Hazel kept glancing around, waiting for Clara to show up.

But she never did.

Squeezing her hands together, Hazel kept pacing around, her mind drifting to the worst possibilities, worried that she may have been harmed by the people who were so against her lately. Or maybe she was too heartbroken after saying goodbye to Julian.

All the women were growing worried; used to Clara always being on time. She would have let them know if she couldn't make it.

Something was wrong, and Hazel was determined to find out what.

First she made sure to ask one of her friends to watch over Lila, to which she agreed easily, seeing as her own daughter was good friends with Lila. With one less thing to worry about, Hazel made her way to the castle in hopes of finding Clara there.

To her surprise, the castle corridors were quiet. Empty; with only a few workers passing by doing their job as usual. The guards were nowhere to be seen, and it sent another wave of worry in Hazel's mind.

Walking to the training grounds, she furrowed her eyebrows, trying to keep her nerves at bay once she saw that it was empty as well. With nowhere else in mind, she started to walk to Victor's chambers.

She was suddenly stopped by Alan as he ran to her, calling her name to grab her attention.

"Alan!" She exclaimed, walking closer to him. "Have you seen Clara?"

"She's gone." He said solemnly. "Follow me, the king wants to see you."

"What-"

"Hurry!"

Hazel finally understood what Clara meant by saying she felt as if there was a hurricane going through her mind. As the two ran the corridors, heading for the council room, Hazel could only think about Alan's words.

She was gone.

Her thoughts pulled her to the darkest depths of her mind and tears pooled in her eyes. She couldn't be gone. She didn't know what he meant by her being gone, yet she was too afraid to ask him.

Instead, she followed him into the room as he pushed open the doors frantically and all eyes turned to them.

"What happened to her?" She didn't care about interrupting their conversation, nor did she care about their ranks at this time. "Where is Clara?"

"She left." Rowan was the first to speak, faking disappointment as he sighed. "I guess she didn't care enough about our kingdom to stay."

Hazel's glare at the man could rival Clara's own deathly stare. Perhaps they were around each other too much and she started to adopt some of her habits just as she had with her.

Alan put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down before she did something that would get her arrested. However, she shrugged off his hand and walked even closer to the table which had the council members seated around it. 

"She would never leave Avelyn." She spoke, her glare burning into the man. "She cares about our home more than you ever will."

"Watch your tone, servant." He glared back at her before he threw her a letter. "Read for yourself."

Taking the paper from the table, she read through it, easily recognizing Clara's handwriting...but something was different.

"Is that her handwriting?" The king asked calmly, looking at her worriedly, glancing between his son and his brother. Victor's eyes never left Rowan throughout their meeting.

The king watched as her eyes roamed the paper in her hands. He figured she'd know her best, and would recognize if this really was her handwriting. His eyes traveled to his son's as he finally stopped glaring at his brother and instead softened as he looked at his friend, her tears visibly pooling in her eyes, a single drop falling when she blinked.

"It is...but-"

"There you have it!" Rowan clapped his hands once, as if that was the end of the story. "She left. It's time we choose the next general."

"She wouldn't leave like this!" Hazel argued. "This letter...It's her handwriting but-"

"She has clearly left!" Another council member exclaimed, cutting her off. Isabel glared at him.

"She wouldn't just abandon us like that." Hazel was sure of it. "The letter doesn't even sound like her."

"Maybe she doesn't care about you as much as you thought." Rowan spoke again, letting his smirk show momentarily. "She's deceived us all."

"Don't you dare to talk about deceit, you daft cabbage head!" Hazel's fuse had run out as she started yelling at the man before her, causing many gasps to be heard from around the table. Alan's eyes widened and he got closer to her, trying to pull her back, but she fought his grip and continued to talk.  "You wanted her gone! You're the one who caused all of this chaos, how dare you talk of deceit when you stand here like you haven't burned down every ounce of peace we had!"

"You dare speak to me like that, you lowly peasant?" He sneered, motioning for the guards to arrest her. "Throw her in the dungeon."

"You will do no such thing!" Victor glared at the guards who began to walk towards her. He made eye contact with Alan, and he nodded as he understood what the prince meant. Gently, he took ahold of Hazel's hand and walked her out of the room despite her protests. Victor then turned to glare at his uncle before he faced his father. "She's right, father. Rowan caused all of this."

The king sighed; he had hoped his son wouldn't have brought this up here when he didn't have proof.

"Me?" Rowan was baffled by his accusation. "Why would I want to cause my dear home any harm?"

"Because you want to take the kingdom for yourself!" Victor yelled back.

"That's enough!" The king roared as he stood. "All of you!"

"Harry, you can't possibly believe-" Rowan began before he was cut off by a sharp glare from his brother.

"I said enough." He said, then turning to look at his son. "What's your proof?"

Victor clenched his jaw, still hurt by the fact that his father didn't believe him. His eyes then trailed over to the guards that were present in the room; remembering that they were there with him when Rowan encouraged the rebellion of the people. 

"Ask them, they were there." Victor motioned to the guards.

"Is that true?" The king turned to look at them. "Did Rowan really encourage the rebellion?"

Robin was the first to step forward, bowing his head before speaking.

"No, sire." He denied. "He was there, but he did not acknowledge the people. He tried to calm them down but failed."

Victor's eyes widened as he heard the words- no, the lies coming out of his mouth. His heart dropped even further into a pit in his stomach as the rest of the knights agreed with Robin, denying what the prince had said.

"They're lying..." He said in disbelief. "You must believe me, dad!"

"I'm sorry, Victor." He shook his head. "But you've gone too far. Go back to your room, please."

"What?" He breathed out. "No! You can't just-"

"You are dismissed, Victor." His father silenced him.

As he walked out of the room angrily, Victor could hear Robin speak once more.

"I've also heard that she had left with sir Julian to Donoa..."

Victor's brows furrowed as he clenched his fists. He couldn't believe that she had just left them. Were his words so harsh that she chose to leave her home? Without even saying goodbye to her friends?

He knew he hurt her, but he didn't expect her to leave. At least not without a goodbye.

Too lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Isabel following him out of the room before she walked next to him, her steps quick and determined.

"None of this is right." She said. "I believe you, your highness. We must get to the bottom of this."

Victor looked into her eyes and knew she was right. Something was terribly wrong, and they had to be the ones to fix everything.

Without Clara.

And so they tried to find the curly haired cook who dared to call the duke a cabbage to his face.

Lucky for the prince and the lady, Hazel gets quite loud when she's angry. They could easily hear her yelling about weasels sitting on thrones. Amidst all the chaos, Victor couldn't help but crack a small smile at her words.

"Ugh, that conniving little weasel!" They saw Hazel pacing the hallway frustratedly, looking as if she were ready to punch someone.  "I swear, crack open Rowan's head and all you'll find would be a single booger!"

Alan, who had known about the secret training, was very much afraid of her in that moment. Yet he still stood by her, hoping to calm her down.

"As much as I'd love to crack open Rowan's head, we still have to find Clara." Alan said. It was then that the other two made their presence known.

"How can we help?" Isabel asked, coming to a stop in front of them with Victor by her side.

"We're going to need some backup..." Hazel muttered but then a small smile graced her lips. "Alan, lead them to the training field, I'll gather the rest."

Victor and Isabel exchanged looks of confusion, but followed Alan nonetheless.

Victor's heart grew heavier the more they walked towards the field where it all happened. He shouldn't have said words he never meant. He truly did believe her to be the best general they could have, but in moments of anger and hurt, the words slipped out of him and he didn't realize the weight of them until she was gone.

He couldn't bear the thought of those being his last words to her.

"I heard Robin say she left with Julian..." Victor spoke up, remembering the knight's statement. "What did he mean by that?"

"Julian had to leave Avelyn." Alan sighed. "His sister is deathly ill, so he's moving to Donoa to care for her."

"I thought Rose had gotten better?" Isabel asked.

"Apparently not enough..." He sighed sadly.

The guilt of his words grew heavier on Victor's chest.

"Maybe we can reach him before he gets too far?" Victor asked hopefully. "He could help us."

"I tried." He shook his head. "I think he sped up before he could change his mind to stay."

"So he's just going to...leave Clara?" He asked.

Alan's eyes narrowed at the prince. 

"He's not the one who left her." Alan said bitterly. "Not by his own choice."

He knew.

Of course he did, how could he not?

Victor cast his eyes towards the ground in shame. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Isabel's gasp as she saw the large group of women approaching them on the hill. Victor's own eyes popped out of their sockets at the sight.

Alan crossed his arms and smirked, the flame of pride igniting brighter in his chest.

"What is this?" She asked with a smile gracing her lips.

"This," Alan started with a wide smile, opening his arms as he motioned to all the women still arriving at the hill. "is Clara's true legacy."

The lady and the prince exchanged looks of complete awe.

Moments later, Hazel made her way back to the group, receiving a nod of encouragement from Alan before she turned to face all the women whom she trained with.

"Clara is missing." She spoke hesitantly. "She...The royal court believes that she ran away, but I know she didn't. She wouldn't."

The women in front of her voiced their agreement, growing more concerned with every word that Hazel said.

"It's up to us to find her." She said, her voice growing stronger. More determined. "It's time we use everything she taught us. How many times has she rescued us?"

"She's always been there for us." One of the maidens spoke.

"I wouldn't be where I am without her." Another said.

"She even helped me with school!" A younger maiden added.

"It's our turn to rescue her." Hazel smiled sadly. "She needs us. We're the only ones who can help her now."

"Avelyn has failed her," Edith spoke up. "But we won't."

"For Clara!" A voice sounded out from the crowd.

"For Clara!!" The rest of them joined the chanting.

Alan held Hazel's hand just as Isabel and Victor walked closer to them.

"For Clara." They said, looking at one another.

Three days have passed since Clara's disappearance.

In a cold dark dungeon, Clara was chained up with shackles built into the wall behind her. Her legs were tied to the chair she was forced on.

The only sound in the room was her own restrained breathing; her lungs hurting with each intake of air.

That bastard probably broke one of her ribs.

She heard footsteps coming down the stone stairs and she instantly wiped away her tired expression, replacing it with a fury filled glare at the man that walked down them.

"Look at you, so pathetic." He scoffed. "My brother really thought you could protect him."

"If I'm so pathetic then why do you need so many chains and guards to keep me here?" She spoke, her voice cracking.

"Don't get smart with me, bitch." He sneered, letting the back of his hand harshly collide with her cheek, sounding off an echo in the room.

Clara clenched her teeth. She refused to acknowledge the pain in front of him. 

"It's not hard to be smart when there's a dumbass in front of me." She spat blood at him.

He leaned down to her level, bringing out a familiar dagger as he brought it closer to her face.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you..." He muttered as he trailed the blade over her skin, pressing enough to draw blood, slicing through her skin in multiple areas.

Clara's fists clenched and her breathing got even harder as she fought back her screams. She fought back every wince and flinch to make sure she robbed him of the satisfaction of her torture.

"Then kill me already." She glared. "I'd rather die than keep looking at your ugly face."

"Patience, dear." He snickered. "I want you to watch Avelyn burn to the ground before it becomes mine. I want you to watch the soul leave out of the people's eyes...I want you to see your failure."

Her heart hammered in her chest. 

How was she going to stop him? Why did she have to be so useless to get caught like this?

"You won't win, Rowan." She fought against her restraints, fighting back screams that tried to escape her with every drop of blood falling to the ground. "I won't let you!"

"You and what army?" He laughed before adding another open wound to her abdomen.

With that he left the room once again, his menacing laugh echoing in Clara's pounding head. The world spun around her as she struggled to breathe. The lack of blood was finally catching up to her, and the stench made bile rise up her throat, nothing but acid coming out. Her salty tears made the cuts on her face burn even more.

She felt her failures sting all over her body, every part of her wanting to scream in agony.

She watched her failures drip dark red on the filthy floor below her.

She remembered herself failing her kingdom as the world lost all color, and nothing but darkness filled her unconscious mind.

I feel like there are so many iconic moments in this chapter. I'm honestly very proud of it.

As you can see...things in Avelyn are changing...and I'm SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW-

Anyways...I gotta breathe before I pass out from excitement.

QOTD: What would you say makes a badass female character?

My answer: I honestly do love writing women who can fight, but something I will be including more soon is feminine characters who are strong and powerful without needing to know how to fight. All women are powerful, each in their own way. I really want to explore that more with this book.