There was peace for five hundred years, in which Saraja flourished under the rule of the Latarias family and became the wealthiest kingdom among the three. However, their prosperity stirred envy in neighboring kingdoms, who soon forgot their past alliance.

- The History of the Three Kingdoms

Today should have been another ordinary day in Saraja, the desert kingdom. The sun was as blistering hot as ever, given that it was the middle of summer. The markets in the capital started their bustling morning, same as every other day. Vendors flaunt their brightly colored goods. Children weaved in and out of the crowd, chasing each other and laughing.

A small, hooded figure trudged through the crowd with heavy steps.

Yesterday was the royal heir’s coming-of-age ceremony, and there are still remnants of a celebration all over the public square. 

But today was not meant to be an ordinary day.

“Attention!” A stout man with a grim expression on his face shouted out to the crowd at the top of his lungs. “I bear news concerning the royal family!” If his commanding tone wasn’t enough to garner everyone’s attention, the two royal guards flanking his side were.

In only a few moments, all noises died down. Even the children fell silent. Everyone stilled in whatever they had been doing as they gravitated toward the news-bearer with expectant faces.

Even the small hooded figure stilled in its track, unable to resist turning around to listen.

“The royal family were attacked after the royal heir’s coming-of-age ceremony last night. The king, queen, and royal heir were all assassinated, as well as several other royal relatives.”

The crowd stirred in horror at those words. Several people gasped loudly, and an elderly woman even collapsed from the shock. Immediately, they started shouting questions and demanding answers.

“Who did it?”

“What about the two princesses?”

“Did they catch the culprits?”

“Who would even do such a terrible thing?”

“Where were the guards? How can you let such a thing happen in the royal palace of all places?”

“Who was behind it?”

“Did anyone from the Latarias family survive?”

The news-bearer seemed to falter under the barrage of questions, but he tried his best to answer as many of them as possible to the best of his ability. 

“First Princess Roshana survived the massacre. She will be giving us a speech this evening to grant us closure. As for the second princess…” The new-bearer paused and drew in a deep breath. “Princess Alenisha is missing. It is uncertain if she is dead or has been kidnapped as of now. There is a big reward for anyone who finds Princess Alenisha and returns her to the palace unharmed. That is all.” 

He then bowed deeply to the crowd and left the scene.

However, his answers only incited the crowd into another frenzy.

“The second princess is missing?”

“But she is practically a child!”

“How cruel!”

“What did the royal family do to deserve such a tragedy?”

“How did the attacker even bypass the palace security?”

Amidst all the fervent conversation, the hooded figure silently raised her head, revealing azure blue eyes that are dull with fatigue. A few black curls escaped from her hood and tumbled over her shoulders. Her face was pale due to a sleepless night, although it wasn’t very noticeable against her olive skin.

No one knew that Nia, also known as Princess Alenisha Latarias, was standing right in their midst before everyone’s eyes. No one recognized her. After all, why would they? There is not a single inch of her ragged appearance that resembled a royal princess. 

Nia glanced at the sympathetic crowd, wondering if she could reveal her identity to them and beg them for their help. Yet, another part of her held her back. Deep down, she was afraid that no one would believe her. What if they do believe her but can’t—or won’t—help? Worse still, they might actually turn her over to the palace for the sake of that so-called ‘reward’, which was actually a bounty on her head. 

She was the only one lucky enough to escape the massacre of the night before with her life and freedom still intact. Her older sister Roshana was still trapped in that palace, still trapped with him: Prince Russek Terensar of Veruna, Roshana’s betrothed and the man responsible for the massacre. 

Nia had been forced to leave Roshana behind last night after their brother Vivian died by Russek’s hand. Of all the deaths from last night, it was Vivian’s death that cut her the most. She and her older brother were as thick as thieves, even though Vivian was the royal heir and Nia was the unruly royal spare with little value. 

Nia clenched her hands into fists, anger and determination burning through her. She may not have been able to save Vivian last night, but she still had a chance to save Roshana, who was now her only family left in the world.

Taking too long in her contemplation, the crowd eventually began to disperse once more. The opportunity to seek their help gone, Nia hastily dropped any thoughts of revealing herself and ducked her head lower, shoving her hair back into it. She knew it was a useless thing to do, as the biggest factor to give away her identity was her actions and behavior, not her appearance. But as long as she looked the part of a street rat, no one had any reason to look too closely.

After Nia fled the palace last night, the first thing she did was to change out of the beautiful dress which she had been wearing. It would have been a dead giveaway of her identity had anyone seen her with it. 

Someone should find it soon, crumbled up and shoved underneath a shrub. Hopefully, they would assume from the location of her gown that she was heading north when she actually doubled back and headed south instead. 

Nia managed to find some new clothes to wear after she looted through a nearby trash pile. She came across some tattered clothing and an old cloak with a heavy hood, the latter of which was perfect for hiding her face. She kept her jewelry wrapped and hidden in the pockets of her new tunic, knowing they were now her only source of money.

However, there was still one important feature that she would not be able to hide properly: her eye color. Nia had inherited her mother’s vivid blue eyes, which was only possessed by people of the Lunare family. Everyone knew the current royal children had blue eyes as the queen was from the Lunare family, and there will be an emphasis on searching for girls with blue eyes.

This meant that until she found a safe place to hide, Nia needed to make sure to keep her eyes hidden as much as possible. 

The people around her were noticeably more quiet than before as they returned back to their business. A note of grief hung in the atmosphere. Even the children were silent, as if they were affected by the adults’ somberness.

Nia was still standing frozen in the middle of the street as she pondered her next choice of action. Prince Russek had likely taken control over the royal palace by now, which meant Nia needed to make her next move carefully unless she wanted to be captured by him too. She couldn’t return to the palace, but she also had nowhere to go. This was her first time stepping out of the palace alone. She was usually accompanied by Vivian in the past because of her fear of getting lost.

And now, without his guidance, her fear had come true. She was now lost in a world that was full of people yet empty of everything familiar at the same time. She was just another fourteen-year-old girl out alone in the world with no home to return to. 

The capital of Saraja, where she had lived all her life, now appeared to be an unfamiliar landscape. The royal palace, which she had always considered to be her home and safe haven, was now a tiger’s lair. She felt like she was miles and miles away from everything she’d ever known in her life.

Nia suddenly recalled that the news-bearer mentioned Roshana was to give a speech later this evening to address the recent tragedy. Perhaps, if Nia could stay around to hear Roshana’s speech, or even get her sister’s attention, she might be able to communicate with her sister without Russek finding out.

Roshana should know what to do—she’s the older child, the smarter one. Nia had always been said to be too wild for her own good. Yes, Roshana should know what to do.

Her sister should be safe for the time being, as Russek still needed her alive to become king, but Nia didn’t trust him to treat her well.

Nia felt completely useless. As a royal spare, she had been mischievous and playful in her youth, never bothering to learn anything useful. Now, she silently cursed herself for playing pranks on high officials all day and not paying attention to anything important. She did not have any close friends or reliable allies. Her only confidants were Vivian and her servants. Nia had taken her life of luxury for granted back then. Now she has nothing. 

Feeling the presence of eyes upon her, Nia looked up suddenly to meet the gaze of one of the patrolling royal guards that had been staring at her with suspicion in his eyes. 

Panicking, Nia whipped around and dash off into the crowd, forgetting to act inconspicuously. She didn’t wait to see whether he would chase after her. She prayed that he hadn’t recognized her. She had no idea if he worked for Russek or not, and she definitely couldn’t afford to find out the hard way.

So, Nia chose to run instead. Her eyes burned, dry from a sleepless night, and her entire body ached all over, but her fear and paranoia drove her on.

She ran without looking back. Just like the night before.