With his horse running at full pace, it only took Drayce a handful of minutes before the huge iron gates of the royal palace came into his sight. From a distance, he could see the gate was closed, and instead of just the ordinary royal guards he remembered from five days ago, armed soldiers were busy guarding it as well. It was not difficult to guess that something happened inside the palace, and the people needed the military to be mobilized to keep order.
The sudden anxiousness he felt two nights ago was taking over his mind again. Now, he understood the reason.
It had something to do with her, the purple-eyed princess.
Seeing his fast-approaching figure, the leader of the soldiers was alarmed. "Halt! Who goes there?!"
Drayce didn't have time to deal with the guards and let them know who he was so they could permit him to enter the palace. He was sure, with the disguise he was in, none of them would believe that he was a king.
Drayce didn't lower his riding pace. His intense red eyes were fixed at the huge gate of the palace as they changed their color to a darker and deeper shade of red as if the flames of hellfire appeared within them. His jet-black hair continued to dance along with the wind.
The soldiers at the gate saw that the man on a horse had no intention of stopping, and everyone raised their weapons. "Halt! Identify yourself, or you will be attacked!"
The rest of the royal guards went to alert their captain, who rushed out as well to see the unruly intruder. With the tense atmosphere within the palace, no one was allowed to enter or exit the gates, except for those nobles with official duties in the royal court.
"Take position!" the captain of the guards shouted in a loud voice.
They all took their respective positions in front of the gate, with the swordsmen and spear bearers holding their weapons in front while the archers pointed their arrows towards the approaching intruder.
However, even before a single arrow could make its way out of the bow, all the guards got pushed back by a strong invisible force of energy. Before they realized what was happening, the huge gate of the palace opened.
The man on the horse didn't seem to care about anything but to enter the palace. He entered the gate, leaving everyone shocked by what had just happened. No one was injured, but they couldn't stop the man.
Just as the captain and some of the guards got onto their horses, ready to follow the intruder, they saw a familiar brown-haired young man riding towards the gate.
The guards naturally recognized him, despite him wearing ordinary clothes.
"Prince Cian!"
"It's the Crown Prince!"
"The Crown Prince has returned!"
Prince Cian paid no attention to anyone, as just like Drayce, he was in a hurry. He witnessed what happened with the guards and the gate of the palace but didn't mind it. He was sure it was Drayce's doing and could be only thankful to him for saving his time as he, too, didn't have to stop at the palace's gate.
Sensing there was something dangerous, the captain of the guards, who was already on the horse, instructed his men, "Two of you come with me and the rest, guard the gate."
Just as he finished giving his instructions, another rider came in through the gate with a fast horse. Nobody was able to react and stop him.
"That is Prince Arlan!"
As a royal who had frequently visited the Royal Palace of Abetha together with his brother, the Crown Prince of Griven was someone the captain of the guards recognized. He immediately followed the three men.
Drayce rode towards the tower with utter disregard for the people trying to stop his way. His red eyes looked intense, only focusing on the path ahead of him that led him towards his destination.
Whoever guard was trying to block his way, all were pushed away with the same invisible force, leaving a trail of confused people in his wake. Nothing could lessen the speed of his horse.
Of course, the guards were alarmed, and the knights started to mobilize to apprehend the intruder, but soon enough, upon seeing their crown prince, the knights found themselves elated but confused about the situation.
"Prince Cian!"
Those who recognized the Crown Prince all bowed to the prince who passed by them at the speed of the wind, not even sparing them an ounce of attention.
Cian only had his mind focused on a certain someone, the sibling who he cared for the most.
On the other hand, although Arlan was keeping up with the speed of the two before him, unlike those men who paid no attention to their surroundings, he looked around to check what was going on inside the palace.
The entire palace was a mess. Although more than a day had passed and the servants had cleaned up the worst of the mess, most of the structures were not yet fixed. Arlan could see maids hurrying about the main palace, as well as workers fixing the large windows on each of the buildings he passed by.
From the ground, Arlan had to crane his neck to see more workers hanging on ropes while fixing the windows of the upper parts of the main palace. The peculiar sight roused his curiosity.
"Was there an earthquake?" Arlan mumbled as he continued to follow his friends.
----
When Drayce reached the tower, he saw the number of knights guarding outside the walls. Drayce wished to use his powers on them and clear his way, but he stopped his horse as he saw King Armen standing at the gate of the tower along with his adviser Lord Eudes as they talked to one knight.
"Halt, or you will be attacked!" roared the captain of the knights.
All the knights pulled out their swords when the intruder approached.
King Armen, who was talking with Lord Eudes, turned to look at the person on the horse. Despite Drayce's cloak and travel-worn appearance, the older king naturally recognized him.
"King of Megaris? What are you doing here?"