[Music Recommendation: Rescue ~ Lauren Diagle]

Oriana stirred restlessly in her sleep. She kept having dreams, but she couldn’t point out exactly what she was seeing. Everywhere was dark, until she heard her grandmother’s voice.

"Oriana! Wake up!" Her grandmother’s voice echoed in her head.

This time, Oriana moved her body to the side, inhaling deeply. The next voice she heard was Adric’s,

"Ana! You need to wake up, now!"

Oriana’s eyes shot open. "Adric..." she muttered, looking around the room. But she was still in the inn, there was no Adric, and next to her was Freya. They had both slept close to the fireplace because of the cold night wind that gushed inside from the open window.

Sitting up on the mattress, Oriana felt a bitter taste in her mouth that made her feel sick. She stood up and went inside the bathroom to wash her face. When she returned to the room, she noticed a shadow under the door, as if someone was pacing outside.

"Freya... Freya..." Oriana nudged the girl, trying to wake her up. "Freya, stand up." She continued to tap her.

Freya finally opened her eyes, rubbing the remnants of sleep with the back of her hand. "Hm?" she answered, with half-closed eyes.

"We should leave," Oriana replied, looking around the room to pack their small bag. She then slung it over her shoulder before helping Freya stand.

Freya rushed into the bathroom, washing her face quickly before making her way to the door to open it.

"No, don’t!" Oriana shouted, but it was already too late. When Freya opened the door, the physician was standing there with a smile on his face.

Oriana cleared her throat, looking at the man suspiciously. "You’re awake?"

"Ah, yes," the man replied, touching his neck nervously. "You said to leave before dawn."

Oriana nodded. "That’s fine. We should leave." She made her way toward the window, throwing her bag out first.

"We’re not leaving through the door?" the physician asked, moving to stop Oriana from jumping.

Oriana stared at him for a moment. "No, we’re not. I have a feeling someone might have recognized me from last night. So we should leave this way to be safe." She carefully climbed out of the window, holding onto the wall until she found her balance, then placed her feet on the ground.

Freya was the next to jump, followed by the physician. As they made their way through the thick forest, the physician kept turning his head as if looking for something.

"Did you forget something?" Freya, who had noticed this odd behavior, asked.

The physician smiled. "No..." he shook his head.

Oriana watched the physician from the corner of her eye but didn’t say anything. Once they made it out of the forest, they reached the town that led to the kingdom’s border.

"We are close to the border. We’ll meet with Madame Rosalie soon," Oriana remarked, tying the scarf around her head to cover her face.

As they entered the small town, it was still early morning. People were going about their activities. Oriana tried to blend in, holding Freya’s hand as if they had come to buy things. Everything was going smoothly until the hoofbeats of horses were heard not far from them.

"It’s the Prime Minister!!" someone shouted, and everyone turned to bow.

Oriana bent her head, holding Freya tightly as she tried to hide herself in the crowd. Nicholas and his army had almost passed when the physician ran out, screaming at the top of his voice.

"I have them!! They’re here!!"

Oriana rushed to stop the man, trying to cover his mouth. "What are you doing?" But the man pushed her away, waving his hands.

"They’re here!! Look at them!"

Nicholas’s ears picked up the voice. He stopped his horse, turning just in time to see Oriana trying to stop the man from talking.

"Get them!" he commanded.

Oriana tightened her grip on Freya’s wrist. "Run!" she shouted. They both ran in the opposite direction.

The physician ran toward Nicholas with a bright smile on his face.

"I found them... when do I get my reward, Lord Nicholas?"

With one swift motion, Nicholas slashed the man in two, his blood splattering everywhere.

"It’s King Nicholas now," he watched as the man slumped to the ground, covered in his own blood.

"He... he killed him," Freya, who had turned for a brief moment, stuttered. Soon, the entire town became chaotic as everyone ran back inside their houses, locking their doors.

Oriana used this opportunity to hide with Freya inside one of the stalls, waiting for the right time to run toward the border. All she needed to do was get to Madame Rosalie, and everything would be fine.

"I’m scared..." Freya whispered, her whole body trembling with fear.

Oriana squeezed the girl’s hand gently. "It’s going to be okay. If they turn away from the border, we run towards it," she said, trying to calm Freya.

Nicholas and his men finally moved away from the border, going to search the empty stalls. Oriana took the opportunity to drag Freya as they ran towards the border.

Freya tried to keep her eyes ahead, avoiding looking at the physician who had been with them throughout the journey but was now dead on the floor.

"Freya, don’t stop. Keep running," Oriana shouted, trying to call the girl back to reality.

Freya nodded, but when she tried to take another step, something pierced deep into her leg, causing her to fall.

"Argh!! My leg!!" Freya shouted, holding her leg that was now covered in blood.

Madame Rosalie, who was waiting at the border, beamed with joy when she saw Oriana running towards her.

"Run, come!" she waved, but her smile faltered when Oriana stopped running.

Oriana held her stomach, feeling another dull ache, at the same time looking at Freya, who was unable to move.

"You have to go without me," Freya spoke through the pain she was feeling, "Go, I’ll be fine."

Oriana looked ahead at the border, where Madame Rosalie was waving for her, and behind her, where Nicholas was making his way toward them.

"If you take another step, the girl dies," Nicholas said with a seriousness in every word. "Oriana, there’s no escape now."

Reaching where Freya was, Nicholas raised a dagger, placing it close to the girl’s throat, his eyes emotionless as he prepared to kill her.

Oriana knelt down. "Please... stop, Nicholas. I won’t run anymore."

"No..." Both Freya and Madame Rosalie shook their heads.

Oriana looked down at her stomach. She was already tired, and defenseless and all she wanted to do at that moment was sleep. In Adric’s arms, she just wanted to sleep peacefully.

Nicholas pushed Freya aside, going to stand in front of Oriana. He tipped her chin up, forcing her to face him. "And I’ll make you mine," he said, bringing his face close and forcefully kissing her.

He turned to his men. "Tie them up. Let’s return to the palace."

Madame Rosalie tried to chase after them, but Oriana shook her head with a tired smile. She knew there was nothing anyone could do against Nicholas. All they needed was for Adric to return.