Shea’s POV

“I know it is not your fault”

The tears were trailing down my face, the queen’s soft hand was patting my head in an attempt to calm me down. But it wasn’t what I needed right now, it wasn’t what I wanted right now…

The princess had been kidnapped, and I had watched it happen. After promising her I would protect her I find myself here, powerless, crying in front of the one who should be crying.

“Ori is a strong girl, I am sure she will come out unscathed”

Her hand ran through my hair, I hoped her words were true, Oriel certainly showed a lot of attitude and mental strength, but who knows what that wretched witch was planning to do with her!

I couldn’t get over my own weakness, I had to do something, I couldn’t just stand here and wait. The search party was being made, but I would go out first.

Finding someone valiant enough to go against a witch that dared to kidnap the princess in the middle of the day was going to take long, but I couldn’t wait.

I had made up my mind, I was going to rescue her myself!

Ellen’s POV

I paced back and forth in my tiny room in the castle. A lot had happened all of a sudden, the peace was thrown out of the window. They weren’t talking about blaming someone but I knew if they ever searched for someone to blame it would be me, she was kidnapped during an hour in which she was supposed to be in class with me.

I was taken by a wave of anxiety, not because the blame might fall on me, but because the blame might fall on Shea too, she was so sweet and lovable, she didn’t deserve to be caught on something like this.

The sun had already set while I was in my room thinking about every possibility, Louise had come to see me and tell me the news a while ago, it seems such matters would be left for tomorrow, the only ones that are still working are the search party they probably assembled today.

I wanted to see Shea but I wouldn’t know where to find her since the princess wasn’t there. It was best to go to bed for now.

My mind was still racing but I had to at least try to get some sleep. Hopefully, I would wake up tomorrow and it would all have been a bad dream…

In the end, I couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard I tried, my mind was working nonstop on the various possibilities that this situation had brought forth. I took a lamp with me while walking the ghostly quiet halls of the castle, there was no one awake so late in the night, a few guards here and there, but you could walk for a while before seeing someone else, was it normal for it to be this baren? If it was then it made me doubt the security of the royal family…

I saw someone walking fast coming in my direction, they didn’t seem to have noticed me, I felt the sudden urge to hide behind one of the statues that were made in commemoration of some random knight's achievements.

I almost instantly regretted my decision since it would probably make me seem suspicious, but I still held my breath and clenched my fist, and like a kid playing hide and seek, I closed my eyes as if it would make it harder for them to notice me.

The quick steps quickly went by me, I opened my eyes and sighed in relief before I could realize those steps had stopped not far from me.

Cold sweat ran down my back as those steps started to approach me, and a hooded figure appeared. I was screwed, no one would walk around the palace like that and have good intentions.

In my head, I screamed as it was getting closer to me. I was too young to die, there was still so much I wanted to do, all I could think about was seeing Shea again and comforting her.

She must be having a hard time right now… Probably crying over her powerlessness, and feeling guilty for letting the princess be kidnapped.

The hooded figure was now only a few steps from me, I let my lamp slip from my sweaty hand as I fell to my knees, I could only hope it was quick…

“What happened Elly? you look like you've seen a ghost!”

A cheerful voice came from the figure, and their hands clasped mine, I reacted without thinking and slapped the hands away.

“Don’t touch me you fi-”

Wait a second, Elly? That means the hooded figure is…

“She- Shea?”

“You’re shaking like crazy, did you have a nightmare?”

My strength came back as if nothing had happened, I jumped in her arms, normally I acted all calm and collected when I was near her, but I was shaken by what had just happened.

I hugged her tight as tears ran down my face.

“I thought it was someone who would do something bad to me”

She hugged me back and patted my back with one of her hands.

“Why would think that? No one is gonna hurt you Elly~”

Elly was the nickname she called me when we were alone, at first I acted like I didn’t like it, but she saw through me and continued to use it. But I still reprimanded her sometimes.

I reluctantly let go of her, picking up my lamp and dusting off my dress I got up. I didn’t want her to see me in that pitiful state, as I cleared my throat and was about to talk, I noticed that her face beneath the hood looked almost sad while she looked at her hands. I almost couldn’t contain the urge to pat her.

But this was no time to be thinking about that.

“It is because you are wearing that hood and walking all suspiciously”

She sprang back as if she had just remembered what she was doing. She took a deep breath and put her hands behind her back, she took a step closer to me and looked at me with puppy eyes.

“I decided to rescue the princess myself, so I stole some knight equipment and was just about to go out…”

“but…”

I looked at her skeptically.

“I need your help on knowing where to start looking~”

She was trying hard to make me overlook the fact that she was trying to escape in the middle of the night to go “rescue the princess”… I probably won’t get a lot of sleep tonight.