ACCOMPLICES (PART 2)

King Erlick the Conqueror was a great king. The second son among the old king's children. He had ascended the throne after a test of might which he had emerged victorious from after beating his remaining siblings to a pulp and decapitating his elder brother.

The throne had been his from that day and none dared oppose him. At first, the people worried that he was going to lead the kingdom to ruin with his brash and often reckless decisions but he had shown a level of cool-headedness that none had foreseen in him and led the Kingdom to even better times.

His fame expanded and his name spread far and wide as the Kingdom grew. He was a soldier like no other and his strength on the battlefield was rumored to rival that of the gods.

King Erlick was by no means a compassionate man and this was proven countless times when he executed his siblings on unfounded allegations until there was none left. Enemies of the Kingdom even fared worse and there were rumors of him torturing captured enemy soldiers just to relieve stress.

When he married the beautiful Freya from his mother's side of the family, the people rejoiced. Not because they had any interest in the king's personal affairs, but because they wanted heirs as strong as him to lead them in the future.

The queen did give the king heirs alright. Two of them. The people were informed whenever Queen Freya gave birth. The royal announcer would spread the message far and wide and divulge information such as the name of the baby, and its gender.

That was how the people knew the king had a boy and a girl child. Every other information was kept under lock and the children's identity was kept a closely guarded secret by all the castle workers.

The prince and princess never went out. The people only heard of them from time to time but that didn't bother or even surprise them. King Erlick was a paranoid person and for good reason too. He had far too many enemies to joke with security, so when he hid the identities of his children, nobody thought anything of it.

The children's faces were not known as they were never depicted in any artform and their presence was like that of a ghost. Rumored but never witnessed.

So, great was the people's shock when the girl they had all thought was a criminal shouted those words claiming to be the rumored ghost princess. Their reaction varied from shock in some to outrage in others.

"Yeah, right. And I am the prince." One of the dead Merchant's friends scoffed. He didn't believe anything the girl was saying. Nobody knew the princess's face so everyone could claim to be her.

Why anyone would anger the royal couple like that though was beyond him. Unless of course, that person was desperate enough to jump from the frying pan into the fire. Someone like a captured thief-turned murderer. The man reasoned.

"She's lying. What will the princess be doing here? In a filthy place such as this. In such clothes? Come on, she's obviously lying." Another person, a female who felt jealous of the girl's clear skin and beautiful face shouted her doubt.

The crowd started murmuring their doubt and throwing questions at the girl who seemed to be working up a temper as she was asked all sorts of annoying questions about her family.

"What is your brother's name?"

"Describe the queen."

"What does King Erlick call you?"

"Is it true the king has a male concubine?"

"Is the queen really pregnant with a third child?"

"Where is your brother right now?"

Then when the mob saw that the girl wasn't answering any of their questions except getting redder and redder like a tomato with each question they asked, they picked up their discarded weapons and decided to finish the imposter once and for all. Well, until she decided to finally speak up.

"Do you dare call me a liar?! Do you want your entire family killed for touching the princess?! Then go ahead! I dare you!" The young woman shouted in rage and the people stopped.

Not all of them had families but the word 'kill' was enough to make them stop in their tracks. If what the girl was saying turned out to be true and they touched her, they would kiss their heads goodbye. Something none of them wanted to do.

"She's lying! She killed Alf and needs to be punished!" The Merchant's friend who spoke earlier ordered.

"No!, Stop! She's really the princess. I swear it!" Bello shouted as he pushed his way through the crowd and to the front.

Princess Ivana's eyes widened in shock as she saw Bello. She knew who he was alright. He was among the few people who really knew her identity and even met her regularly.

"And who might you be?" One of the Merchant's friends asked Bello.

"My name is Bello, the son of Orion, the royal Trainer and I swear on my life that Ivana is the princess." Another round of gasps escaped the crowd as they heard Bello's words.

Immediately, some of them dropped their sticks and Stones and left the market. Those who stayed also moved away from the dead Merchant and his friends. They didn't want any trouble with the Royal couple. They liked their heads just where they were.

"B-but she killed Alf. She has-" one of the Merchant's friends started to say but Bello quickly stopped him.

"She did nothing. We all saw what happened. The princess did not kill the Merchant. The boy there did, so the princess has no hand in your friend's demise." Bello pointed at a thunderstruck Joda just watched silently as things played on.

"Fine. I'm sorry for accusing the princess but what about that boy?, He killed Alf and has to be punished." The man refused to back down as he shifted his attention to Joda.

Bello made to answer the man but princess Ivana beat him to the punch.

"That boy is with me. He is one of my personal guards. He was only doing his job. Your friend attempted to kill me and he defended me. I should report both you and your friend to my father so that he deals with your entire family for your crime." Ivana stamped her foot in anger as she addressed not just the man but the rest of the people gathered there. Her outburst sent a new batch of onlookers running away so as to not get dealt with by the king.

"My princess, I'm sorry. I had no idea who I was dealing with. I am only a law-abiding man who just wanted to uphold the kingdom's law. Please allow me and my friends to go. Alf was a temperamental fool who let his anger get the best of him. There's no reason to punish us for his foolishness. Please." The man, along with his friends fell to their knees and started begging immediately after they heard the princess mention the king.

"Fine! Do what you want with your fallen friend. I will take my leave along with my guard and this little boy right here. Do you have any problem with that?" Ivana asked the group still kneeling on the floor.

"Not at all, princess. We will head home immediately with our dead." The leader answered the princess quickly.

"Good." Princess Ivana said to the man, took the little pickpocket's hand, and then turned to Joda.

"You, Follow me. It's time I went home." She said to a still surprised Joda who just nodded before taking his place behind her like an obedient guard would do.