Fenwick's voice grew more brazen as he slammed his shoulder against the door, his mocking laughter echoing through the narrow alley.
"Open up, Alden! Let's have a look at your gracious guest. Perhaps the king's reward will make me the master of this market!"
Alden stepped back, gripping his axe, his eyes burning with desperate anger. He was on the verge of opening the door—ready to face death to protect her secret—when a soft hand rested on his shoulder. A hand that had trembled in earlier moments… but now stood as steady as stone.
"Step aside, Alden," Rona whispered, her voice unfamiliar to him—firm, commanding, the voice of one who gives orders, not takes them. "Beasts do not fear axes… they fear whips."
Before Alden could respond, Rona stepped forward and flung the door open in one sudden motion. Fenwick stumbled back in shock, his laughter dying in his throat as he saw her emerge from the shadows.
Slowly, with quiet confidence, Rona raised her hand and removed her veil completely. The black cloth fell away, revealing her royal features—her eyes blazing with a stern fire Alden had never seen before.
"Look at me carefully, Abbas," she said, her voice calm yet sharp as a blade. "Do you know who I am?"
Fenwick froze in place. His stick slipped from his hand, his face turning ashen. His knees buckled involuntarily as he saw the Queen's ring gleaming upon her chest in the faint moonlight.
"The… the princess… Princess Rona?" he stammered in terror, attempting to step back, but his tongue failed him.
Rona stepped closer. His entire body trembled.
"One word," she said coldly, "one word about what you saw tonight—and it will be the last you ever speak. If you report me to the guards, I will tell my father that you were the one who kidnapped me… and tried to extort me for money. Who do you think the king will believe? His own daughter… or a greedy informant like you?"
Abbas collapsed to the ground, pleading desperately. "Mercy, my lady… mercy! I didn't know… I swear by the gods, I will not utter a single word!"
"Leave," Rona commanded firmly. "And if I ever see you near Alden's house again, or harassing his family… know that the gallows will be kinder to you than my wrath."
Fenwick scrambled to his feet and fled, tripping over himself as he disappeared into the darkness of the alley—as though he were running from death itself.
A heavy silence settled over the place.
Rona turned to Alden, who was staring at her as if seeing her for the first time.
"You revealed your secret… for me," Alden said quietly. "Now Fenwick holds a thread that could one day cost you your life."
Rona looked toward the distant palace, then back at Alden. A faint, sorrowful smile touched her lips.
"Sometimes," she said softly, "we must burn the bridges behind us… so we never return tلo our cages again."