All the preparations were fully completed for ryuu and shirayuki's journey to lyrias. The carriage was waiting outside the gates of the wistal castle, soon to be heading towards north.

Shirayuki was in her room almost ready for the new journey. Last night was really painful for her. She must had cried her heart out in front of second prince. The pain of separation was unbearable for both of them.

But still now her eyes were filled with fiere determination to move forward. There was no way she was going give up. Because this was the path she chose to walk on.

There was sudden knock on her door just before it opened and queen entered inside following by the maids quickly behind.

"Your majesty..." shirayuki greeted and bowed her head in the curtsy as she saw the queen.

Anna stood in front of shirayuki, taking in her appearance for a moment. The red haired pharmacist was dressed in royal garments of court pharmacist. A navy blue cloak decorated with diamonds shined over her uniform.

"I thought i might visit before you leave." anna said as her lips formed into genuine smile, "It seems like you are ready to leave."

"Umm... yes." Shirayuki uttered quickly, a little bit amazed by queen's visit. Yet she didn't expect less.

There was calm silence before anna spoke again, "There's really cold weather in north, so take good care of yourself."

"I will. Thanks for your concern, your majesty." shirayuki said with graceful simplicity. She was grateful for the concern she showed.

Next moment, anna looked at her maid and the maid handed her something. It seemed like a parcel which was wrapped in the golden paper.

"Here.. " anna extended her hand and offered the parcel.

Shirayuki's eyes widened in surprise. "How can i... " She hesitated to take it.

"Take it as a gift." anna insisted, handing her.

"Thank you for your kindness." she said being overwhelmed.

"I am sure you will work hard and live up to the name of royal court pharmacist."

"I will do my best." her hands unintentionally clenched the gift as sheer determination displayed in her eyes.

Before anything was said further , they were interrupted by a recognizable voice coming from behind.

"Miss.."

Both of them looked at the doorway, seeing obi standing there in his formal clothes of the royal bodyguard.

"We need to get going..."he informed trailing off as he got glimpse of queen inside.

The red haired pharmacist nodded to her bodguard and then took a last glance at queen, which gave her permission to leave.

When she turned her back to leave, she was called again.

"Shirayuki..."

"Yes?" The red haired pharmacist turned back and looked at the queen.

"Umm nothing ...just take care of yourself." she spoke and gave a warm smile instead of saying what she intended to. For some reason the words didn't come out of her mouth.

Shirayuki returned the smile then finally left with obi.

I hope that red of your hair will lead to something good. Not just for you but also for the people around you. Anna thought, her fist curled over her heart. She could only hope for best when her dream was adding horror to it.

After sometime, both the queen and the king watched through the large glass windows of the king's office as second prince and his aides bid their goodbye to the palace pharmacists. The scene was rather melancholic.

"It would be hard for them to live without each other." anna murmured, eyes sticked to the view outside.

"Its for their own good."izana replied, reminding her.

Her eyes lifted and met his gaze. "I know but the fact they are unaware of it... " it was breaking her heart.

He understood what she wanted to say. She was affected by the fact that they would think of him as a cruel man instead of thinking of him as an ally.

On other hand, it made him glad that she was caring about his image in front of others.

"It really doesn't matter what they think of me."He answered, turning towards her.

She mentally sighed at his response. But he was right. Because that's how he liked to keep things.

Now that she thought about it, was it enough for him that only she knew his intentions? Did he only he care what she think of him? Her thinking of he had feelings for her was growing more. And even if it turned out to be her own delusion, one thing was for sure he was atleast not the person she thought him to be.

"There's still more..."he continued, breaking her away from the thoughts.

"Eh? " She was clueless in the moment.

"Just wait. You will know." he replied in his usual calm tone.

After that he strode towards his desk and moments later the second prince entered in the office.

He firmly stood in front of his brother and greeted him. He was shaken a bit, but still determinant to perform his duty. As he sensed queen's presence, he almost immediately greeted her too.

"So you are ready for your next assignment, zen?"izana inquired, he had already talked with him about this.

"Yes, brother."

"Then as of now, you will be working in the wilant." king declared.

Zen wasn't surprised by it. He already had idea something like this would happen. But still he was trying hard to conlcude the meaning of all the things his brother was doing.

Meanwhile, anna was looking into the situation from aside. She concluded sending zen in wilant was also part of her husband's plan.

Next day, castle significantly felt shirayuki, zen and others absence. Few days passed and as usual everyone got busy in their work.

Today, anna needed to attend the some charity events and social functions as part of her duty being a queen. Almost one month after the marriage she had chance to go outside of the castle. It only added to her delight.

She couldn't restrain herself anymore.
Inspite the fact her mind was saying no many times her heart won in the end.

After attending the functions, she sneaked into the town getting help from her maids.

She wore simple and plain dress with a hood to hide her identity. She needed to be cautious because there was no way she could get caught.

She took the long, much wanted walk on the roads of the capital at slow pace, stopping now and again taking in view of every small details and landmarks of the town. She loved the fresh air and various aspects of the capital. Before this she didn't have any chance to explore. Now, she was very much enjoying herself.

Suddenly, she sensed some voices coming from her behind. They were of yelling and running, which were approaching her too close.

She immediately turned back and was struck by someone. Her body stumbled back with a force and the person bumped into her was also landed onto the ground harshly along with her.

It was a young boy.

"Sorry..." he groaned in pain as he looked her.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she stood up instantly and adjusted her clothes, wiping the dust.

"Don't you try to run now." a man growled, who was following the boy.

People around the street gathered closely, trying to know what was happening. Anna pulled her hood more to hide her face.

"I said I didn't do it. " the boy fired back.

"Don't tell me that crap."the man further said, not believing the boy. "If you don't return my money I am gonna hand you to the soldiers. Then they will decide what to do with you. " he threatened the poor kid.

Boys eyes widened in shock. He was frightened by the idea.

"What exactly happened ?" anna barged in after seeing the fear in boy's eyes.

"This little brat stole the money from my store."he stated.

"No, i didn't." the boy retorted.

"You liar. I saw him near-"

"How much was it?"she asked.

The man looked stunned by her statement.

"Is this enough?" she handed him stack of gold coins she had with her.

Meanwhile in the distance, at opposite side of the street some men were standing watching the situation. Their faces were all hidden in the hood over their head.

"There was really no need to stole that money." one of them angered at his fellow companion. "We have paid more than enough for our job here."

"I was just trying to enjoy the meantime." other one said flashing a wide smirk across his face, "Until we get to do real assassin work, there's no fun."

"Show some patience. Just few days more."

It was too late when she got back to the castle. The boy wounded his knee so she took him to the nearest pharmacy in the city. So the until the time she managed to sneak back in her office, it was pretty late. She hoped her maids handled everything well. She had told them not to let anyone in until she returns.

She hurriedly got inside with hidden pathway from the back of the book shelves in her office which was directly connected to the corridors.

Entering her office, instead of her maids she found was her husband standing near the desk, who looked like was restlessly waiting for her.

At closer look she could see his angered expression clearly.

She gulped.

She was prepared for his scolding if she have been caught as in situation like this. But he looked more angry than she imagined him to be.

She was beyond late, if only one could just ignore the fact she didn't have any permission to go anywhere in the first place.

The expression on his face was fierce and cold. Like the king. Not her husband. His eyes were different than in moments when they were together, she had learned to read in them.

But she had not yet learned to read in the hidden conflicts in him.

There was tensed silence before he stormed out of the office. He just left without speaking a single word to her. She didn't get scolded this time.

She could tell what he was thinking. It wouldn't have been good if someone had recognized her wandering around the streets of the capital. She was queen not a princess anymore. She should think about consequence of her actions.

But this wasn't enough reason for him to get upset this much. Of course there was more.

She told him she didn't want bring worry and burden to him. But that's what she did. Even her intension wasn't to cause problems for him yet she made such mistake.

She couldn't even stand on her own words. She was fool enough to think she could handle things without him being noticed and concerned.

Next couple of days went without a word spoken between them. There was not a single exchange of word. Even when she tried to initiate the conversation, she was completely ignored.

Was this her punishment? And if it was then it worked too well ; because she was feeling more anxious day by day. She didn't think it would be having this effect on her.

But as of today, she was called in his office. Even if it was for work it bubbled a ray of positive hope inside her.

"I am going on a trip for two weeks." he suddenly announced, to her surprise."Until i return, responsibility of the castle would be in your hands."

Of course zen wasn't here. So it made her the incharge of all the things.

"Don't even think to do anything stupid in my absence." he picked up his coat which was on his chair, prepared to leave. "Lord haruka will be here if you need any help."

She almost wished if he wouldn't go and stay here. Something about this making her feel uneasy. There was sudden urge to stop him. Don't let him go. Stop him. A voice echoed in her head.

She reached out and grabbed his arm. He stopped in his track. His body didn't turn, just his head turned a little. Ocean blue eyes looked at her wanting an explanation of her action.

She couldn't say anything. What would even she say? There was not any possible reason for her to make him stay. It was stupid of her to even think to make him stay in the first place. But still the feeling didn't go away.

"Don't go." she finally uttered in a low voice. It looked like a childish prayer. Could she look more foolish?

He was looking at her with clueless expression. He didn't know what was gotten into her.

She stared into his confused eyes for a moment and then dropped the hold of his arm slowly, heavily and muttered, "Sorry"

What was she doing? She was completely lost her mind.

He thought maybe she was too much affected his silent treatment. But he knew she wouldn't stop him from doing his duty just because of it.

He turned towards her and asked "What's the matter?"

"My reasoning is really foolish."she answered, almost hesitately.

He could have asked her then right there and cleared the all of her doubts if only he had time.

"We will talk when I'll return." he promised, his hand placed on her shoulder comforting her.

She nodded and gave a small smile for not wanting worry him further. Her worry was useless. Or maybe not. The fear in her chest tightened more as he turned his back to her and left.

A lot of things will be happening in the upcoming chapters. Stay tuned.

And do let me know your thoughts.