5 days later...

Peace returned to Diana's life once again. her belly wound was halfway to full recovery. Now she knows what to do next. She needs to reach the town 'Shan' before any other bad scenarios take place for her father.

On bigger scope. The news spread like water in a sponge. Everyone was talking about the fall of the mighty Red Castle and the revolt that happened there.

Happiness engulfed both people's kingdoms. Merchants were grateful that the road passing by the castle was safe and secure from dangers once more and an open route between the two countries was once again established. However, One particular figure heard the rumors. The royal palace stated that the news reached King Marcus's ears.

Despite his pleasure, He couldn't figure out the part of Alfred's men breaching the castle. Alfred made sure none of his men or the former prisoners say a word about what happened on that glorious day.

According to the rumors, the king only knew about the the coup inside the castle walls but never had that piece of info about the identity of the small army that Alfred brought, and the storm that he brought with 'em.

Until that certain day finally arrived...

"Hey, you are pretty good at it," Diana said surprisingly while Louis was brushing her blonde silky hair. His fingers held her yellow hair strings while slowly moving the brush over it.

"I used to brush my sister's hair a lot so brushing your hair isn't that hard" he explained happily while brushing her hair softly. Fixing and organizing her messy interwind blonde hair with his hand and the brush.

While Diana was sitting smiling, waiting for him to finish. She remembered her father. It was his job to brush her hair every while and then. It felt nice that Louis reminded her of that good memory.

"aaand Done," Louis said loudly. But before he let her off the hook. He moved her blonde hair aside and side-kissed her neck.

"Stop, that tickles!" She chuckled and laughed. She wiggled, internally begging him to stop.

He did stop but after receiving a quick cheek kiss. She smiled at him, lost in the details of his eyes. They both slowly approached each other for a pure lip kiss.

When a strange loud voice disturbed the air...

Louis halted and shifted his head to where he presumed the voice coming from "Couldn't this man shout at any time but now?" He protested.

She backed away from her prince to check that sound. "Maybe it is important we should try checking it out" she said. Louis frowned sadly. Another moment between them was ruined by a third party.

Great.

They both left their room and that man was still shouting unrecognizable phrases. He was declaring something in the street next to the house. The couple descended the stairs steadily. They saw Marigold looking through the window with her child between her arms.

"What's that all about, ma'am?" Louis asked.

"He is shouting about an urgent meeting to all the citizens of Tagia, immediately "

"Where's my uncle?"

Marigold looked at Diana. Tiredness was all over her face. The weight of the motherhood responsibilities sure was exhausting.

"I don't know he said he would buy some fruit but didn't return yet," she said. jiggling her child who was about to cry. and hushing him with her soft mother's voice.

"Should we go to that meeting?" Diana exclaimed.

"Won't you wait for Alfred to return?" Louis asked with crossed arms.

"He must have heard the declaration by now, and waiting for us at the great hall," Marigold answered.

Marigold was nervous. Most of those meetings were always about the most catastrophic events. The existential decision was legislated there and harsh precautions made to keep citizens secure were first imposed in this hall.

The three went through the door. No sun came to greet them. The sky was grey. Only wind blowing and messing with Diana's brushed hair. They walked the streets steadily. People on the right and left walk the same path. Sharing the same question.

"What is going on ?"

While entering inside the hall, they spotted Alfred on one of the chairs. He was waving for them to join him. They found seats next to him, as they shared a concerned look among each other. The same look that everyone had under that huge dome of a building.

"What is happening?" Marigold asked gently, yet her tone was full of fear.

"I don't really know, I heard the man shouting in the street so I came. But between you and me, I spotted a Royal messenger outside talking to the chief of the Town. Whatever is happening, the king is involved"

Diana nodded, she began to sweat and become more and more nervous as the time passed. Could the king knew about her uncle and what had truly happened at the Red Castle? Is the king searching for them now?

"Attention please, hear me out" The chief stepped forward pulling Diana from her worried thoughts. "There is an important news we should hear, so pay attention. The Royal messenger shall speak!" He ended his talk loudly and stepped back a few steps.

Another man stepped forward. She saw a handsome and elegant man dressed in royal clothes. Diana was always seeing a lot of them coming back and forth to and out of the palace during her year of captivity.

The man stood with a high chest. He was carrying a long rolled paper.

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He silently broke the seal around the rolled paper. As the content of the message hit his black eyes, He cleared his throat and began to speak in a loud voice:

MY DEAR CITIZENS,

"Your king is speaking, It had occurred to me that our lives would be safer and sound with that monstrous place gone, Also widely called 'The Red Castle'. Our children and merchants can wander freely once again without fear of their lives being captured.

Yet, our happiness was interrupted by grave news. This morning, Our neighbour, King Wain, had forged a mighty army that he used today to breach the Eastern borders of our lands. In other words, my Beloved people. We are at war!"

The audience gasped and was shocked. Speechless. Eyes widen everywhere. Some of them looked at each other in disbelief. Everyone expected anything but for their home facing an invasion from another country.

As for Diana, her heart sank deeper than she could have ever imagine, she knew that there would be consequences for her actions. However, a full-scale war was the last thing on her mind!

When she looked at the reaction of her partner. She found Louis strangely unshaken. She looked at him with amazement, waiting to see him affected by the same unusual news.

But by looking at his gentle Royal figure seated. While the audience was in a state of dismay, he was just sad, head down but calm. Maybe he knew it was coming?

The skittish citizens began to argue with each other loudly making talking noises. The chief calmed them down, under the pretext, that the messenger didn't finish yet.

The Unsettled people calmed down a bit to hear the royal messenger again, secretly planning for the worse to come. As the messenger continued reading:

"So for that, we shall close all the eastern borders within 2 days. After the second night today, any non-military person who would be seen near the border shall be considered a traitor and killed without interrogation or trials. I hereby announce This emergency law is in effect from tomorrow night. Stay safe. We will get through this.

Signed, King Marcus.

The citizen was dismissed, after lecturing them about the precautions they should take if the invasion army has ever reached their town.

The letter left Diana shocked for quite a time. She was walking the streets by the others. But her mind was full as it is...

Sad...

Tired...

Lost...

Thinking about her dreams of uniting with her father facing yet another big wall in the form of the emergency law and war. The journey to the borders from Tagia will surely take more than 2 days, how she would reach Shan now?!

Everyone returned to their business with heavy hearts. While the group was walking to the house, Louis's arm was found resting on Diana's shoulder.

"I know what are you thinking about, and whatever you decide, I am with you to the very end" He smiled.

She faced him to respond for her to sightsee a pair of brown calm eyes with his cute faint smile. she was already feeling slightly better that a trusted person shared her mind.

"Thanks my love, but that is my father and my quest I-" she was interpreted.

"Diana, Have you forgotten that my love for you is the main reason for the crusade on Endora," he said blankly.

Diana's eyes widened a bit and she crossed his path to halt him in his tracks. "Nonsense!" she said angrily. "What makes you think like that!?" she asked.

"Think about it. You were leaving the palace anyway. My aunt told me about your request. She accused me that I might have to do with it and scolded me agressively for it" he recalled.

Diana's eyes dropped, not of shame of her decision. but from what angle did it reach Louis. It was true that she was mad at him once, about silly things like society levels. Yet, After all these times together, she became more mature and knew how to evaluate the person in front of her more closely through his actions, not through his social power.

"I am sorry, but you have to understand that I requested this as an opportunity to regain my father and my Town. And Louis, I was a little childish at that time...I am not blaming you__"

"No! you did the right thing! I am the one who was so selfish to express my love to you that I didn't care how my aristocratic family would look at you afterwards. I should have been more discreet, more responsible!". Louis began to lose his calmness and began to shake during his talk. He closed his eyes to avoid Diana's gaze.

"Now because of my actions, the king harmed you to hurt me. I am highly sure he was the one who burned your Town. He was the one who sent those barbaric slaver attacks by his own order. So to make you reconsider your love. He wanted you to hate me. To leave me. to blame me. so I would be broken and can be easily hunted and captured. I never imagined so much danger coming from just expressing my feelings to you and more importantly causing so much pain for you and your people"

Louis's eyes were once cool and unwary. Now they were providing guilt and shame. He continued nonetheless...

"If your father died, I will never forgive myself. if anything bad happened to you, I...I don't know how I will continue living."

He stopped talking. His eyes were still closed. Trying to hide behind the darkness of his presumed fear of being blamed.

Diana's hand brushed through Louis's cheeks. He opened his eyes to see the same smiling girl, spreading her hand on his face. "I am not blaming you...". She said softly

Her voice softened while stepping forward closing the distance to the extent that their faces were too close. her hand rested on his chest.

"How would I blame the boy that I sleep between his arms every night, that I handed him my heart so long ago! The same boy who broke me out of prison knowing very well the consequences of what may come next. You think you are selfish, yet you abandoned your family by your own free will, to save me from certain death. so how is that selfishness?!"

With those words settling in his ears, Louis clutched her arms and was more serious than before. "Then let me come with you, to be by your side again till death breaks us apart"

"Speaking of death, the bounty..."

Louis rolled his eyes. "We are at war Diana! Who thinks of bounties in these circumstances?! besides, it has been more than a month, people could have forgotten about it anyway"

She looked at him. Happy with how supportive he was. She smiled while the wind moved through her golden colour hair as She frowned, "Of course". She exchanged an approval nod with him.

"Then we need to hurry!" He said while taking her to the house. Grabbing her soft hand tightly. "Oh and please tell me you have a feasible plan?"

"Not this time, we just need to be quick as much as we can. Once we succeed in bypassing through the borders safely, we can think about how to reach Shan."

She nodded, and both jogged to the house as they raced the time.

Inside the house

"You sure about that? Once you are through the border, I can't help you" Alfred warned the travelling couple.

"Actually, I was about to ask you the same thing, are you...?"

"Coming? And leave that little sneaky lady alone?" He said while playing with the small arms of his sleeping daughter. "No, not with this war around anyway. I won't argue about how idiotic you two are heading to your home with the current stakes at hand. But just please don't get yourself killed. I won't be there to get you out"

Marigold eyed how Diana was afraid. Another journey to the unknown was awaiting.

"I will make both of you some food to take with you" Marigold declared as she headed toward the kitchen.

The sun seems to be still disappearing behind the greyish clouds. The sky had a depressing view, which goes with the public nervousness. A gloomy enviroment that matches the deadly mission that Diana was commited to do, pushed by her father's love and supported by Louis's blazing emotions.

The couple once more hit the road. For Diana, it was time to head home. For Louis, a lot of questionable decisions will be made whether he anticipated or not.

They said goodbye to Alfred's family as they passed through the gate of Taiga.

Louis couldn't help himself feeling full responsibility for her now. She was too important to face this journey alone, not with the pain in her stomach still reminding her of that past fateful battle. It was his duty to protect her. He promised Alfred that.

She looked at him with an interested look, "Do you think that this war was already planned for?"

"Why of course. Wain was already eager to put his hands on this land so long ago, that he just needed a spark. A reason to start the war. So in front of the public, he should appear as the hero that protects his country from danger...

The Red Castle was His last straw. As for both monarchs, it was their call to war"