Samuel put the spoon in his mouth and tasted his cooking. He grimaced and spitted the stew. It was revolting.

He scratched his head. Why can't he get the taste right? Maybe it's the mushroom? He had heard from a friend before that adding wild edible mushrooms to the stew enhances its flavor. Either his friend was wrong, or he just can't cook. Samuel sighed. What a waste of good venison.

Well, he doesn't have choice but to eat the stew. The men in the village spent two days hunting the deer and he was in no position to waste food.

Samuel gripped the handle of the pot and lifted it towards the table. He then took three bowls and filled them with the stew.

"Conrad, Mylene, it's time for lunch." He called.

After a while, a boy and a girl ran towards the table and seated themselves. They almost knocked the pot.

"Hey, no running." Samuel scolded but the two children ignored him. They were more focused on the food.

"Did you cook it? You did, didn't you!?" Conrad excitedly asked. His blue eyes were shining.

"He did!" Mylene exclaimed after seeing the meat in her stew. "Time to eat!" she lifted her bowl.

"Ahem" Samuel cleared his throat. "Are you forgetting something Mylene?"

Mylene stopped and sighed. She put her two palms together and closed her eyes. "Omniscient thank you for the food!" she recited in a very fast manner. Conrad also did the same.

The two scooped the stew with their spoons and tasted the food.

"Ahhhh!" both of them screamed at the same time. Mylene wiped her tongue with her clothes while Conrad looked at the stew like he was grieving for a dead friend.

"This is blasphemy Samuel!" Mylene pounded her little hand on the table. Samuel wanted to reprimand her but her cute attitude melted his annoyance.

"Why..why did it come to this? What did Samuel do to you?" Conrad was talking to the stew while pulling his own hair with both hands.

"Oh calm down. It's not that bad." Samuel scooped his stew and ate it. The revolting taste almost made him spit the food. It was really bad. But he forced himself to swallow the food. "See? It's delicious!"

"Stop it Samuel. Your eyes are watery." Conrad pointed at his eyes like he just found an important evidence.

Samuel sighed. "Okay I may have messed up a little?"

"A little?" Mylene raised her little eyebrows.

Samuel laughed at her reaction. "Fine. I messed up. But we still have to eat it."

"You're so bad at cooking Samuel. I should have cooked the food. We have waited two days for this meat." Mylene crossed her arms and pouted.

"Yeah! And as punishment you should give up your position as village chief to me" Conrad declared.

Samuel grinned and pinched his nose. "And what will you do if you're the village chief?"

"Do you still have to ask? Of course I will make everyone hunt for meat! Meat is life, meat is love!"

"And who will water the crops, build the houses, feed the livestock and clean the village if you send everyone to hunt?" Samuel was amused.

"Er.." Conrad thought for an answer. He then pointed at Samuel "You!"

"But I'm old. I can't do all those things" Samuel said with a frail voice.

Conrad again searched for a rebuttal. In the end he gave up. "You've won this round Samuel"

Samuel patted his head and smiled "Just eat the stew okay? Next time Mylene will cook"

The trio ate the stew. But before they could finish their meal, someone knocked on the door.

"Chief Samuel we have visitors. They said that they wanted to talk to the village chief" It was Jason's voice

"Visitors?" Samuel asked. He was confused. Who would visit them? The village was in the middle of nowhere.

"Finish your food" he told Conrad and Mylene. Samuel then stood and opened the door. "Are you sure?" he asked Jason.

"Yes chief. A man and a woman just arrived. They said that they were lost"

"Take me to them."

Jason nodded and led Samuel to their guests. After walking for a while, Samuel saw two people being surrounded by the villagers. Their clothes were dirty, but their postures were regal. Samuel wanted to scratch his head. Who are these people?

The man then turned and smiled at him. After seeing his face, Samuel almost died of shock. He cannot forget that face. How is this possible!?

"Mushrooms?" he blurted

*****************************************************************************

Timothy was taken aback. An old man just called him mushrooms?

He went to the old man and offered his hand.

"I am not a food gramps. I'm Theo" he grinned.

Since they were not yet sure about the identity of the villagers, Timothy and Lucia concealed their own identities. It was better to be safe than sorry.

The old man snapped back to his senses and shook Tim's hand. "Nice to meet you Theo. I'm Samuel, the village chief. What brings you to our humble village?"

"My…" Timothy stopped and turned to Lucia. He wasn't sure how he should introduce her. But then he thought of something good "wife. Yeah. My wife and I were lost in the forest."

Lucia's expression was that of surprise at first, but she then gave Timothy a smile of resignation.

Samuel stared at Timothy's face for a while. He then exhaled loudly. "Come with me"

Timothy and Lucia followed Samuel. They then reached a small hut in the middle of the village. Samuel opened the door to his home and let them inside. Timothy saw two children, a boy and a girl, eating stew.

"Conrad, Mylene, we have guests. I need to talk to them, okay? Go outside for a while" Samuel said.

"But we are not yet finished with the food!" The boy protested. Timothy guessed his name to be Conrad.

"Yeah! We just found a way on how to defeat the monstrosity you created Samuel. Just wipe the meat with a cloth!"

"You can finish your meal after I talk to our guests. If you're obedient I may arrange another hunt tomorrow"

The two children's eyes lit up. "Really?!" both of them exclaimed.

"That is if both of you are obedient" Samuel smiled.

The two children ran outside immediately. After they were gone, Samuel closed the door.

"Grandchildren?" Timothy asked him.

But Samuel did not answer. Instead, he knelt and bowed in front of Timothy. "Your Highness"

Timothy and Lucia both looked at each other. Even though they were popular, few people had seen their faces. The other villagers were clueless about their identity but it seems Samuel knew.

"Rise, Samuel" Timothy urged the old man to stand.

Samuel stood and looked at Lucia. "And you must be Princess Lucia.

"I am. Nice to meet you Samuel" Lucia smiled.

"So what is the reason for you visit Your Highness?"

"Before I tell you, tell me first why there is a village here. This part of the Western Region should be uninhabited." Timothy said

Samuel did not reply immediately. He went to the table and cleaned it. He then sat on one of the chairs and gestured to the other two in front of him. Timothy and Lucia went to the table and seated themselves in front of Samuel.

"All the people in the village are refugees from the destroyed villages around Solon and Greenwater." Samuel started "We stumbled upon this location by chance. We all came from different backgrounds, some were miners, some were farmers, some were even merchants. But we all have one thing in common, we lost our homes. The children you saw just now are not my grandchildren. They are orphans from the first village burned by the Tulosans"

Timothy felt pity for them. They are the real victims of the war. The people praised him for saving the Western Region. But the truth is, he didn't save all of the Western Region. There were those who had forever lost their homes like the people in this village.

"I understand" Timothy nodded.

"So what brings you here Prince Timothy?"

Samuel asked again. But this time, Timothy was more reluctant to answer his question. The village was small and poor and asking for help felt like too much. But in the end, he revealed their circumstances anyway.

"I see" Samuel stroked his white beard. "Then you can stay here for a while until the Wismarines grow tired of finding you. Also, I suggest you don't reveal your identities to the villagers. Most of them are good people, but we can never be too careful."

Timothy nodded and held Lucia's hand "Thank you Samuel. We owe you our lives"

"Will you keep your cover as husband and wife? I think it's better to do so. We only have one extra hut and the two of you really look like a long-time couple despite your age." Samuel commented.

"Yes we will" Timothy looked at Lucia. "I will be Theo, a merchant and she will be Alice, my wife"