It had already been hours since they knocked on the doorstep of each selected noble's manors.
Just this morning, the Queen requested for Allyria and Kaius to go on a brief trip together and hand out invitations themselves.
She knew it wasn't their job to invite people; they had castle staffs for that but she didn't refuse nonetheless; it was already an opportunity to escape out of that voluminous yet suffocating castle.
She couldn't handle being in the same space as her parents and the visitors anymore, but she sure could handle the Prince.
Prince Kaius was seated across her in the carriage. Lucky for him, the medics got him healed immediately after a long night's rest. He was told it was just a mild strain, so a bit of medicine did the trick.
However, he did have a bandage wrapped on the upper frame of his face to cover his wound. They wouldn't want to bring a scarred prince around the village.
Suddenly, she remembered the interaction they had before they left.
"Good morning, Mr. Sloppy!" Allyria greeted as soon as she saw him, observing the dressing on the side of his forehead.
Kaius didn't seem to be pleased by it. "Ha!" he sneered, giving her a death stare, "Good morning too, Ms. Ogre."
Her brows raised at that, "Uh, excuse me?"
"What?" Kaius grinned and chuckled, "You're terrifying."
The princess rolled her eyes and entered the carriage first, ignoring what she heard.
"I can't believe your mother sent us here to talk to the nobles and expect us to run a pageantry," he complained. Since they went off, they've been presented at different houses like prized possessions to put on a show for the nobles.
Then again, Allyria knew it wasn't just about giving invitations or introducing them as future king and queen of Cesparia but something more—a warning that they weren't to be trampled upon and anyone who tries to plan a coup to dethrone the royal family will never succeed as a powerful nation is on their side.
"Well, that's mother." She shrugged and just rested her head on her palms, looking at the landscapes they passed through by the window. The trip already got her exhausted, but they still had two manors left.
The whole travel was silent. Allyria guessed prying Kaius must have learned his lesson from last night. At the very least, she could finally get her well-deserved peace and quiet.
She didn't realize she already fell asleep not until her head bumped on the wooden walls of the carriage. Waking up and a little startled, she stroke her head as if looking for damage.
Her sudden noise made Kaius awake from his deep slumber. "What happened?"
"Nothing," she answered, still stroking the side of her head.
Allyria was surprised when Kaius suddenly transferred to the seat beside her. He must have noticed the questionable look on her face when he tapped his shoulder, "You can sleep here."
She didn't move for several seconds, still processing his impossible offer.
She was tired, true. That alone wanted her to accept it but she ignored it as if she never heard him and just turned around and reclined her head on her folded arm rested on the windowsill.
But sleep wouldn't come.
The roads didn't seem to side with her when the carriage kept shaking and bumping. It made her plight even worse when her head banged on the windows all of a sudden, leaving a loud thump.
"Stop being snobby," he grabbed the side of her head gently and placed it on his shoulders. She was about to protest when he patted her head, "Just rest."
She waited for any word to reach to her mouth but it never arrived. Instead, she was greeted by a yawn.
"Good," she heard him comment before everything went black as she was finally lulled to sleep.
***
"Your Grace!" one of the royal guards bellowed from the window that stirred the both of them awake. He had a medallion of a golden lion on his sleeve indicating it was one of Kaius' guards.
Allyria rubbed her eyes, still adjusting her sight to the brilliant daylight. What time was it already? It seemed like they have been traveling since forever. Until now, they still haven't reached the last two manors. What took them so long?
Her questions were finally answered when Kaius immediately held her hand and pulled her out of the carriage. There, she saw Cesparian and Vervalian royal guards fighting to resist the men masked in balaclava.
Rebels, she thought. Only one man had his face uncovered. It didn't take long enough for her to process when she saw his coachman fighting alongside these unknown men. They've been tricked. There wasn't any manor left. He was one of them.
Seeing what was happening, it was expected for the prince to still able to pull himself together.
Allyria, on the other hand, didn't take it well. Her guards were collapsed on the floor. Two. Three. All dead. The road that was once filled with so much earth was now drenched in a pool of blood.
It wasn't the first time for her to see a frenzy and unrest like this. But training was different.
This one was real and they're here for her life.