Chapter 37

King Arthur felt immense loneliness in his imprisonment. Enclosed and chained like an animal, he missed his deceased wife and child. Not only that, but he also longed for his kingdom, which once thrived in peace. However, after the attack from the Kingdom of Estonia, everything had been destroyed. Nothing remained. And now he was in this dire place.

"Alice, I miss you. Where are you, my daughter?" King Arthur began to shed tears.

The longing of a father for his daughter, who was nowhere to be found, overwhelmed him. King Arthur always prayed for Alice's well-being, wherever she might be. His current condition was so weak that he could not even reach out telepathically to Alice.

"Alice, I will always love you."

***

Sandy saw Alice sitting alone in the garden, her face filled with sorrow. What was troubling his wife? Alice noticed Sandy's presence.

"Darling, why are you so gloomy today? What are you thinking about?" Sandy asked gently.

"I’m just thinking about my father's fate. He must be suffering greatly. And here I am, unable to free him." Alice cried in Sandy’s embrace, unable to contain her sadness.

She missed her father terribly. Sandy, always by her side, provided the strength she needed.

"Darling, it won’t be long before we can rescue your father." Sandy wiped away Alice's tears that kept streaming down her face.

"Yes, I must end this war."

Alice needed to develop powerful skills to confront the Kingdom of Estonia. They had to face retribution for the previous attack. Their kingdom also needed to be destroyed. She could not allow herself to be defeated by the Kingdom of Estonia again.

"Alice, Sandy!" Chiki shouted towards them. "This is urgent!"

"Chiki, what has happened?" Alice approached her friend with a worried expression.

Chiki quickly grabbed Alice’s hand and led her to Elena, with Sandy following behind. Upon meeting Elena, she immediately shared some information.

"Elena, what’s going on?" Alice asked.

"I received a confession from Witch Marie that Amora was collaborating with Prince Maxwell to kill you. She was the one who exposed your location to them." Elena shook her head and sighed heavily.

Alice was shocked and nearly lost her balance. "What? So, Amora has been working with Prince Maxwell all this time?"

"Yes," Elena confirmed seriously. "And worse, they have plans for a large-scale attack on the Vestinel region. Amora has given valuable information to Prince Maxwell."

"What should we do now? Is there a way to turn the situation around?" Alice was furious to learn about Amora’s alliance with Prince Maxwell.

"We need to quickly revise all our plans and ensure that our information doesn’t leak to the enemy again. We also need to be cautious, as there might be infiltrators from the Kingdom of Estonia here." Elena warned them.

Alice was still in shock but tried to focus. They needed to act quickly before Amora and Prince Maxwell took their next steps. The two were truly a formidable threat.

"Amora has gone too far! She’s a deceitful and evil woman." Chiki was furious at Amora.

"We need to come up with a strategy," Alice said. "We cannot let them defeat us."

Suddenly, Alice felt the urge to meet with Witch Marie, who was still chained at the Lumina stone. She asked Elena for permission to go there. However, Sandy disagreed, worried about the immense power of the Lumina stone.

"Elena, please. Take me to meet Witch Marie right now."

Nothing could deter her resolve, not even Sandy. Her husband finally agreed to accompany her. So did Elena and Chiki. The four of them went to see Witch Marie.

***

"What do you want?" Marie asked as she saw the four of them approaching.

"I want to ask you something. Besides collaborating with Prince Maxwell, what else do you know about Amora’s actions?" Alice asked; her curiosity piqued and her question warranted.

Marie just laughed, which only annoyed the others. Alice demanded honesty from Marie. Chiki was eager to use her magical powers and attack the wicked witch but was stopped by Alice.

"Speak quickly!" Chiki demanded, trying to make Marie tell the truth. "You’ve tested our patience!"

"Amora has repeatedly tried to kill you." Marie pointed at Alice. "Because she despises you so much. You are always close to Sandy, and Amora is jealous."

That was no longer a secret. Alice felt a bit uneasy. However, now she and Sandy are married. Nothing could separate them, not even Amora.

"But Sandy and I are married now. Amora has no right to be angry." Alice asserted her relationship with her husband.

"Married, you say?" Marie asked.

Sandy immediately held Alice’s hand tightly in front of Marie. The old witch only smirked.

"Congratulations on your marriage," Marie said.

"Thank you."

"What you should remember is that Amora and Prince Maxwell are working together to destroy this region. Don’t get too happy about your marriage. You might end up being destroyed by them." Marie laughed loudly in front of Alice and her friends.

Alice and Sandy exchanged glances, worry evident on their faces. Marie continued with a serious tone.

"Amora has strong ambitions, and Prince Maxwell should not be underestimated. They might be planning something far greater and more destructive than you can imagine," Marie continued with a sharp gaze.

Alice took a deep breath. "We will be ready to face whatever comes from them. We won’t let anything destroy what we have built."

Elena strongly agreed with Alice's statement. They would stand together to fight the evil from Amora. Even if Amora arrived with Prince Maxwell, they would not be afraid.

"You are quite confident," Marie said with a sneer, her gaze never leaving Alice. "But don’t be too sure that everything will go according to your plan."

"What are you talking about?" Chiki was very annoyed by Marie’s words.

"Don’t let your emotions get the best of you, Chiki. Just let her talk like that."

Elena held Chiki’s anger in check. Chiki took a deep breath and tried not to let her emotions get the better of her. Marie continued to laugh at them.

"Remember my words; Amora and the others will come here. My heart tells me so, and it is not a lie."

"If Amora and Prince Maxwell come here, we are ready to face them and will not retreat at all," Alice said firmly. "This time, I won’t let them escape again."

Alice spoke with firm words. Then she asked the others to leave the Lumina stone immediately. They left Marie alone here. She walked alongside Sandy. The man held her hand tightly.

"Alice, aren't you afraid of what Marie said earlier?" Sandy asked

"Why should I be afraid of them? If Amora and the others come here, it’s a great opportunity for me to get revenge on all of them. They need to face the consequences."