When Prince Edward opened his eyes again, he found himself in a crowded room filled with unfamiliar faces. The people around him looked dirty and hungry.
"Where is this?" he asked the man closest to him.
Seeing his clean face, the man looked at him with pity. "This is the hidden mine. You must have been kidnapped recently," the man whispered in a low voice. From the way he spoke it seems that people got adopted and brought over often.
Prince Edward was shocked. He had gone to the settlement to find the hidden mine, but he had not expected to be suddenly kidnapped and brought here. The situation did not make much sense to him.
"What hidden mine?" He decided to feign ignorance.
"Sir, judging by your clothes, you seem to be from a wealthy household. Are you doing business in this region for the first time?" another man asked.
"Yes, I just arrived yesterday. I stepped out of my tent to look around, and then I was attacked. I haven’t heard anything about a mine. But this is the eastern region of Nexie, I’ve never heard of a mine here," Prince Edward said trying his best to appear confused.
"Listen to yourself. If it was known, would anyone call it a hidden mine?" another man responded. He looked at Prince Edward like he was a fool.
When Prince Edward heard this reply, he remained silent. He wasn’t sure what was really going on, and he didn’t want to reveal too much about himself. Those people had attacked his group so suddenly, he didn’t believe his kidnapping was just a coincidence.
He wondered if the nobles in the eastern region had set him up, but that didn’t make sense. After all, his father wouldn’t just let it go if he were kidnapped or killed.
As he analyzed the situation in his head, the door was suddenly pushed open. He turned to look. A man entered and simply threw dry bread into the room. The others ignored him and scrambled for the food.
Prince Edward was hungry, but he had never fought for food in his life. Within moments, all the bread was taken. No one shared with him, they all ate hungrily.
"My young friend, if you want to survive here, you must get something to eat," the man who had spoken earlier said after finishing his meal.
Prince Edward simply nodded. "How long have you been here?" he asked after a short silence.
The man looked at him and then shook his head. "I don’t know. When I was first kidnapped, I tried to keep track of the days, but I eventually lost count. It should be more than a year. That man over there"—he pointed to another man with his eyes closed "was already here for half a year before I arrived. Maybe he still keeps track of time."
After speaking, the man moved away and found a space to lie down.
Prince Edward looked around and realized that many others were also lying down. As soon as they finished their bread, the men rested. The room wasn’t very large, so from Edward’s estimation, there were only about ten men.
Just as Edward wondered what to do next, the oil lamp went out, and the room was plunged into darkness.
At that moment, Prince Edward understood why everyone was preparing to sleep. The darkness was so complete that he couldn’t even see his own hand. Fortunately, he was near the wall, so he rested his shoulder against it and closed his eyes.
Edward wasn’t sure when he drifted off. As he leaned against the wall, he felt thirsty and hungry. But he was someone who had endured training, so going hungry for a night was not a big deal.
The next morning, he was woken by loud banging on the door. He saw everyone getting up, so he followed suit.
Stepping outside, he noticed there were other rooms similar to his. More men were emerging from them. Based on the number of people, there had to be around a hundred captives. As his eyes scanned the area, he spotted a group of women. They seemed to be in charge of cooking, but their expressions were just as hopeless as the men’s.
Then, he noticed the men lining up, so he followed them.
This time, all they received was a cup of warm water. Edward took his cup and drank it without hesitation. Although he could endure hunger, he knew the importance of staying hydrated.
The water seemed clean enough, so he drank it in one go. Afterward, he continued to follow the men. He saw them picking up mining tools, so he did the same.
He had thought a lot before falling asleep the night before. If the nobles wanted to hide the mine from the king, they would have just killed him instead of kidnapping him and bringing him here. That meant he might have been captured by bandits who controlled the mine.
Prince Edward was sure that Walter and his men would track down the kidnappers. That meant if he kept a low profile, he could gather evidence before been rescued and determine whether the eastern nobles were deliberately hiding the mine from the king.
"Your Highness," a voice suddenly called out.
Prince Edward turned sharply. A man had walked up to him.
"How do you know me?" Prince Edward frowned.
"I was one of the guards the Duke assigned to follow you yesterday," the man said.
"How did you get here?" Prince Edward asked, suspicious.
"I was knocked out during the attack yesterday, and when I woke up, I was here. I just identified two other guards as well. I was shocked to see you here," the man said.
Prince Edward frowned. The men who had attacked them the day before had been highly skilled.
"Did you see my personal guard, Walter?" Prince Edward asked.
"No, Your Highness," the man shook his head. He was about to say more when a whip cracked against his back.
"No talking! Keep moving!" a guard shouted.
The whipped man grunted in pain but quickly got up and tried to keep pace with Prince Edward. Soon, they entered the mine and began digging. The other two guards also walked over to Edward.
"Your Highness, we will try to protect you until the Duke and the others find this place," one of the guards said. Chapters fırst released on novęlfire.net
Prince Edward raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, what do you know?"