Punishment

"We're not married yet, prince! Don't carelessly touch me!" said Syrena firmly. However, Princess Ruxenia's words provoked the laughter of the golden-eyed prince, who seemed to glow in the dark.

"Do you think your life will be better after I marry you, Princess Syrena?"

The big hand of the son of the ruler of Lagardioz again gripped Syrena's neck. Syrena immediately struggled to try to free the prince's hand.

"Even if you sacrifice the lives of all the people of Ruxenia! It won't be enough to punish your crimes for bewitching me!" A pair of golden eyes before the brunette princess stared at her like a pair of sharp eagle eyes.

"I~I… n~no… understand w~what… Prince s~said!" said Syrena breathlessly.

"Nonsense! I know you don't want to marry me, right? So you conspired with the servants to bewitch me!"

Syrena did not answer her future husband's words. The princess's focus was on the grip on the neck that caused princess Ruxenia to be unable to think straight.

"Get up!" Agenor grabbed Syrena's neck as he stood up. Inevitably the grey-eyed princess also stood up.

Releasing his grip on Syrena's neck, Agenor said, "You know what I did against the Valcke kingdom, right? They have sent many women to kill me, and now you have blatantly bewitched me before you climb into my bed. Don't you have any brains?" Agenor's laughter echoed again.

[Not what you think, prince! I didn't mean to kill you! But I don't want to marry you!]

"Come with me!" said Agenor as he turned and left the jail.

Without chains and bodyguards, Syrena walked in the footsteps of a tall man with black wings that looked strong. The silence caused the journey down the dungeon passages to seem so long.

Syrena found a golden carriage waiting for her after exiting the dungeon.

"Get in the carriage!" ordered the prince coldly.

"Where do I want to be taken?" Syrena's eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Is my order not clear enough?" Agenor raised one eyebrow with his arms folded across his chest.

"I don't want it!" Syrena said firmly, then turned towards the palace.

Having turned a few steps, Syrena was surprised that two crossed spears blocked the path that led to the palace. Princess Ruxenia's face suddenly stared at the white-haired prince, who now pretended not to see it.

"Get lost of the way!" cried Syrena.

Syrena's hands brushed aside the two spears in front of her face. However, the soldiers who intercepted Syrena didn't let the princess, who was a royal prisoner.

"Tie her!" the second prince Lagardioz ordered.

The princess was struggling with all her might. The cold night didn't make Syrena stoped. Unfortunately, it was in vain.

"Stop acting stupid! You must conserve your strength!" said the prince. The Lagardioz's second prince gripped Syrena's hair.

"Let me be clear, so you don't misunderstand. King Dione has given you to me. Again, King Dione, ruler of Ruxenia, means your father has given his daughter to me. He didn't marry us off, as you would expect. Are you satisfied?"

"What?" Syrena's eyes widened as her mouth fell open.

"Don't talk recklessly!" shouted the brunette princess.

"It's up to you if you don't believe. One thing you have to remember, your father chose his people over you!" said Agenor nonchalantly.

Still in shock, Syrena's face turned to look at the castle walls. Princess Ruxenia's gaze caught the figure of a very familiar woman on top of the fortress, the queen of Ruxenia.

When mother and daughter's eyes met unexpectedly, the queen turned her head away.

[Ah... Is that so? Now I have absolutely no supporters. I shouldn't rely on other people to determine my destiny. Is it wrong if I'm selfish?]

Hands clenched tightly, Syrena's heart rumbled. When the guards forcibly pulled princess Ruxenia's body into the carriage, King Dione's daughter no longer rebelled. Even the mouth that sounded like a dog's bark was tightly shut. Only tears were the answer to Ruxenia's daughter's broken heart.

Syrena's body was roughly thrown into the carriage, then locked from the outside.

"Take Princess Syrena to the Kolasius cliffs!"

Prince Agenor's faint voice sounds from inside the tightly closed carriage. Syrena struggled to sit in the quiet carriage seat. The princess' Gray Eyes caught the hateful face of second prince Lagardioz through the clear glass of the chariot.

"Prince! What are you going to do to me?" cried Syrena. Unfortunately, the prince was not indifferent at all.

The coachman's screams and the moving wheels made Syrena nervous. The princess tried to untie the knot even though it seemed in vain.

[Prince Agenor is ruthless! He sent me to the Kolasius cliffs. What more could he want if not kill me?]

Immediately, Princess Ruxenia banged her body against the carriage door. It should just be breaking the windowpane, then jumping. But, it was not that easy. Syrena's hands and feet were tightly bound, which caused Syrena challenging to move.

"Stop this horse-drawn carriage, please! I'll pay you ten times what Prince Agenor paid!" shouted Syrena, trying to persuade the only human with her to cut through the forest's silence before reaching the Kolasius cliffs. Sadly, the coachman didn't answer anything.

Syrena gasped for breath, screaming and struggling to untie the knots; it quickly drained the princess's energy.

Momentarily, Princess Ruxenia slept on her stomach on the chair as her hands tied behind her back. The princess's head lifted to see the situation outside the window. Silhouettes of trees still dominate on the left and right of the train. It shouldn't be long before the horse-drawn carriage reaches the cliffs of Colasius.

[Maybe I should end up like this! Let me catch up with the servants who have given me their loyalty. At least I won't have to endure the pain of living by the side of the arrogant prince.]

Suddenly there was a thumped sound outside of the horse-drawn carriage. Syrena hurriedly got up to see what was happening outside the horse-drawn carriage. Unexpectedly the coachman had jumped from the carriage.

[This is crazy! I'm going to fall off the Kolasius cliffs!]

It wasn't long before the brunette princess heard the loud neighing of two horses. Syrena's body hit the wall of the carriage.

"Aaaaaaaa!!" cried the princess of Ruxenia.

A golden chariot with two horses fell from the Kolasius cliffs.

The fierce ocean waves swallowed the carriage.

Slowly the water entered from the gaps in the carriage. Even though the chance of surviving was only one per cent, Syrena still tried to untie her hands on her back.

The train is getting deeper into the seabed while the water inside the carriage is getting fuller.

***