A lovely violin melody filled the air of the palace garden as the crown prince, seated alone on a bench among the moonlit shrubbery, attempted to calm himself with one of his favorite pursuits. However, his mind would not rest this night, for he found it an impossible task to forget what he had just learned, even if it was just for a short time. In addition, he could not help but to constantly think about his question that Allister had left unanswered. Eliezer was immensely grateful to his butler at this point in time, though, he wished that he did not have to hide Raven's family history from him. The music then stopped abruptly as the prince let out a soft sigh, gently laying his instrument onto the seat beside him. He opted to gaze up into the starry night sky as he continued to ponder over the possibilities regarding the background of his lady, until he recalled a relevant bit of information he had been given during his visit to Gloomvale Tavern.

[i]"Dainia troops destroyed homes and murdered peaceful civilians, forcing the survivors to flee to this miserable place. This was done in search of the heir to Lunar, for the King of Dainia desires to put an end to the bloodline of Lunar’s royal family. We do not know the reason why, but word is going around that the King is searching for the heir even to this day."[/i]

Could Raven be this heir that was spoken of? If that were the case, she would not even be of noble status as he had first suspected, but she would be royalty. It would make sense, considering how secretive Allister was being about her background. Eliezer had wanted to hide the fact that she was of Lunar altogether, but it was apparent that things would only be worse for her if she was indeed of royal blood. It would then be highly-likely that it had been the butler who had removed the pages about the heirlooms of Lunar from the palace library to protect her. Just the idea of it all was overwhelming, though, he was not about to jump to any conclusions until there was solid evidence.

"It is a beautiful night, Eliezer. Pardon me for intruding on your time of rest."

At the sound of the familiar voice, Eliezer turned to face Mathazar as the latter strolled over and took a seat next to him on the other side of where he had placed his violin. "You know that you are always welcome to join me, even more so on this night, as I currently fail to put my mind at ease."

The younger gave his twin a look of concern. "What troubles you this time?"

This time, the elder found himself hesitating to share what was on his mind with his brother. For Eliezer, it was a strange position to be in. He trusted no one more than Mathazar, but out of respect for Allister, he could not reveal what had been said earlier between the both of them. The butler did not want anyone else to know, and Eliezer was certain that Mathazar would understand that he had to observe the confidentiality of another individual. Perhaps he should not have mentioned tonight that he was worried in the first place. Fortunately, a third person entered the garden with a message, saving him from having to say anything else. The red-headed maid made her way to the bench and curtsied to the princes before speaking.

"The king and queen have called for Prince Eliezer," she announced, turning to look directly at the crown prince. "This is regarding your visit to the Kingdom of Sorene, Your Highness."

"Of course. Thank you, Robynne," Eliezer acknowledged the maid with a nod, before turning to Mathazar. "Pardon me, brother."

The maid's gaze followed the older prince as he went around to the entrance, and she then spoke again when he was out of sight, this time to Mathazar, and in a hushed tone. "If I may, it is highly likely that your brother is concerned with issues regarding his lady, Your Highness. They have grown rather fond of each other, which is quite unfortunate for you, is it not?"

Seeing the curiosity accompanied by a hint of fear in the prince's eyes, she took a quick but cautious glance around and stepped closer to him. "I know who 'Lady Omrea' is to you. I have heard the conversations that you have had with her in private. You first thought her a mere hired killer, and then got to know of her noble bloodline. Well, I have reason to believe that she might be of much more value to you than you know. You see, just earlier, I heard the palace butler speaking with your brother about her history. I was amazed to find out that Allister is a relative of Lady Omrea. Imagine, with her as a hostage and Prince Eliezer gone, not only will you have the throne of Dainia, but also power over Lunar."

Mathazar was relieved to hear that she was not going to betray him with such knowledge, but instead wanted to aid him. However, he knew that nobody would offer to do it for nothing. The curious look on his face was replaced with one of suspicion as he stood and took a step nearer to her.

"You have not only kept this to yourself all this while, but you are now offering to help me. There must be something that you want from me," he pointed out, imitating her current hushed matter of speaking.

At his words, she gazed softly into his eyes. "Only you, my dear prince."

He scoffed in amusement, not believing what he had just heard. "Pardon me?"

"I have admired you from afar for far too long, Your Highness. I hope that you can feel the same about me one day," she continued, reaching up to touch his face.

He caught her wrist and smirked. "I see now that we both want the same - the Kingdom of Dainia. If we are to wed, it will be yours as much as mine."

"If it was all I wanted, I would have betrayed you instead," she responded. "The patrons of Gloomvale Tavern will willingly take jobs to sabotage the royal family. It is not safe for you to go back there, but an unknown palace maid will have no such issue. Perhaps your dear brother shall meet with a little 'accident' on his way to Sorene, and then I shall have a group snatch Lady Omrea up at a convenient time."

Mathazar nodded, proceeding to run his fingers through her hair. "Well then, I cannot refuse my love to a lady who wishes to give Dainia to me. Aid me as you have said, and my heart will be yours."