Two men were walking down the dim light hallways of the castle. One was a knight in his early 20s while the other one was a young man, a 17 year old teenager. They both were walking in fast-paced while occasionally glancing back and front of the hallway as if afraid someone would find them. In the hands of the young man was a bundle of clothes wrapped around an infant.
"Sirs! Please. Do you really have to do this? It's just an infant." A maid said as she followed them quickly from behind. She was an older woman in her late 40s. Her face was wet with sweat as her uniform was a bit ragged and she didn't even bothered to fix.
"You know we have to, Ella." The knight said quietly with his gruff voice. His hand kept holding onto the arm of the teenager to make him kept walking.
"Sir Roland, say something." Gran Ella begged the teenager as she caught up to them.
"I'm sorry, Gran Ella. I don't want to do this, either. But, his chance of survival is better out there than here." Roland kept glancing down at the infant in his hands. He was quiet. It made sense since the infant was just born about a day ago.
"How do you know he will survive outside? He's just an infant. He can't protect himself." Gran Ella tried to take the infant from Roland's hands but was stopped by Samuel.
"No. We told you about our plan already. We're going to leave the kid near the river at the border. The soldiers patrolling there would find him." Samuel said sternly with a frowned. They had no time to waste. Another minute here meant inviting a death sentence. Samuel was still young and just became a Royal Knight. He doesn't want his life to end so early because he was assisting the Minister's Assistant getting rid of the infant.
"The soldiers will kill him." Gran Ella said frustratedly.
"They won't if you shut your mouth, Gran Ella." This time, it was Roland who spoke sternly. He was stressed and anxious, not just for himself, but for the infant, too. Sure, if someone find out about this, his head would roll on the ground, however, since he was the minister's assistant, the king might give him a lighter punishment. Even so, his conscience was conflicted with his action currently. It didn't sat right with him. Thus, the reason he wanted all of this to end as fast as possible.
"Roland.." Gran Ella said, partially shocked at his tone of voice. Gran Ella knew Roland as a righteous young man who never raised his voice towards others. Considering the situation right now, Gran Ella understood his burst of emotion.
"Don't say anything about the infant or anything you've seen today and yesterday. The infant doesn't exist. He died in his mother's womb." Roland said, not only to Gran Ella, but also towards Samuel.
They arrived at the front doors as Samuel opened the door and looked outside first to make sure no one was around. It was dark outside as it was night time. Then, he beckoned for Roland to come out while still being alert.
"Then, let me go with him. I can take care of him. I promise I'll bring him away from here."
"No. I need you here, Gran Ella. The Queen needs you. The mother of the baby needs you. Please, Gran Ella. I beg of you. I know you're worried, but just stay quiet and live as usual." Roland said before he stepped out into the night and the door closed.
Gran Ella could do nothing but sobbed silently as tears slid down her face, thinking about the infant's fate and what a cruel world he was born into.
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"Are you sure this is the right choice?" Samuel asked as he lead the way through the woods. He used his sheathed sword to push away the stray leaves and branches from their path.
"You're asking this now? Aren't you the one who was stern about it earlier?" Roland said as he rocked the infant slowly and gently up and down as he started to stirred awake, to calm him down while occasionally wiping the sweats from the infant's face.
"I have conscience, too." Roland didn't respond to that.
"I think we're here." Roland said as he walked past Samuel and looked towards the riverbank. The other side of the river was the neighboring kingdom, Stella Kingdom. Kingdom of Auria was not exactly in a friendly relationship with Stella Kingdom. It was a gamble to leave the infant here, but it was worth the risk. After all, Stella Kingdom was known for their benevolent king and queen.
"Roland. I will ask you one last time. Are you sure about this?" Samuel stood directly in front of Roland's face with a stern expression.
"I am confident of Master's decision. He was never wrong about anything before, especially when it comes to the kingdom. I am sure, he decided for us to do this is because it might change the fate of our unfortunate kingdom." Roland said with so much confident and no hesitation to the point of making Samuel wondering whether Roland was truly trusted Minister Emryl or was it just because of his guilt.
Roland went down to his knees at the riverbank. He looked at the infant and suddenly a slight pain appeared on his chest. Slowly, he lowered the infant before putting him down completely. The warmth that was in his hands before was gone as his shaking hands started to feel cold.
A minute later, a rustling sound could be heard from the other side of the river and both Roland and Samuel looked up in alert.
"We should go. I think it is time for their patrol." Samuel urged as he started to walk backwards, back into the woods.
On the other hand, Roland was hesitating as he glanced down at the infant that barely moving let alone letting out any noise. His heart was telling him to not leave the infant alone with the enemy, but his mind told him that it was the best.
"I'll see you in the future, little one." Roland took off the pendant of a fox that hung around his neck before putting it in the infant's bundle.
"Roland, come on!" Samuel half-yelled from the woods as the rustling became louder and the voices could be heard from the other side of the riverbank.
At the warning, Roland waste no time and stood up before running back into the forest, joining Samuel. Roland wanted to stay and watch the infant to make sure that the enemy soldier found him and not kill him. But, Samuel was persistent of them leaving as fast as possible as Roland was dragged by him by the arm, moving fast through the woods. Roland didn't try to fight back as he himself knew the danger and the competency of the soldiers of Stella Kingdom. He looked back and saw the soldiers had found the infant and was crossing the river with their torches. He sighed and looked forward while kept running.
"He'll be fine." Roland mumbled to himself.