ALLIANCE

XIV: Renegade

Lilith felt her heart beat faster than when they were training. Her palms became sweatier with the physical contact. It was the first time someone made her feel that way. It's the first time she let someone touch her in that way.

She suddenly remembered that one night in downtown Coterie City with a sudden gesture. The night where they drank a lot with Julian, the night they had their unplanned tattoos, and the night she almost.. almost felt comfortable enough to trust him.

Anger suddenly shot through her body with the sudden flashback, so she wriggled out of the man's hold.

"Prince Jaxon, what are you doing? This is inappropriate." Lilith tells him, pulling his hands open, for her to be free.

"Lilith.." The man whispered, holding her tighter. "I missed you." He continued, burying his face in her neck.

The woman laughed. "What are you talking about, Prince Jaxon? I haven't met you in my whole life. You can't miss me. Let me go before I use my strength." She tells him.

Jaxon was surprised by what the woman said, so he let go of her. The woman was about to start moving again, but he went in front of her to block her way. "Lilith. I told you. I remember you." He repeated. "And I thought it would be impossible but I know you remember me too." He tells her, grabbing both of her shoulders. "I can see it from your eyes every time you look at mine." He added.

The woman rolled an eye at him, sighing. "I don't remember you, and even if I do, I'm a woman of my word." She simply said, looking away from him.

Jaxon looked at her in dismay. He was becoming frustrated with each minute that was passing by, as he was trying to understand the woman's behavior. "What do you mean?" He asked his mind in a daze.

The woman looked back at him to give him a strong gaze. "If I met you in a different world, I promised to ignore you. I promised to pretend to not know you and I promised to pretend that I have never met you." She reminded him. "I'm committing my promise. Now do your side of the bargain. From now on, we don't personally know each other." She said. "Our only relationship lies in my marriage to your brother and this alliance. That's it." She added before pushing his hands away from her shoulders. She bowed towards him. "I should probably go. Thank you for the intense training, Prince Jaxon." She tells him before moving to pass him.

Jaxon didn't bother to stop the lady anymore. He couldn't move his feet. He felt as if his insides were heavier than how it usually would feel to carry himself.

When Lilith was near the door, the both of them heard a scream outside of the training room. Lilith's assassin instincts suddenly came back, so she swung the door open to run and check what was happening.

Jaxon, who was equally as surprised, was cut off by yet another trail of thoughts, so he quickly followed behind her.

"Nathalie, follow the servant. I'll summon the King. I radioed the head guard. They are on their way there." Sin shouted towards the woman while they were both running. Nathalie nodded, quickening her phase to catch up with the woman, at the same time that the eldest Prince shifted directions into another hallway.

It's a good thing that they had a tour of the Kingdom, for the assassin to remember which way to go in these kinds of emergencies.

When she can finally see the woman she ran even faster. The servant was busy walking that she didn't notice the swift lady advancing behind her. Nathalie kicked the white ceramic tray that the woman was holding. It flew in the air in no time, and before it even landed on the pavement, the assassin took a hold of the woman's hand and then placed it behind her. The servant who shrieked in horror was fully incapacitated.

"Get down on your knees, little girl." The assassin commanded towards the server, gently hitting the woman's knee pit with her knee to motion her to bend down. Nathalie squatted down on her level when the woman did as she was told.

"Miss Nathalie, what is happening?" The scared woman asked her, her eyes almost tearing up. Nathalie was surprised by with woman's reaction. She looks extremely terrified but her eyes didn't have any tinge of guilt. She finds it suspicious.

"What is this?" She asked the lady, motioning to the small bottle they found in the kitchen, where only a drop of the pale blue liquid was left.

"That's the young Prince's medicine, Miss Nathalie." The trembling lady answered. The assassin didn't further ask her anymore because the head guard and some other guards came running towards them already. She placed the bottle back in her pocket.

"Miss Nathalie, we'll take it from here." The head guard bowed towards her. Two guards held the woman's hands so Nathalie let go of her before standing up.

A few seconds later Jaxon and Lilith, who were still wearing their Kendo suit, were coming their way.

"Nath, what's happening?" She asked as soon as they approached her. "This lady was about to give Prince Jaxon his tea, but we found this in the kitchen where she made it." She answered, showing Lilith the small bottle she took from her pocket.

Lilith took the material from her hand and analyzed it. When she smelled the foul scent of the liquid, she recognized it right away. "Cyanide." She said. Nathalie nodded.

Jaxon looked at both of them and then at the server.

"Young Prince, I don't understand. The young princess told me that it was for your medicine." The servant exclaimed, her tears starting to fall.

The two assassins looked at each other. "That b***h is getting on my nerves." Lilith retorted.

"Medicine for what?" The young Prince asked the young woman.

"She said it's for your aching muscles, young Prince. She tells me to mix it on your tea." She explained, her tears starting to fall.

"Are you telling the truth?" He asked, his hands clasped together behind him.

The servant bent forward to bow further toward the Prince. "It's the truth, young Prince. I would never do anything to harm you. I'm just following orders." She promised, her sobs getting heavier.

The young Prince nodded. "Help her up." He commanded. "Is there a further instruction by my brother now?" He asked the Head guard, who instantly nodded.

"Your majesty, young Prince, the King is asking us to take the servant to him. He also asked Miss Nathalie to follow." The head guard tells Lilith and Jaxon simultaneously, holding his earpiece on his left ear where he probably heard the command.

Lilith was surprised a little bit until she realized that he was also referring to her so she just nodded toward them. "I'll just change." She tells them.

The royal guards bowed to them before starting to move.

"Prince Jaxon. We'll take our leave now." Lilith bowed towards him this time, before turning around. The man was about to say something but she dragged Nathalie with her to quickly leave.

"Why do you hate the young Prince so much?" Nathalie asked her as they started to walk away.

"I don't. I just don't know him." Lilith said, unbuckling the breastplate she was wearing. Nathalie gave her an observant look, before nodding. "So, did you catch the servant in action?" Lilith asked as they entered the right wing of the castle.

Nathalie shook her head. "No, but we bumped into her holding the tea set in the kitchen and we found the bottle near the area of the tea maker." She explained.

"Well, she said the princess told her to do it. What do you think?" Lilith asked.

"I don't trust that porcelain-skinned princess. She looks more untrustworthy to me, compared to the young girl. The young girl doesn't even look guilty and she was clueless about what cyanide looks like." Nathalie tells her.

"Carina doesn't like the princess too. She said she always looks suspicious." Lilith said, chuckling a bit.

"Well poor Prince Jaxon then, he'll be married to a fake a*s bitch." Nathalie retorted, chuckling too.

Lilith chuckled once more but this time, her mind casually became clouded with the mention of the man's name.

"Your royal highness, I didn't know what that liquid was. I just followed the young princess' command." The server explains herself, for the hundredth time.

They were now in the throne room. The poor woman was kneeling in front of them. The king was leaning back on his throne, his legs crossed and one finger over his chin. He glanced towards Adelaide.

"Your highness, I don't know what she is talking about. I didn't even notice her ever since I moved to the Kingdom." She suddenly tells the man, as soon as he met gaze with the King. She pointed towards the woman. "This must be a trap! She might be the traitor!" She accused the poor woman.

"Young princess, let's not point fingers now." He tells the woman.

"How can a servant be the traitor though?" Lilith, who was standing beside Sven, suddenly talked. She has her throne provided for her, but she chose to stand up instead. "I mean, she wouldn't have the power to do that. Judging from her job, she wouldn't even have the money to send people to kill your queen and one of our Mafia leaders." She continued, looking straight at the princess.

The mafia people nodded. "Yeah, I agree. To poison, the young prince would be a part of this whole setup. She wouldn't have the power to do that." Carina spoke, this time.

The princess glared at the two women. "Then she must be working for the traitor!" She princess retorted, pointing towards the servant once again.

"Adelaide." The king warned her before looking back at the servant. "Aren't you the granddaughter of the head court lady?" He asked the young lady.

She bowed to him. "Yes, your highness." She answered. The king nodded.

"Nathan. Take her to a spare room. She won't work for the Palace until the investigation will be finished and no one should visit her." Sven commanded towards his right hand. Nathan nodded right away, before talking on his earpiece.

The servant was still crying but she felt complacent knowing that she wasn't being sent to the dungeons right away. She even nodded to the nobilities before letting the guards drag her away.

When the servant was out, the King stood up from his seat before motioning for the head guard to guide Adelaide in front of him. The woman was surprised by the sudden force of movements.

"What is happening? Don't touch me!" She shouted before she slumped down on the floor when the two men pushed her towards the center. "Your royal highness.." She called out to the King.

Sven placed his index fingers over his lips, shushing the woman. "How many times will you disappoint me, young princess?" He asked, going down from his platform.

"But your royal highness, I didn't do anything." She said, looking up at the King. "The servant was blaming it on me. She wanted to be free from the treachery that she had made!" She exclaimed.

"I'm not only talking about that." He said, squatting down on the woman's level. "The way you reacted earlier isn't so princess-like, don't you think?" He said, looking at the woman's eyes, his head a bit tilted to the side. "I think my brother didn't like what you did too." He continued. The princess glanced towards Jaxon who was just giving her a hooded look.

"You don't blame someone just because you have the power, young princess. The King's Palace always respects the proper protocol for this kind of situation. It would always be finished precise and polished." He tells her, before standing up. "That's the reason why our punishments would be those of the extreme and unimaginable things because we are sure that they deserve it for what they've done." He tells her, before turning away. "With the way you reacted earlier, it seems like you were terrified." He said, walking back up on his platform. He went beside Lilith. "But, what could you be terrified of, young princess? Could it be that you are hiding something that you didn't want us to know?" He added.

The woman started sobbing loudly. "No, your highness. I apologize. I wasn't thinking straight earlier. I didn't mean to blame the servant just like that." She said, in between her sobs, nervousness could be heard in her voice.

"You are aware that you could be tortured and beheaded because of attempting to poison the young Prince right?" He asked. "And my brother, who was promised to be married to you can cut off the engagement with the Mugunghwa village with just one approval." He continues. "And you know for a fact that this marriage is set up because your village had been in debt from the Kingdom for years, and your villagers are already starving. This marriage is your way to ascend from your losses because our father died in the war, alongside yours so we sympathized with the treaty." He explained. The princess nodded. "If they found out that you messed up the only way out of your village's poverty, what would they feel?" The king asked, still in a calm voice.

"Your royal highness, please. Don't." She begged the King, before looking over Jaxon. "Young Prince, I beg you.." She cried out for help.

Jaxon was still looking at the lady with hooded eyes, before glancing toward his brother as if he was getting permission. The king nodded to approve. "Take her back to her chamber, and just like the servant she won't be allowed to stroll anywhere in the Kingdom. No visitors and only the nobilities can see her for the investigation." The young Prince commanded. "Take any type of gadget inside her room and all her movements should be reported to us immediately." He continued, glancing down at the crying woman in front of him.

"No! Please!" Adelaide was still begging them, while the guards were dragging her out.

"Oh. And also.." Jaxon started to talk again. The guards stopped dragging her, so the princess turned around to look at him. "The marriage will be postponed until this investigation is over." He tells her before the guards started to move once again.

When the screaming woman was completely out of the room, everyone that was left in the throne room exhaled a deep breath.

"Wow. That was, dramatically intense." Nathalie retorted.

"The king seems too calm. In the mafia world, the server would already be shot in the forehead and the princess burned alive." Carina commented, to Sven.

The king just chuckled. "We'll get there." He assures them.

"Well then, I guess we need to start focusing on the investigation and we need to find the traitor in Coterie City now." Huxley, this time talked.

Carina looked over at Travis and Nathalie. "Prepare for your departure. You'll be leaving in an hour." She tells them.

"Nathan, let the pilot know. Prepare their jet." The king commanded towards his right hand, who nodded right away.

Carina took out a piece of cigarette from her gold cigarette case. She placed them in between her lips before lighting up the end of it. Inhaling from the filter, she closed her eyes staying in that position until she exhaled the toxic nicotine. Her nerves calmed down in the process, letting the cold breeze brush her face since she was on a balcony.

A cough was heard from her side. She opened her eyes instantly, to look at the person beside her. It was the King's right hand.

"I didn't know you smoke, Miss Carina." The man tells her, both of his hands were clasped together behind him.

The woman glanced at her, before drawing another smoke into her mouth for a few seconds. "I don't, but sometimes I need it." She said, after exhaling the smoke.

"You do know, that's unhealthy right, Miss Carina?" Nathan tells her, looking at the long thin object in between her index and middle finger.

The lady laughed. "Really? I didn't know that." She sarcastically answered.

The man's forehead creased. "No, I mean smoking tobacco damages your cardiovascular system. It increases your risk of heart disease and stroke." The man started counting on his fingers. "It's a major cause of coronary heart disease, which can lead to a heart attack. Smoking causes high blood pressure, lowers your ability to exercise, and makes your blood more likely to clot." He explained. Carina had a grin on her face, just watching the man.

Nathan placed his index finger over his chin as if he was thinking. "What else?" He asked, particularly to himself.

When the man suddenly noticed the woman's silence, he realized that he was mumbling a lot so he chuckled, his deep dimples showing from his cheeks again. "I'm sorry." He said, giving out a shy smile.

Carina was still grinning. She shook her head in amusement. "Oh, no no. You don't need to feel sorry. I like that." She said, before gently rolling the ashy tip of the cigarette on the tapered inside surface of the ashtray. "I like people reminding me why what I'm doing is bad and dangerous. Especially now, I think I need that reminder." The woman said, before crossing her arms across her chest.

Nathan was observing her every expression. He observed how the woman's face turned from being amused to being so serious. He assumed that it seemed like the mafia queen was bothered about something. He looked away from her.

"Well, I think even if something is bad or dangerous for you, it wouldn't feel like it, if you feel the opposite about it." The man said, expressing his genuine opinion. The woman looked at him again. She feels like every word this man had said all his life would always make sense. "I mean, just like that cigarette. You know it's bad for you, but then you felt better after smoking it." Nathan explained further, realizing that the woman was anticipating for him to continue.

Carina hugged herself when another breeze brushed towards their direction. Her mind lingered on the information the man told her.

"Nathan." The woman called out.

He looked at her. "Hmm?" He hummed towards the lady's words.

"Tell me something about you," Carina tells him, looking afar.

The right hand was quite surprised but he gradually smiled in the end. "Are you ready for another one of my stories, Miss Carina?" He asked, his smile growing bigger.

The lady chuckled. "Make sure this isn't a waste of my concentration this time, genius." She said.