Their ordinary-looking carriages continued to travel through the darkness of the night. After hours of traveling, the two carriages stopped.

Seren, who fell asleep while leaving her head on Drayce’s shoulder, was jolted awake. She rubbed her eyes and asked, “Have we reached our destination?”

Drayce had been listening to the conversation outside, and replied, “Not yet, but we have to get down the carriage.”

He helped her climb down the carriage and she saw that they were no longer in the forest. They were at the bank of a large river, with nothing but the lanterns on their carriages to light the way.

It was still deep into the night, the moon somewhat shrouded by the clouds, and she found a single boat large enough to carry their group floating silently on the black waters.

Just then, King Armen came to them, his expression tranquil as usual.

Seeing Drayce holding onto his wife as if she was about to fall, he could not help but ask, “What happened? Are you alright, Seren?”

Seren immediately straightened herself.

Calling her by her name, she was not used to it. Growing up in the palace, there were not many times they interacted. On those rare occasions they did, she could only see him sitting on the throne, never getting the chance to talk to him. In fact, her nanny Martha had more conversations with the King of Abetha than her.

‘And on those off chances he talked about me, he refers to me as ‘Third Princess,’ she recalled.

Seren indeed wished the King of Abetha would call her by her name, but that was in the past. It had been more than a decade. Now that he was doing it, she found the sensation strange. She felt conflicted over how to react in front of him. It would have been better if he acted like before, as if she was nothing but a painting on the wall.

“I am fine, King Armen,” she replied politely.

King Armen had no expectations that she would call him father so he accepted her reply.

“We will have to travel by boat now,” he informed to which she simply nodded.

Their group boarded the sailboat without anyone exchanging a word.

As it was very dark, Drayce helped Seren settle in that boat. There was a small cabin at the center of the boat where Drayce led her to stay, while the rest stood outside.

There was no need for further instructions as Sir Berolt had already arranged everything regarding this trip. Not only was the boatman a skilled and trusted person, he was also unaware of the real identities of his passengers–there was only a mission for him and that was to reach the group’s destination.

The boat continued to quietly sail through the river.

By the crack of dawn, the boat finally stopped at one place. Seren had fallen asleep hours prior, and the sudden jolt of the boat woke her up. Hearing the loud rushing sound of water, she  moved the curtain of the cabin aside and peered outside.

Their boat had stopped in front of a massive waterfall.

Seren realized this must be their destination and headed out of the cabin. Drayce sensed her presence and reached her side.

“Is this not the place?” she asked after she observed how their group had serious expressions on their faces, as if they were waiting for something. She saw King Armen nodding to his knight but she didn’t know what it was for.

However, before Drayce could respond, the most magical thing happened in front of her.

p AndD nOve1.cO,m

She was barely able to get back her composure when  their boat moved once again, intending to enter the cave. For a moment, it gave her an image that they were entering the gaping mouth of a beast.

“W-Why are we going inside?” she asked Drayce, scrambling towards him as she found the experience scary.

Though the cave was large and spacious, the atmosphere inside was cold and eerie. The sound of water dripping from the rocks above their heads echoed repeatedly in the air, and aside from the couple of lanterns attached on their boat, everything else was shrouded in darkness.

“This is the route to our destination,” Drayce informed her in a quiet voice, his expression showing hints of…nervousness and hope?

However, Seren did not see this as her attention was diverted by the sight of the curtain of water closing behind them.

“Drayce, I’m scared…”

Seren held onto Drayce firmly. Despite knowing she should be safe, she could not stop her instinctive fear–she could not stay in such a closed and dark place where she could see nothing. The sound of flowing water and the echoes of dripping magnified her fear.

The lanterns hanging on their boat were the only source of light, and it didn’t feel enough to her.

Drayce wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. With her head pressed against his chest, she could hear his steady heartbeats. “It’s alright. There is nothing to be scared of. I am here.”

As their boat moved further within the long cavern, following the current of the winding underground river, time passed without them knowing.

Soon, fireflies appeared in the distance, and only after approaching them did Seren realize they were  torches. The deeper they entered, the more torches lit the waterway.

Only when Seren realized there were more people inside and they were not alone did she feel relieved to return to the cabin.

Small dry snacks had been prepared inside the boat for its passengers, and after some time, Seren started to feel hungry. She nibbled a little, only enough to satiate her hunger, and after that, she proceeded to observe the rock formations along the way.

With her getting used to the cold damp air and the dimness of the underground river, her curiosity flared, and she spent the passing time studying her surroundings. There were many forks and tunnels they had to navigate, and along the way, she saw unfamiliar plants and odd-looking stones, as well as small animals like bats and reptiles.

After an unknown amount of time, they reached the end of the river which was another huge cave.

It didn’t seem like a natural rock formation, but something that had been rearranged with the help of magic.

“Is this the place?” Seren whispered to Drayce.

“Seems like it,” he replied and found King Armen going to their side of the boat.

“King Drayce, Seren, we have arrived. We will be entering this cave.”

Drayce nodded and they stepped down the boat. As soon as their group had disembarked, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching from the direction of the cave.

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