Rain Drops

Chapter 16

The man nodded to him, thanked him, and walked over to me. He was dressed in the clothes of a soldier, but he didn't appear to be in uniform. Instead, he wore a brown jacket with silver decorations on its sleeves. On his shoulder he had a blue cross embroidered with silver thread, and a silver belt with two gold medals was hanging around his waist.

"Sir, may I ask who you are? Your clothes look very strange."

He looked down at his clothes. Although they did resemble those of an officer, the material was too light and flexible to be called armour.

"Sir, I don't understand who I am. But I'm a prince of the kingdom of the North, and I've been brought here by your father. The king entrusted me to take care of you. Now, shall we leave? The people here will start talking about it."

"Yes," I said. "We should leave this place."

With the exception of myself, the man and the girl had been taken aback by our conversation. And after giving them instructions, I stepped out into the corridor and followed the man out into the courtyard. I could hear loud voices coming from outside. My father's men had arrived, and they were yelling at each other while fighting with the soldiers of the palace guard, who were trying to keep them apart. The man turned and walked away, dragging me with him, and I was suddenly faced with an enormous crowd of people, all of whom were yelling in different languages. The shouts and the noise were echoing through the walls and ceilings of the castle. The sounds were overwhelming, and I couldn't understand them for a short while. After taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down, I walked along one of the paths leading through the streets, trying to find my way to the gates. All I could see from time to time were a group of soldiers surrounding the bodies of the fallen soldiers. Their faces were covered with blood and tears, but there was nothing I could do to help them, although I couldn't stand aside and watch them suffer either. Just before the road that led to the gates, I found the man from whom I had received a message. He had been staring blankly at a dead soldier and had not noticed me coming up to him. I grabbed him by the arm and asked him:

"Where are we going?"

He pointed to a house in the distance.

"That is the palace physician. Go talk to him. He might know who you are or might recognize you from the posters he keeps in his house. If you need any help, just come and find me."

"Thank you," I said. "If I get in trouble I will definitely come and find you."

Then I ran towards the entrance of the house, but before I entered the door, I heard someone scream "Kill the bastard!" It had come from the woman, and I recognised the voice instantly. It was the woman whom I had stabbed a couple of days ago. Before entering the house, I looked back. She was lying in the bed on her stomach, staring at me with rage. I waved at her.

It was the doctor who answered me when I knocked on the door.

"Hello sir, welcome! What can I do for you today?"

"Um..." I stuttered. "Can I see the patient please?"

He opened the door, and invited me to come inside. He showed me to the room where the lady had been sleeping previously. There wasn't anyone in the bed anymore.

After looking at the girl for some moments, I spoke.

"Is there someone named Aniya in your house?"

"Aniya? Yes, she lives there. What happened to her?"

"She attacked me with a dagger," I replied.

He stared at me silently for a while.

"So, that girl... is she your friend?"

I nodded my head in response and continued:

"Please send her the best treatment possible. She's hurt quite badly, and if you give her some medicine, then her injuries shouldn't be much further from healing."

He was silent again, but I knew that he was thinking whether I would actually help him. I gave him a reassuring smile, and he finally responded with a nod. He then left my side and walked upstairs. When he went back downstairs ten minutes later, he handed me a small bag with some medicines and food. I thanked him and smiled at him. He returned my smile, bowed slightly, and wished me a good night. Then I went back home. I stayed outside of the castle gate, looking at the castle while waiting. I knew that someone else was already standing guard in the middle of the road that leads towards the castle. That person must have been my knight, Sir Lyrano. Even though I didn't like knights at all, I could admit that he is the only knight who doesn't try to stop me from doing what I want, and he's the only knight that I trust. But I think that his presence will become useful today. As it turns out, it wasn't that easy for me to find him. In fact, it took me a lot of time to make my way across all of the places that I had visited previously. I couldn't find him. Not only did he not hide himself properly, but it was also impossible for him to conceal himself. So it became obvious to me that he has no intention of hiding; rather, he was probably waiting for me there, hoping that I would eventually find him.

As I looked at the sky while waiting for morning, there was not a single star in the vast horizon. The moon had completely disappeared and stars began to appear as a result. The sky grew lighter and the clouds started to disperse as well, making the moon seem like a tiny red dot.