The rain had been falling since early morning, washing over Vaeloran Castle.
It was Friday, 15th October, three days after the country completed the national mourning for Queen Alyndra, her daughters, their husbands, and the little ones whose lives were taken too suddenly.
It was also thirteen days since their state funeral.
Inside Vaeloran Castle, the ancient home built millions of years ago by Queen Seraphina Aurelia Vaeloran during the Era of Divine Queens, everything felt cold.
The castle was grand, sacred, and full of history, but to Kitandra, it felt like a cage.
She stood by her bedroom window, staring at the heavy rain as it beat down on the stone paths and soaked the Seraphina Garden below.
The bright flowers were bent and shivering under the storm, yet the garden still looked beautiful from where she stood.
She pushed the window open a little and felt the strong wind brush against her face.
"This rain has been falling since 5 a.m. today… Why won't it stop?" She whispered to herself, letting out a long, tired sigh.
Outside her room, Princess Selina stood with a maid beside her.
The maid held a golden tray with a teapot and two cups that were steaming gently.
Princess Selina took a deep breath, then she knocked softly on Kitandra's door and said, "Open up, Kitandra."
Kitandra turned from the window and walked over.
She opened the door, and Princess Selina immediately pulled her into a warm hug.
"It's cold, so I asked the maid to make you a cup of Gingerleaf Tea." Princess Selina said to Kitandra warmly after parting the hug.
Kitandra gave her a small smile and said, "Thank you, Sister Selina, but I'm not cold... That tea is for when someone wants to chase away a cold."
Princess Selina pouted, and then she said, "I know that, but still…"
Kitandra sighed in defeat, then she said, "Okay, fine. You win. I'll drink it."
Princess Selina took a cup from the golden tray and handed it to her, then she said, "Here you go."
Kitandra accepted the cup and took a slow sip.
The tea was hot, sharp, and calming.
Princess Selina picked up the second cup, then turned to the maid and said, "Thank you... You may leave now."
The maid bowed at Princess Selina and Kitandra gently and said, "Yes, Your Highness," before walking away from Kitandra's room and walking down the long hallway.
After the maid left, Princess Selina walked over to the chessboard that was on top of a small table near the window, sat down on one of the couches, and said, "How are you holding up?"
Kitandra sat opposite her, holding the warm cup between her palms. She said, "I'm stuck here in Vaeloran Castle, and High Priestess Elyndra said I can only move into the Royal Palace after my coronation... And we both know I don't want to be crowned queen... So you tell me—how do you think I'm holding up?"
Princess Selina reached across the table and touched her shoulder while saying, "Everything will be fine, Kitandra."
Kitandra sniffled softly, raised the cup to her lips again, and took another sip.
Princess Selina watched her with a gentle smile.
Kitandra saw it and frowned, and after a moment, she said, "Why are you smiling at me like that?"
"It's nothing." Princess Selina said quickly.
"Do you want to join me for a game of chess?" She asked further.
Kitandra glanced at the window and saw that the rain was still pouring heavily.
She had somewhere she needed to be at, but since she couldn't go because of the rain, she decided to while away time by playing chess.
Smiling at Princess Selina, she said, "Sure."
After setting the chess piece on the chessboard, they began playing.
The sound of raindrops and the soft clack of chess pieces filled the room.
For two hours, neither of them won.
They teased each other, laughed sometimes, and fell silent other times.
Even in the quiet moments, the room felt warmer than it had earlier.
Then, as Princess Selina reached for her rook, Kitandra suddenly leaned forward and moved her white queen across the board.
"Queen to E7, checkmate." She said with a small grin.
"Arrrgh!" Princess Selina threw her head back, groaning loudly with a dramatic pout.
Staring at Kitandra with a straight face, she said, I didn't know you were this good at playing chess."
Kitandra laughed softly and said, "Well, I learned from the best."
"The best? Who?" Selina asked with bright, curious eyes.
Kitandra giggled, and then she said, "Who else but my father?"
"Your father? I didn't know Prince Consort Thalorien was that good at playing chess."
The room grew quiet again.
Princess Selina looked at Kitandra gently and said, "I'm sure your parents and your little brother are in heaven with Goddess Aurelithia… watching over you."
Kitandra lowered her gaze. She rubbed her fingers together and didn't speak.
Princess Selina noticed and pushed her chair back, then she said, "Kitandra, as much as I want to stay, I need to go back to what I was doing earlier."
Kitandra looked up and said, "You weren't painting again, were you?"
Princess Selina giggled, and then she said, "You're right... Why ask when you know how much I love painting?"
Kitandra laughed and said, "Are you going to paint one for me this time?"
Princess Selina pursed her lips, and then she said, "Yes, I will, but it's going to be your coronation gift."
Kitandra frowned, but before Princess Selina could see her frown, she forced a smile on her face and said, "Thank you."
She stood up, ready to walk her to the door, but Princess Selina raised her hand and said, "No need... Rest a little, alright? I'll come check on you later."
"Okay," Kitandra replied.
Princess Selina smiled, bid Kitandra goodbye, and gently closed the door behind her.
An hour later, the rain finally stopped, and then the castle became quiet... too quiet.
Kitandra stood from the couch and walked into her walk-in closet.
Her heart beat fast as she searched the shelves, pulled open drawers, and moved boxes around.
This time, she was not looking for comfort; she was looking for escape.
She grabbed an oversized black hoodie, black jeans, and simple white sneakers, and then she took out a silicone human-face mask.
The mask had soft brown skin, short black curls, and wider features than her own.
When she put it on, her reflection in the mirror was a completely different girl—someone no guard would recognize.
She picked up a bag filled with Fyrionian dollar bills, slipped it over her shoulder, and quietly walked out of the closet then she opened her bedroom door slowly, walked out of her bedroom, closed the door quietly, and stepped into the hallway.
The corridors of Vaeloran Castle were long and grand, with gold walls and marble floors that echoed footsteps easily, but Kitandra moved on her toes, and she was careful not to make a sound.
When she reached the staircase, two guards were standing there.
She couldn't avoid them, so she moved quickly, and with two clean hits that were—fast and silent—both guards collapsed. Then she dragged their bodies behind a stone pillar and hid them from sight.
Taking a deep breath, she kept on moving, and when needed, she knocked down guards.
She kept slipping around corners while staying low and breathing slowly.
Each time she heard a distant voice or an approaching footstep, her heart raced faster.
At last, she reached the outer gate and slipped through the shadows until she escaped into the road outside the castle walls, and as soon as she was outside the castle walls, she began to run down the road while looking back to see if a guard was chasing after her.
Meanwhile, in one of the gardens of Vaeloran Castle, Princess Maris, who was sitting on a lounge chair while sipping an orange juice through a straw, saw when the disguised girl moved quickly toward the castle gate and couldn't help but smirk as she put down her glass of orange juice.
Once Kitandra was far enough from Vaeloran Castle, she waved down a passing taxi.
The driver pulled over and rolled down his window, then he said, "Where to?"
Kitandra lowered her head slightly so her mask could hide her real face, then she said, "Take me to 12 Bridgetown Street, Old Grenth District."
The driver nodded and said, "Your fare is one hundred and fifty Fyrionian dollars."
She quickly opened the passenger door, got in, buckled her seatbelt, and said nothing else.
As he drove off, the driver tried to start a conversation.
"It's been raining all day. Are you heading to work? Or going to meet someone?" He asked.
Kitandra stared out the window and didn't reply.
The middle-aged man tried again, saying, "Are you new around here? Haven't seen you before."
Kitandra remained silent, and eventually he gave up.
The silence filled the taxi as the city passed by—the tall buildings, the vendors rushing to cover their stalls from the drizzle of the rain, and the people with umbrellas hurrying through puddles.
Forty minutes later, the taxi stopped at 12 Bridgetown Street, Old Grenth District.
"Here we are." The driver said.
Kitandra unbuckled her seatbelt, stepped out, closed the passenger door, and handed him the one hundred and fifty dollars; then she walked straight toward an old CD store with broken signs and dusty windows.
She pushed open the door.
Inside, the air smelled like old paper and metal.
A middle-aged fat man with square glasses sat behind the counter.
Kitandra walked up to him, and with her voice stern, she said, "Have you done it?"
The fat man adjusted his glasses and said, "You asked me to do this three days ago, and because it was urgent and on short notice... It took a lot of resources, so…,"
He paused and gave her a look. A greedy look.
Kitandra frowned and said, "You told me to bring one hundred thousand Fyrionian dollars in cash... That's what I brought. I don't have more."
She placed the bag on top of the counter, but the fat man shrugged and said, "Then you're not getting what you need... Come again when you have more money."
Kitandra clenched her fists and let out an annoyed breath.
After a short and tense moment, she said, "Fine. I'll pay with my watch. It's a diamond watch."
She pulled off the shining diamond watch from her left wrist and handed it to him.
He tested it with a diamond device, studied it for a moment, then nodded.
With a smile on his face, the fat man opened a drawer, took out a brown envelope, and pushed it toward her. Then he said, "In there is the passport, ID, and flight ticket you asked for... Economy class on Air Miaxina... Your flight is in two hours... If I were you, I'd start heading to the airport now."
Kitandra opened the envelope, checked everything, and smiled.
Without wasting time, she walked out of the store.
As soon as the door closed behind her, the fat man reached into the drawer again and pulled out a small burner phone, then he dialed a number labeled "Lady M."
When the call connected, he said, "My lady, she just collected the fake passport, ID, and flight ticket... Her destination is Haola, the capital city of the Kingdom of Halvoria."
A woman whose voice was altered by a device on the other end chuckled softly and said, "Send some of our men to scare her a bit... Make her journey to the airport a little bit rough, but make sure she gets on the plane... Tell our men in Haola to start preparing for the hunt... I want a clean job... No mistakes... Haola must be the place of her burial. I repeat—no mistakes."
"Yes, Lady M." The fat man said.
After she cut the call, he dialed another number, and as soon as the line connected, he said, "I just spoke with Lady M... She wants us to begin the hunt."