"Isa? Isadora. Wake Up." A voice called and Isadora groaned. She wanted to know if Alexander would come after her angry self but instead, someone else was calling her. That voice! She shot her eyes open and looked around in anticipation.

"Laura?" Her voice was filled with enthusiasm and a hint of longing could be heard in it. She threw the blankets suddenly and wrapped herself around a maid who was looming over her.

"I missed you," she said by the maids ear but stiffened when the maid did not hug her back. She quickly composed herself and drew back. "I missed you," she said again and the maid now hugged her out of the blue surprising Isadora.

"I missed you too Your Highness," she said, her voice laced with joy. It took a while for Isadora to digest everything that had happened. The last thing she could remember was summoning Griffin in order to get an antidote for Alexander. And then the unexpected happened. Instead of Griffin handing the antidote to her, he brought her back home.

Her mind drifted towards Lord Richard and she could only guess for the worse. The Lord would think that she had escaped. And come to think of it, how long had she been unconscious.

"For how long have I been unconscious Laura?" She asked nervously breaking from the hug.

"Two days Your Highness. Shall I prepare a bath for you?" The last words fell on Isadora’s deaf ears. Did she just say two days? Or was it her ears playing tricks on her? No! She has to confirm it.

"Did you just say two days?" Disbelief was written all over her face now as she anticipated for the answer, or rather, the confirmation. And when Laura nodded, she almost lost her mind now. Two days! That meant a lot to her. First, how was Alexander fairing? Two days was a lot of time for a poisoned person. Fear gripped her at the thought of Alexander being dead and her dream now seemed to turn out real. The possibility of it happening was very high. Griffin had said that the poison laced in the dagger could kill in hours, if not minutes. And here she was, just standing and doing nothing.

"I need to leave as soon as possible Laura." She said and started pacing in the room gathering anything she could find useful.

"Where are you going Isadora? Do you even know what has happened within the last two days you were asleep?" Laura questioned making Isadora to somehow stop in her tracks. But her curiosity was quickly replaced by fear. Fear that she might be too late to save Alexander.

"I don’t care what happened but I have to go." She said grabbing a cloak ready to leave when the door to her room swung open. Isadora paused on her tracks and looked at the direction of the door to be greeted by a worried King Griffin.

"What’s going on here?" He asked walking further in the room. He looked at Isadora questioningly and he somehow understood what she was about to do. ’Foolish girl,’ he thought. "Leave us!" Laura hesitated a little before she gave Isadora a ’take care’ glare and left.

"Where are you going?" King Griffin asked despite knowing the answer to the question. He searched for an emotion on her face but all he could find was a surprised expression. Still, that was not what he expected.

Yes. Where was Isadora going? That question brought her back to reality. She couldn’t just tell Griffin that she was hurrying to check the condition of someone he so much wanted dead. That would only raise brows. And judging from her uncle’s personality, he would not forgive her if he found out that she wanted to save Alexander rather than kill him.

Still, her presence wouldn’t help at all. She knew that the moment she would rest her foot on Valoria, that was her death sentence. Did Griffin know that she had been thrown into the dungeon. She hoped not. And according to how she knew him, she knew that a war would have already sparked out had he found it out. And since Laura had not greeted her with such grave news, she hoped there was no war.

Going back to Valoria was nearly impossible now. But her worry for Alexander’s safety increased. Still, she didn’t have the antidote. At least that made her to calm down a little. But time was also not on her side. And thinking of the antidote, Griffin stretched his hands revealing a bottle that contained a green liquid inside.

"Here. Have this." He said placing the bottle in her hand. Isadora studied the liquid curiously as a hundred questions swirled in her mind. "You should drink that after every meal. It will help in eliminating the excess poison. Also, you should avoid minimal movements. That will cause the poison to spread in your body."

Excess! So that meant that this was not the original antidote but a supplementary one. Would this really help Alexander? Where could they have kept the original one. She cursed for having being unconscious. She just missed a great piece of information. She swore to find out later. She placed the bottle on the nightstand before she sat on the bed. Not that she was planning to consume it in the first place. Not until she was certain Alexander was fine.

"How are things in Valoria?" She asked once she was a bit calmer. She wanted to find out if Griffin knew about her being held captive in Valoria. Maybe that was why he was restricting her from going back immediately.

"Well." He begun and sat beside her on her bed. "I have some good news my dear." He said and stroked her hair gently. Isadora eyed him curiously yet suspiciously. What good news could come from him except when declaring a war.

Griffin noticed the curiosity on her face so he told her straight away. "The King of Valoria is announced dead. That means that Valoria is at its weakest state now. Once you get better, I want you to go back and kill that prince as soon as possible. Then we will attack and capture the palace." He said. Isadora didn’t seem surprised by the news as he had expected and that bothered him but he was quick to hide his frustration.

So Alexander’s father was dead? Did Alexander know? She guessed not. And her uncle wanted her to kill him as soon as possible. Maybe she should take this into her advantage to get back to Valoria.

"If you want me to kill Alexander soon, then I have to get back to the Valorian palace as soon as possible." She said hoping to win it out this time.

"Well. I guess you will come with us then." Isadora eyed him questioningly and he chuckled at that. "The royal family of Valoria invited the kings of the continent in the king’s funeral. It is being held today. You can join our convoy if you wish to get back to Valoria."

Isadora seemed deep in thought before she nodded at him. She could never lose this chance. But what really awaited her back in Valoria? Was it some other grave news or was it a punishment far worse from being locked in a stinking dungeon?