Monarch's Rebirth: Chapter 31

Amelia and I walked outside to go into the carriage which would be our resting place. I was offered a blanket which I gladly took and went inside the carriage. It would be an odd experience sleeping in such a carriage for the night but it's the best that could come from this.

The inside of the carriage was warm and cozy. I folded the blanket into a pillow to rest my head on and used my cape as the blanket itself. To say it was uncomfortable would be rude as it was quite comfortable, except it was really claustrophobic. I've had to sleep in worse conditions.

"Sleep tight. We need to wake up early and head back home." I told Amelia who was sleeping on the seat opposite of me. "Good night! Don't forget your promise tomorrow!" She said before curling into a ball on her seat.

"What promise?"

What did I promise her this time? I completely forgot.

"We were gonna meet mama! You said after we returned we could meet her!" She exclaimed, getting up from her sleeping position.

I remembered what I told her the day we left. "Right… about that…"

I was being sarcastic. I didn't think she was actually being serious about this. What did I get myself into this time!

"Were you… lying…?" She said with sparkling eyes that I could see even from across the carriage.

I felt my heart strings pull from how cute she was acting. "N-no! We will see her tomorrow, don't worry." I told her, promising something that I don't know how to complete.

"Yay! First thing tomorrow, okay?" She said, trying to get me to sign another promise that is not in my favour.

I reluctantly agreed and went back to trying to sleep. She went back to her curled sleeping position and I thought for a moment on what to do.

I still wasn't sure if Kathlyn and I had a close enough relationship to talk to each other like that. I had to make some kind of scenario where it wouldn't be awkward. But how?

Slowly I grew tired of making up scenarios and just let it go. "Whatever happens, happens." I muttered under my breath before closing my eyes to fall asleep.

When trying to sleep I heard many strange noises. Most were coming from animals outside the carriage which I shrugged off as just domestic animals and concentrated on my sleep.

Suddenly I felt Amelia come to me and nudge on my back. "Papa… Papa…" She said quietly, trying to wake me up.

"What?" I asked her through telepathy. Why is she nudging me?

"I'm scared…" She replied back softly.

I picked her up and cuddled her in my arms. "It's okay. You're safe here." I quietly whispered to her.

Her tail wagged in excitement and she soon fell asleep in my arms. I tried to understand what she was scared of but came to the conclusion that it might just be the noises outside.

Slowly I felt my consciousness dwindle and go out for moments. I gave into the feelings and closed my eyes, slowly falling into my slumber, hoping to wake up the next morning in the same place.

"Never! He would never do such an atrocious thing!" My mother said out of fear and disbelief.

"Your son and Kye had a… difficult relationship. We need his recount on what happened, miss. Please, let us question him and not make this difficult for all of us here."

My mother looked at the officer with anger and frustration. She shakes her head and sighs before answering. "Fine. Hei, you will answer them the truth, alright?" She told me while looking at me.

"Yes, ma. I will." I told her, planning on lying all the way through.

"Good. Follow us to the police station. The questioning will be done there." The officer said as he put his cap back on.

I followed him outside and waved my mother goodbye. They came with a full force of police to take me in for questioning. I knew that if I had to come out of this situation alive, I'd have to start acting from here on out.

The entire police team escorted me to the police station. I grew the attention of everyone around the neighbourhood due to the police cars following behind us with their lights flashing. There were armed forces that also followed close to me. It was really nerve wracking.

"I forgot. Stop here. I need to handcuff you." The officer said before kneeling down and cuffing my arms.

"Your arms are so beat up. What happened?" He asked me, seeing that my arm had blood covered bandages on them. He realised it was not just my arms but my entire body and head.

"Kye and his friends used to beat me up on the daily. I grew used to them anyway." I answered the police officer truthfully, hoping that it would grow some trust between us.

"You poor soul. Does his death make you happy?" He asked me, startling me from the sudden question.

"I will only speak at the police station or when my lawyer is present." I told him, sounding as confident as possible in my words.

The officer smiled and nodded. "Very well." He simply said before getting up and continuing the walking.

Everywhere we went. I found people staring at me. From their windows and the road. We blocked off pretty much the entire street so that I could be taken to the station.

After a long walk we finally made it to the station. The armed forces waited outside and I went inside with the small force that would interrogate me.

Many news outlets had set up outside the police station and started to take pictures or film me. I felt annoyed from the attention that I grew but still quietly walked through the crowd. It was getting really tiring.

"Who is this kid? Why is he so beat up? Is he from the slums and escaped? He looks quite poor."

Stupid news outlets.

The inside of the police station was quiet. Better than what it was outside. The officers took me to the interrogation room and locked the heavy metal door. It was a dark room with a table and a light bulb hanging from the top. It would make anyone else nervous but I kept my composure.

"Take a seat, boy. The interrogation starts now. Whatever you say now will be held against you." A tough looking officer said as he took his seat.

A more gentle and calm officer took a seat next to him. He gave me a worried look as he saw my conditions.

They're tricking me.

"Alright, kid. Let's make this quick. Did you kill them?" The tough looking officer asked.

I shook my head and answered. "No, officer. I didn't."

The calm officer wrote down something on a clipboard and paper before looking back at me.

"When did you reach school?" He asked.

This must be a trick question. "I reached school twenty minutes before class started. About eight forty I'd say."

It wasn't a wild guess. I timed it perfectly.

He wrote down something again and looked back up. "Did you cross paths with the three before?"

"Nope."

The other officer seemed to be getting impatient with me. He clenched his fists and scoffed.

"Look, kid. Tell us everything that you have seen since that morning." He said with an angry expression on his face.

"I left home when I was supposed to. I ran to school as usual, trying to not get beat up by the three of them. Luckily I hadn't crossed paths with them. I stepped on a puddle since it was raining last night and also stepped into cat poop that day. I cleaned it off before reaching school and after I made it to school twenty minutes before class started."

I made up the entire story. I kept it realistic enough for them to believe it. The puddle was something I made up to make it realistic. I cleaned off my shoes to get any blood stains off. Many classmates realised my shoes were wet and if they get questioned I will be in the clear.

Suddenly the mean looking officer stood up and smashed his hands on the table. "OI! I know you lied! You were sighted with them near where they were killed! Someone saw you three enter before hearing screams!"

I was unfazed by his fit of rage as I could defend myself if anything went wrong. I also wasn't fazed because he was lying. He made up a story so that I would get nervous and cough up the truth.

"Do you have proof, mister?" I asked him with a dead stare. He sat back down and shook his head. "It was an entry from someone else. He remained anonymous."

Bingo. I made him admit to his own lie.

"Let's calm down. No need to get angry." The nicer officer said nervously. The other officer calmed down and gave me a death stare.

"Alright, kid. You spoke the truth all the way through, right?" The nice officer asked me.

"Yes sir."

"You're free to go."

I got up from my chair and tried to walk away. I realised my hands were cuffed and turned back around and showed them my hands.

The officer that brought me here took his keys out and opened my cuffs, letting me go free.

"Thank you for your cooperation. If you find any clues, please report to us immediately." He said while putting the cuffs back on his belt

I left the interrogation room and walked down the reception. I grew many people's attention due to my features.

I hate this… Stop…

The new outlets waited for me to come out. Annoying. They all started to take pictures of me and started asking me questions.

They let me walk outside but I was still being followed by a mob of people. They let me go and I could finally walk home freely.

"Tch. Stupid news people." I muttered under my breath.

Suddenly I heard the horn of a truck coming from my right. Just when I turned around I realised it was too late. I will be crushed.

Just before I could shout out a scream of horror I was hit by the truck that came straight towards me. I felt the truck hit me and cause my injured body to ache.

I let out a scream of horror as the truck hit me but I realised that I was not in the same place. I was in a carriage… I freaked out and sat upright. I looked around me and grabbed my face with my right hand.

"Papa! Are you alright!?" Amelia asked me, freaked out and terrified.

"I am. It was just a dream…" I told her, letting my voice stray off at the end.

After a look around I saw it was already dawn and people were waking up. I took my cape and put it back on while fixing my pillow. I remembered I had to give it back before leaving.

"Let's go. We need to wake up Felix." I told Amelia before unlocking the door and stepping outside.

The cold morning breeze flew past gently and the sun shone brightly. It was a really calm morning, nevermind the dream. I felt well rested and ready to start the day.

We walked inside the tavern which had a few people eating breakfast. Felix was amongst them and saw me come in. "Would you like to brush, my lord?" He asked me with a mouthful of bread.

I chuckled at him before answering. "Yeah. Where is my brush?" I asked him.

He pointed at a room with the door open. "In my room, in your suitcase. Take this glass of water. Mint paste is also in the same suitcase."

I walked over to his room and looked for my suitcase. Easily found next to his own suitcase. I rummage through my clothes to find a wooden toothbrush, which seemed like one of the first toothbrushes ever made. There was the mint paste as well right next to it. Perfect!

After applying the toothpaste on the brush I started brushing my teeth and felt the toothpaste sting my gums and mouth. My mouth felt cold due to the mint and the salt made it even worse. I shrugged off the feeling and kept brushing my teeth.

I went outside the room to pick up a glass of water to wash it off afterwards. Felix hands me a glass and I walk outside with it while brushing my teeth.

"It's a calm morning, isn't it?" Amelia said while resting on my head as I brushed my teeth.

"Yeah, it is." I told her back through telepathy. Still being able to speak to her when brushing.

I quickly finished brushing and gargled some water before spitting it out again. My teeth felt so much cleaner! This really is an effective toothpaste. Why did I not use it before?

"Let's go and eat something." I told Amelia while walking back inside. Felix at that moment came outside and saw me head inside. "I already ordered what you asked for last night. I'll also take these and put them back." He said before taking the cup and the toothbrush.

"Thank you. I'll go and get myself drunk on mead or something." I told him before entering the Inn with him. I took a bottle of mead from the reception and popped it open. The mead tasted sweet and filled up my inside well. It's good but nothing like wine…

I took a seat on one of the benches with some men and took in the dream that I saw.

They became nervous and took quick glances at me which I noticed. I knew when they looked at me and when they didn't. It's always been like this.

"You boys have something to say? You've been taking glances for a while." I asked them while finishing the rest of my mead.

They freaked out and shrieked out of fear. "N-no, sire! You are just really eye-catching to us. That's all." One of them answered. "That's quite flattering. Talk about what you want. I won't care. Just let me drink without giving me glances."

They stared at me blankly before going back to talking about what they were talking about, probably the Inn's maid.

I sigh and go back to the reception and see the owner bringing out the ribs that he cooked and served it to me. I gave him back an empty mead bottle and took another one from the counter. I took my seat in the same place and enjoyed my breakfast in peace. Would be peaceful if Amelia didn't steal half of the ribs.

"Damn it! You're an actual goblin! Stop taking my ribs!" I exclaimed to her in telepathy. "Should've ordered two plates!" She shouted back while chewing on another piece of ribs that she stole.

I sigh and eat whatever I had left over and drink the last bits of my mead before taking the empty bottle and plate back to the reception. "Here, this should be enough, I hope." I told him before handing him some gold coins along with it.

He panicked and tried to give me change in return. "T-that's a lot! Here is the change!" He exclaimed while handing me change. I gave him a smirk and just turned around. "Keep it. I have work to do."

Felix and I walked outside to find Ron setting up the carriage to the horses. He gave me a quick smile before getting back to getting the carriage hooked to the horses.

"How was your sleep?" Felix asked me to make small talk. "Comfortable. I'm used to sleeping on the carriage at this point." I told him while stretching my arms. Amelia followed my movement and stretched with me.

Felix chuckles softly and crosses his arms while staring at Ron. "Was it cold? The Inn was quite cozy and warm."

I scoff and shake my head. "My cape kept me warm, and Amelia."

"Sire! The carriage is ready!" Ron said out of the blue while getting on his driving seat.

"Well, good for you. Let's start our journey again." Felix said before walking to the carriage.

Felix opened the door and closed it after I entered. The carriage started to move slowly and turn around to face the road once more..

Ron skillfully turned the carriage around and started slowly trotting to the main road. I was tired of sitting in this spot with nothing to do so I looked around the carriage.

"Papa, what are you doing?" Amelia asked as I looked around the carriage. "Looking for interesting things inside here." I told her while laying down on the floor, looking under the seats.

I looked under and a dark box caught my attention. I picked it up from the floor and opened it. Inside the box was a bottle of wine. What a pleasant surprise!

"Woah. How long was this here for?" I said while opening the bottle and smelling the alcohol inside.

"I noticed it for some time. I never questioned it. Thought it was a stepping box." Amelia said while looking at me with concern. "Huh? Why'd you think that? Should've told me earlier!"

I started drinking the wine straight from the bottle. It tasted like the alcohol from home. Fruity and cold. It was delicious!

"Calm down! So much alcohol isn't good for you!" Amelia exclaimed as I finished half the bottle in just one go.

My alcohol tolerance has caused me to love alcohol a lot since I came here. Especially wine and whiskey. These were a luxury in my past life while here it can be found anywhere and everywhere. Might as well enjoy myself.

We were cruising at a high speed already but I slowly walked over from my seat to near the window behind the driver's seat to talk with the two.

"Ron… Drive faster. Keep it in your control but go as fast as you want." I told him before taking another swig from my bottle of wine.

"You found the wine stashed under the seat? Mind you I forgot this existed!" Felix said, noticing the bottle of wine in my hand.

I chuckled as he said that and nudged Ron. "Drive faster. I wanna get home."

He looked nervous but agreed nonetheless. "As you say, my lord."

The carriage sped up significantly and I felt the wind blow past my face. I didn't feel drunk but I was really feeling light headed from the lack of quality sleep and the insane amounts of alcohol I've been drinking.

I saw a familiar city rise up from the horizon as we sped through the road at insane speeds, blowing dust behind us.

"Isn't that Boneham? We're pretty much nearly there then." I said while pointing towards the city.

Felix peeked over and recognized the city walls as well. "It is! We are indeed close then. Ron, send it!" He shouted out suddenly.

Ron actually listened and sent the horses into overdrive. I held on for dear life as the carriage rattled and shook as we sped up. Amelia curled up around my neck to stop her from falling down but I was excited.

The three of us talked as Ron drove us through the lengthy roads for one last time before returning home. It was a nice and pleasant moment that us three shared.

We had no intention of slowing down which is why we covered almost the entire distance from Boneham to the capital in nearly forty minutes. I could see the capital's wall from the distance we were in.

Felix noticed the capital as well and squealed in excitement. "Sw~eet! The capital is in sight! This has been quite the journey." He said as he looked back and stole the bottle of wine from me.

I laugh as he gulps down a mouthful of wine before handing it back to me. "It has." I said before patting Ron on the shoulders. "Couldn't have done it without you. Go home tonight and spend time with your family, if you have one." I said, poking fun at Ron.

He laughed with us, taking no offense. "I do, actually. I have a wife and a daughter. I'll be sure to take them out to dinner tonight." He said, smiling happily.

I gave him a mischievous smirk as he talked about it. "I'm sure you will. Get us home now and get drunk with me later."

Ron slowed down the carriage a bit as we came closer to the capital. The sound of the horses' galloping became quieter and the rattling stopped. I rested my head on my arms as I watched the capital come from over the horizon.

This is… peaceful…

"Papa! I think there's danger!" Amelia suddenly spoke out. I jerked awake from sleep and looked around before answering Amelia. "What is it?"

She shivered in fear, curling up even tighter around my neck and choking me slightly.

"W-what is it? We're already home. What danger can there be in the capital?" I asked in a panic.

She let go of me from the choke and got into a fighting stance. "It's mama! She's in danger!"

"Ma- Who are you calling mama anyways!? So what you're saying is that Kathlyn is in danger?" I asked her as I caught my breath.

She panicked and jumped around the carriage in an odd behaviour. I became really concerned and looked under my seat. It acted as a secret weapon's stash and had a very similar blade to Warrior's Ballad.

I quickly take the belt and the sheathed sword out and wear it on my waist. I was not sure what kind of danger would come but If it's Amelia's senses then I can trust her with my life.

I opened the window once more in a rush and hurriedly asked Ron to speed up. He agreed with me with no complaints but Felix questioned my motives.

"Why? We are already close. No need to rush it." Felix asked while turning around to see my slightly nervous but serious face.

"Someone's in danger. I need to save them."