Queen Of Monsters

They both made it back to the camp just as the sun was about to touch the horizon. The purple sky was clear save for the myriad of twinkling stars that were beginning to appear as the sun's rays faded away. Distant from the lights of the cities in Bon Sicini, the stars appeared numerous, and they lit up the sky like the strange symbols that illuminated the trees in the forest. The scene in front of her was extraordinary, and it might have been the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen in her life.

Well, maybe the second most beautiful thing, she corrected herself quietly. In front of prince Jun Liyun, even the world appeared dim. Despite the frigid and acute hostility that enveloped around him like a thick blanket, he still enlivened the surroundings like no star could.

Ru Naya was dazed as she followed him back quietly. Ever so often she would open her mouth to apologize yet no words escaped her lips to shatter the tense atmosphere. She wondered why she was so eager to make amends when she hadn't really done anything to make prince Jun Liyun upset, had it been anyone else she would have not bothered at all.

Was she eager because she really wanted to be his friend, and thus didn't want to destroy a friendship that had barely begun?

Unfortunately, she lost all of her chances of saying anything when the camp came in the view. The huge tents were lighted up by candles and lanterns, giving the area a warm orange glow. She watched as people went about their business, unaware of the two people that had just come back from the forest. However that all changed once both of them had actually stepped in the campground as the prince's presence was just too enigmatic for the soldiers to ignore; even the guards that were at a considerable distance bowed reverently to their crown prince. Prince Jun Liyun didn't even acknowledge the people as he strode past them, however Ru Naya did notice that the revere look that the troops had given him would disappear the second their eyes would spot her. All of them gave her a vicious look, and if looks could kill then she would have died on the spot. She realized that they were mistaking her for being another lovestruck girl like the ladies had earlier in the repository. Ru Naya would have given them all the middle finger had she not been preoccupied with thinking about how to solve the misunderstanding between her and the prince.

She followed him quietly, wondering where should she stop trailing him. She couldn't follow him to his tent because he wouldn't let her go inside since he was angry with her. She decided to open her mouth to say something before he reached his destination when she noticed someone rapidly coming towards them.

The man approaching them had waist length dark hair, his eyes were inky black and his gorgeous face had an ugly expression on it. Ru Naya realized that he looked utterly mad. The man stalked towards them and he didn't even glance once at Ru Naya as he was solely focused on the prince. She was thankful for him ignoring her since she didn't want that dark glare on her.

"My king, where the hell did you go?" He demanded as he gritted his teeth in anger.

"Leave, Kai." Prince Jun Liyun commanded softly, yet lethality laced his cold tone. Ru Naya shuddered at his voice.

"Fine, I'll leave. However, I came here to notify you that there are sentries who are waiting to report to you by your tent." The man muttered indignantly. Ru Naya frowned at the man's behaviour and her action caught his eyes. He glanced at Ru Naya like he was staring at a pest that he was itching to kill. However, prince Jun Liyun's aura became even more frigid and so the man named Kai turned around and walked away without another glance at the two people standing there.

Ru Naya was relieved when the man disappeared from her view cause she didn't like him at all.

However, her relief was short lived because for the first time since coming back from the forest, the prince spoke to her.

"The troops are scheduled to go back to the city tomorrow. Find an empty place to rest and be ready to leave at dawn break." He informed her indifferently.

"Princ-" Ru Naya finally spoke up but the prince didn't even let her finish the word before he strode away towards his grand tent without a single glance back at her.

After the prince had left her abruptly, she didn't follow him and instead watched him retreat from her view. It was obvious that he didn't want to talk to her, and she would be overstepping her boundaries if she tried to converse with him regardless. She may have been wanting to speak to him but she had to remember that this man had saved her, brought her back to the camp and was letting her stay for the night despite her angering him. He had done so much for her and so she could at least respect his space and his choice to ignore her.

Ru Naya sighed as accusations flittered through her mind. Why had she not hunted the lyren birds? if she had realized that hunting was so important to the prince then she would have let him hunt those damn creatures. Now that she thought about it, she remembered the conversation that had taken place between them when he had finally relaxed somewhat in her presence. He was hunting because he wanted to get away from his life back at the court, and yet she had taken away his one single distraction because of her reluctance.

Stupid, stupid, she muttered to herself as she ambled around distractedly. She didn't realize that she had traced her way back to the infirmary tent until she spotted doctor Li talking to some bandaged soldiers. She quickly glanced at her wounds that looked clearly irritated because she had taken the dressing off from her ankle before her injuries could even begin to heal. Doctor Li would not be happy if he saw her leg and thus, she tried to sneak past him. Unfortunately, the soldiers that were taking to him noticed her and gave her a stink eye, and this caused the good doctor to turn around to see what they were glaring at. His eyes met hers before travelling down to her festering wounds. Ru Naya raised her hands in defeat and meekly headed inside the infirmary before he could command her to go in for further treatment. Back in the same room she had been earlier today, she sighed as she took off her tunic. She hoped doctor Li would go easy on her but once the elder doctor entered, he lectured her quite intensively for being so irresponsible. Ru Naya listened to the man quietly. She casted her eyes down as he chided her for what felt like hours. Finally, he calmed down once he felt that she was thoroughly scolded.

"Goodness," the man exclaimed as he tightened the bandages, causing Ru Naya to gnash her teeth in pain," You could have died you know. You're lucky that you didn't come across the crown prince while you were by the river. The courts have been too hectic for the young prince and his mood has been extremely volatile these past few days. I don't know what he would have done if he saw a woman that was not from the imperial army."

He leaned forward and checked the other bandages that had been wrapped by him around her body earlier today, "You're a clumsy one, miss Ru. You got yourself dirty again even though you took a bath, at least your bandages didn't get wet!"

Ru Naya didn't comment at his accusatory tone, she knew that he was suspicious of her story but thankfully he let it go, and instead told her to take rest and that he would have someone deliver her dinner. She thanked him, and after he left she laid back down on the bed. The soft blanket covered her body making her feel warm and toasty as she stared at the ceiling of the tent. Tired, aching and hurting, yet she didn't get to sleep the whole night, because certain green-gold eyes tormented her thoughts.

***

Ru Naya was up before the dawn broke. She had only gotten a wink of sleep last night and thus was extremely tired.

Still, she quickly swung out of the bed and donned on her clothes. She then took a tentative step forward to see if her wounds still hurt but she realized that though she still was in some pain, she could at least walk without needing additional meds.

Outside the infirmary she saw that people were gathered in clumps around the tents. On a closer inspection she noticed that the troops were disassembling the tents. Ru Naya felt saddened as the tents disappeared one by one. She had liked the campground despite not spending much time in it.

"Oy, out of the way," A man said gruffly and Ru Naya stepped back when an imperial soldier walked past her, carrying various tent converings on his shoulder.

She glared at him while several other people gathered around the infirmary tent to take it down.

"Mm, thank you," She nodded at him as she slowly slurped the delicious stew while she watched the people take the tent down. She offered to help once she was done but doctor Li admonished her for trying to aggravate her wounds even further. She finally gave up and decided to meander away to see if someone else needed any help.

However, the imperial troops were very efficient. By the time the sky was slightly illuminated from the impending dawn break, the tents had already been dismantled. She stood watching the vast grasslands that looked even bigger without any tents. However, she realized that if all the tents were taken down, the prince's tent must have been too. That meant that he should be outside as well. Curiously, she turned to the direction of the prince's encampment to see if the tent was there and her heart fluttered at the idea of seeing the him. However all of the tents had been taken down and she didn't spot prince Jun Liyun. She sighed in dismay and turned around, that is when her eyes met coal black ones. She realized that it was the same man that had greeted the prince yesterday. This time she studied him properly and noticed that he was freakishly good looking with his bewitching slanted eyes. She wondered if there was a requirement for people around the prince to be exceptionally gorgeous.

She gazed at those eyes that were filled with hatred as they bore into her own. She was confused because she hadn't done anything to anger the man for him to stare at her so maliciously. However, Ru Naya didn't try to assume anything, after all she had unknowingly upset the prince for something she had assumed was a minor issue. What was up with her pissing off these exquisite men? She took a step towards him and the man huffed before turning around and disappearing amongst the imperial soldiers.

Whatever, she didn't care about this one. Ru Naya had to make an effort to talk to one she did care about and so she headed to where his tent had previously stood. However, she noticed that there was no sign of the dismantled tent nor its extraordinary occupant.

She was confused because she could not find him anywhere.

"Hey," She grabbed a passing soldier's arm, "Where is the prince?"

The man glared at her, "Are you stupid? how don't you know that he left last night for the royal palace?"

The man muttered to himself about idiotic soldiers as he left after Ru Naya pulled her hand back. She stared at the vacant spot in dismay and her heart sank. The prince was gone, so was her chance to apologize to him.