The first villager who saw them almost dropped his fishing basket straight into the mud.
Vikram and the princess stumbled out of the forest just as the morning sun fully rose above the sea cliffs, both looking half dead.
Vikram’s clothes were stained with dried blood and seawater, while the princess’s torn dress barely protected her from the cold wind.
Although her face remained pale from exhaustion, there was still something strangely graceful about her that immediately made people stare.
The old fisherman froze for several seconds before yelling toward the village, “People!
Someone’s here!” Within moments, villagers began emerging from their small wooden homes, cautiously carrying tools, fishing spears, and axes.
Women pulled their children behind them while the men carefully surrounded Vikram and the princess.
Vikram nearly collapsed from relief.
One elderly woman gasped after seeing the blood around his leg.
“He’s injured badly.”
Another villager immediately pointed toward Seraphina.
“That girl’s not from here.”
The princess instinctively moved closer to Vikram, staring nervously at all the unfamiliar faces.
A broad-shouldered man with gray hair finally stepped forward from the crowd, and unlike the others, he looked calm.
“Who are you?” he asked.
Vikram tried answering normally, but his throat felt completely dry.
“We escaped pirates.”
That single sentence changed the atmosphere instantly.
Several villagers muttered fearfully among themselves.
“Pirates?”
“Which crew?”
“Did they follow them?”
The older man raised one hand, silencing everyone before looking toward Vikram again.
“Explain.”
So Vikram did.
Not everything, obviously; he skipped the magical palace, divine tests, supernatural nonsense, and Mayasabha completely because nobody would believe that anyway.
Instead, he explained about the ship, the slaves, the captain, Seraphina’s kidnapping, and their escape.
As he spoke, the villagers’ expressions slowly changed from suspicion to anger and pity.
One woman quietly covered her mouth after hearing what had happened to the princess, while Seraphina herself remained mostly silent, staring downward as she clutched the torn cloth bag tightly against her chest.
Eventually, the gray-haired man sighed heavily.
“Bring them inside first.”
Immediately, several villagers objected.
“You can’t be serious!”
“What if pirates come here?!”
“They’ll burn the village!”
The man looked toward them sharply.
“And what exactly do you expect me to do?
Throw injured children back into the forest?”
“They’re not our problem!”
“They become our problem once pirates arrive!”
Fear spread quickly through the crowd.
Vikram understood, honestly; these people looked poor already, with simple fishing boats, wooden homes, small docks, no walls, and no soldiers.
If pirates attacked this place, it would become a massacre.
The older man remained firm.
“We help them.”
A younger villager argued angrily, “And when pirates slaughter us?”
The leader’s eyes hardened slightly.
“Then we fight.”
Silence followed immediately.
The old fisherman looked around at everyone gathered there before speaking again.
“Prepare weapons.
Double lookout patrols.
Nobody leaves the village alone.”
People slowly realized he was serious.
One villager muttered nervously, “You think pirates will come?”
The leader glanced toward Vikram’s injured leg and Seraphina’s terrified expression.
“Yes.”
The entire village shifted after that.
Men immediately began carrying fishing spears and bows across the area while wooden barricades were dragged near the entrances leading toward the forest.
Several younger villagers climbed watchtowers overlooking the coastline.
Even the atmosphere changed.
Fear spread everywhere now.
Meanwhile, Vikram and Seraphina were taken inside a small wooden house near the center of the village.
“You’re lucky infection hasn’t killed you already.”
Vikram hissed painfully as she poured herbal liquid across the wound.
“Ow—”
“Stop whining.
You’re alive.”
Nearby, another woman helped Seraphina gently wash the dried blood from her arms and face.
The princess flinched slightly whenever someone touched the bruises across her body, but nobody asked questions about them because they already understood enough.
Hours later, exhaustion finally crushed Vikram completely.
The moment he lay down near the small window, he passed out instantly.
When he woke again, sunlight had shifted to a golden glow outside.
For several seconds, he forgot where he was before the memories returned all at once: the ship, the captain, the escape, the princess, and the pirates.
Vikram groaned softly and sat up.
His leg still hurt badly, but at least the bandage looked cleaner now.
Outside, he could hear distant village activity mixed with waves crashing gently against the cliffs.
Slowly, he stepped outside the small house.
The cold sea breeze hit his face immediately, and then he saw her.
Seraphina stood far away near a flower field beside the cliff edge, where tiny white and blue flowers swayed beneath the sunlight.
The ocean behind her glittered gold while the wind moved softly through her long hair.
For one brief moment, Vikram completely forgot that breathing existed.
She looked peaceful—not terrified, not broken, just peaceful—and the sunlight wrapped around her softly enough that she almost looked unreal standing there among the flowers.
Then she noticed him watching.
A small, warm smile appeared on her face instantly, and somehow that smile hit harder than every pirate punch combined.
Several village children nearby immediately noticed too.
One boy grinned mischievously.
“Oho.”
Another pointed between them dramatically.
“Princess likes him.”
Seraphina immediately looked embarrassed while Vikram nearly choked on oxygen.
“That’s not—shut up.”
The children burst into laughter instantly.
One little girl cupped her mouth dramatically.
“Look, his ears became red!”
“They are not red!”
“They are!”
Seraphina covered her smile with one hand, trying not to laugh openly.
That somehow made everything worse.
Vikram pointed accusingly toward the children.
“You tiny demons need hobbies.”
The kids screamed with laughter and ran away instantly while Vikram limped after them, threatening revenge that he absolutely could not deliver with his injured leg.
“Come back here!”
“You can’t even run properly!”
“I’ll remember your faces!”
The children disappeared between the houses, still laughing loudly.
Vikram finally stopped chasing them after his leg nearly collapsed, and behind him, Seraphina laughed softly.
Not forced.
Not nervous.
Real laughter.
Vikram turned back toward her awkwardly while rubbing his neck.
“Those kids are evil.”
“You looked scary while running.”
“I was trying to look intimidating.”
“You looked like an injured duck.”
Vikram stared at her in betrayal.
“That was unnecessary.”
Her smile widened slightly again.
For a little while, they simply walked together through the village paths.
Seraphina occasionally held his arm whenever his injured leg weakened too much, and the touch felt strangely comforting and warm.
Something about this quiet little village almost made Vikram forget the nightmare waiting outside.
Almost.
Villagers continued preparing defenses everywhere around them.
Men sharpened fishing spears while others carried barrels and rope barricades near the entrances, and everyone expected the pirates to eventually arrive even though nobody said it directly.
The fear remained visible.
As they passed near the docks, Seraphina suddenly spoke quietly.
“I forgot how peaceful mornings look.”
Vikram glanced toward her. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
She stared at the sea silently before continuing.
“On the ship… sometimes I stopped remembering days properly.”
Vikram didn’t know what to say to that, so instead he simply stayed beside her quietly.
Eventually, an older village woman waved toward them from near a house.
“You two!
Food.”
The smell hit Vikram instantly: warm stew, fresh bread, and cooked fish.
His stomach nearly cried from happiness.
Inside the small wooden home, they sat beside a low table while several village women served food warmly despite the tension outside.
Seraphina stared silently at the steaming bowl placed before her for several seconds without moving.
Then suddenly, tears rolled down her face.
Vikram panicked immediately.
“What happened?”
She shook her head quickly while trying to wipe the tears away.
“Nothing…”
“You’re crying.”
“I know.”
The older woman beside them softened slightly before quietly leaving them alone.
Seraphina stared down at the warm food while speaking weakly.
“I thought… I thought I would die on that ship.”
Vikram remained silent.
“I kept thinking if I slept, maybe I wouldn’t wake up there anymore.
But every morning he was still there.”
Vikram felt something tighten painfully inside his chest.
Seraphina looked toward him with frightened eyes.
“What if he finds me again?”
The question came out almost childlike—terrified and broken.
Vikram’s own eyes stung unexpectedly because, for the first time, someone genuinely depended on him.
Not Mayasabha.
Not virtue tests.
Not mystical destiny.
Just a scared girl asking for safety.
He slowly reached across the table and held her shaking hand gently.
“He won’t take you.”
Seraphina looked at him silently.
Vikram swallowed hard before speaking again.
“I promise.”
The words surprised even him because he had no plan, no strength, and no certainty.
But he meant them completely.
“I’ll protect you,” he whispered.
“No matter what.”
Seraphina stared into his eyes for several long seconds before suddenly moving forward and hugging him tightly.
It wasn’t romantic; it was desperate, like someone finally allowing themselves to feel safe after months of terror.
Her body shook while she cried quietly against his chest.
Vikram awkwardly placed one arm around her while staring blankly at the wall, trying not to emotionally collapse himself.
Outside the house, the sea wind moved softly through the village.
Far beyond the forest, fifteen armed pirates watched silently from high ground overlooking the settlement.
The captain stood at the front, smoking calmly while observing the village defenses through narrowed eyes.
“They’re hiding there,” one pirate muttered.
Another spat into the dirt.
“Should attack now.”
The captain shook his head slowly.
“No.”
His single good eye remained fixed on the distant village.
“Night.”
A cruel little smile formed across his face.
“We take them alive.”
Behind him, the pirates quietly prepared their weapons while evening slowly approached across the island.
Meanwhile, back in the village, Vikram finally stepped into the elders’ strategy meeting after being called by one of the guards.
The atmosphere inside immediately felt heavy.
Maps covered the table, fishing spears lined the walls, and fear sat silently on every face.
And somehow, Vikram realized this was no longer just about escaping anymore.