Every kingdom possesses a treasury, though the systems may differ. In Saraja, the treasury resided in a concealed chamber within the royal palace. Protected by numerous layers of security, it underwent relocation whenever there was a perceived leak to outsiders, at times even moving to an entirely different building.

- The Governments of the Three Kingdom

Nia can hear swords clashing in the distance. Screams rang out and echoed off the palace walls.

She and Vivian were running as fast as their legs could carry them, fleeing away from the source of chaos with her hands gripped tightly in her brother’s fist.

Not too long ago, she was just enjoying a nice meal in the company of her family and close relatives. It was a private dinner in celebration of Vivian’s sixteenth birthday. 

The coming-of-age ceremony had just ended and all the guests had returned home. Now, the royal family and their close relatives were sharing a meal together. The only outsider there was Prince Russek, who had been invited to the feast because of his position as Roshana’s future husband.

However, just a few moments later, the Verunan soldiers barged into the dining room and drew their blades. Before anyone could react, they started slaughtering the royal family members and some nearby servants. 

They went for the king and queen first, giving Vivian just enough time to realize the situation and grab Nia before fleeing the dining hall.

Vivian was lucky enough to be carring a weapon with him at that time. Granted, it was merely a ceremonial sword, but it was sharp enough to cut down some of the assassins standing in their way. While everyone’s attention was focused on the sudden attack on their king and queen or on protecting themselves from the onslaught, Nia and Vivian had made their escape in the ensuing chaos.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. The first rulers of Veruna and Zahdi swore a magical blood oath that they and their descendants will always obey and never betray the descendants of the Latarias family. 

Yet, this scene is proving the oath wrong. Russek Terensar had set his soldiers upon the current members of the Latarias family. How is this possible?

Nia was still in shock from the violent scene she just witnessed. Her father and mother had been cut down right in front of her eyes, and there was so much blood…

She had no idea where they were going, but she followed her brother with a blind trust. They hadn’t gone far from the dining room when Vivian remembered something.

“Nia, I have to go back for Roshana!”

Panic settled in Nia’s heart, overpowering the shock.

“Is it too late for her?” Nia asked, her wide eyes darting back in the direction of the nightmare she had just escaped from.

Vivian looked torn between going back for Roshana and continuing to take Nia to safety.

“Stay somewhere safe,” Vivian ordered before running back into the fray. “I have to at least try.”

Nia ducked behind a large potted plant and waited for him to return. She was terrified for his safety, and for her own life as well. She shouldn’t be concerned for him, though. Vivian was very skilled in sword fighting. He would be fine.

But she couldn’t shake off a bad feeling in her gut. She started to regret letting him go back.

After a few moments of waiting, which felt like forever, things became more quiet. The screaming stopped and the sound of metal striking metal was gone. But Vivian still hadn’t returned.

Nia became even anxious. Despite her fear for her life, she eventually decided to come out of her hiding place to look for Vivian. She stealthily crept around the corner, careful to watch out for guards. When she determined that the coast was clear, she dashed down the empty hall back toward the dining room. 

The hall seemed bigger than ever before. It was not as bright and welcoming as it was during the day. It was darker and full of angry shadows.

The pounding of Nia’s heart filled her ears, so loud she couldn’t hear anything else. Or maybe there was nothing to hear. No more screams, no more fighting. What happened to Vivian? Why was he taking so long? Is he… No! She refused to finish that thought.

She rounded another corner, this time forgetting to check for assassins, and had a good view of the dining room through the doorway at the end of the hall.

She froze in her tracks at the scene. There was blood everywhere. It was pooling on the bright marble floor, staining the table cloth where she was eating desserts not too long ago, and dripping down the marble walls. Bodies littered the ground. Several of them were the royal guards and others were assassins that the guards managed to take down with them before dying.

Roshana was standing beside Russek, looking a bit frightened but otherwise unharmed. Her dress had blood stains on it, but it wasn’t hers. She didn’t seem to be in danger of getting killed.

But what truly captured her attention was a figure lying on the ground. He was wearing familiar ceremonial clothes and had a knife plunged into his back. Nia recognized the body in an instant.

“Vivian!”

Her cry alerted Russek and his remaining assassins. They were so focused on assessing the corpses that they hadn’t noticed her when she rounded the corner to peer through the doorway. They all swiveled their heads around to look at Nia.

“Get her!” Russek lifted his sword, ready to cut Nia down.

“Wait!” Roshana grabbed his arm, which halted everyone in their tracks.

Nia didn’t wait for them to change their minds. She took advantage of their momentary distraction and fled again, this time without returning.

Nia screamed and bolted upright as she jerked out of her nightmare.

For a moment, she was disoriented from waking up in a violent fashion. Someone grabbed her shoulders and she assaulted them with her flailing arms.

“Nia, calm down!” Someone’s voice broke through the fog in her mind. She stopped. At first, she thought it was Vivian who spoke as his voice was still fresh in her memory. But it wasn’t Vivian. It was Khiran.

“Where am I?” Nia panted as she looked around her. Her memories of last night came back.

She immediately identified the girl sitting to her left as Latifah and the girl next to her as Lilia.

“Whoa, that must have been quite a nightmare.” Latifah shook her head, her eyes wide from Nia’s outburst. 

Nia coughed. Her throat was raw as if she had been screaming, because she was. Her clothes were soaked in sweat. She wanted to strip off her dirty tunic and change into one of her outfits from the palace, but that privilege of hers was long in the past.

Nia groaned as the sunlight hit her eyes, blinding her. She was lying on a cot inside a small house. The windows were open, letting the sunlight stream into the house. It must be midday. Nothing in her surroundings was familiar except for the three people looking at her with concerns in their eyes.

“You called out the name Vivian,” Lilia noted, studying her expression.

“I don’t know any Vivian,” Nia responded too quickly. “Maybe I was calling for Khiran. Where are we, by the way.”

“We stopped at a village,” Khiran explained, his face as aloof as always. “The villagers were kind enough to let us rest here. Food, however, is another story.”

Nia pulled herself out of bed. “I’m fine. You can stop looking at me like I’m going to die or something.”

“You were very distressed earlier.” Lilia pointed out.

“It’s just a dream.” Nia rebuffed her concerns. She didn’t want them to know her identity. Khiran already knew, and that was already one too many. She was thankful Khrian kept her secret, but she didn’t trust the rest of the crew to react the same way.

“What did you say about food again?” Nia asked.

“They can’t give us any food,” Latifah answered, her face stony with disappointment. “There’s a drought going on and their oasis is starting to dry up. They don’t have any food to spare.”

“There’s a drought going on?” Nia was surprised to learn that. She didn’t hear much about those issues back then when she still lived in the palace, but maybe that’s because she wasn’t paying close attention.

“Yes,” Lilia confirmed. “Whenever this happens in the past, the capital would give out resources to other oases, but there was a big issue at the capital recently. I’m not sure what it is, but I hope it gets resolved quickly.”

Nia immediately figured out what the issue was. “The royal family was assassinated.”

Latifah and Lilia looked stunned. “What? How do you know?”

“They were announcing it out on the streets before I got kidnapped by that Zahdian woman and woke up in that caravan.”

“Are there any survivors?” Lilia asked with a worried look on her face. It seemed like Lilia was a loyal subject.

“Only Princess Roshana as far as everyone knows,” Nia answered. “And maybe a few people further down the line of succession, I’m assuming.”

She stole a quick look at Khiran to see how he reacted, but his expression betrayed nothing. He already knew that the royal family was dead. He had learned that from her just hours ago, assuming it was hours ago and she wasn’t asleep for days.

“That’s good.” Lilia looked relieved. “If everyone was dead, then I’d be worried. Who would rule Saraja if the Latarias family is gone?”

If everyone from the royal family died, then there would most likely be chaos and civil wars as people fought for power. On top of that, the Latarias royal family had ruled Saraja since the day Saraja was founded by King Jasheed Latarias.

“Well, that’s none of our concerns.” Latifah bluntly added. “Now that everyone has woken up, we need to get going to find food. Jensen and Seti are hungry and I’m sure the rest of us are too.”

“Jensen and Seti?” Nia didn’t recognize those names.

“They’re the two boys from last night who were drugged the whole time. Jensen is seven and Seti is six.” Lilia replied. “Let’s get the caravan set up again. I’m sure the horses are well rested now.”

The two girls left the cabin, leaving Nia alone with Khiran.

Nia swallowed nervously. Although Khiran makes her feel safe like Vivian, he also intimidated her at the same time. The aloof expression he had on right now did nothing to help.

“So… thank you for helping us out of that cavern.” Nia said after a long awkward silence. “I’m kind of surprised you’re still here with us.”

Khiran only nodded silently in acknowledgment of her words.

“Why are you wearing my cloak?” Nia questioned, narrowing her eyes. Khiran was indeed wearing her cloak. She hadn’t realized until now that she was no longer wearing her cloak.

“My hair would have attracted a lot of attention.”

“Ah, I see.” There was another awkward silence.

“The girls aren’t fools, you know,” Khiran spoke up.

“What?”

“They know you look familiar. They haven’t placed it yet, but sooner or later, they’ll figure out that you’re Princess Alenisha.”

Nia gulped. “Thanks for not telling them.”

She suddenly thought back to her nightmare and remembered. Roshana still needed her help. She helped Nia escape, and now it’s time for Nia to pay back the favor.

“Khiran, I was wondering if you would help me with something.” Nia started, suddenly glad that Latifah and Lilia weren’t around.

“What is it?”

“You said you steal for fun and excitement, right?”

“What do you want me to steal?”

“My sister!” Nia blurted out.

Khiran raised an eyebrow at her absurd request. “Not interested.”

Nia was desperate to free her sister from Russek. “I’ll pay you with everything I have.” She quickly revealed all the jewelry that she hid under her thick tunic. She was glad Latifah and Lilia didn’t discover them when they moved her to a cot. Then she realized that Khiran must have been the one to carry her. As a half-demon, he certainly has the strength to do so with ease.

Khiran took one disinterested glance at her jewelry and looked away. “Sorry, money doesn’t really interest me anymore. I only accepted the hairpin back then because I foolishly proposed the price, and I’ll never go back on my words.”

Nia felt panicked for a second, then remembered one last thing she still has. She took out Vivian’s handclock. “Weren’t you interested in this?”

Khiran appeared slightly interested, which gave Nia a bit of hope.

“What else do you have to give?”

Nia felt crushed. She didn’t have much else except…

“I’ll grant you access to the royal treasury.” Nia blurted out. It was a ludicrous idea, offering the royal treasury to a thief. But Nia was truly desperate.

“There’s a lot of good stuff in there.” Nia continued. “More than just gold and silver. There are some ancient artifacts and valuable books. You can take anything you want from there as long as you don’t bankrupt the kingdom.”

Khiran suddenly looked very interested in her proposal. “Do you have access to it?” Khiran questioned.

Nia hesitated. “It’s locked, but I know you can unlock it. It’s the location that you need my help with.”

Khiran pondered the idea for a moment. “Alright. But I’ll take the handclock too.”

Nia’s heart sank in dread. “My handclock?”

“Didn’t you offer it to me?”

Vivian gave her this handclock. It was his last gift to her. How could she bear to give it away?

But Roshana needed her help. And Nia should help those who are still alive rather than stay fixated on the dead.

She reluctantly handed the handclock over and placed it in his waiting palm without another word.