Chapter 165: The Cell
The desolate lands near the border of Erelith had been Rhaegar’s home for as long as he could remember. Wandering from one hideout to the next, he followed a woman named Cara like a lost puppy, obeying her every command with the unwavering belief that she was his only chance at survival.
From the moment Cara realized that Rhaegar could finally understand her words and comprehend her instructions, her first instinct was not to teach him how to speak properly, let alone how to read or write.
No, the first thing she made sure he understood was that his mother was dead—and that his father was determined to find him and kill him too.
The political landscape in the Beast Kingdom was notoriously unstable even after their escape, and nomads avoided the borders for fear of getting caught in the chaos.
Cara, worried that Rhaegar might be captured by slave traders and hauled off to Erelith against his will, decided to settle on neutral ground between the two kingdoms, waiting for an opportunity to secure their safety once the situation was stable.
For a long time, they managed to live a relatively peaceful life, though always shrouded in secrecy. But on one fateful day, when Cara had ventured away from their hiding spot to gather herbs that masked their scents from the scouting beasts, disaster struck.
Rhaegar, left alone outside their cave, was spotted by a slave trader. The man wasted no time, striking the boy hard on the head and rendering him unconscious.
And so, at the tender age of nine, Rhaegar was kidnapped and taken to Erelith as a slave.
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