※ Chapter 25 ※

Meihua's POV »☆●

"Pssst..gongzhu! Are you awake?" Rosy whispers in her softest voice, tapping gently on my shoulder from the back. If I was asleep, I surely wouldn't have heard her.

"Hmm," I turn around to face her with wide-open eyes. Even if I weren't fighting a trained killer in the morning, I doubt I'd get any sleep on this rock-hard pillow. The new pillows are so uncomfortable.

"Someone wants to see you," Rosy says.

I sit up straight, frowning, "At this hour?"

"I think you'd wanna see her too," Rosy gives me an assuring gaze. Am I supposed to know who this is?

Rosy stands up, walking toward our slightly open bedroom door. She looks through the door and smiles, "Please, come in."

Rosy pulls open the door to reveal..

Lady Hera?

"Princess..." she smiles at me like she's about to tear up. And the very sight of her hits me with a wave of memories. My home, our backyard where she used to train me, my excitement every time I heard about her arrival. And I don't know if it's because I'm homesick but I'm feeling more connected to her than I used to. I run to her and she pulls me in her embrace. Then she pulls away and bows in royal manner like she used to before starting my training. I bow back and gesture her to take a seat.

"I'll leave you two to reconnect," Rosy giggles and walks out of the door.

"Wait," I hold her hands, "That won't be necessary."

She shakes her head, "You two met after long. And don't worry, I'm going to the tent outside. Everyone's there, gege too."

"Why?" I frown.

"Mercenaries made tents outside our house as they can't make it in time here for tomorrow if they left for Jinan. It's a confidential matter so we couldn't get too many royal associates involved, so we're personally guarding them, you know, to make sure they don't do anything crazy," Rosy shrugs, "Now please, give time to your mentor!"

Waving bye, she leaves the room and I turn back around to see Lady Hera.

"The most pleasant surprise I had in a long time," I smile at her as I sit next to her.

"When I heard about it, I.." she meets my eyes, "I had to see you."

"You're four months late for that speech," I cross my arms, "But you came right when I needed you the most so I'll let that slide."

She shakes her head, "Don't let it slide. What happened to the King, your father.." she looks away as her eyes get teary, "..i-it was my fault. I should've been there that day. I failed Wuluan, I failed him..."

I put a comforting hand on her shoulder as she begins to sob. I didn't mean to make her feel guilty. It's not her fault. If anyone failed my father, it's that greedy witch. And she got her punishment, though she deserved worse.

She clasps both of my hands together, "I don't wanna see you die too. At least I can prevent that. At least I can save his daughter."

I frown, "What are you saying?"

Her bottom lips tremble as she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, as if to prepare herself for something. She stands up, "I don't care if they find out and string me up. I've come to free you. The guards on watch are loyal to me. I've sent them off. Get out of here and don't look back."

I don't know if I should be happy but I'm not. My jaw clenches as a hot wave of anger surges through my whole body reaching my head, "You really think I'm gonna runaway?"

She notices my anger; she sits down next to me and holds my hand to soothe me. But what she says next fuels my anger even more, "You need to. You can't beat him, he's too strong. Go now, and live," her eyes soften.

"I'm not afraid of D.O.," I comment.

"Haven't you been listening? Your life will be in his hands tomorrow. That WANTED poster said alive or dead," she growls.

Her shoulders fall and her eyes narrow, "He'll cut your head off and collect the bounty. Hells, he'll probably enjoy it."

I sigh, "Lady Hera, I'm battling for something bigger than this duel. I aim to lead an army against Prince Karry. If I run from some mercenary, who'll follow me?"

She looks conflicted. I announce loud and clear, "I'm not running."

She sighs, "There's no convincing you, is there?"

I shake my head. She smiles weakly, "You remind me of him.."

"Who?" I ask.

"Your father," she answers.

"That's twice now you've spoken of him like you were close friends," I mutter.

She smiles, "He was a smart strategist yet the kindest person I knew. Did he ever tell you the secret of the battle of Red Mountains? The uprising against him?"

"No?" I frown. I never heard of this battle, or any uprising. And I really thought he had no secrets from me!

"I.." her eyes widen, "Well..maybe it's not my place to tell, and it's getting late.." she mumbles.

I hold her hands, "I insist. Perhaps tell this daughter a bedtime story?"

She laughs, "Well..your mother, Queen Irene, was a foreigner who comes from the highlands of the Huoyan mountains, that part you know. What you might not know is that some people weren't happy about it. They insisted she wasn't fit to be Queen, calling her names as tribal witch. They demanded your father to dethrone her but he didn't, resulting in an uprising against him, rallying fighting forces against him. When he was asked permission by his soldiers to ride out, he said no."

I smile, "Of course, they wanted a war and father wasn't gonna give it to them."

Her eyes brighten up, "That's exactly what he told me! He had a plan. He knew angry armies overcommit. So with their entire army in our borders, their home was completely undefended. Once we had their land, they were easy to break."

"How did you raid their homeland?" I ask.

She giggles, "That's where the interesting part comes. Your father commanded to bring their children, as guests of course. The army lost morale quickly although we didn't harm the children."

She looks at me affectionately, "Your father handled it quietly. He parcelled out the obtained land to the soldiers who served him most loyally. He forgave the rebels; most people didn't even know there was a rebellion."

I nod, tapping my chin, "I know why he kept it secret. He didn't wanna fuel the rebellion. He always told me rebellion incites further rebellion. If we made martyrs of them, there'd only be more rebels."

"Truly, he was a force to be reckoned with," she exclaims.

"That he was. And I'm so glad I could reconnect with you before my first big battle," I say.

"Tomorrow, against D.O..." she looks in my eyes, "I've seen him fight dozens of duels. I know how he kills. Your greatest advantage will be that he's overconfident. He thinks you'll be an easy kill. He won't be as cautious against you as he'd be against Sehun. Use that against him. Let him think he's won and he'll forget to keep his guards up."

"So let him go as close to killing me as I can without actually letting him kill me?" I ask.

She narrows her eyes, "Unfortunately.. yes."

Great. And here I thought I'll get some sleep.

I sigh, "Anything else?"

"He attacked earlier today, didn't he?" she moves closer to me, "You tell me, have you noticed anything particular in the way D.O. fights?"

I nod, "He fights dirty. He knocked Se down when he was distracted."

"Very good," she gives me one of those proud nods she used to give me whenever I caught her battle techniques fast, "Fighting him won't be as technical and mannered as I taught you for royal battle. Not only will he fight dirty, but he'll fight to kill. So you shall expect anything and everything coming your way. Forget about rules."

She steps up, "I'm getting late. Good luck for tomorrow."

I give her a weak smile and nod, "Sounds like I'll need it."

•

Yifan's POV »☆●

"Brother, it's not our territory!" Tao screams from behind, following me like a shadow as I run through the woods towards the pack.

"I know," I mutter and continue my pace. I'm looking for something and it doesn't matter who the fuck owns the territory. Nothing stops me from finding what I look for.

"If you know then why are we here?" he matches my speed.

I stop and sigh, "To search for her..."

I continue running towards the lakeshore. That's where I felt her presence in my dreams.

"I don't understand your obsession with the lost princess. According to Chanyeol, even King Wang doesn't care that much," Tao shrugs.

"I'm not obsessed. I'm curious. I helped her escape by myself. She can't fucking vanish in air," I assert, "This is the only place left to search for her so it's the only option left."

Well, there's another option. She could die but I don't wanna think that, not until I've confirmed I searched everywhere. Besides, Chanyeol said Prince Karry's men are still looking for her. If they didn't find her, who the fuck is gonna kill her and why?

"How exactly were you planning to find her? You don't even know what she looks like!" he raises an inquisitive eyebrow. Little does he know, I don't need to see her face to recognize her. Those eyes are enough. I'd recognize them from miles away.

"I knew you're gonna follow me," I roll my eyes and speed up more. I stop near the lakeshore, scanning the area for any living person.

"I don't see anyone," Tao shrugs.

"Can you shut up for one fucking second? Let me concentrate," I snarl, making him take a step back.

I increase my senses and focus but nothing was working. There's actually nobody here. I rack my fingers in my hair, "How the fuck is this possible? I saw her here."

Tao cautiously takes a step towards me, "When?"

"Last night in my dream," I try to use my special senses again, hoping for something that tells me I'm not wrong and she's here.

Weighted silent hangs in the air. Tao breaks the silence with a deep sigh, "Damn brother, we're breaking into pack territory because of something you saw in your dream."

I glare at him. The biggest thing that doesn't add up is why'd she even be in wolf territory? That's fucking dangerous for a human.

He holds his hands up in the air in submission, "Look, all I'm tryna say is we can search her in other ways-"

"Or I could break into Mark's house," I blurt out before he can finish. I had this in my mind before. If she's here willingly then they should know or the dream could be a signal that she's in danger.

Tao shakes his head, "Don't forget the treaty."

"That I created. If I can put it together, then I can fucking dissolve it too," I growl.

"You can. And if the situation calls for it, you should. But right now, you're not thinking straight. So please, for now, let's head back before they see us here," Tao requests.

I know Tao better than anyone. I know he thinks I've gone insane and she's not here. But I've a strong feeling she's here. But is she here from free will? That's a question that requires serious thought.

"Fine," I take a deep breath, "I want informations on the pack's internal matters. Dig out any possible dirt, any family secret."

•

Meihua's POV »☆●

After Lady Hera leaves the room, I head outside. I'm not sleepy so I'll join them.

As I walk downstairs, I can't help but laugh mentally. It could be last peaceful night of sleep and instead of cuddling up on my bed safely, I'm eager to stay closer to the danger.

As soon as I step outside, a slight breeze picks up for a moment, and a shiver runs through my whole body. But it's not only because of the wind. I feel like there's someone nearby, like someone just passed over me with the gust of chill wind. I look around skeptically, my senses have suddenly heightened. My heart is pounding loud against my chest, not particularly because I'm scared but I'm curious of why I'm feeling this way.

As I take a few more steps, I hear the leaves in the trees brushing against each other and notice a quiet crackling sound. I can see a small light shining in the distant. I realize I've reached near the tents where everyone is. My heartbeat slows down gradually and I let out the breath that I was holding. I can smell the smoke and it hurts my throat, but it didn't bother me too much because that strange sensation is gone.

I see Luhan standing outside one of the tents and a circle of people sitting by the fire next to him. As soon as I approach them, Amyra's eyes fall on me. She raises an eyebrow skeptically, "Speak of the devil."

Following her, everyone's attention draws to me. Linyi gives her a warning gaze and shakes his head, to which she just rolls her eyes. Amyra and Linyi are soulmates and getting married soon. Amyra has issues with me since day one, I wonder why?

"Angel?" Se gets up and approaches me, Rosy following after him.

"I didn't think you'd actually come," Rosy says.

I shrug, "Wasn't feeling sleepy so I thought there's no reason I should sit alone in the room."

"I can see plenty of reasons. For one, that's safe," Luhan shrugs from the front of the tent, his eyes scanning the mercenary tents back and forth.

"Stop being such a buzzkill. They're not gonna blast our homes," a girl stands up from the circle and approaches me, bowing to me, "It's an honour to finally see your Royal Highness in person. I'm Aria, I used to be a soldier in your Kingdom."

Se introduces me to her and the rest of the team, though he clearly hated to. He also reminded me multiple times how incredibly embarrassing each of them are.

"I-I'm honored to see your Royal Highness. We were just talking about you.." a man mumbles in a shaky voice, his feet shaking uncontrollably. Se introduced him as Chen, another former soldier of Wuluan.

I smile, "Really? Enlighten me."

Amyra shoots an angry gaze at him and he trembles in fear. Then immediately runs away from the spot. While rushing out, he stumbles into a girl.

"Watch where you go, you fucking idiot!" Chaen growls.

"Are people already so drunk here that they can't walk straight? Damn, are we camping or partying?" Kai chuckles.

Seeing this pair boils my blood as flashbacks play in my brain. Them cheering when D.O. dragged me to the center of the crowd, their laughter when D.O. suddenly attacked Se, and I can't help but wonder how can people be this heinous...

Se squeezes my hands, "I know you hate them but don't let it show, at least not now," he whispers low so that they don't hear.

I nod and drop my voice, "You're right. This is a chance to impress them. If I win, I'll need their support to-"

Chaen snaps her fingers, frowning at us, "Hey! Something on your mind? What are you two whispering looking directly at us?"

"Er.." I meet Se's eyes then look back at her, "Just that you and your companion seem mismatched."

"Oh?" Chaen arches an eyebrow.

"Yes, one of you seems to have gotten the lion's share of the armor," I scan Chaen from top to bottom. She's got full armor but Kai only got woven leather for protection.

Kai grins, "Ha. Pretty Girl Chaen is just like you people. Castle-born, cocky, prim with fancy armor and shiny swords. Between you and me, she spends hours styling that hair."

"At least I take the time to wash myself regularly. Some of us hold ourselves to higher standards," Chaen crosses her arms.

"Were you ever a soldier?" I ask Chaen.

She shakes her head, "Never. I'm a mercenary, through and through. Everything on my back, I paid myself. But I was born in Xiuluan."

"I wanna visit Xiuluan. I heard about their hot meals and delicious drinks," Aria squeals.

"Speaking of which, we've been here for too long," Rosy stretches her arms, breathing in deeply, "I need a drink. Who's in?"

"You can't seriously wanna drink now when we have D.O.'s men here," Luhan groans in disgust.

"Ain't like they're gonna murder us. Why not take a break? You've earned it," Aria pushes Luhan then turns to Se, "Your regency, your best friend will do whatever you say! Let's have a drink and play some knife games with the mercenaries."

Se looks at me with a questioning gaze. I can imagine his voice in my head asking, are you okay with that? I smile at him, nodding.

I'm not a fan of drinks, but this is my chance to get to know them, to figure out what mercenaries are willing to fight for, well, other than gold. If I'm to recruit an army to fight against King Wang, the biggest contribution could be mercenaries because they're the biggest army I know. But I need to I need to win first. I also need to persuade them. A little drink ought to do the trick.

"We could all use a break. Tomorrow's a big day. I deserve refreshment," I smile suggestively.

Chaen squeals, "You hear that? I like the way this girl thinks."

To Be Continued »☆●