"Rest assured chief"

"I want Marianna alive and well, so find her. Now who raised the bounty doesn't matter; she is my intended target." The army hastily departed in search of the vicious woman as the monarch yelled.

The physicians informed the king that Alaric was under a spell once he awoke. Since he had never noticed any evidence of witches in the kingdoms of fire, the monarch was astounded. The witches lived in the polar areas and never ventured into the Western lands. So, how did all of this happen? Alaric was brought to health after the healers were able to erase the trace of mild magic from him. The maid and advisor were completely blank on the situation, and Brent was still AWOL. As a result, the monarch asked his son. Alaric recounted to the king everything he could recall from last night. Neither the maid nor the advisor had any idea. The king briefly considered the possibility that he was fabricating tales. But his skepticism was verified by the fact that Marianna was nowhere to be found and he was under a spell. She erased the memories of the maid and advisor; of course, as a witch, she was capable of anything.

"She messed with the wrong king," murmured the king.

The hunt continued for more than a year, but they were unsuccessful in finding the witch. The King was frustrated and indignant. Given the size of the kingdom of fire and her ability to hide and avoid utilizing her evil magic, it was challenging to locate the witch. Hela, Brent's horse, was discovered in the forest, but Brent was never seen again. The reward was increased even more, and the North's monarchy sent warriors to help. The witch was nowhere to be seen for several months. Her disappearance was the reason the king felt as though he was trapped in an illusion she had manufactured.

A guard stormed in through the door as King Timothy was handling the decrees. Alaric, who was now ten years old, was seated next to his brother Ezekiel and his friend Levin and was carefully studying how the decrees were handled. "Your Majesty!" The guard's breathing got deeper as a result of his continual sprinting. "We found her,"

The King sprang up from his seat as soon as he finished speaking. He was very aware of who the guard was alluding to. The king's teeth clenched in rage as the advisor and others got up from their seats as well. "Bring her here."

The monarch's anger could be seen in his eyes; he believed he had failed as both a king and a father. The locals were unaware of the witch and only noticed the bounty placed on her. How could he not have sensed her intuition when she arrived looking for shelter? The king felt defeated. The witch may have been responsible for Brent's disappearance while she was working as a servant in his castle and taking care of the prince. He only desired to chastise her in front of the entire country. The witch was imprisoned in the dungeons without access to food or water, where she was allowed to starve and had shackles made of dew grasses around her wrists. According to legend, the morning dew grass represents the day, while the witches represent the night. When the witches come into contact with the morning dew grass, they lose their strength and are unable to perform magic. The witch was hungry for days; the monarch paid her several visits and forced her to accept the wrongdoings she had committed.

"I have never harmed your family." Marianna's eyelids were drooping and her voice was gruff as she talked; she was being held by ropes made of dew grasses.

"You possessed my son," I said.

She wailed, "I didn't hurt him; I simply made him sleep. A house to live in was all I ever desired."

"Your home is not here. You're a witch."

"I detest the boundaries you people have built between the worlds. People will never accept you; they will always treat you as a hunting animal, regardless of what you do". In front of the king, she yelled. "I ought to have listened to them." She sobbed, the tears dissipating before they landed on the muddy floor of the dungeon.

"You are a witch, and you can never be accepted in our world; even the grounds of our kingdom don't want to be saturated with your tears." The King cursed. " Even Brent's disappearance was brought on by you."

"He's alive."

"Who knows, and keep in mind the reward on your head."

Marianna responded with a chuckle." That senile old bastard." She grunted.

"I could have easily killed you, but witches don't perish from these weapons, regrettably." The king made leisurely movements back and forth. "We must thus burn you alive and bury you in the wastelands where no one can find you." He turned to face Marianne, a few inches away. "Bring the lit candle and some dew grass ropes, Carlos."

Marianna was being tied to a wooden pole with dew grass ropes by people, and she was too weak to resist them. She sighed as she accepted her fate. and began mumbling as she closed her eyes. "Marianna, you can pray to anybody you like. Nobody will come to your aid." She continued to babble incomprehensible words as the king made fun of her. "Any last wishes?"

"No, but let me issue one last cautionary note. Stop doing this."

"Stop this nonsense." The king grabbed up the flame and moved toward her. "Say good-bye to the world." He stepped back after dropping the torch. The flame began to grow gradually. The first things to catch fire were the dried grasses and leaves. Marianna shut her eyes once more. She appeared content and at ease. She was gradually engulfed in flames as her garments took fire.

"This dominion shall endure suffering. There will be resentment and violence among your people. You will perish and everyone will witness the suffering of your kingdom. My passing will bring this vast realm to an end. and your family will crumble." This was a curse, calmly spoken by Marianna. " The air will carry my remnants, and this earth will soak each one of them, cursing the grounds, so you won't find a single trace of them. Marianna can be killed, but the witch cannot." She spoke these last before being entirely engulfed in flames. The blaze was enormous and blazing.

"There is nothing you can do." The king mumbled under his breath and walked away, leaving the witch to burn to death.

Additionally, as she had previously stated, the dungeon was empty of her remains. The only traces of what had transpired were the burned pillar and the black soot of ash on the wall, ceiling, and floor. After the tragedy, it was decided to keep that area of the castle permanently shut because the charred smell and sooty particles were always there. The tragedy took place beyond the closed gates of Josen's castle, hidden from the town and other countries. As the town's sought-after pamphlets were taken away, she began to fade from memory. Alaric was the person who was most affected by these things, thus his father made sure he was aware of what took place in the dungeon. Since that time, Alaric had trouble falling asleep and was plagued by nightmares, but he kept this knowledge from his father.

.

Even though it was challenging, he felt lighter after remembering the past. Alaric explained the curse to Ezra without mentioning that he was the unfortunate prince. When the story came to a close, Ezra was taken aback and glanced at Alaric with wide eyes. " The curse had been forgotten for a very long time, but it had never vanished. Then the king passed away, and the prince was expected to assume the duties at a very young age." Alaric finished.

"Do you mind if I ask, Captain? Although you said it was concealed from the villagers, you are aware of the full story."

"Well, who said I resided in the town? I used to work at the castle." Was he really going to reveal that he is King Alaric of Josen's realm, Hermes wondered? "The castle walls know the narrative, but the villagers are unaware." Ezra gave a head nod.

"Are you of the same opinion as I am that King Timothy was too strict? The prince was already traumatized when he learned of the witch's passing. It's frightening. If I had been in his position, I "would have died." Hermes and Alaric laughed in answer. "What about Brent? "Have they ever found him?"" Alaric shook his head. "Poor man."

"We need to go to the head tomorrow, so let's get some rest." Alaric replied as he neatly folded a piece of paper and tucked it away in his bag. Alaric was both happy and anxious to be able to speak with his country about him at last. He held out a slim chance that his daughter might be waiting for him. He was so anxious that he was unable to even rest.

Alaric got up first the following morning and got ready. Alaric was getting ready and pacing back and forth nervously when Hermes got up. "Captain?" Alaric continued to massage his eyes as he turned to find Hermes with tousled bed hair.

"I'm assuming Jonah will be waiting for us outside the tower."

"However, it's still too early, Captain." Looking out the window, Hermes observed that it was still early in the day and that the markets were not even open. There was nothing but the sound of brushing floors and birds chirping. Ezra tossed and turned in his sleep due to their sounds.

"I was unable to sleep." As a result of the frequent mumbling noises, Ezra groaned while sleeping. Alaric became aware of his uneasiness. "I think I'll go for a walk. I'll be back shortly." Alaric smiled apprehensively and went outdoors. Despite the frigid breeze, the sun still had orange hues in it, and the gentle sunrays gently warmed Alaric's face. Alaric began his brief stroll after fastening his muffler around his neck and enjoying the sound of the early morning birds and the neighborhood residents opening their stores. He took a moment to pause at the end of the alleyway in front of Amalia's house. The fact that the doors were still closed and the lights were still off suggested that everyone was still dozing off. He exhaled air from his mouth, creating a little fog cloud, and continued on his way. He took tiny steps towards the alley, greeting everyone along the way. When he arrived at the port area, where imports and exports were managed, he saw a sizable ship that was about to set sail. The workers were repairing the rigging and performing a last machinery check on the vehicle. Because of the magnitude, it appeared as though a substantial amount of goods will be moved, which only indicated they were headed for the realms of fire. This ship, called "Horizon," was intended to travel to the kingdoms of fire.

"Captain!" There was a sound from his right side, and as he turned around, he saw Jonah in his usual clothes, carrying a stack of papers and a pencil, which indicated that he was executing his duty. Jonah oversaw the city's food supplies and was the proprietor of a little store where Amalia's mother worked. "Was there anything you needed?" Alaric laughed while shaking his head "no."

"I was only going for a walk." He took a brief moment to think. "This ship is on its way..." Jonah nodded and answered with a "yes" before he could finish.

"Today, this will be sent to the lands of fire. In a few hours, the cargo will be loaded, and the ship will be prepared to set sail in the afternoon." Alaric hummed as his fingers began to tremble apprehensively. "Captain, is there anything else?" Alaric shook his head while pulling an envelope from his pocket. It was a basic white envelope without any stamps, and there were no addresses written on it. Jonah gave the envelope a close inspection.

"Can you see to it that it gets to the person safely?"

"But it doesn't have an address on it."

"I am aware that is not a problem. It must get to the castle, please." He slid the envelope back into his pocket. Alaric knew that any kind of imports in his kingdom first goes to the castle for inspection for any kind of threat. And Mr. Levin was the only person who handled this. "He will be aware of what to do with it."

"Yes, Captain, all we need to do is discuss with the head what we already had to accomplish before noon today."

"Jonah, thank you."

"Don't worry, Captain, everything will be alright."

"Hopefully so."

"Actually, we can now meet the leader. I assume that he is already in his office, so we can place the envelope in one of the crates." Alaric appeared to be waiting for someone as he shrugged his shoulders and turned to face the opposite direction. "0 Ah, I see. Hermes was supposed to arrive." Jonah was informed about Alaric's illness, as were the other crew members. He was prone to forgetting things and acting strangely.

"We are here." They noticed Hermes and Ezra heading their way as they reached the end of the road that connects the harbor to the city.

"How did you-?"

"A wild hunch, I suppose." Hermes guffawed. "Since Jonah is also present, are we prepared to leave now?" Alaric and Jonah exchanged glances, and Jonah nodded.

The Antares tower was fairly large, and it had a dome-shaped cell at the top that gave it the appearance of a lighthouse. The lighthouse's only source of lighting was a conventional oil lamp that was backed by concave mirrors to disperse the light. The interiors resembled standard lighthouses, with a flight of steep stairs leading to the dome-shaped cell. The leader's office was located beneath the dome cell, so there was no way to avoid those lengthy and exhausting stairs. Ezra was let to wander about the lighthouse because he was unrelated to the imports or the envelope.

"Good morning, chief." Jonah was the first to greet the king, followed by Alaric and Hermes.

"Jonah, I believe exports are doing well."

"Yes, sir,"

"And who have you brought with you, exactly?" Alaric and Hermes bowed in respect as the chief turned to face them.

"Chief, He is Mikael, and he is Hermes. They are from the Josen kingdom, and they have been living with us for the past five years, and will soon turn six." The chief pushed Jonah to continue while maintaining a serious expression as he nodded. "They intended to deliver their message in the castle with the crates. Before arriving here, they were employed by the castle."

"What message?"

"It's personal, chief; his family is meant to receive it; if you permit, someone in charge of imports might ensure that happens." Looking at Alaric and Hermes, the chief briefly pondered while interlacing his fingers.

"Suppose they interpret it as a threat."

"They won't," says Alaric talked briskly. "I promise,"

"He denotes that the person in charge of exports and imports is extremely familiar with us. It would have been even better if you had instructed someone in this place to deliver it securely and properly." Hermes chipped in.

"The crates are prepared, so I am able to do that. Ask Argyle to take care of the envelope; he is my most dependable employee. Let Jonah direct the men to load them into the ship." The leader received expressions of gratitude from all three of them. "I have faith in you, Jonah. I did this because of that." As he stated that, the chief turned to face Alaric and Hermes. The underlying message of those statements was a warning that they would face consequences if it turned out to be a well-known scheme.

"Rest assured, chief."