21. Ciara heard her front door slam and looked up from her mirror. "What the hell?" She yelled. Her mother stormed into the room looking crazy. Ciara was terrified for a moment. "Your dog has lost his mind!" She screamed. "What are you talking about now?” Her father stumbled in behind her mother. He looked worse than before as he collapsed on a chair. "Adrian!” Her mother spat. "That bastard!" Ciara slowly got up. "What about Adrian?" She asked, annoyed. "Why are you saying his name like that? I told you I don’t want to hear anything about him!” Her mother threw her shawl to the floor. “He humiliated us in front of everyone!" Ciara frowned. “Humiliated you? How could he possible do that?” Her mother paced around like a mad woman. "We went to that manor that was just bought from—” “Why?" "For your father!" Her mother yelled. "He's dying, in case you forgot! And they said a miracle healer was there!” Her mother pointed at the door like Adrian was

23. Adrian stood near one of the tall pillars at the corner of the hall. He wore simple dark clothes again and watched the merriment. The venue was beautiful, to say in the least, and there were dignitaries moving around dresses in beautiful garments and jewels, with even rewarded nobility showcasing their ranks and medals. He did not try to blend in, hell, he didn't even like the space. A group of generals stood not far from him. Their armour had been polished for the night, and their medals were on them too. They looked extremely serious. "The king will announce it tonight." One of them said. "He has to." He replied. "The borders are getting worse, and the suspense is too much." Another one crossed his arms and nodded. He had a scar across his chin. "The new knight must be strong, we cannot have some soft noble boy wrecking things for us." "Of course not." The first scoffed. "His highness would never embarrass the crown like that." They all nodded. Adrian listened

25. All eyes were on Ciara now as she walked proudly to Adrian with destruction in her eyes. The fallen general was being lifted by two other men and he looked at Adrian in fear. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he now knew that Adrian was no ordinary man! As for Ciara, she stood with her arms folded. Her servant uniform was tighter and prettier than the others, fitted to show her curves. She was pretty abd she knew it but what she couldn't bear was the sight of her ex-husband. "Well, look what crawled back." Adrian did not react. It had been a long day already and he had no time for unserious activities. "What are you doing here, motherfucker?" She asked loudly. "Did the streets finally chew you up and spit you out?" A few people exchanged looks. Adrian sighed softly, not wanting a scene. "Good evening, Ciara." "Don't you dare say my name like that!" She snapped. "You quit this palace like you had pride. And now look at you standing here back to being an ordin

27. The king sat on his throne and looked at his guests with pride. They were excitedly speaking, waiting for the new announcement. Then, he raised his hand. The hall fell silent at once. Adrian stood a few steps behind Princess Sue, with a calm look on his face r despite what happened earlier. Percival stood not far from the king, getting eyed by his adoring fans, meanwhile, bis eyes were on bis target. Then king began to speak. "My people! Tonight is not only a banquet. It is a night of great honour. We have faced threats at our borders. We have faced enemies who believed we were weak, who believed we were divided." Murmurs of agreement spread out and dispersed. "But..." He continued. "A single man changed the tide for us! A man who stood where trained generals failed in spite of mockery! A man who gave us a battle strategy so sharp that our enemies fled before dawn." The generals were uncomfortable now, they didn't know who the king was referring to. "One hero was al

29. After Ciara was sent out of the ball, she decided that the best thing to do would be to stop at the castle. Perhaps she could run into Percival when he returned with the king. She knew he would definitely have good news! She stood by the long wooden table in the kitchen, cutting herbs gently. She wasn’t a kitchen servant, but she had done all her assigned work and needed to while away time as she listened for any indication of their arrival. Suddenly she heard voices and the side door burst open. Three maids stumbled in, still wearing their work dresses from the banquet. They looked tired but excited at the same time. “I can’t believe I got to experience this in this lifetime!" One of them gasped. "I swear on my mother's grave, I thought she was dead for sure!" Ciara lowered her head so they wouldn't see the spark in her eyes. Dead? She knew it! Her plan had worked. "Dead? Who are you talking about?" Ciara turned to them, asking. The girls crowded around the ta