**ELENA'S POV**
In the waning light of the campfire, the crackling flames danced and cast a warm glow on Rayan as he deftly prepared the game he had hunted two days ago. The tantalizing scent of cooked meat filled the air, and I calculated that the deer would sustain us for three more days, provided it didn't spoil before then. Rayan left to gather more firewood, and when he returned, he carried a bundle of twigs. Instead of sitting by the fire like he usually did, he surprised me by taking a seat right next to me.
"Don't worry, princess, your voice is annoyingly soft, so it would be hard to hear what you have to say from how we usually sit," he said.
"Since you are already here, could you take off your mask and hood?" I asked him.
"Why?" he said.
"Just because," was all I could say. I didn't really have a reason for asking him to remove them.
He didn't say anything, and he pulled down his mask and hood. I could only see half of his face from how we were sitting. I said it before, but he is really good-looking. Also, I'm trying to do what Ava told me: see more of Rayan and less of the grim reaper's assistant.
"Why are you curious about me?" I asked, cause judging by what he told me about his past, my past seems boring by all sense.
"Like you said, you want to know more about me to hate me. Well, to me, I am just trying to understand you. You are different from most royals I've seen, your father included. You've seen me kill, I've hurt you, and tried to kill you, but you still have it in you to take pity on me," he said, his eyes landing on me with a faint look of amusement.
I don't know why that made me blush. I quickly turned away, trying to hide my burning face. Was it because he called me different or because of his gaze? I heard him laugh while my face was turned away.
"Okay, I'll start," he said.
**LITTLE ELENA'S POV**
Mother told me that Zarin and Hazel would be visiting me soon. Zarin and Hazel were the children of mother and father's business partners. My father had invested in their father's business; their father made really expensive silk, according to Zarin. I don't know what silk is, but he says that it is used to make most of our clothes. Commoners can't afford it, so that's why they are rich.
I looked forward to seeing them, well, mostly Zarin. He had long raven black hair almost as long as mine. He had emerald green eyes, a sharp nose, and really chubby cheeks. I loved squeezing them, even though he hated it. Hazel looked a lot like Zarin, but she was like a female version of him. She was a year older than him and also she didn't really like coming here. Most of the time, she would complain about how we were stuck in my room and how she hated feeling like a caged bird, which was strange since father had made her my new lady-in-waiting. Zarin was the complete opposite – fun to be around, made silly games that we would play. Even with my limited knowledge of the games, he didn't mind teaching. In fact, he was rather enthusiastic when it came to teaching me.
Zarin would scold her when she would complain, but to be honest, I understood how she felt. I haven't left this place since Silvia, my first lady-in-waiting, tried to poison me when I was seven years old. It has been two years since then, and father forbade me from leaving the castle walls, but I was almost poisoned within these walls. I feel like I missed out on a lot. Zarin once told me how he caught some flies that glowed out of their posterior. I didn't believe him because there was no way that a bug would have light coming out of its butt, until Hazel also told me that it was true. I really wished that I could see them one day, hopefully when father finally calms down and lets me leave the castle.
Unfortunately for me, Zarin didn't arrive. Hazel told me that he was sick and he wouldn't be able to make it, which left me alone with Hazel. My unenthusiastic lady-in-waiting, or so I thought, but today she was strangely more engaged with me. She told me some of the latest gossip that was going around.
We spoke for what seemed like hours to pass the time. Lilith had brought us our teas and some cakes to snack on. I went to the bathroom to relieve myself. When I came out of the restroom, I saw Hazel emptying a strange bottle with black liquid into my cup. I didn't say anything since I didn't want to make her more cautious, but judging from what Silvia did, it seemed like she, too, was also trying to poison me. Her back was facing me, and thank the heavens that my bathroom was close to my bedroom door. I quietly slipped out of my room, trying as much as possible not to alert her. I went to where Lilith and Hanna usually worked when they were not taking care of me. I couldn't find Lilith, but luckily I found Hanna who was carrying a basket full of laundry.
I explained what I saw, and she urged me to follow her as we searched for Lincoln, our head knight. We found him with my father and Hazel's father. Hanna didn't waste any time; she took a bow and told the three men everything I had told her. Hazel's father froze. It was as if the words he had heard glued him to the ground. My father, on the other hand, was furious, same could be said about Lincoln.
The two took quick steps to where my room was located. They burst inside the room. Lincoln walked to where Hazel was. He searched her, and he found the strange bottle. Hazel started sweating profusely, and she started shaking as Lincoln opened the bottle and sniffed it.
"It's nightshade, your majesty," he said as he handed the bottle to father.
Father glared at the bottle and at Hazel before tossing it on the wall in anger. He raised his hand and was about to strike Hazel, but I quickly moved in front of her, making father stop his hand halfway. Hanna and Lincoln's eyes widened at what I did.
"Please father, don't," I begged.
"You should be grateful for my daughter. You tried to poison her, and she still protects you," he said, his eyes shooting fire at her.
Hanna pulled me away from Hazel, and this time, her grip was firm, not allowing me to evade her. Lincoln grabbed Hazel by her arm and dragged her out of my room.
I later found out that father let her go because of me and the friendship he had with her father. After that, I never even saw Zarin again, since father forbade them from ever setting foot on the castle grounds.
**ELENA'S POV**
"Thank you for confirming what I always thought about you," was all he said after I was done.
"And what did you think about me?" I asked.
"That you are an imbecile," he said.
"What!?"
"Oh really, you don't think you are an imbecile? You protected the girl that tried to poison you."
"That doesn't make me an imbecile," I retorted back.
"Okay, stand up. There's something I want to show you," he said as he got up and began dusting himself.
"Show me what?" I asked as I stood up.
"You said you've never seen a firefly," he said.
"What's a firefly?" I asked.
"The bug with light coming out of its ass," he said, "we are in the forest, and there are a bunch of them if you find the right place."