"Do you know those two friends of yours came to check out on you some days ago? I think, the boy goes by the name Oliver according to what you told us, and a girl accompanied him which I've seen before". Hazel said to Aiden.

"Ava and Oliver, they came to check out on me here?". Aiden inquired of Hazel.

"Yes, they were worried since you hadn't been coming to school for days, so they decided to come check out on you, those are what true friends do". Hazel retorted.

A smile appeared on Aiden's face at that moment, that shows they both cared for him, and he cares for them too.

It was morning currently, after Aiden woke up from sleep and strolled straight to the living room, he met Hazel there, and that's when she told him that...there was no need to hide it.

Aiden was back home now, he wasn't held captive anymore, but he wouldn't be going to school today, he wouldn't be resuming yet. Ethan said something like it was still somehow dangerous. He needed to inform the king about his return first and see what happens next.

..But one thing he knew was that Aiden needed protection, his family needed protection.

After Emma had gotten up from bed and arrived in the living room, setting eyes on Aiden brought joy to her heart. Once again, her son was alive, he didn't die though he was captured.

That alone gave her joy. So the moment she sighted him, she strolled toward him, hugged him, and pecked him on the cheek.

Ethan never forgot about the man that found out where Aiden was...he can never forget about such people. He was poor but didn't care about the rewards, all he wanted was for Aiden to be back with his family and be free from danger.

If he cared about the rewards, if he was doing it for the rewards, he would have reported it to the king the moment he discovered where Aiden was. But instead, he went straight to Ethan, the father of the boy.

..He didn't care about the rewards, but Ethan was gonna make sure he get the rewards and get some from him also.

After the warriors had departed to their different houses yesterday, before the man began heading to his home, he and Ethan talked a little. What did they talk about? Ethan told him to meet him somewhere, he had somewhere to take him, and the man agreed to it.

So this morning, Ethan had already started preparing, he had somewhere to go to, he had things to handle...but it wasn't work though. Before leaving the house, he said to his family,

"You guys should stay safe, keep a close eye on Aiden, I'll be back".

He strolled to one of the horses on the compound, loosened the rope tied to it, climbed it, and rode it out of the compound. Reaching the place where he and the man planned to meet, the man was waiting there already.

He told the man to hop on, and the man climbed the horse, then Ethan rode off. Where was he taking the man to? The king's palace. While Ethan was riding the horse, the man didn't discern they were heading to the king's palace...he didn't really find Ethan's son for the rewards.

Not until they arrived in front of the king's palace that the man realized where they'd been heading to. After coming down from the horse, the man uttered to Ethan,

"Why didn't you tell me it was the king's palace we were heading to?".

"I wanted it to be a little surprise to you". Ethan responded.

"Why are we here?". The man inquired once again.

"We are here to get the rewards you deserve. Part of the reason why I came here is to tell the king you were the one that discovered where my son was so you'll get the promised rewards, then I'll add mine to..."

The man didn't even let Ethan complete the utterance before voicing out,

"And you know I didn't do those things for the rewards. I did them 'cause I wanted your son to be back with his family. I did them 'cause I know you don't deserve what was happening to you, something like that shouldn't be happening to you. I respect you".

"Yeah, that's nice, and that's what marvels me about you, and that's why I think you should get the rewards and even more. Think of it, it could change your life for the better".

The man contemplated for some seconds before uttering once again,

"Yeah, I think I should get the rewards".

"Absolutely". Ethan backed him up immediately.

..Then the both of them began walking toward the palace.

Currently, the king was watching both men as they sat on one of the long chairs in the palace...that's Ethan and the man. The moment the both of them had balanced completely, the king was then glancing at Ethan to know the reason for this visit.

Anything new? Any news regarding Aiden? And Ethan didn't waste time dropping the news to the king,

"Aiden has been found".

From the way the king reacted the moment he got the news, it was evident that he was surprised...it was also evident in his facial expression. And these were the words that flowed out of his mouth at that moment,

"How was he found? Where? When?".

And Ethan began explaining everything to the king, it was a bit of a long explanation, but he explained it all to the king. Then he gave credit to the man sitting beside him that helped him find Aiden.

"He was the one that told us where Aiden was before I gathered some warriors and began heading to the place".

..The man got the rewards, expensive gold, and lots of copper coins.

What the man did amuse the king. After discovering where Aiden was, he went straight to Ethan to report it, not to him? That shows he wasn't really interested in the rewards. But these were the kind of people that deserve rewards like this.

He deserved more honestly, and Ethan was gonna add more to the rewards he's already gotten from the king. The man was just so happy, with these rewards, his life was gonna change for the better...he wouldn't be poor anymore.

Ethan told the man to come meet him at his house to collect the rewards he had for him, and the man just nodded his head. Then he departed from the palace as Ethan remained there...he and the king still had some things to talk about.

"I'm just so happy that your son has been found". The king said to Ethan.

"Yes, your majesty, I'm also happy as well. But your majesty, I can see he needs protection, my family also needs protection 'cause their lives are in danger, we don't know the person behind Aiden's capture up till now, all I know is that the person despises me,

Aiden hasn't resumed school yet, but once he resumes school, I'll need you to be providing two knights that would be escorting him back from school anytime I don't go to pick him up. I do ride him to school everyday as for now, I do pick him up from school sometimes,

But according to him, he wants to be coming home from school with his friends sometimes, he doesn't want me to be coming to pick him up everyday. I don't want to stop that now due to what happened to him recently, but please, I'll need knights to be escorting him home anytime I don't go to pick him up,

And that would also be the same case for my family, I'll need knights to escort them whenever they are going somewhere, it's too dangerous for my family right now. But none of the knights would be living with us though". Ethan voiced out.

The king nodded his head then said, "I'll do all these for you Ethan, you deserve them, you're one of the average-ranked chiefs in this kingdom. Before you even told me, I've decided on it".

..A bit of smile appeared on Ethan's face as he nodded his head, then the king uttered once again.

"And remember what I told you, I'll try my best to find out the person behind this if it's among the officials. Well, I am not going back on my words, I really plan on doing it. I am just so happy your son has been found, now would be the perfect time to do it,

Doing it when your son hasn't been found would be a bad idea. But now that he has been found, perfect time to implement it. We'd most likely find out who's behind the capture of your son if the person is among the officials".

Ethan did nothing more than nod his head again...but his heart was glad.