"Where the hell did you come from? I thought you left? How did you get here before me?"Alves knew that he was being illogical with the loads of questions he was asking, yet he just wanted to make meaning of it. He had struggled with his brain to quit thinking about the possibility of the lion being the one who almost hit him off the branch of the tree the other time. And now what?He had travelled in the other direction, in the speed of the wind. Yet, the lion was standing behind him? Even if the lion could run faster than him, which was more of a mirage because of the weight, yet it would had come out from where the giants were, and not from behind him. There was something else to be worried about and he knew that, but for a while he allowed himself to be distracted. But then the growl of the giants knocked him back to reality. When he raised his head, he realised a change in the giants' composure and approach. The giants who were once tough and threatening, now cower, growling

"I'm sorry, His Eminence. But you can't return to Grimming Hills yet."Akulia argued. Alves turned to look at him. They were at the front of the lagoon, the lagoon they'd cross if they were headed to the Palace. They were back in the Kingdom."We will be done with this in no matter of time."Alves wore a strange reaction. "Will you stop talking already and lead the way. Would you get on the way when she already made a mistake or for how long would you keep repeating the same thing?"Alves was starting to get worked up and he didn't hide it. But the strange hoarseness in the tone of his reaction still lingered. Without a doubt, his encounter with the giants had definitely left a print on his person. Akulia bowed then walked to the spaceship-jet. It was as though the jet was always there for them to see. As though it would never leave there. And there was usually no one watching over it. To think that if this was back in Grimming Hills, even if a troop of soldiers are lying in hide,

There were a lot of things going on in Alves' mind. And he didn't know which of the thoughts to give life to. He looked like a piece of specimen that was being bargained for by his worries and thoughts. The first fact was that, when he was coming to this central Palace. He had wanted to go straight to Grimming Hills but was discouraged by Akulia. And Akulia hadn't only discouraged him but gave him a strong reason to be very scared. And that was that fact that his woman, Mia was in trouble. But now, it didn't seem like that. Mia seemed to be doing perfectly fine. She was seated next to Grandma. In short the way it seemed to Alves, it was as though everyone was waiting for him to come. It was as though the whole elders and Grandma had coverged in the Ja Hall awaiting his arrival, even though he had no idea that someone, let alone a group was waiting for him.But that didn't even seem as something to be worried about anymore. The Akulia who had brought him here had left him by the doo

"Count yourself dead today."Alves walked past Akulia, almost knocking him out of the way. He kept on walking as the maids which were making an aisle in the hallway bowed down to him again. He hardly paid any attention to them. He kept on walking till he bursted into the hanger. "Just follow me."He called over his head when he heard the hurrying footsteps of Akulia closing in from behind. He got to the jet and did the motion. The door lifted to him and he climbed up. Akulia got on too. The motion of the vehicle was ignited and it was suspended in the air. It started to leave the area. As soon as they were off the Ja Hall, the noise from beneath started coming again from the people within the vicinity of the super huge Palace area. Alves didn't seem to be interested in the shouts of the people yet. And he didn't even give an instruction to the jet yet. "Are we going to the other Palace? I mean the usual?"Akulia asked but Alves didn't say a word. Akulia took it upon himself to di

"I do know that you are still mad at me."Akulia started, looking from one corner to the other. His eyes seemed to be too busy for the brain. "And by extension I do not have a say in all of th--""Then shut the fuck up. Who asked for your opinion in the first place?"Alves snapped at him. Akulia didn't see that coming though, but because he wasn't on a good page with Alves all along, he didn't really make a deal out of it. Even if he did make a big deal out of it, what could he had done at that moment?Alves got up on his feet and started to walk towards the exit of the living room. He walked out and was walking towards the garden. He had walked for a while in the garden when he took a turn in the garden in the direction of the pool. He got to the pool and halted. He removed his cloth and dived into it. He went deep down into the depth of the blue pool. There was this strange soothing feeling which coursed through every corner of his body and settled in. It was unreal, utopian as we