Rose stared at the bolt of the arrow in disbelief. What had just happened? One second everything had been quiet and the next a projectile had fallen from the sky.

She wasn't even sure where the arrow came from, but she certainly saw where it landed--far too close to her. Rose froze in place, unsure how to react.

After seeing a black blur on the battlement, Borit had felt the searing sting of a metal tip enter his thigh. He grabbed his leg and collapsed with an angry cry.

Lady Caitlyn, usually calm and collected, released a piercing scream. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she too landed in a heap.

Then the world around them erupted into chaos. The ground shook as a large pile of earth flew into the air and pelted them with a rain of dirt and grass. The explosion shook the princess from her daze, and she lifted her arm to protect her eyes from the spray of soil. It was all so surreal.

Suddenly a host of soldiers swarmed in and surrounded the group. Rose had no idea that so many men were shadowing her, but for once, she was grateful.

Assisted by the servants still brave enough to face the open air, the soldiers lifted the commander and unconscious Caitlyn from the ground and rushed them to the inner gatehouse. There was no time to lose.

Rose hurried after them as a soldier with a large shield met her and raised the defense over both their heads. Together they hurried blindly into the citadel.

Just after clearing the large formidable doors, the inner gate closed tightly behind them with a resounding boom.

Amidst the gathering soldiers, Rose struggled to stay by the side of her lady-in-waiting against the tide of people. The search for the intruder was already underway, but the princess was barely paying attention to all the noise. She held tightly to her friend's limp hand.

Under the cover of more shields, two pallets were brought into the inner courtyard by attendants. They were jostled by the crowd, but eventually arrived at their destination.

The attendants neatly stowed their patients and prepared them to be transported. But Borit continued to bark orders in every direction.

"He was up on the battlements, you fools. Get back up there! You! Make sure the front gate is sealed. I want every available man searching every stone of the castle and sealing off any possible exit. That man will not escape from me again!"

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Even as he was ushered inside to the healers, the commander still directed men on how to carry out the search. Rose was impressed by his clarity of mind but also frightened by the hatred in his eyes. She had never seen him so livid. His face looked to be on fire.

Following Cait all the way to the infirmary, Rose was blocked at the entrance by one of the elder healers. She tried to go around him, but held out his arm all the way to the wall.

"Let me through," Rose begged. "I am needed in there." She watched helplessly as the pallet disappeared from view.

The healer shook his head. "You can do nothing more here, Your Highness."

"I can assist you. I have always wanted to learn how to heal, please!" The princess tried to push past his arm, but he was far stronger than he looked.

The man's big bushy eyebrows twitched with concern. The woman was certainly in shock.

"Seek safety," he urged her. "We cannot protect you here. Our healers are highly capable. I promise Lady Caitlyn will be fine." When the worried lines on Rose's face did not ease, he added, "The commander's wound is not serious. We will do our best to have him fixed up and tracking the intruder soon. Don't worry."

The healer gently took her hand, snapping Rose out of her trance. She nodded at him, her eyes wide and watery. Pulling her hands from his, the princess took a step backwards to leave.

"I want to know the moment anything happens," she admonished him.

"It shall be done, Your Highness." The healer bowed. "Let me find an escort for you!" The man looked for a soldier to accompany the princess, but by the time he had flagged one down, the young woman had disappeared.

Rushing down the frantic halls, Rose tried to leave the chaos behind.

The princess knew the king was likely under heavy guard in his own suite, and duty beckoned her there. It was safe and she was needed.

However, Rose wasn't sure she could handle the barrage of questions her adoptive father would bring. She needed a moment to process what had happened before she could bear another's emotional burden, and it was this rationale that led her up the winding stairs to her tower apartment.

'I'll apologize to Father later,' she comforted herself. 'He will understand.'

Rose had complete confidence that the soldiers would find the interloper and all would be well by morning. All she needed was sleep and some time alone, and when she awoke all would be tranquil once more. That is how things around here worked. Things would return to normal, and it would all be a distant memory.

'Quite an exciting evening. I said I wanted an adventure, and now I have had two.' Rose stopped in her tracks, as a feeling of panic overtook her once more. It wasn't two adventures, but two parts of the same one. The man she had seen earlier...he was surely the one who had shot Borit! This was her fault for being foolish. If the commander died, it would be on her head for not raising the alarm.

Hot tears ran down the woman's face at her folly. She ran towards her rooms, oblivious to absence of the guards both at the base of the tower and the ones that were generally stationed outside her quarters.

Either they had all followed her to the garden or been called away to find the attacker. The net result was the same. Rose was truly alone. She flung open the door and closed it with the same enthusiastic force, bolting it when she was through. 'I'll let Caitlyn in when she arrives. No one else needs to bother me tonight.'

She wiped feverishly at the liquid on her face, as if this would somehow erase her guilt.

Pulling the knot from her hair, Rose allowed her golden tresses to cascade down her back, the curls reaching the length of her spine. Her blue eyes shone brightly as more tears streamed down her cheeks despite being wiped only a moment earlier.

All of the emotions of the evening overcame her sensibilities and her head began to swim. This was the reason she did not notice her bedroom door was shut when she hadn't closed it. The princess grabbed the doorknob to steady herself and then turned it, thinking only of forgetting her troubles in her nice warm bed.

This was her second mistake.

She had barely pushed open the door when Rose saw a blur of black. Forcefully, an arm shot out and dragged her into the room as another hand clamped firmly over her mouth.

The door shut silently and though she could not see her captor, Rose felt his strong arm wrap around her waist. Her body tensed as every possible scenario ran through her mind.

The princess thought about screaming, biting him, or stomping on his foot, but terror held her firmly in place. Anyway, it was unlikely she would get very far with a bolted door awaiting her beyond her bedroom.

Rose was trapped.