3. The Crown has Fallen

It has been eight years since they attacked the cult. Samuel was nineteen on that time, he still remembered Christine's promise of returning, and the mysterious man's warning.

But through those years. Zalazar found itself on a war against Fellenberg, and they lost. The king of Fellenberg set up a treaty, on which they called it the "Fallen Treaty." on that treaty, the citizens of Fellenberg can do whatever they want in Zalazar, Zalazar's military forces are also lessened, no one can harm any citizens of Fellenberg, and especially, they can claim the "Treasure of Truth."

The "Treasure of Truth" was the most valued treasure in Zalazar, yet the past king hid it without anyone of them know where he hid it, not even his descendants. the treasure was rumored to hold the truth of Zalazar's dark past, the truth of every weird events that is happening there. It is also filled with gold, and jewelry. The king of Fellenberg had no clue on finding the treasure, so he sent out slaves to find it.

Meanwhile, King Hans had no power to stop them, so he simply sat on his throne doing the same thing he always do while trying to ignore the Fellenberg's actions.

Samuel was looking at the view from the palace balcony. He stood there observing the flow of society. Caesar, now a young general, approached Samuel and said, "Things have changed huh? The last time I remember, we were playing swords pretending to be heroes and kings... Now we're doing the exact same thing, except we weren't pretending..."

Samuel replied, "How did it come to this? We've fallen very deep..."

"I know right, but you're going to fix this problem when you become king, am I right? You're going to show them that we are supreme!"

"I hope father would fix this, or I hope I can fix this..."

"Anyway, I still have some stuff to do...  See you around, brother." said Caesar as he walked away.

Samuel nodded. but then when he looked at Caesar, he knew something wasn't right. Caesar's face was blank and he also had this sinister look, and there he noticed a small red vine creeping out from his eye. Samuel was in a bit of a surprise, but he tend to ignore this.

After Caesar left,  Samuel saw a carriage arriving at the gate entrance to the palace. The carriage door opened, and there Christine exited. Samuel was rejoiced and immediately ran downstairs.

"Thanks for coming with me, but you really have to go..." Christine said to a cloaked person.

The cloaked person asked Christine, "So he's royal, I see... I might only disgrace myself in front of him... Remember, send off Matty if you ever need help. I'll be seeing you, doctor."

Samuel arrived at the palace gates to greet Christine. "Christine!" he shouted as the two of them warmly embraced each other. Then he noticed the cloaked person and asked, "And who is this person?" but the cloaked person only bowed and left without saying anything.

After that, Christine answered, "Oh, he was my loyal friend when I was at Drotha."

"Well that's great! But why did he left all of a sudden? I didn't get a chance to even say hi."

"Don't worry, he doesn't like speaking to anyone, mostly to someone royal."

"Well to bad... Anyway, you want me to help you with your stuff?"

"I would like some help, so yes! Call your servants."

Samuel grinned, "I don't rely on servants, Christy." so Samuel personally carried all her stuff to the palace. Christine was a bit shocked for someone royal to carry her bag.

Of course the servants offered there help when they saw Samuel carrying all the stuff, but Samuel refused like he always did.

They arrived at Christine's room, Samuel put all of her stuff inside the room. Then Christine said, "I'm impressed! You still do stuff on your own, Sammy!"

On which Samuel replied, "Well of course! I'm still independent in this palace."

Christine smiled, but then Christine questioned Samuel, "So... How's Zalazar? Things kinda look different than before."

Samuel answered in a sad tone, "We lost the war against Fellenberg... And they made everything worse!"

Then Christine arousingly said, "... My, my... Well at least cheer up a little. You've got me back, and that's the only thing you need to know at the moment~"

And so they started to kiss lustfully. They got to the bed while seemingly eating each other as they slowly discarded there clothes. The room was getting hotter and hotter by the second, and Christine's moans could lightly be heard outside. This went on for an hour or so.

After that, Samuel asked to Christine, "You want to get something to drink?"

Christine answered while panting, "I'd love to!"

So Samuel put on his clothes and went out to get something to drink. He walked through a hallway, then suddenly his heart beated rapidly. After that, he was afraid. Samuel remembered the time when a mysterious man approached. "When I'm close by... Your heart will beat rapidly... So I suggest you not to interfere with me..." that sentence echoed on his head while his beated.

He knew something wasn't right, and he knew something would happen to him if he interfered. But Samuel insisted on checking. So he turned to the other hall and saw a dark figure stabbing Hans multiple times. The figure slightly turned around noticing him from behind. "F-Father?" he called out, but no one answered.

"You shouldn't have interfered with me... Samuel!" said the dark figure. Samuel came closer and his heart beated much faster as he gets close.

"You... You Killed... My father!" he shouted as he charged towards him. The figure ran and disappeared into the darkness. Samuel stopped chasing the figure, instead he approached his father. "Father! Are you alright!?" Samuel shouted as he held his father.

Hans had a bit of air left, so he said to him, "What did I do... to deserve this...? To die... While seeing you... Like... This..."

"Don't worry father! I'll get some help!" so he ran looking for help, but no one was near to hear his call. So he came back, "Father, hang in there I'll get you to a healer!" Samuel said as he dragged Hans' body.

Samuel kept dragging and dragging, leaving behind a blood trail. His strength was drained by fear and by lifting his father, but he still tried to help him. Minutes passed until he realized that his father had already died since he finished his sentence.

His father died while his eyes were wide open, so Samuel gently closed. Samuel cried there on the spot. After that, Caesar passed by and saw the two. Caesar immediately ran towards them, "What happened!?" he asked

"Someone, took the life of our father! Put the palace on lock down! The culprit must still be here!" Samuel shouted. So Caesar ran to the guards and tightened their defenses.

Samuel only sat there, his mind was empty, his expression was blank, he had no emotion at all that time. He simply pat his father's head. After that, Hans' crown fell off and rolled off to the pool of blood, signifying that the Crown has Fallen.

—To Be Continued—