283 PROTECTING TERRA

"Who is it?" 

Erin asked before she opened the door. Zoe clutched her grandmother's hand as they were covered in Erin's blanket.

Her heart beated faster than normal. However, she wasn't as nervous as she ought to be, given their situation. She knew that Raigon, Lord Hou and Azra would never lead the guards there. 

Just as she expected a voice spoke from behind the door. "It is I, Azra. You can come out now."

Erin's face lit up as she heard him, throwing the door open and grinning from ear to ear. "You did great, darling."

She gave him a peck in his cheeks, making Azra blushed as he scratched his head with a bashful smile. 

Zoe couldn't help but chuckle at the two whose relationship seemed to go deeper as time went by. She heaved out a sigh as she wished for the time when she and Raigon would be free to express their affection for one another without worrying what others might think of them.

They all went out of the room at the leading of Azra and came back to the room where they were staying a while ago. 

"That was close." Erin beamed at everyone to lighten up the mood that was disrupted by the unwelcome guests.

Lord Hou and Raigon were already sitting down and discussing something. But when Raigon heard Erin and noticed them coming into the room, he immediately stood up, his face brightened at the sight of her.

His eyes went heavenward for a few seconds as if saying a silent prayer of gratitude for keeping her beloved and her grandmother safe.

"Fortunately, the Crowned Prince was here. And they weren't able to search the house at his command." Lord Hou explained to everybody. 

Zoe gave him a bow as she clasped her palms together to show her thankfulness. Madame Lin also did the same. "Thank you, your Highness. You have saved me again."

A beginning of a smile tipped the corner of Raigon's mouth as he bowed back to Zoe and Madame Lin. "It is an honor, Madame."

For an instant, a feeling of satisfaction stole into her expression as she felt secured not only for her safety but for her grandmother as long as Raigon is around. 

But now that they were finally seated together, they need to make a plan.

"I think you need to stay here for the meantime, grandmother. There might still be guards outside that are waiting for you to come out." Zoe faced Madame Lin to the agreement of everybody as they nodded their heads.

Her safety is of utmost priority and Zoe doesn't want her to jump from one place to another anymore as she used to do.

"Speaking of that, do you have details of what those men are planning to do, Madame?" Raigon inquired Madame Lin with his face scrunched up in anxiety.

'Those men?' Zoe furrowed her brows, but she kept her question to herself as she awaited her grandmother's response, together with the others.

"Yes, your Highness. But first and foremost I want to clarify that I am not a part of them. I just became affiliated with them so I can sneak here in Terra. And they trusted me because they know that I bear a grudge against the royal family -"

She paused as she tested Raigon's reaction since he was also a part of the family that she was talking about. Zoe's brows also pulled into a demented frown. 

However, Raigon closed his eyes and opened them again as he bobbed his head. "I completely understand even if that's the case, Madame. I apologized for everything my family has done to yours."

Raigon knelt down and put his head on the floor to everyone's horror.

"Your Highness!" They all chorused together as they were not used to him lowering himself like that to anyone. Zoe quickly went to his side and pulled him up.

As he lifted his face, she noticed his eyes were even red with controlled tears. Zoe's mouth curved into an unconscious smile, hoping to relieve him of his guilt feelings.

"It's not your fault, your Highness. And we are still alive and on our way to royalty. Aren't we, grandmother?"

Zoe then swiveled to her grandmother who was also wiping her tears away. It must have felt good for her that someone in the royal family had made amends to them somehow for the misfortune they have encountered because of them.

"I have to be honest. I am still in the process of forgiving the Wangs." Madame Lin spoke out from her heart after inhaling a lungful of air. 

A deep worried expression settled on Zoe's face as she listened to her grandmother pouring out the true emotions stirring up in her heart. She understands her for being that way. 

She also experienced the same thoughts and emotions if it wasn't for Raigon and now the King himself that admitted their mistake. If not for them, she might have been acting out a revengeful plan by now.

"We cannot undo the past anymore. But we can do something about the present. Let's focus on the now and stop Terra from being destroyed."

Zoe tilted her chin and straightened her shoulders. Everyone agreed with her as they shook their heads off from the dramatic moment between the oppressor's family and the oppressed.

"I know where their hideout is and the escape boat." Madame Lin spilled the beans out. 

Zoe's lips curved into a smile as her grandmother put their issues aside to protect the King and Terra. 

"Thank you, Madame. I would send royal guards to arrest them at once. I would also send additional men as security here in your residence if ever the Queen's guards will come back to take you. And if anything goes wrong, we already have the book that would protect you until Lady Asha has become the Queen of Terra." 

Raigon bowed down to Madame Lin and informed everybody. Everyone glanced at each other with a hopeful look on their faces.

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The past is your lesson. The present is your gift. The future is your motivation.