Chapter 1

The Lost Princess

The small lamp that she was carrying served as her guide as she made her way through the dark forest. The cold winds kissed her porcelain skin making the girl shiver a bit. It was stupid of her to forget her shawl. She knew he was going to scold her when he sees her shivering. 

The girl ignored that she was freezing and tried to quicken her pace. The sooner she gets to their meeting place, the sooner she'll be out of Hamal. Hamal is one of the nations in Ursa Major, located in the most northern part of the land. Located in the northern part, Hamal experiences the hottest of the day and coldest of the night. Despite her growing up in a place with extreme weathers, the girl wasn't used to this type of cold. She grew up in luxury. Being warmth by the finest woods that the land of Hamal could offer and being wrapped with blankets made with sheep's wool, freezing was a foreign feeling for her. 

Breathing was becoming hard since the temperature was dropping down fast. She rubbed her right arm with her left hand hoping that it'll help warm her up. Taking a sharp turn by the row of trees, she could finally see the pine tree, their promised meeting place. 

A smile formed on her visage, she does not only see a pine tree. She sees a future away from the land of Hamal. It was a long plan of hers to run away from the land of the Aries. She was supposed to run away when she was sixteen but she was caught by one of the royal guard assigned to her. It's ironic that the same royal guard who caught her is the one helping her run away. He was giving her freedom that she longed wished. 

Before she could take another step she hears rustle around her. She looked where the sound was coming from. Worry was slowly growing inside her head. 

News about hunters being killed in the forests of Hamal rarely happens but it does not mean it's impossible. There are still creatures living in the dark forests and it would be considered dangerous for a girl like her loitering around at night. She wasn't scared. She kept telling herself that it was just the wind. Nothing to worry about. 

She carefully scan the area. There was no sound other than the soft blowing of the wind. She bit her lower lip telling herself that she was just imagining things. Taking another step, the once eerie forest of Hamal was disturbed by a loud scream. 

"How was your trip?"

A plump man welcomed the newly arrived Kim Heechul. Heechul looked up to his superior, dark circles were under his eyes, as he stiffled another yawn. 

"It was..." he tried finding the right word but he was caught off when another royal guard barged into the room. 

"The princess... The princess is missing" He announced making the heavy man stand up from his seat immediately. He looked at the guards inside the room, his eyes turning serious. 

"Follow me to the king's quarters" he uttered underneath his breath but everyone heard him. They knew how serious the situation was. A missing princess. Those were the words ringing inside Heechul's ear. "Take some rest first-"

"I'm coming with you" Heechul firmly said. He dropped his satchel at the nearest table, opening it to get his badge- the badge that shows he is the royal guard of the Aries's. 

Despite coming from Altarf-the land of Cancer's, he is a royal guard for Aries. Every aspiring men who wants to be part of the royal guards are sent to Sunna, the center of Ursa Major. There, men who wishes to be royal guards are rigorously trained for three years preparing them to serve the royal family that they will be assigned to. During the olden times, royal guards are only serving the royal family from their land but due to the pact created by the 12 families, royal guards have been assigned to different families. This was to show trust between each family. That royal guards from another could protect any families no matter what. 

The plump man, Shin Donghee is the commander in chief of the royal guards in Aries even though he came from Libra. The king trusted Donghee and the man did his best to protect the family. This was the first time that the princess went missing.

The tension could be felt when the guards enter the king's quarters. It was obvious that the king was already feeling restless. His eyes lit up as soon as the royal guards enter the room, Donghee in front. 

"Your highness" Donghee bowed and the rest of the guards followed his suit. "We... We've heard the news" the commander in chief started off slowly. "We're going to start the search party around the perimeter of the palace. We'll also contact the soldiers so we could start searching every nook of Hamal"

The king was quiet throughout Donghee's speech. His eyes scanned every royal guard inside the room. Each one of them wearing their red uniform and the shiny logo of Aries was resting against their left chest despite not being an Aries themselves. Thoughts were running inside his head. Should he call Sunna and request for Aries guards to find his daughter? 

His thoughts were cut short when he saw the man standing at the back of Donghee. He knew this man would be able to find his daughter, after all he was also the one who took a bullet for her. 

"Kim Heechul" 

Heechul looked up to the king surprised that he was called. 

"Find my daughter"