Kissing the Fae

Chapter 12 - Chaotic

"Are we there yet?" Deniz asked for the nth time.

He was getting impatient. Actually, all of us are exhausted from the nonstop trek. We all ran out of water, the little fairies stopped flying due to prostration and ended up lying inside the pockets of my clothes.

We have been walking with the silent bird guiding us towards the place. He never uttered a word, or should I say tweet to give us a sign.

But then, I remember what the Queen Mother said.

This will be a long journey.

"We will arrive in Achlys in three days, Deniz. Save your breath," I uttered, not stopping to move my feet to follow the guide.

"Holy f uck!" Terran cussed silently. "And we don't have enough food."

For almost seven hours of walking through the wilderness of town after town, the two have drunk all the water we got. Now, the bottle was empty and we were in the middle of the city where everything was dry.

No water. Even the soil cracked in dryness, trees have no leaf, every corner has no sign of life.

We stopped.

"Is that a child?"

My head lowered down to see Rin peek through my pocket.

That was why we stopped. A kid from afar was heading in our direction. From our site, I could see his torn clothes and the expression he has but overall, he looked hungry.

His hands were resting above his tummy and he looked weary. The way he walked tells me that he went through something difficult considering his age.

"Don't, princess..." Terran spread his arm in front of me to refrain me from moving.

"Terran, he needs food," I insisted.

Shaking his head, he eyed me over his shoulder.

"We don't know him, princes. This place is filled with manipulative people who target new faces."

I fell in silence.

My eyes went to the bird and it was just staring at us — no, in my direction. The type of stare where no one could understand, it was the kind of gaze that says no.

I don't know. It was as if it was giving me a warning about the way it looks through my eyes.

But why?

Sighing, I averted my gaze.

"Alright, let's go..." I told everyone.

The kid from afar stopped. And I do not currently possess the ability to leave him with nothing. Whatever this kid is, at least, giving him a little food to eat won't leave in guilt.

Grabbing three different kinds of fruits away from Deniz's hands, I laid them down the street above the clean leaves and started walking again, avoiding the child.

"We will just find something to eat," I assured them when I noticed that we're running out of food, too.

In just a span of seven hours, our food to survive is slowly gone.

"It's fine, Rani Letisha. Food isn't the issue here.”

"And water, too..." Deniz added. "I can filter the seawater so we can drink it."

I nodded, smiling a bit. "Thank you..."

"No worries. We're all in this together, okay?"

No words can describe how thankful I am for having them. For the second thought, I had doubts and questions about whether to involve them in this quest. After all, these two would be a big help, and I went to them to seek help.

I was scared but I trust them. None of us will wither.

The time goes on and on, even our feet were too exhausted from walking. We passed different cities and towns, and there were barely any people in sight.

I’ve seen a lot of things I wasn't able to see in the Acres Kingdom. Or perhaps because our kingdom was far different from those we’ve witnessed.

There’s poverty. A lot of children were hungry. Yes, that kid we encountered on our first day of traveling wasn’t the only child that was unlucky to be the victim of their government’s system.

It was nothing compared to ours where children were given more than their family could give them.

The second day came... And the town was different from others.

“Go home, and ask for money! You don’t have enough penny to afford my product!”

It has a lot of people. The noise was deafening, and I couldn’t even handle how unorganized their people were! Nevertheless, I kept calm, trying to carve inside my mind that we grew up in a different position in life, and with different rulers.

“Just continue walking, princess...” Terran held my arm to keep me by his side as we walked in the middle of the crowd.

I felt sad... Not for them, but for how dumb I am to just realize it now. That in my whole life, I never get to witness what poverty is like. Understanding your people, hearing their cries, is important.

But then, I never really get to witness how they lived. I knew there were some parts in the Acres Kingdom that officials were careless, and shame on me for not wanting to explore those who weren’t given enough privilege.

And I considered myself as the best leader...

Shameful.

“Rani Letisha, don’t think of anything.” I heard Tia.

I can’t... Now I understand those people who hated la Reina and el Rey, for they thought they were neglected.

Now I know why there were Acresians who created chaos against some directors, and now I have learned why someone in the past cursed me for being a blind leader for I wasn’t able to see the sufferings of my other people.

“One day left, and we’ll be in the Achlys,” I told them instead.

Before anything else, I need to fulfill my goals. When I come back, I’d make sure to be there for those people whose rights were taken away by some greedy officials.

“That dark place,” I heard Terran. “I’ve heard a lot about Achlys. From oldies and from father himself, it was the nest of people who were blinded by their evil desires, princess.”

“I know, Terran. That’s why each of us should be alert.”