By midnight, Vane woke up and prepared to move. Rune hadn't slept a wink.

"Come on. It's time to leave," she commanded.

As they moved, Vane was utterly amazed by her agility. She moved from tree to tree as if she were simply walking on flat ground. Navigating the forest floor so close to the castle city was a massive risk that could expose the treehouse, so Vane did his best to keep up. He wasn't trained in tree-hopping, but he managed to maintain his balance through pure grit.

By the first threads of dawn, the two knights finally dropped down to the forest floor.

"Thank God," Vane muttered, catching his breath. "I didn't think I'd manage to keep up with you any further."

Rune ignored the comment entirely. "We are clear of the city outskirts, but we aren't safe just yet. However, we're far enough that the local guard won't bother searching, keeping the treehouse safe from exposure." She checked her map. "Estora should be directly north from here."

"How did you—" Vane started, but Rune cut him off.

"I saw the crest on your shield and sword in the history books," she said casually, keeping her eyes on the map. "I am neither blind nor numb, Vane. I felt the specific layout of your armor plates when I threw you over the castle walls. We should clear the borders of Silax in a few days by foot."

Speechless at how incredibly sharp and well-educated she was, Vane quickly recovered. "I have a better idea."

He tapped a sequence on his gauntlet, and within a minute, a sleek magic-tech bike materialized out of thin air. Vane couldn't see her expression under her helmet, but he caught the sudden, sharp spark in her eyes when she looked at the machine, even though her rigid body language never changed.

"With this, we can clear the Silax borders by the end of the day instead of walking for a week," Vane proposed, hopping onto the seat. "Feel free to hold onto me or the back of the bike. Your choice."

Rune didn't respond. She simply mounted the bike behind him in silence, intentionally using her travel bag as a physical barrier to maintain a strict distance between them.

True to his word, they crossed the border by nightfall. As the darkness set in, they made camp in a clearing. Vane noticed that even as they settled down, Rune refused to take off her quartz armor or unbuckle her sword.

"Is Princess Vesper still lacking trust in me?" Vane teased, trying to provoke a reaction.

He understood her caution, of course. They had barely known each other for twenty-four hours, and no one in their right mind would trust a complete stranger in these times. To show he wasn't a threat, Vane gathered his bedroll and moved to the far side of his magic-tech bike. It meant he was completely cut off from the warmth of the campfire, but he didn't complain. Even though she was a fierce Silaxen warrior, she was still a lady, and he intended to give her space.

As Vane slept in the freezing cold, Rune quietly walked over and draped two extra blankets over him, shaking her head at his stubborn choice.

She took first watch, pulling her usual late-night vigil. Suddenly, a strange ripple cut through the air. The atmosphere shifted, signaling they were no longer alone. Rune instantly dropped into a defensive stance, tracking the disturbance. The air brushed past her shoulder—she knew the threat was directly behind her. Whipping around with blinding speed, she slammed the heavy hilt of her sword into the intruder's temple, knocking him completely unconscious before he could even register her movement.

When Vane woke up the next morning, he found himself warm, buried under extra sheets. Panicked, he scrambled up to look for the lady knight, only to stop dead in his tracks.

A random young man with honey-brown curly hair, warm sand skin, light hazel eyes, and a green cap was wrapped up tightly on the floor like a human burrito. Rune was casually sitting on top of him, calmly preparing breakfast over the fire.

"Oh, look, the sleepyhead is awake!" the wrapped-up guy joked. "Do you mind giving me a hand with your friend here? My legs are starting to cramp."

"Good," Rune said harshly, her tone impatient. "No one told you to blow up our last perimeter spell. Because of your little explosion, it took me two hours to find a new breakfast spot without alerting the border patrol!"

The guy rolled his eyes slightly. "Now that I think about it, it's not every day you see a Silaxen princess and an Estoran vanguard running away from the army together. I get that being a lady knight might be a tough gig, but—"

"I suggest you don't push it," Vane advised, walking over. "Believe me, you do not want to be on the bad side of Princess Vesper."

After a bit of tense negotiating, Vane finally convinced Rune to release the captive.

"Thanks, man! Appreciate the rescue," the guy said, stretching his limbs as he reached for his wooden staff and gear.

But before he could even shoulder his pack, a shower of shimmering, magical projectiles rained down upon the camp.

"Count Percy Cinder! You are under arrest!" a loud voice echoed as a squad of battle-mages emerged from the treeline.

Vane moved faster than the others, raising his shield to cover the three of them, but the containment spell was entirely too quick. Before they could fight back, a binding flash of light enveloped them.

The next thing they knew, they were sitting behind heavy iron bars in a deep dungeon.

"Umm, care to explain what exactly you did to warrant an armed arrest?" Vane asked, rubbing his temples as he tried to process their sudden imprisonment.

Percy immediately defended himself. "I was just trying to help Princess Misthaven Faye feel better! I just wanted her to be able to walk around the lower gardens, but my spell completely backfired. It’s strange, usually my intuition is spot-on."

As they talked, Rune evaluated the cell. Realizing that her small, petite frame without her bulky quartz armor could easily slide through the wide gap in the old masonry, she began unlatching her plates.

"Well, it was incredibly stupid of you to think you could just use experimental magic to cure a royal princess," Rune remarked dryly.

Vane and Percy’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as Rune completely slipped out of her outer armor. Standing in her thin inner clothes, she squeezed straight through the opening of the bars.

"I need to scope out the layout of this place before I release you two. Stay quiet," she instructed, disappearing into the shadows of the corridor.

As Rune navigated the quiet upper halls of the castle, she felt a powerful magical signature approaching. Slipping into the nearest open room to hide, she paused as a soft, weak voice called out from a massive four-poster bed.

"Hello? Miss Maria... is it time for my medicine?"

The young lady lying on the bed had a cloth resting over her eyes. She looked like an angel, sporting striking silver-blue hair and inherently rosy skin, though a severe sickness had drained her color, leaving her almost as pale as Rune's own snowy complexion.

Rune panicked slightly. She was a terrible liar, and a quick glance at the ornate tray on the bedside table caught her attention. Her scholar's eye immediately noticed a distinct discoloration in the broth—the food was clearly poisoned, and whoever was doing it hadn't even bothered to hide it properly.

"Um... no, I am not Maria, and I'm certainly not a doctor," Rune said, choosing her words with extreme caution. "But if I may ask... are you Princess Misthaven Faye by any chance?"

Princess Faye let out a soft, frail laugh. "Now I can tell you aren't from around here. I am the only princess of the Aethria Isles."

"Oh." Rune blushed slightly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Well, you're lucky. Back in Silax, I have three other sisters. Everyone in the palace just refers to us as the First, Second, Third, and Fourth princesses."

The joke earned a genuine, light laugh from the bedridden girl.

"It sounds lovely... to share the weight of a royal title with someone," Princess Faye said softly, a hint of self-pity dipping into her tone.

Rune sighed, her expression softening. "It is. But it’s also incredibly difficult when you share it to the point that you lose the right to stand up for yourself. No one wants to see the real you. It's like you're not allowed to become what you were meant to bloom into, forced to pretend just to be accepted."

"I'm sorry, Princess..." Faye paused, realizing she didn't know the other girl's name.

"Oh, where are my manners? It's Rune Vesper. Well, Knight Rune Vesper now," she corrected with a small smile.

A moment of complete silence filled the room before Rune snapped her fingers, remembering her supplies. "Wait! I think I have something that might actually help you, Your Majesty."

Reaching into a concealed compartment beneath her inner uniform, she pulled out a specialized Silaxen antidote. Growing up in a toxic royal court, she always kept universal poison remedies on her person in case her sister, Princess Amara, was targeted.

"Let's just hope this toxin hasn't been in your system for too long," Rune murmured gently, helping Faye swallow the medicine. "I have to get back down to the dungeons now to free the Count and the other knight."

"Will you promise to come visit me again?" Princess Faye asked, her breathing already stabilizing as the remedy took effect. "I really enjoyed your company, Princess Rune Vesper."

Rune gave a firm nod, slipping back into the shadows. Returning to the dungeon, she cleanly ambushed the Aethrian guards, snatched the iron keys, and unlocked the cell doors for Vane and Percy.

"We need to speak to your King and Queen immediately," Rune stated flatly, confronting both men.

"What?!" Percy stammered, while Vane tried to piece the clues together. "That's completely impossible!"

"Look, I don't particularly like either of you," Rune said bluntly as she commanded her tech-magic armor pieces to fly back onto her frame, locking securely into place. "But I refuse to let someone be judged unfairly. The princess's food has been actively poisoned for weeks. It isn't your magical shenanigans that are killing her, Percy."

"Alright, but getting an audience won't be easy," Percy warned, gripping his staff.

"Lead the way, burrito mage," Rune commanded, gesturing for him to take the front.

Their escape didn't stay secret for long. Halfway to the grand hall, a contingent of royal guards intercepted them. They fought their way through the corridors, but pure numbers eventually overwhelmed them. Bound in heavy iron cuffs, they were dragged straight into the throne room, where the King sat ready to issue an execution order.

"Your Majesty! There is a massive misunderstanding!" Rune shouted over the murmurs of the court. "The Count didn't try to assassinate your daughter! Someone has been systematically placing poison in her meals!"

"Lies!" a young duke dressed in an opulent, dark royal suit sneered from the left side of the room. "What would an outsider peasant know about Her Royal Highness?!"

"I don't need to know Her Highness to recognize basic poison," Rune defended fiercely, glaring at the noble. "The culprit didn't even bother to mask it properly, knowing the room would always be left empty enough for the tray to pass without inspection!"

The Duke opened his mouth to protest, but the King raised a hand, silencing the hall. He looked sharply at Rune, Vane, and Percy. "You do realize you are risking your lives if your claim is false?" the King asked coldly, though a desperate spark of hope ignited in his eyes.

Rune immediately dropped to one knee, her posture iron-clad. "I, Princess Rune Vesper of Silax, swear upon my life and my honor that my claim is true."

A collective gasp echoed through the courtroom.

"Silax?! She’s a princess of Silax?!" the nobles whispered in sheer panic.

Right then, the heavy doors opened. Princess Misthaven Faye walked into the room, dressed only in her thin, bright royal sleepwear. Her silver-blue hair caught the light, and her rosy skin was visibly regaining its natural color, though she was still slightly pale. Her vibrant, emerald-green eyes scanned the room.

"Father? What exactly are you doing to my friend?" Faye asked firmly.

The entire room went dead silent, holding their breath in utter disbelief. The princess was out of bed and walking under her own power.

The King’s eyes instantly welled with tears. Rune broke rank and ran straight to Faye’s side, scolding her softly. "What are you doing out of bed?! You need to let the medicine rest in your system for at least a full day to recover completely!"

While the two princesses were talking, a rogue knight loyal to the traitorous Duke took advantage of the distraction. He swung a heavy war-hammer, aiming a lethal blow directly at both girls.

Percy reacted instantly, teleporting directly into the path of the attack and using his floating wooden staff to shield them. Within seconds, the Duke’s personal faction of guards drew their weapons, turning the throne room into a war zone.

"You've got to be kidding me!" the Duke roared, his face twisting in malice. "If I can't have the throne through her, no one shall!"

The King stared at the noble in pure rage. "You did this to my daughter?!"

Vane charged forward alongside the loyal castle guard, intercepting the Duke’s men. Within minutes, the traitorous faction was entirely disarmed and brought to their knees.