Iron Hand in a Velvet Glove

The four pillars of that huge hall were sculpted with beautiful artwork.

It was a room designed by artists from the capital. The center rectangular part of the hall was the lowest of that floor. The steps downward steps from the entrance led to the center of that room.

It was where Diana was standing at that moment.

From there, one could step up in three directions to their relevant seats. The one at the straight opposite of the entrance was the highest seat. It could be considered the throne. It is where usually the knight sits.

Diana had been brought to the great hall an hour ago!

Four guards who brought her stepped away and stood in the four corners, right next to the pillars of that room.

There was no one else in that great hall.

After standing for another ten minutes she finally lost patience.

"Where is the knight?", she questioned one of the guards who was standing in the right corner before her.

"....."

She turned to the other and repeated the question.

"....."

"What the... What's wrong with you all?", she muttered.

"You are not supposed to ask questions, miss. Don't forget, you are brought here for a trial."

An unknown voice rang right next to her.

Diana turned away to see a man who appeared to be her father's age. He walked past her and sat on the seat next to the throne.

The clothes and his accent proved that he is someone from the capital city.

Diana unwaveringly looked at him. She didn't say a word but the look in her eyes announced her hostility.

The man smirked and spoke again, "You are a daredevil, indeed", he said.

Diana frowned then looked away.

After a minute or two, the guard by the door announced someone's arrival!

"The leading light of Lanir, the war god, his highness the crown prince have arrived!"

Diana could hear some quick footsteps behind her. She didn't care to turn and look this time. She kept looking at the throne in front of her.

The man who sat in the seat beside the throne stood up and bowed, paying his respect to the so-called crown prince.

This crown prince is very popular throughout Lanir. He is very well known for his attractiveness and valor. The village girls of her age usually talk about him often. They converse about his brilliant hunts and fights he won. Also, they often speak about his appearance, though none of them have seen him in person!

Diana usually listens to these stories but her focus was mainly on the number of animals he had killed. With his every adventurous story she ended up hating him even more.

What a wicked person he is!

She never wanted to face him in life but here she is in front of him, as a traitor!

She hated it more than being arrested.

As she was busy being uninterested to confront the crown prince, a tall man walked past her, followed by the knight and the royal physician.

The tall man walked straight to that throne then turned. His grant silk robe and the accessories he was wearing and that silver crown on his head told her who he is.

He looked at her once before sitting down.

"Is this the girl you were talking about?", he questioned the knight.

"Yes, your highness!", he replied.

The man once again looked in her direction. This time his expression had already turned into something else. There was a smirk on his lips. His eyes were filled in an ounce of mockery.

"The werewolf king's taste in woman seems so average! he said.

The knight couldn't control his laughter. He must be more than happy!

Diana was indeed shocked because of the way the prince spoke.

'What an arrogant fool?', she thought.

The one before her was indeed handsome, but he was not even close to Wyatt's handsomeness. So he was not the most handsome man out there. So it was indeed funny for him to say something like that. Besides, even if Diana is given the chance, she would not choose this arrogant fool. If she did, wouldn't that mean her taste in men is super bad?

"Seems so, your highness!", the knight replied.

Diana once turned to the knight to see his sheepish laughter. This man would anything to do anything to please his prince. It was evident!

Diana looked straight again.

Now again that prince's expression changed from contempt to stern.

"What are we going to do with her then?"

'So this is how he is going to rule! No inquiries. He will punish whoever presented in front of him!', Diana thought. Even Ray would do a better job than him!', with this thought, her lips automatically rolled up into a smile. She had to try her best to hide it!

"Let's bring her back to the Cardended, your highness!", the royal physician recommended.

"Why not kill her?", the prince asked!

Diana's eyes widened in wonder. What kind of a prince he is?

"I'm afraid that the werewolf king would annihilate Lanir if we do so, your highness", the man who came to that hall before the others told them.

"It's a shame that our minister is so scared of a wolf", the prince scornfully looked at the man.

The man didn't seem to be so scared. He stood up and smiled and walked to the center of that hall.

"It's not that I'm scared, your highness! It's that I'm thinking about the future of Lanir", he said.

The prince's face turned so ugly with these words. Before he could kill that minister, the minister tactfully said another line.

"Let me bring the werewolf king to his highness's sword!"

The prince frowned.

"What do you mean?", he asked.

"Your highness, there is a strategy I have devised to kill him", he said.

"Is there one?"

"Yes, your highness and it requires her!", the minister said.

"Go ahead!", the prince ordered, still with a dubious frown.

"We all know that the werewolf king would come back for her!"

"....."

All the others attentively listened with curiosity on their faces. For some reason, Diana didn't like this idea.

What if it was Ray and what if he got hurt?

The minister kept silent as well, intriguing the prince to ask a question.

"How to make use of her?"

"She is the bait!", the minister replied.

"Explain!", the prince said.

"Before he could attack Lanir and capture her, we should use her as the bait and capture him instead"

"How to do that?"

"We could use the portions!"

"But we never tried experimenting them"

"We could try this time!"

"For that, we need mother's consent. The portions cannot be used in Lanir without her consent"

"That's true, your highness. Her highness would agree if we are going to use it to kill that evil werewolf king!"

"But she will ask something in return!", the prince muttered. Although he said that in a low voice, the knight was able to hear that. He turned towards the prince once.

The prince seemed to be thinking.

"I'll talk to the queen!", he said.

Everyone's face in that room bloomed into a satisfactory smile, except for two.

One is Diana and the other is the knight.

"Your highness, what should we do with her till then?", he asked.

"Put her in the prison now. Bring her to the palace", he paused. "I'm going to let mother decide!", he finished.

The knight's face showed some satisfaction then. Of course, he wanted her far away from Wyatt!

That knight, the whole village was celebrating the prince's arrival. Diana was locked in the prison.

She couldn't sleep the whole night.

When she looked up at the night sky through the small window in that room, by the roof, which was unreachable, she understood that it was already midnight.

Her worries grew with time. She was so worried since her father didn't even try to stop her punishment and save her from being sent to prison.

She had been bad in the past, but she had never done anything evil. She knew very well that she doesn't deserve this punishment either. But it hurt so much that her father was not by her side in the toughest time of her life. She was so sure how tough it will get in the future.

"Father, this time, it wasn't my fault", she whispered to the crescent moon!

But what chance did she stand against fate?

She wanted to know what her father was doing. She wanted to know how Wyatt is. Also, she wanted to know where did Ray head to. Although she was standing in the dark for real, these confusions darkened her colorful mind as well. She couldn't say what will happen to her in Cardended. She couldn't say how long she will live.

All she knew at that moment was, how much she wanted her father, Wyatt, and Ray to be well. No matter what she must try her best to not hurt any one of them and save them.