Newton had decided to stay with Roselyn for yet another night. He even declined a direct order from Isadora requesting him to organize the palacial unit. He sent a general to organize it instead and spent the night besides a griefing Roselyn.

She had turned emotional when she saw her father’s deformed body in the morgue later in the day. His skull had cracked due to the jump from the third floor as everyone thought.

The fact was that Henry had the mindset to kill himself after writing the letter but when he had decided to change his mind, the Cromwell in disguise came and pushed him off the window.

Roselyn had cried on Newton’s lap, finally falling asleep as he caressed her hair softly. He didn’t want to wake her up so he spent the whole night watching her beautiful face under the moonlight and dimly lit candles.

And when he had thought everything was fine, screams filled the palace early in the morning waking Roselyn with a start. Newton offered to check what was happening but when he came back, fear was evident on his face.

"Arcadian knights have attacked the palace. We need to leave!" He said grabbing Roselyn’s hand but she stayed still.

"Arcadian knights can never attack Crescia and you know that."

Newton cursed. Damn it. "Griffin has bribed members of the council and promised them something in return, which is land I guess."

"Then I can stop them. They’ll obey me since I’m the heir. My father said it in the letter."

"That is too dangerous Roselyn. Besides, they’ll claim you had been disowned. Nobody else knows about the letter apart from us!"

Roselyn could understand him but she had to do something. "At least I’ll try."

"No! It’s too dangerous!" Newton protested. He couldn’t afford seeing her hurt again.

"I have nothing to lose," she said with no hint of emotion on her face which left Newton jaw dropped. Was she that hurt to not care about her own life? What about him? Did she care about him? He bit his lower lip trying to suppress the anger boiling within him.

"If you die, I have something to lose," he said with gritted teeth.

"What?" Roselyn asked as if she didn’t have the tiniest clue of what he was talking about.

"You of course. I don’t want to lose you Roselyn." He moved closer and held her hands in his. "I want to give you a life Roselyn. I want to always be there for you. I can’t hide it anymore." He added looking at her eyes.

"I love you."

Roselyn blinked at his words, her face a mixture of emotions. He looked at her in the eye and all she could see was genuine care and concern. For once in her life, she felt like human. Her heart raced and felt funny. Was this the feeling of... Love?

She patted her lips slightly still gazing into Newton’s eyes that held unspoken meaning and emotions within them. "I... I honestly don’t know what to say."

Ouch! Newton was hurt a bit. "We can always take it slow," he said. This was a golden chance he could not afford losing. And before she could answer, a maid passed by his room screaming at the top of her lungs.

"We need to leave now!" He said and dragged her by her hand. And this time, she obediently obliged. He took her to the stables where palace guards were waiting with horses and helped her climb.

"Take her to safety," he instructed.

"What about you?" She asked wrapping her hands around the knight. She didn’t notice how the simple action made Newton clutch his fists.

"I’m going to save your mother and everyone else in the Palace." ’And Zed,’ he thought. And before she could say anything, he urged the horse forward which headed in the direction of Valoria.

All Roselyn had been doing her whole life as a princess was to stay in other kingdoms. The amount of time she had spent in the Arcadian palace could mostly be attributed to her childhood. When she grew up into a young lady, suitors had become the norm but she rejected them all in favor of Alexander who didn’t even spare her a glance. Now her whole life could be termed as a refugee’s princess lifestyle.

*****

"That would be too dangerous!" Isadora voiced her concerns. The dragon would turn everything ablaze, including the palace. Until she was sure everyone had evacuated, the dragon would be her last option. She looked behind to see the better part of the city already in flames.

"The Arcadians have already set the city on fire. They are only sparing the palace because they would use it were they to win this war. What if setting it in flames would be weakening them?" He let her think for a while though time was not on their side.

"Is this Roselyn’s or Felista’s doing? I had trusted that woman!" She said narrowing her eyes at the thought.

"Neither," Alexander answered surprising her. "It was the council’s doing. They took advantage of the royal family’s absence to make the decision. Griffin had bribed them as well."

It now dawned on Isadora. So all this was her uncle’s doing. He was always ten steps ahead of her.

"Take me to the mountains," she said, her face hardened. If destroying the palace was what it took to save her people, so be it!

Alexander held her by the waist before he went up in flames. Luckily, she wouldn’t get consumed. The two went airborne and in what could be termed as a blur, shot towards the mountains.

Alexander landed softly on the rocky surface at the opening of the cave and placed her on the ground. She took a few steps forward but Alexander maintained a safe distance. He was still wary of Whirlock.

Isadora closed her eyes and mumbled some words even she wasn’t aware of. She shot her eyes open and a growl came from the cave shaking the whole mountain. From the darkness of the cave emerged the golden scaled beast looking ferocious but its eyes softened when it saw Isadora standing on the front.