Was that really necessary? Iria frowned in secret. She was never a fan of parties and all as she spent all her time in the military. And now, they even wanted her to say something?!

"There's nothing much to say, Uncle Feric. You already know how everything happened." Arin finally spoke up. Turning his head to Iria, he said, "After many decades, we finally found peace and we plan to make it work. Am I right, Iria?"

Iria was glad that Arin spoke up on their behalf but... his question made her flustered. When did she ever say that she planned to make it work?

She could feel how all eyes were on her and she knew better than to say something negative. If she did that, the alliance will be questioned before they were fully prepared. However, she not only felt the gaze of the other guests on her as Prince Orius was also watching her from afar. This made her uncomfortable.

After a long silence, she finally nodded in agreement. "Yes. That's our purpose."

"I'm glad to hear that." King Feric Amias promptly said with a smile. "You have my blessing and I hope that you will achieve what you wanted, peace."

"Thank you, Uncle Feric," Arin responded and turned to Iria with a subtle smile. Iria only nodded once and looked at the front. She truly hoped for this banquet to end soon.

Iria's wish was granted as the banquet was soon over and after a few casual chat, everyone retreated to their chambers. It was only then that she realized she still has to be in the same chamber as Crown Prince Arin. She truly wished to be alone and clear her mind but... did she has any choice?

"You are very quiet at the party. Is something going on?" Arin asked her the moment they entered the chamber. He had long noticed the change in her behaviour but he waited and only asked her now.

"Nothing much. It's an unfamiliar place and I'm really not a fan of gatherings." She muttered, stating some facts and hiding the truth.

Arin knew that it wasn't just during the party. She was not herself since the afternoon and she's mostly quiet. However, he decided to not pursue further. "I understand. It's late now. Have some rest."

Iria nodded and walked towards the bed. However, Arin was still staring at her thinking how unpredictable she was. Why was she so secretive? He truly wished to know the real nature which she covered all the time.

Will that day comes? Will she be able to trust him enough to let that happen?

*

The guests from other kingdoms started leaving Zoris at dawn. By the time noon arrived, Arin and Iria were the only guests who remained in the royal palace.

As per King Regan's instruction, the couple were planning to stay for two more days and return to Qalagon on the third day.

After spending half a day with King Feric, Arin walked out of the palace door and saw Iria and Crown Princess Zena sitting and chatting on a pavilion. Crown Prince Vance Amias was also sitting on the fence of the pavilion, turning his head to the two ladies.

Arin slightly smiled at the sight and joined them.

"Seems like my father loves to spend time with you rather than being with me." Vance Amias said to him, faking a displeased face.

"It seems like it." Arin simply said which made the Zoris Crown Prince's eyes widened.

"You're no fun." Vance Amias blurted out, making the two Crown Princesses chuckled.

"I only have two more days here, Vance. You should just bear with it." Arin put his hand on his friend's shoulder, slightly shaking his head and this made Vance scowled.

"I won't joke around with you anymore." He bluntly said. When he looked at Arin, an idea crossed his mind and his face quickly brightened up again. "How about having some sort of competition?" He asked.

"Sword?"

Vance Amias shook his head. "I have no energy for that." He chuckled and asked, "How about arrows?"

Arin simply nodded. "I'm okay with anything."

With an excited face, Vance quickly turned to Iria. "You are also in, right?"

Iria didn't understand what Vance meant and Arin was pretty much the same. "What do you mean?" He asked his friend.

"You will know later," Vance said with confidence. "Let's go to the training ground."

With that said, Crown Princess Zena stood up and braced Iria's arm with hers. Then the two couples head to the training ground right away.

The training ground was vast just like the one in Qalagon. On a long table, many kinds of weapons were arranged. Several guards were on duty and a few servants were also there to attend to the royal family.

Far away were the targets for the arrows and Crown Prince Vance walked to the soldiers and instructed them to prepare something while Arin was looking at the bows. Iria and Zena took a seat on the side.

"The first one will just be the two of us but for the second round, our wives will have to join us. Don't worry. We will do it in teams." Vance explained to Arin when he came back to join him.

Arin nodded and glanced at what Vance prepared. He quietly stared at it for a while, observing it. Then his lips curved into a smile. "Are you confident? What if you ended up hurting the horse again?"

Vance Amias frowned first and it was followed by a sigh. "That's many years ago, Arin. I'm better than that now." He bluntly said.

"That's great," Arin remarked and turned back to look at what Vance prepared.

A horse was standing there and a soldier will ride it. However, the soldier will carry a shield that will cover his whole body and he won't be able to see the archer yet he was to be alert the whole time. Arin and Vance's task was to aim at the middle of the shield while being blindfolded. They will have to rely on their sense and they both had five arrows.

"Would you like to go first?" Vance asked Arin, eyeing at the bows and arrows.

Arin quickly picked up one of the bows. "Anything is fine for me." He said and picked up an arrow. With Crown Prince Vance's order, a servant blindfolded him with a piece of black cloth.

When Arin was all set, Vance took a few steps back, giving him some space. Then he ordered the soldier to ride the horse around in the ground while Arin stretched the string of the bow and only focused on the sound he heard.....