The Uninvited Princess ✔

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

The air was dry and crackling with electricity, leaving Pranee speechless at the sight.

Ritthirong turned his head towards them, probably hearing their loud entrance. He silently raised a hand and turned to the wizard next to him. She could see his lips were moving but she could only hear the loud shuffling of the crowd in front of them.

"Shashi." Her voice was shaky and she couldn't pry her eyes off the king. "We need to get out of here now."

Just as she said that the wizard pointed at them with a staff and lightning shot out from it. They barely managed to escape the attack but the wizard kept firing lightning at them as they flew into the sky.

"I can't go on for any longer. We have to land soon."

"How?!" They had flown longer distances before. How did Shashi already run of energy so fast?

"They put up a barrier around this area. It's hard to move in it like this, if we keep going, we'll–"

Before they could finish their sentence, Pranee found herself freefalling in the sky. She could see that her wig had flown off and the wind was now violently caressing her scalp. She looked to the side and saw Shashi wildly thrashing their legs, trying to obtain any amount of control possible. The staff was also nowhere in sight. She quickly grabbed them and held them in her arms. She could hear their breathing became fast and shallow and she hugged them tighter before shutting her eyes.

This may be the end for them.

That was when she heard something.

"...wouldn't just fall out of the sky–BLESS MY MOTHER!"

Their descent came to a slow halt as Pranee realized they were now floating. That was when she saw the upside-down faces of Tanet and his personal wizards.

"Pranee! You're here!" Tanet beamed at her.

"Can we get down first? I'm feeling lightheaded," Shashi said.

"Good to see you didn't die." Pranee heard Chann's voice and her eyebrows instinctively shot up.

"I'm surprised they aren't dead yet." Kiet retorted and Chann instantly chastised them.

"Please, set them down gently." Tanet waved a hand to the wizard and she nodded in response.

Pranee saw one of the wizards move their staff and the two of them were flipped upright then put on the ground. She pulled away from Shashi and instantly inspected their face for any signs of injury. They put their forehead onto hers and exhaled.

"You're okay," they murmured.

"You're okay too."

"Wait, since when were you two so intimate?!" Tanet had wide eyes and Pranee looked away from him, trying to hide her panicked expression.

"Hey! We're in the middle of a battlefield. This isn't the appropriate time to be doing this!" Kiet shouted.

Pranee couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that Kiet had distracted her brother but then looked around their surroundings. Tanet's second wizard had just put up a yellow forcefield around the group and the soldiers were relentlessly stabbing at it with spears.

"What are we going to do?" Pranee clung to Shashi. Her eyes scanned the small group and felt almost disappointed when she couldn't find Wipa anywhere. She wondered if she had left after freeing them or was lurking somewhere.

Tanet looked towards where Ritthirong was sitting and scowled. "Well, we got you guys so we can retreat immediately. We don't have any manpower to attack an army this size."

"Sir, there is no way to retreat." One of the wizards gasped as they struggled to keep up the barrier.

"Plus, they still have the barrier in the sky activated." Chann tapped their fingers against their thigh and they looked visibly worried.

"It's not our fault that a certain idiot decided to rush in here as fast as possible without any preparations." Kiet jutted his head towards Tanet.

Tanet's eye twitched. "Hey, this is your prince you're speaking to! I ordered you to come with me when I saw you at the tower didn't I? I was more prepared than usual."

"You made a rash decision and didn't give us a choice of joining. My magic is used for fishing and my partner doesn't know any magic!"

"Sorry to interrupt your banter, but I think you should be focused on me instead."

Ritthirong's voice instantly made the group go silent and they all watched his face was being displayed through a ring of purple smoke. He sat there in silence for a few moments, seeming to enjoy the terrified looks on their faces. He whispered something to the person next to him and slowly the constant thumps of the spears stopped.

"Nong, I really thought you would join me. It's so sad to see my own sister picking favourites."

"What do you want?" Tanet snarled as he protectively put an arm in front of Pranee.

"Surrender to me and your friends can go free. Simple."

"Absolutely not. You have no right to order me around! I'm supposed to be on the throne you're sitting on."

"You're in no position to negotiate with me."

Pranee watched Tanet's outraged expression turn solemn. Ritthirong was right. They were completely surrounded and the wizard that was holding up the barrier seemed to collapse from exhaustion at any moment. Kiet and Chann watched the scene just as intently and she could hear Shashi's ragged breathing meaning that they were in no condition to fight as well.

"Fine." Tanet choked out the word like it was poison.

"And bring our dear sister too."

Pranee froze.

"No, I will not let you–"

"Ah ah ah! Who's got an army that can kill you with my command at a moment's notice?"

Tanet gritted his teeth. "Pranee..."

"I'll come. Promise that you'll let these people go free."

"Promise. I don't even need that wizard anymore now that I can finally be reunited with our dear brother."

She shut her eyes tight and exhaled. "Let's go, P'Tanet."

Within a moment's notice, the barrier disappeared and she was now vulnerable in front of the large army. What lied beyond the crowd, was what scared her the most.