The elf prince came to her with the expression of utmost worry for the princess. It seemed he developed a soft spot for her princess’s high spirits, which made Anna break into a smile without much warning, in spite of everything that happened, and her weariness from it all. Her smile immediately faltered when he noticed that she was having a little trouble carrying the princess, and observing the loosely-tied bandage on her wound. Of course, the whimper that she had let out before was a dead giveaway, but she was not about to give in to her tiredness. In fact, her grip on the princess grew all the more tensed at his reaction. It was in her nature to be so stubborn under desperate circumstances, and whether it was for better or for worse, she wasn’t sure.
Upon the prince’s statement, Anna could only stare bemused. She knew the prince was trying to make the atmosphere into a lighter mood, and although she would appreciate such a homely gesture, all her humor had already gone off the drain the moment she woke up and realized the building was on fire. Still, Anna smiled at his statement, a little offended that he thought that the wound was as a result of his foreign action on their first encounter, but amused nonetheless. She shook her head at her words, not wanting him to take the blame for something that is of her own lack of vigilance “No, sir, my injury is as a result of my own negligence,” she explained “It is not to be mistaken for anything else. I believe it to be a sign for me to be more placate,”
She gingerly accepted the piece of cloth given by the prince, wondering why he seemed so concerned for her princess. It was understandable, so far the only one who seemed to have fainted from exhaustion is the princess, and she didn’t want to venture much into those feelings if for some reason, she had interpreted it wrongly. It would cause a whole riot should she decided to speak her mind on the matter, and Anna was not about to stir something that she wasn’t meant to be involved in. Slowly, she nodded at his advice as he advanced towards the group, holding the cloth in her hand. Not now, anyway, since she’s still holding the princess. And the earthly ground of the tunnel was shaking furiously if she doesn’t step on it. She ran alongside the others, carefully considering the princess is in her arms until she could see the stairs to the trapdoor. she flinched at the sudden sunlight when the door was opened amidst the modest candle-lit tunnel, and she, while wrapping the princess’ petite figure close to her, also emerged out of the trapdoor.
Anna watched the atrocity of the once peaceful castle of Bhegin, burned to the ground. It was truly a sight to behold; the flames that relentlessly embraced the demolished structures of the building, and ashes that scattered like flecks of blackened snow, dancing in the wind. Anna could not picture just how profound the sight was to the point where the whole group was speechless, unbeknown of what to say at the moment. Everything had been said and done, and they could not turn back and pretend as though it had never happened. The depressing whimpers and screams of the people who have not made it out alive were all the more audible to her ears, and all she wanted to do was tune it out.
Anna did not dwell on the matters of who had made it so far into the group before. If she started to count the heads of the people who managed to escape the death fury of the collapsing building, she would’ve weep at the idea that she herself knew not everyone was here. An image of Suri, crying in anguish as her body is smoldered and licked furiously by the flames of the inferno. She knew that Suri was only a maid, but she couldn’t help but felt that is she had decided to save her earlier; she would stand here by the princess’ side. One guard was fearless for doing something she wished she did; he had gone out of his way to save someone he didn’t have to given the dire situation they’re in. The faeries were not the only people who have lost a life, the Gradians did as well. As she caught sight of Prince Kunal holding on to his sister’s hand, she knew that this was only the beginning.
She turned her attention to the princess, who had peacefully slept in her arms. She wasn’t paying much heed to the letter Prince Kunal was intently reading over. She kneeled slightly, laying the princess on the ground, her back still resting against her right outstretched arm. With the cloth still in her hand, she ripped the cloth into two using her teeth and wrapped it around her wound, first on her scraped knee, and the other around her head, from where the blood had originated. It was only until one of the guards called out Kunal by ‘Sparky’ did Anna decided to make note of what the prince is holding in his hands. It caught her attention, mostly because someone had the guts to call a Supreme ‘Sparky’. She couldn't go there and see for herself the contents of the words because she hadn't the heart to leave the princess like that, though by the looks of it, Prince Kunal seemed displeased by what it contained.
“Dradecus?” she mumbled to herself when Prince Lucian suggested they go to Dradecus, the nearest city to them, and then eventually standing up “Perhaps we should follow Prince Lucian’s advice, and make haste for the city and heal the injuries of our fellow companions. These bandages cannot prevent someone from attaining some sort of a virus, and untreated wounds will lead to unwanted health problems,”