I sat in the nurse's office after she dressed my eye with some thick, green substance which smelled a lot like Aloe Vera but looked and felt a lot like guacamole. She also gave me some pain killers which seemed to kick in pretty quickly.

A baby faced soldier popped his head through the coral coloured curtains surrounding the bed I was laying on and informed us between his stammers that the general wanted to speak to us immediately.

Gemini eyed him hard and took a step foreword. "Aren't you supposed to salute when talking to royalty?"

I saw millions of thoughts pass through the eyes of the terrified soldier and he stepped in and saluted stiffly. The light reflected off the beads of sweat forming near his hairline. I didn't know if he was nervous because of me or if he was normally like that but I felt sorry and amused at the same time.

"Can't it wait?" Gemini questioned, referring to the orders of the General.

"You of all people should know that in here, everything the General says, goes. This is an order, not a request."

Gemini huffed and we eventually trailed behind the soldier to where the General was located.

I slowly entered the dim room after Gemini and saw General Phaeus and Iyeong stood at the front with faces as blank as the screen behind them. I would've felt at ease until my eyes fell on my family's on the large wooden table: they looked apprehensive. Did something bad happen? Was it Alexander?

"What's this about? What's happened?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly as I struggled to get out the words. The thought of something even worse happening to Alexander made my legs almost want to give away from beneath me.

The King stood up and guided me to the free seat between him and Charlotte. "It's nothing terrible, don't fret. It's just a briefing," he assured me, his voice soft and calming.

The General's voice was the complete opposite as he got straight to the point: "I've allowed you all to relax and now we need to get to business. There's a war and nothing is being done so far. But you're all down here and the castle has been compromised. Technically, we're in a deadlock: those savage Drecottians can't get the right's to Nox because they're now down here, and we can't get Alexander back- well, we couldn't. There's not much more to risk aside from the Prince's life. Iyeong has a plan to get him back."

The General gestured towards Iyeong and took a seat.

Iyeong pointed a long, pale finger at Gemini, who appeared very confused. "You'll get to put your talents to use. Although a war occurring, the ever insensitive Prince Austin will be attending a few events in Drecott, which we want you to attend. We want him to like you a lot. You'll need to be enticing, sultry even. That is until you reach his castle. We know he has a sadistic streak, and you'll play into that, in the hopes he'll show you where Alexander is, or at least hint at it. When you have information, you'll send it back to us. We'll have other paid spies located in certain locations around the city who you'll be able to access us through."

A sly smile edged its way onto Gemini's face. It was full of confidence; she knew she was fit for the job. After all, she almost penetrated this impenetrable fortress, I was sure she could seduce a guy- but this was Austin. Would it work? I didn't know him anymore. He was single, but there was also a war going on. Would he really be looking for love in the midst of a war?

Iyeong's hard stare then landed on me and every bone in my body froze up as it readied itself for the terrifying instructions I could feel about to be laid upon me. "If this fails, Arianne, you'll visit Prince Austin in the guise of forming a peace treaty with him. You'll have him promise not to have anyone disturb either of you while you discuss term so that if anything does happen, he can't be contacted while we extract Alexander."

The King shot up, "she will not! He already has my son and now you just want to hand over my daughter in law? I won't allow it."

"It will be a last resort, but the chance of Gemini failing is minute, Your Highness. Arianne will be well prepared."

The King slowly lowered back into his seat, but the fury in his eyes was still evident even after the General had replaced Iyeong at the front. My whole body remained as it was before and I almost couldn't breathe at the thought of everything being left down to me.

"We can now start fighting back, and once we have the Prince returned, we fight in full force as they won't have anything to blackmail us with. Your Highness," he said to the King. "I feel that neighbouring countries need to contribute soldiers, fighters, anyone they can offer for when the time comes."

At the end of the meeting, the King stopped me to talk. "I won't let them do anything you don't want. I made the mistake of letting Alexander be so easily captured and I won't do the same to you. You're more than a princess, you're a Monaghan, and we're supposed to keep each other safe."

"It wasn't your fault, don't blame it on yourself. But thank you."

The King had a tough exterior and those who didn't know him would perceive him as a cold man, but he was soft. He was the nicest father-in-law you could want. He just wanted everyone to be safe and he wanted his son back. I could see the conflict in his mind when discussions about fighting back were made. I didn't know if he was a pacifist, but I knew for whatever reason, he didn't want to send people to fight.

He nodded slightly and then left.

"Hey, so I leave in a week. But in the meantime, how about I teach you how appear to be something you're not? Physical fighting isn't your best, so maybe you can use your words to get you out of difficult situations. How about it?" Gemini offered.

"I'd love to."

"Great. I'll wait for you after breakfast and I'll find us somewhere to practise in a couple of days."

I nodded, and she left as well.

This was all so sudden. So many plans for Alexander's return and all I could think about was the risks: if something went wrong and our plan was found out, what would Austin do to Alexander? What would he do to us? The thoughts were dizzying as I felt my head begin throbbing and the pain gradually edged its way to my very tender eye.

Leandra appeared in front of me, "you don't look okay."

"I simultaneously feel like I'm going to throw up and pass out," I murmured, trying to purge my mind of the pain and any thoughts of food and managed to make myself feel worse.

Leandra lifted my head to analyse my face and gasped when she caught sight of my eye, which had probably started to either swell or bruise.

"Who did this?" she sighed when I didn't answer, "it's probably a concussion. I'll put you in bed and get you some pain killers."

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Short chapter? Yes. Am I sorry? Yes.

I have been trying to fill out this chapter but what comes next will make it like 3000 words and I don't want it to be that long. It looks like I'm waffling lol.

Hopefully next one won't take over a month to come out, but I hope you enjoy this one! :)