She Belongs To The Devil

Nigel was fast asleep when one of the guards came knocking at his door to wake him up, "Your Highness, it's already dawn. We have to start our journey soon if we want to reach to the Enchanted Valley by the midday."

Nigel had gone to sleep very late the last night. So he was having trouble in opening his eyes instantly. But he managed to answer his guard, "Okay, I will be out in a minute."

After a while, he slowly fluttered his eyes open. He had thrown the blanket to one corner of the room thinking that he wouldn't be needing it, and also because it was used by Wulfric as a towel.

But the morning was a bit chilly and he was crouching on the bed. He rubbed his arms and whispered, "So, this is how it feels to live like a commoner then. I don't think that I will even last a whole day if I were to live like commoners."

He stretched his arms and then got out of the bed. He trotted towards the door while still rubbing his arms.

The guards had already prepared warm water for him to wash his face. There was no bathtub in this inn so the Prince was going to have to take a bath after reaching to the Aberdeen Palace.

All of the people that came with Nigel were already dressed. They were ready to leave once the Prince was ready. But Nigel thought that it would be better if they could start the journey after having some light breakfast. He did not want to throw up like yesterday.

So he ordered to his guard, "What about some light breakfast? Ask the innkeeper to prepare something for all of us."

"Yes, Your Highness," the guard bowed and left towards the counter.

And Nigel went to get freshened up. Then he went back to his room and got dressed in his Royal attire. After the Prince walked out of the room, his guards picked up his belongings from the room and put them inside the carriage.

Like yesterday night, the innkeeper set the table outside in the front yard of the inn. And all of the guards, along with the coachman and the Prince, sat down for their breakfast.

The morning light was slowly lighting up the place and all of them could see how beautiful the surrounding was. The inn also looked amazing, standing alone but tall in the vast land.

Nigel looked towards the direction of Aberdeen and he could see that from where the rainforest started, the area was covered in white mist as though it was covering the secrets of Aberdeen. Seeing that, Nigel felt somewhat nervous. Once he would cross that rainforest, his new lifestyle would begin.

After finishing the breakfast, one of the guards settled the money with the innkeeper. Nigel got inside his carriage and all the guards rode on their respective horses. Right now, they were technically still in Wyverndale. Finally, they were ready to set their foot inside another Kingdom.

Everyone took off towards their final destination. After about 15 minutes, the rainforest of Aberdeen started. Nigel opened the curtains of his carriage so that he could enjoy the beautiful view of the rainforest and breathe in the fresh air.

The path of the forest was narrow. It was just enough for one carriage to pass at a time. As it was a forest, the path was not as smooth as it was before.

There were huge and old-looking trees everywhere. Nigel thought to himself while staring at the canvas-like scene of hundreds of trees, "They must have seen so many things and they must be holding so many secrets."

The trees were covered with moss and mushrooms and other creepers. The creepers and some dead trees along the side of the road made the forest look even spookier. But Nigel liked it very much.

Nigel's nose was the happiest because it was able to smell so many types of scents, the scent of mist, the scent of trees, the scent of the muddy path, the scent of animals, and many more.

Not just his nose, his other sensory organs were also happy. He could hear all kinds of birds chirping and flapping their wings. He was feeling somewhat cold because of the moist rainforest, but that was okay. And the greenery was making his eyes feel very relaxed.

Nigel didn't feel like throwing up today. His mind was occupied by the beautiful scenery around him. After traveling for about two hours, they began to climb upwards on a small hill. They had approached an area that was surrounded by hills. And when they crossed that hilly path, they finally entered the Enchanted Valley.

The valley was like a central spot of Aberdeen. Most of the settlement was concentrated in this valley. The whole valley looked very lively from the hilltop.

As they began descending down to the valley, Nigel's nose was picking up the scent of countless werewolves. "Whoa! This really is a beacon of werewolves huh."

The villagers were keenly staring at the horses, Royal guards, and the Royal carriage. "It looks like someone important," One of the onlookers shouted.

And another one added, "It might be the Prince of another Kingdom. The carriage looks very elegant and it has another flag."

Soon, the carriage was making its way towards the Palace which was at the end of the valley. It was somewhat distant and secluded from the main settlement. And the Palace was also surrounded by what looked like a mini rainforest. And there was yet another barrier between the outside world and the Palace and that was the huge walls.

The guards of Aberdeen bowed to the Prince of Wyverndale and opened the large metal gates to let the guests get inside the Palace.

Nigel took a deep breath in and whispered to himself, "And we have arrived. I hope a month will pass quickly, I already miss my Palace."

When Nigel opened the carriage door and went outside, Prince Fenris and his guards were waiting there to welcome him.

"Brother! I hope you had a comfortable journey." Fenris walked towards Nigel and gave him a big hug.

Nigel was happy to see his cousin, even though he could get on his nerves sometimes. "Yes, it was a comfortable journey. So, how's everyone?"

"Everyone is doing well. They are busy with their own works. You will meet them soon enough." Fenris replied with a smile. He waved his hand to his guards and gestured them to help Nigel's guards in taking the Prince's belongings to the guest quarter.

"And where's Wulfric?" Nigel asked specifically in order to keep the act. He had promised Wulfric saying he wouldn't tell anyone that he had sneaked out the last night.

"He is in the throne hall with the King. He is busy with some political affairs." Fenris wasn't interested in going into details so he asked Nigel, "I hope you would like to get some rest and take a bath before starting your training? Or would you like to go to the training straight away?"

Nigel exclaimed loudly, "What? You mean I have to start my training from today?"

"Of course it will start from today. Didn't you come here for the training?" Fenris gave Nigel a taunting grin.

"I guess I did. Good thing my body doesn't feel tired even after almost two days' journey." Nigel pouted at Fenris.. He was shocked to hear that they were not even giving him a day off to rest properly.