Adriana couldn't think straight. How could she be expected to, when her best friend was probably lying dead in the castle. Her mind was a mess of fear and curses, worst-case scenarios and the lingering hope in the back of her mind that begged the rest of her brain to not freak out. 

        Who would do this? Why?

        Adriana couldn't figure out what would have prompted anyone to do this to two random girls in the woods.

        But then again, she wasn't just some random girl.

        How can I figure out who it is?

        Adriana wasn't dumb, but for once in her life she was stumped. How were you supposed to track down a criminal who hadn't left any clues?

        Wait...but how do I know they didn't leave any clues?

        Adriana realized with a jolt that she hadn't been back to the site of the shooting. Given, she had been a bit preoccupied with the possible death of Skylar, but at the same time, she had skipped over a huge chance to figure out who the shooter was.

        Jumping out of bed, Adriana opened her curtains, letting in the broad daylight that was hiding behind them. Ever since the shooting last night, Rissa had been extra protective of Adriana, and the princess was willing to bet that the sorceress had stationed people at the doors to keep her niece inside the castle and out of harm's way.

        Adriana had never been so thankful that her bedroom was on the first floor.

        After locking her door to prevent Rissa discovering her disappearance, she opened the widow as wide as she needed to fit her body through and climbed out, landing on the grass outside with a soft thump. She closed the window quietly and ran off, ducking through the most intricate way she had ever gotten out of the castle to avoid the guards.        

        The woods were easier to find in the day than during the night, and no one questioned the princess as she ran through the streets, bumping into people and hoping desperately that the shooter wasn't watching her, following her back to the spot when her friend could have very well been killed.

        Anything, any evidence... Adriana thought as she stopped at the spot where she and Skylar had been the night before, catching her breath briefly. Leaves were scattered around the ground and there was still blood on most of them, dried and darkened. As Adriana continued to look further into the woods, she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

        A small black square was sticking out of the leaves, and Adriana bent down to pick it up. As she did, more of the object slid out from under the leaves, and Adriana stood up holding a gun in her hand.

        This must be the gun.

        It was a small handgun, around the size of a book from the castle library. Flipping it over, Adriana recognized the crest painted just above the grip of the gun almost immediately. It was a deep turquoise circle, with two swords crossed in the middle and a blood-red diamond where the swords crossed. The letter "A" was inscribed in elegant script inside the diamond, and the rim of the circle was stark white, contrasting with the black of the gun.

         The crest had been depicted in the book that Adriana had read the other day, the one where she found out about the juyts. It was the crest of Ariesia.

        Who would still remember Ariesia? Who would have any idea what Ariesia even is anymore without reading that book? 

        Who would still be holding that grudge?

***

        "What's that?" 

        Dawn was sitting with Kabos in the same meadow that they had gone to on their first official date. The sun was shining, the air was finally free from the humidity that had been cursing Gregoria for the past couple days, and Dawn couldn't imagine any better place to be.

        "Oh, this?" Kabos laughed, tucking the turqouise hankerchief back into his pocket. "Nothing. Just a gift from my dad a few years back." he opened the picnic basket. "Are you sure that your parents are cool with you being here? I heard about Ad's friend."

        "Yeah, they're fine. Rissa's told all the guards to keep Ad inside the castle to prevent her from being hurt, be she doesn't care much about me, and she's convinced that you're the most fantastic human being to ever walk the earth." Dawn laughed, something she hadn't done in a while. It felt nice. 

        "Well, good. I hope I can prove them right." Kabos smiled, placing a light peck on her cheek. Dawn blushed madly as he set up their picnic.

        "I am sorry about what happened to Skylar." Dawn said. "I mean, I know that she's been feeding Ad lies about you and me for a while, but it doesn't mean she should die."

        "Agreed." Kabos said, pouring juice in a paper cup. "I don't think she realizes what she's doing. She's just trying to help Adriana in the best way she can with the circumstances."

        "See, that's what I love about you." Dawn took a sip of her juice, "You always see the best in people, no matter what."

        "Well, I learn from the best." Kabos winked.

        They sat together for a while, eating and laughing. Then Kabos's face turned serious.

        "Dawn, can I ask you something?"

        "Of course." 

        "Do you..." his face turned red with embarrassment, "Do you see a future with me? Like, a real future. A life we can create together."

        Dawn thought about that for a second. She had always pictured herself getting married to a prince, a young man who would be able to support her and perhaps even allow her to move away from the castle and have her own life. Never in a million years could she have imagined Kabos, a village boy with the biggest heart of anyone she had ever known, who loved her regardless of her heritage.

        Who better to start a life with?

        "Of course." Dawn smiled genuinely, her heart filling with warmth, "What kind of question is that?"

        Kabos grinned slightly and leaned in to kiss her. As his lips met hers, all Dawn could think about was the fact that he wanted to start a life with her...that's not something you found in every boy.

        She was so engrossed by Kabos that she didn't even feel the slight pulsing of the ring on her finger as someone else watched the entire exchange.

---

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update!! School was stressful this week and I'm pretty sure I got a total of 5 hours of sleep the whole week.

If you look at the revised cast list, you'll see that there's a new character, James, who I cast to be played by Ansel Elgort (one of my personal favorites). He will appear next chapter...any guesses on who he is?

Thank you guys so much for reading and dealing with the longer wait. Don't forget to vote, comment, and check back for the next update---hopefully it'll be sooner this time!!

-Katherine