Queen Of Monsters

Ru Naya bowed quickly.

She was so dumbstruck in front of the dashing prince that she had forgotten her manners. She was supposed to greet the royalty by showing reverence, not by ogling at them shamelessly!

People had died for offences less serious than this, and Ru Naya didn't dare to look up to see if prince Jun Liyun was angry at her lack of etiquette. She hoped that he would let her off the hook even though she could feel his powerful aura and his icy glare on her.

"Your royal highness, please forgive this humble servant for not greeting you properly," she pleaded. Pain spread throughout her body as she prolonged the uncomfortable position by continuing to bow. She cursed herself for doing such a stupid deed. To survive through so much just to die for this simple mistake made her angry at herself.

"Look at me," his cold voice commanded and Ru Naya immediately straightened up and stared at him. Her heart skipped a beat when her brown eyes met his alluring green-gold ones. How could a man be this magnificent and gorgeous? Ru Naya found herself thinking about it for the umpteenth time.

Jun Liyun c.o.c.ked his head to the right, causing his dark hair to fall gently against his face. He stared at the shivering girl with a frown.

"Such a foolhardy way of getting my attention but it worked," He stated emotionlessly.

Since she had been so distracted by the presence of his highness, Ru Naya had totally forgotten about what the prince had said to her earlier. Now when he accused her of vying for his attention, she realized that prince Jun Liyun had gotten the wrong idea about her.

"Your excellency, you are humbly mistaken," She responded earnestly, "I got lost in the jungle because I was being chased, so I had no intention of crossing paths with you. I already have a sweetheart so you can be rest assured that I am not here for that reason!"

She suddenly realized why prince Jun Liyun would assume that. He had been getting so many proposals and naturally some of the ladies must have tried extreme measures of getting him to acknowledge them. They must have done crazy things for the prince to conclude that Ru Naya was willing to get lost in the deep jungle just to gain his favour.

Poor guy, she couldn't help but sympathize for him.

Confusion flitted through those mesmerizing eyes as he stared at her. "You're not here to propose to me?" He repeated, incredulity replacing the iciness in his voice.

She nodded several times in assurance and he finally acceded. Ru Naya relaxed as the frigidness around the prince finally thawed a bit.

"Interesting," Prince Jun Liyun commented as he studied her, and Ru Naya blushed under the intense gaze, "to think that a lady who got attacked by a lyren bird and a witch is not looking for any acknowledgement from me. I dare say that you have impressed me regardless."

Ru Naya's heart thundered at his compliment. The powerful prince of all people had praised her, so how could she not react with glee?

"Thank you prince-" She paused as the rest of his words sank in, "Wait, you knew I was being pursued by the lyren bird?"

She understood that he would have inferred that the witch was hunting her from him saving her life, but how did he know about the bird?

"Of course, who do you think was hunting the lyren bird in the first place?" He replied indifferently.

Ru Naya's jaw dropped. Suddenly a lot of things started to make sense, like why the lyren bird was near the edge of the forest in the first place. It was because it was running away from the prince!

No wonder it had been so enraged when it had met her.

Oh god, she realized, had she just stayed back hidden in the bushes then she could have asked for his help.

"We almost crossed paths!" Ru Naya exclaimed.

"And you're lucky that it was just 'almost.' Or you would not have been standing here," The prince replied darkly.

She stared at him as she remembered how her instincts had urged her to run back then. She realized that the prince was just another cruel predator of the forest who was hunting at that moment, and she would have been just an insignificant prey to him, and thus Ru Naya was extremely lucky that she didn't encounter him while she was running for her life.

She felt pitifully small in front of him when she realized just how easily the prince could have killed her like he had killed the witch, and no one would have realized how she had died in the dark forest.

"I suppose I should apologize for having the lyren bird chase you," prince Jun Liyun continued, ignoring Ru Naya's ashen face, "I was going to leave you alone until I saw the witch chasing you. It was then I abandoned my hunt for the bird and went to save you cause no matter what, a witch can never get away alive."

He was going to let me die until the witch attacked me, Ru Naya thought morosely. Just how cold hearted was the prince? She couldn't blame him for being this way after growing up in the royal court, but it still chilled her.

"My lord, I thank you for saving my life from the witch and bringing me back to your camp for treatment." She expressed her gratitude by bowing again.

"No need," he waved his hand dismissively, "However, as a token of apology I will owe you a favour. Use it wisely."

A favour from the prince was a huge thing as Ru Naya had heard rumours that the prince didn't like owing favours to anyone because of the power it gave them over his royal highness. She could think of countless things she wanted that she wouldn't have been able to achieve easily in this lifetime, and yet, at this moment there was only one wish that she wanted to absolutely fulfill.

"My lord, can I ask if you have killed the lyren bird?" Ru Naya implored.

"No, I have not." He replied cooly.

"Then, I wish to ask you to grant the favour right now," She said decisively, "I want to kill that wretched bird before I leave this forest. Thus, will you go hunting with me?"

***

Ru Naya headed back to the imperial camping grounds alone. She walked amongst the tents to search for the makeshift cafeteria. The hunger had awakened a beast inside her that demanded sustenance and she was happy to fulfill its wishes. She didn't care if her feet screamed in pain with every step as Ru Naya hadn't eaten well in three days and she felt like she would drop dead if she didn't find food right away.

Also, despite her misery, she had to get used to standing on her feet without support as she would be on them for the rest of the day.

"Miss Ru, how are you feeling now?" The man asked the girl when he saw her.

"I am fine, Doctor Li. I feel much better." Ru Naya lied.

She couldn't tell him how much her body ached and pained. Each step made her want to cry out, but she couldn't show her agony here. Especially when she was planning to leave for the forest soon or else the good doctor would insist on her to take more rest.

"I'll give you some medicine regardless," The imperial doctor replied, "Come by my tent after you're done eating, okay?"

She smiled at the man as he left. Once he was gone, the queue moved ahead and soon it was her turn. One of the uniformed men serving food gave her a plate with some gravy and vegetables on it, and Ru Naya almost inhaled everything on the plate at one go. She hadn't eaten in so long and such delicious food was heavensent, so she finished three plates worth of food before finally leaving.

Once she was out of the tent, she went to find the doctor. After she got the medicines from him, she ambled away to look for the repository.

It should be near the prince's tent, she thought as she searched for it. There were many tents but the prince's tent was slightly larger than the rest. Not only that, there were always people guarding the tent regardless if the prince was present in it or not. After she found the prince's tent, it wasn't hard to find the repository.

Once she found it, she entered it. There, two ladies stood talking to each other.

They turned around when they saw Ru Naya enter in her tattered attire and raised their eyebrows at her.

"Who let a beggar in?" One of them asked snootily.

"Who let a bitch in?" Ru Naya replied dryly as she headed in to look for what she needed. She would have come up with a wittier comeback but she didn't have time to deal with the ladies. It was obvious that they looked down upon her because they believed that she was yet another desperate lady looking for their prince's love, so no amount of clever remarks would change their minds.

She studied her surroundings as she remembered the prince's words before she had left the river. He had told her about the repository and its contents that included weapons and additional clothing for the guards. She rummaged through the uniforms before she found one that was of her size. It was a black long sleeved shirt with tight pants that had a heavily padded tunic on top to complete the ensemble. She threw away her destroyed garments and then donned on her new set of clothes before searching for a suitable knife.

The women didn't comment anymore but glared at her as Ru Naya searched around. Finally, she picked up a standard straight sword from a pile of weapons that were issued to the imperial troops. She didn't like bigger weapons as they were heavier for her to carry, but since there were no knives present, it would have to suffice.

She went back outside and traced her way back to the river where she saw that prince Jun Liyun was already dressed up. He was wearing similar clothing like her, except that his clothes were much more refined and sophisticated. He also wore a majestic cloak over the uniform that was held together by a brooch that had the insignia of the crown prince engraved on it. He looked absolutely stunning in the military clothing.

Though, what a tragedy that the cloak covered up that magnificent body, Ru Naya lamented to herself.

"Ready?" Prince Jun Liyun questioned her when he spotted her.

"Ready." Ru Naya replied. Then she turned to look at the dark jungle.

She didn't want to return to the forest to hunt so early but she knew that if she didn't go back right now, then she would be forever scared to step in the jungle because of her traumatizing experiences.

Besides, she had the strongest person on the mainland hunting with her, so she would be fine as long as she wasn't his target.

Wait for me you damn bird, Ru Naya thought viciously, I'm coming for you.