'Mom, Dad... Prince Lucier? Why on earth are you all gathered here together this morning, has something serious happened?' Isla inquired, seamlessly projecting a flawless mask of sweet, innocent curiosity as she elegantly stepped into the grand hall.
'Something has indeed happened, my beautiful daughter,' the Queen replied with a beaming, heavily expectant smile.
'Since your private excursion with Lucier was unfortunately cut short by that tragic little carriage accident yesterday, it has been officially decided that the two of you are going out together again today.'
'But Mom, I honestly do not feel like going out today at all,' Isla immediately protested, her heart sinking with a heavy, sickening wave of dread at the mere thought of enduring his insufferable company for a second time.
'What exactly do you mean you do not feel like it?' the King sharply interrupted, his voice booming through the silent hall with strict, uncompromising royal authority.
'This is not a simple, polite request, Isla; it is a direct royal decree, and the King's absolute orders must be obeyed without a single question.
There are no "buts" and absolutely no arguments to be made here; you are going on this excursion with the prince, and that is absolutely final.'
Seeing her slightly crestfallen expression, his stern, authoritarian face suddenly softened into a proud, indulgent parental smile.
'However, because you are our beloved daughter, and we know perfectly well how incredibly much you absolutely despise wasting your precious time on idle, boring walks, we have decided to send you and Prince Lucier on a grand, thrilling royal hunting trip deep within the forest.'
Isla's entire demeanor instantly shifted, her brilliant sapphire eyes lighting up with a genuine, dangerously sharp excitement that completely masked her dark, venomous intentions.
'Wow... truly, Dad?! It has been such an incredibly long time since I have been allowed to go out into the woods and actually hunt; we are going to have so much absolute fun today! Thank you so incredibly much, Dad!' she exclaimed, clapping her delicate hands together in a flawless display of eager, childlike joy.
Internally, however, a deeply wicked, terrifyingly predatory smirk violently slashed across her racing mind as she subtly glanced toward the heavily perfumed, overly confident prince standing nearby.
''Well, at least this thrilling hunt will finally keep me somewhat entertained, because otherwise, spending another agonizingly slow, suffocating day with this arrogant, utterly useless bastard would be unimaginably boring,'' she calculated with cold, ruthless precision.
''And wait just one second... I am going to personally ensure that our precious Prince Lucier has so much unforgettable, terrifying "fun" out there in that dark, isolated jungle today, that he will absolutely never dare to even think about marrying me, let alone ever muster the pathetic courage to go anywhere near me ever again!''
As the two of them ventured deep into the dense, hauntingly quiet shadows of the ancient jungle, Isla's sharp eyes suddenly locked onto a massive, incredibly terrifying wild beast lurking menacingly within the thick, overgrown underbrush.
'This is the absolute perfect opportunity,' she thought to herself, a dark, wickedly vindictive smirk ghosting across her lips as she carefully began to plot her next move.
'I will simply use a tiny fraction of my dark serpent magic to entirely hypnotize this feral creature, forcefully bending its violent will to make it ruthlessly chase Prince Lucier all the way back to the palace gates.'
However, just as she closed her eyes and began to expertly channel her dark, hypnotic energy, her booted foot suddenly slipped on a treacherous, hidden patch of wet moss.
The sudden, violent jolt instantly broke her intense magical concentration, causing her ancient spell to disastrously and wildly backfire; instead of turning its predatory gaze toward the oblivious prince, the monstrous beast let out a deafening, blood-curdling roar and charged aggressively straight toward Isla.
She crashed heavily onto the unforgiving, root-tangled forest floor, a blinding, excruciating wave of pain shooting directly up her leg as she severely sprained her fragile ankle, effectively leaving her completely immobilized in the dirt.
She violently gritted her teeth, desperately struggling to push herself up from the damp ground as the terrifying, heavy footsteps of the beast rapidly closed the distance between them, but amidst the sheer, suffocating panic, a sudden, brilliantly calculating thought violently flashed through her mind.
'Wait just one second... I should absolutely use this unexpected, life-threatening disaster to properly and finally test his true character,' she realized, her sharp blue eyes darting toward the deeply shocked prince standing a few yards away.
'Let us see if all his sweet words were true and he has genuinely transformed into a brave, selfless man willing to risk his own life to protect his future bride, or if he is still the exact same pathetic, fiercely selfish coward who will instantly turn his back and run away to save his own miserable skin.'
Exactly as Isla had coldly calculated in her mind, the horrifying reality of the situation entirely proved her right; instead of drawing his weapon to valiantly defend his future bride, Prince Lucier instantly stumbled backward, his face entirely pale with sheer terror as he pathetically retreated into the safety of the dense trees just to save his own miserable life.
Before she could even desperately attempt to summon her own dark magic or crawl away to safety, the massive, bloodthirsty beast lunged terrifyingly close, its foul, hot breath violently washing over her pale face as she forcefully squeezed her eyes shut in sheer, paralyzing terror.
However, instead of the agonizing, fatal strike she had braced herself for, the dense, suffocating shadows of the jungle were abruptly and violently pierced by an incredibly blinding, magnificent burst of brilliant light.
'Wait... could this actually be him again?' she thought weakly, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs as she desperately attempted to peer through the blinding, magnificent glare.
There, slicing effortlessly through the dark, terrifying atmosphere, was a magnificent, heavily glowing sword intricately engraved with the menacing, ancient emblem of a coiled serpent.
The radiant, magical light violently emitting from the divine blade was so unbelievably intense and overwhelmingly bright that it became entirely agonizing for her to even keep her eyes open for more than a fraction of a second.
The sheer, overwhelming exhaustion of her magical backfire, coupled with the excruciating, throbbing pain violently shooting up from her twisted ankle, finally took their heavy toll on her delicate body.
The vibrant edges of her vision began to rapidly blur, aggressively fading into absolute blackness as the terrifying world around her violently spun and she started to lose consciousness.
However, in that final, breathless fraction of a second right before she completely fainted onto the damp forest floor, her fading, tear-filled gaze locked onto the towering, masked savior standing fiercely before her; peering intensely through the heavy, dark fabric of his mask, she saw a pair of incredibly sharp, deeply familiar eyes that she would absolutely recognize anywhere in the entire world.