chapter 3

Her heart hammered against her ribcage as she leaned against the large door making sure not to exact too much pressure on it refraining from any unwelcomed motion.

Whilst her heart raced she could feel her stomach churn because she had a strong intuition held up in her guts that something didn't feel right. First of all why was this part of the announcement kept from not only commoners but also few royals?

Why did 'The king' even communicate in such low tune in the first place?

She faced difficulty hearing their conversation considering they spoke on a low voice so that no one might hear but she could tell that the words said where incisive and had distress in it. But still her ears managed to scrape few words off her father's deep voice.

"The prophecy would be fulfilled soon, we need cities to fend what w…" then he stopped abruptly. From the way he paused it was obvious he just noticed one lose end; the door.

She read his mind like a book connecting the dots internally she knew Harp was going to come get the door. Which at this point she wished she had missed a dot. Unfortunately she didn't, her analysis was right as she heard the large boots of Harp punish the hard wood on the ground as he approached her.

She quickly took a swift move towards one of the large pillars. It was obvious her dancing classes were paying off, considering how her pace and flexibility occurred in a clean flash locating the nearest pillar to conceal her presence from harp.

The whole thing had happened quickly which indicated she already laid the plan internally.

She knew it was not in Harp to obey instructions precisely without tweaking it─ He was a careful and meticulous fella ─so she decided to extend her stay in her hideout.

He walked out through the door causing the metal rings of his armour attached to him to clang with one another as they made a ringing noise. He moved his right hand towards his scabbard like he was about to unsheathe it peering around with uttermost focus, retrieving his hand he turned towards the opposite part of the hallway facing the pillar where she hid.

Aria could feel her heart drop for a second, the gentle gushing wind now stroked her face harshly causing her cheeks to redden. She tried so much not to make a sound each breath taken was like calculus considering they were calculated before they were released.

Harp eyes continued to spy down to the far end of the hallway hoping the wind would scream 'yeah someone just stole vital information'

After what felt like forever he returned to the door, then walked back inside the room, this time making sure the doors were shut.

She breathed sigh of relief as she closed her eyes with her face facing up. Her blood pressure starting to return to normalcy as she heard the large door latch kiss the hook. She immediately retrieve herself from her camp, trying not to make any clumsy motion as she trailed down the remaining path of the hallway.

What prophecy? Why do they need more cities?

She couldn't help but struggle internally with these questions as they clouded her brain. Simultaneously as her thoughts raced, she could feel her palm grow sweaty. Unknowingly she began to fidget as she contemplated on what she just heard.

Certainly she faced the burden of having been intrigued by these things, her father have never been supportive of her been a part of kingdom dirty plays even though he knew how smart she was, he still worried that her smartness just couldn't replace the ruthless nature of kingdoms. Over here it was only the option of been both smart and ruthless to survive, if you stay one sided you serve the ruthless. If you stay neutral you die.

Well too bad now not only has she discovered there secret meeting he had also given her a new puzzle to fix. And surprisingly she felt thrilled and scared at the same time.

Just as she approached large doors leading to her room she rubbed her sweaty hands on her milk gown allowing it get stained. She was quick to realized the guards standing few feets away notice the redness on her cheek without straining their eyes. She pretended to toughen up her face resting her mind on the fact that they were in no position to question her.

Been a royal at Caspian came with its curse and blessings. On most occasions she was forced to put her private life on hold, a quest of doing what it's best for the kingdom. Her father has even made the moves of talking her into how much merging with possible suitors would strengthen the economic growth of Caspian.

A request she had always declined. It was in the nature of princesses from insignificant houses to want this kind of life but it had its stain and blessings which at his moment in her life she wanted the blessing to answer to her as she approached the guards. While these default laws existed she still manage to find closeness with Hannah a peasant she had known from birth.

As she walked into her room─ her maid who had already see her from a distance trailed behind her sticking close yet also trying to maintain a distance in other to avoid bumping into her from behind.

On a normal day the setting of the sun reflecting to her room would lit her up just as it strikes her face, but not today. She ignored it just this once making her way to the bed. She weakly travelled up the big wooden mattress. She laid with her head facing the ceiling allowing a large chunk of her blonde hair find rest too, as they spread over the bed.

She marked the puzzled look on her hand maid face but chose to ignore her as the maid took action to lose her shoes maybe that would ease the tension choking the room.

Unwilling to torture her further Aria eventually spoke without agitation.

"Please I need to be alone", she said politely.

At least for a Caspian princess she was polite enough. Considering most Caspian's royals were ruthless towards commoners. For that reason many hand maid have had working under Aria on their wish list because of her big heart.

The hand maid nodded as she kept the unbuckled shoes before heading for the door.

Truthfully she wanted to be alone.

She let out a mild groan as she heard the maid shut the door.

The solo play of dealing with her thoughts on matters like this was not a new thing. But still a large part of her felt the urge of spilling everything she just heard to Hannah, Considering she was obviously the only person she could possibly tell.

She subdued the thought considering it would have a dual effect of not only been stupid but dangerous for Hannah to have such data in her possession. Besides Saturn already made himself clear this morning

While she ran her hands through her hair she suddenly realized she still had her gown on her.

Her brain played on the stressful path she would travel to take the large material off of her. While calculating, her mind suggested she stick to the bed a little longer which her body helplessly obeyed.

Just before her eyes started to fail her she flashed back to what - who they were going up against by tomorrow nightfall.

She imagined what the books have told her of this mysterious snowy place. Flash banks on the winter land. She imagined the harsh sting of the cold air, the snow covering the tress, ground and house.

Aria was an avid reader considering the taint of been a royal which limited her social life, it didn't take so much time to find proximity with historical books in her father's chambers. She took deep dive into studying the marauders, their origin and existence, their breeds, offspring and other relevant kingdoms with Chaldreon not been an exception.

She recalled the detailed elucidations of the writer, reviewing the cruel cold winter breeze that existed there. The review of how fingers moved slowly and careless citizens almost dying of extreme cold played in her head as if she had read the book yesterday.

The snow blazed in the sun seeming to radiate heat that tempts one to step outside yet saps the warmth the moment you do.

Chaldreans wore Ghati─ a collection of clothing designed solely for the unpleasant weather.

It came with thicker surcoats, mechanical materials for covering the earlobes, cheeks and other relevant part of the body with a sole purpose of grasping any trace of warmth.

The snow sparkles brought good memories of the place but didn't fail to keep their imperfections far away.

They had the ruthless form of punishments among all kingdoms, observed mysterious deity sacrifices that cost the life of blasphemers in the city.

From her study she learnt they had relentless spirit. They were not strong enough to hold Caspian but they were skilled enough to try. There will be no room of going down without a fight.

As she recalled everything her eyes began to wear off, clearly sending a message it had reached its limit. Her knee slowly failing her as they grew weak. She rolled feebly to the far end of the bed slowly grabbing her pillow along the movement as she eventually yielded to the calling of sleep.

Bearing at the back of her mind that tomorrow not only did they face a significant kingdom, they war against nothing terrestrial.

They faced the ice kings.

If you hold back you lose. If you stay cold feet you freeze to death