Rina hurried to the entrance, her eyes wide as she quickly fixed her clothes. "Father, you're back early!"Rina greets, looking slightly worried. Alkid stayed silent, walking towards her with a cold blank look. He stopped in front of her, staring her down. Her gaze averted to the ground, remembering how she had been banned from looking at him due to having her grandfather's eyes from her mother's side. "You've been sneaking the General's assassin into this house." Her eyes widened in shock, wondering how he knew about Moze. Romana wouldn't have tattled on her, she knew that. Her sister would've been her biggest supporter of this relationship. "Both of my daughters being disobedient, how awful." A hand grabbed her wrist, her head darting up. "F-Father, I can explain.."Rina mumbles, starting to tremble. A scream erupted from her as he dragged her away.

"IVY!!" She looked back, her eyes widening when her personal maid stood there silently. Ivy looked away, gripping her wrist. Several other maids looked at Ivy their faces blank. Rina stared in shock, now realizing just who told her father about her sneaking Moze into the house whenever he was away. She looked forward, gasping when she realized where she was going. "NO!! I'M SORRY! IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!!" She stopped herself, struggling against the angry man. A hand grabbed her hair, a shriek of pain echoing down the hallway as he dragged her the rest of the way. The door opened and he tossed her into the freezer. She turned around just as the door slammed shut, her fists pounding against the door. "Stay in there until you're ready to be obedient." She looked down, curling into a ball by the door to keep herself warm. "Romana, please be okay."

~~~~~

Jing Yuan sat in a chair beside Romana, gripping her hand. "Your majesty." He looked up, looking over at Boothill and Jingyul silently. He stood up, letting go of the unconscious woman's hand. He walked over to Boothill, staring the man down. Jingyul glanced between the two, looking nervous. "You can be angry, I shouldn't have let her go alone like that"Boothill sighs, averting his gaze. Jing Yuan turned away, walking back over to Romana, sitting in the chair beside the bed. He grabbed her hand, his head bowed as he rested his cheek against the palm. "Tell the guards to drag Alkid and Mendrik to the dungeons, I don't care about the backlash, one of them did this and I will find out which one it was." Feixiao stepped in, perking up when Boothill left. She looked over, Jiaoqiu and Moze behind her. "Jing Yuan, your mara"Feixiao reminds, making her way towards him.

She froze at the sharp look the man gave her, stepping back to give him space. "Should we cancel the competition"Jiaoqiu asks, tilting his head to the side. Silence followed, Jiaqoiu perking up when Jing Yuan shot to his feet and turned to them all. "No...I'm going to win this competition this year." Feixiao perked up then sighed, a small smile on her face, remembering she overheard the man talking to Yanqing about bringing the rose to Romana. Jiaoqiu walked over to Romana, taking a seat beside the woman's bed. He looked down and placed a hand on the woman's stomach, his ears twitching. "She's not going to be happy when she finds out"Jiaoqiu mutters, shaking his head. "Whoever did this is heartless." Moze perked up, his eyes widening. He turned and took off, his eyes widening slightly. "Moze!"Feixiao calls, looking surprised to see him going so fast.

Jingyul glanced away, rubbing his arm. A hand patted his head, Jing Yuan smiling down at him. "You saved her life, thank you." His eyes widened slightly, feeling his chest ache. His gaze fell to the ground, feeling the mans warm hand move away. "Blade will guard Romana until she wakes up, I'd like for Jiaoqiu to stay with her as well"Jing Yuan says, walking away from the teenager. Jiaoqiu gave a small nod, smiling slightly. "I don't mind getting a chance to avoid this ghastly  competition, not my bowl of broth after all"Jiaoqiu chuckles, looking down at Romana eyeing her chest to make sure she was still breathing just fine. He looked away, Jing Yuan staring him down with a blank look that had a clear and silent warning. "Watch your step"Feixiao grinned, crossing her arms. "He reminds me of Xing"Jiaoqiu sighs. Feixiao looked away, her gaze turning sad for a split moment.

Blade rushed in with Fina, Yanqing leading the two. "Sorry we're late, there was chaos!"Fina says, catching her breath. Blade looked down at her, placing a hand on the young maids back. Fina hurried away to Romana, her eyes wide. "Fina, you'll stay here to watch over her with Jiaoqiu nd Blade"Jing Yuan informs, keeping his distance from the girl. He looked down, clenching his fists wishing he had acted sooner when Alkid and Mendrik were starting to intrude on Romana's peace. "YOUR HIGHNESS!" Running feet echoed down the hallway, Boothill rushing into the room with narrowed eyes. "The bastard took off, we only got our hands on his pawn, Mendrik"Boothill mutters, a scowl visible on his face. Feixiao smirked, her arms crossed. "I'm dropping out of this competition, I'll be going out and finding this guy!"Feixiao announces, her eyes narrowed. "He's not getting away with this."

~~~~~

Rina sat against the door, her eyes closed as she shivered, tightening her shawl around herself. "RINA!!" Her eyes opened slightly, lifting her head. Running feet echoed from outside the door just before it swung open, arms wrapping tightly around her and pulling her close. "Rina.."Moze mumbles, his shoulders trembling. Her eyes widened slightly, shaky hands gripping the cloth of his outfit. "Moze.."Rina mutters, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. She leaned against him, her eyes closing. Moze stood up, holding her princess carry. Ivy walked over with a quilt blanket, her eyes wide as she froze, dropping the blanket at Moze's glare. Her gaze fell to the ground when he stepped past her, gripping her dress. "Please take care of her"Ivy mumbles, keeping her head down. Moze stopped for a moment, glancing at her. "I'd do it better than you did." He walked away, tightening his grip on Rina.