The ship finally reached the shore of Rockdelia city where Lord Heartstone's knights waited for them in dazzling gold armours. Each had precious stones and beautiful carvings on their armour even their sheathes of the swords had been decked with it. Heartstone had reached the day before their arrival and he had sent three large horse carriages.

Demian moved his eyes around as the ship docked at the port. There weren't many cargo ships not even fishing boats. Just a few and their masters had worn clothes that resembled dirty rags. 

Demian, Seraphina and Alonzo came out of the ship and found Casian and his attendant had already occupied one of the carriages while the other one was for Lord Heartstone's attendant. From afar, he saw the attendant was welcoming Casian and as soon as Casian's eyes met with Demian's, he gave him a knowing smile and Demian diverted his gaze away in annoyance. However, he noticed a large number of soldiers standing beside of the three carriages.

Demian looked at his guards and with just one look, they knew what his orders were. Two of them went to Lord Heartstone's men and rest of the three men stayed behind. 

A stick-like man appeared from Lord Heartstone's carriage with a face like a jar of smashed potatoes and a nose that must have been missing a bone or two. With eyes small as ants, he looked at Seraphina from tip to toe then he gave them a smile with his disarray teeth, broken here and there. He certainly was wearing fine clothes and jewelry that could put a noble man to shame but it raised some questions on his hygiene. 

He came near and bowed with his short back, "Welcome to Rockdelia, Your Highness. I am Irwin, and in my Lord's absence I came to receive you."

"Hmm. It seems Lord Heartstone doesn't know how to welcome his Prince." 

Irwin gave an weird sounding laugh as he added, "I apologize on behalf of my master, Your Highness. He is busy preparing a feast for Prince Demian and Lord Casian."

Demian pointed at the men Lord Heartstone had sent and asked, "Why the large number of men?"

He laughed with his unusual accent and said, "Just to welcome our Dragon Prince." His flattery would make others happy but not him.

As he stood straight again his eyes went toward Seraphina and then to her chest and the way he smiled at her with a lewd look on his face, Demian's jaw clenched. Now he knew why the attendant's face was smashed.

"Who might this lovely young lady be?" He asked as Demian took Seraphina's hand in his hand and answered with a dark smile, "This is my wife, Princess Seraphina Salamander. Be sure to take good care of us if you don't want to end up in the dungeon with me present with you."

The lewd smile of Irwin now replaced with a horrified face and he bowed again to Seraphina, "Err... Welcome Princess Seraphina. Your arrival wasn't mentioned in the letter." 

"Well, that was the last minute change in the plan." Seraphina answered with a smile as she scratched the back of her neck. Irwin nodded but Demian's dark gaze lingered on him all the time.

"Well, please be comfortable in the carriage as it will take a little time to reach the palace," he informed and led them to their ride.

"I shall stay with the chauffeur," Alonzo said and bowed before departing.

Demian and Seraphina hopped on it and Seraphina was almost mesmerized by the inside décor of the ride. Cushions were placed on their soft seats and fine colourful clothes were used in the place of curtains and as if it wasn't enough, the clothes had embroidery and various small stones glowed on them. The needle work had been done quite professionally.

As the carriages started moving, Seraphina said, "They certainly decorated the city with wealth."

Demian didn't say anything as his eyes stayed on the stone made roads of the wealthy city. From the reports he knew, Lord Heartstone's city, Rockdelia hadn't earned much to improvise the city to this extent. It used to get a large amount of gold previously from their trades and crops even the hand made goods but for two-three years, its earnings had decreased drastically. Then how—

His eyes fell on the people in the street and he couldn't find words to describe it.

The carriage crossed the port a while ago and now had entered into a different village. 

"D—Demian..." Demian heard Seraphina's voice which seemed to have the same shock as he had, "They—they are only skeletons..."

Up until now, Demian saw trees both sides of the stone roads, large houses, fountains but now, he only saw, villagers with only skin and bones. From children to old people, all had worn dirty rags like clothes, and they had no mass on their bodies as if they hadn't been eating anything. All of them were wandering around and as soon as their eyes fell on the moving carriages, malice filled them, almost accusing as if they wouldn't forgive them for what had they done.

Some of them took stones in their hands and Demian knew what was going to happen. 

"Seraphina! Move away from the window!" He shouted and the citizens showered them with stones as the men started to shove them away with their spears, injuring them in the process. All of them had the same look on their faces that was wrath but they were fighting even if they stood no chance against the knights.

"This is wrong!" Seraphina growled as Demian took her hand in a tight grip. He knew she would again jump out to call the trouble.

"I know, but first we need to save ourselves."

Seraphina gritted her teeth, her eyes blazing with fire as she watched how the knights had no mercy on them.

They heard the people calling the royals with names and telling, "Give us food! Give us our money! Give back our children!"

Seraphina could no longer hold herself as she shoved Demian away from her and ran out of the carriage.

"Seraphina!" Demian shouted as it would be a trouble to fight against that many people while they threw woods and stones.

"Guards! Capture Princess Seraphina and get her here right this instant!" He shouted as four of his knights and a few men of Heartstone's went behind Seraphina.

Demian could no longer help but to hop out as well and as he did, Alonzo stood beside him with a protective guard. "Your Highness! It's not safe for you to come out!"

"Forget about me, go look for Seraphina!" 

Alonzo at first, couldn't understand but as his eyes fell on Seraphina going into the riot, he went still. "Wh—what is Her Highness doing?"

Demian didn't answer instead his worried eyes followed Seraphina who took out her sword and jumped right in between the poor citizens and knights of Lord Heartstone. As a knight was about to jab his spear into a child who threw a stone at him, Seraphina swung her sword and cut the spear in half making both sides of the people shock. 

"Stop!" Seraphina growled looking more like an angry lioness protecting her cubs. Each wide eye was fixed on her contemplating her next move and struck as how someone from royalty had jumped in a riot and was siding with the poor people instead of stopping them. The knights were all dumbfounded unable to understand how to stand against a princess who wielded a sword against them.

The surrounding of Princess Seraphina grew dark as she asked with a rage filled voice to the soldiers, "What do you think you are doing?"

They all exchanged their gazes at each other and one of them said, "They are trying to injure you, your Highness! They should get punished for harming royalty."

Some of the women and elders from the crowd shouted, "You have taken our lands, our foods," she crumbled into a tears and said accusingly, "my little child! How could we not harm you!"

Seraphina looked at them, her face held a sad look and she growled at the men, "They are your people! How could you be so cruel to them! All they want is food and work and a place to live! Is this territory only for decoration and not for its own people?"

The soldiers hung their heads as she added, "Being knights don't you all have sense as whom to protect? Shame on you all, you raise your swords on the weak, poor victims. Where is your bloody knighthood?"

"P—princess Seraphina..." The previous man who had answered spoke, "We don't have enough food or anything to give them. The Heartstone family took everything from everyone and..." He took of his helmet and Demian could see why the men had to obey the orders from above.

"And?" Demian asked as he came near.

The man spoke ahead with his eyes displaying a little sadness despite the fact that he was harming the people a while ago, "to feed our family, we have to obey the orders if we don't then we will all end up like them."

"Thinking only of yourselves and not of those who are in more worse than you." Seraphina hissed with ire in her eyes, it was enough to burn all the knights standing before her, "you all have no right to call yourself a warrior, donning yourself in these glittery armors you think you are strong? Well, let me break it to you. You guys are the biggest cowards I've ever seen. These people," Seraphina waved her hand at the poor masses standing behind her, "they are more stronger than you. At least they don't put their tails between their legs for a tough battle and wag it only before the nobles." 

Seraphina's words were like slashes on the knights's chests as they all put their heads down, they all knew whatever she said was right.

"And about Lord Heartstone," The fire in her eyes grew more intense, "I will personally serve him the payback for what he has done here."

"That can wait, Seraphina," Demian said, "First, we need to settle everything here." He gave her a small smile and Seraphina found herself calming down.

"I am Prince Demian Salamander from Dragon nation," Demian announced and whispers started among the citizens, "and I have come here to resolve this particular situation. The future King, Prince Billard Salamander had given me this work so the people in my country wouldn't have to suffer from hunger and poverty."

"But would the Dragon king give us any food?" Someone shouted from the crowd.

"The royalty had cast us outside and now you have come to save us! Stop joking!" Another one shouted as one of the guards was about to strike the man but Demian held his hand in the air.

"Yes. I have come to give you food, work and a roof." He answered as another wave of whispers washed over the crowd and he added, "but to do that, I want all of you to spread this word across in the city."

The attendant of Lord Heartstone came rushing to them and shouted over his men, "What are you doing? You fools! Capture them! Kill them! They have tried to kill our Prince!" 

The silence dominated the atmosphere and even the breaths of each individual seemed to have frozen in time. Demian moved slowly, his eyes darkening, he stopped right before the attendant and swung his arm. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh echoed in the surroundings and Seraphina's eyes widened a little. The said attendant fell with his face smashing in the dirt and one hand cradling the sore side of his face.

"Do you think I'm standing here just for a display? Did I order you to move?" Demian's dark voice would've been mistaken for Satan's which made the attendant's soul shiver with horror.

The man shivered on the ground as Demian stood over him, "When I command you and them to move only then you move, when I order you to attack only then you remove your swords," Demian's face hovered close to his, "when I allow you to breathe only then you breathe. The moment I stepped on this land these men, and all these people, every single one of them is under my command, even your Heartstone."