The Alliance Marriage Went Wrong

"What\'s wrong, Regan?" Queen Lorey asked her husband when the latter kept on staring at her without saying anything.

"You don\'t have involvement in this, right?" King Regan uttered. "It\'s not you, Lorey."

Hearing his words, the Queen\'s face immediately turned sour. "You think this is my doing?" she snapped and meeting her husband\'s gaze, she shook her head. "Why would I make a promise which I would break right away?"

His wife\'s response made the King\'s look back at himself. Then his gaze softened and he took a step towards her. "Lorey -"

He halted and fell silent when she took a step backwards. There was a hint of fluster and anxiety on his face.

"What\'s the use of attempting to mend my ways, Your Majesty? You won\'t be able to trust me anyway," Lorey Helev muttered.

Judging from her past, she knew that the King doubting her wasn\'t a miracle but... she was still hurt by it.

"That\'s not what I mean. I want to trust that you won\'t break your promise to me," Regan Helev explained and narrowed his eyes. "Things happen too sudden and with the visit from the King of Jerivia just around the corner, I easily get anxious." He took a seat on the chair and heavily sighed when he thought of Iria.

Will she be alright?

Seeing the troubled face of her husband whom she loved, the Queen grew soft again. Then she walked to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "The Crown Princess will be fine. Don\'t worry too much," she assured him.

She recalled that mysterious young man who was brave enough to threaten her for the Crown Princess\'s sake. She also heard that he was with the Crown Princess when she disappeared. If his skills matched his bravery, then he would make sure to bring back the Crown Princess alive.

* * *

"I don\'t think the assassins will be able to find us if we keep on resting here, Your Highness."

Iria and Prince Orius were inside a small cave which they found by chance. The sun was about to set and the assassins were nowhere to be seen but... it seemed like the second Prince had no intention to set out again.

"The sun will set in a matter of time and it\'s pretty cold at night. The cold weather is not good for our wounds. Besides, your injury will worsen if you move too much," Prince Orius responded. He sat with his back pressed against the walls of the cave but he never let his guard down.

Iria glanced at the wound on her leg which she bandaged by tearing up some of her clothes. It seemed like some parts of her bone were affected and that made it harder for her to move around. Besides, she knew that the second Prince was right. Bone fractures were prone to cold weather.

"Let\'s stay here and lit up a fire," Prince Orius calmly added. "It\'s getting dark and we don\'t even know where we are." Then he stood up and glanced around. "I\'ll go and collect some firewood before the sunset."

*

After Prince Orius returned to the cave with some firewood, he worked on lighting up a fire and soon, the small cave was brightened up by the fire.

Iria quietly stared at the second Prince while he was doing all the work. "I never know that you are just like your brother," she unconsciously muttered.

"Are you joking?" Orius Aventine asked and returned to his seat now that the fire was all set. "I never thought you would say that. Don\'t you always think highly of my brother?"

"Zaro is precious to me," Iria quickly said. "After my father passed away, he is the one who always look out for me." She slightly smiled and corrected, "It\'s always that way ever since we were kids."

"Then I don\'t think I\'m similar to him," Orius argued. "I don\'t know or understand kindness."

"Are you sure?" Iria asked with a doubtful face. "I wonder why you are always so different from Zaro and Iria. You always distanced yourself from everyone." She paused and asked, "What are you really like, Your Highness?"

Prince Orius remained quiet for a while before he said, "Sometimes, Commander Iria, it\'s best not to know too much. If one knows too much but failed to shut his mouth when necessary, he will be good as dead."

"Are you saying that if I know too much about you, I might be dead?" Iria asked. She was feeling bewildered too. She asked that question to know more about him but... she was left with another puzzle again.

Prince Orius glanced at her and nod. "Seems like you get what I\'m trying to say."

Iria Alewine was quite disappointed yet she didn\'t say anything and maintained her silence. For a while, she blankly stared up at the sky. Though they were inside a cave, it was small and they were sitting on the most exterior part. So, the trees and nature surrounding them were still visible to their eyes.

It was getting darker and when Iria looked at the stars, an idea crossed her mind. It was a risky one but it would be quite effective is succeeded.

"I have an idea, Your Highness," she quickly said to the Prince who was sitting opposite her with fire between them.

When she gets the second Prince\'s attention, she picked up her bow and arrow which was placed next to her. "I will set a fire to my arrowhead and released in the air. If anyone from the camp sees it, they might be able to locate us."

"What if the assassins saw it first?" Prince Orius asked.

"Then... we will just fight against them," Iria simply said. "Now that it\'s getting darker, attempting to send a signal will be a great use of darkness. Don\'t you think so?"