My eyes slowly open to reveal a familiar setting. How did I get here? I'm lying in my bed at the palace. My room is neater than the time I left it. The sun is up and I assume its late morning. I glance to my body to see the Pendant is still around my neck and I'm in my nightclothes, which is just a simple short white dress. I go to sit up, but am stopped by the pain. I yelp and immediately hit the mattress again. From what I can feel, there are bandages around my midsection, and from my movement the blood is trying to escape the wound.

"Zaria?"

I glance to my right to see the Prince sitting in a chair by my bedside. What is he doing here? He stands from the chair and hugs me, much to my surprise. I wince because he's hugging me a bit too tightly, causing him to pull back and sit down again. "I-we went crazy trying to find you." He says, "I'm just glad we did in time."

"I'm sorry." I say weakly, "How did you find me?"

"I went out and searched for you. Then, I just found you lying there in the desert. Why did you run away from us?"

He went out and searched for me? I keep myself from looking him in the eye, "I-I needed to find a purpose for myself."

His face turns a bit sour, "That's mockery. We could've helped you, but you shut us out. You're an important person to us, Zaria. Don't ever forget that."

I nod and think back to that night. The encounter with my parents. Why did they want me to stay here so badly? Was it because it's better than my village? I suppose I'll never know the answer. The only thing I know is that they think I was meant to live for something. The only way for me to find that out is to live my own life. "Zaria?" I look up at the Prince, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." I say.

A knock now comes from the door. I glance up as the door begins to slowly open. I watch as all of the Six Priests enter the room. "Zaria, we're so happy you're alright." Isis says, "And to have you back."

My eyes move over to Aknadin, who is just blankly staring around the room. The rest of the Priests, however, are all looking toward me with smiles on their faces. "Thank you." I say, "I'm sorry I left."

"Forgiven." Mahad says.

I smile at how forgiving they really are. "Running from your problems seems rather cowardly of you." Aknadin says.

"Master Aknadin..!" Seto says.

"No, no. He's right." I sigh, "I was a fool for thinking running away would solve anything. I've been trying to find a purpose in my life, but now I realize that I'll find that purpose only if I keep living. I'm just glad you guys can forgive me."

The Priests nod. "This isn't my place…" the Prince starts, "But how did you injure yourself like that?"

I sigh thinking back to everything. Just the memory of it seems to trigger pain in the wound. "When I ran away..." I start, "I went back to my old village. Once people found out who I was, they began to attack me. One of the men, who I unfortunately know quite well, stabbed me. I was lucky to have even gotten away."

"How did you?" Seto asks.

"I used Ounouti, my Shadow Creature. I really owe her my life." The Priests nod and smile, "By the way, what's been happening since I was gone?"

"We've done some research with the scriptures." Mahad says, "And there is big news coming. Before the Prince is to ascend to become Pharaoh… he must take a wife."

My heart immediately sinks. Just when I think my life is getting better, something crumbles on top of me. The thought of the Prince getting married makes me want to punch something. Another reason why I have to keep pulling away from him. With a wife, I can't allow myself to fall in love with him. That would be stupid of me. And the chances of him picking me are practically none. I feel more sadness right now than anger. "Has he chosen one yet?" I ask, not even looking at the Prince.

"No, but the girl he chooses must be of wealthy descent. Our best option is to search the Imperial City. The search will construct in a few days."

I nod and stare down at myself. I'm exhausted. Things are too complex again. Not out of control, but on the verge of it. "I'm getting tired. Maybe I should rest." I say.

"Yes, that would be best." Isis says.

I watch as the Priests walk out of the room and close the door behind them. The Prince stands up from the chair he was sitting in, "Are you sure you're alright?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine." I say, "Everything is just… overwhelming."

"It is. I'll come back later, alright?"

I nod. He goes to walk out of the room, but touches my hand first. It's a weird sensation. The door shuts behind him and I lie there alone. Even though he's gone, I can still feel the touch of his hand on mine. It's just another reminder that no matter how hard I try to get away from him, he'll always stick with me.