As soon as the King leaves, the Queen says to her maids, "Go and call Commander Seraphina here. Tell her the Queen has summoned her right this moment." A short while later, Commander Seraphina enters the Queen's chamber. The Queen asks the Commander to stay and tells her maids, "I have something important to discuss with the Commander; you may leave." The maids depart. After they leave, the Commander's eyes fill with tears upon seeing her friend in such a state.
The Queen says to the Commander, "Seraphina, there is no time for these things now. Listen to me carefully." The Commander is startled and looks at the Queen with eyes full of astonishment. She says, "My Lady, what has happened? Why are you so troubled?" The Queen tells the Commander, "Seraphina, listen carefully to what I am about to tell you, and remember that no one besides the two of us should know this, not even General Valerius. Promise me as a friend that you will not tell anyone."
The Commander takes the Queen's hand and says, "Yes, Isabella, I will not tell anyone, even if it costs me my life." The Queen says, "Seraphina, King Argus has gone mad. He is going to make Decker fight in the upcoming Arena tournament." The Commander says, "But My Lady, Decker truly defeated me today." The Queen says, "That was the biggest mistake. You should have let Decker lose; you shouldn't have let him win."
The Commander says, "But why, My Lady? This is a good thing; his respect among the Knights has increased, and now he can participate in the tournament. And because of our King, no one will be harsh with him." Tears fall from the Queen's eyes. Weeping, the Queen says, "Commander, Decker will be killed in this Arena fight." The Commander is stunned to hear this. She says, "What? But who would do such a thing? Tell me, and I will behead that traitor!" The Queen says, "King Argus."
The Commander's hands turn cold. She says, "My Queen, but I don't understand. Why would My Lord do this? He loves Decker the most out of all of us." Hesitating, the Commander says, "No, it cannot be. This is a lie! Why would a father kill his own son?" The Queen says, "Argus never considers Decker his son. The curse of that Demon has taken root in Argus's mind. He will not listen to anyone now, not even me. He told me that if Decker somehow survives the Arena fight, he will have him thrown into 'No Man's Land'."
The Commander says, "But what does Decker have to do with the Demon's curse?" The Queen says, "Argus believes that Decker is responsible for my condition. He is also responsible for the famine conditions in this kingdom. The King believes it would have been right if Decker had been left to die before that Demon along with that woman that day. If we hadn't killed that Demon, he would never have given us this curse. We could have made some kind of deal with that Demon and sent him far away from our kingdom."
Hearing this, the Commander is shocked, and only one sound escapes her mouth: "What?" Tears begin to flow from her eyes. She begins to remember all those moments spent with Decker—when she and Decker used to ride horses together, distribute food to the poor, and all the moments of his training, all the moments of his childhood, every moment they had spent together.
The Queen says, "Seraphina, where are you lost?" The Commander says, "It cannot be. Decker... he is just a child, it's not his fault. No, I won't let this happen!" The Queen says, "Listen to me, Commander. Take Decker and run away from here, and never come back. Leave from here tonight itself, and yes, no one should have any inkling that you are helping him escape."
The Commander says, "But what will I say to Decker?" The Queen says, "The time has come to tell him everything. Tell him the whole truth and tell him that this mother of his loves him very much." And the Commander leaves from there. The Commander begins searching for Decker throughout the castle but cannot find him. Then a church bell rings, and the Commander looks toward that church and heads that way.
Upon reaching the church, the Commander gets off her horse. She puts a cloth over her face so that no one recognizes her. The Commander enters the church. She sees that there are not many people there, candles are lit, and Decker is sitting there. He is praying for his mother. The Commander goes to him and places her hand on his head. Decker turns back to look and is about to say 'Commander' when the Commander places her hand over his mouth and signals him to come outside.
Decker looks around and leaves from there. Outside the church, there are some trees, a place that looks quite peaceful and beautiful, like a park. Commander Seraphina takes him there and says to Decker, "Before the next church bell rings, you will meet me here, and that too with your horse, some clothes, and food. And bring a weapon as well." Decker says, "Why, Commander? And why right now?"
The Commander says, "I don't have time to argue. Just understand that this is the Queen's order and the Queen herself told me this." Decker realizes something is wrong. Decker says to the Commander, "If this is Mother's order, then I want to hear it from Mother herself." The Commander says, "My child, you will not go to the Queen under any circumstances right now." Decker says, "But why? No, why can't I go to Mother?"
The Commander says, "I will tell you everything on the way; for now, let's go from here." Decker starts getting anxious and flustered; he doesn't understand anything. He says, "No, whatever you have to say, say it right here. If you don't tell me, I won't move a single step from here." Then the Commander says, "Your life is in danger and the Queen has told me to take you away from here." Decker says, "Danger? But from whom?"
The Commander says, "You won't believe it, Decker, let it be, isn't this enough?" Decker says, "No!" The Commander's eyes fill with tears, she clinches her teeth, and taking cold breaths in that wintry night, she says, "Your life is in danger from your father, King Argus. He wants to kill you." Hearing this, Decker is shell-shocked; his hair stands on end. Decker says, "What? Do you even know what you are saying, Commander? And after all, why would Father want to kill me?"
Seraphina says to Decker, "King Argus is not your father, and Queen Isabella is not your mother either." Decker gets angry and says to Commander Seraphina, "Enough now, Commander! If you say one more word, it will be very bad for you!" and he begins to leave. Just then, the Commander says, "Your mother died 18 years ago because of a mistake by the King." Hearing this, Decker stops. He remains standing right where he is. Decker says, "What? No, this isn't true, you are lying!"
At that very moment, a voice comes, "No, she is telling the truth." When the Commander and Decker look behind them, General Valerius is standing there. Decker says, "General, you?" The Commander says, "But General, how did you find out?" The General says, "I have been observing the King's strange behavior for a long time. In recent times, the King's temperament regarding Decker has not been right. Today, when I went to talk to His Majesty about the Arena fighting tournament, I found out there that King Argus had gone to meet the Queen, which was strange for me because the King had not gone to meet the Queen for a long time. This seemed strange to me, and I also headed toward the Queen's room. When I reached there, I saw that there were no maids outside the Queen's room, and then I heard the sound of shouting from there. I stood outside the room and heard their entire conversation."
The Commander says, "What do we do now?" The General says, "Look, there is a way to stop this. If Decker runs away from here and isn't found until the tournament is over. But there is a problem in this; if Decker is caught, he will have to participate in the tournament. But I am not worried about the tournament; only those soldiers whose training has just begun will be involved in this tournament, along with some village folk. I know that Decker possesses far more capability than all of them. But the King had clearly said that even if Decker wins in this tournament, he will send him to 'No Man's Land' from where it is impossible for you to return. Therefore, if possible, go to a place where no one can find you and keep an eye on every movement. Do not trust anyone except the Queen, the Commander, and me, whether it be a woman or a man. Now go, we will do whatever we can."
The Commander holds Decker's face with both her hands and says to Decker, "You go, I will be somewhere near you." The General forbids the Commander from doing so. The General says, "No, doing that would not be right. This would put your life in danger too, and Queen Isabella must also be informed of everything, otherwise she will worry unnecessarily. They trust no one but us. Now, the announcement for this tournament will be made before the public tomorrow, and whatever the rules are will be told right there."
The Commander says, "But General, you must know about the rules, right?" The General says, "No, the King told me nothing about it. I talked to him about this, but he gave me no answer. He only told me that he was thinking about the rules of the tournament and would tell me on the day of the announcement." And saying this, he had left from there. "But this tournament will be for new soldiers just like every year, so there is nothing to fear." The Commander looks at Decker and says, "Now go, we won't let anything happen to you. Just stay hidden. Now go." And Decker leaves from there.
Chapter Ends