Pepelt held his aching chest as he remembered what Ceilie yelled at him for before she ran off. He bitterly smiled, realizing he had really messed up this time. How was he supposed to gain the princess’s full trust if he screwed up like this? Letting out a sigh, he got up from the ground and walked over to the princess who was just coming to and knelt to the ground pushing his forehead to the dirt. “Princess, I am sorry for what happened!”

“Humph!” Princess Tilia only snorted before dusting her clothes off and checking out her wounds. She waved her hand, and a green light came out of her hands, causing the scratches and other wounds on her body to quickly heal. She then went over to Kana to check on her. “Kana, are you okay?”

“Hmmm? Yeah! Just startled me. Never expected to go flying out of the wagon.” Kana replied, her snout still covered in dirt and dust. Princess Tilia took it upon herself to begin wiping Kana’s face off.

“I tried to warn you… Well, anyway, let this be a lesson to you.” Ceilie let out a sigh.

The group got reorganized and set off once again. Kana was beginning to have cabin fever as they were stuck in the wagon all day long. But all that changed one night when they were only a half day from the border.

*Boom!*

“Were under attack!” Shouting could be heard from outside.

Inside the last wagon, the two girls were curled up next to Kana sleeping. Kana sniffed and slowly opened her eyes and looked around. “What’s going on?”

“It seems the first wagon is under attack. You should wake these two up and escape. I sense a powerful presence that the three of you can not fight.” Lysairth warned.

“Mmmm… Okay.” Kana gently shooked Ceilie and Princess Tilia.

“Hmm? Kana, what is… What’s happening!?” Ceilie heard the commotion and quickly jumped and gathered her things.

Princess Tilia, on the other hand, was clinging on to Kana, not budging in the slightest. “We are under attack.” Kana answered, still trying her best to wake the sleeping princess up.

At that same time, Pepelt opened the back of the wagon and climbed inside. “You three need to leave. I will do what I can to keep them at bay. From here you will need to travel on your own. I leave the princess in your care.”

“What about you, Pepelt?” Kana asked.

“We will meet again if the goddesses allow it. Until then, please help the princess reach the capital. I do not wish to see my kingdom fall due to war.” Pepelt said seriously. He looked at both Kana and Ceilie and nodded before jumping back out of the wagon.

“We should get going.” Kana said. She gave up trying to wake Princess Tilia up and swung her onto her back.

“You are going to abandon them?” Ceilie asked.

“Pepelt said it himself. The news about the humans attacking the Rural Kingdom is very important. If I am not wrong, if it was either you or me, we would not be able to meet any king. Only Tilia can.” Kana replied. She had read stories where unknown people tried to warn the higher ups about something serious only to be kicked out in the end. Kana knew there would be no point unless someone with power showed up and explained the situation.

“Kana, although you are cute, I have a hard time getting a read on you. Are you stupid cute, or smart cute?” Ceilie asked. She was amazed by how sometimes Kana made so much sense with her words.

“Humph! I Am just cute! The cutest dragon in the world!” Kana said proudly, completely missing the insulting things Ceilie just said.

“Alright! You are the cutest. Let’s go!” Ceilie said as she gathered Kana’s and Princess Tilia’s bags as well before jumping out of the wagon. She peeked around the corner to see the first wagon already ablaze and people fighting. She was actually amazed at how skilled the three guards were that Pepelt brought. She wondered just who Pepelt truly was.

Kana also jumped down with Princess Tilia on her back. She looked around and sniffed the air. “We should head this way.”

“Mmm, let’s go.” Ceilie nodded and followed after Kana. Ceilie also sensed a strong presence and knew that they should not stick around any longer.

After they left, a man in a white robe walked over to the wagon the girls had just left and opened the back. “Hmmm… they must have escaped. Bring me that rabbit.”

“Yes, your holiness.” A man in armor replied while bowing his head.

About a minute later, the man in armor brought over a rabbit man and tossed him to the ground. The man in a white robe looked at the rabbit and frowned. “Where is the princess?”

“What princess? You people keep asking me the same question, but I don’t even know what you mean!” The rabbit man shouted.

“Cut off one of his ears….”

Ceilie and Kana were running as fast as they could. The smell of blood had begun to fill the air. “Do you think Pepelt will really escape?” Kana asked. She still couldn’t help but worry.

“He said he would meet us at some other time. For now, we just need to focus on getting as far away from here as possible.” Ceilie was having a strange feeling something bad was about to happen.

Sadly her feelings were spot on when they saw a large magic circle begin to form in the air above where the wagons were. There was a bright flash, and a column of light struck the ground.

*Boom!*