course, the royal King and Crown Prince will do everything in their power to prevent it from happening."

He couldn't stop himself from commenting.

Azra's eyes widened in alarm at the Crowned Prince's unexpected interaction with the townspeople.

But Raigon just nodded at Azra as if he was saying 'I can handle this'.

Fortunately, the people that were having a conversation didn't notice anything peculiar about him so they continued on with their conversation.

"Honestly, my faith is really not in the royal family anymore. I heard the King is severely sick. The Queen just spent her precious time taking care of him. And the Crown Prince is just sulking up at the Castle. I wonder what they could do for us in this terrible situation."

Raigon clenched his fist that was holding his fork. 

He didn't care about what they say about him, compared to what they are vocalizing against his parents.

Azra shook his head hoping the Crown Prince understood what he meant.

Raigon drew a deep breath and uttered in a calm manner.

"All the more that we should put faith in the royal family in their troubled times. They have been serving us all their lives. Now is the right time to show our sympathy and loyalty like every true citizen of Terra. And in doing so, our ruler could have the strength to defend us like he always did before."

Both men nodded their heads in agreement.

"You're right. None can compare to the leadership of King Artair."

Raigon finally smiled and Azra exhaled a sigh of relief.

"By the way, from what clan are you? We haven't seen you around."

"We're from the Hou Clan. And we just visited the Capital for some errands for my grandfather, my lords."

Azra butted in quick thinking.

"Oh, it's good to see Hous here in the Capital. I haven't seen them for ages. Give our regards to your grandfather. We are from the Gu clan."

Azra stood up and bowed to them. 

With pleading eyes, he asked Raigon to do the same.

Raigon raised his eyebrow. But he knew what he must do.

He stood up and bowed low to them.

"It's an honor to meet the most affluent family in Terra."

The two men chortled in response to them.

"Such fine lads. We are really favored to live in a land where respect is a precious value to the younger generation."

Raigon and Azra finished their meal quickly and left.

'I must not allow this wick to become a bushfire.'

He resolved to himself as he quicken the pace of his faithful horse, Steel.

Azra followed closely behind him.

It didn't take them long before they reached the Castle.

As soon as Steel's footprints stepped inside its boundaries, Raigon caught sight of his mother waiting for him.

He immediately went down and bowed.

"Greetings, your Majesty."

Queen Rose smiled at him. "How was your trip?"

"It's fascinating to see the beauty of Terra again. I know you cannot leave the Castle to see it for yourself that's why I bought a piece for you."

As he said so, he brought out a bouquet of flowers. They were her favorites, red Hydrangeas. 

"My sweet son, you shouldn't have."

Queen Rose chuckled but she still extended her dainty hand to receive his son's souvenir.

"How is the King, your Majesty?"

Raigon inquired as he assisted the Queen while walking down the hallway.

Queen Rose breathed out a deep sigh. 

"To be honest, he is really not doing well. The royal physicians are doing their best. But the case of your father is very different from the previous cases that they have encountered before. We really don't know what else to do but leave him in the hands of God."

Raigon stayed silent as he understood what it meant.

"I would like to visit him as well if permitted be."

"Of course. He would be thrilled."

***************************************

Protecting our family is every person's basic instinct.

It is why we should do everything to make sure they're safe

And out of harm's way.

***************************************