Just as I was about to protest about being this so-called Princess, I heard an explosion from behind us. I didn't have any time to react because Lon picked me up and took off running, leaving Hiroshi behind.

"What are you doing?! Hiroshi is still back there!" I tried breaking free but the gash on my side wasn't completely healed.

Lon kept running, "It's alright, it's his job to stay behind and buy us some time. He'll catch up again, like before you woke up."

I kept looking over his shoulder at the men coming out in full armor, throwing their swords and weapons at Hiroshi. He successfully dodged a few and started to tackle them to the ground. Eventually I couldn't see him anymore and that's when I noticed we had entered the blizzard. Lon refused to stop until we got to the village. Just as I could see the village in the distance, a man covered in the same full body armor jumped in front of us. He held his weapon pointed at us and Lon set me down.

"Stay right here and don't move, no matter what." He looked at me for a split second and disappeared into thin air.

There's no way that just happened, right? I looked around and realized he left me with this creep. He started charging at me, getting ready to swing. Right when I thought I was a goner, Lon appeared and kicked him to the side. He stripped him of his weapons and tied him to a nearby tree. I was about to relax when five more men showed up.

I called out to Lon, "Didn't you two say this blizzard was supposed to keep them out?!"

"It was!" He started fighting with them, getting badly cut in the process. I grew anxious the more damage he took. Lon had only managed to take out two when they knocked him out. That was it, I was about to be the next. I started to back away as they took notice of me.

"How about we slice her up a bit before sending her to Lamia?" One man smirked and advanced forward.

I have never feared anything as much as I feared them. I turned around and started running back in the direction of Hiroshi. They wasted no time either and pursued me. I was able to maintain my balance going downhill on the snow but it was difficult, I was practically skiing. Just as I neared Hiroshi's location, which he was not at, I tripped on a branch that hadn't been completely covered by snow. My gash sent waves of pain throughout my body as I slid to the bottom. Sure enough, those armed men made their way over to me in no time. I shut my eyes, not wanting to watch as they prepared to pierce me with their weapons. I waited for a moment but nothing happened. When I opened my eyes, I saw one on the floor dead and the other two standing over me with swords in their midsection with Lon behind them.

He glared at me, "I told you not to move."

I didn't know what to say to him so I just stood up and gave him a hug which to my surprise, he returned. I started crying and my body shook. I guess I hadn't realized it until now but I was still just in bandages, exposed to the cold weather. He lifted me up again and began carrying me towards the village.

"Hiroshi has made it back already, with minor injuries. I passed him as I came down looking for you." He explained.

"Why didn't he come get me then? You're injured pretty badly and why are you carrying me? I'll walk." I tried to get down but he refused.

"I can't risk that. If something else happens, I can't waste time picking you up. It's easier this way. As for letting Hiroshi go on… I promised the Prince I would do this. So I have no choice."

I looked forward and saw the blizzard getting stronger as we entered it once again, "Sorry for being a burden then…"

"I didn't mean for it to sound like that." I felt his warm breath on my cheek as he sighed. It burned a bit due to the fact I had been frozen since I woke up.

We stayed quiet for a bit and took our time getting there since Lon hadn't noticed anyone else around. He felt no need to waste his energy. I thought about what that guy had said, about taking me to someone named Lamia… Could that have been the new inherit to Ravana's hate? I still hadn't even figured out about what happened to my world. If I really was this Princess, then why did I dream something that felt so real? So were my friends and family just an illusion? Was Black made up too? Did I really have no one from my imaginary world or was this, right now, a dream? The possibility of falling asleep on the roof during the lunar eclipse started to seem as just wishful thinking. Black hissed before I blacked out so if anything, maybe I was kidnapped during the night and I was currently still unconscious? My head started to hurt as I continued to think about everything that had happened.

"If you continue forcing yourself to find all the answers, you'll make yourself sick." Lon said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I don't know what to do… This seems so real, just like last night before I blacked out… I don't know what's real anymore." I shut my eyes as my mind went through everything Hiroshi told me about Queen Celeste.

Lon sounded confused when he spoke, "Last night? You haven't been awake for ten years. What happened, did you dream something?"

I started to explain about home, how my parents were never really there and how much I hated the city I lived in because it idolized the military so such. I told him about Black and Andrew. I explained that I despised history class but it was the only one I could remember ever really being in. I told him about the lunar eclipse. I made sure not to leave a single detail out in hopes he'd have some answers for me. I even told him about how he reminded me of Andrew.

"Hm…" Lon kept looking forward as he tried to figure it out for me. He didn't speak for a while. It felt like he was lost just as well as I was. "I can't say too much but perhaps, while you were asleep, your mind made a similar world for you to live in. We were friends when we were children so your mind might have created Andrew to replace me in your world. Maybe if you see the Prince, he'll remind you of someone else your mind created. As for Black, well… He's not exactly a kitten."

I stared at him for a bit. "Black is real?"

"Sort of… I can't really give you much information. There are some things you have to see with your own eyes."

I nodded slowly and remembered Lamia. "By the way… Who is Lamia?"

His eyes grew wide and he looked side to side. "Is something wrong?" I questioned him.

He picked up his pace a bit and whispered, "Don't say her name so loudly. She's a horrible creature."

"Who is she?" If the mere mention of her name caused him to react like this, I didn't want to find out what she was capable of doing.

"She's horrible. I'm sure you've already guess that she's the inheritor of Ravana's hate. When Ravana started his ritual to keep up with Queen Celeste, he made sure to have his inheritor the same age as the two from our country. To test his people, they had to cut all bonds with the people they knew. Lamia took it too far and killed her family and friends along with anyone who got in her way. She was more than capable of obtaining Ravana's hate and power. She'd slaughter children who failed to satisfy in combat training. Anyone she deemed too weak was killed on the spot."

My body froze. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and I knew he wasn't finished.

"The thing is… The Prince caught her eye. The feelings she had for the Prince had caused her to momentarily forget her hate. Everyone from the village had told the Prince to marry her, believing it would finally settle the never ending war but he refused. He already had his eyes on another girl and well to be honest, Lamia wasn't that easy to look at. When someone is so consumed by hate, they lose sight of who they are and turn into hideous monsters. Only when one can control it will they regain their appearance. Her time spent engulfed in Ravana's hate had done significant damage. She has, ever since, tried to control the hate building in her so she may keep her appearance which has slowly returned to her."

I looked forward and saw the village closer to us than before. What if I wasn't welcomed? I wondered how people would react to my loss of memory because frankly, I can't and won't pretend to know what I'm doing or who I am.

"You'll be fine. If anything, I'll get the village's wrath not you." Lon said, trying to ease me but it only made me worry about him.

"What about Hiroshi?" I asked, feeling like he was in danger as we continued to take our time.

He shook his head, "He'll be alright. Hiroshi is greatly admired. If anything, he's made my punishment less painful."

"But it isn't your fault I've lost my memory. If I've even lost it! I don't know what's real and what's made up! They can't blame you for that. I refuse to let you take the blame for something out of your hands!" I shouted at him as he continued to make his way toward the gates.

"You really sound like your old self Princess… It doesn't matter though. I was responsible for returning you perfectly safe and well. You're safe but your gash hasn't healed and you've had hallucinations that have driven you mad."

I glared at him. "I am not mad!"

He smirked and we finally entered the gates. Everyone was lined up on the walk way, leading towards a big building in the distance. I figured that's where we were headed. As Lon kept walking forward, I heard people snickering about my appearance and how they were sure the real Princess was already killed. That Lon and Hiroshi just picked me up somewhere to try and convince the Prince I was really her.

I looked at him and Lon quickly responded, "Don't pay attention to them. Regardless of what they believe, Queen Celeste and the Prince both wouldn't be tricked that easily. They'll know it's you."

How would they know it's me when I don't even know myself? I sighed and decided to stop pestering him. As we approached the huge building, I realized I shouldn't have since I never got the Prince's name. Lon reached one of his hands out slightly and knocked on the twin doors.

"You can put me down now. Aren't we safe?" I looked at him waiting for a response but he stayed quiet. It annoyed me a bit. Whenever Andrew got in trouble, he'd change the subject but Lon just doesn't speak at all. Why would my imagination make a copy of someone with opposite traits? I shook my head and heard footsteps come toward the doors from the other side.