"Who are they, Sir Lukariah? Why are they behind us?" The young prince queried again as they continued to walk further along the secret passage.

Lukariah looked behind him again to make sure no one was following him. Although it was a secret passage and no one but the prince and him knew about it, he could still not let his guards down. They were now surrounded by enemies and unless they reached a safe place, he had to stay vigilant.

"Prince Mael," He let out a sigh and the young prince stopped walking at once. This was the second time the knight had called him by his name, the previous time being the day when he had lost his parents.

At that time, he was too drowned in sorrow when he saw his parents' lifeless bodies and he had been unable to stop his tears. It was Lukariah who had forced him out of his misery to focus on handling the chaos in the kingdom first.

"Do you remember the Asra?"

As soon as Mael heard the name, he stiffened and his body went cold. Even his face paled and he clutched the torch in his hand until his knuckles turned white.

"They...they..." Mael was too terrified to speak a word and he kept gaping at Lukariah, who lowered his sword as his heart softened.

The young prince in front of him was barely thirteen and was yet to master the technique of handling the kingdom and his enemies. Although he had learned to wield a sword before, he had never killed anyone before. This was the first time he was facing such a situation and he was all alone, without anyone to guide him or help him until he was capable of protecting himself.

"Yes, Your Highness. The Asra were the ones who killed His Majesty and Her Majesty."

A chilling glint passed through Lukariah's eyes when he thought of his king and the queen, who had departed from the castle happy and excited, only to return lifeless and cold, with their bodies butchered except for their heads that had been kept intact.

Mael was not a fool. He now understood why the Asra were at his castle and his eyes dilated in fear. "The Asra..." He licked his dry lips. "They are here for me, to kill me. Am I correct, Sir Lukariah?"

Lukariah did not speak a word. But Mael got his answer from his silence and a chill went down his spine.

"But why?" He whispered, not having the strength to speak any louder. "What did we, Iarlaiths ever do to them?" His eyes reddened as he thought of his dead parents. The wound was still fresh for it had only been a few days since their demise.

Mael had involved himself in the castle work, learning to rule the kingdom as quickly as possible. He had used this reason to forget about his anguish, forcing his body every day to train until he had no energy left at the end of the day. But now, the memories came back to him stronger than before and his vision blurred as tears filled them.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"This..." Lukariah stopped for a moment. This was not a secret related to him and he had no right to reveal it to the prince. Since the only people who had the right to tell him the truth were gone, it now came upon him to educate the young prince about it.

"Your Highness, the enmity between the Iarlaiths and Asra goes back to a long time, even before your grandfather was born. Although I do not know much detail about it, it is said that peace never prevailed between the two and at one point in time, it became too much that your grandfather, His Majesty was forced to annihilate the Asra until they fled to save themselves."

Lukariah let out a sigh. "Let us keep walking, Your Highness. We need to reach a safe place before they get to us."

Mael gave him a mysterious look before he started walking, while Lukariah followed him.

"After that incident, it was said that the Asra never returned until a week ago and Your Highness knows all that has happened since then."

Mael stayed silent. This was too much information for him to grasp at once. Now, he understood why the Asra had killed his parents and right now, were behind him. They were here to avenge their ancestors and they would not stop until they caught him.

Although he was mortified, as soon as he thought of his parents' lifeless eyes, his fear was replaced by hatred and rage. He wanted to destroy all the people who killed them. But he knew his limits. In front of the mighty Asra, he was nothing. He would not even get past the weakest in the group, let alone win against their leader and destroy their entire clan.

Mael's shoulders drooped and his pace slowed. Lukariah, who was following him closely, saw his actions and he understood at once what was happening.

At least the young Prince was not foolish. He thought and admired the man for his inner strength. His mental power was commendable. Otherwise, he would have crumbled by now for sure after listening to what awaited him.

"Do not worry, Your Highness," Lukariah added suddenly, startling Mael with his sudden words. "We will take revenge for sure. But not right now."

"Can we do it, Sir Lukariah?" Mael was not convinced. How would they take revenge against the formidable Asra? They were only two, while the enemy army was huge. It was utterly impossible, not until he had a stronger army with him supporting him.

"Absolutely," Lukariah said with confidence. "But not right now. We need to grow stronger first, stronger than our enemy to take them down."

"I understand, Sir Lukariah. I will work harder from now onward."

Lukariah smiled at the young prince when he heard the determination in his voice and he did not doubt him on it.

Mael and Lukariah walked for a long time and the flame in the torch kept dwindling as every moment passed.

"Where does this passage lead us, Sir Lukariah?"

Mael had tried to use the passage once to find out where exactly the passage led. But his father had caught him and had warned him not to use it until it was absolutely necessary.

"Your Highness, we will soon be reaching the outskirts of the kingdom and if I am not wrong..." Lukariah stopped for a moment. "We will be reaching the borders of the kingdom Vatham.

"Vatham?"

"Yes, Your Highness. The Queen of Vatham had a good relationship with Her Majesty. I am sure we can seek help from her that is if..."

Mael sensed the man behind him hesitate and he turned around again to face him. "If?"

"If we are able to enter her kingdom first."

"Why can we not enter the kingdom, Sir Lukariah? Is there a problem?"

"Yes, there is, Your Highness. No man is allowed inside the kingdom and it is impossible to sneak inside." Seeing the young prince raise his brows, Lukariah continued, "The kingdom of Vatham is well protected and no man who has tried to enter it before has lived to see another day."