25 Chapter 25

AZARADAN

King's chambers

"It's been long since we enjoyed having drinks by ourselves", King Bukka told Qin, "I've been preoccupied with the matters of the kingdom, and you my friend have been busy with the army", said king Bukka, pouring wine in his glass for the third time.

They were alone in his chambers, him and general Qin. Bukka had asked his maids to step outside, he was aware of how crazy some of their conversations get, and it wasn't healthy for his maids, some of them being very young indeed, below 15 years of age.

Qin still had his glass half full, maintaining an unusual calmness. The clock was ticking for him. His time for fun was off the table. He began ignoring everything which was going to be a burden for him in the mission, and that included his friendship with the king,

"Coronation day is approaching, I've overheard the ministry of internal affairs discussing about it", said Qin,

"Oh yes, it is! The only thing left is for my son to find the crown princess. You know we can't crown him the king when he doesn't have a partner. He asked me to give him a few days, I think he already has someone in mind", said the king, gulping his wine after,

"I thought the elders were supposed to perform that task. Finding a queen needs too much wisdom. These young boys just go for beautiful women, not worrying about the traits, and at the end of the day the government becomes ruined because of one stupid girl",

Qin stared at Bukka, disguising his anger with a side smile. The king nodded, knowing how his friend made some serious points, he was aware. To him, that was just Qin showing his concern for the kingdom, nothing alarming,

"Every word you said is not new to me", the king heaved a sigh, "Honestly, I've thought of that too, but something tells me to trust my son",

"No Bukka, this isn't about trust, we're talking about our kingdom, one single mistake and everything we've built shatters. I was speaking with the minister of war this afternoon, and he gave me shocking news",

"What is it? Please inform me", with curiosity, the king leaned forward,

"It's about the Thunder tribe. They've been sending their most beautiful girls in our kingdom, disguised as traders just to capture the hearts of our men. Thunder tribe has already set a foundation in Azaradan, and if we're a little late it will be strong enough to finish us all. They already know about the coronation, what if one of them seduces the crown prince?",

"My son is smart _",

"But he's still a man. Smart or not, we can't trust him to do that, I suggest we let the elders find the crown princess for him",

Bukka emptied his glass and sat upright; his eyes now fixed on Qin. His friendly gaze became serious, he did not look drunk. If Qin recalled that expression, it was the face Bukka always gave his lazy, irresponsible ministers, and now it was directed at him,

"Qin, I was there when the queen was giving birth to my son, I held her hand as I watched her die right after gifting him to me. She whispered something to me before her eyes closed forever. She said, 'He's your son, he's just you but younger'. So, whenever I look at Buk, I see a better illustration of myself, there are some things that I never did but I see him doing, there are some decisions that I was scared to make but I see him fearlessly making. I will be the greatest fool in history if I say I don't trust my son",

"All I'm saying is that he's n_",

"My son will marry the girl he chooses! I will crown her the princess and I will accept her as the queen! I wouldn't care where she comes from. I will trust my son's decision. That is final!", Bukka declared,

In the next minutes, the two buddies remained staring at each other in silence, each waiting for the other person to change his mind or say something first, but none of it happened. Each man strongly maintained his word.

Qin stood up and bowed before the king, who in return didn't flinch a muscle. Seeing that he didn't get any response he calmly walked outside the chambers. And if fury was the person, then that would be Qin at that moment.

He was far on a hill, he stopped right at the middle of the road and turned back to look at the palace from the distance. It looked so small, fitting right between his thumb and index finger, giving him a sense of superiority,

"It killed me to pretend like I cherished our friendship all these years, it really drowned my energy", Qin smirked, "It's time I show you who I really am, it's time I send you where you belong, my friend!",

The tiny patience that he had left in him ran dry. He was finally ready to begin his elimination game.

.....

Present

Far-bridge

Evening

Ukraine woke up in a startle. He sat up straight quickly. Thinking it's a dream, he really found himself in Kro's house. He must have been tired that he unknowingly slept on her sofa. He remembered her sleeping on the couch across his, and when he looked at it, she wasn't there, nor were the pillow and blanket. In short, he was now all alone in the sitting room. He released a long, loud yawn as he stretched himself.

Kro emerged from the kitchen, wearing an apron over the same blazer dress she had on all that time. She had heard his yawn from the kitchen, she came to check if he was really awake,

"Finally, someone is awake", she said, standing at the kitchen door,

Ukraine turned back, his eyes now tearful after the yawn,

"How long was I sleeping?", he asked,

"I really don't know; I just woke up like 20 minutes myself. Want some chicken soup?",

"Hell, yeah I do!",

He followed her to the kitchen. At the door, his nose inhaled savory scents, automatically making his stomach rumble. There were already two bowls at the table and a spoon. He obediently pulled a chair and sat down, waiting for the soup to be ready,

"I always have soup after my midday naps or when I have a hangover, it's so refreshing", said Kro as she stirred,

"I always go back to sleep after my midday naps. That makes us different, right?",

"Yes, it does", she chuckles, "And the soup is done", she turned off the heat and carried the pot to the center of the table,

There was a whole chicken inside, cooked to the core, tender and mouthwatering.

"Do you trust my hands?", Kro asked him,

"I do", he nodded,

"Good",

Kro held the chicken thigh and split it from the other parts effortlessly, without even complaining about the heat. She then placed it in Ukraine's bowl and poured some soup after. She did the same for herself.

All this time Ukraine gazed at her in disbelief, wondering how she easily split the chicken despite it being burning,

"Aren't you going to eat?", Kro asked after seeing him distracted,

"Ma _ may I ask you something?", Uk asked, and when Kro nodded, he cleared his throat, "What exactly did you do in the past for you to be this perfect in the present?",

She was holding the spoon but suddenly she dropped it, right after she heard that question. Someone had asked her the exact same question long ago, wearing the same expression Uk had on his face. She easily remembered it because that day was unforgettable to her, and she never thought that one day that phrase would come back to her.

Ukraine was a bit confused, and from the way she looked, he knew there was something personal about it. He had to bring the comfortable atmosphere back, even if it meant making him the miserable one,

"It's the first time a woman has done something this special to me. You know, I grew up without a mother, I hear my mom died after giving birth to me",

Thinking he played it nice, the look on Kro's face became more wounded. The confusion from Uk's words messed up her mind big time. The same person who once asked her that question had the same story as his, his mother also died while giving birth to him. She was suddenly invaded by a wave of mixed feelings which took over her in a matter of seconds.

She quickly got off the chair and neared Ukraine.

"I need to look for something", she said,

She gently tilted his head and started observing both sides of his neck. Ukraine was puzzled, not understanding what was going on. It was Kro's condition that concerned him. He could feel her warm hands trembling on his skin, it worried him.

He softly grasped both her hands in his, tightly so that she would calm down.

"Kro, what's going on?", he finally asked,

"Where is it?", she asked, her eyes still flickering around his neck,

"Where is what?",

"The scar",

"What?",

"Have you _ have you ever had a scar around your neck? Maybe as a birth mark? I just need to know if you happened to have a neck scar",

"No, I've never had a scar on my neck", he shook his head, "Now, can you calm down? Both of us are confused",

"Okay", Kro sighed frustratedly,

Ukraine let go of her hands.

She was frustrated enough. Slowly, she walked back and forth around the kitchen, her fingers running across her long hair. Ukraine didn't know if he should follow her or remain seated, but that was before Kro's phone started ringing.

She walked to the table and took it; she picked up after seeing the person who called. She first exhaled the tension out her body,

"Yes Leo", she said as soon as she answered,

"We're on our way to your house", said Leo, driving,

"We?",

"Yeah, I'm with Sue and Zoe",

"Are you almost here?",

"We'll be there in about 10 minutes",

"Okay",

Kro hung up. She looked at Ukraine who still looked confused, but deeply concerned,

"Um, I'm expecting visitors in 10 minutes, you need to go", politely, but drily she informed him,

"Okay, but are you alright?",

"No, I'm not, but I will be. Please forget about what happened. I'm sorry I lost control, let's forget this okay?",

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault, you did nothing wrong", he got up, "I'll see you on Monday boss",

With a simple smile plastered on her face, she nodded. She watched him as he left the house, her chest burning for him.

...

15 minutes later

The conversation had been going on, but it seemed only Leo and Sue were there both mentally and physically. Kro looked like she was paying attention, but the truth is she was still back 15 minutes ago when she was having that conversation with Ukraine. She couldn't move on.

Leo had seen that from the moment she opened the door for them, her mind seemed to have drifted or stuck somewhere.

"I want to thank you Kro, for everything you've done to bring my daughter back to me. I'm the happiest person alive today, and it's all thanks to you", said Sue, her daughter sitting on her lap,

"You're welcome. But I still think Zoe's not safe with you", Kro spoke, making everyone look at her with surprise,

"What do you mean by that?", stammered Sue,

"I'm 100% sure your mother-in-law is going to come to your house when she finds out Zoe's gone. You need to keep Zoe away from your house",

"That's gonna be hard. I have few friends and she knows them all, she even knows where my sister stays at. I don't know where to hide my daughter, I can't think of any place",

"She can stay here with me", Kro suggested,

"No, you've done so much already, I can't burden you with Zoe, that's too much",

"I'm okay with it, and you don't have any other choice. If you think about it I'm the best choice you have",

Sue turned to Leo to see what he thought, and he gave her a nod, meaning he agreed with Kro

"I won't lock Zoe away from you, you can come here any time you want, you can even sleep over if you like. I just want both of you to be happy. Now, is it a yes or no from you?",

"Yes! As you said, I don't have a choice",

"Good, now come with me, let me show you the room she'll be sleeping in",

The three of them went upstairs, leaving Leo alone in the sitting room. After a while, he got bored. He headed to the kitchen to see if there's anything to eat, and that was when he noticed two bowls of soup resting at the table. He knew Kro was with someone, someone who at the end saddened her. All he wanted to know was 'Who'.

When Kro came back downstairs and found no one in the sitting room, she directly knew where Leo would be. She found him observing the two bowls keenly,

"Yes, I had a guest", without being asked, she decided to make it clear, saving him the trouble of asking first,

"I know, but the guest left without touching the soup",

"I asked him to leave", unbothered, she answered,

The two decided to seat at the table. It seemed one had something to say, and one had something to hear. Despite the biggest age gap between them, sometimes he acted like the protective older brother, getting curious at everything his sister does,

"Who was this guest, I need a name", he proceeded,

"Ukraine, the guy who used to be my PA",

"Why was he here? Did you ask him to come?",

"No, he came to visit",

"I see, so why does your mind seem occupied? Did something happen?",

Kro leaned back. It was useless to tell him about what happened, he wouldn't get it. She was the only person who re-lived a few seconds of her past, there was no point in telling him all the details

"So, you're not going to tell me anything? Why? You don't trust me?", Leo asked, disappointedly,

"C'mon, don't be a crybaby",

"I'm not being a crybaby, I just want to know why you look down, that's all",

"That guy, Ukraine _", Kro began "He sounded exactly like him, he sounded exactly like_",

"Buk?",

"Yeah",

"Was it really him?",

Kro shook her head with uncertainty,

"I don't _ I don't think so, he didn't have any scar on his neck", she said, a bit sad,

Leo gave out a short, sharp sigh.,

"Then it's clear that it's not him, why do you look so down?",

"I don't know, maybe I wanted it to be him", she scoffed, "Maybe this cold heart of mine hasn't let him go yet. After all these years, I never thought I'd get teary from hearing a simple sentence, I guess everything he said to me is still in my head", pain was detected in her tone,

"So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to forget that this happened?", he asked,

"I was too confused to realize how happy I was to hear those words. Leo, I don't think it was a coincidence, there was something a clairvoyant said to us, and after today I think there's a part of him that is connected to my past",

"Are you sure?",

"Even I don't know anymore",

Just like that, Leo's heart filled with worry.

.....

SSOTA

Night.

Ukraine just got back home. He threw the car keys at the table and started heading to his room. He needed to clear his head, the memory of Kro looking at him with those eyes was giving him a bitter emotion. The only thing he needed was a shower and sleep.

He wasn't expecting anyone. Thinking he was alone in the house his heart nearly flew out of his chest when he walked in his room and found his grandma seated in his bed. She was holding the photo of Kro which she found resting on his pillow.

She didn't look surprised to see him, or shocked that she was caught. She was annoyingly calm,

"Grandma! What're you doing here? Since when we do something like this?", panicked Ukraine from the door,

"I'm fine, thank you", said the grandma, wearing a very suspicious smile.

"What is it? Do you need anything?",

"Yes, I do. I'm here to get all the information you've gathered on Kro, I hope the file is half full by now",

"Wh-what?",

"It seems you're really giving your all in this mission, I have to say, I'm very impressed",

"I don't think I know what you mean?", Ukraine quizzically stared at his grandma,

"Oh son, you've been staring at this photo for a while, am I right? Of course, I'm right. But you thought that wasn't enough, you even decided to spend your Sunday with her, how responsible of you!",

His nose caught a strange smell from his grandma's words, the smell of sarcasm. It only meant one thing; he was caught doing things which weren't part of the mission.

"Grandma, allow me to_",

"No boy, I'm not here as your grandma, I'm Vida, the head of this mission",

*****