I'm not hapless, I'm inexperienced

She wasn't used to being scrubbed down yet, but she happily took the excuse to get away from the awkwardness of the dream. Even if she was the only one who had the dream.

Fleeing the scene after a crime of embarrassment was her MO now, she wasn't about to stop.

This was the third day of the coronation festivities, and the first day she'd be leaving the palace itself. She sat alone in the palanquin, because it was only designed to fit one consort and she wasn't about to start the drama of picking one member of the harem to take that place.

The harem rode on horses nearer to the end of the parade, because the organizers didn't know where else to put them.

The parade was slow moving from her perspective, the distant music of the band playing a good distance away from her.

She peered out of the window through the curtains at the people looking up at her.

Some waved and smiled at her. Others wore bored expressions, uninterested. But still others had made signs, and threw them at her palanquin as she passed.

They bounced off of the wood of her palanquin as she moved and were trampled underfoot so quickly she could never read any of them.

...Were these people invited or-..

She flinched, withdrawing quickly from the windows, letting the curtain fall.

It seemed best not to tempt fate.

How many of the people...were actually just...throwing things...? Shouldn't there be guards all around me on the parade? I know I saw a whole unit of soldiers walking ahead of me...!

More importantly-

Who throws whole signs?! That's not how you use signs! That is not how you protest! And why am I being protested??

She took several deep breaths, attempting to calm herself.

Her fingers ran through her hair and she shook her head.

Is this all because I made a harem instead of marrying some random king? Come to think of it...there must have been men lined up to be the king consort, right? I never asked Archibald who those were, but if they expected me to pick that day there had to be some kind of targets lined up...

She pursed her lips, touching her chin with a fingertip.

Obviously it wasn't Phoenix. He would have said so, for one.

Definitely not Alex.

And given how the maids reacted, it wasn't Lyov either.

Pauli...?

No, ridiculous.

She shook her head. She'd just have to ask someone when she had the chance again.

The parade finally drew to an end, and her palanquin turned off from the main street to a smaller road.

Although she'd not actually done much, her social battery still felt drained from the strange...sign throwing thing. 

Seriously, what was that about??

She sighed and leaned to look out the window to see if the harem had caught up. Or she was at least close to the palace. One of the two.

...The streets around her didn't look familiar at all.

She frowned.

The streets looked dingy, darker, clustered together. Nobody seemed to be standing around, no one seemed to be present at all except for her palanquin.

"What the...?" She murmured.

A hand reached up suddenly and yanked her curtain shut again. 

She yelped and fell back into the chair.

Something's wrong.

She bit her lip, and reached up to grab the curtain again, when suddenly-

[BONUS CHALLENGE

~ASSASSINATION PLOT~

Rank: 7 

Objective: Survive.

Reward: 1 Special Coupon °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°]

She froze, eyes widening. "Wait wait wait!! WAIT."

Crackling reached her ears and smoke began to fill the small box she was trapped in.

Her eyes watered, but she coughed and kicked at the door.

The door refused to budge, so she spun in place to the other side, the one facing the 'out' and kicked at that door.

It did not open, either.

Of course. It wouldn't make much sense to try to burn her alive and leave the doors unlocked.

She beat and slapped at the doors, screaming. "HELP!! Hey!! Let me out!!"

She scrambled forward in the direction the front of the palanquin, but had to stop, as the flames began to eat through the wood there. Only whatever coated the box kept her alive - as apparently it was slow to burn.

"Please!!"

There was no reply but crackling and popping.

The smoke made it difficult to breathe and coughing made it even more so.

Her eyes teared up, and the edges of her vision grew dark.

No...no no no...!

She reached out to a door again, and screamed as the metal at the edge burned her hand.

I don't want to die and not know why!

"Help! Someone! Please!"

Her voice was raw, her eyes stung, she coughed as black smoke filled the carriage and burned her lungs.

She was...getting weak.

Someone shouted outside.

Wood heaved.

Splintered.

Exploded inward.

She collapsed.

In her blurry vision, she could barely see Lyov reaching for her.

Everything faded to black.

She felt herself floating in darkness.

Emptiness.

She felt terror - the fear that she'd returned back to that empty, cold place. That she'd made a mistake, failed the arbitrary challenges and now was banished back to this plane forever as punishment.

She cried out.

She clawed at the darkness.

She screamed.

Her eyes flew open as she clawed at the air, screaming, throwing herself out of the hospital bed.

The entire harem rushed to her aid, shouting her name.

Alex and Lyov were first to reach her, and Alex pushed her down flat on her back with ease.

She fought, bucking, clawing.

"No! NO! I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK!"

Firm hands gripped her face.

"Isabelle!" Phoenix's soft voice shouted, strong and commanding. "Isabelle, look at me!"

She paused, wild-eyed, hair plastered to her face and sticking to her sweaty skin.

Phoenix had draped his body over her, face taking up her whole vision, hands firmly on her face. "Isabelle. Sweetheart. Calm down, you're safe."

He spoke in soft, firm tones.

"You're safe. Everything is going to be okay. I'm right here, you're alright. I won't leave your side. I promise. Nothing is going to harm you."

She was held in place by six hands and by his gaze, golden eyes firmly locked onto her red ones.

His gaze was fierce, strong, protective.

Her lip quivered. "I...I don't...I don't want to go back."

"You won't." He said it as a statement.

Factual.

Absolute.

Her breath came ragged.

Slowly, her reason came back to her, along with her full consciousness.

Alex was at her right, holding her shoulder and arm down, looking panicked. Lyov to her left, holding down her other arm, looking terrified and in pain. Phoenix was above her, expression schooled into something comforting.

She no longer fought, but her body still shook and trembled in left over panic.

"It's alright, darling." Phoenix soothed. "It's alright. You're safe now."

She shuddered, closing her eyes tightly.

Lyov squeezed her shoulder. "W-we won't let anything happen to you again." He croaked hoarsely.

Alex's hand was firm on her arm, his gaze intense as he watched her face closely for signs of distress. "That's right. You're okay, everything's okay." He said softly, reassuringly. "Take a deep breath...good..."

Alex helped guide her breathing with his own, helping her focus on each inhale and exhale, until gradually her breathing steadied and her trembling subsided.

As she calmed, so too did the three men, whose expressions slowly relaxed. They released their grips on her one at a time, each giving her space to sit up carefully in the bed. She still felt weak, not just from the panic but likely also the smoke inhalation. 

"Wha...what...happened....?" Isabelle questioned, gazing up at them uncertainly. "My memories are...so hazy...I-...I'm...confused...."

Lyov's eyes darkened. "...Someone attempted to kill you...My Empress..."

Her heart dropped to her stomach and her mind went blank. "...Kill...me?"

Phoenix's expression was angrier than she'd ever seen it. "...After the parade, the men assigned to carry your palanquin carried you elsewhere, instead of back home. They then barred the doors of your carriage and lit it on fire."

Lyov clenched his fists. "As soon as I realized something was wrong I came after you as quickly as possible, but it was already on fire and the culprits already fled..."

Lyov's face crumpled and tears trickled down his cheeks. "...If I had only been quicker, if I hadn't let my guard down...! If I had been able to catch them then-"

Phoenix clicked his tongue. "None of that. It was you who realized the plot in time. Had you not been watching the empress so closely..." He trailed off, golden eyes sliding to Alex.

Alex nodded slowly. "If anyone should feel guilty, it's I. I know so little of this city beyond the palace I had no idea anything was amiss until Sir Lyov noticed. He is the one to thank for saving your life."

Isabelle stared between the three, eyes wide. "Why...why would someone do this...?"

Phoenix sighed and shook his head. "Oh, there's always unhappy people. But I don't know what could have made them this unhappy."

Alex pressed his lips together in a line. "You've barely been empress two days. It's likely to do with your mother, not you."

Lyov shook his head. "Don't worry about it now, Your majesty. Rest. For now...let us worry about getting answers. You focus on recovery."

Alex and Lyov gently eased her back into bed, covering her with warm blankets. Lyov placed a gentle kiss to her forehead, while Alex brushed her hair out of her face and gave her a rare, tender smile. "It's okay. You're safe now."

"I've arranged for the best healers to care for you, dear. So rest." Phoenix added. "We will return shortly."

"Wait-."

She reached out and grabbed Phoenix's wrist. "I...don't...want to. I don't want to go to sleep yet." She bit her lip, feeling rather pathetic. "Will...you...sit with me?"

He paused just a moment, and then a gentle smile spread across his lips. He smoothed back her hair and nodded. "Alright, I can do that, my dear."

The others moved away, but he did not, settling into the bed next to her instead, her head resting gently in his lap. He stroked her hair comfortingly and spoke quietly to her of unimportant nonsense while her eyelids grew heavy.

Phoenix's voice was like honey, and despite her fear of returning to that dark place if she fell asleep again, it was soothing and reassuring to her. She drifted off in a warm, dreamless sleep, curled against him.