Crown in The Mist (ENGLISH)

CHAPTER TWENTY

It's been five minutes and Lance was still swearing, threatening, and restraining himself to throw me into the water. I think what stopped him was that I'm wounded or maybe the fact that I won't be able to give him his precious necklace if I drowned. I think that necklace was the reason why I'm still alive up to this point. I could say I made a good steal.

"They didn't see your face, don't worry. And if they did, they can't catch you. They won't catch you."

His brows furrowed as he looked at me. He was breathing heavily. "What do you mean by that?"

"They're only after me," I said, my breathing labored too with all the running we did earlier. "You want to know why they were after me, right?" I stared at the shore. I couldn't see what's on the shore, whether the bounty hunters are still there or not. I hope not.

"I am the illegitimate daughter of the late King of Carnes."

His face showed even more confusion then he raised his brow as if he couldn't believe what I just said. I sighed. "Years ago, my mom worked as a servant in the Palace. And judging from how the Queen was so hell-bent on killing me that her bounty hunters wouldn't even hesitate to mutilate me on broad daylight in a crowded street, I could only guess that my mom was a mistress. Hence me, being the illegitimate child."

"How sure are you that you are indeed the King's daughter?"

"We should ask the Queen that question too, right?" I rolled my eyes. "She claimed the necklace was given to her by the King. The Queen wouldn't be possible after me if she wasn't sure that I am indeed the King's daughter. And my mother's name was engraved on the necklace owned by the Queen Regent, at least as she claims it."

"Then that necklace. . ."

". . . was a gift from the King to my mom."

His eyes narrowed. "You stole it where, exactly?"

"In the museum. I recently found out about my mother's name on it when Ares—" I stopped and sighed. "I didn't know it was my mother's when I stole it. Talk about coincidence," I said and he was just looking at me seriously.

"They're after me because Her Majesty thinks I am a threat to the throne," I said, scoffing. There was enough bite on my words that for a moment I saw something in Lance's eyes. But it was gone as soon as it came.

"Are you?" he asked.

I let out a bitter laugh. "Heavens, no. She can have that throne all for herself for all I care. She's using me being a thief as a front to cover her true intentions of killing me."

He was silent for a moment before he said, as if he gave it very careful consideration, "You'll be on the run for the rest of your life. She won't stop."

And I paused,  realizing I haven't really thought that far. I was too busy surviving each day that I didn't have the time to think about tomorrow. But I realized, I relied on Ares' plan too much that I didn't have a backup plan if it goes wrong. And when it did go wrong, I didn't know where to go, what to do. Everything was a blur. I don't even know what I will do tomorrow. What matters as of the moment was to survive, to live for tomorrow. So I guess I'll be running for the rest of my life. Should they capture me, they won't capture me alive. And I'd make sure of that.

We entered the cave where my ship was carefully hidden. Lance was roaming his eyes around as if he couldn't believe what he's seeing. That a place like this existed without his knowledge. And when he saw my ship, he couldn't believe I managed to sail it without anybody noticing. I just shrugged and let him stay in the boat while I went inside the ship to get his necklace. It was hard to climb with my wound but I managed. And Lance wasn't inclined to help me as he just stood there watching me climb my ass off. Such a gentleman.

When I came back, I think he has already finished scanning the cave and the ship.

He glanced in my direction when he noticed me coming. I tossed him his necklace. 

"So this is where you've been hiding," he said as he scanned the necklace, checking if there's something missing from it. 

I didn't respond. I watched him put the necklace in his pocket. Then he removed the scarf on him and tossed it to me, too.

"Whose necklace is that? You don't strike me as someone who wears a necklace that could pass as a mother's day gift," I asked, crossing my arms.

He shot me a glare.

Point taken.

I shrugged. "You got your necklace back. So I'm out of here. Forget about me—"

"What makes you think I'd remember you?" he said, scoffing.

"—and tell no soul about me," I continued. 

"That's the last thing I would do," he said and gave me a blank stare.

"Tell me, were you that traumatized being with me?"

He shrugged. "I've lived on this island for twenty-seven years and I have never had people shooting at me before. And never tried shooting at anyone. Thanks to you, I experienced that today. Did you perhaps sneaked a peek at my bucket list?"

I rolled my eyes. "Piss off. You pointed a knife at me."

He crossed his arm. "That scar on your neck tells me I wasn't the first person who pointed a knife at you. I understand, whoever that person is, why he did that."

We stared for a brief moment before I sauntered close and gave him a brief hug. He stood frozen, clearly stunned with what I did. But then he started rummaging through his coat, checking if there were anything missing. I ignored him and raised both my arms.

"I didn't take anything," I said. He stopped checking his coat. "Thank you," I mumbled.

"I only did that because I wouldn't get my necklace back if you died. And it's a lot of trouble burying a dead body," he said and I know he was telling the truth. Unbelievable. 

I went back to the ship and hopped on it. I looked at him and he was also looking at me.

"Tell the boat owner I said thank you," I said.

He scoffed. "A thief saying thank you?"

I ignored his remark even though I had the greatest urge to wallop him. I just turned my back and put my hood on, maneuvering the ship out of the cave.

I didn't look back. I faced forward and felt the gentle touch of the sea breeze against my skin. This is the last time we're going to see each other, anyway. Or at least I hope.

* * *

I grunted and took a deep breath as I tried changing the bandage on my wound. Luckily, I found a kit and used it. It was then that I took a good look at the wound. It wasn't that deep but it bled a lot. I had no idea how Lance managed to stitch it all up. But he did, anyway. I covered it up with fresh bandages and I held on to the railings to haul myself up.

The sea was clear and the weather was fine. Now would be the perfect time to sail to Xian, the West of Carnes.

I looked at the cave where I came from a distance. I couldn't see the entrance of it from here. I smirked as I looked at the table where a jet black phone was laid on. Lance's phone. He had a good judgment earlier to check his coat after I hugged him but he forgot to check his pants. Not clever enough. 

"By now, he must be cursing my name several times," I said and scoffed. 

I went inside and checked the things I had so far. Several thousands of money, a pocket watch, a gun, and a phone. Going to Xian would serve another purpose. It was my mother's hometown. I might get some clues there about her relationship with the King. If I had known about it in a different circumstance, I wouldn't have bothered. I would be surprised but I wouldn't be digging deeper into it. I wouldn't be proud of being the illegitimate daughter of the King, either. But the situation is different. My life is at stake. I should at least know more about the reason why I'm being hunted. And Xian is a good place to start. 

I don't know if I have any living relatives there. But my mother often tells me about a person named Clarence Fiore. Maybe I should ask around Xian about her. My mother used to tell me in her sickbed the woman named Clarence is someone popular in a certain district. I just have to find where that district is. 

It would take half a day to sail to Xian. Bounty hunters will be after my tail. I don't know which one is less bad: being chased by the Royal Guards or by the bounty hunters. Both my encounters with them involved shooting and a lot of running and there's Ares with me who helped me get away only to sell me out in the end.  That wasn't the ending I was expecting though I guess it was fair because I planned to steal from him from the start. A Crown Prince who didn't hesitate to give me four hundred thousand Quird for a cheap Lazuli Diamond necklace was a very good target.

I shook my head. Now's not the time to be thinking about him. So I looked at the ocean far ahead, trying to bury the memory of that incident one morning in his cottage. I wished the cold was the one who caused the blush on my face.

* * *

I wrapped myself with the coat a little tighter as I felt the cold whip of the wind. I groaned. I haven't really got enough sleep but my drowsiness immediately disappeared when the view of Xian greeted me. It was a whole mountain with houses on it. The boats were docked on the docks and some fishermen and tradesmen were doing their businesses early in the morning. It's almost 2 o'clock in the morning. I think I arrived at the right time.

The lamps on their ships and boats illuminated the waters. Some of the buildings were also lit its purplish and bluish color blended well with the orange and red of the boat lamps. There were stalls a few meters away from the docks but they were still closed.

I decided to dock my ship on the farthest and I saw an officer come close. I got down from my ship and he scanned me from head to foot.

"I am a tourist but I don't have any documents with me. But I have this," I said and took out a thick stash of cash. He blinked and then his eyes went back to me.

"I want this ship secured until I get back," I said as I counted the cash on my hand. He looked at it then gave me a puzzled look.

"Are you bribing me, right now?"

"Yes," I answered as a matter of factly. Then continued to count the money. "Take the cash and I'll give you the other half when I get back. Be sure to be here by then." I tossed it to him and he immediately caught it.

I walked past him and wore my hood when he called me.

"When are you getting back here?" he asked. I smiled before I faced him.

"Well," I said, inserting my hand into the pockets of my jacket. "I'm not certain. Be sure to be here when I get back." I eyed the ship as I took out another stash and waved it at him before I sauntered off to the quiet streets of Xian.

I guess the news about a thief on the run hasn't reached here yet. Or maybe it has but the officer perhaps didn't recognize me. I smiled at myself. The disguise is working, then. The only people who could see through my disguise would be someone who knows me. And I doubt there's someone like that here.

So with the scarf I was wearing, I lifted it up a notch higher to cover half my face. The gun was heavy in my pocket. The suitcase I was holding contained important things I need to have in this place. And it was heavy too. My steps were unhurried as I walked in an alleyway with the noise of my boots' heels echoing the narrow path. It was very quiet and the sound bounced off the walls.

I need to find Clarence Fiore on my own. I had a feeling asking the officer about her won't do any good. The way my mom talks about her, I could already sense her name brings trouble. And that's the last thing I wanted while staying here.

So I walked until I found an open inn.

"Two nights of stay please," I said as I handed her cash.

"Change is yours," I said and gave her a wink before I went to the room she assigned.

* * *