Roche went to bed stiff and sore from the match with Harold. She'd watched him for days now, but he'd been picture perfect. Nothing had given him away apart from his small lapse in control during the fight today.

As Verita had requested, Roche had kept herself scarce, researching possible enchantments that could turn a man's mind against him, against his loved ones, or just against everyone in general. It was useless. All of those enchantments seemed to require a physical object of some sort to continue the enchantment, but Roche saw nothing of the sort during her skirmish with the head knight.

No, she'd felt the inkblood enchantment cast upon his very skin. There was no mind control enchantment like that. She'd flipped through the book Verita had given her before going to bed, but sleep had dragged her away before she could find anything meaningful.

She was awoken not much later by a ghostly scream that thrummed through her blood.

"WAKE!"

"You've got to be kidding me." Roche grumbled into her pillow. Her heart was racing, like she'd woken straight from a nightmare. After a few moments, she was ready to dismiss her inkblood as a phony and go back to bed when she was flattened back against her bed by waves of inkblood washing over her.

Roche nearly vomited right there. She rolled out of her bed and stumbled to her feet. The inkblood felt wrong, just like Sir Harold had. Her vision blurred as she staggered out of the library. It was exploding outwards from a source. She had to find out what it was.

The halls of the castle were too dark and quiet. It would be impossible to see if not for the thin beams of moonlight streaming through the windows. Roche pressed against the walls, tucking herself into the shadows. The rumble of boots echoed down the endless corridor, and a squadron of patrolling guards turned into the hallway.

Roche chewed her lip, pressing deeper into the shadows. It was lucky they were going the other way. She was a fool for even getting up to investigate, it was impossible for an inkblood to get past all the patrols.

Still, she could feel the press of Sir Harold's inkblood burning brighter and brighter by the minute. She could feel he was close. She closed her eyes, trying to pinpoint exactly where the nauseating sensation was coming from. It was further than the infirmary, but not as far as the beach. It was close to there though, just overlooking the pale sand.

Roche's eyes popped open as she realised just whose chambers overlooked the crashing waves.

"Tigris!" Roche gasped, breaking into a sprint. Her own inkblood pulsed in confirmation.

The race over to the princess' chambers felt endless. Her mind was a blur. She skidded to a stop at the end of the hallway. There, she could see a shadowy figure looming over two crumpled guards. His hands were on the door.

Roche had her hand extended, a word bubbling in her mind before she could stop herself.

Aukret!

Inkblood spewed from her hand like a geyser, hurtling straight for the man crouched in front of the princess' chambers.

The cloaked assailant went flying. His body smacked against the wall opposite to the princess' doors. Somewhere down the hall, a patrol of guards shouted in alarm at the crash.

The assailant climbed to his feet dazedly, turning to glare at her. Unmistakable green eyes glinted resentfully at her in the dark, promising malice. Roche turned and fled as she heard the patrol turn the bend, relief blooming in her chest.

Hopefully, the patrols would arrest Harold without too much of a fuss.

-------

"So he just... disappeared?" the king asked, staring at the unconscious knights who'd been guarding his daughter. The patrol leader nodded solemnly.

"Raced down the hall and just... vanished. None of the guards saw any trace of him."

Roche had been summoned to attend Tigris. The princess now stood in the fading moonlight, a robe thrown over a hastily laced gown. She frowned at the two unconscious guards. Leinos knelt next to them, his wrinkled, pale fingers administering vials of tonics to rouse the knights.

"They are showing signs of being enchanted into sleep." Leinos added, his knees cracking as he rose. His eyes were grim as he stared at Tigris, "The enchantment is powerful. If they hadn't been found so quickly, they wouldn't be able to wake up again."

The king's lips pressed into a bloodless line. "How did this inkblood get past all the guards?"

"Perhaps they didn't." Finn murmured quietly. All eyes turned to him. The prince was pale, his eyes heavily shadowed with fatigue. At his side, Kai met Roche's eyes with concern. Finn had improved significantly since being imprisoned and had returned to his old antics. But right now he looked positively dreadful.

Finn's forehead wrinkled, his forest green eyes narrowing. "The border patrol reported no anomalies. Neither did the knights stationed at the gates. The trail for this assassin begins and ends in the castle."

"What are you suggesting?" Aodh's voice was groggy. His blue eyes looked positively ghoulish in the moonlight. "You think-"

"That it was someone from within the castle?" Finn finished tiredly, his eyes darting back to the downed guards, "Yes."

"So you think there is a traitor amongst us." the king mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "That's not out of the question."

"But all of the nobles were accounted for throughout the night." Tigris argued. For someone who had survived a near death, Tigris didn't look all too bothered. If anything, she looked irritated. Her pale cheeks flushed red. "The knights haven't reported anything unusual."

"Perhaps it was a knight, then." the king mused.

Tigris' face reddened. "I trust these men with my life. None of them would do such a thing!" she protested hotly. The king waved off her concerns, much to his advisors' delight.

"Still. Conduct interviews with the knights who were on patrol. Check their alibis, ensure everyone is accounted for. Aodh, Finn, while Tigris is doing that, I'd like you to organise patrols to be sent into the lower towns to scout for inkblood. That is usually where inkblood spawns."

Kai's cheeks darkened. Roche knew that he, and many other servants, lived in the lower towns. Finn's cheeks also bloomed a furious red.

"That seems a bit unnecessary, my lord." Finn protested tightly, shifting closer to Kai in silent support. "There is no evidence to suggest that the assailant is from the lower town. Besides, this falls in line with what the prophecy predicted."

The king rolled his ice blue eyes. "Not this nonsense again." the king groaned, "You can't believe that inane scrap of paper to have any value."

"It's proven itself true, hasn't it?" Finn challenged, oblivious to the nervous looks Aodh and Tigris were exchanging. "We faced the Council of Seven and now there is a traitor amongst us."

"That has not been proven true." the king replied coolly, pinning his son in place with a menacing stare. "Watch your tongue, boy, or you'll spend another night in the dungeons for spreading such falsities. It is unbecoming of a prince."

Finn's eyes smouldered. Roche's heart jumped in her chest. For a moment, she expected a fight of epic proportions that ended with Finn thrown in the dungeons. But then Tigris stepped between them.

"I think it's late. Finn's just worried about me, father. You know how Finn can get when he's worried." Tigris interjected smoothly. Aodh nodded, subtly blocking Finn from view with his burly frame.

"Finn and I will send out the patrol in the morning."

"Excellent," the king relaxed, ignoring how Finn's hands curled into small fists, "Find an inkblood to be strung on the pyre. Hopefully a burning will discourage anyone from trying this again."

A thrill of fear ran through Roche.

"Is it wise to antagonise potential inkbloods, my lord?" Verita asked cautiously, her wiry frame tense. The king nodded.

"We cannot allow such acts to go unpunished. Inkblood cannot flow in this city again." he murmured. Before Verita could protest further, he clapped his hands in dismissal. "Tigris, pick a few of your most trusted knights to be added to your personal guard until this is done."

Tigris bowed her head. "Of course, my lord."

The king's eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "Dismissed!" he ordered, turning to walk back to his chambers.

Tigris leaned over to the patrols. "Summon Sir Harold and Sir Caed to my chambers. They'll be guarding me for the rest of the night.

Roche's heart dropped to her stomach.

A/N: I guess we figured out what's wrong with Harold...

What did you think of this chapter? As always, happy reading!