"Courage is found in unlikely places."― J.R.R. Tolkien

The weather had not changed as Lien and Alfred were walking; neither did their position: Lien was still pressing the knife in the soldier's back who was leading the way – with his horse next to him – through the forest.

"You know, you do not have to hold the knife a– All right, all right!"

For the last minutes, the man had tried to convince her to retreat her weapon from him. After she had taken his sword away, the man was obviously armless, but she could not take any chances. Lien had increased the pressure of her small knife whenever he worded the suggestion that she could walk normally beside him; that he would not hurt her.

"What is your name?"

The female blinked, "Excuse me?"

"Your name?" Alfred's voice sounded again.

"Why do you want to know my name?"

Although his back was turned to her, she could feel the smirk that his lips formed.

"Well, I want to know the name of the person that is threatening me," he reasoned slowly turning his head towards her; she was distracted by his statement and he took advantage of it. As she lifted her eyes to meet his, she pushed him forward, forcing him to watch his steps, but he could still catch the small blush on her cheeks. 'Odd,' he thought, she was capable of taking him down, threatening him and forcing him to bring her to his cursed brother and still her being seemed so innocent. Her dark hair was bound together, but her golden eyes spoke more than thousand words. Nonetheless he strangely thought her adorable, despite her other traits. Why such a petite woman would even chose the occupation of a bounty hunter was strange; her sister must be of similar height and power.

"What motivated such a pretty girl like you to be a huntress?" He was curious person and loudly expressed his interest, only to realise that he had put her off her stride once again. She clearly was not used to be confronted such inquiries while she was working.

"What motivated you to be a solider?" She shot back, but the nervous tone in her voice was detectable.

"You think I am a soldier?"

"Your attire tells me so."

With a raised brow, he turned his head again, knowing that she had no idea who she was currently threatening.

The petite woman was certain that he was a mere soldier – he was only disguised as one, to avoid any attention. Of course she would not recognise him: the youngest brother of the royal family – the beast's brother.

Lien could see towers reaching for the sky. As they neared the scenery, she saw the rosebushes enclosing the walls that protected the building from the outside world. Describing the construction as a mere mansion was an understatement, but claiming it to be a castle was an exaggerating.

"This is it?" she whispered to herself, but loud enough for her companion to understand her words.

"Yes."

"Impressive . . ."

A loud scrunch forced both to still. The gates opened itself, causing Lien to hide herself behind her hostage. She positioned her head in a way that allowed her to see the yard of the building without being seen by anyone else.

Workers with smiling faces were watering the roses and cutting the bushes: A sight that did not indicate that a hostage was held inside the building.

"Your Royal Highness," one tall blonde man shouted, greeting the man on whom she had still her knife pressed on. Why the servant had addressed him as a royal member surprised the huntress, who absentmindedly lessened her grip on her weapon.

"Royal Highness?" Lien whispered as a horrified expression took over her face: the insignia of the Kingdom of Whitefort! She had threatened a Prince! As she tried to understand the meaning of it, her eyes widened more: If he was a Prince and the brother of the man Sakura had tried to . . .

'Oh dear God,' her mind shouted, 'But why would Sakura attack a Prince for money? She must have been tricked into this!'

". . . Oh please not again . . ."

Thunderstruck, Lien focussed her eyes on a tall blonde man who suddenly stood next to her. His look was not angry but rather tired – apparently he had met her sister.

"Why can't they have normal jobs," he mumbled, not certain if he should attack Lien or not – he must have had a small trauma from facing Sakura's strong attacks.

"Take your weapon down!" Now the man's voice held a demanding tone. "Before I have to take action."

As she did not obey, the man touched his wrist.

A light pull on her foot distracted her once again, only that it lifted her aggressively in the air and she was left headfirst, watching as the world turned literally upside-down. She struggled, wiping her knife around. As she moved her arm to her foot to cut the plant around her ankle, Lien noticed as the rose bushes around her grew – A terrible feeling took over her: This was indeed an enchanted forest.

"So, you offer us money in order to keeping this entire incident as a secret? And if we break it, you will make sure that none of us will speak ever again?"

"Indeed," Arthur spoke, glad that both of his guests had understood the deal. At his side, Gilbert nodded, his face showing less signs of stress. The other sibling of the Beilschmidt had left the room minutes ago, after he had decided to wait for Alfred's arrival at the gates.

Sakura, whose expression had not once changed, tilted her head. "How much exactly?"

Hearing her voice for the first time that day, Arthur's attention was immediately caught. Her tone sounded extremely soft and he could imagine her singing lullabies whenever someone was upset – if it was a friend or a child. Quickly, he changed his focus, cursing himself once again for losing himself in thoughts he should not have.

"A lot . . . More than you can imagine."

Arthur analysed the woman: She closed her eyes and took a long breath. Her hands were placed on her lap; after she had been given a seat, her fingers had not moved from their position. In spite of her occupation as a huntress, she had an elegant demeanour. Why she caused him to form such ideas in his mind and observe her more intensely than Eliza, was a question he did not want to ask himself.

"The same amount as the wanted poster offered?"

The mention of that abhorrent illustration was enough for his heart to beat faster. "Y-Yes," the Prince untypically stammered, still asking himself who exactly had created that piece of unworthy art. 'She has seen it,' he mused, staring intensely at her, 'she has seen it and is not afraid of me. Well the picture is a lie . . .'

"Fine . . .," the black-haired hunter expressed, glancing at the barmaid who nodded – both agreed to the terms. They only hoped that they could inform Lien about it before she would find the mansion or the beast.

The Prince let out a breath he did not know he was holding. It was pure relief; both would not cause any harm with this treaty. He was glad to not use other measurements to silence them – and he knew that Gilbert would stop him, if he dared to hurt the brunette barmaid.

Sakura grabbed the crutches near her chair, balancing her weight as she straightened herself. Even if she was still considered an enemy of his, Arthur made sure that she could not fall forward – having small amounts of magic dancing on his fingertips. His instinct released those streams of supernatural powers and it seemed inexplicable to him that his magic reacted the way it did.

The cursed Prince's eyes focused on her injury and he was not sure if he should offer her some days to rest at the mansion before returning to her home – particularly of the fact that he was responsible for her injury, after worsening it during the fight days ago. "I –"

The door was ripped open aggressively. "Your Highness, I apologise, but we have an invader – They threatened Prince Alfred!"

Immediately, his eyes shot to Sakura's face, which was adorned with sweat drops. It was clear that she was aware of the attack – and was probably befriended with the criminal.

"Is it someone of your kind!?" Arthur's commanding voice returned and as he saw her widened eyes, the blonde Prince felt a small thorn in his heart – the deal that had been accepted seconds ago was now compromised.

Within seconds, the beast stepped closer to her and the determined look returned on her face; She would never show weakness in front of him, he realised, even in this situation.

"Sakura?"

The addressed woman turned her head to the new voice in the room. Lien's hands were bundled together as she was pushed into the main hall. Without thinking of her wounded leg, Sakura hobbled to her sister, only to feel someone grabbing her arm.

"Hunter, what is going on?"

"She is her sister," Alfred voiced, entering the room with the same smile he always wore. Every present in the room stared at both the bounty hunters.

"I beg your pardon?" Arthur said, flabbergasted by this outcome – or rather unusual family reunion.

He was not sure what to do as he eyed their newest invader in the mansion. Only a few days ago he had offered the prisoners a room: a step in the right direction. A peace offer. Now another bounty hunter – who was the sister of their current guest – stood in front of him. The last ten years had not been as eventful as the last three days. Why did he need to endure these things?

[A/N: I wanted to thank everyone for reading, favouring and following the story :)]