(Lillian) "Liana! Look out!"
Lillian shouted, while sprinting over to her. She knocked her out of the way but took the arrow for her in the process. She read Drew's mind as she noticed the expression on it. Immediately she shouted,
(Lillian) "Guards! Arrest this guy!"
Right before passing out, she said to Liana,
(Lillian) "I'm sorry, I'll explain later."
Liana caught Lillian in her arms, the arrow deep into her chest.
(Liana) "Get a doctor!"
The guards who were assigned to Lillian for the protection of Liana, arrested Drew after hearing Lillian's shout. They were told to obey her without condition, but they didn't know what to do with him as she had just passed out.
(General) "Princess Liana, what do we do with him?"
(Liana) "Lock him up first. Ask my father."
Liana replied, still worried about Lillian, who was still in her arms, her blood flowing down her dress.
(Drew) "Liana, wait! Why are you arresting me?"
(Liana) "Lillian said to, and honestly I trust her more than you."
(Drew) "You don't trust me?"
She looked up at him with a blank expression.
(Liana) "I never really did."
Drew gave up and went willingly with the guards who led him away.
*
They brought Lillian back to the castle after the doctor and healers arrived.
(Doctor) "I have done my best to stop her bleeding. The healers have also done their best, but the arrow hit too close to her heart, she could have died instantly if it had hit her heart. She has a very slim chance of surviving, but from what you've told me about her, she should pull through. She should wake up in a few days, at least. If she is not fine after she wakes up, you can contact me anytime."
(Liana) "Thank you, doctor."
After giving them a little more instruction on what to do, the doctor left, leaving Liana with Lillian, who was still unconscious on the bed they had put her on after the doctor and the healers had tried their best to heal her. Liana walked over to her side and sat there until one of the guards asked her to go see Drew.
*
(Drew) "Liana!"
Drew cried when she arrived there.
(Liana) "Drew."
(Drew) "You don't understand, Liana. I'm on your side. Your friend just said arrest me and you believed her?"
(Liana) "I told you already, didn't I? I trust her more than I do you."
(Drew) "Why? Why can't you just trust me? You've known me years longer than you've known her. Why do you trust her more than me?"
(Liana) "I choose not to trust you for various reasons and you know them. She earned my trust while you did the exact opposite of it."
Liana decided she couldn't stand talking to him anymore and left the prison, only stopping momentarily to give some instructions to the guards. Her parents had had to leave for their trip or they would be late for their appointments with various leaders and chiefs, leaving Liana in charge of everything around the castle for about the next six months. Liana had no siblings, and this would be the longest trip her parents would take, their previous trips being at most two months long, which is why they decided to get her a bodyguard. She never followed her parents on their trips, as although they did let her make friends with people outside of the Palace, they still kept her sheltered from the outside world.
Liana went back to the the room Lillian was in and sat down next to Lillian, thinking about Drew, about Lillian, until she thought of something.
How did Lillian even know that the arrow was going to hit me? And how was she even fast enough to react and take the arrow for me?
She thought as she looked at the bandage that was wrapped around the place Lillian was hit, over the area where her heart was.
*
She sat there for another few hours thinking until someone knocked at the door of the room.
(Liana) "Come in!"
She said, getting up from her seat to see who it was.
(Servant) "Your Highness, the chief of the Peace Village wants to see you."
Liana raised her eyebrows but followed the servant out, nodding her head in thanks.
(Man) "Your highness, I am the chief of the village that you were in earlier today. I sent men to investigate the attack just now, and they have reported back to me. Would you like to hear the reports?"
The man said, bowing to her, then doing the peace greeting. Liana looked at the man and recognized him as the man who had greeted them before they entered the village, introducing himself at the village chief, whose name was Eric.
(Liana) "Oh! Eric, right? Yes, I would like to hear the reports."
(Eric) "Correct, My lady. Come this way, my men are waiting for us."
(Eric's men) "Your highness, we have investigated the attack on you. It was a planned attack, but sadly we have not been able to find to people who did it. But we had been able to find some things out, but we are not sure if it's useful."
(Liana) "Go ahead and tell me what you have found."
(One of Eric's men) "Yes, Your Highness. Our investigation, according to information from witnesses, and some calculations, it was a planned attack. Let us explain. The arrow would have gone straight through your heart if Lillian had not taken it and pushed you away. The arrow was shot at close range, from what the doctor told us about her wound. Thus, we can say at about four to five meters away from you. The person that shot the arrow had to be ready, and be able to shoot without getting spotted by anyone, which means that you had to be in an area for long enough to get ready, aim and shoot, to be able to be sure that it will hit you, and not anyone else."
Liana processed what they were telling her for a moment, until the realization hit her.
(Liana) "So this means..."
(Eric's men) "Yes, it means that she was right in telling the guards to arrest your friend."
(Liana) "He's not my friend anymore. Let's pay Drew a visit, shall we?"
Liana led Eric and his men into the dungeon, the place where they were keeping Drew. When they got there, Eric gasped softly at the sight of Drew. His clothes were covered in blood, and the parts of his body that could be seen were bruised and cut in almost every visible part of his body. Liana had already seen Drew, so she wasn't very surprised, as she had seen a lot of the prisoners look like this before. Her father did not prevent her from seeing the prisoners even after they were… interrogated. He wanted her to be able to deal with it when she took over, and although it's not something a child should see, he did not stop her the first time she wandered down here.
(Liana) "Drew. You have visitors."
Drew looked up from his position to look at Liana. Other than looking very battered up, bleeding and bruised all over, Drew's arms and legs all had chains on them, stretching his body in four different directions, holding him up. His face, though, was not as bad as the rest of his body, it had a few bruises, but other than that it wasn't that bad.
(Eric) "What did they do to him?"
(Liana) "I don't actually know exactly what they did but I know they tortured him, making him so weak that he can't escape."
(Eric) "…Oh."
(Liana) "Drew, they have evidence that you were an accomplice of the attack, are you still going to deny it?"
(Drew) "…I… told…you, I didn't have anything to do with it. Urgh…"
Drew said, struggling to talk, because of what the guards did to him.
(Liana) "Eric?"
(Eric) "Got it. Men, tell the Princess and the prisoner what you discovered one more time."
Eric's men nodded, then proceeded to tell Drew what they had told Liana. Drew listened to them, his eyes widening as they got to the part that included him. He turned to Liana, his eyes wide, a questioning look on his face.
(Liana) "Yes, Drew. I do think you were involved in it, you just helped the guy, not doing the actual shooting. And that you are the reason Lillian is unconscious right now."
Drew shook his head slowly, with a desperate look in his eyes. Liana saw it but wasn't moved by it. She turned to the guard standing by the cell door, and nodded at him, then leading Eric and his men out.
(Eric) "What's going to happen to him now?"
(Liana) "Nothing. Not yet at least. My parents won't be back for about six months, so it'll be before they come back. I will probably wait for Lillian to wake up first, then decide what to do."
(Eric) "I understand, your highness."
Although Drew was a citizen of his village, he couldn't do anything about it as attempting murder of a member of the royal family is a crime punishable by death, as it is considered treason. As Liana was the Crown Princess, it would even be considered High Treason. The ruling could only be concluded by a member of the royal family or someone who had been given authority by them to do so.