As Mayumi walked in haste back to the palace, she saw Mera frantically waving at her from the same passage she used to get out. The servant girl ran to her with worry all across her face, "Your Highness, are you alright?" Mayumi nodded, signaling she was okay. But Mera spotted her bleeding shoulder wrapped in cloth she has torn from her coat, "Your Highness!" she gasped, "You arm, it's-"
The princess told her to calm down and get her inside safely for the meantime. Mera immediately followed her orders and cleared the way to the princess' chamber.
As soon as they got back in, Mera was frightened as she started blaming herself for what happened to the princess, "I knew it. I shouldn't have let Your Highness leave the palace alone. This is all my fault. I deserve to be imprisoned!" She cried out.
Mayumi shushed her, afraid that someone might hear her cries. She explained that she was fine and it was just a little scratch. She somehow managed to move away from the arrow's direction so it didn't pierce through her.
"I was worried as soon as the news from the plaza reached the palace. I thought something bad could have happened to you, Your Majesty." Mera darted her eyes to princess' wound she had just finished tending, "I mean, something worse that that. I thought the princess wasn't coming back."
"I was startled as well. The locksmith and I were inside his shop when it all happened." Mayumi recalled, "Then all of a sudden, a dead man laid in the middle of the crowd. It was horrible."
"But I don't understand. If Your Highness just checked in the commotion, where did that wound come from?"
With that, Mayumi looked out if anyone was out in the window and shut them close. She also asked Mera to make sure the door of the chamber was locked. "I saw the archer, Mera. I tried chasing after her. She saw me, and she shot an arrow to escape."
Mera's face was filled with dread at what she heard. So, the princess could really have died earlier. She shuddered at the thought and thanked the heavens they kept the princess safe. King Manos could have her head chopped off if anything serious happened to the princess.
"I am sure it was a woman from the way she looked like. And judging from how far she was from her target, she's a highly-skilled archer." Mayumi continued, "She knew the kingdom well too. She knew just where to run off and where the tallest places in the Daran where."
"That's too vague, Your Highness. Daran is filled with women who are skilled in combat, particularly those who were originally from Aldan. Most of them know archery very well." Mera reasoned out, "It would be too difficult to know just who the criminal is."
"You're right. But I'm sure she isn't from Daran." The princess interjected.
Mera frowned at the remark, how could it be when everything she just mentioned perfectly describes a Daran woman?
Mayumi walked over to the coat she used earlier and pulled out a piece of arrow which was used to harm her, "I may not do any form of combat but I have well-studied everything about the kingdom. This arrow is not from the Daran army. The design is sophisticated and is sure to kill the victim shot. Daran does not have this kind of advanced equipment yet."
"So Your Highness is implying that the culprit is an outsider?"
Mayumi nodded in agreement, "It should be. An outsider who knows the outskirts of the city well and has been planning to do this for a long time already."
The princess headed over to Queen Hera's chamber after the talk with Mera. She promised to give her answer regarding the music for the festival that day. She decided she'd perform for the festival herself. If she wanted to be able to catch the archer, she must be on the middle of it all.
She realized that what the archer has done earlier must probably be just the first step of her actual plan. It happened just a day before the festival so, Mayumi was almost sure that the bigger chaos was happening tomorrow. She was contemplating about whether she'd tell her father about what she saw, maybe she can ask for the palace guards' help to catch the perpetrator.
She was about to enter the Queen's chamber when she heard the Queen and her father seemingly talking about the incident that happened in the plaza that morning.
She heard her father's voice, "It was unexpected, Hera. Daran has been quiet for a very long time. This is the first attack that has happened in a while. I can't seem to think of a reason someone would do this."
"That is exactly my point, Your Majesty. No one is eyeing or planning anything against Daran. Ever since you've joined forces with Namayan, no one has dared to plot a plan to bring Daran down again." The Queen replied.
"So, what are you trying to suggest, my Queen?"
"It was an accident." Mayumi frowned at the Queen's reply. It was clear that the victim was shot by an arrow, how could it have been an accident? She leans closer to the door to hear clearer, "Aren't Darans fond of bringing their bows and arrows with them? So, it could have been that a young archer was playing around and accidentally shot a vendor in the plaza."
Mayumi couldn't bear what she was hearing. Sure, Darans were fond of archery and combat. But no one has ever been stupid enough to shoot arrows at a fellow townsman for fun.
"But they said there was no clue of the culprit in the area." King Manos argued.
She heard the Queen cry dramatically, "Of course, there couldn't have been any tracks of the suspect. Whoever that was committed a crime! They'd go in hiding, I'm sure."
"So, you think we shouldn't hold an investigation about what happened?"
"Of course, not." Queen Hera replied, "You should still look into what happened, someone died, after all. What I am saying is that you shouldn't look at this as a sign of an outside attack and cancel the whole festival because of it. It has been long since your people has celebrated genuinely."
Oh, so now Princess Mayumi understood. Her father probably wanted to postpone the festival thinking that it might be an outside attack but Queen Hera didn't want that to happen. She heard her father sigh in defeat, "Fine. If you think that pushing through the festival is a good idea then so be it. I will just have to increase the security around the plaza tomorrow."
"Whatever would make you feel at ease, Your Majesty." The Queen finished.
Mayumi quickly hid behind a pillar when she heard her father's footsteps approaching the door. As soon as he went out, he saw him instructing a higher rank guard to investigate on the matter and roam around the plaza while the situation hasn't cooled down. He also asked him to post additional guards around the plaza during the festival.
When he was finally gone, the princess walks over to the Queen's chamber and makes herself known. The Queen calls her inside at once. She was surprised to see the room filled with colorful and well-designed gowns to be used for the festival tomorrow. "It's good that you're here." The Queen welcomed her, "I was about to have a servant deliver this dress to you. It looks beautiful, no?"
A pale pink gown was held up for her to see. It was filled with gems and showered with sparkles that glittered in the light. It was indeed beautiful but too grand for her style. Mayumi wouldn't usually wear those but she just smiled in agreement, "Very beautiful indeed."
"I'm glad you liked it, my dear." Hera gushed. "Why have you come to find me? Is anything wrong?"
"No, Your Highness. I just came to talk to you about the music for the festival."
"Oh, that. You don't have to worry about it anymore. I heard from your father that you didn't like performing in public since- since a very long time ago. You don't have to worry. I have talked to a new set of performers. Just be at the festival and I will be very happy." The Queen continued on organizing the dresses as she talked.
"Actually…" Mayumi paused, thinking about how she'd say it, "I came to tell you that I want to personally perform at the festival."
The whole room turned quiet and the Queen changed her gaze towards the young princess. She got up from her seat and suddenly stood in front of her, looking very happy like she was about to cry. "Please tell me I haven't heard it wrong. The princess is performing at the festival?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Queen Hera squealed like a child, tightly pulling her into a hug. Mayumi flinched in pain when the Queen accidentally touched her wound.
"I'm so sorry. I was too happy." Hera apologized then her eyes landed on Mayumi's wound covered with bandage, "Oh my goodness, what happened to that? I'll have the servants call the royal doctor."
"No, please." The princess stopped her and softly smiled, "Don't worry. It's just an accident."