Princess Ava, The Royal Adventure (COMPLETED)

Chapter 31

Third Person's POV'

Ava had only taken a few steps when she stopped in her tracks. She once again felt the pull of the stone hanging from her necklace.

She paused in her walk and glanced at her bracelet. It pulled at her again.
She quickly regained her composure and discreetly left the scene of the second challenge.

She managed to evade the guards stationed outside and once again took the hallway towards the secret exit she had discovered the previous day.

~Flash back~

Reggie stood in front of her with a blank expression. When she finally made it out, the door closed it behind him. Reggie looked at her seriously while he walk towards the painting.

Ava observed Reggie as he returned the large painting to its original position.

Then Reggie walked towards her, and Ava’s heart almost jumped out of her chest when Reggie pulled him. They ran down the hallway until they reached the Crown Princess’s chamber.

Reggie closed the door and made sure no one was following them. “Tell me, Reggie. What’s in that place?” Ava asked. Reggie raised his index finger to his lips and look at her with warning, signaling Ava to remain silent.

He approached Ava and held her by both shoulders. “Your Highness, you must not tell anyone about what you discovered. Never, under any circumstances, reveal that secret.”

"Bakit Reggie? Ano bang meron sa lugar na iyon?"

Reggie let go of her and turned away. “It’s a secret that will put your life in danger..”

~End of Flashback~

Ava proceeded with her plan. To uncover the secret behind that hidden passage, she descended the stairs, with only the stone on her bracelet serving as her light. Once again, she saw the two masculine guards. She observe then as she craft her plan in her head, while hiding. When a guard approached the others.

Princess Ava’s POV

I recognized the guard who approached them. A guard from above the palace . Did this mean that there were other guards who were aware of this place, apart from the bulky guards present here?

“continue guarding while we handle the commotion above. Status report: the competition is ongoing, and Reggie was hit by an arrow from one of the participants,” the guard said.
My eyes widened at what I heard. R-Reggie?

Patakbo kong inakyat ang hagdan nag-iingat upang hindi nila marinig ang aking mga yapak.

On the other side, before the incident occurred, Reggie noticed Ava’s departure. Zane also turned to see what Reggie was looking at. He also noticed that the Princess, who was seated there just a while ago, was no longer present.
Reggie returned to walking in front of the participants. Almost all of them were skilled in aiming at the target.

Some participants were eliminated because they missed their targets. The competition continued with participants taking their shots, and it was nearing its end.

Nang matigil ang lahat dahil sigaw.

Napalingon ang mga kalahok kay Reggie na nanatiling nakatayo.

Their eyes widened as they noticed the buried arrow on Reggie’s right shoulder.
The participant who made the mistake fell to his knees, as his  arrow struck Reggie instead of the target.

Trembling, the participant dropped his bow and knelt down.

“F-forgive me… I didn’t mean to…” pleaded his trembling voice.

Several soldiers approached and helped the participant stand up. The participant’s flag was white, indicating that he came from the Kingdom of Hesivaria.

Prince Aillard could only shake his head in dismay at what his subject had done.

Zane’s attention was focused on Reggie, who simply watched as the soldiers escorted the participant away. While his expression remained blank, he silently pulled out the arrow.

He removed It as if the pain meant nothing to him. The abundant flow of blood could be seen trickling down from his wounded shoulder.

He placed his hands behind his back and walked towards the center, where the remaining few participants were gathered. There were about 17 participants left.

“This will be the end of the second trial…” Reggie told the remaining participants to prepare for whatever challenge comes next.

“I congratulate all of you. Each one of you will continue to the third trial. Dismiss,” Reggie said with a cold tone.

Seemingly unfazed by his wound, the participants left and Reggie was approached by the attendants to receive medical treatment.
After the summoned physician treated Reggie’s wound, he stood up. As he was about to walk in the hallway, the Leader of the Royal Adviser approached him.

She walked towards Reggie with a smirk on her face, while Reggie avoided eye contact to avoid meeting the leader’s gaze. “Well done Reggie… well done,” the leader said as she passed by. Reggie clenched his fist upon hearing those words. “You gave me no choice, that’s why I did it. Because I don’t want Her Highness to suffer,” Reggie thought to himself.

He was about to continue walking when Ava approached him in a hurry, showing great concern.

Tears welled up in Ava’s eyes as she caught sight of her Royal Guard’s  bandaged wound.
Reggie lowered his gaze while covering his wound with his left hand.

As Ava lifted her gaze to meet Reggie’s eyes, tears began to flow uncontrollably from her eyes. From the corner of Reggie’s eye, he saw the Princess cry. He swallowed hard.
“You stupid—you knew it was dangerous yet you still did it?…” Ava whispered softly using a concern voice .

Reggie faced Ava and bowed his head. “Forgive me, Your Highness,” he said while still bowing.

She sobbed, causing Reggie to look up. “You always ask for forgiveness, but look at what you’ve done to yourself,” she said.

Nagpatuloy ang pagtulo ng luha ni Ava. Hindi nakaimik si Reggie sa kaniyang narinig.

Reggie’s eyes widened as he was engulfed in a hug by the Princess he served. The surrounding servants turned away, aware that the display of affection by the Royalty was not something they should witness.

“Don’t ever do this again, Reggie…” Reggie heard the Princess sob.

Hesitantly, Reggie gently patted the Princess’s back to soothe her.

“You don’t need to pity me, Your Highness… Just remember yourself, not me,” Reggie said.

He was hurting from hearing the cries of Ava who he considered his own daughter—the child of his deceased friend.

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Thank you for being patient in waiting for my UD :)

See you in the next chapters ❤️