She really tries to take a deep breathe as much as she can while looking at the beautiful night sky above her head. While brushing Arisha's hair who is now sleeping on her thigh, in the ground- in the middle of an unknown forest.

It is so dark right now if the fire in front of her is not lit. Yet, she could not even take a short sleep as she worries about something that might come after them.

' ... how could people do not notice such fire in this middle of the night?' and if the question then changes, as, ' who the hell is hanging around in such hour in the middle of a forest like this?' and, she could say that- if that beautiful empire's princess who is now sitting while leaning on the tree in front of her is not with them, it might be true. She could just be aware of wild animals instead of humans. Yet, just hours ago after they were drowning in the deep and strong stream river and survived to the riverside- a sudden attack came in a second their feet stepped to the ground.

' It was so terrifying.'

It was and it still is if she thinks about that moment right now. Yet, it was not only because of the fact that Jahar's fully-armored knights suddenly surrounded them with their galant horses. Or the fact that more than ten men surrounded them who were only two women and a child- with their swords pointed toward them.

It was not only the real reason for how she now had to keep stabilizing her breathing.

It was this fascinating princess in front of her.

The empire princess, who is now looking into the fire as it is something interesting. The familiar golden eyes that are shining by the reflection of fire are beautiful. Yet, at that time, even the suns still rose above them and the light still took the place- those beautiful eyes strangely glowing while this beautiful princess was acting as she was a kind of animal. Irisha could not hear it, but the princess looked like she seemed growling while showing her teeth.

She then spread the strong pheromone that felt so painful that Irisha and Arisha collapsed in a second. It felt like the air in her lungs had suddenly disappeared. It was so painful as she tried to inhale the air desperately but she could not. She had to maintain her breath so hard to keep her consciousness while witnessing the knights were twice or even thrice bigger than this beautiful woman, had a hard time standing.

At that time, she knew she had to run away.

The dreadful tension forced her to run away.

She knew that she had to take Arisha and run as fast as she could.

She was thinking it was better to avoid the battle between the well-known mad princess, instead of getting involved in the situation where Arisha curled up painfully in the ground because of it. Despite the fact that Irisha's action was also ended up leaving a young princess alone surrounded by many knights who wanted her- but, for Irisha in the end, Arisha is always her priority.

.

.

... or it was what she thought.

In the end, Irisha could not remember the reason why she choose to run toward the princess with her remaining energy and hug the princess from behind her back to stop her.

Stop her, from what?

Irisha personally, does not even know. It was purely her feeling that thought, this princess possessed with something as she then turned into something else.

'... and, she then changed.' fortunately, after the princess bit her in Irisha's arm.

It was so painful but did not take a long time as the woman then brushed her off and looked at her in confusion. As if, she just came back to her original self. She looked at the bite injury while terrified, paled, and shocked. Before realizing in a second about the situation they were in, and, that might be the reason why then she held Irisha who was so drained and having a heavy breathe before she forced her to run while carrying Arisha.

... and then, here they are in the middle of an unknown forest while surrounding a bonfire that Irisha's made.

Yes, she is the one who created this bonfire with her little survival knowledge and a lot of miracles. It may be dangerous as it makes them so easy to be found, but, they were all wet and they are now in the middle of the forest that Irisha still tries to find out, what forest it is.

and she sighs desperately, ' I don't know.' and she really is having a headache because of it.

To suddenly in a situation she is not expertise in is not something profitable, and it does not seem that the princess will help her in a while in this matter... because even after they did run away from danger, the princess was only following them without even talking to them.

She is not leaving them alone but also creating a wall between them.

... and Irisha does not quite sure whether their communication is limited because of Irisha's condition or Arisha's fear toward her, OR, it is just the princess does not really want to talk with them.

Irisha does not know.

Because, whenever she is talking about the princess- Irisha does not have any clue toward her. The only thing she knows is that she is the first princess of Empire Malum and the little sister and older sister of both the crown prince and the second prince. She knows nothing about her despite her famous beauty and madness. The typical rumor of how the imperial family is known about in society.

'... but she is so young.' Irisha could say it, even though their appearances are not that much different, but, Irisha's soul has lived more years than the body itself. So, she could say that this princess is still young based on her experiences approaching many people either on Earth or on Althera. She could say that despite how famous she is to be called ' the madness princess', she is still naive to be shaken because of the guilty that she feels toward Irisha. To the point that it makes the well-known princess can not do anything in this kind of situation.

....she might be wrong, but,

The expression of the princess still vividly craved in her mind when she looked at Irisha in paled and shocked expression as she did something she should not do in her life.

[ It is not that hurt, so please don't mind it.] she wrote in the ground near the bonfire, before looking at the princess who notices the writing.

She looks at her for a while before turning her eyes away.

Irisha expected it, yet tries to compose herself. [ Do you know how to get back?]

and the princess looks at it again but still does not give her any reaction.

[ How about the forest's name?]

But again, there is no reaction.

... and Irisha thought that she might better not try to gamble the temper of the dragon's blessing as much if she is still not sure about their personality. She thought that maybe she really has to think by herself, but, the princess then writes something.

[ My brother will come to you.]

and she looks at it for a while, [ How do you know?]

[ He will. Eventually.] and not really give her a full context of what she is trying to point out. She then looks at the fire again while curling up her knees, ignoring Irisha who is questioning things she tries to tell her.

and she then writes again, [ Do you hate me?] who makes the princess looks at her while frowning.

[ Why?]

[ I don't know. I ask you.] and she tries to look at the princess with a calming expression to make sure that she could bait her emotion. As Irisha still believes how naive this princess is compared to the crown prince.

and the princess did change her expression. [ Who the hell are you, for me to do that?]

[ To see you being ignorant in this kind of situation despite the fact that you actually could bring us back.... is the reason why I think you hate me.]

...and she glares at her.

and it quite makes Irisha's heart stop as she is now facing someone she should not underestimate. Yet, she has a strong feeling that this princess will not dare to hurt her or more like, she could not hurt her...because there is the fact that Irisha and Arisha still live now is also due to her protection from the fall and her forceful runaway.

... and again Irisha's right. [ Why should I waste my time on someone like you?] she changed her expression so much as she is writing the sentence full of power and emotion. [ You are nothing to me.] and how her expression tells her the exact opposite meaning.

but why?

Irisha could not understand why herself affecting the princess's emotion to this level. Even when she works in the palace, they both rarely meet with each other. Even they did, they will just pass by like it's nothing.

she thinks quite a while because of how her expression changed so much but she could not find the answer, and the night passes by just like that. She ended up falling asleep but then found the princess still awake. Standing while looking at the emptiness of the forest.

She then stands while holding the sleeping Arisha as she finds it quite strange. The princess then looks at her with her golden eyes while putting her finger to her mouth. Giving the gesture that she should be silent.

She nods, while somehow being so pressured with the tense whenever she looks at the expression of the princess. She could feel how the air now becomes heavier. The same thing that happened at the riverside.

' She will change.' again, just like before and it is terrifying her so much as she is holding Arisha tightly.

[ Run!] but, suddenly after she looks at the writing the princess made in the ground near her, a powerful wind that pointed to the princess threw her away and crashed her body to the big tree behind her.

Irisha could not even access what is happening in that second, but she could feel how powerful it is because she vividly sees how the princess's body was being thrown at such speed. Irisha feels a sudden surge of nausea as she imagines something she should not. She can not turn her eyes anywhere.

Her knees start to lose their power.

She is trembling.

' What should I do?' as she is now holding Arisha in her embrace tightly for her not to see anything. '

Brak!

But suddenly, the princess grabbed her shoulder pulled it hard to the back before jumping to the front and attacking someone Irisha does not realize. She is surprised, tumbled, by the fact that without her knowing there are so many people approaching them.

[ GO!] but then, in her confusion after her fall, she looks at the princess who gives her an immediate gesture that she could understand. Then, forced her instinctively to go back up and run. Run to nowhere, to somewhere she could not even think about. While feeling the big pressure and tension behind her back. She could feel that the air becomes heavier again. She could tell that something big is happening.

She frowned, frustrated.

' I am so sorry.'

For not being able to do anything.

For ending up running away.

' She still a child.' The princess is. Yet, she leaves her alone.

' But I have to protect Arisha.' because she is her priority, she is the reason why she is now still surviving.

but,

....those golden eyes, vividly depicted in her sight-

[ Stay here!] she said to Arisha. When she has found a small cave after running quite a while. [ Don't go everywhere, and wait for me here!]

" Where are you going?!" asked her frantically.

[ I have to help the princess.]

and Arisha looks at her terrifying, " ... she will hurt you..."

and maybe, Arisha's right. As she once experienced it by herself and Arisha saw the truth. That is the reason why then Arisha fears her, but-

[ Please, stay here. I will come back. I promise.] and she tries to smile and ensure Arisha that everything will be alright, even it might be not and she chooses the wrong path. Yet, she could not stop thinking that, that princess is now fighting alone to protect them. The princess was also the one who get more damage when they were falling, she was the one who grabbed their hands in the strong stream river and was the one who told them to run.

So that is the reason why now she is wandering in the unknown forest without a sound. Even though it is beautiful, but, she feels nothing but threats. The agonizing feeling that feels like it stabs her with knives in every second she tries to breathe in this horrifying silence.

' I can't hear anything.' and the displeasing feeling attacking her inside.

it is so frustrating.

'Where are you, princess?' and she keeps walking back to that place.

'...No..' and she stopped while trying to compose herself to stay to where she is now. While looking at a beautiful woman, that holds a man twice her size up and throws him away as it is nothing. Irisha could feel the heavy atmosphere, and she paled in shock and pain to see what is happening in front of her now.

She is not human anymore.

Even though the body is still the same, with a ruined dressed and beautiful appearance, but, she is not the same person as she was.

...and in the second the princess notices her, Irisha feels her body freezing.

She could not go anywhere.

her feet could not even move.

the terrifying and terrorizing pheromone that she feels, stops her. When the golden eyes that Irisha was familiar with looking at her with an emotionless expression, she gasped as the air does not exist anymore. Irisha holds her chest, as it feels so painful, but, even the pressure she feels now limited her expression and Irisha feels everything will be over when the beautiful princess with an emotionless expression holds her neck- ready to break it.

"... Run..." and she could read it, from the princess's slow lips movement that makes her come to her sense again.

Realizing that even the princess's hand is, trembling.

.

.

....she is also suffering.

Then, in Irisha's remaining consciousness, while relying on her instinct, she opens the wrap of the bite injury and holds them tight so that the blood flows again.

Irisha could not see it, she does not want to see it.

Yet, she could feel the flow of it, clearly in her hand.

.

and the princess gasped, as she frantically loosen her grip on Irisha's neck and do the same thing she did in the riverside.

" Go! Go away from me!"

" Go! Don't get near me!"

" Just go!"

and she is telling her something Irisha could not understand, instead of the word 'go' that the princess repeatedly said.

.... It is somehow made Irisha who hold her bleeding hand could not feel the blood sensation anymore as the princess- the beautiful princess in front of her now is looking so miserable. As the emotionless expression, changes into a desperate and frustrated one. While she is then trying to step back while her feet trembling so much.

and Irisha could see that she is trying so hard to fight something inside her.

but, what is that?

Irisha does not know. She can not understand anything in such situation. She just does things based on her instinct, including running towards her and grabbing her hand after she sees other knights of Jahar behind the back of the princess.

She holds her tight and runs away, without realizing that the blood dripping into the princess's hand that she is holding. Running as fast as she could, despite how hard it is for her to even breathe.

.

.

.

the princess frowning in indescribable feeling. When the uncomfortable power overwhelms her mind, the blood in her hand that is being held by this deaf and mute woman burdens her heart so much as she feels scattered.

" Sister!" and the sound of the child she was once with, realizing where she is now. The girl's eyes then meet hers. She looks at her in terrifying while then trying to avoid her eyes.

She smiles, weakly as she could understand how a girl looks at her like that. As she has experienced it her whole life. The wicked self of hers that, she, herself could not even stand with. Every time she could not control the power within hers, the memories filled with screams and blood are filling her mind.

' It is not my fault! I could not control it!'

.

" She is a monster. They are all a monster."

.

' I am so sorry, please help me!'

.

" Don't go near me! Don't go near me!"

.

' Please! Help me!'

.

" You are a monster!!"

.

and every time she screamed herself out in every time the dragon's blood overpowering herself, no one was there to reach her hand. No one was there to help her with her pain. As it is the fate that is chosen for her, the cursed blood that makes people surrounded her look at her with the eyes of humans when they see a monster.

' So that is why I told you, there is no such thing as a sincere love.' she thought while smiling and staring at the hand of hers that is now covered by her blood. '... brother, I have to tell you... you just blinded.'

....because no monster coexist with a normal human, in the end-

.

.

" Are you okay, princess?" and that girl suddenly asks her. " Is it hurt?" and her expression changed as if she is concerned about her sincerely. " Are you okay? have you hurt anywhere?"

and she could not understand.

" Why?" she asked.

and the girl confused. " ... are you okay?"

" Why do you keep asking that?"

and the girl looks at Irisha who also looking at her in worry, "... but, you are crying."

" Crying?" and she does not even realize until the tears drip like a streaming river in her cheeks. She put one of her hands up as she was confused when she sees the tears gather in her palm. "... Why am I crying?"

but her heart is hurt, she could not stop.

" Please don't cry." as that sweet voice talks to her and a handkerchief brushes her cheeks gently. Then she looks at the woman who is looking at her with a gentle smile she has never seen. Moving her hand that she could not understand.

and she was just about to ask what the meaning of that was before she pulled her to the back and in sudden the hand that is holding hers disappeared.

" SISTER!" and the very desperate screaming wakes her up to see knights of Jahar gather up in front of the mouth of the cave. " DON'T HURT MY SISTER!" and the girl cried, desperately, as she sees the knight choking her in the air.

but no one care, as they are only looking at her with uncomfortable gazes. "... There you are, the mad princess." because of how they were threatened by her existence.

" ....don't hurt her."

she sincerely asked.

" Let her go..."

and hoping for a chance, to know more about the word that woman said to her before.

" ... I beg you."

but the knight smirks, " Don't be so silly. You don't have sympathy, " he said as he then throw the woman to the ground in front of her eyes while saying. " YOU ARE A MONSTER, ARE NOT YOU?!"

followed by aloud screaming of the girl beside her. " SISTER!" as the body seems not moving.

' I am not a monster.'

But, the boiling anger inside her could not stop her.

' I don't want it at all.'

But, it is slowly taking control of her mind.

' ... that woman is not moving.'

and it hurts so much,

' Please-' as she then gasped, by a sudden embrace of the woman that suddenly awake, tapping her back frantically as if she tries to hold the thing inside her.

" AA.. AAA..AA" and how she tries to speak without words to her.

It feels so warm.

She feels so warm.

.

'

'Please... help us-'

" ARGHHH!!!"

and a loud scream that shook the knights inside the cave is heard from the outside. Then they run out to then create another screaming. The pheromone she feels familiar with. While looking at the mouth of the cave of a man walking inside. His golden eyes of him shone in the darkness as his expressionless face looks at her and the woman who is now hugging her desperately.

and she smiles, warmly. "... This is the first time, I am happy to see you brother." and she said, to the one and only older brother of hers.

***