Hi everyone! Here remains the next chapter of Kingdom. (Gosh, I missed writing this fic a lot! :P)

Enjoy!

The gate of entrance of the capital was quite gargantuan. It was formed in the shape of the peak of an ancient temple. It was built of granites. Its pillars were bedecked with garlands of petite flowers, embracing them and rising high like snakes wrapping the branches of sandalwood. Its sides were separated from other countries with the barriers made of stainless steel. They were glistening as the sunshine was falling on them.

By its both sides, two pairs of guards were standing, holding shafts of sharp blades. Their chest, shoulders, wrists, knees and head were protected because of wearing armors. Wrenching the extended portion of their moustaches, they were carefully wandering in front of the access. They were hindering the people who were trying to enter the metropolitan. Observing their permission papers, they were allowing them to go through the gate.

Glancing here and there, the eight-yeared boy was progressing towards the entrance having a slow pace. He didn't have any paper related to formal permission or something like that. Yet, he didn't step back. Huffing, he started going forward. When he was about to step in the territory of the capital, he got obstructed by two guards as they crisscrossed their javelins in front of him.

"You aren't permitted to enter our capital, little boy," One of them alerted, "So, don't dare!"

Not being nervous, he smiled. Pulling out the locket that he had got from the princess of his kingdom, he handed it to them, "Will it be fine?"

Screwing their eyebrows, the guards started checking it. Noticing the royal signature of the currently ruling clan of the kingdom on its surface, they became convinced and returned it to the raven-haired neko-jin.

"Okay, you may go." One of them consented.

"Sure," The boy bowed, "Thank you."

Greeting them, he entered the megacity. It was quite far from their village. Yes, both in distance and in all circumstances. The roads of the capital of the kingdom were made of boulders. They were very smooth. Walking on them, Ray felt as if he had been walking on the surface of butter. Rows of trees were there by both the sides of the roads. Two or three-storied buildings could be seen along with some straw huts. Temples and pagodas were available. Seeing their apexes, he sighed in relief, thinking that he got some places to spend the nights.

The city was neat and clean. Sweepers were dusting the roads in each hour. Nobody was dropping any dirty thing on the roads. Guards having swords and spears were marching by the sides of the highways and supervising every task of every citizen. Although the situation of the city was good, Ray didn't feel good. He felt that the natural freedom of human beings was being snatched in this cosmopolitan. While roaming, he entered the market.

The market was also a busy place. In different permanent and temporary shops, various things were being bought and sold. Fruits, vegetables, spices, grains, meats and fishes, eggs, milk, other foods and beverages were being sold in an immense rate. But most of the people were failing to buy them as their price couldn't be afforded by them. Sighing, they were leaving the market place.

'Should foods be so costly that people can't buy them?' The raven-haired boy asked himself, 'But I know food is the foremost basic right of a human being. If people can't buy foods, what'll they eat? If they can't eat anything, how'll they live?'

He had to stop his thoughts because he saw a few soldiers marching towards the market. Quickly, he hid himself beneath a curtain. After some moments, he could see a woman being dragged in the market by the troopers. Seeing them, all the people left a place for them. Positioning the captive in that place and being surrounded by the folks of market place, one of them grabbed her hair.

"Ouch!" She quivered in pain.

"She's a rebel!" Another soldier claimed, "She is the ex-empress of this kingdom. In the eyes of our authorities, she tried to kill our former king and his family. She was kept in utmost honor but she couldn't express the gratitude towards the hospitality and kindness of our king. So, this is her punishment!"

Most of the people in the crowd knew that it wasn't true at all. Rather, Queen Riza had been imprisoned since the demise of her husband. How would she conspire against emperor Zagart? But who had the heart of protesting against the soldiers at that moment? After all, they all were the puppets of their ruler.

Bringing some pebbles, the guards started throwing them at Riza. She tried to stand up but the shackles that chained her feet were held by another strong military member having a well-toned body. Hiding her face beneath her palms and helplessly lying on the surface of mother earth, she kept tolerating all the tortures that were being inflicted on her.

"Stop!"

Having heard a childish yet bold voice, everyone gasped and looked at its owner. There was standing a toddler boy, almost eight, having golden-colored orbs glimmering in determination and repulsion. His long and thick ebony hair was tied in a ponytail. He was pouting in anger. As the soldiers stopped throwing pebbles at Riza, he didn't hesitate for a moment to approach her. Hardly had he reached her when he got thwarted by a few soldiers and their naked swords.

"Don't dare touch her, boy!" One of them threatened, "She's a criminal and a criminal must be punished in this way."

"No, please don't torture her!" He cried, "I don't know whether she has done anything wrong or not. But please, don't raise your hands or weapons on her. Torturing women physically is a great sin. Don't enrich your sins anymore!"

He felt his voice almost broken. He recalled those incidents of his mother being beaten by his father. Often his so-called father had raised his dirty hands on his wife. Whenever she had become late a bit while serving foods, she had got beaten. Whenever she had complained about the scarcity of money, her hair had mercilessly been grasped and pulled. At every time of questioning her husband regarding the well-being of her child, two or three stains of fingers had started clinging to her cheeks. He gazed at the eyes of the captive. Her eyes were sprinkling with tears. They were silently protesting against her being accused of crimes and treason. Almost discreetly, they were speaking, "No! I'm not a criminal! It's unfair!"

However, hearing his words, the torturers began to laugh hysterically, showing the absence of hearts in their chests.

"Oh, look!" One of them mocked, "A little teacher has arrived among us. Let's learn something from him."

"Let's learn how to react on being beaten…." Another giggled.

"Or how to cry when toys get broken….." A third one couldn't resist his temptation of adding pepper in wound.

"Just shut up!"

Interrupted, the tormentors gasped and looked at each other. Then, identifying the actual source of the sudden threat, they stared below. Their captive had already stood up. The queenly attitude inside her rose up from its slumber. Thoughts of repelling were showering flames from her flamboyant eyes.

"If you want to beat me," She proclaimed, "You can do that. I won't protest against any action of you. But please…..don't drag common people among us. When his Majesty will get to know it, I don't think he will be satisfied with them."

Reaching the little boy keeping herself in the reach of the soldiers, she patted his head. In respect, the boy bent his head down. That filled her heart with an anonymous affection for the unknown child.

'Had he been nurtured by me,' Riza whispered, 'He would have looked like this child. I don't know who he is, but I also don't know why I am feeling that I share a special bond with this child….'

"Boy," She cleared her throat, "You've tried to save me from being tortured. Thank you so much. But kindly let the royal guards perform their duties. If our king knows that his guards are being irresponsible, he'll punish them. Do you want to get anyone punished like me?"

"No!" Furiously, the boy shook his head.

"Then, leave the place, my son!" The ex-queen of the kingdom pleaded, "You shouldn't be here at this moment. This is my order. If you break my order, I'll be hurt."

"I won't hurt you, my lady." Bowing his head, the boy swiftly left the place in order to get out of the market. Getting out of the area of the market, he sat under a shady tree. He couldn't control his tears. Looking at ground, he began sobbing.

'Why?' He sniffed, 'Why are innocent people always tortured? For which work are they punished, lord? What did the lady do? Is she really a criminal? I don't believe. She looks like a goddess. I think she can never do something wrong. But….but why am I feeling that I know her from pervious? Do I really….really know her? Or not? Have I met her ever? Is there any relation between me and her? Please, clarify all the facts, lord! I beg to you!'

"Save me! Please, save me!"

The six-yeared girl with purple-colored hair squawked as she was tied with a tree. The monstress was slowly approaching her, showing her tongue which was coated in saliva. Her head was full of snakes instead of hairs. Her eyes were jammed with an unknown aura which led the people of the kingdom towards death. An evil grimace was worn by her face at that moment. Yes, she was none but Medusa. Anyone who stared at her eyes became turned into stones.

Knowing the fact, the princess kept her eyes closed. But she was failing to keep them closed anymore. Sweat was covering her whole body. Her deep purple bangs were clinging to her sweaty forehead. She was panting and trembling in fear and tension. Her heart was pounding in the pace of sound.

"Enthralling!" The spectators cheered.

Unexpectedly, the reverberation of the shrieks of a horse could be heard. Then, a handsome prince entered the spot. His eyes were tied underneath the piece of a black cloth. He was riding a white stallion. Although it was made of wood, it didn't snatch the excitement of the spectators.

A semi-circular bow was hanging down from his shoulder with a bunch of arrows. Pulling out one arrow with the bow, he adjusted it. Then, dragging the string a bit, he flung the barb. It stabbed the witch at her back.

"Ahhh!" The villain howled in pain. Her howl froze the blood of everyone. Not looking at her face, the prince got down from his horse. Reaching the lying antagonist, he knelt down by her. Popping out the dagger, he slaughtered her. Her screaming stopped right at that.

Unfastening his eyes, the prince rushed towards the princess and untied her. They gazed at each other. For each other, the hidden feelings were being expressed through their eyes.

"Oh my prince…" The princess bowed, "Thank you so much for saving my life. I'll be grateful to you forever. Tell me, how can I serve you?"

"I love you a lot, Andromeda." The navy-haired prince claimed, "Will you marry me?"

Lowering her head and blushing, the princess nodded. At this, everyone in the rows of spectators stood up and clapped. By holding her wrist tenderly, the prince came with her towards his horse. As both sat on the back of the stallion, they left the place.

"Thus….." A honeyed voice came from the background, "Perseus, our hero, killed Medusa and freed Princess Andromeda. After that, they started living happily."

Amidst clapping, the actors and actresses arrived at the stage and bowed. Then, they hurried towards their parents in a happy and cheery mood.

"Outstanding performance it was, Tyson!" Hayashi patted the shoulder of the navy-haired boy, "You were looking like a real prince and warrior."

"I should be thankful to Hilary's makeup. For it, Mariam was also looking like a real Medusa." The Spaniard smirked, looking at the royal-blue haired girl, "Wasn't she, uncle?"

"Shut up!" The Japanese lass snapped, "What about your role? Do you think that your role was very positive? You were the proud queen for whom all the disasters took place. So, don't make fun of me, okay?"

When all her friends and sisters were being admired, the purple-haired girl grouched. Darkening her tiny round-shaped face, she looked down. Her turquoise orbs started glittering. Noticing it, her elder sister approached her and squeezed her shoulders.

"Congratulations, Dew-chan!" The brunette pinched her cheeks, "Your performance was very good. Especially when you screamed in fear, everyone became scared and tensed."

"Thank you very much, Oni-Chan!" Dew's darkened face became bright in happiness as she smiled sweetly.

"You should have played someone's role in this tiny drama, Hilary," The wielder of dragoon gently slapped on her shoulder, "You would be the best for any character."

"I know, Tyson," She showed the flash of her teeth, "But you know what? Directing a drama is more important. I enjoy arranging and managing all the things. Thus, I'm also a part of this drama, aren't I?"

"Yes, of course!" Tyson laughed, "Honestly speaking, if you didn't direct us, this drama could never be good."

"Thank you very much, Tyson!" Hilary held his hand, "If you're with me, I'll always be successful. By the way, aren't you feeling hungry?"

The little boy's eyes became widened. He leaped, "Oh yes! I forgot that I'm hungry. Hehehe…..please give me something for eating."

"Sure thing," Hilary called other children, "Julia, Mariam, Max, Dew…..let's go to the dining room. Prince Perseus is feeling hungry."

"Why not?" Tyson bit his tongue, "He has troubled a lot to kill Medusa….."

"Hasn't Medusa troubled to kidnap Princess Andromeda?"

"Hasn't that trouble gone in vain?"

The children were gossiping and advancing towards the dining room but the youngest of them wasn't accompanying them. She kept standing at one of the corners of the stage.

'Does Tyson like Oni-chan a lot?' She fumed, 'Why doesn't he like me? He didn't talk to me about my performance in this drama. Does he hate me?'

Tears filled her circular turquoise-colored pools. She asked herself, 'Let alone Tyson, does anybody in this palace love me? Why do they ignore me? Max ni-san, Mariam ni-chan, Julia ni-chan, Oni-chan-every child is loved in this palace by the elders. But they don't love me at all. Why?

Am I unwanted?'

Aww...poor Dew... :'(

Do read and review. Pardon all the grammatical and the spelling errors. Take care :D

Misty :)