They were both alarmed at the sudden sound of the gong. It reverberated through the castle halls and for a split second it seemed it would consume the whole night with its endless vibrating.
Ethan being the gentleman as always, rushed to protect Iris by putting his own body as a shield in front of hers. Instinctively Iris clutched his arm in an attempt to calm herself.

"What was that sound?" Ethan whispered still reeling from the remnants of the loud sound.

"Someone has breached the castle's security. It's to alert everyone of an intruder's presence", Iris replied in a nervous tone.

An involuntary shudder pass through her body as she recalled the last time she heard this sound. The nightmarish night when Papa was gone. She tried to push back the flooding memories as she frantically prayed in her heart for everyone's safety. 

Ethan reached out his hand to cover her hand in a reassuring grip and scanned the vicinity for any possible dangers.

With a loud bang the door burst open as Sasha's worried voice was heard along with the sound of running footsteps. Ethan suddenly felt a cold sensation ran through her body and he gaped in amazement as his own body vanished from his sight.

Someone had put an invisibility spell on him. Before he could confirm this from Iris, a breathless Sasha materialised with a dozen armed guards in front of them. Without stopping she rushed to Iris side and nearly fell as she said in a huff.
"My lady are you alright?"

"Yes Sasha everything is fine", Iris replied to the unasked question.

Sasha knew Iris might still be with Ethan and that's the reason she not only pounded heavily on the door, but also tried alerting Iris by shouting her name from the distance. Iris had used the split second to conjure an invisibility charm vanishing Ethan from the sight of everyone in the nick of the time.

The captain of the guards came forward and bowed in front of Iris as he informed her of the situation.
"Your Highness, Captain Cole at your service. Please allow my men to do security check in your residence."

Iris nodded in approval. The guards spread out in all directions looking for any sign of an assassin while Sasha nervously glanced in the direction of Iris.

Iris on the other hand was calm and asked the Captain of his brother's whereabouts.
"His majesty is safe my lady. He is in the East Wing at the moment", replied Captain Cole in a careful tone.

Iris got his message as East Wing was the code word for the King being in pursuit of the enemy with his men. She didn't ask any further questions as they were still not sure of the presence of the intruder in her residence. Who knew there might be more than one person for that matter.

The guards made a thorough sweep of the garden, solarium and her room. Ethan quietly observed the procession, scanning the outskirts of the garden during the time. He was sure there was a magical boundary separating the backyard of this side palace from the forest. Still he could not be sure about the magical abilities of the nymphs.

A short while later, the guards returned and Captain announced for them to be positioned at various intervals in the palace.

To Iris he said apologetically, "Your highness we need to keep this place guarded till we catch the intruder please allow us to stay in the vicinity."

All the guards knew Iris didn't like many people in her personal space and this was the reason Mark has strengthened the security of her side palace by using powerful incantations and charms. Only Iris knew beside him how to lift any jinx there and that is the reason Ethan could stay in the solarium without anyone noticing his presence.

But right now, Iris didn't object to the presence of the guards and made a move to leave for her bedroom with Sasha at her side. Ethan was surprised when he saw her sneakily hold the corner of his sleeve in the pretext of adjusting her skirt. Not in the position to say anything he silently followed Iris to her bedroom.

A/N: Hi guys, I have broken this chapter in two parts since I love cliffhangers 😇