Three more years have passed.
"The treatment getting worse as the days go by" the boy thought
"Each day Shirley brings bread which is covered in mold, eating it causes me diarrhea, vomiting and stomachache." the boy thought
"There is no sanitizing system here causing it to smell bad." the boy thought as tears slowly started flowing from his eyes.
"I am scared of Shirley the maid." the boy thought.
Even though the boy was the prince of the empire, she gave him treatment worse than the imperial prisoner not because the empire or the emperor ordered her, but it's her own choice, her own way of getting revenge from the boy.
This is one aspect of human nature, once a person realizes that their misdeeds carry no consequences, they soon turn it into habit.
Suddenly footsteps sound echoes throughout the chamber.
This is the sound of footstep that used to bring hope and joy, but now it's has became the sound that only bring despair, horror and fear
The boy started screaming "DON'T COME, STAY AWAY!!!.... STAY AWAY!!!!!!"
Shirley slowly approached the cell and coldly said "Don't bark like a dog… prince"
The boy eyes filled with tears and despair took over as he takes a few steps back and fall to the ground continuously murmuring "stay away... stay away… stay away… stay away"
"Shut up and listen quietly, you brat" Shirley said in a cold tone, then she continued "The emperor has passed a royal decree to free you."
"Wh-what..." The boy was shocked, his heart was gripped by fear instead of happiness. He asked Shirley in a low voice, "Why... Why has the emperor decided to free me?"
"I don't know, hurry and cover yourself" Shirley coldly orders while throwing a white sheet of clothes at him.
"I... don't... want to go" The boy said, his voice trembling with fear.
The boy had been locked inside the cage from the moment he was born and now the world had become an unknown place for him.
The darkness had become the place of comfort while the world the place of uncertainty.
The dark is light and light is dark for the boy.
The fear the boy is feeling is the fear of uncertainty.
"Whether you're coming or not, It is not for you to decide" Shirley said in a cold voice.
"NO!! I don't want to go!!" the boy screamed, his voice cracking with frenzy. Spit flew from his lips as red veins flared in his eyes, his face contorting into something feral like a rabid dog.
Shirley gripped the two bars of the cell with each hand and wrenched them apart creating a gap wide enough to slip through using the gap she stepped inside and without any hesitation using her full strength brutally kicked the boy in the face.
The blood flows from the boy's nose and lips and some of it falls onto Shirley shoes.
"Shii." Shirley sighed, looking down at the boy with a disgusted look. Then she moved her leg toward him and coldly ordered, "Lick my shoes clean."
The boy looks at her, his eyes reflecting a human side which is often hidden by people. He nods in terror and slowly moves his head toward her feet. As he reaches them, he sticks out his tongue and begins licking the blood from her shoes.
She snickered under her breath barely containing her mockery, then she grabbed the boy by his neck and lifted him up in the air. The boy wanted to touch her hand to support himself, but couldn't as touching her would mean killing her.
The boy's eyes slowly start to lose vision and soon he loses consciousness.
...
The boy slowly and repeatedly blinked his eyes, his ears buzzing with whispers, As his vision began to recover, he found himself hanging by a rope over a massive well of inferno, with the massive crowd in front of him watching in a circle.
The emperor sat on the throne emanating a royal aura clad in golden armor. His fur robe stretched to his feet and his golden crown was embedded with purple ornaments. Beside the throne, Shirley stood watching the hanging boy with a cold expression.
Suddenly, the crowd's whispers ceased and the stage fell into silence as the emperor stood from his throne and spoke with an authoritative voice.
"As we all know that for the past few years. The empire is suffering from natural disasters, as if the God himself passing judgement on us" then, the emperor tone intensify with emotion "so, I lois ni lucus have come to this painful conclusion that my own blood, my precious child the cursed prince should be sacrificed this year to please the God" He said putting on a fake sob then he continue "All of it given to us by the empire and shall return or be sacrificed for the empire"
The crowd erupted in admiration. One spectator said, "Our emperor has such a big heart, sacrificing his own child for the salvation of the empire and its people." Another shouted the slogan, "Long live the emperor!" The crowd followed: "Long live the emperor!"
Then the emperor order "cut the rope"
A fire magician pointed his staff directly at the rope.
The boy watches in desperation his heart pounds against his ribs. The world around him blurs as the crowd continuously shouting "Kill the Cursed Prince, Evil must perish", all of it fades into a distant hum. Inside his mind, the memories playing of him killing his mother getting abandon by his father, betrayed and humiliated by Shirley. His inner thoughts then shrink to a single, terrifying sentence that repeats over and over, echoing in the emptiness of his soul:
"Am I going to die?.... Someone.... no there is no one that coming to save me... I have no one in this world... I'm alone"
As the magician chanted "fireball"
A small ball of fire generated at the tip of the staff, then the magician launched the flare at the rope.