When the Princess first heard of her father's death at the hands of Siraya, she was anxious about Siraya's safety. When she knew that Siraya had escaped, her tumultuous heart managed to calm down, and all that was left, was bliss. She had wished for her father to die for many years, but she wasn't strong enough to get rid of him, so she could only hide her disgust and hatred for him, in her heart.
The princess sat down, the study was dimly lit which added to her melancholy. She always seemed to be like this. Sitting in silence, only the sound of the candle crackling slowly. It was at times like this that she could easily be brought into her chaotic and complicated thoughts.
She looked out of the window, there were no stars visible. She guessed that it was going to rain tonight, her eyes slowly softened, and she whispered into the night
"Good night, my love. Please stay safe".
The rain fell mercilessly across the capital, as if it was trying to wash away all the happenings of the last few weeks. Siraya wasn't spared either. She walked mindlessly through the dense forest, the rain soaking her by entering through the gaps between the foliage.
One watched expressionlessly from a distance. The other shadow guards remained alert, but none of them seemed to be able to feel the incoming danger.
Siraya felt something amiss. Her instincts were extremely sharp. Even without her martial arts, she could feel the presences closing in. They hid very well, she could tell the little tails behind her hadn't found them, which surprised her.
She knew who these shadow guards belonged to originally,and who's hands they were in now. She didn't expect there would be a stronger group than them.
However she wasn't worried, none of the people she had ever met were her match, but she still couldn't repress the anger she felt. She came to this forest to try and calm herself down, but time and time again she was interrupted by others. She reluctantly acquiesced to the little tails, only because she knew who sent them. She may not like being followed, but even when she was at the mercy of her insanity, she still didn't want to worry that person. It was an ingrained feeling, deeper than her pain, and her hatred.
That person is the reason she didn't choose to kill herself when she heard the news of the deaths of her family. She knew that person's feelings for her, she couldn't leave her alone and helpless. So she did her best to survive the injuries, but she just needed time to get better. If she can pass through these extremely negative feelings, she'll go to see that person. After all, she also wants to be able to smile in front of that person, unlike her half broken self now.
The group that appeared this time was clearly not friendly. One, who was the strongest of the princess's shadow guards finally felt something was wrong, and quickly called out
"Be on guard"
But the time was still too short, as soon as the words had left her lips, they were all entangled by the other group.
Originally they would have outnumbered this group, but one sent a dozen of the shadow guards to escort the women back to the princess's property, now they were evenly numbered, but it was clear that they were outmatched.
The leader of the enemy group knew that the woman that spoke must be in charge, so he quickly attacked her. His martial arts were far superior, and he quickly overpowered her. The bloody smell in the air, mixed with the harsh rain made for a very uncomfortable mix.
Siraya watched with cold indifference as the two groups attacked each other. The little tails were definitely no match for this group. The moves seemed too strong for shadow guards. She guessed that they were probably martial artists, decent ones at that.
This surprised her. To have such a tacit understanding requires a lot of training. Casual martial artists couldn't produce such an effect, so they must be from a sect.
The martial sects are different from the casual martial artists. They have prided themselves on having nothing to do with the court. The two sides live in "peace and harmony". On the surface they don't get involved with each other. Choosing to manage their own affairs, but what emperor would allow a militant group to go uncontrolled in his own empire?
She guessed that this group was probably from a sect that was secretly controlled by the emperor. She also wondered why she hadn't seen a group like this in the palace that night. The people she faced were definitely a rag tag group of casual martial artists.
"Perhaps he didn't have time to call them to his side by the time I arrived?" she thought absent-mindedly.
Watching the head of the little tails suffering multiple injuries at the hands of the opponents leader, Siraya chose to step in.
She knew that the head was probably that person's strongest shadow guard, she couldn't just let that persons right hand be cut off here. Without hesitation she attacked the leader, her speed seemed to surprise him, because he anxiously lifted up his sword to stop her hand, but Siraya didn't stop, directly hitting the sword.
The force launched the leader straight down into the ground. The sword that he had always been proud of showed long cracks in the pitiful light emitted by the moon, on this rainy night.
Siraya didn't let him catch his breath, she followed up with consecutive attacks. The man seemed to get increasingly flustered under Siraya's attacks.
He had heard that she was a genius martial artist, but he automatically assumed that meant, in terms of court standards, but he was terrified to find that he was wrong.
More of his group managed to deal with the shadow guards and he quickly ordered them to support him. He didn't believe that under the attacks of the whole group, with their skills, could this fallen general still survive.