Chapter 12

"Arrest them!" Their leader gave out a command and they ran after the trios. "Run!" Charles also told the two ladies, who began running for their lives. There was no way to run without getting in contact with the trees. Charles grabbed Elena's hand and was running with her when he noticed that she was slacking behind. Those creatures were not entirely human beings. Though they looked like humans but can be tagged as spirits. Their bodies were touching the trees and nothing was happening to them, unlike Charles and the ladies. "Argh" Elena kept groaning in pain. She was becoming exhausted but Charles wasn't ready to let go of her. It was dangerous to her life and also, Charles' efforts will be proved futile. Morgan was far gone. She was just running and not watching the bank. Even though she was also in pain, giving up wasn't in her life dictionary. Suddenly, Elena collided with a tree and fell. Charles wanted to pull her up but she was tired and the enemy was already closer to them. "Shit! I'll come back for you" Charles said, leaving her behind and tailing Morgan. Elena was scared, seeing teen spirits smirking at her. Her heart was pumping blood faster than before and her heartbeat was accelerating faster too. She was afraid. The remaining spirits were chasing after Morgan and Charles. Elena was sifting backward with her buttock, she was trying not to touch the wood again and was already sobbing. Suddenly, two of the spirits wanted to charge towards her and she screamed in fear. Her voice echoed throughout the woods and she already closed her eyes, waiting for the worst that was about to happen. She wasn't aware that fire had come out of her mouth and had been burning the closer tree since she closed her eyes and kept screaming. After two minutes, she stopped and opened her Eyes. She was amazed to see some tree burning opposite her and the flames circulated the woods. She was more surprised to see the ten spirits having their heads bowed for her. In a mystic world, bowing is an act of showing respect to the leaders or Master. She couldn't believe her eyes, despite the fire flames, they still chose to stay and were on bows. "Welcome my princess" they greeted. "Princess? Who is your princess?" She was stunned. Their leader wanted to move closer but Elena's voice stopped him. "Don't come closer to me. You are scaring me more. I'm not your princess please" she yelled with a trembling voice. "You are our dragon princess, whom we have been waiting for. We are in this wood, hoping that one day, you will finally remember us and visit us" the leader explained. Truly, she was a dragon princess but she had no idea about the hidden creatures. She had no single memory of them and probably didn't hear about them from her father before his demise. "I'm not your princess. Don't refer to me as one. Please, let me go. I don't know how I got here but my body is paining me from the sore. Please" she cried out. "We are not going to harm you, my princess. We are all alive today, thanks to your dragon father. Please, allow us to take care of you and we can heal your sore within seconds" the leader pleaded. Elena noticed something, they weren't the scary creatures anymore. Their voices are already calm. She stood up and tailed behind them. Though, she was scared but was left with no choice since they had mentioned her father to be their Savior. Charles and Morgan on the other side were still running. Though their skins have started peeling off from injuries as professional Killers, they have to fight till the end. They ran till they reached the seaside. The road was blocked and the only option Left was to jump into the sea. But there was something unusual, the sea wasn't like the normal sea. Its color was red and it seemed to be boiling as if you put water on the fire. No one needs to tell them that if they jumped into the sea, it would be a death sentence for them. Though they were amazed and still wanted to run for their lives, dying inside the scary sea wasn't the best option when they could still plan their escape later. The wood creatures arrested them and took them back into their palace. The palace was located at the extreme edge of the wood. It was also inside a big tree but the tree was open. Other smaller trees that were beside the palace were also where others were staying. The burning trees were to save themselves from getting attacked by outsiders and it can not burn them. Also, the sea was changed into red by the dragon lord, just to protect them. Only they have access to the sea and the woods without getting hurt. Elena was taken into the palace. The throne was vacant since the demise of the dragon lord but they had a leader that was controlling the affairs of their lives, though he didn't move closer to the throne but was living inside the palace. Elena was given a befitting welcome. She was taken into one of the palace rooms to have a warm bath. She was scared at first, recalling her sore but she was convinced she would get healed as the healing herbs had been added into her bathing water. While bathing, they packed her gown to wash and sew it and she was given a dress that looked like the one they were putting on, pending the time her gown would be ready. Charles and Morgan were tied to a tree outside but they made sure it wasn't burning them. They were taken as prisoners and their creatures surrounded them, staring at them angrily. Elena was given a roasted chicken after she finished her bath. Her mind was already calm when she saw the picture of her late father inside the palace. "My princess, you don't know how blessed we are to see you. We have been praying every day to meet you and finally, you have come to us. We have been anticipating your visit since your father died. We are sorry for failing to recognize you earlier" the leader apologized once again, feeling excited. "How did you know I'm the dragon's daughter? I was amazed to see you all bowing for me" she inquired. "Only the person with the dragon's blood can summon fire like you did. A wizard with firepower can only summon it for a few seconds but yours took longer and it was Indeed the flame of a dragon" he explained. "I still can't explain how it happened. I knew that I screamed but I can't explain if that's what summoned the fire. My inner mind was locked and I couldn't make use of my power but my father still came to my rescue. Thank you father" she sobbed. "It's not about your power but the dragon blood that is flowing inside your veins. I guess you were scared to the extent that your blood touched the crystal stone that your father gave you, that's what ignited the fire. Ordinary people can't summon such fire without having the dragon's blood. If you hadn't stopped screaming, the whole wood would have burnt into ashes" the leader explained more. She stared outside to see the duo tied on the tree. Though she wasn't sure of their identity but still needed to feed them. "Can I have a plate of food for my friends?" She requested. "Sure, my princess" the leader instantly questioned one of them, who brought another roasted chicken shortly after. Inside the palace was a small farm for rearing domestic animals for their consumption and they had a small farmland for planting. She took the food outside to where Charles and Morgan were tied. "I don't know who you are and your mission to abduct me but as a good person, I don't want to pay you back with evils. Will you open your mouth and let me feed you some roasted chicken? You don't need to worry about the taste, it's not as if you have any other option but it's delicious" she informed them. Charles shot her a dangerous glare. "You don't need to look at me that way, your mystic power is useless here according to what the leader told me. It's either you eat now or starve to death. As you can see, I already feel at home as their princess" she uttered rudely, getting angry Already. Morgan kept mute but Charles was angry and spat on her in annoyance. "What the fuck!" She cursed and landed a slap on his right cheek. Charles was stunned, he wasn't expecting it, likewise Morgan. "Stay there and starve to death. Idiot!" She hissed and left with her chicken. She got back inside the palace, meeting more of the spirits that wanted to entertain her with their cultural dance and songs. "Before going to the entertainment, can you tell me more about the dragon lord? Who exactly is he and how did he become your savior?" She inquired.