The Kingdom Of Gardiena

Chapter 22

Allison Ivory Perez

"Well, I'm stuffed. Those egg tarts were very yummy, I still liked the one in Mazayla though." Selena said as we walked our way to the clinic, as soon as we get there I looked for Sebastian but he wasn't there. 

"Ivory, Sebastian wanted me to give this to you." I looked over to Robert and he handed me a little note. 

"Ivory, I'm going on some errands with Ethan. Please take care, and be alert." His penmanship was really pretty, but I focused more on the message. 

"When did Sebastian give you this?" Tanong ko kay Robert, we placed the glass of water that he was previously drinking down the table next to him

"About 20 minutes ago, he said he'll be back." I nodded, pero di ko pa din maisip na di siya mag papaalam. Sebastian is not that kind of person.

"Don't worry, he'll be back. He's with Ethan." April patted my back and smiled, ngumiti na lang din ako even though I was worried.

Shaking the thought away that they might get in trouble, I smiled and intertwined my hands with April's. "Come on, let's ride horses, so you can relax." Saad ni April bago ako hinalin paalis. I heard Selena laugh.

"Fine." I simply said and walked normally as if she isn't pulling me.

~*~

Prince Sebastian Mazayla The Third

"You have to stop bruising me, I'm going to get married with scars all over my body." I said as I placed some clean sheets over the bruise Ethan gave me.

He struck my legs, and I struck his arms. We're both getting treatment from the first mate. "Captain, we're almost there." After a few rounds of sharks and squids and a few slits, we are just a few waves away.

We went out of Ethan's office. You can smell a very unpleasant smell, the air was filled with it. We wore clean clothes, handkerchiefs, and some of the crew even tore their long sleeves just so they can have a little piece of clothing over their nose and mouths.

"Be alert." Ethan said, he gave me the spyglass we bought when we were kids. I looked over the island. It wasn't deserted.

"Whose ship is that?" I asked and approached Ethan. He started to give orders.

"Turn the ship around, we'll be taking a different route." He stated and turned the wheel around. Once again I took some ropes and started to help the sails rotate. We had to take another route, so Ethan decided we can approach from the hills.

Monaeca islands is about an hour away from Mazayla. It's almost a part of the Mazayla Territory. Ethan explained to me that Monaeca is supposed to be abandoned, he is in charge of the seas here in Mazayla, so it was his priority to evacuate Monaeca. It has been about 3 months since there has been an algae bloom. Since it is summer, the bloom will last longer since they like the warm waters.

Ethan ordered the crew to wait and assigned a crewmate for lookout. If ever they do see anything unusual, or they have been spotted, they would give a cue which is a loud bang. It might be risky, but it is the only thing that we can hear loudly from far beyond the hills. Monaeca has little hills, so we wouldn't be lost. It is rather small but still has a few trees. We can see the abandoned houses. The feeling of loneliness struck me, I couldn't imagine those people who had to leave their houses just because of something mother nature would do.

"Drop down the dinghy," Ethan said and held on to a rope before jumping down to the sea, the rope he held on to helped him jump safely on the boat. I did the same, I jumped down on the dinghy and held on to a rope. 

"You have been improving your captain skills." Saad ni Ethan bago guluhin buhok ko. The first mate dropped down. We did a last check before going out. 

"Spyglass. Swords. Whistle. Mask." Ethan looked at me and saw that I'm ready. He nodded and sat down, I sat beside him and started rowing. Kinakabahan ako, kahit na mukhang confident si Ethan, deep inside I know he's scared too.

"Be alert and don't make any loud sounds." He warned us. Meanwhile, the first mate was looking through the spyglass to see if we were clear. I looked back at the crewmates, they were watching us with their spyglasses, and at the top, a mate was holding a green little flag, which meant that it was clear. 

We arrived at the shore, we ran through the open field. We immediately went to the trees so we could hide. And there they were, I sat and peeked through. I saw multiple loads of boxes, buckets, and little cages for the clams. I looked over at Ethan and I saw him scowl.

"Relax." I mouthed, he rolled his eyes and continued to spy on them. Huminga ako ng malalim at nag focus na uli sa gagawin.

I looked over them once again, and as I was about to stand straight I saw a guy. He had a dark aura, just by looking at him he gives out a creepy feeling. He wore an all-black outfit. He looks so.. evil.

I took out my spyglass, I looked at his aura more. He was holding a clam. He was pretty middle-aged. Then there was another guy standing beside him, he was a lot younger, but he wore an all-black outfit. He has piercings though. He looked like Ethan, but my brother looks a lot more good. Siyempre, mga gwapo kami eh. *wink wink*

As soon as I was about to move, my heartbeat started to go crazy. As the younger guy turned around to our direction. I immediately turned around and hid, I sat down and so did Ethan and the first mate. 

I looked over at Ethan, he looked like he was panicking. He nodded and whispered. "Time to go." But before we could even move a little knife flew right in the middle of us. It struck in the tree that was literally right next to us. Ethan gave a signal and started to run.

"Who the hell were those guys!" I screamed at Ethan as we were running for our lives. I held tight to the handle of my sword, so I can instantly pull it out. 

"I don't know, just run idiot!" He yelled back, I ran as fast as I can.

As I was running the image of those guys was planted in my mind, they wore masks, but when the younger guy turned around I saw his dark red eyes. Red as blood, and dark as his aura. My heart started beating even faster. I jumped on the boat and so did Ethan, we hurriedly rowed towards the ship. And as we were climbing with the ropes knives were thrown at us. 

We immediately climbed and the crewmates helped us get on the ship. Ethan ran to the wheel and started turning it. I, along with some crewmates hoisted the sails. Great thing the winds were hitting our direction, so it helped us get away as fast as possible.

We calmed down as we got away, I took a deep breath to finally calm myself down from all that happened. I looked at Ethan and he looked like he was still very annoyed. I went up to him and patted his shoulders.

He sighed and let his first mate take on, he sat on the stairs and so did I. "This is dangerous. Prepare for the next fight, expect the unexpected." He casually said to me and took off his jacket before climbing the ropes up to the crow's nest and looked back at the island. 

I went to the back of the ship and looked through my spyglass, and there I saw him. Looking sharply at us, he then turned around and headed back to the island. He looked deadly. I bet he was smirking underneath his mask.

I looked at Ethan, he was triggered as he was looking at the guy. He got down and whispered to me,

 "This is the beginning of something we never expected."