Izana paced restlessly at the entrance "where is he? Surely he should be here by now?" He had made all the necessary arrangements to receive the King of Tanbarun but despite sending word of his arrival- he had not yet turned up. Worried that something might have happened (or that he had bumped into an angry Zen) Izana turned to his guard "Did you sent any men to go meet the King?" the soldier nodded "yes your highness, however we have not heard anything from them since…further more we sent others to check and they have not yet returned either" Izana sighed, fighting against the fear that was eating away at his soul "I will go and see what is happening myself, prepare to depart immediately and gather some more of the guard" The soldier hesitated "your highness? What if it's a trap?" Izana's face grew angry…Zen was right! How frustrating it was to be tied down by stupid rules! "I do not care about myself! My brother is out there and I need to know he is ok…I said prepare to depart!" The soldier nodded and retreated immediately. Izana lowered his head I know it must be a trap but If he does have Zen I cannot just sit around!
Zen had departed from the castle with haste I must go a different way around to avoid King Zura! He had decided to travel through the woods- it would take longer but would also offer him cover to avoid detection.
He had been running with all of his strength but had begun to run out of energy. He slumped down against a tree and looked up to the sky, he could see patches of blue sky and white clouds through the green leaves. His eyes locked on to something red amongst the green and blue- it was a deliciously red apple dangling from the tree. His heart throbbed painfully as he recalled Shirayuki's hair shining in the meadow amongst the flowers. He jumped up to the branch and reached out to pick the apple to eat but froze abruptly as he heard nearby rustles…someone was approaching.
Shirayuki was laid on the bed looking at the ceiling in despair; she had wandered the room fifty times over looking for a way out but had no luck. The door clicked and Shirayuki sat up straight. Her face became a vision of relief when Ellie entered the room once again with a lunch tray "Ellie, your ok!" Ellie set the tray down and smiled stiffly "Yes. King Zura asked me to relay a message to you 'As promised Ellie shall remain fine as long as you behave' he also wished for me to tell you 'please feel free to leave your room and explore the castle but once again remember to behave or there will be consequences' also Princess…I regret to tell you that there is more than my own life at stake if he decides to punish you" Shirayuki stood up abruptly with darkness grasping her heart "what is it Ellie?" Ellie lowered her head with her hands trembling slightly "the Prince of Clarines is being held in the prison cells" Shirayuki gasped and for a moment allowed the darkness to engulf her body, mind and soul. Ellie ran forward and held Shirayuki steadily "Princess, are you ok?!" Shirayuki pushed away the darkness that was suffocating her and found her breath "Ellie, did he specifically instruct that I have to stay away from the cells?" she shook her head "no, I believe he simply means that you can wander around freely as long as you do not try to escape. I think he wanted you to go there…I think he fears that my life alone is not enough to make you submit to him" Shirayuki nodded in agreement yes holding Zen would be the perfect way to make her behave, he has the perfect excuse to hold him legally! She had consented to become Zura's fiancé, no doubt Zen would have come to rescue her and therefore he could be detained for attempted kidnap of the future queen! She looked to Ellie "will you lead me to the cells? Ellie nodded and Shirayuki hastened after her.
The cells were dimly lit and most of the cells had been filled "why are there so many down here?" Shirayuki looked sadly at each of the men, women… even children that were locked up…it was clear that some of them had clearly been here a while…they were silent and had withdrawn to the back of their cells- they had given up any hope. Others were crying and then there was people reaching out desperately through the bars begging to be freed "please, please I swear I am innocent!" Shirayuki felt bile rise in her throat as she came across a woman who was resting the head of her child in her lap…the child was alive but was weak "The King has taken to throwing almost anyone in here for anything with only rations to eat, most of these people are most likely innocent, or simply lived in poverty and may have stolen some bread to feed themselves" Shirayuki fought back tears how cruel! The though that Zen was somewhere down here sickened her…however she could not see him anywhere "Ellie he isn't here?" Ellie frowned and grabbed her keys "maybe he is detained in the top priority prisons… he is a prince after all" Ellie lead her to a thick iron door and unlocked it. Shirayuki ran past her to the only occupied Cell but abruptly stopped in shock. It was not Zen in the cell! "Izana! How?…why are you here? Where is Zen?!" Izana smiled kindly behind the bars "I am glad you are safe Shirayuki. I thought Zen was also here…it seems I was tricked. I am glad Zen is safe though. I assume if he isn't here he is on his way…we must place our trust in him for now…I am sorry Shirayuki, I should never have let you go to Zura, Zen was right he warned me that it would not work..I simply wanted to take the easy option" Shirayuki knelt in front of him and grabbed his hand through the bars "No! I am glad you did; now I know who I am and what's happening!" Izana sat on the bed near the bars "tell me what you know" Shirayuki nodded "I don't know how much Zen has told you…" Shirayuki explained the story behind her upbringing and about how she and Zen had met…she progressed to explain what she had learned from Ellie- about how she was he princess and how Zura was her cousin. Izana remained quiet simply offering a nod or an "I see" occasionally. Shirayuki finished her tale and Izana stood "that is an incredible story, to think you were the princess of Tanbarun all of this time…fate truly works in magnificent ways. One thing still bugs me however…what is the story behind this sorcerer? You said Zura is your cousin? How can he be both the sorcerer and your cousin?" Shirayuki smiled knowingly "I believe that the Sorcerer had tried replicating the same spell that tied his wife to the tree… yet he has been doing it with the Royal members of this kingdom. Zura- according to Ellie, was always kind and gracious. Zura is now cruel and ruthless, yet at times knows how to express kindness. I believe the sorcerer has merged with him and so there will be traces of the real Zura left underneath. Zura's father also seemed to have change personality…so much so that his own wife committed suicide! I also believe that such a spell would be difficult to get right and flawed. The host body can not remain merged for long and so eventually dies shortly after…which would explain how the previous king died. I wonder if my father was also a victim. Maybe my mother and father learned the truth and tried to escape. I believe that they may have found a way to un-fuse the host, in my fathers case it was probably too late and he died I can only assume the sorcerer switched hosts to my uncle and pursued my parents to kill them before they divulged the truth. The mother tree must have known all along whose doing it was and so offered her protection to us all so that we may stop him" Izana nodded "you are very bright and are familiar with his powers Shirayuki, if that is the truth we may be able to stop him once and for all!" Shirayuki nodded with huge determination "what do we do Izana?" He concentrated for a moment "for now we do nothing. We must not let him know what we suspect we know. Go to him, act as his fiancé and let him keep me down here, try to gain his favor and try to protect everyone as much as you can, as long as we all play along we will be able to exploit the kindness he retains from your cousin. I trust Zen… he will offer us the opportune moment to all escape forever. Once we have escaped you must plant your mother tree and we must hope that we can find away to accelerate her growth so that she can offer us guidance. Ultimately Shirayuki, you must reclaim this Kingdom! I can see that we can bridge the gap between Tanbarun and Clarines if we work together" Shirayuki smiled brightly- finally she had purpose! She could be the key to uniting the Kingdoms and freeing the people of Tanbarun from the evil that plagued it…and her.
She had agreed to Izana that she would play along and keep everyone safe and so she knew what she must do first. She left the cells and proceeded to find Zura. It did not take long to find him, he had returned to her room to see if she had left or not…he knew she would go to the cells. "Ah there you are my dear" Shirayuki walked towards him "I went to the cells and I saw the prince, Zura I have received your warning…I will behave as long as Izana is unharmed!" Zura smiled kindly "very well I swear he shall remain safe" Shirayuki fought against her pride "I have one more request, please free the people in the cells and see that they receive urgent medical care!" Zura took a step towards Shirayuki and played with a strand of her hair- causing the hairs to stand on end "it shall be done" Shirayuki took a deep breath in and blinked against the tears in her eyes as she stood on her toes and gently kissed Zura on the lips I'm sorry Zen! "Thank you Zura- I shall behave and I will become your wife!"
So so sorry for such a dark chapter but rest assured Zen is still free and I am certain he will play the hero soon enough! I promise to update soon. Bye for now!