{HIKARI'S POV}
My question is answered by a pained groan.

I pick up the pace a little, rounding a corner and coming upon a guard with a stab wound in his abdomen. Barely conscious, the man lays in a puddle of his own blood.

I gasp and rush to the injured guard, crouching beside him and assessing the damage. He needs medical treatment now. But I also have to set off the alarm to warn everyone of the intruder.

"It's a... trap..." The guard whispers. His eyes widen in fear. This is enough to make me leap to the side.

I never sensed the man wearing all black behind me, but a gloved hand grabs the air where I crouched. My long fluffy dress smears blood across the floor.

Adrenaline rushes through me, opening my senses. I've never been so close to danger. Clarines has high public security and I rarely leave the palace regardless. I don't have any combat training to fight back thanks to my stupid body's stupid constitution.

"Come with me, little princess of Clarines." I can hear the sneer despite the man in black's masked face.

I smile, determined to hide my fear. "I refuse."

"You don't have a choice in the matter. It will be easier for Laurier-heika with you as collateral." He grabs at me again. Now I'm backed against the wall.

Aru Laurier is the king of Cojaca. Oh no. We were preparing for a full-scale army, not a preemptive strike like this. The invasion has clearly begun.

He's asking me to come with him as collateral. No! I refuse to be used as a pawn to make my kingdom concede to anything!

I step forward into the spy, startling him since he probably expected the weak princess to cower in fear.

The spy tries to step backward, but I ram my high heel into his foot. I put the entire weight of my body behind my attack. He yelps, the heel piercing skin.

Narrowing my flashing blue eyes, I glare into the spy's eyes and snarl, "Never!"

I slap the Cojacan spy across the face, which probably hurts my hand more than it hurts him. However, I succeed in making the spy stumble away.

I immediately scramble back to the injured guard, nearly slipping on his blood on the floor, keel, and loop his arm around my neck.

"Run... away..." The guard protests.

"There'll be no needless deaths." I insist. The only good news is that the spy wants to take me hostage. If he wanted me dead, I'd be dead already.

We wobble to our feet, but the spy has already recovered his wit.

The injured guard uses the last of his strength to pull himself between me and my would-be kidnapper. He sags against me, stubbornly using his dying body as a meat shield. He uses his sword as a crutch.

That's the final straw. I can't take it. We need help to arrive fast. I take a deep breath and scream.

My scream pierces the air, high and sharp, for only a few seconds before my voices cracks. I immediately dissolve into a fit of coughing, but the job is done.

Alerted by my scream, palace guards come running. Upon seeing the situation, they stand between me and the spy, capturing him before he escapes.

The guards take control of the situation. They want me to get treated, but I ensure that the injured guard is treated first. Now thoroughly bandaged up and under the strict supervision of the pharmacy staff, he gives his testimony. I give mine too.

The spy is taken away. Garak Gazelt insists on assessing me, even though I assure her that none of the blood on my dress is mine.

My skin is perfectly intact, as expected. She then listens to the sound of my breathing and notes that my lungs sound a bit more wheezy than usual. Now that the adrenaline is fading from my system, I've noticed that it's getting harder to breathe.

Garak Gazelt gives me some powdered wuviry to help open up my lungs.

{THIRD PERSON POV}
Izana chose to interrogate the captured prisoner himself. The spy was brought into an elegant room and sat down on a plush, comfy couch.

He looked around in confusion, not sure why he was brought to an opulent room instead of a prison cell. His eyes widened when the king personally paid him a visit. Izana strode across the room and sat down across in a chair opposite from the spy.

Izana smiled, but the expression didn't reach his cold blue eyes. The spy shuddered. He couldn't seem to look Izana in the face.

"W-Why have you brought me here?" He asked.

"My daughter was put in danger today. I want to know who was responsible and why." Izana crossed his legs, linking his fingers together. "So, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

The spy sweated nervously, but he set his jaw and refused to speak again.

"Tell me who your employer is." Izana coaxed. "You don't appear to be loyal to them."

The spy looked away. Izana hit the nail on the head; the spy wasn't loyal. He was just a hired peon, well compensated and thus easily replaceable when he died. Still, the spy remained silent.

Izana sighed. "Think of your situation. I don't know what your employer has offered you, but you are a liability to them now. They will try to silence you. If you cooperate with me, I will ensure your safety."

The spy pursed his lips stubbornly.

"Alright then." Izana sighed and stood up.

Without warning, his eyes narrowed and he put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

It was halfway out of the sheath when the spy caved, shouting, "No, no, no! I'll talk! I'll talk!"

After a brief interrogation, the spy confessed to everything. He was hired by Aru Laurier to bring Hikari to Cojaca as a hostage. Which meant that the Cojacan king, someone speaking for him, or someone imitating him, sent a spy to kidnap Hikari.