THE ANCIENT HUNT

FAREWELL

"You are here" the husband remarked as he closed the door after waiting for his wife to come in through the door.

"Yes, I stopped by on way to deliver some messages" Adahy replied standing up to welcome his uncle

"How have you been sister-in-law?" he added turning to greet her

"I have been well and fine, I can see you are too" the wife replied as she greeted her daughter to ran up to her

"Let's talk inside, I have some things to tell you" the man said and lead the road inside while Adahy followed and left the wife with the kid outside

They settled inside the room and the man got straight to the point, he had sent for him so they can talk about the rumors flying around and since his younger brother was in the best position to confirm it, he sent for him so he could ask

"I'm sure life at the palace is not too strenuous or is it too challenging?" he asked

"No it is not, I am adjusting to it day by day so it's not that hard anymore, it's been more than three years so it's high time I got addicted to it" Adahy replied with a smile

"That's good, I trust you to do well when I recommended you, what of my friend? is he doing well?" he asked further

"He's doing his best to keep his health in check while also making sure the country is running smoothly so you don't have to worry" Adahy answered and that only drew a sigh from his older brother

"So I heard his younger brother came back to the town suddenly and he has been visiting him frequently, is that true?" he asked wearing a mask of concern on his face

"Yes, he came to the palace as soon as he arrived and since then he has been frequently the palace, he even requested for his own quarters few days ago and that made the king furious. I guess they will resolve it on their own after all" Adahy explained

"This is a bad omen, why is he in town at this time exactly? what is he planning?" the man muttered with a disturbed voice which made Adahy confused

"Is there something to worry about? is his presence something that shouldn't happen?" he asked innocently

"Since we are not sure about what he wants for now, let's just watch him closely for now, I will give you the task of tailing him and giving me updates as soon as possible so please don't fail to report any odd or suspicious move from him to me immediately" the man remarked

"I will make sure to that, do not worry" Adahy replied with a slight bow before the nanny came to announce to them that the food is ready

"You should stay for some food since you are here" the man told him and stood up so they can go outside together

Adahy met Shael still practicing the song he thought her earlier and she was already good at it, one thing she adored her for was her sharp memory and abilities to catch up on things fast

"Wow! you are already good at it, that's why my little baby is the best" he remarked from the back and Shael turned to look at him with a smile, she was still playing the erhu without skipping a beat which showed that she was an expert at what she was doing

"Uncle, will you not tell me the ending of that story? I want to know what happened between the owl and the man, I am so curious" she whined but the uncle only smiled

"I will tell you the ending the next time I come so don't worry" he assured her and the nanny came to pick her up

"You have to eat your dinner, let's go in" she said and gently helped her down the patio

"You should go in and eat, we will talk when I come back" the uncle said and waved her goodbye but she stopped immediately

"You are not eating with us? didn't aunt prepare your portion?" she asked turning to look at the nanny

"I will eat of course, I just want to receive some fresh air so you should go on and eat your food" he replied and she nodded before hopping along

Before she finished eating, he already ate his own food and left early so he could report back to his duty post at the palace before it gets too late

*****

"I really can't believe that you have gotten this big, how rough must it have been growing up and surviving alone" Adahy lamented as he stared at his niece with happiness

"Growing up wasn't really that hard because I got lucky and lived a comfortable life in the palace but these past few weeks have been the toughest moments of my life" she replied with her eyes laced with tears

"You lived in the palace you said?" he asked in surprise

"Yes, I had to live on the street and could only survive on the tokens I got from playing the erhu in the market square or at parties but the day I encountered the king unknowingly, my life changed for the better. He first gave me so much money that I took a break from the market but after going back to continue my life before I run completely out of money, I met him again waiting for me, he said he was able to sleep soundly the day he listened to me play. That very day, he ordered for me to be brought to the palace and also be his personal instrumentalist." she narrated

"I get that he wanted to have you by his side but living in the palace must have been some hell, that place is a beautiful building filled with toxic people" Adahy replied with a worried look

"Although it was filled with toxic people like you have said, I had no course to be afraid because the king really adored me and he made sure I answer to him only, he protected me and treasured me so I really didn't feel the toxicity" she answered and he sighed in relief

"I'm so glad you got to grow up beautifully but why did you leave the palace? did the new king kick you out?" he asked sitting down on the nearest bench to hear her story

"He didn't kick me out but I had to run for my life, I witnessed the scene where he killed the king and he wanted to kill me for being a witness but sadly my poor attendant took the sword in exchange for my life, I really can't get both her and the scene off my mid all these days, I can't even close my eyes without dreaming of that gruesome scene" she said with tears now falling down her cheeks

"Then how did you end up being a slave at the governor's house? did he by chance kidnap you?" he asked getting more interested

"I passed out in the bush as I was running away for my life and he happened to find me on his way, he brought me home and took care of me, my flashy clothes must have given him the intuition that I will be a wealthy family's daughter but I lied to him that I don't have the memory of who I am because I am someone who must live dead and also I cannot tell him I live in the palace, come to think of it, I realized that I didn't have any relative except the king" she sadly explained

"I guess he decided to turn you to a slave since he was disappointed that he couldn't make money off you as he had expected" he muttered and folded his fist in anger

"As from today, you are staying here with us. I want you to erase the thought of you not having a relative off your mind because you already found your relative so you are going to live here" he said firmly and Ahiga scoffed

"You were so bent on chasing her away, talking about returning her no matter what because you were not ready to be entangled with the rich folks but now that she turned out to be your niece, you suddenly want her to stay?" Ahiga remarked and that earned him a glare from him

"What? did I say something wrong? isn't that how you have been behaving all these while? this is why they said always try to do good regardless of the person because they might turn out to be your own blood, I guess that saying was made because of this situation because it fits it perfectly" Ahiga added

"Don't you have some laundries to do? why are you butting into relatives' matter?" Adahy yelled at him

"Since this man here is not your relative, he will now go in and take care of the laundry like the slave he is while the relatives enjoy their companies out here and catch up with each other" Ahiga said sarcastically and turned to go inside

"That brat!" he needs to have some sense beaten into him" he murmured

"he's cute" she said with a blush and her uncle scoffed

"Cute? cute my foot" he said kicking the stone next to him away

****

Lebby was busy applying lotion on her skin in the room after lamenting about her dry skin when Morgan entered the room to fill her in on the latest news

"The two eliminated contestants are going today my Queen" she informed her and Lebby smirked in front of the mirror

"is that so? since they were once on the same boat with me, wouldn't it be a wonderful and friendly thing to go say goodbye?" Lebby replied with a snort

"The King has fixed the date for the second round of the competition" she added

"Hmm, that means I will have to see some people off again very soon" Lebby remarked with an evil cackle before standing up from where she sat

"Let's go bid them farewell, they only came to have a short tour in the palace and it's time for them to go back to their homes as they should" Lebby said and walked out of the room while her crew followed her immediately.