The Scarlet Phoenix and the Prince of Winter

Chapter Ninety One

Jack Bloomfire knows about the golden bracelet, and he thinks that it is the key to where the Snow Gypsies 'supposedly live.' I feel stupid when I heard him say that because despite me dreaming about the past before the Eternal Winter was born, I have never concluded that the gold bracelet was the key to that place. And now that Jack Bloofire said that, it just makes sense. 

Why did I not realize that? I just dreamed how the Scarlet Phoenix gave one of those gold bracelets to the Forresters so that they can enter that place they call the Ritual Grounds. It was the sanctuary where the Snow Gypsies lived. The Scarlet Phoenix and put an enchantment over the place so that it could not be found by anyone else, and to get there you have to first know where it is located. And then once you are there, you still have to 'unlock' the entrance using a 'means' that we now know as the gold bracelet. The Snow Gypsies had used this gold bracelet as the key to the secret place based on my dreams and now I understand why my mother had it in her possession.

She was from there, as the Crown Prince and I have correctly guessed. And then when she left that place, she brought with her a gold bracelet so she can return there whenever she wanted, and that is what she actually did later on. My mother went back there using the bracelet. That is why she never came back again. But my father, as he loved my mother deeply, he followed her there and I think he was able to go inside the Ritual Grounds too because months later he would return to Aure with me as a baby, which means that he even managed to live there together with my mother. And when my father returned to Kajos, he had with him the gold bracelet and that also means that it was most probably given to him by my mother. Maybe the Snow Gypsies grew fond of my father so they had given him a means of coming back there? At least that is the most I can deduct which I confidently feel that I accurately guessed right.

"Now, where is it?" Jack asked me and that brought me back to the current situation that I am now in. My mind had wandered into the theories that I was again formulating in my mind and that just made me want to get away from here as possible so that we can go and research what I just deducted. I wanted to test the gold bracelet badly. I wanted to go to the place that they call the Ritual Grounds and see for myself if I can really go there using the so-called key that my parents had left for me. "We have checked your clothes when Steffan caught you two and found that you do not have the gold bracelet with you two. That is wise for you, but you can't outsmart me. So just tell me where it is so that there will be no more violence that will happen here right now."

I glared at him with pure disgust. "And you really think that we will give it to you?" I said bravely. "Are you even aware of what you are doing? You are harming the Crown Prince! I am sure that the King did not order you to hurt the Crown Prince, so it is you who have to think wisely here!"

But Jack smiled at me instead of worrying about what I warned him about. "Rainha, Rainha," he said, shaking his head, "you do not know what you are talking about. Do you think that the King does not know what I am doing right now? And do you think I will have the guts to har his son without his permission? Of course, he knows about this! He is the one who ordered me to do this in the first place!"

"No! I don't believe you!" I told him strongly. "The Crown Prince is still the son of the current King. Why would he want to harm his own child?"

"Now that is a very good question, isn't it?" he replied. That made me question everything that I believed in. Does he mean by that statement that the King, King Luander, had his approval with this? Does he mean that the King had always wanted to get rid of his own son? Because that is what I am thinking about right now. How many times did they try to ambush us? How many times did they try to hurt us? Steffan almost killed the Crown Prince too, and is Jack telling me that all of these had been allowed by the King?

 "Do not be surprised, Rainha," the Crown Prince finally said to me. He looked so grim right now. Maybe he was too shocked about what he just discovered from this man. "I always have known that this will all boil down to here. It was almost inevitable for my father and me to be opposed to each other like this. But I downplayed it because he is still my father... I should have known that he had the courage to do this to me too..."

Jack laughed maniacally at that. "Oh, I am so sorry, Your Highness if it ever made you feel worse. Of course, the truth will hurt you. You are still father and son, after all. But please do not go hard on your father. He is just doing all that he can---"

"Doing what?" Prince Kao snapped at Jack. "Doing what exactly? Because if you tell me right now that he is doing this for the people, that is a load of crap. This is not what he should be doing as a King!"

Jack looked angry at what the Crown Prince blurted out. Maybe this man is too loyal to the current King that he does not like it when he hears bad things said at the King, even if the one talking is the King's son and future ruler of Aure. I did not know why I am surprised by his behavior though. I had expected that since he adored the King so much, I thought that Jack would be more respectful to Prince Kao. But that is not the case right now. 

"The King is doing all of this for Aure," he said while locking stares with the Crown Prince. Neither of them was backing down from this, so I just felt more scared. "The Snow Gypsies are known to be the loyal followers of the Scarlet Phoenix. And the Scarlet Phoenix is the mortal enemy of the great deity of Winter who is responsible for this eternal suffering that we are experiencing right now. The Ruthless Blizzards, the eternal cold, the poverty that comes with it... Do you think your father does not think of how to solve all of them? Of course, he does! Your father's greatest ambition is to be the one who will stop this century's worth of agony, Your Highness. You cannot be nobler than that."

"LIES!" Prince Kao bellowed at his words, which almost made me shout too in surprise.

"And what do you mean by saying that, Your Highness? Does that mean that you do not believe that the King is dedicated to finding a solution to this eternal winter?"

Prince Kao chuckled at his question and I just know that this was starting to get out of hand. Even though the Crown Prince was shackled right now, I could not see the fear in him. He was also immersed in this heated discussion and to me, that is already dangerous. He cannot get carried away by his emotions. That would play against us sooner or later. 

"Why would my father want the Eternal Winter to stop?" said the Crown Prince, but I could feel that he was saying this more to himself. "Why would he want the thing that is making him rich and powerful to stop? The money that he gets from the coalstone business alone has given him a lot of money, so if this winter finally stops that would also mean that his business will stop. You work in the coalstone mine at the volcano, right? Of all people, you should know that if the eternal winter stops, all of you will lose your jobs. So I do not think that my father is really keen on finding a way to stop this winter. My father is a selfish person. Do not make me laugh."

"You never believed your father... Even before... This is why he no longer cares about you, Your Highness. He had come to terms that his only son does not think that he is doing anything good. But I know where this hate from you is coming from, so I am not going to judge you for it. Losing your mother... does that hurts a lot for you---"

"SHUT UP!" 

Jack laughed again at the Crown Prince's sudden outburst. "But that is the truth, right? You have still not forgiven your father for the death of your beloved mother. You had always blamed him for your mother's death---"

"Because he told me that it was better that my mother had died!" the Crown Prince yelled as his response and I can't help but stare at him with concern.

"Y-Your father said that?"

Prince Kao nodded at me. "He told me a long time ago that my mother was up to something. My mother might have found out something that will greatly affect the Royal family, and she wanted to change it. Of course, my father did not like that, maybe because that would also affect his name. But as my mother was the Queen, he could not just stop her from doing what she likes. So for my father, it was a blessing in disguise that my mother had died, because she was unable to materialize whatever her plan was."

"No way..." I said in utter shock. I didn't even know that there was something wrong with the Royal Family, wrong enough to break them apart like that. But through this argument, the skeletons in the closet of the Royal Family finally had come into the open, at least for me. 

"That may be right, but still, your father is not at all evil like the way you think him to be. There are things that he needed to protect, and he fears that you are just like your mother. Once you assume the throne, your father fears that you will destroy the Royal Family's reputation. This is why he doesn't like you to ascend to the throne. He knows what you are going to do once you become the King of Aure. This is why kept a close on you."

"I know that... I know that he planted a mole in my surroundings, I just did not expect that it was Steffan."

"Steffan is a member of the Royal Researchers," Jack revealed. And if I thought that nothing could surprise me more than I am feeling right now, then I am totally wrong. This new revelation just floored me into confusion. 

"What? He was a Royal Researcher?" I asked. And based on the Crown prince's facial expression right now, I know that he also did not expect that. But it makes sense now. It makes sense why Steffan betrayed us. If he was part of that secret group of loyal people, then it makes sense that Steffan was spying on us for the King. If he was one of those mysterious and anonymous men who worked undercover for the King, then it would make sense that he would do what he did when we found out from Sir Ralphus that a man named Jack Blommfire was involved in this mess. That would have given us a clue as to who was who--- since it was now easy for us to find out who was this Jack Bloomfire. And how convenient was it that it was Steffan who the Crown prince ordered to find out everything about Jack Bloomfire's identity? They must have been laughing behind our backs when Prince Kao told that to him. 

"He was there in your Royal Guards to keep an eye for you," said Jack to the Crown Prince. "He was reporting everything to the King. So the King knew everything that you have done. At first, the King was puzzled as to what you were up to, researching Aure's history like that... Then he realized that you were going to the 'Snow Gypsy situation,' so your father finally made the move. He ordered me to take into our custody that woman who knew Bruxan. He wanted you to stop what you were doing before you found out everything else."

I could not believe what he was saying. "So are you saying that you kidnapped my Aunt just so the Crown Prince could not ask her about my mother?"

"Precisely. Everything was just for Your Highness to drop this idea in his mind. You see, the Crown Prince here thinks that finding out the truth about your mother was important. The King did not like that. That would only cause trouble more than it's worth. The King knew that Your Highness here will tell everybody that this Winter could stop through the help of the Snow Gypsies. And he does not want that..."

"Because he does not want the winter to end!"

But Jack contradicted that immediately. "No, your father did not want to put false hope into the people!"

Prince Kao laughed again at that. "You really are still naive, Raven. Do you seriously think that is the reason why he is trying to stop me?"

"Your father is a noble King. He does not want the people to overthink anything. The surprise existence of the  Snow Gypsies will only make the people hope for something that is not actually happening. What is wrong with that?"

"Everything. Everything is wrong with that thinking. You just said a while ago why he really wanted to stop me at all cost. And that is because some sort of secret about the Royal Family will be exposed to the public once I pursued this quest. That is why he wanted to stop me." 

There was a long post after that. It seems that Jack had already used up everything on his sleeves and could no longer deny what the Crown Prince was saying. Then I gasped in horror when I saw Jack getting something from the other room in the far left of where we were. He was now holding a huge crossbow, and I do not like where this was going. 

"I have no choice then, Your Highness. It seems that I can no longer stop you from what you are doing. What a shame. But I have no choice but to do this. You need to die now. Then maybe, Rainha here will tell me where the bracelet is once she sees you bleeding to death."

"NO!"

But it was no use. Jack was already aiming for the Crown Prince's chest, and with one click he shot Prince Kao and there was blood on the cold floor.