Chapter 5: Attention

"Stop hurting yourself, my lady," her maid stopped her.

"Let us go before we're too late to escape," she said.

"Okay then. Laelya, I will meet you here when the sun sets. When I am still gone before that, take your leave. We are releasing you from our grasp," she said, and she quickly rode her horse to the castle.

"My lady!! You can't go back!!" Laelya told her.

In her mind, she says, "there is no turning back now. I am your family, and we will face this together."

She hurried her way to the castle, but the guards blocked her.

"I am Ayla De Froice~, the daughter of General Wallace De Froice and Lady Anna Reaves. I want to speak with the king," She demanded, but the guards pointed arrows at her.

"Stand down, traitor!" they shouted as they were ready to shoot arrows at her.

She went off of her horse and continued walking towards her death. They shoot one arrow for her to stop, but she never did intend to stop. The guard fired another arrow, but it scratched her left shoulder this time. She did stop for a moment, but she tightly held on to her shoulder and kept moving forward.

"The next arrow will pierce your heart," the commanding guard said as he pointed at her heart. He was about to release it, but someone came to save her just in time.

"I am Michael Valor, the Crown Prince of this country, and as your future king of Kaastiana, I order you to stop this!!" Michael made a grand entrance, and Ayla never expected that he was the prince because he walked freely outside the castle without a guard.

She looked at him with so much madness because he hid his identity from her, but at the same time, she was thankful because he had saved her life.

She walked toward him and whispered, "Thank you," but she, later on, lost consciousness.

-_-_-_-_-_-_--

She woke up again, but this time she thought she was drowning. She then finds herself in a comfy bedroom.

"You're awake, I see," he said as he folded his letter and stamped it.

She looked at her wound and saw that the physician had already treated it.

"You are the Crown Prince of Kaastiana? Why is everyone hiding something from me" she said as she took off the blanket and prepared to meet her father.

"I never want to hide my identity from you, but I fear in the thought that you might keep your distance from me when you knew I was not only a noble but the future king of Kaastiana," he said

"Then congratulations! You just made me a fool," she told him and put on her shoes.

"My friendship with you was sincere. You are my first ever friend, and I hope you know that," he said

"I know that because you too are my first ever friend," she replied

"If you go out of this room, then I won't guarantee your safety," he said

"I - - choose to be with my family until death," she said as she stormed out of the room.

She was headed to the Throne room and saw the King and Queen of Kaastiana.

"I request the presence of the king and queen," she announced, and many nobles were looking at her.

She gathered so much attention because of her extraordinary beauty. Ayla never intended to accumulate too much attention. Still, she captured a lot because of her wavy natural light brown hair (the specific color is cocoa), brown hazel eyes, plump, kissable lips, and pointy nose.

People started gossiping about her, but she chose not to hear anything about those gossip.

"What does a beautiful young woman want?" the king asked.

"I am Ayla De Froice~, the daughter of General Wallace De Froice and Lady Anna Reaves. I believe that people are framing my parents for treason," She announced as she kept pace.

"oh! So you are that one and only daughter they speak of," The Queen said

"It was not just an accuse because we already gathered evidence to prove his treacherous act," The king said

"My family is pure and clean. We never intended to disrespect the king of Kaastiana," She said

"I know about that, but your father received letters with a hidden message." He said as he ordered his men to get the evidence and the people who conspired against us.

"Guards! Summon the General and his wife in the Throne room at once," The King demanded, and they waited for them in the throne room. She was shaking before him, but she never wanted to show weakness.

They threw her parents and her maid on the floor like an animal.

"Father! Mother! Laelya!! I told you to run away," She said as she kneeled to hug them.

"His Majesty! Ayla is innocent in this," he begged for him.

"What are you talking about?" she asked her father.

"We lost this battle, my daughter. I have no way to prove my innocence to the king because the evidence was accompanied by confessions from many people that I never did," Her father whispered.

"This is your child?" The king asked

"She was not my child, His majesty," her father said, making her even more hopeless.

"How come you announced to the world that she is your only daughter? I ordered the royal guards that you and your bloodline be hanged publicly for being a spy by sending messages to the Queen reagent of Egothedia." The king said with madness.

"I am innocent, and I won't accept the allegations bestowed upon me," My father defended.

"You can't escape this because everything revolves around you and not to mention hard proof evidence," The king said

"I know I cannot escape death, but please spare Ayla because she was not a part of my bloodline," He announced, which made the gossip even louder.

"How is that so?" The QueenQueen was curious, and she saw the girl in great despair as she heard about the truth.

"I found Ayla by the streets starving and was near to death. I took her in and gave her my name," her father explained, and her mother went closer to her weeping their tears.

"But why would you do that?" The king asked.

"Your majesty, Anna and I cannot bear a child of our own. My wife told me to find another girl who could give me an heir but my love for her was deeper than anything else. I took Ayla as my daughter for us to be happy and to have a child to raise," her father said, and the girl was too stunned to speak any further. She just stood there hearing the news that she had never been their child.

"Since my punishment is the death of my bloodline. The bloodline only ends with me, and I do not wish to reach this issue to my half-sisters," he said

"Father!" she shouted.