4 "Red Riding Hood To The Rescue!"

The Princess was surprised to hear Demetri yell:

"Miranda! You're the Red Hooded Night Raider!?"

She passed him a mischievous smile, then stared at the pretty girl next to her brother.

Miranda said: "Of course, while you take princesses on dates, I free damsels in distress from their families and together we perform all sorts of mischief but occasionally if we stumble upon helpless beings like you, we come to your rescue!"

Demetri was impressed but sarcastically banged his head against a wall while the princess shook hands with Miranda, then asked:

"We", you have an army of female warriors?"

She nodded then said: "Miguel and Samuel also help us."

Demetri looked shocked: " What! my friends betrayed me!"

Miranda took out a handful of precious jewels and said: "Don't worry, I bribed them."

Demetri shouted angrily: "You steal?"

Miranda nodded slyly: "Only from the rich who don't wear the same jewels twice, and don't look at me like that, you steal princesses too!"

Finally, Miranda got back to business.

"So you need to go back home, Maribelle!"

The princess nodded quietly. So Miranda explained:

"Demetri we will leave the poor unconscious princess at the castle gates, then my warriors will fight them off while we both run back home."

But Demetri questioned: "But what if your warriors get captured for investigation, then what? No matter how strong they are, if their families are contacted, our crimes and your true identity will be revealed. And what if Maribelle gets interrogative, she"ll probably be forced to reveal the truth, about her adventure tonight, then we"ll be sent to jail and Maribelle will be held captive in her tower forever."

Miranda thought hard then replied: "Knockout gas and Amnesia darts! My warriors never get captured if we have hidden snipers shooting darts. And as for the princess, she"ll be unconscious and when she wakes up she'll speak nothing but ridicule because of the drug that her captives will have used on her."

Seeing Maribelle's worried expression Demetri coaxed her: "Don't worry, you won't feel sick and the effect will wear off within a day or two."

Maribelle replied: "That's not what I'm terrified about, I am scared that I might forget you and this night."

Miranda cooed: "Oh, you don't, wanna forget your adorable hero, well if that's the case the take this diary and write your adventures in it so that when you wake up from your sleep, you can read this and wait for Demetri till your next birthday."

And with that Miranda handed over a pink-colored diary with a lock to the Princess. She also presented Maribelle with a necklace attached to a key, to open the lock with and congratulated her: "Happy Birthday!"

Maribelle gave her a squeeze and Miranda returned her embrace warmly. Maribelle instantly wore the necklace around her neck for safekeeping.

Miranda has already sent a message through her silver owl to Samuel and Miguel for the knockout equipment and their snipper team.

Demetri curiously questioned: "How long have you been doing this?"

Miranda replied: "Ever since I met Amelia at the bar."

Demetri panicked: "Yes, but only for business, that place is also our hideout as Amelia is the real mastermind behind this organization."

Demetri asked:" And how old is this Amelia?"

Miranda reluctantly replied: "About seventeen years, she's extremely strong and has connections from an actual spy organization. She ran away from her rich family as well, wanting to explore the world too. I am going to follow in her footsteps too!"

By the time Miranda's conversation with Demetri ended, her owl arrived with the message from Samuel and Miguel saying:

"Ha! Miranda we are ten steps ahead of you, our snipers are already on the rooftops of the area surrounding the castle, shoot the emergency flare in the sky when your warriors attack the guards."

Miranda scoffed: "Proud idiots!"

Then she ordered her warriors to raid the palace and leave the unconscious Princess at the castle gates.

Maribelle looked at Demetri with teary eyes and then said:

"I have written everything in my diary but will we meet again?"

For the first time in his life, Demetri was at a loss for words so he embraced the princess then gave her a reassuring smile. His smile made Maribelle relax a bit, then Miranda offered the princess a glass of juice, and instantly after drinking it, the little princess lost her consciousness.

Demetri was ordered to leave the area with his sister as the raid had begun after Miranda had shot the flare high in the sky.

The raiders steadily and swiftly took down the guards at the gates, and with the assistance of Samuel and Miguel, the girls were able to drop the Imperial Princess in the palace's garden.

Then, Samuel reported to Miranda's raiders to escape the castle as reinforcements for the guards were arriving almost instantly. The warriors had escaped, except for five who had been cornered by the guards, so Miguel shot a smoke bomb, creating a smokescreen for the remaining raiders to flee, and so they did flee.

They all met at the rendezvous point with Miguel and Samuel meanwhile Miranda and Demetri had reached their house.

Upon seeing her cherished children, the wife of the Captain exclaimed:

"Where have you been?"

Miranda replied:

"Mother you worry too much, I just went to fetch Demerti as his training session with the general had been finished!"

Their mother said: "Come have dinner, today I prepared a special feast for as your father is home finally."

Hearing this made both Miranda and Demetri's hearts stopped and the same threat rang in their heads.

"Damn! If father is here, then our lies will have been revealed as father never asked his generals to train Demetri!"

Both of them were in serious trouble!