Flying Arrow.

Without another guiding her, Raziah easily got lost... Again. The last time she was outside a palace, Uariel had been with her and luckily, she had found her back to them again. But this time...

Ugh, why was she always getting lost? Her husband wasn't anywhere close by, and the only method she could think of was to ask around, but she had her doubt about the town she was in.

His Majesty was right. She should have told him that she would be going out of the palace, but instead, she had ended up causing him the trouble of finding her and after he did, she spat out on him and walked away. She wasn't a very good wife, and she was trying to be but that man was just... Something else.

He was capable of easily distorting her comfort zone, changing her tides like it was a normal or random activity for him...and that scares her.

She looked around again and sighted an old woman walking down the road. She was with a child skittering about in front of her, but behind them were three huge men who didn't look welcoming at all. Quickly, she found a place to hide behind a huge tree.

Peeking to see if they had left, she didn't notice a figure slowly approaching her from behind till the person was close enough to tap her shoulders. Whirling around in alertness, Raziah had already pulled out the knife and set it directly under the person's throat.

Her alertness died off the next second when she saw Maria standing there, apprehended with her big brown eyes frightened, "My princess!" She exclaimed.

"Maria!" Raziah uttered a breathy sigh, pulling the knife away from the maid's neck. Maria had been putting on a dark cloak, then she pulled off the hoodie.

"Did you get lost again?" Maria quipped in question

Raziah almost rolled her eyes. When she was young, she was always getting lost even around the palace which explains why Maria was staring at her with amusement.

"Where is Prince Leander? I knew I couldn't trust you with him that was why I also left the palace. I think I saw his Majesty of Erandell a few minutes ago. Did he also come out to find you?" She asked, already pulling off the cloak, "Wear this first. But don't wear the hoodie,"

Raziah followed the maid's silent instructions as she helped her out on the cloak, "Why can't I wear the hoodie?"

"You'll pull lesser attention," she responded sharply, "Where is Prince Leander? Did he ditch you?"

"I have no idea. He looked kind of unwell, and then he was gone,"

Maria immediately noticed the slight change in Raziah's eyes, and the way her fingers fiddled softly with that particular wristband she was supposed to wear all the time, "Something happened right? My Princess?" Asked Maria, staring directly into her eyes.

"I don't... " Unknowingly, Raziah bit her lips and turned around again, "I thought someone was standing behind me, there was something..." Her voice died off when her gaze settled on the rigid and enigmatic face of her husband standing right there, a little far away from them. Even from where he stood with his olive hair dancing with the wind, he looked utterly... terrifyingly calm.

"Princess?" Maria called behind her.

"Take me back to the palace, Hm?"

With Maria beside her, they both strode back as fast as they could. The maid kept glancing back at her Princess, and the question was right there stumbling inside her mouth but she felt it was best to wait till Raziah had calmed down a little. They made their way towards the palace, and just a small distance away was where the games were being held.

The place was already filled and was buzzing with noise from every direction. So many people had come to watch, and both women decided to stand by the sidelines at the top of the tiered structure that allowed everyone to watch. They could see everything happening, but it seems like the sport was already over as they were already announcing the names of the winners.

Gwenore hadn't disappointed and made it to the next round of tomorrow. They were down to three princesses and four princes who had made it. The princess stood there with a bow, a very hard look on her hard, she didn't look too happy to be amongst those who had won. Flickering her gaze to the side, Raziah noticed how Gwenore's eyes brightened up like the vast sun.

Raziah curiously followed the princess's eyes to see that her husband had arrived and was taking his seat beside the King of Sabaean. The King said something to Aragon and laughed, holding his stomach while Aragon's lips didn't even twitch.

"Do you think... " Raziah paused abruptly. No, she wasn't gonna ask such an absurd question.

Gentle, yet quick motioned taps on Raziah's arm pulled her attention back to Maria, who looked Frozen in a bad way as she was pointed directly opposite them around the round tier, where another person stood. Actually, the man was on his knees, wearing a dark cloak just like Raziah, and had a bow and arrow targeted directly at Gwenore.

"W... What is he doing?" Maria stuttered softly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Raziah quickly pulled out the kitchen knife again. If he had been amongst the crowd, then someone would have seen him so he had chosen the highest tier because there was hardly anyone around and people's attention was mostly on what was happening below. His cloak would most definitely shield his face, and he would take advantage of the uproar as soon as he shoots her and escape.

The only detour in his plan was that Raziah happened to be there, and she was going to stop him.

As soon as she pulled the Knife out, Her left hand reached out and nudged Maria out of the way so as to give her more space as she spun around with her quick feet, gaining momentum with her upper body before returning to face the shooter just as he released the flying arrow. With a steep amount of immeasurable concentration, her cloak dancing around behind her, she raised her arm with the tip of the knife glistening in the sun, and released it straight for the flying arrow.

The second she let go, her left eye caught something else.

Something she didn't notice. Not her, and not Maria.

Another flying arrow had just been released, and this one wasn't aimed at Princess Gwenore.

Shooting straight towards them, a memory ticked Raziah's brain. It was her mother, the same mother she never listened to.

The strongest woman Raziah has ever known, who wouldn't hesitate for a second to take several arrows for even someone she doesn't know. If her accession was right, then the arrow would barely miss her face... But there was someone beside her.

Tired of thinking, Raziah's sharp intake of breath was met with a spontaneous flexion of her hand as she focused direly, reaching out to catch the arrow that was passing right before her very eyes. She thrust out her arm, the tip of it grazing deeply through her palm, carrying her blood with it while her arm quickly gripped at the very edge right before the arrow could completely make a breakthrough.

She had caught it - barely, but it was too late.

The gasp that escaped Maria's lips had Raziah trembling as she saw that the arrow had pierced through Maria's shoulders, and the maid stumbled back.

"Maria!!" Raziah cried in horror, catching the maid right before she fell.

Meanwhile, Gwenore was shocked to witness, in a flash, the clanging sound of an arrow and knife in mid-air right before her eyes, then they landed both in front of her. The loud cry of Raziah had been muffled and swallowed by the loud crowd, but some ferocious eyes caught a woman in a cloak, carrying another and racing out of the event as fast as she could.

Searching through the crowd, Gwenore also saw some suspicious cloaked men running out of the event and deployed guards to go after them. Locking eyes with her father, she alerted him that something must have happened, and with Aragon right next to King Eleazar, he had also gotten the message.

His dark Hawk eyes quickly moved to where Raziah and the maid had been standing but he couldn't find them there. With swift and easy movements like the wind itself, he was already past the crowd and standing at the highest tier, looking around to see if he would find any of them.

Raziah's alluring spicy scent Still lingered strongly in the air, and he was just about to follow it when he sighted something red on the floor. Drops of it.

Something... Familiar.

Blood. Blood... that was mixed with his wife's scent.