After reassuring Laura that she was alright, Isadora was unable to sleep and decided to take a stroll in the palace. So much was going inside her mind and she needed some peace to calm down at least for a while. Whenever she felt down, sparring with Newton was the only option she had in mind. And come to think of it, she had not seen him the whole day. Where could he have gone? He never left without informing her so why..how come he was not back? Or maybe he was in his room?

Walking into men’s rooms was not something she was used to but her gut feeling prompted her to check on Newton. Just knowing if he was alright was all she wanted.

She halted right in front of Newton’s chambers, her hand hanging mid air as she contemplated on if to knockthought. Maybe it was not the right idea. But why did her gut feeling tell her to knock. With a little hesitance, she gave the door a soft knock and waited patiently?Are you looking for Lord Newton. I’m afraid he’s not in," came her uncle’s annoying voice. Oh hell! She cursed. He was the last person she was wishing to cross paths with. Their last conversation did not end well. But she was genuinely concerned about Lord Newton. If he was not in the palace, then where was he?

"I sent him to the barracks. He’ll be organizing the war from the sea front," Griffin answered her thoughts.

"Why did you take him there?" She asked. Still, she couldn’t understand why he left without telling her. And Griffin, he was no lesser of a beast. He made decisions without informing her, a princess! Since when had he considered her a princess in the first place?

"Because he is one of the best fighters we have," Griffin answered. He read her face smirking inwardly. So she cared about his whereabouts? What would happen if she knew he was actually Newton and not Griffin as she thought?She wouldn’t hesitate to kick his balls. He smirked at the thought. He knew she was such a bad ass princess!

"Have you eaten already?" He asked lifting the awkward silence that had momentarily developed between them.

Isadora’s face grew all shades of dark. Griffin, asking her if she had eaten? She felt like laughing but was quick to mask her emotions with a staged smile. Did he know she had not eaten?

"Yes," she lied, looking him in the eye. Would it work? Griffin was always good at reading someone’s mind by simply looking them in the eye. Hell, who even told her to look him in the eye? She had herself to blame.

"Alright," he answered, his gaze instantly shifting to the left as he scratched the back of his neck nervously. Isadora frowned for the nth time. Why was Griffin acting so weird? It was unlike him! The Griffin she knew would never shy away from looking at her eyes, unless he was the one lying. But it was the exact opposite.

"How is Jade doing?" She chose to cease this opportunity since he seemed to be in the mood to talk. She knew Griffin was cautious so he might have noticed something was off with Jade. But Jade was no less powerful. She had royal blood running in her veins, if what she said was true.

"She’s doing great. I told her to stay for a couple of more days before she returns to Tasia. I’ll personally write a letter to her parents requesting the extension of her stay here," Newton answered coolly. He watched her reaction, a frown settling on his face when he noticed the confused look on her face. Did she know something about the Lady? Griffin had tasked him with the duty to find out more about her. Looks like Isadora knew something about the mysterious Lady in white.

"That’s good to hear," Isadora said, sending a staged smile at her so called uncle. Little did she know..

"I see you guys are close to each other nowadays," Newton said hinting to dig information from Isadora.

"Yes. She’s the first woman to be my friend, all thanks to you," Isadora said. But the statement was more of a blame than a compliment. And as shallow as Newton was, he took it as a compliment.

"Don’t mention it. I can tell her to stay even longer if you’d like," he said grinning from ear to ear. But the look he got!

Isadora was totally confused by this version of her uncle. Was he trying to annoy her on purpose? Maybe he should try something else but this. Didn’t anyone tell him he was bad at acting? But today he had uped his game to a higher level. Be it from the way he talked to the way he smiled, it all looked strange. It was like he was reincarnated into someone else’s body, but with good traits. Clever bastard! She scoffed in her mind for the nth time. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"If you don’t mind, I can walk you back to your room," he offered, surprising her even further. Was he trying to act all like the gentleman he actually couldn’t be? She literally rolled her eyes inside out at the thought. Who did he think he was fooling? And what if she vibed along, for now? Maybe she would see some more drama from this all new Griffin, right?

"The pleasure is mine," she said, adopting a softer tone. "Shall I take the lead?" She asked.

"Yes," Newton simply answered. Isadora smiled at him before she turned around and started walking towards her room. She was dressed in a simple night gown that revealed most part of her lower thighs, instantly driving Newton all shades of crazy. Walking closely behind her prove to be the most difficult job he had in the world. He couldn’t help but throw furtive glances at her small but inviting back. Clenching his fists into tight balls, he cursed, wishing the whole damn walk to end soon.