Die! You brute!

"Hey!"

Ella flinched, the loud feminine voice from behind startled her.

The arrow that she had almost released skipped from her grasp and changed its direction due to the sudden tremor her body had experienced.

It flew towards Prince Theodore and dashed closely by him, leaving a thin scar on his ear, a small stream of blood seeped out.

Princess Irene bumped her shoulder into Ella's as she sprinted towards Prince Theodore.

Her slim legs were clad in loose brown pants and her lean yet toned waist was wrapped in a white corset.

Her pitch-black hair tied neatly in a high ponytail, bobbed as she panted for air.

"Are you alright?'

She worriedly scanned Prince Theodore head to toe.

Her hand grazed his injured ear softly.

But he,

He didn't spare the concerned woman beside him a single glance.

His eyes solely fixated on Ella.

Both of them were busy exchanging heated glares.

Ella left Prince Theodore's domineering stare to observe the arrow that had missed its target and landed on the tree trunk behind him.

Her heart hammered against her rib cage.

She had almost killed him.

The fact that she had gone for something so mindless and dense alarmed her.

Prince Theodore had caused her to lose control. He had caused her to lose her cool.

Ella was surprised at how manipulative he was. Only a few words had escaped his mouth, yet they managed to convince her into doing something that shouldn't have been done.

But that wasn't the scariest part,

The scariest part was that inch by inch, through his stinging words, evoking Ella into doing something he wanted her to,

He showed that he had control over her.

"Are you out of your mind, commoner?!"

Princess Irene shouted at the top of her lungs.

Her brows creased as her eyes bored daggers in Ella's direction.

She huffed in irritation, pointing her finger Ella's way.

"This is a warning, if you have forgotten your place than father would know how to remind you of it."

She blew the strand of hair that rested upon her face in vexation.

Ella scoffed and rolled her eyes.

For all she knew, it was hardly ever her fault.

It was always them provoking her.

It was Princess Irene who had provoked her for the food fight and it was Prince Theodore who had provoked her into killing him.

She had never started the battle on her own, it was they who tricked her into doing it and it was her getting the blame for it.

"Let them be."

Prince Emmett muttered softly.

Ella turned her head to his voice.

She saw him speed-walk towards Princess Irene and grab her by the elbow.

If Ella wasn't so occupied in a self-esteem war with Prince Theodore,

She would have fawned inside over Prince Emmett's deep, soothing voice and his well-built frame.

"But-"

He proceeded to drag Princess Irene away from Prince Theodore, to which she resisted with all her might.

"I'm fine Irene, a little wound won't kill me."

Prince Theodore caressed the cut on his ear with the tip of his finger.

"It won't kill me like an arrow to my throat would have, but oh well."

The same mocking grin that Ella had remembered so bitterly loitered on his lips.

She gave him a tight-lipped smile in response.

He was taunting her.

He was taunting her because he knew regardless of Ella's determined declaration to kill him,

She had suffered from a change of hearts mind-way.

She had panicked.

And for him, that was his first victory against her.

"Are you sure?"

Princess Irene swallowed dryly.

The look of distress not for once left her face.

"You heard him, Irene, just come with me."

Prince Emmett stood well-aware of the tension that surrounded Ella and his brother, his eyes had darted between the two suspiciously.

He yanked Irene with both his hands this time and ignored her protests.

Ella watched the bickering duo stroll towards the other side of the ground; Prince Emmett's attire was somewhat similar to Prince Theodore's,

A longbow was slung across his body as well and a couple of arrows were clutched in his palm.

The dramatic side of Ella told her that the universe had united and planned to conspire against her.

As if dealing with Prince Theodore wasn't bad enough,

Crossing paths with Princess Irene only screamed troubled.

And crossing paths with Prince Emmett screamed trouble as well... but for her heart.

But the wise part of her knew it was the events from early morning that had shaken everyone.

Archery meant shooting the target with arrows until you completely forget about the things bothering you.

And that's what they were here to do, probably.

Prince Theodore giggled.

He found the entire ordeal amusing.

Not to forget he had managed to pull Ella out of her guard.

His giggle turned into full-blown laughter.

His eyes squeezed into half-moon crescents and his front teeth came out on full display.

"Ah~ How rude of me, my apologies for acting in such a beastly way towards a lady such as yourself."

Prince Theodore ran his hands through his shiny, brunette locks.

"It's just that seeing my sister covered in so much blood earlier this morning struck a chord in me."

Ella choked,

Internally.

His what?!

"Forgive me, I have been furious ever since."

Ella's eyes had widened twice its size.

There was only one person who was coated in blood earlier this morning.

It was none other than Queen Isadora.

To say Ella was shocked is an understatement.

She was beyond that, she felt like after each passing minute with Prince Theodore, hiding her expressions had become far more difficult.

This was a big revelation to her, so many questions smeared her brain.

She had always wondered about Queen Isadora.

A few days ago, Ella had seen Queen Helene's portrait tossed near the bed in the old abandoned room she escaped to from Prince Theodore on the night of the banquet.

She had recognized the child in the Queen's lap to be Princess Irene.

So Queen Isadora was obviously not Princess Irene's real mother.

And if she hadn't seen Queen Helene around ever since her stay in the Palace, then she was probably....Dead?

So that means Queen Helene was the former empress and her substitute now is Prince Emmett and Prince Theodore's sister?

Ella's head started to throb.

Should she fret as to why such a young-looking woman had to marry someone as old as the king who had a daughter almost the same age as her?

Was it greed she sought?

Maybe she was forced?

So if Queen Isadora was Prince Theodore's sister and he was mad about the trauma she had to go through because of the dead crow,

Then he probably wasn't the one who sneaked the dead bird into her room, right?

If he didn't, then who did it?

And what did it mean? What was the intention behind it?

"Hey, Gabriella?"

Ella raised her head to the familiar deep and soothing voice.

Her heartbeat had fastened to a mile a minute.

"Are you perhaps struggling with archery?"

Prince Emmett asked Ella with a gentle smile.

She could smell the fruity scent that oozed from his dark, long hair.

Ella had always seen Prince Emmett with a handful of bangs covering his eyes and forehead.

She wished she could see more of him, she wished she could devour the sight of his entire face.

And this time, maybe God and wind, both were in her favor.

The wind had swept his bangs unveiling his mesmerizing eyes, thick eyebrows, and perfectly sculpted forehead.

"Yes?"

Ella's voice came out as a mumble to which Prince Theodore clicked his tongue.

"Do you perhaps face problems with aiming and shooting?"

He directed his long finger towards the long-bow.

"I can help you out if you are okay with it?"

Ella sighed lightly in awe.

A beautiful man such as him, to whom she held a strong liking to, helping her out with something she's already good at?

Why the hell not?

It was okay for her to use the opportunity to her advantage, right?

It wasn't like she was forcing herself on him, right?

Ella shot a glare at Prince Theodore.

Unlike someone else.

"Uh...sure."

Ella muttered.

Prince Theodore eyed Ella and his brother, Emmett, standing awfully close to each other.

He folded his arm by his chest and observed them with a frown.

His brother was teaching Ella how to shoot?

Prince Theodore glanced at Ella's perfect shot on the target from earlier.

"What a joke."

He scorned.

He saw how Emmett pressed Ella's back to his chest, squeezed the back of her hands with his palms, and placed his chin on her shoulder.

The faint blush that crept upon Ella's ear didn't go unnoticed by him as well.

Prince Theodore rammed his tongue on the inside of his cheek as his jaw clenched.

His nails dug into his palm leaving behind fresh minute nail-wounds.

His fists clenched tightly making his veins pop out.

But he waited.

He waited for the perfect moment as he lifted his long-bow, positioning the arrow between it and the string.

And the instant Ella and Emmett's arrow took off from their long-bow, he shot his own.

His arrow caught their halfway in the middle, altering its direction from the shooting target and moving it towards Princess Irene.

Princess Irene shrieked and fell as the arrow brushed past her and landed on the wall behind her.

Emmett broke out in a cold sweat when he saw Princess Irene stumble.

He left Ella without looking back and dashed towards her.

Ella felt his warmth decamp her body, oddly enough she already missed his fruity fragrance and velvety hair that tickled her neck.

But that wasn't her major concern at the moment.

She gawked at Prince Theodore who had interrupted hers and Prince Emmett's rare interaction.

The rage, fury, and anger.

Everything that she had felt earlier, flared in her body again.

Prince Theodore dropped the longbow on the ground and licked his lips.

His eyes blazed into Ella's as he stretched his neck, the sound of his muscles popping rung in her ear.

"I think that maybe me telling you that how much of a fool my brother can be for Irene wasn't enough for you."

He landed his hands on his hips.

"Let me show you the living proof then."

No matter how much Ella wanted to strangle him, she couldn't help but stare at Prince Emmett helping Princess Irene up and gently stroking her cheek.

"My brother is a dog for Irene, don't be an idiot and think you can divert his feelings towards you."

Prince Theodore pushed his hands in his pocket.

"Because I know he won't budge."

He peeked at Ella who was rooted to the ground, her eyes fixated at the soul-crushing scenario playing in front of her.

Prince Theodore had debated if he should do something so bold and snap Ella's spirit in half like that.

But after all, he was saving her from a bigger heart-break,

Maybe she wouldn't realize that anytime soon given the reputation Prince Theodore had built in her eyes.

Even though he could be dark sometimes, brutal too.

If life had asked him to choose, he would have never chosen his current virtues and personality,

But if all the tragic roads of his disastrous life had led him down to it, did he really have any option left?

He did what he had to.

To save his brother, his sister, and his Empire.

His gaze fell upon his brother who returned an equally intense one to him.

Prince Emmett's hand held onto Irene's arm dearly yet his eyes surveyed Theodore's tense frame.

Prince Emmett knew Ella could shoot well, how could a warrior as capable as her not?

Afterall someone as daring as her, showing up in an all-men swordsmanship tournament is bound to have impressive skills.

But he still reached out to her, offering her to teach.

Why? Because he wanted to analyze his brother's intentions.

He wanted to test him out.

He wanted to test what he feared.

Theodore was a smart man, he probably knew what Prince Emmett was up to.

If he wanted he could have buried his feelings yet he showed them very openly.

He showed to Prince Emmett that his feelings for Ella were far more than just a measly tease game.

Theodore showed him that he was falling for Ella, and his reckless way of shooting their arrow mid-way was a message to him.

He was telling Prince Emmett to back off.

It was jealousy that took over Prince Theodore,

One that he was not afraid to portray.

Prince Emmett exhaled deeply.

To him, this wasn't good news,

At all.

A/N : Why do you think Prince Theodore growing feelings for Ella is not a good news at all for Emmett?

I uploaded round 14 and 15 together.  I think half of you missed it. Please read that one as well.