The cold wind coming from the east shivered through the spine of the crowned prince as he continuously moved forward with his knight commander and loyal subjects riding on a horse onwards to House Bacherville, known to have a reputation of being courtiers in the kingdom for their excellency in businesses around court but had countless number of rumors of crimes that have never been confirmed by the counsel or security of the kingdom.

"Stop." the prince raised his hand to stop his men from moving forward. There was a complete silence for a few seconds until the sounds of muscles and nerves being gouged were heard from afar with blades clashing all around the place. The prince wore his cloak, grabbed his sword and went down from his horse. He wasn't the best at sword fighting but it was his duty to protect the kingdom including the houses within Agrabash. He was next to the throne and he needed to cultivate his confidence and act of responsibility for the future of the kingdom.

Hector, the knight commander halts in front of the prince with a sword in hand in case the son of a monarch declines. "Your Highness, I believe it is best we take care of the situation. We don't know what's over there but I am sure there is carnage and bloodbath happening. The chances of you getting hurt is incredibly high, we need you to be safe. I suggest you ride back and inform your father of what is happening."

He may be the closest friend to the prince besides Lumire, the personal secretary and adviser of the prince but something about the sovereign was that he was too kind, open hearted and stubborn to even engage in battle and by that, Hector and even Lumire finds it risky for the prince to toil.

The prince frowns to this act and raises his sword to Hector. "Move aside, I am the crowned prince of Agrabash, you have no right to stop me for I am your Lord and you obey me."

Eyes widen in surprise by the sudden change of attitude by the prince. It was a big shock to everyone for he was never like this. This was the first time he ever raised a sword at his companion and even to a close friend. In fact, he never glares at anyone. Lumire bites his lip, feeling the intense atmosphere filling up the whole place and with the men staring attentively to both Hector and the prince. It was getting worse. He sighs as he goes down his horse and walks towards the prince where looks at him in the eyes and holds his shoulder. "You're acting stupid, Your Majesty - Ver, listen to Hector, you are no swordfighter or a man of combat. As your adviser, you are to listen to me."

Hector and Lumire looked at the prince together, trying to ease him from the boiling and fiery caution of needing from the east of House Bacherville which caused him to look down and pull back his sword. "Fine, I won't initiate but I also won't leave the both of you. I'll stay with the guards." He sighs.

Lumire smiles and Hector fist bumps the crown prince's chest. "Don't pressure yourself Ver, you will be a great king. We just need you safe at all costs."

The snow was getting stronger than usual but as it did, the sounds of clashing and plunging swords were slowly fading away. It seemed strange and suspicious especially with lack of screams of people. Hector grabs the reins of his horse and climbs up, putting his feet to the stirrups. He then positions his back in order to see clearly what was going on since the ice fog was covering most of the things happening. Moving to the sides and extending his head, he notices a woman running towards them with tattered clothes and cloth wrapped around her mouth running towards them, blood continuously flowing from her head, almost as if she was hit by a sharp object. This made Hector charge, he was determined to help her. Lumire and the prince were both shocked and most especially that they notice that someone was following the woman with a sword. The prince was scared of the life of his fellow man and friend that he was planning to follow after him but the guards pulled him away and Lumire climbed up to his horse as fast as he could, moving the leadrope quickly to match up with Hector.

"Lumire, go back to Your Highness! I can handle myself!" Hector shouted.

"Are you fucking crazy? You are going to save the woman and fight someone as enormous as that man? Any person can tell that you are not capable of defeating him!" Lumire yells back as he rides his horse side by side with Hector. Being an equestrian before becoming a loyal adviser to the prince is helpful at some point.

"What are you going to do Lumire, give him advice to not hurt people?!"

"No Psycho! You could've ordered your men to go with you but your ego couldn't do that!"

The prince angrily shove off the hands of the men who were holding him back and he grabs the sword from one of their hands. "Your Highness, you said-"

Putting the swords into the scabbard, he glared at them. "I said I won't leave them and that's what I am exactly going to do."

With the prince catching up to them, the woman falls to the ground which makes both Hector and Lumire stop in their tracks to help her get up. "Are you okay, Miss?" Lumire asked softly.

Hector scratches his head in annoyance. "Of course she's not! Just take her and I'll deal with the guy, okay?" Hector was frantically trying to help Lumire pick up the lady from the snow. Her feet are red and swollen with cuts all over them. Lumire thought, with all those sounds of penetrating swords as if the muscles were being torn and ripped from the body, why was this woman spared with only minor cuts and a bleeding head? It looked oddly suspicious. He backs from the woman which makes Hector frown at him.

"What the fuck? Help me here!"

"Hector, I don't think you should help her." Lumire says sternly and with a cold gaze.

"What? She's fucking bleeding, come back here and help me!"

Instead of going to Lumire and Hector, the prince passes by them and lashes towards the man with both swords out. Hector and Lumire gasps. "Your Highness, don't!" Lumire yells.

Ignoring Lumire, he passes by the man and was able to cut the man's stomach with both swords which made him groan in pain and bend his knees. The man lifts up his sword as the prince charges again and aims to hit his head but the prince crosses both swords, creating a shield. His breathing started slow and his hands were quivering, he wasn't an excellent fighter and it was fearing him that he was contending alone. The prince gets off the horse and moves a bit backward to give distance in case a sudden attack happens.

"Shit! Lumire take care of this woman and let me go get the prince!" Hector yells.

Lumire looks at Hector and then at the woman who is slowly opening her eyes, regaining consciousness. He was going to open his mouth to say something but the woman suddenly started to cough which made Hector panic since he doesn't know what to do. "Please.. . Forgive me..Lord Lumire.." the woman says.

Lumire frowns. "What? Who are you?"

She extends her hand towards Lumire, reaching to his face. "I need to do this to save...my children."

Lumire opens his mouth to say something but before anything could happen, the woman stands up with last of her strength, grabbing a sharp blade that was hidden within her ragged clothes, she moves towards the direction of Lumire, aiming to stab him but Hector stands up to cover Lumire and instead, his eye was directly hit by the blade causing him to yell in pain.

"HECTOR!" Lumire screams and the woman collapses to the ground, catching her last breath and slowly ceasing from existence.

The man in contend with by the prince has also fallen to the ground. His body is filled with agonizing pain and he was panting heavily. He was reaching out to the woman who had just fallen to the ground which made the prince look back and notice Hector with a blade in his eye. Lumire is stunned yet trying to help Hector, he was shaking. Worried, the prince was going to go towards them until the man held the prince's feet. "Your Highness, save my brothers... My mother was threatened if she were not to stab Lord Lumire and distract the man... me, along with my brothers would've been slaughtered. I decided to stop my mother but our fate is sealed, there was no agreement, we were about to die whether we like it or not but my brothers please...They are still in there..Please.."

The prince was furious at the man but he could see the genuine look in his eyes that he just fought against the crown prince of Agrabash because he wanted to live and his love for his mother and siblings was divine. In those words, instead of using it to get away or even attack for the last time, he used it to ask a favor as a person to the prince of Agrabash and that is to save his brothers. It was pure and warm that the prince's anger can't even top. "My kingdom will do everything it can to save your brothers."

"Thank you, Your Highness." and in those last words, the man passes away with a smile on his face and tear dropping on his cheek.

Hector is constantly screaming in pain as Lumire tangles his fingers to the edge of the blade and pulls it out fast. He rips a cloth from the woman's clothing and wraps it around the eye. "You were right Lumire, I shouldn't have helped her. You are not a royal adviser for nothing." Hector jokes and laughs softly.

Honestly, Hector feels embarrassed especially that he was debating against his own companion who was ten times wiser than him. In order to hide being flustered, he chooses to joke around even at tough times rather than saying sorry and admitting his faults.

"Shut up, Hector! You just lost an eye and it is all my fault. I can't even believe you are even joking right now!" Lumire angrily says.

Crowned prince of Agrabash goes to where Hector and Lumire is and when he arrives, he climbs down his horse to check up on Hector. He was incredibly worried but his voice was speechless when he faced the man. Hector felt the awkwardness and sadness within his two fellows so he puts up a wide smile on his face and placed exaggeration into his words. "Ver! Holy shit! I lost an eye and you killed a man, what else could happen today?" Hector goes near him and wraps his arms around his shoulder.

Lumire frowns knowing how easy it is for him to just joke around like that after hurting himself and losing a vital part of his face. Hector notices it and stops himself from bursting out from laughing. He finds Lumire ugly getting mad.

"Lumire please stop looking at my handsome face. I know we've been close friends since forever but don't start confessing okay? Besides, it is just an eye. I'd do anything to protect you and this ugly looking prince."

Lumire frowns and punches him gently. "Have manners to Your Majesty!"

A cocky smile flashes on Hector's face. "Psh, no one's here besides us, right Ver?" he laughs. "You won't tell the counsel or any of the monarchs of me not addressing him properly anyways."

"Still.."

"Cut it out the both of you, we still have to investigate what is going on in House Bacherville. We need to do this as soon as possible so no more causalities will happen and no more civilians will go the way of all flesh. We need to act responsibly, can you still keep up Hector?" the prince says.

Hector nods. "Speaking of acting responsibly, where are the others?"

The three of them look to the direction where they last came from and the ice fog makes it unclear for them to see. Lumire moves forward from the both of them and leans down to get a better view. "I don't-"

With Lumire's voice fading abruptly, a soft thud was heard that quakes both the prince and Hector's skins. They turn their attention to Lumire that made the prince scream with eyes widen and body shaking from the growing terror rising within him. Hector was dazed that his knees started to bend for the mortifying imagery was hard to cope in that situation.

Lumire is cut off when a slender, straight and pointed arrow hits his head with the arrow head to the S haft directly pierced through his skull. Blood comes out from his skull and mouth with his eyes lift up to the jolting pain he felt. Through shock, his eyes are open as his body falls to the ground lifeless.

"LUMIRE!" the prince screams and both him and Hector run towards him immediately with their eyes tear-eyed. They kneel down to pay respect to their friend and the prince closes his eyes to pay respects to his death. This was all happening so fast, the prince thought. He never thought at his soon reign in the kingdom that he would be losing an important person in his life. He fought his tears back even when he was grieving and mourning inside because there was something else to do, for Lumire, that would give him justice.

"We just laughed with him a while ago and now, he is.." Hector bends over to hug his friend for the last time, tears start to come out but he didn't want anyone to hear him. The prince however didn't want to mourn, he was seeking revenge so he stood up with anger in his heart and he looked at Lumire who is being hugged by Hector. "Ver, where are you going?"

He ignores Hector and slowly takes out the arrow from Lumire's head. There was a feeling within him that he can't seem to comprehend, it was like he wanted to just kill everyone around him. He lost his best friend and his other friend lost an eye all because he was weak, useless and a coward - no, this was not him. He was kind, friendly and supportive but what is the point of all of that when the people he loves gets constantly taken away from him? He was heartbroken but moreover, he was wrathful and provoked by everything, everyone. He was no kind man, he wanted to massacre the man who did this to Lumire, Hector and to him.

Slowly, he walks through the ice fog, not fearing of another attack occurring. Hector looks up from crying and notices that the crowned prince is far from his grasp. "Your Highness, come back please!"

But the voice of Hector was bypassed by the dynast as he continued to walk. Heartbroken and unable to look straight, Hector remains helpless in the situation and counts on his faith to protect the prince. At this time, his stand as the knight commander is questioned even by him.

As the sovereign gets closer and clearer to the place where they first stayed upon, the hue of red was vividly present within the white snow. It became even brighter and heavier as he reached further. His eyes were mortified and his breathing started to loosen up as he saw his men all slaughtered with his own naked eyes, some have the swords and arrows still plunged within them. The prince was preventing himself from fainting and losing his mind. This was the first time he saw multiple corpses in one area with the snow as white it can be, emphasizing the amount of blood that has been lost. A mass killing was happening but who, who could have done this?

"Well, it isn't for the crowned head himself. My plan was to kill your friends because I thought you were busy reading your books or writing poems about your undying love and fantasies of glory and honor and that you could be my final victim but guess what you are here in front of me in flesh." sounds of sabatons were from afar that caused the prince to lift his sword in caution. Hector felt he the need to be alert with those sounds of knight armor coming from nowhere. He prepares a sword while wrapping Lumire around him.

"Who are you exactly? What do you want from me?" the prince asks oppressively.

A soft chuckle is heard as the ice fog starts to waver off and the sabatons are revealed in front of the prince with an accompanied alluring smile which gasps him, knowing how oddly familiar those were. But how and who?

"Can't you tell from the voice, Your Highness?"

With that voice being heard loud and clear, a tear drops from the prince's eye. His mind was lost in confusion and his heart filled with fear.