[SAPPHIRE PALACE]
Gertrude trembled under the sheet, lying on the crown princess's bed. When Aries left, she needed to pretend to be Aries, so if anyone took a peek, they would see a figure lying on the bed. But what Gertrude didn't know was that the longer Aries was away, her anxiety continued to increase with every passing second.
"My lady…" came out a muffled, nervous voice, paralyzed on the bed. "Where are you?"
She had been hearing noises outside for minutes now. However, she was too scared to get up, afraid that once she did and someone suddenly barged inside the room, they would see the crown princess's maid and not Aries.
"What is going on?"
Her breath hitched as her blood instantly ran cold when she heard someone knock on the door in a panic. Gertrude's complexion instantly turned pale and her body stiffened as she heard servants outside.
"Your Highness, a fire broke out in the eighth prince's quarters. The fire continues to spread and we must evacuate at once!" announced the nervous voice outside. Gertrude could still hear a few voices, causing her anxiety to shoot up.
Although the servants outside sounded fairly worried, no one dared to enter the room without permission. Well, that was because the fire hadn't reached the vicinity of the Sapphire Palace and they simply had to evacuate just in case.
"Your Highness…!" the servants knocked once again in an attempt to wake up the crown princess.
The louder the knock on the door got, the more frightened and anxious Gertrude felt. All she could do was tremble under the blanket, hoping for Aries to arrive sooner. One thing that Gertrude was certain of was that once the situation escalate, the people outside the room would have no choice but to force their way in to save the crown princess.
That would be the worst-case scenario if Aries didn't return on time.
Meanwhile, outside the crown princess room, a few servants and butlers paced back and forth nervously. The entire Sapphire Palace was nearly tossed upside down, with everyone panicking about the fire. Although the Sapphire Palace was surrounded by a vast expanse, the eighth prince's quarter was still relatively close.
With a fire as wild as that, it wouldn't be impossible if it crawled to the Sapphire Palace. Although knights and more servants put up precautions just in case that would happen, it was still safer if everyone evacuated the place early on.
"Should we go in?" one of the maidservants turned her head to the rest standing in front of the door. "But the crown princess might punish us if we barge into her chambers without her permission."
They looked at each other, bearing conflicting emotions in their eyes. If not for the fact that the crown princess could be unreasonable and what she might do to them scared them, they wouldn't have been hesitating outside. After all, the fire hadn't reached the vicinity of the Sapphire Palace, and urging Aries even before things would escalate could anger her.
Their intention might be good, but Aries might perceive it differently. Thus, this dilemma.
"Knock again. Her Highness is probably just fast asleep," said the other female servant while jerking her chin up.
"Alright." The maid nodded and took a deep breath before she knocked on the door again. "Your Highness, a fire broke out in the eighth prince's quarters…"
Just like what she had been saying, the maid repeated her report and the reason they should evacuate at once, but to no avail. There was no response from the inside, causing the maid to look at the others in distress. While they contemplate what they should do aside from knocking, which was proven ineffective, the butler caught a group of knights marching in their direction.
"What are you all doing?! Where is the crown princess?" asked the leading knight, which everyone recognized as the knight who had just gained the title of the captain today.
"The crown princess is still inside, perhaps, asleep!" a butler answered in distress.
"What?!" the captain frowned as soon as they reached the door. "Haven't you heard how the fire spreads quickly?!"
He gazed at the shut doors with sharp eyes. Since he had just become the captain, he knew he needed to keep the momentum. However, knowing the crown princess' temperament, he needed to approach this with the same urgency and politely.
"Get out." He pushed the maid in front of the door with his arm before facing it. He put his fist up to his lips, clearing his throat, standing straight with his chin held high.
"Your Highness, this is Climaco, the captain of the second squadron, and your loyal knight. A fire broke out in the eighth prince's quarters and it is spreading quickly. We're afraid it will reach the Sapphire Palace soon. Therefore, you must evacuate for your safety."
Climaco, the lucky knight who just became the captain because of Aries, announced with a full voice. He waited and when a minute flew by without receiving a word inside; he glanced at everyone. They all showed a conflicted expression as if telling him 'we had tried.'
"Your Highness, please forgive my impertinence, but I will have to force my way in," he declared and waited for another minute before he glanced at his men. "Open the doors."
"Yes, captain!" the knights bowed while Climaco took a step back, letting the knights kick the door open. It only took three kicks from three knights for the door to fly open.
Everyone was anxious, but Climaco didn't hesitate to go inside to see why the crown princess hadn't woken up despite the noises. The crown princess room was a joint room. One side was where the set of couches was placed and also where the knights and servants intruded first, and then on the other side was where the bed was.
When he pivoted on his heel to see the area where the bed was placed, everyone who came in froze. Their eyes landed on the woman rising from the bed, holding a quilt to cover her bare top, and looking back at them with confusion. Knights and butlers, who only had a glimpse of her shoulder blade and a bit of her inked back, blushed, looking away in embarrassment.
They didn't know the crown princess sleeps naked! No wonder the crown prince kept returning to the crown princess's room every single night. She was hot.
Aries ran her hand through her golden hair to the side, tilting her head. "Suddenly barging into my room without my permission… I hope this action is more important than your own life," came out a coarse voice as she fluttered her eyelashes.
Climaco cleared his throat and lowered his head so he wouldn't get distracted by the beauty on the bed. Just like what they had been announcing outside the door, he repeated the report.
"A fire broke out?" Aries scoffed as her eyes glossed over everyone standing on the other side of the room. "Leave. I'll go change first."
To their relief, Aries didn't throw a huge fit as she waved for them to leave. So, with respect, they left the room and waited outside for her to finish wearing something.
What everyone failed to notice was a hem of a dress sticking out under the bed as Gertrude hid there whilst covering her lips to not make the slightest sound.
'That's a close call,' she thought because Aries just arrived one minute before they all entered, just taking off her top with her trousers still on.
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