Like a Princess

When was the last time that Cassandra had run away from some monsters? She couldn't say. In fact, she couldn't remember anything about running away. Since she had turned into a warrior at the age of sixteen, Cassandra had never run away from any kind of demon or monster.

However, this time, it was different.

Just the thought of running away from wolves made her chuckle. But what had happened an hour ago was the least of her concerns right now. She took in a huge breath before she looked at the man still bound by the black ropes. "Who are you?" By now, she had already removed the rope that had been gagging his mouth, preventing him from talking.

The man peeled his gaze away from the food in her hand, before staring at her. "Do you always take men without even knowing their names… Lady Cassandra?" The mockery in the man's voice acted like a wake-up call.

She didn't know what she was doing.

When she had seen the man from her vision, she had suddenly become so excited that she wasn't even thinking straight! Instead of helping her brother, she had actually grabbed this man and carried him into this cave. The worst part was the fact that she had actually seen him killing her in the future.

Not once.

Not twice.

But four different ways in four different circumstances.

Why was she excited when she saw the man who was supposed to kill her? She didn't know what had gotten into her when she carried him in her arms.

Yes, she carried him like a princess.

Just the thought of it made her laugh inwardly. What would the womenfolk in Zealandia say if they came to know that she had actually carried a six-foot tall man?

She handed him the beef jerky that she was holding.. It would have been good to have some light around them but she had been avoiding using fire to avoid attracting those monsters. She thought about her phone, the one that she had left with Steve.

While technology also worked in Zealandia, they couldn't use it in the areas where the energy of the dark forces was strong. For instance, electricity didn't work in the areas near the gates or in this forest, or indeed, most forests in Zealandia. It was as if there was a mysterious force that was hindering all types of technology and rendering them useless in this place. And by useless, she meant that any sort of device would literally die and become useless once it came near the areas with the dark energy.

The areas surrounding this forest like the training grounds had electricity but phone signals were non-existent and the moment she carried her phone inside the forest, it would just die. Carrying a phone would be nothing but an inconvenience in this place.

"How did you know my name?"

"Brown hair, blue eyes. Just like Carmichael's. Only a fool wouldn't know who you are."

"You are the Prince?" Prince Hunter Corvus, the prince that Carmichael would accompany back to the empire.

"Ah, did you know that kidnapping a prince is a crime worthy of death?"

She snorted. Even without the light, she could see the man's smirk on his bruised face. Just like most people that could use magic, her senses had been enhanced by magic, enabling her to see at least sixty percent better in the dark.

She looked at the entrance of the cave. Just as the wolves had started chasing everyone, the rain had started. Without the intervention of mother nature, it would have been very hard for them to get rid of the wolves who could easily smell them.

She inhaled and smelled the rain-soaked ground just outside of the cave. "We can't leave. It's pouring," she muttered in a low voice.

She turned her attention to the man as she wondered why she had seen him killing her in one of her visions. Was it because she had kidnapped him? But… she wouldn't have kidnapped him in the first place if she hadn't seen that vision.

"Are you planning to take me back to Lord La Roche's mansion?"

That was something she couldn't answer. Until now, she hadn't really understood why she had grabbed him. "Probably."

"Oh?" She looked at the meat that she had put on his leg. "How am I supposed to eat that?"

"I don't know. Maybe use your mouth?"

He only responded with a soft chuckle. "Interesting, Lady Cassandra… Very Interesting."

Seeing how he stared at her as if he was trying to scrutinize her, Cassandra calmly took her gaze back to the entrance of the cave.

"I don't remember meeting you before," she heard him say. "And yet, I can feel this… deep hatred towards me," he mumbled. "Interesting."

If he could see his future killer, he would surely act the same way, Cassandra thought. She didn't answer him.

"Are you planning to kill me?" he asked. "Can you at least… feed me that meat before killing me? Starving to death is not a very good way to die."

Once again, she stared at the beef and finally moved towards him. "Open your mouth."

Without any hesitation, he followed her instructions. "Now… Can you at least untie me? If you haven't heard, I can no longer use magic. I cannot fight against you."

"Why would I untie you?" she fired back, frowning. "You claim that you are the Prince but I haven't seen you before. What if you are a criminal that my brother was escorting back to the kingdom?"

Finally, she noticed a flash of irritation in the man's eyes. "You—Did you just call me a criminal?"

She didn't have any other choice. This was the only excuse that she could think of to escape the responsibility of her careless action. She gave him a black stare. "Are you deaf?"

"You— "Disbelief flashed in the man's eyes.

"Listen… whoever you are. I am only doing this because I wanted to help my brother." She was a writer, after all.! She could easily weave stories to justify actions. "He is weak. He could fight wolves but… he would never be able to fight a powerful criminal."

She smirked as she slowly constructed the alibi in her head. Seeing the man's face turn darker, she snorted and thought about what she had seen about the future.

She thought of three ways to stop her impending death. The first was to kill him now while he was very vulnerable. However, the king would surely investigate the matter and that might involve the whole La Roche Family. That idea was just bad.

The second was to get close to him, then slowly poison him. However, that idea was also not very effective as their first meeting had already been bad. Surely, he would not allow her to get close to him, would he?

The third was of course the simplest way. Get close to him and investigate the reason why he wanted her dead, then change her fate. However, getting close to him would be a problem. Ah, never mind. She could always find ways. After all, this was about her, saving herself from this man's sword.

....

Did you guess that she would kidnap him in the first meeting? :D