The Question

The next day, Rin's family and the royal family sat down for breakfast in the dining room. Before the food arrived, Rin asked Prince Ben," Hey, Benny ( Rin's nickname for Prince Ben) ?" The royal family turned to look at Rin suddenly. Nobody had dared to call Prince Ben with a nickname. If they had, the prince would have gotten angry. But Prince Ben didn't mind Rin calling him Benny.

And so the royal family was shocked when Prince Ben didn't get angry. In fact, he looked happy. They thought that they felt faint. The king and queen looked at each other and started to whisper among themselves. Rin, seeing that everyone had gone silent, told the prince that she'll ask the question later.

Soon, the food came and everyone ate happily. After breakfast, Rin and Prince Ben headed to the royal gardens to check up on Hero. On the way, Rin asked," About my question, why were you in that forest?" Prince Ben stopped walking and turned to look at Rin.

"Well," he said," I was running away from my palace." Surprised, Rin asked," Why would you run away? I mean, you can have nearly everything." Prince Ben started walking with Rin following him.

"The keyword is nearly. I've been cooped in here my whole life. And I wanted to see the outside world. So I ran." replied Prince Ben.

Suddenly, someone dressed in all black appeared in front of them with a knife.