"I'm so glad you made it home, princess," Old Tai said, relief flooding his voice. "What would I have told your mom if something happened to you?" He shook his head, exhaustion written all over his weathered face. "Your absence was felt by everyone—especially the young prince. He hasn't been out of his chamber since you left. Would the young miss please come with me to see him?"
Tai had been worried sick ever since Reloua disappeared. The prince was basically glued to his sister's side normally—inseparable, like gum stuck to a shoe. But after she vanished? He barely ate, barely came out of his room. The huge glass windows stayed covered with blankets. No one knew what was happening inside.
Reloua's return would surely pull him out of whatever dark place he'd retreated to.
Hearing about her younger brother, Reloua's pace quickened through the massive corridors. Behind her like a shadow, Teleu followed noiselessly.
After some time, they finally reached a small garden. At the far end sat a modest but elegant house with peaceful decorations. That's where the young prince lived.
Every minister, prince, and princess had their own garden—ranging from modest to luxurious depending on their status. It was designed to give them privacy.
As they walked into the garden, Teleu looked around, memorizing the layout and surroundings.
Reloua, Teleu, and Old Tai moved quickly to the young prince's door.
"Gyan, it's me, Reloua. Open the door. I'm back."
Knock! Knock!
She knocked twice. Nothing.
"Gyan! Gyan! Open up, come greet me."
Knock! Knock! Knock!
She kept knocking. Still nothing. No reply from inside. Worry slowly crept onto her face as she realized how badly the situation might've affected her younger brother.
When Old Tai first mentioned the prince locking himself in his room, she hadn't been that worried. She knew her younger brother better than anyone. He could hide from others, but not from her.
People saw him as just an 11-year-old kid. But she knew better. If anyone was going to push their kingdom to heights it had never reached, it'd be him. He was 11 but composed, smart, a realist. What people called a genius.
But it just hit her hard in the gut. Gyan was still a kid at the end of the day. Genius or not, he was a little boy who'd just lost his mom and gotten news his sister disappeared.
How does an 11-year-old react to that kind of tragedy? It's normal to shut down, hate the world. That's the only way to release the pain.
Realizing this now, Reloua started panicking. Was he okay? Was he sick? Had he lost weight? Was he even still alive?
She whipped around to face Old Tai, her worried expression turning frosty. "When was the last time you guys heard noise from his room?"
Old Tai trembled as something occurred to him. "F-Four days. We last heard from his room four days ago."
"Did you not think something might've happened?" She stared him down, heart growing colder. "Couldn't you have ordered someone to break in? Couldn't you check if he's okay?"
Reloua really cared about Gyan. She wouldn't normally speak to Old Tai this way—she respected the old man too much. But she couldn't stand the thought of losing her brother.
Old Tai looked completely rattled as his mind went to the worst possibilities. He could only watch as the princess kept knocking and shouting with no response.
Poor old man, Teleu thought from the side, expression calm.
About fifteen minutes later, Reloua stopped shouting when no answer came. She took a heavy breath, exhausted from screaming. Her eyes reddened as worst-case scenarios ran through her mind again and again. But she couldn't cry—not if her brother was going to come out and see her. She had to be his pillar. Couldn't be weak in front of him.
"Old Tai, can you please call for workers? They need to break this door down," she said calmly after pulling herself together.
"Yes, my lady," Tai bowed respectfully. This was worse than he'd thought. If anything happened to the prince, he'd get beheaded.
Old Tai slowly stood up, preparing to leave the garden to get workers. But just before he could, a hand landed on his shoulder.
"No need," Teleu said.
"What do you think you're doing?" Old Tai replied. He was grateful to this young man—grateful he'd rescued the princess. But it seemed that accomplishment had gone to his head. Now he thought he could do whatever he wanted, speak poorly to the king, not care about the prince. Old Tai wanted to snap back but couldn't. Instead, he turned to the princess.
"Speak, Teleu. What do you mean 'no need'?" Reloua asked.
Teleu pointed slowly at the door. "I can open it."
He walked forward after saying something that sounded like complete nonsense. The door to the small palace was huge—colossal. How could a guy who was only 1.85 meters tall open a massive door made of hardwood? It was impossible.
Oddly enough, Reloua let him try. She'd seen enough of Teleu during their three weeks traveling together to know he didn't talk nonsense. If he said he could do it, he could. And if he stepped in, there was a reason he didn't want to alert others.
Teleu turned slowly to Old Tai. "Can you please go get some food? In case we open the door, the young prince might need something to eat." He stopped in front of the door.
Old Tai reluctantly looked at Reloua—she had the final say. He wouldn't take orders from a bodyguard. Reloua nodded slowly, letting him know to follow Teleu's instructions.
So Old Tai left the garden. Which led to Reloua finally asking, "Why did you want him gone? Do you think he's suspicious?" She figured asking for food was just an excuse to get Tai out of there. But she was confused because sending him to get workers would've gotten him gone too. What was Teleu's goal?
Teleu pulled out a small dagger from his pocket. "No, not at all. If anything, he's loyal to you guys. But no one else should enter this room right now besides us. If he went and got guards, multiple people would've come in—increases the chance of traitors being among them. Once we're inside, I'm locking the door behind us."
"What's so important that others can't see?" Reloua asked, confused.
"Don't know yet. But if I'm right, we might see something very interesting," Teleu said as he slid the dagger between the two locked doors.
"Do you think my brother's okay?" Reloua asked, worry all over her face. At this point, she was just searching for comfort.
"He should be," Teleu replied bluntly.
He performed a few movements, moving the dagger up and down, then left to right.
Click! Clack!
The door to the palace finally opened, sunlight flooding the hallway that led to different chambers.
"After you, my lady," Teleu said. Reloua rushed past him to find her brother. Once she was inside, Teleu closed and locked the door behind them, then followed her steps.
At the end of the corridor was a room, door closed. Gyan's room—where he used to spend most of his time reading or writing. Reloua reached it and pushed the door open.
The sight that greeted her brought instant relief. It was Gyan—a young, skinny boy about 1.46 meters tall, lying on the bed, breathing heavily with a bunch of papers scattered next to him. Other than the mess from the papers, everything else in the room was organized.
Sigh. Reloua sighed in relief seeing her brother sleeping peacefully. Seemed like she'd underestimated her younger brother's mental strength. She glanced sideways at Teleu, who slowly walked toward the bed to pick up one of the papers next to the prince.
"Interesting..." he mumbled.