While Dunha's mother was outside, Dunha was currently being changed by the maids.
"I wouldn't mind if you let me change by myself..." Dunha muttered.
"No, it is our job to change you, princess," said one of the maids as she was picking out a coat that would look good on Dunha.
Dunha was patiently sitting on a chair while another maid was brushing her long straight hair. Suddenly, something appeared in front of her face.
[Your "Actor" skill has leveled up!]
"Huh?" (Dunha)
"Hm? Is something the matter, princess?" the maid asked.
"Do you see those floating words up there?" Dunha asked as she pointed upwards.
The maid looked up and shook her head.
"No? There is nothing up there, princess," the maid answered.
When Dunha looked up, the floating words were gone.
"Uh... Nevermind..." said Dunha.
Although the maid was confused, she shrugged it off and continued to brush Dunha's hair.
"Princess, shall I tie your hair?" the maid asked.
"No, I'm okay," said Dunha.
"Are you sure? We have many pretty ribbons here~" said the maid.
"Nope, I'm still okay~!" Dunha answered back.
After a minute of bickering, Dunha won while the maid accepted defeat. Her hair was finished, now she only needed to wear a coat.
The other maid picked out a small light pink fur coat. Although Dunha did not particularly like the color, she couldn't resist the maid's eyes of excitement as she picked it out for her. Ultimately, Dunha lost round 2 and ended up choosing the pink coat. She was also given a pair of gloves and boots.
After Dunha was ready to go out, her mother entered the room.
"Mama!" Dunha shouted as she ran towards her mother to hug her.
"Is my little sweetheart ready to go?" Dunha's mother asked.
Dunha nodded her head up and down several times.
"Shouldn't her highness change as well?" one of the maids asked.
"I'm alright. The clothes that I'm wearing are cold resistance." Dunha's mother answered.
"Understood, your highness," said the maid.
They silently bowed their heads and left the room.
"Let's go~! Before the guards arrive," said Dunha's mother.
As they walked out of the dressing room, Dunha was still trying to figure out what she saw.
"I definitely saw the words, "Your "Actor" skill has leveled up!" floating in front of me... What was that all about?" she wondered.
Dunha decided to shrug it off with an "It's probably nothing" and left with her mother.
As soon as Dunha and her mother exited the castle, Dunha was in awe at the beautiful sight of the morning.
"Wow..." she thought.
Some of the gardeners noticed the queen's presence and bowed their heads while the queen raised her hand to tell them to carry on with their work.
"It's quite pretty, isn't it? According to your papa, this garden has been around long before the kingdom was founded by "King Gregory Star The Fearless" 140 years ago," said Dunha's mother.
Dunha sighed after remembering how such an ancient garden was destroyed in a single night during the war in her previous life.
"This garden was where I spent a good chunk of my childhood with my friends... I hope I can see them soon..." Dunha thought.
Dunha was being filled with nostalgia as she continued to head deeper into the garden with her mother. She then paused in front of a bush filled with blue flowers which surprised her mother.
"Oh my! They're already blooming? That's quite odd... They usually start to bloom during the beginning of spring," said Dunha's mother.
"I was surprised myself, your Highness," said one of the gardeners.
"Aye, this is my first time seeing them bloom during the first month. It's truly eye-catching!" another gardener added.
While everyone was talking about how amazed they were about the blue flowers, Dunha was very silent.
🔸🔸🔸
When Dunha saw the blue flowers, she paused and stared at them for a full minute before her mind went blank. When her mind came back, everything in front of her changed from a quiet garden to a garden engulfed in flames. The sounds of birds chirping was replaced with the sounds of human voices.
"Damn it! They breached the third gates!" someone shouted.
"They're setting the memorial on fire! Stop them!"
More and more voices filled the burning garden as dark silhouettes appeared in front of Dunha.
"Death to the queen! Burn the tyrants!"
"Hahaha! Serve them Northern bastards right! Burn! Burn! Burn!"
"Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn!"
The silhouettes continued to chant the word "Burn!" over and over as they raised their weapons with menacing smiles.
The voices and the silhouettes then started to slowly fade away from Dunha's vision and ear.
"Dunha...?"
Dunha began to hear someone calling for her name.
"Dunha!" a female voice shouted.
When she heard her full name, Dunha managed to snap back into reality.
"H-Huh?" said Dunha in a confused tone.
"Dunha, are you okay? You're shivering and sweating..." said Dunha's mother as she grabbed Dunha's shoulders.
"Uh... Y-Yes... I'm okay, mama..." said Dunha.
However, her mother was not convinced when she saw her daughter's face turn pale.
"I think that's enough walking for today. Let's head back to the castle. I'm sure that breakfast will be ready soon," said Dunha's mother.
"Ok, mama..." said Dunha as she meekly nodded.
As she began to walk towards her mother, her legs suddenly gave up and almost caused her to fall.
Luckily, her mother managed to catch her.
"Gotcha! Mama will carry you from here~" said Dunha's mother.
Although she wanted to refuse and walk on her own, she saw her mother's eyes filled with eagerness so she ended up just letting her carry her.
Suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach for an unknown reason.
"What is this feeling? I think I felt this before... Hold on..." Dunha thought.
Dunha remembered what this feeling meant and caused her to look around the open area. Although her body reverted into that of a child, her sharp senses were still with her.
She then barely managed to notice an arrow flying towards her mother.
"ARROW!" Dunha shouted in a desperate attempt to warn her mother.
Much to Dunha's surprise, her mother casually grabbed the speeding arrow just before it could hit the side of her head. She then glared at a tree and notice someone on top of a branch.
"GUARDS!" Dunha's mother shouted.
Dunha's mother carried Dunha in one arm while placing her free arm into her dress's hidden pocket to pull out a small pistol. She then fired it into the air.
BOOM!
The bullet exploded in midair and released a bright red smoke.
Most of the gardeners panicked and took cover behind the trees and bushes to avoid the flying arrows. Only one of them stood tall as he coldly stared at Dunha and her mother. The gardener placed his right hand into one of the larger bushes and pulled out a short sword. He then charged towards Dunha's mother, who was busy avoiding arrows while holding onto Dunha. She noticed the man charging at her and attempted to reach under her long skirt for something.
Before the man could reach the queen, a javelin flew past her and directly hit the assassin's chest.
"Urg!" the assassin grunted before falling to the floor dead.
The javelin was thrown by one of the castle guards who arrived at the garden after seeing the red smoke. Around 30 guards came rushing towards the garden with their swords, shields, and javelins in their hands.
"Protect her Highness and the princess!" one of the guards shouted.
"I see the archers over there!" a guard shouted while pointing at a large tree.
An assassin attempted to release another arrow towards the queen but was unable to as several more guards arrived and stood in front of her with their shields up.
"Damn it! We failed!" one of the masked assassins shouted.
"Let's retreat!" another masked assassin shouted as he jumped off the tree.
One of the assassins threw a smoke bomb before running away by climbing over the walls. Some of the guards were briefly blinded by the smoke while the rest of the guards avoided the bomb and continued to chase after the assassins by climbing over the walls as well.
The peaceful morning came to an end.
[Your "Danger Detection" Skill has leveled up!]
(To Be Continued)
2020/02/23