Chapter 37 - Disturbing Disappearance

"Have you seen him?!" Queen Teresa yelled at her maidservants.

"No. Your Majesty" one of them stepped forward shaking visibly with fear. They were all in distress as Queen Teresa was treating them like they were the cause of the problem.

"Then do not come back until you see him!" she howled at them and they dispersed at once. Queen Teresa stared at the Alpha King and James with the entourage on their trail with her eyes soaked with tears.

"What is it that makes you so sad like this?" the Alpha king asked calmly. He must have realized that was what she wanted.

"I haven't seen him since he left in his armor. He said he was going to make sure the war is won" she cried and moved closer to the king, leaning on him.

"If you are talking about Micheal. He was not on the battlefield with us" James replied quickly.

"I didn't see him either but I am sure nothing will happen to him. He will surely return" the Alpha King consoled her and tried to walk her in to the palace.

"He said he would be back in few minutes or he would never come back again" Queen Teresa resisted from going in. She just wanted the king to help in the search.

"He would be back or he would not be back forever?" James repeated and chuckled. "I know Michael very well. He will definitely come back. He is just someone that loves playing with words" said James.

Queen Teresa ignored him. There was nothing he could say that would arouse her interest.

"We have to find him. We should look for him" she wept.

"We are coming to give you the good news that James had been the conqueror as you said and here we are faced with another dilemma. I am planning to celebrate James right away. It seems Michael disappearance will slow that down" the Alpha King said remorsefully.

"Celebrations can wait. Finding him matters" James asserted.

That was obviously not from the bottom of his heart. Queen Teresa stared at him and nodded in agreement.

"Then gather some men to go in the search for him" the Alpha King said to James.

A maidservant rushed out of the palace. She quickly knelt before the Alpha King and Queen Teresa. She was panting instead of speaking.

"Say something now or you will not be able to say anything anymore" the Alpha King threatened her.

"We found....we found the prince" she stuttered out of panic. "He is badly wounded and dying" she gasped in fear.

"Where is he?" Queen Teresa asked anxiously.

"In the dungeons" she managed to utter.

"He is dying in the dungeons" Queen Teresa said to the Alpha King before she broke into tears.

"Lead the way!" the Alpha King yelled at the maid servant.

She stood up and turned around. She was very frightened and had forgotten the way to where she would go.

"Will you move, right now?" James yelled at her.

She hurriedly started into the palace. Queen Teresa followed her and the rest walked behind them.

Queen Teresa was deep in confusion. Michael didn't say he would be dying as part of his plan. She hoped his plans had not backfired.

They continued walking down the hallway and headed to the dungeons.

"You know you are going to pay with your life if the prince is not here as you claimed" James threatened the maid servant again. It seemed he didn't want them to come around here.

"I saw him there. He was lying in a pool of his blood" the maidservant affirmed again.

"Stop!" James shouted suddenly to put everyone at a halt. "I am suspecting you. You are working for the enemy outside the gate. Are you luring the King to the dungeon?" he questioned her unnecessarily.

"Don't worry, James " the Alpha king assured him. "She would have herself to blame" he said sharply.

"Cara is one of my trusted maidservant" Queen Teresa backed her. She believed James was not happy about what was happening.

They kept walking to the dungeon. James started breathing heavily. Queen Teresa noticed his restlessness.

"James, are you okay?" she asked him.

"I am alright. I am just having a bad feeling about this. The King, the Queen and the heir are all heading to the dungeon on the idea of a serving girl" he shook his head and breathed heavily.

"You can go back if you are not feeling well. We need to move fast as your brother is said to be dying" the Alpha King said to James.

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Michael was still lying in the dungeon. He was losing blood from where Harold had stabbed him. Harold was already lying dead next to him.

He wondered what was keeping Queen Teresa late. She should have discovered him by now. He thought he had made a mistake. He should have told her exactly where he would be.

But he didn't know he would be dying like this. Harold was unpredictable. He wished he would not be out before they found him here.

He tried leaving his eyes opened, not to fall asleep but he was becoming more dizzy every passing moment.

He had become very weak. He couldn't stand up. He should just remain lying down as he was. He might lose his life right now. That would be the price for his lack of foresight.

He had given up and ready to embrace death when he heard footsteps. That was obviously a lot of footsteps. He wondered who were on their way to him.

He fought hard to remain awake. He was looking at the entrance. He would know who is coming if he saw the footwear.

"Here he is" he heard a tender female voice announced.

Then there were heavy and rushing footsteps running towards him.

"My son, my son" Queen Teresa cried as she lifted up his head.

"Mother!" he said faintly. "He is the sorcerer" he moaned weakly and pointed to dead Harold.

"Get him to the hospice right now!" that was definitely the Alpha King speaking.

"Father is here too?" he asked his mother.

"Yes, we are all worried" she left him for the soldiers that were coming to carry him.

"This is the reason why the enemies are not dying. I have destroy it, Father" he pointed to the plant and smiled to his father.

"I saw this man today. He claimed he was working for you" the Alpha King asked James.

"Yes. He was my childhood friend. I never knew he was something like this" James denied.

"Severe his head and put it on a spike at the main gate. He is a traitor to the Kingdom" the Alpha King ordered his men.

"Michael, you have done a great job. You will be rewarded. What you did is commendable and you risked your life to save the lives of us all" the Alpha King rubbed his forehead.

"Rewarded? If I live up to that moment. Just give me a honorable and befitting burial because I am already dead" Michael giggled, he stopped suddenly due to pain.

"You will not die, my son" Queen Teresa wept.

"You are not going to die, Michael. I promise you" the Alpha King vowed.

"This is the reason why they are not dying" General Brewer bent down to examine the plant that was now destroyed.

"Yes, I saw our men killing them driving our swords through them but yet they stand. That was when I realized it is sorcery. We should be grateful to Michael. He has delivered us" the Alpha King hailed him.

"Now get him to the hospice right away" he added.

"No" Michael refused. "Where is my brother? I want to spend my last moment in his hands" he requested him to carry him.

James who was already sad stepped forward to carry Michael in his hands.

"Brother, you kill all of them. You are a brave soldier" he smiled at him.

"No. You did it. You are the man of the day" James replied sadly. He was obviously unhappy and it seemed he couldn't hide that.

"I'm sorry about your friend. I know how it feels. To be betrayed, all this year's you have spent trusting him. It must be very hard" Michael sympathized with him.

"You should stop talking little brother. It makes you weaker" James advised. He must have been hurt by his words and wanted him to stop.

"I gave him a chance to walk away but he refused. He gave me no choice but to kill him" Michael didn't stop talking.

"I am happy that you killed him. You relieved me of carrying the burden of a bad friend. It is all thanks to you" James managed to reply.

"That is relieving" Michael said faintly and closed his eyes.

"Michael!" Queen Teresa shouted. "He is dying" she touched his face.

"James, you need to hurry up and get him to the hospice right away" the Alpha King instructed.

James took to his heels with Michael in his hands. Michael was very happy at the turn of events.