"For how long should I stay here?! I can't take it anymore!" Zorya screamed hitting the wall with her fist.

It have been almost three endless days and nights, that she had to spend locked inside of her room, and if she wished to leave it, she needed to be followed by the trusted guards to who Darius have ordered not to leave her alone even for a moment.

Zorya moved around her room nervously, wished she could just jump through the window and run away from the grasp of this place.

"Please my princess, stay still, The King have ordered to remain here until heis sure that you are safe." Sarah said, trying to calm her down.

"How dare he?! He knows very well that I am perfectly capable of defending myself!" Zorya yelled.

Kreshnik just spend his time on the balcony watching his owner raging around the place, not understanding what made her like that.

"Princess, please, don't you see that he cares about you. He doesn't wish to lose you, like he lost his previous wife." Sarah said and Zorya felt her eyes soften.

Zorya almost never wondered how would it feel to lose Darius, who was slowly becoming a part of her, she was sure that it would be hard to go through something like that, but maybe eventually she would be able to recover from that. But she would miss him, she was sure, and she would search for him in every other man. The way he spoke, the way he fought, the poetry he wrote, she would miss everything about him, even his damaged eyes that seemed like they will never be able to really see her. For a moment, she wished she could understand Darius and the unhuman pain he had to go through after losing his wife and daughter, she wanted to understand everything about him.

"See? It is not that hard to understand, even someone like him." Sarah said and smiled at princess.

"Well, I am trying to do so." Zorya answered.

"You know, I was a maid of Queen Anna as well." Sarah suddenly said.

"Really?" Zorya asked surprised. "What was she like?" Zorya asked.

"Nothing like you." Sarah answered with a chuckle. Zorya chuckled at her statement. Sarah was her maid, but also, Zorya considered her to be a close friend. Something in the eyes of that old woman, deeply reminded her of Mira, her mother. Even though she was sure that they two were so different.

"People keep telling me that." Zorya answered.

"That is because you are nothing like they ever meet before. You are unique, my princess, and I am sure that eventually people will be able to understand you. But you need to give them time for that. I can see a great leader in you, but they don't know you like I do." Sarah said with a smile.

"You remind me of my mother." Zorya said smiling.

"I am honored to hear that, but how so?" Sarah asked.

"My mother is a warrior, but I can see that you are too, just in some different way." Zorya said and Sarah smiled at the princess.

"I am no warrior my dear princess. I am simply living my life here, contented with what I have, and happy to be able to spend time with people who I consider family." Sarah said.

"Family?" Zorya asked confused, she didn't think that Sarah is a royal as well, she simply considered her purpose of being here, to be a maid, but Zorya started loving her, like a friend.

"Yes, I am taking a care of you, and I consider you to be my family. Maybe I should not be allowed to say something like that, but I consider you, my daughter." Sarah said with a warm smile. Zorya could swear that she saw a glimpse of tears in her chocolate-brown eyes.

"Sarah, would you do me a honor, and walk me to the altar when my wedding comes?" Zorya asked.

"It would be my honor princess!" Sarah said, allowing a tear to escape and roll down her cheek. Zorya found it hard to watch her cry, she reminded her of her own mother so much, and she hated to see Mira crying.

"Please, don't cry!" Zorya said.

"I apologise my princess." Sarah said holding down her tears.

Suddenly, the two of them were interrupted by Darius who walked inside the room.

"I told you to knock first!" Zorya scolded him and got up from where she was standing.

"My apologizes for interrupting you two, I didn't mean to..." Darius spoke, the confusion written on his face. He didn't expect that Zorya will get so close with Sarah, but he was glad that happened.

"Your majesty." Sarah said getting up and bowing slightly.

"It is alright Darius, if you came to tell me that it is safe for me to finally leave this place and get some fresh air." Zorya said.

"Actually, that is the reason I came here is to ask you would you like to take a walk around the town with me? I made sure that it is safe for you to go outside." Darius said.

"I will think about it..." Zorya said. Clearly, she wasn't happy about being locked in her own chamber for almost three days, when she knew that she would be able to defend herself from any danger that came upon her.

"It would be a great honor to have you by my side today." Darius pleaded.

"Fine, but Kreshnik is coming with us." Zorya said.

"Of course he is." Darius smiled, he actually preferred the fact, her wolf was always by her side, he knew that she will be protected that way, even when he wasn't around.

Soon, Darius and Zorya left the castle, and walked around the kingdom. Zorya didn't have a chance to explore Walnia further, and just now she noticed how beautiful that place was.

"I apologize for not being there for you, the past days. I had to make sure that your life is save here, before the wedding comes." Darius said. Always, so polite, it made Zorya feel distanced from him.

"What happened to those who were after me?"

"They are no longer among the living." Darius simply answered, making Zorya shivered, she was sure that he had the side that she haven't seen before, even darker one that he showed in Gora Nevskaya.

But she loved it.

"Where are we going?" Zorya asked.

"Do you want to see the church where we will marry?" Darius asked.

"Of coruse!" Zorya answered, she actually felt excited about that. She remembered that the building was huge, and she was curious to see inside of it as well. Darius smiled at her holding her hand tightly as the two of them moved inside the crowd of people that watched them curiously and bowing in respect.

Soon they arrived to the church.

"Your majesty, with all respect, I am afraid that she cannot come inside, her soul is not pure." One of the priests said. Zorya watched him with curiosity, never before she saw an orthodox priest, and she found them, quite, creepy in their black mantles.

"I am sure father, that if you measured purity of each soul that came inside this church, it would be empty all the time." Darius answered firmly and the priest stepped aside. As soon as Zorya came inside the church, she could not believe her own eyes, the beauty she was seeing.

Zorya ignored the golden crosses that were set around the church, the first thing she noticed were the icons with the peaceful faces on them, the holiness of the majestic place she just stepped inside, almost made her feel as if she was back inside her own forest, it always made her cry, even if she knew well that she was just a stranger there.

This didn't feel right, as if she was betraying her gods.

"Do you like it?" Darius asked.

"It is so beautiful, that I must leave it instantly." Zorya said before walking outside of the holly place. Darius only smiled at her statement, if she needed time to consider every corner of Walnia her home, he will give it to her.

As soon as Zorya walked outside, she saw children playing with Kreshnik, and it made her chuckle, and she came running toward them wishing to join them in their game.

"Can I play with you?" Zorya asked and she was greeted with an innocent smile of the children. They unlike the adults that lived inside Walnia, didn't judge her, and they weren't afraid of her wolf.

Soon she found herself, playing with the children, and their laughs echoed through the place. Zorya always enjoyed the company of the children, and the children loved her as well, they did not seem to care about her past, or her religion, or if she is civilized or not, the children could simply see that she is a good person.

Darius walked outside and smiled at the sight in front of him.

"Priest, you are an old, and wise man, but how couldn't you see that her soul is as pure as the soul of the child?" Darius asked.