Arunkaj tossed and turned in his bed. Nightmares plagued him and pulled his mind this way and that. Eventually, he could take no more and woke up in a mess of bed sheets and panting heavily. He had never been able to sleep well and tonight was no difference. He got up, throwing his bed sheets off his body and strode outside for some fresh air. The night was cool and calm but still the irritating prickle in his skin meant something was horribly wrong. And he was right. As he headed down the road towards the castle, he could smell the thick metallic scent of blood in the air.

He broke into a run, a scowl on his face. There was something horrifically wrong and he was sure the princess was in danger. Perhaps something had happened with Leo. If it was, then Leo’s gripe was with him, not the delicate and gentle neko princess. 

As Arun drew closer to the palace, he could see the bodies of guards littering the floor and the grotesquely mangled forms drew a shudder from him. They all had teeth marks and large chunks of flesh ripped clean from their bones. And there amongst it all, stood three strangers and the princess. She wasn’t fighting very much. No resistance at all and that caused a bubble of anger to burst in his chest. Clearly, she could tell these people were dangerous and yet, she didn’t even try to resist them. They needed her alive, obviously, otherwise they would have taken her life already. Struggling would not have cost her her life. 

He considered calling out to her but decided against it. He would follow instead and wait for an opportunity to steal her away to safety. She couldn’t handle the three of them at once. Not when they all had weapons and he was still barefoot and in his sleeping clothes. His only option was stealth and he had to be careful about it. Situating himself downwind so they couldn’t smell him, he hid in the shadows and bided his time.