A cold sensation woke me up violently. The chill brought uncontrollable shivers, which caused me to curl up instinctively. However, something prevented me from doing so. It was then that I realised I was shackled to the wall. My head throbbed dully as I cursed silently.
A hand grabbed my hair and pulled my head up forcefully. I managed to recognize the face of Count Dalormedes in the faint flickering light and remembered what happened.
"Where are the letters?"
"What letters?"
His hand flew across my face. The resulting sound ricocheted off the walls of the room. "Don't waste my time by playing dumb. Where are the letters?"
I spat out blood while my ear buzzed with tinnitus. "I gave them to someone else."
"Who are you? And who are you working for?"
"Number Three. I work for the same Dragon as you do."
He raised my chin and looked into my eyes, "What level are you?"
"I am Number Eight."
He sneered and barked a laugh. "Eight! You have no right to take my things, then. Give them back or I will go to Number One."
"I have given the letters to my superior. I wasn't informed of your rank before the mission. I only found out after."
"I couldn't care less. I can kill you as easily as a fly." He drew his sword and raised it high.
Bang!
The door flew opened and a wave of purple rushed through. The purple figures quickly subdued him and tied him up.
Someone familiar came forward. "Are you all right, Your Royal Highness?" I smiled weakly before fatigue took me.

***

I woke up in a soft bed, similar to the one I'd had in the palace. I sat up. Judging by the sun, it was less than an hour later. A maid, who had been standing by the bed, immediately left the room and returned with Lady Gwenilin.
Lady Gwenilin bowed and performed the necessary greetings before continuing. "Please forgive my tardiness," she apologized.
"For what?"
"I knew that you were here in Norhedin, but I decided that you were safer with D-Nine. I found out that the ones who ambushed us on the road were the Deadly Bats. I knew that they were still looking for you-they never stop hunting till they've killed their prey. Please punish me as you deem fit."
"It is unnecessary," I said. "You did what you thought was for the best." I pondered over her words and spoke again. "You know about D-Nine?" I felt small after I realised that I had asked a silly question. She was a close aide of the Queen, after all.
"Yes I do. I am the Tiger."​
"You are the Tiger. Then do you know who the Dragon is?"
"I do."
"Who is he?" I looked at her with much anticipation.
"You, Your Royal Highness."
"Huh. Me? Impossible." I couldn't believe my ears. It didn't make sense. Why would the princess have been trying to kill herself?
She saw my disbelieving look, pulled out the rapier and passed it to me and said. "Here is the proof." She unscrewed the orange gem, revealing a dragon seal on the hidden side. "It wasn't a coincidence that you were given this rapier."
After a long silence I said softly, "What did you do with Count Dalormedes?"
"I'm holding him in the dungeon for questioning."
"Can I see him? I have a lot of questions."
"Sure. I will arrange a visit tomorrow. Now please get some sleep." She covered me with the quilt and left.
The night wore on, but I wasn't able to close my eyes.

***

The dungeon was dark, just as dungeons often were in fantasy books. Walking down the stone steps, the sounds of torture echoed past, sending chills down my spine.
We stopped at a cell and the guard opened the door. I walked through and the view that greeted me made my stomach churn. The count had his wrists chained above him to the wall and, from the looks of him, I deduced he had been beaten.
I walked over and took a good look at him. "Are you coherent?"
He grunted. "I won't die so easily."
"Can I have some light?" The guards immediately lit some torches, brightening the room. They also brought a chair for me.
I sat down, feeling sorry for him, as I knew how it felt to be chained up. I said, "Can someone take him down and give him a chair?"
Sitting down, he spat, "Don't expect any thanks."
A long, slender hand shot across and slapped the count squarely across his face. Lady Gwenilin withdrew her hand and stood defensively by my side. "Show some respect towards the Princess," she said curtly.
"Leave us," I commanded. With that, the guards took their leave, giving us privacy. "Dalormedes, I have some questions for you. Do you know who the Dragon is?"
"I don't. Your Royal Highness." His voice dripped with sarcasm and Lady Gwenilin raised her hand to execute another slap. I grabbed her hand tightly to stop her.
"Are you sure it is the Dragon who asked you to assassinate me?"
"Yes. The order came through the usual channel-and the Dragon seal is not forgeable."
Lady Gwenilin's brow arched with surprise, but she kept her composure, like a true lady.
"Thank you for the information." I stood up and left, Lady Gwenilin following close behind.

***

Lady Gwenilin and I sat down to discuss the information gathered. She informed me that she had ordered the intelligence branch to find out the identities of those who had been contacting the Deadly Bats. It was about then that she found out that Count Dalormedes was a traitor. She had ordered Number One to gather evidence which was, in fact, the mission that had been given to us.
As I had kept the letters with the Dragon seal to myself, Gwenilin was under the impression that all these murders were either of Dalormedes's own accord or that he was under someone else's control.
After Lady Gwenilin left, I sank into the chair. All kinds of scenarios came into my mind, but each one ended with only one conclusion. I, or rather the original Princess Sarabeth, was the one manipulating the organization to destroy her opponents and D-Nine so that she could take the throne for herself. The only puzzling point I could not grasp was the reason she had ordered her own death. Was it to throw off any suspicion because she was attempting to usurp the crown?
I thought hard and long, trying to come up with her true intentions. Unfortunately, I kept drawing a blank. Whatever the reason, I would have to meet the Queen to confess my thoughts on this matter ... and hope she wouldn't kill me for it.

*****