Police sirens were heard and in a matter of seconds their cars parked outside Kro's house. They stood on guard.
Kro was still cuddled up in his arms, not moving a single muscle. Maybe if she played unconscious then she'll be in a safe spot.
Her back was facing the bad guy, so he thought he was hallucinating when he started seeing the gunshot wound fixing itself, without a single drop of blood. His mind was blown away! He wanted to scream, but he didn't have the energy to do that. It was horror alright!
The police busted the door open and surrounded the sitting room. They had to rescue their victims first. When Uk saw them, he panickily started asking for help
"Right here! Please help her! She's been shot!", he called
That was her only escape. She had to play it safe, and fast
"What do you mean shot? He missed!", said Kro as she got up from the floor
The bad guy plus Ukraine were completely fazed. It didn't make sense at all. They both witnessed her being shot, but she was now standing in front of them without a single scratch on her body. It suddenly turned into a foreign Math class,
"Thank you for coming officers, there's a total of three men who broke into my house. Two of them are knocked unconscious in my room and the third one is him", she pointed at the man lying on the ground,
"Alright! We need to check if you're okay, one officer will escort you to the ambulance for further checkups!", said the police captain
"No need, I feel fine!",
"Let us escort you outside then",
"Sure",
One officer approached her, covered her with a towel and walked with her outside.
The police then headed upstairs to arrest the other men. Uk remained seated on the floor, confused. There was no way she wasn't shot. He needed to hear something from her. But as he got up, he noticed a bullet laying on the floor, the same place Kro was on
"What the_",
He picked it up and ran outside. He found her talking to a female police officer,
"It's not safe for you to be here tonight. Do you have a place to go?", the police asked Kro
"I'll stay at the hotel _",
"She'll stay with me!", Ukraine blurted,
All eyes turned to him. Kro just ignored him and went back to the officer
"As I was saying, I'll stay at the hotel until my house is fixed, I'm sure the cleaners will fix everything by tomorrow afternoon",
"It's expensive, just come stay at my house. If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll go stay somewhere else for the weekend!", emphasized Uk
"I can handle a 2 day stay at the hotel. Thank you for your concern", she faced the officer again, "Can I go grab a few of my things from my room?",
"Sure, but we need a statement from you before that, it won't take long",
"Okay, I'll cooperate",
She had to avoid Uk more than she thought she would. It was the only way to protect her truth.
...
LATER
Ukraine was in his car, driving back to his house. It was almost midnight, but he knew Misaki wasn't asleep yet. He had to give her the relieving news first. It was obvious that she was waiting for his call all that time.
Since his phone was already connected on his car screen, he just tapped her number and dialed it. And as he guessed, she was wide awake
"Hey! How did it go?", Misaki impatiently asked
"You said your father sent men to beat the shit out of her?",
"Yes!",
"It's the opposite, she bet the shit out of them!",
Misaki was so relieved,
"Jeez! I was almost going crazy! So, you're saying she's fine, right? She didn't get hurt anywhere, right?",
"(You have no idea) No, she doesn't have a single scratch",
"Oh, thank God! Is she there with you?",
"Uh, no",
"What?",
"She wanted to stay in a hotel",
"And you let her? C'mon Ukraine, are you sure they won't follow her there? You needed to have her next to you until she felt safe! Wrong move man!",
"Look, I tried to make her stay at my house! I was even ready to go stay at the hotel instead, but she still said no!",
"You could have_",
"There was a police officer listening to us, so it would seem weird if I kept asking her to come stay with me for the weekend! She would think I'm a pervert or something",
"You had good intentions",
"Let's just leave it here, Misaki. The important thing now is that she's safe, this should be the headline of our prayers tonight!",
"Okay! You're right, thank you for listening to me and protecting our boss. Your breakfast and lunch will be on me next week",
"Can't wait! Goodnight",
"Goodnight!",
He hung up and kept on driving. In his head, he still wasn't convinced that he did the right thing.
...…
HOTEL
Kro came out of the steamy shower feeling all refreshed and energetic. She paid for the most exclusive room with a view. She stood beside the bed and started stretching her back. The gunshot pain was slowly fading, but it was still painful,
"Ouch! That son of a bitch! I also wish I was that easy to kill",
She jumped in bed. As she laid straight, facing the ceiling, a lot of things bombarded her mind, things which made her lack sleepless
"It's strange! First, he wasn't bothered by the clairvoyant's words, then despite the fact that he knew I was shot he still offered me to stay at his house. What's your deal Ukraine?",
She quickly sat up straight again
"I'm so stupid! Why am I so clumsy? I can't keep on trapping myself. I need to act fast, or else he'll soon know my true identity _ and I'll have to kill such a sweet boy", she laid back on the pillow and closed her eyes.
She had to come up with a plan to protect herself, a quick plan.
...…
AZARADAN
Afternoon
Buk disguised himself as a commoner and left the palace. He couldn't wait for it to be dark to see her again. He wanted to see her in action, he wanted to see how she deals with her soldiers.
It was the open training day, where soldiers practiced in the field, and everyone was allowed to go see them. That was his chance.
Kenna packed a lot of food in the basket and headed to the field. She had two people she eagerly wanted to see. It was also the best excuse for her to spend half a day with the man she loved, Poqo.
The field was almost full. People were always excited for that day. It was fun to watch their soldiers doing their best. She was lucky to get a seat next to a stranger.
Whenever Kro came into action, the stranger shouted his lungs out, and whenever Poqo was in action, Kenna whistled her lungs out. They were like two crazy fans.
When the training was over, Kenna carried the basket and walked to her sister, but she was surprised to see the stranger heading in the same direction. She had no idea what his deal was.
When Kro saw Kenna, she brightly hugged her. They hadn't seen each other in days ever since she started doing double jobs. But in the middle of the hug, she noticed the crown prince in disguise standing behind her sister, wearing the grinning widely. It wasn't hard for Kro to notice it was him, she knew him like the back of her hand.
She let go of Kenna,
"I have food in the basket! Want to have lunch with me?", said Kenna,
"What about me?", asked Poqo as he approached them
"Me too! I'm starving", said the crown prince,
Kenna had no idea the stranger was standing behind her all that time
"I'm sorry, who are you?", she had to ask him
"I'm the c_",
"He's Atta, some guy I rescued a few days ago!", interfered Kro, she knew how weird it would seem for the crown prince to show up at her training. It was already complicated enough.
Buk wasn't expecting that, but he had to take it if it meant hanging out with Kro and her crew that afternoon,
"If he's your friend, then he's invited, Poqo too!", said Kenna, her gaze locked on Poqo's
"Lovebirds", Kro rolled her eyes, "Okay, let's go!",
The 4 of them headed to a nearby hill, a perfect spot for a picnic.
"So, you guys, when will you stop meeting in secrets? I mean, you can't do that forever", said Kro to her sister and Poqo
"Well, soon", said Poqo, confidently
"What do you mean soon? Are you going to get married?",
"Yes!", both Kenna and Poqo answered at the same time, and then started laughing
Kro was really surprised, in a happy way. She was very happy for them
"I wanted to tell you sooner, but you started working double shifts. Oh, I almost forgot, how's the crown prince treating you? I mean he has to treat you better after taking away your only time to rest", Kenna began speaking her heart out, unaware that the prince was sitting right in front her, the same stranger,
"Now you can't even come home. The only time I get to see you is during open training. Gosh! Some royal kids are really a pain in the throat! We have families too, does he think you never get tired?",
Kro tried signaling her to stop lamenting about it, but she didn't comprehend. Since Poqo also recognized the prince, he understood what Kro was trying to say
"I hear he didn't even want guards, but why the sudden change of heart? I really hate him for what_", Poqo quickly shoved a grape in Kenna's mouth,
"You haven't touched a single fruit since we got here. Eat up", said Poqo, clearing the awkward atmosphere hovering over them,
Kro looked at Buk to see if he was okay and he caught him staring. Kenna's words didn't bother him. He was there with Kro. It was all that mattered.
*****