Alena was quietly sitting in the room of the Grien Inn. Her gaze was fixated on her friend who was still lying unconscious on the bed.
She was quite anxious now as it had been so long.
What if Emor didn't regain his consciousness?
However...
She was stupefied when she noticed the slight movement in the Crown Prince's eyelids. Alena blinked and rose from her seat, gazing down at her friend. "Emor."
She crouched down beside the bed and held the Crown Prince's arm and all her attention was on his eyes. She waited for a few more seconds until Emor Tripas's opened his eyes. The sight made Alena's eyes grow wide!
He's really awake!
Opening his eyes for the first time in weeks, Emor Tripas finds himself in an unfamiliar place. Nevertheless, when he turned his head to the right, he saw his friend beside him.
"Emor, can you hear me?" Alena promptly asked with a mixture of many emotions on her face. She was happy and worried at the same time.
"Alena," the Crown Prince murmured in a very low voice. His eyes were barely opened and his face was more than pale.
Maybe he just realized that Alena had disappeared for weeks now, his eyes go wide in the slightest bit but it wasn't that noticeable. "You're here?" he asked with confusion. Nevertheless, his voice could be barely heard.
"You are in a coma for weeks," Alena said to him. She too maintained her voice low so that the guards outside the room won't hear her voice.
Weeks?
Emor Tripas recalled how he left Qalagon for Nardodia with the guards. Right before they could reach the border, they were attacked by some assassins. As they were attacked by both swordsmen and archers, he and the guards finds themselves at a disadvantage and the fight was all he could recall.
Weeks already passed?
Then what about Nardodia and Qalagon?
"I misjudge my uncle," the Crown Prince murmured. He still remembered how hurt he was when they encountered the assassins.
His uncle really wanted him dead?!
He still finds it hard to believe it.
"It's not His Majesty," Alena said and shook her head. "It's Colson Leland."
Crown Prince Emor slightly raised a brow when he heard his friend.
Colson Leland?
Even if it was Colson Leland, won't it mean that it was done in his uncle's order?
He was his uncle's most trusted advisor!
"He acted on his own," Alena clarified when she noticed the confusion on Emor's face. "I don't think His Majesty knows about it."
If this was really the truth... Emor Tripas thought of what Colson Leland's purpose must be.
Why did he do this?
He never doubted Colson Leland's loyalty towards his uncle and he didn't think the man will want to bring harm to his uncle.
Why?
"I heard the guards talking about a war," Alena informed the Crown Prince. "It seems like we will be fighting a war against Qalagon. Alora and Azamet will be aiding us and I heard that they are now in our kingdom."
Emor Tripas was no fool to not understand that his disappearance was the one that triggered the war. As such, anxiety surged through him and he attempted to push himself up but to no avail.
"Emor," Alena uttered as she quickly stood up and held him. "You're heavily injured. You shouldn't move for now."
"I can't let the war happen," Emor Tripas argued. "It will be the end of us!" He raised his voice just a bit but it was instantly followed by violent coughing.
Having no idea of what to do, all Alena did was hold him while staring at him worriedly.
"There are guards outside," she said in a low voice. "It won't be good if we alert them. I don't know what they will do to you if they find out that you're awake."
Alena briefly recalled what she heard through the conversation of Colson Leland and his men. Then she said, "It's too late to stop the war now. His Majesty poisoned the King of Qalagon and the Queen is determined to avenge her husband. She will stop at nothing."
A few weeks in a coma and the whole world changed for Emor Tripas. He was well aware of how much Iria loved Arin Helev and if the latter was poisoned... there was no way for her to change her mind.
"It will be a huge war, Emor," Alena said to him. "Zoris and Cedore will aid Qalagon. It might even be the biggest war in more than a century."
"I have to leave this place," Emor Tripas muttered. "I have to tell my uncle that Arin Helev is not the one behind the assassination attempts against me. I have to beg him to change his mind."
"This place is heavily guarded," Alena told him. "I've attempted to leave many times but it never worked. I heard that those guards were originally from Qalagon. They are orphans and Colson Leland brought them here. He provided for them and trained them. They are quite skilled and you're heavily injured, Emor. We can't do anything for now."
* * *
Many soldiers gathered near the royal palace of Nardodia, ready to set out anytime. Staring at them from his chamber was Aryan Tripas. The King will be leading the soldiers with the Commanders from Alora and Azamet. King Declan of Alora was also scheduled to arrive a few days later.
Theo was kneeling a few steps away from the King. Though the right-hand man of Emor was now sure that the King wasn't behind the assassination attempt, the Crown Prince was already missing for weeks and he was more than anxious by now.
"You don't have to join the war," King Aryan said to Theo as he turned to him. "Gather a few more guards and keep looking for Emor in secret. Don't miss any place, including the capital."
"I understand, Your Majesty," Theo replied and immediately left to comply with the King's order.
In the past weeks, they looked for the Crown Prince almost everywhere, except the capital. Now, the King wanted the guards to search the capital too. He wasn't in other provinces or Qalagon and that was already strange enough.
Will he still be alive?
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