It had been two weeks since the prince had made a deal with her, but apparently, only she remembered the agreement. Her thoughts, as the days passed, ranged from the certainty of "he won't back out" to the question of "he wouldn't back out, would he?" to the dreadful realization of "he backed out."

Desolate, Kareena was trying to convince herself that it was for the best. The court would soon witness a bloodbath, and it wasn't a safe place to be. The memory of the vision of Lysander covered in someone else's blood sent shivers down her spine and made her think of one thing. If he had abandoned her assistance in usurping his younger brother's throne, and she knew of his ulterior motives, what would prevent him from killing her to ensure her silence on the matter?

She was startled by her own thought, and her intuition screamed at her to leave immediately. Kareena was torn. She didn't want to linger at the circus, waiting to see if he would kill her or not, but she also didn't have much money for a getaway. Sometimes, all she wished for was the stars to guide her life and tell her specifically what to do next.

The delicious scents of popcorn, cotton candy, and other circus treats wafted through the air as she finally made a decision. She crossed the circus, passing by colorful booths scattered throughout the area, displaying skill games and shiny prizes, and returned to her own trailer to grab her bags. Whatever happened in the future, she had a feeling that she would come out on the losing end.

No one at the circus knew she was an orphan, so she claimed to have received a message that her mother was ill and needed her immediately. She asked the circus owner if there would still be a place for her when she returned from her trip, and he replied with a polite "no" that she couldn't be angry with.

She grabbed her two bags of belongings and walked away from the circus with her head held high, thinking that just because she was unemployed, on the run, and her dream of becoming empress was shattered, didn't mean her life would be in ruins forever.

With confidence, she took confident steps down the street until she was kidnapped two blocks away.