"Princess, don't you think Sir Eiji is quite the man? He's been very diligent about visiting you. He must really like you." Sayaka said after serving my dinner. So far he's been well-behaved. I don't know why I suspect him so much but everytime I see him I get this feeling in the pit of my stomach that he's someone I shouldn't trust.

"I don't think he's as simple as you think he is, Sayaka." I said. She looked up at me, confused as to why I said those words.

"What do you mean, princess?" She asked. I just shook my head as my response. It's impossible to explain this uneasy feeling I get whenever I see him. I quickly changed the subject.

"What's your progress with gossiping with the other servants?" I asked. Sayaka quickly perked up. She stood up from where she was sitting and move next to me.

"Princess, I heard that some of the other servants saw a person who was preparing food on the day you were poisoned. They didn't know who she was and they all thought that she was new. No one questioned her but after you got poisoned, she was nowhere to be found." Sayaka's voice lowered to a whisper. I knew something was off that day.

"Who told you this?" I asked.

"I was in the kitchen preparing for your lunch when I heard the chef and other servants in the kitchen talking about that day. I decided to ask about it and they told me everything they could remember." Sayaka answered. So someone was a witness to the suspect. The question is, could they identify her if they saw her again?

"Sayaka, I want you to probe even further. Ask them if they can remember the face of that girl." I said. Sayaka nodded her head before standing up to clean up the dishes on my table. When she left, I thought of a way to expose the elusive Eiji but I have to be able to execute this plan perfectly.

The next day, before Eiji even arrived, I asked my father if I could go out and visit the town. He agreed to it but I had to be back home before Eiji arrives. I quickly took a carriage and Sayaka and I went to town. My purpose was to find fis.h.i.+ng materials.

"Princess, why are we going to town? Shouldn't we be preparing for sir Eiji's arrival?" Sayaka asked. I shook my head and lowered my voice down to a whisper.

"This important Sayaka. There's something I need to find in town to help catch the person who tried to kill me." I said. Sayaka nodded and kept silent until we reached the town. I quickly got out of the carriage and went from stall to stall, shop to shop trying to find the materials I need. Sayaka could barely keep up with my speed.

"Princess.... Wait…" Sayaka huffed. She could barely keep up let alone carry all the stuff I bought. I decided to stop for a while in a small tea shop so that Sayaka could catch her breath. We ordered some tea and cakes.

"Princess, what are you going to do with all these materials?" Sayaka asked but I didn't answer. How could I explain to her about a modern fis.h.i.+ng pole? I decided to keep Sayaka in the dark for now just until I can take my plan into action. After our tea break, Sayaka and I went back into town. A few minutes of walking and suddenly I felt strange. I kept looking back because I felt that we were being followed.

I wasn't wrong. When we turned by an alley, a masked man jumped in front of us. Out of impulse, I stood in front of Sayaka to protect her. The masked man didn't speak. When he lunged at us, I immediately threw a bag of fine powder on his face which left him disoriented.

"RUN!" I shouted. Sayaka went ahead of me. I knew this man wanted me and I had a good feeling that his boss is someone I know. I let Sayaka escape so that she can report it. I was willing to get captured to secure my suspicion. Bad guys always tend to reveal themselves when they think that the victim can't escape which is most likely not the case. I tripped on purpose when I saw Sayaka was already far from me.

"Princess!" She shouted. The masked man covered my mouth with a cloth which I presumed to have a sedating substance. I held my breath and faked fainting. He took the cloth away and carried me. No one was around to help. Sayaka must've fled to tell my father. I memorized the directions he was taking me to. A few minutes later, we arrived and he threw me on the ground.

'a.s.shole!' I screamed in my head. I heard a door opening and closing and I waited a few minutes before opening my eyes. I'm in an abandoned house. The walls had cracks in them and the surrounding was a total mess. When I heard footsteps, I immediately went back to being unconscious.

"Good work. Now that I have the b.i.t.c.h here, the only thing I need to worry about is Sir Eiji." It was a familiar voice. My hunch was right. My kidnapper is no other than my cousin, Maoke. I guess she really held a grudge about what happened. I can't blame her though but I'll make her pay. The masked man tied me up and when he was done, Maoke went in front of me and started kicking me in the stomach.

"Wake up!" She screamed. I opened my eyes and I looked up at her.

"Why am I not surprised to see you, Maeko?" I said. Her face went sour.

"I don't think you're in the position to mock me right now. I hold your life in my hands." She placed her hand under my chin and suddenly gripped my face. Her nails dug into my cheeks and I felt them bleed. She quickly let go and wiped the blood off of her hand.

"You shouldn't have offended me." She said. I rolled my eyes. Oh please, I can escape here if I wanted to. I could also kill you but where's the fun in that. After having her fill of torturing me, she left along with that masked man. When I was sure that they were gone, I untied the rope around my hands. There was only one window in the whole room. I tried my best to peek outside to see where I was. If my hunch was right, Maeko brought me to the abandoned village near the forest. As I held the bars that covered the window, I noticed something off.

"Hey, where's my bracelet? Did I drop it somewhere?" I asked myself. I looked around the room but it was nowhere to be found. I must've dropped it when I pretended to faint and that man carried me all the way here.

"I wonder what Sayaka's doing." I muttered to myself.

Meanwhile, at the General's Palace. Sayaka went to the general to report the princess' kidnapping. She knocked on the door incessantly until the general opened.

"Sayaka? What is it?" He asked. She was panting because she ran from the town back to the palace.

"It's the princess. She's been kidnapped." Sayaka said. The general was surprised. He quickly called for his men to find his daughter. He sent a scroll to Eiji to inform him of what happened. Not even an hour later, Eiji arrived along with some of his men.

"General, I've received your letter and reported as soon as I could." Eiji said. The general briefed him on what happened and asked Sayaka to escort Eiji to where Sayori was taken. They went into town and Sayaka led Eiji to the alley where she lst saw Sayori.

"Princess tripped when we were running away and she got caught." Sayaka explained. Eiji ordered his men to search the immediate area and report anything suspicious. After a few minutes, one of Eiji's men returned with a clue.

"Sir, I found this bracelet near the entrance to the forest. It might be the princess'" The guard said. Sayaka immediately looked at the bracelet and recognized it.

"Yes, that's hers." She said. Eiji instructed his men to follow him inside the forest. Sayaka stayed behind. Eiji was sure that Sayori was somewhere in the forest. He just hoped that nothing bad had happened to her.

Meanwhile, inside the abandoned house, Sayori was busy trying to find a way out.

"There must be a way out of here." I said. There were stacks of boxes here that I could use to leverage myself for higher ground. I tried looking for a hole on the roof and to my surprise, there was one. Sweet freedom! Here I come! It was a small hole but I managed to wriggle my way out. I peeked at the front of the house and I saw that masked man who kidnapped me. I ignored him and made my way out through the back. I snuck out to the forest.

"Where is she?" I heard Maeko's voice. She must've found out that I escaped. Time to book it and quick. I ran as fast as I could but I could hear the masked man's footsteps getting louder. I decided to climb up the tree and hide for a while. He pa.s.sed by without noticing me. Thank G.o.d! I was about to climb down when I heard another set of footprints. I thought it was that masked man but it sounded like a group of people. I looked around and saw Eiji with a group of men following him. He must be here for me. How sweet… Not!

'Should I do something?' I asked myself. I decided to play victim in front of him to see if he has any adverse reaction. I climbed down and called out to him.

"h.e.l.lo?" I shouted. I pretended I was hurt. It was a good thing Maeko did some actual damage to me physically so that I had some leverage. Eiji turned to look and saw me.

"My princess!" He shouted. He immediately ran to my side and held me in his arms.

"Don't talk anymore. Let's leave this place first." He said. I didn't even get a chance to put a word in when he carried me bridal style. He navigated us out of the forest where Sayaka was waiting.

"Princess! You're safe." She said. I smiled at her. Eiji carried me into the carriage and we were sent home. I wonder what happened to Maeko. We arrived at the palace not long after and I was still in his arms. My father was patiently waiting by the gate.

"It's a good thing you found her Eiji." My father said. Eiji nodded and took me back to my room.