Whitehead

When the princess had reached the doors at the end of the corridor, she rested her head on the frame but couldn't hear a single sound.

Gradually, she raised her fists and lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in."

At the end of the knock, the husky voice she knew by heart immediately followed.

Rain took a deep breath and gently grabbed the handles to open the door.

Once the doors opened and her figure came into sight, four pairs of surprised eyes turned to stare at her.

They obviously weren't expecting the princess.

Their expressions all said she wasn't supposed to be here.

Those gazes were so cold and the room had such an ambiguous feeling.

Rain instantly stopped on her tracks and instincts told her to turn away. She would have done so, but the prince standing at the opposite end of the long table soon called to her. "Come here."

Like that same moment they walked along the castle's gateway, his voice was shrewd and carried hints of warning.

He beckoned to her like they had known for long.

Rain's legs moved stiffly and she went around the table to approach him.

With shoulders held high and gait elegant, she seemed to have a bold stance and casually averted the stares studying her so intensely as if daring her to bare her true self.

"Your Highness," she curtsied before the prince.

Once he relaxed his brows which were earlier cocked in surprise, he shifted his focus to the three men sitting around the table and watching in awe. His face had scarily darkened.

But he still spoke calmly.

"Gentlemen, please leave us."

Soon enough, the men stood and began to leave.

Once the first man, youthful, white-haired with witty brown eyes, made to leave, he caught Rain's gaze and immediately had an amused expression.

For a moment Rain sensed her thoughts twirl as she looked back at him and she instantly felt cold.

The second gentleman was cleanly bald and there seemed to be either a scar or a tattoo on his scalp. Clad entirely in black, he gave off a strongly dispassionate air.

The third, clearly impatient for some reasons, had an aggression to his gait, and his face could hardly be seen under the hood of his coat.

These men had similar auras to the prince and seemed anything but usual.

As they walked past Rain, a slight chill covered her skin in goose bumps.

She recalled them to be the men she'd seen with the prince down at the patio.

Seeing her slight shudder Prince Derek inched nearer and suddenly moved to stand in between. He threw a fleeting glare at the whitehead.

The shadow which had come right in her face caught Rain by surprise and she didn't realize warmth return to her skin.

She was stunned and impulsively receded. Why did the prince have such strange behaviors?

Only until those men left, did he strode farther to stand by the side of the windows, as though nothing happened.

Vexed silver gaze raked the princess's tired eyes. Clearly , she must've looked for long.

"Whatever you have to say better be crucial enough to have dismissed those men."