Chapter 1006 Rowena"s Next Plans
Raphael didn"t understand why Rowena suddenly wailed and went to hug Julian"s cold body. It was unexpected. However, he couldn"t say anything and just watched her expressing her grief, maybe for one final time.
Didn"t she ask for him to use his magic so that Julian"s body could be preserved and she could come and see him again when she missed him? Raphael thought maybe he misunderstood her intention.
Rowena let out all her grief and cried her heart out for almost half an hour, while Raphael stood by her side and waited patiently. After a while, Rowena finally stopped.
She looked at Julian carefully and wiped her eyes from the flowing tears. It was truly goodbye, she told herself. Julian was gone and had bid her farewell, wis.h.i.+ng her to have a good life.
Rowena had feeling she would never see him again. So, she pulled herself together and got to her feet. Her legs were shaky but she felt stronger than before.
Rowena turned to Raphael, walked closer to him, and touched his cheek. She looked at him with grat.i.tude. Rowena was grateful for his support, his patience, and his presence.
"Thank you," she smiled and spoke sincerely. "You have been so good to me. I will be good to you too. I will be a devoted wife to you and love you with all my heart."
That was all he needed to hear. Raphael smiled back and pulled her to his arms and peppered her face with kisses.
"You make me the happiest man in the seven realms," he said happily. Once they broke free from the hug, it was time to make a decision. Since they had agreed to continue their plan to get married, they had to see it through.
"Let"s get married," Rowena said, holding his hand tightly. "We can have a simple ceremony in the royal palace. I am still the crown princess of Ashland."
"Ah..." Raphael liked her suggestion very much. He had no problem with the simplest or the grandest wedding, but he wanted Rowena to have her dream wedding. So, whatever she wanted, he would go with it.
"It"s just that..." Rowena said slowly, "We need witnesses and since my father is not coming back, it"s now up to me to rule Ashland. If I left my people to fend for themselves, there will be a power struggle and it"s not good for the people, especially the poor ones."
Rowena actually didn"t want to rule. She wanted to live as far away as possible from her father"s clutch. However, now that Draco Roseland had died, she could choose to stay in Ashland or leave to lead a free life wherever she chose.
Her first option would be to live in her beautiful valley. She could also travel the world and see things, together with Raphael, it would be a wonderful journey of a lifetime. However, when she saw Julian, she was reminded of his hard life. Even though he was actually a prince, he was raised in poverty and suffering.
Life was truly unkind to the poor. Rowena decided she must do something for her people, for the sake of Julian. It would be her way of giving back to her loyal friend.
She was sure, under Raphael"s and her rule, Ashland could become a prosperous kingdom and the people would have a good life. She wanted to make sure there would be no more hunger, children suffering, and poor people dying in poverty.
"I will be wherever you are," Raphael said in agreement. He had left Cretea to be with Rowena. If his parents wanted him back, they would have to accept Rowena too. Perhaps, they could leave Ashland after Rowena was happy with how her kingdom tun.
They walked side by side with determination. Rowena felt she now had a purpose in life. If the G.o.ds would punish her for her crime in Cretea, killing her own father and destroying the immortality potion, she was ready to face the consequence. If they would leave her alone, then she would rule Ashland to the best of her ability.
"Your Highness..." Knight Jarvis was surprised to see Rowena come out of the cave with Raphael. He had been standing guard in his place since Rowena entered the cave and didn"t see anyone else going into the place. So, how did Raphael get in?
"Knight Jarvis, thank you for your help all this time. My fiance and I would like to go back to the royal palace. You can all go. Please come to me tomorrow morning. I would like to discuss the future of Ashland after my father pa.s.sed away," Rowena said to the knight.
Knight Jarvis bulged his eyes when he saw Rowena"s countenance change. She went in looking like a frail and sad young woman, alone, but now she came out with Raphael by her side, looking determined and happier.
What happened to her in such a short time that made her change? Knight Jarvis was wondering. Also... did she say her father had pa.s.sed away?
However, Knight Jarvis couldn"t think about it for too long. Rowena went to get her pegasus and with Raphael"s help got on it. Soon, the crown princess and her future husband had left the area to the amazement of all the knights who watch them ride the mythical creature toward the royal palace.
Out of curiosity, Knight Jarvis decided to enter the cave to see inside. Maybe he would find the answer to all his questions.
"Uff..." The formidable knight was shocked to find he couldn"t put even one step inside the cave entrance. The bone-chilling cold immediately attacked his body. It was so bad that he thought he would lose a limb for being frozen.
"What"s wrong, Sir Jarvis?" asked one of his men when he saw Knight Jarvis step back instantly as his foot felt the cold.
The knight shook his head, his face paled. "Don"t come near. This cave is protected with magic... I think... it"s ice."
They didn"t really understand how it could happen. The human realm didn"t have magic in it. They only heard stories about magical creatures, and magic in other realms, but there was no concrete proof of them so far.
Only a few people had been to other realms and witnessed magic in use. Their experiences were mostly treated as entertainment or children"s bedtime stories. However, today they saw their crown princess came with a flying horse and the cave was now surrounded by mysterious bone-chilling cold.
It was initially a regular ice cave, but now it seemed like something magical had taken place inside and they couldn"t really explain what it was.
"I didn"t see Prince Raphael enter," one of the knights muttered. "Did you?"
The other shook their heads and replied, "No. I didn"t either."