Narrator: LOUVNA
I couldn't stay seated… I couldn't breathe knowing he was heading into danger.
That red flash in his eyes… that panic I saw on his face… it was enough to push me to follow.
I ran after him, my heart pounding like a mad drum.
Then I saw him — standing on the bridge, and another man in a monkey mask, armed, facing him.
"MOHITO??" I called, my voice full of fear and worry.
In an instant, I saw the gun move toward me.
Time slowed; the world stopped.
But before I knew what was happening, I was yanked fiercely into a warm embrace.
From over his shoulder, I watched the masked man step back toward the bridge's edge.
A bus thundered beneath us.
The masked man looked at us and whispered to MOHITO,
"We'll meet again, BROTHER"
With astonishing lightness, he leapt from the bridge and landed, with uncanny precision, on the bus roof; his black coat fluttered like a raven's wings.
He vanished into the distance, leaving a cloud of mystery and terror behind.
I remained in MOHITO's arms, hearing his rapid heartbeat.
His arms still protected me; his body trembled as if weathering a storm.
"Why… why did you follow me?" he whispered brokenly.
I could not speak.
All I could do was grip his shirt hard as though I feared he would disappear, too.
In his eyes, the red flash faded gradually and was replaced by something else — exhaustion, fear, regret.
A warm shock ran through me when I looked at his left arm — blood flowed from a deep wound; his shirt was slowly turning red.
He had been hit while protecting me!
"You're hurt!" I screamed, frantic, my hands trembling as I tried to press on the wound.
He looked at the injury with a cold detachment, as if watching a scene from afar.
"It's just a scratch," he said.
Then he stood as steady as if nothing had happened — his movements unnervingly normal, as if the wound belonged to someone else.
"Wait, we should call an ambulance!" I tried to grab his arm.
But Voices around us rose: "Look — there's blood!" "Call an ambulance!" "What happened here?"
MOHITO turned to me with a decision in his eyes that brooked no argument.
"We have to leave. Now."
I looked at the deep wound, then at his resolute face. "Okay… but where?"
He sighed, then said calmly, "To my house."
He tore a piece from his shirt and wrapped it expertly around the wound, as if he had done it often.
Then he began to walk with steady steps, as though nothing had happened.
He walked as if his soul were elsewhere, as if the bleeding body weren't his.
while I felt every drop of his blood as if it were mine.
I followed in absolute silence, unable to digest what had happened.
Inside me, conflicting feelings warred: fear for his injury, shock at his coldness, anxiety about the unknown destination.
We sat down in a back alley.
Suddenly, a black car screeched to a stop. I froze.
"Don't worry," MOHITO raised his hand, reassuring me. "He's an ally," he added calmly.
SOLIMON leapt from the car, his eyes widening at the sight of blood on MOHITO's arm.
"What happened?"
My confusion intensified.
MOHITO walked to the vehicle without help, as if nothing had happened.
"We need to head to headquarters."
SOLIMON looked at me, then at MOHITO. "Are you sure?"
MOHITO nodded. "I'll explain everything."
SOLIMON hesitated a moment, then said quietly,
"Alright, let's go."
I climbed into the back beside MOHITO.
SOLIMON looked through the mirror from the front seat and asked calmly,
"Who did this to you?"
MOHITO stared out the window, avoiding the answer.
I touched his bloodied hand. "How can you be so calm?"
He finally looked at me.
"Pain is only a sensation. Sensation can be controlled."
I just kept looking at him without understanding what was going on.
As the car slipped through narrow alleys, confusion grew.
Where were we heading? The area felt quiet and dark, far from the city's bustle.
Then, suddenly, the car turned onto a wide street and emerged between tall trees.
"What is this…?" I whispered, unable to believe my eyes.
SOLIMON stopped the car before a massive iron gate adorned with intricate ornaments.
I could not hide my amazement.
"This… your home?" My voice shook.
I stepped out of the car with a sense of dread
MOHITO approached me: "I should have explained this better."
I glanced between the opulent mansion and his blood-smeared arm.
"I don't understand… who are you really? University students don't live in palaces!"
They exchanged quick looks; MOHITO answered, "It's complicated"
I stepped back as if the ground had shifted.
Events flashed through my mind in a sped-up reel:
MOHITO's disappearances, his distant stares, the masked man on the bridge, BROTHER, the bullet that nearly hit me, the relentless blood…
I remembered ODEL's warning: "Some secrets are like fire; the closer you get, the more you burn."
Doubt rose inside me like a blaze… but—
MOHITO approached slowly and said quietly, "I promise I'll explain everything. Now, please, come in."
I looked at the giant gate like it opened to another world, then back into his eyes.
In them I saw a hidden plea — a request for trust at a moment when he needed someone to believe him.
Without realising it, I stepped forward.
My body moved before my mind could.
Some invisible force drew me toward the warmth I still felt in his arms, toward a safety I had only known there.
In that moment, I no longer feared secrets; I feared losing the chance to understand this mysterious boy who had become part of my world.
Inside, everyone had gathered in the grand reception hall, waiting anxiously.
The atmosphere was thick with expectation and questions.
When we entered, all eyes turned instantly.
I felt the weight of their gazes and instinctively moved behind MOHITO as if seeking shelter.
AYOUB — sitting on the sofa with his phone — dropped it in confusion.
"MOHITO! What happened?"
MIZIANI stepped forward; his experienced eyes examined the wound carefully.
"This is a serious injury. Who did this to you?"
A girl came from the kitchen holding a towel and a first-aid box.
"Here — let me see that wound."
"It's okay, SAMA, don't worry", MOHITO told her.
Another approached slowly, his sharp eyes never leaving MOHITO.
Then he turned his gaze toward me, studying me intently.
"Am SHOUTNA, Welcome to our mansion. Sorry, your first visit had to be under… difficult circumstances."
"I need to call MONA," I whispered to MOHITO, my voice nearly strangled.
MOHITO turned to another girl. "GHAZLANE, can you take her outside so she can make the call?"
GHAZLANE nodded and placed a gentle hand on my back. "Sure, follow me."
*******************
As GHAZLAN led LOUVNA out, everyone's attention returned to MOHITO.
He knew the decisive moment had come.
"Alright. Tell us what happened," SHOUTNA said, sitting opposite him on the couch, his posture all seriousness and concern.
MOHITO sighed deeply and began in a rough voice. "I think the Organisation is after LOUVNA."
Everyone turned to him in visible surprise.
ZARIOUH was the first to comment:
"What would the Organisation want with an ordinary civilian girl?"
MOHITO paused, hesitant.
He knew his next words would change everything.
"Unless she isn't an ordinary civilian," SHOUTNA said, fixing his penetrating gaze on MOHITO.
MOHITO answered with clear reluctance, as if he were afraid to uncover the truth himself.
"I believe LOUVNA is connected to our mission."
Faces froze and breaths held, waiting.
"LOUVNA is the Princess of SPIYA," the weight of the words pressing on everyone — and on him.
A voice cut the silence from the doorway.
"Yes — I am Princess of SPIYA, the legitimate heir to the throne."
LOUVNA stepped forward into the room with measured steps, amid the stunned crowd.
Her eyes shone with a strange defiance.
She turned to MOHITO and saw sorrow etched on his face.
"I was hiding inside the kingdom with the King's help.
It was the only way to keep me away from the internal conflict in SPIYA and to protect me."
LOUVNA sighed deeply and continued:
"I never wanted to deceive anyone or cause harm.
I truly wanted a normal life, away from all those heavy responsibilities."
Everyone looked at her with sudden sympathy.
In an instant, they all shared the same drama:
each had once dreamed of a normal life, yet fate had stripped that right away.
LOUVNA faced MOHITO, who stared at the floor as if unable to meet her gaze.
"Everything changed when my father's health began to fail, and my kingdom's messages increased.
I realised I had little time left.
Then the Peace Conference was scheduled, and I would have to attend as Princess and heir of SPIYA."
"So, as we suspected, there's a hidden hand in the palace plotting against you," SHOUTNA continued calmly and firmly.
"I truly don't know," LOUVNA replied, looking around.
"I have told you everything now.
So what is your role… who are you really?" LOUVNA directed that question straight at MOHITO, demanding an answer.
SHOUTNA rose slowly.
"We are a special operations team working for the kingdom."
"Special ops?" LOUVNA did not avert her gaze.
"Yes. It seems fate has woven our meeting from the start.
Our original mission was to protect you inside the kingdom," SHOUTNA added with a wry smile.
"You… you are the team that was meant to escort me to the conference?" LOUVNA asked, astonished, eyes darting among the faces.
Everything clicked into place
The coincidence was no coincidence.
Fate had been stitching their threads together from the beginning.
At that moment, LOUVNA's phone rang sharply.
MONA, rushing over, was on the line.
She entered, seeing all the familiar faces around LOUVNA, her stern eyes scanning the scene warily.
"Who is this?" MAYNO asked from the doorway, eyebrows raised.
"I'm MONA, the Princess's personal guard," she answered, raising her voice in formal introduction.
"You don't need so much ceremony here," OBASO cut in in his calm tone.
MONA turned, pale, to LOUVNA; her expression a mix of worry and anger
. "Do you realise how worried I've been? Didn't we agree you'd answer within every half hour?"
"I'm really sorry…" LOUVNA whispered, ashamed.
"Looks like our mission started early," SHOUTNA regained control in his usual calm voice. "MAYNO and I will meet the King and coordinate with intelligence.
For now, Her Highness will remain here in the mansion, especially after the Organisation's movement, to ensure her safety."
Everyone nodded as SHOUTNA left the living room for his office.
"Do we bow when we address her?" TAHARA whispered to AYOUB.
"Maybe", AYOUB answered
"Both of you, shut up!" ZAKI snapped, dragging them away.
In the background, SOLIMON stared at MOHITO, who seemed to be wrestling with himself.
********************
Narrator: MOHITO
I was heading to my room when a familiar voice called from behind.
"Do you want to talk for a bit?" SOLIMON's gaze hid many questions.
I turned and nodded.
We had known one another long enough to sense when someone needed to talk.
We stepped into the courtyard in heavy silence, the night pressing down like an extra burden.
"Who would've thought LOUVNA is a princess…" SOLIMON broke the silence with a weary exhale.
"Not me", I replied curtly, as he expected.
"Is your wound alright?" SOLIMON asked, eyes on the stars.
"Yes." But the thing that gnawed at me wasn't the injury — it was the whispers that hadn't stopped since the bridge.
The questions are circling my mind with no answers.
Who was that man? I felt as if…
SOLIMON's voice pulled me back. "What exactly happened at the bridge?"
"Yes, tell us," SHOUTNA said, joining with MESNAS and ADEL in silence.
I answered plainly — it was no longer just my problem.
"I think it was someone who knew me… someone tied to my past."
The three of them looked at me, waiting.
My voice dropped when I added, "Most of all… I felt like I was looking at myself.
His gaze, his speed, the aura around him — everything was like me."
They exchanged looks as if my words confirmed their old theories.
"So… what will you do now, MOHITO?" SHOUTNA asked, giving me the choice for the first time.
I paused.
I remembered the warmth of her body, her fear, the tremble of her small hands…
Yet her eyes held strong resolve.
Even in her weakness, she didn't back down.
Maybe that's why… why she has that radiant smile.
Every time I see it, I think of one thing: how beautiful she looks when she smiles.
"You can't protect her," the voice inside hissed.
But I whispered to myself, "I can't back down after seeing HERE eyes."
I lifted my head and met their gazes with clear defiance.
"I will not let anyone steal LOUVNA's future."
A deafening silence filled the courtyard.
Even the wind ceased its whispering.
SOLIMON opened his mouth, then closed it; his eyes wide.
MESNAS kept looking as if to ensure he had heard correctly.
SHOUTNA — I couldn't read his expression, but a rare astonishment flashed in his eyes.
Then broad smiles, proud as if their chests swelled at my decision.
This was the first time I'd declared a personal decision so plainly.
The first time I put human feelings above all other considerations.
For the first time, I confessed what I truly felt in front of them.
Yes — I wanted to see that smile again.
I didn't know what that feeling exactly was, but I knew what I had to do.
And through the long night, as seasons shifted beyond the walls, our hearts changed with hers.
************************
Behind the Scenes in SPIYA
Inside a luxury car sat two men in expensive suits.
Tension filled the air.
One of them trembled, clutching a glass of whiskey,
"You told me he'd finish the mission quickly! The Princess is still alive!"
The mysterious man sat calmly, smoking a cigar.
"Do not worry; everything runs according to plan. Just a few small obstacles delayed us."
The other man slammed his fist on the window.
"If the Princess appears at the Peace Conference, everything is over! I'll expose your plot! I will not fall alone; do you hear me?"
The mysterious man's glare made the prime minister tremble.
"Do not worry, Mr Prime Minister.
The man I assigned never errs."
He paused. "There are still things I must do."
A person wearing a fox mask opened the car door from the outside.
The prime minister looked at the mask in fear. "Damn!" and fled the vehicle hastily.
"Should I dispose of him?" the fox asked.
The mysterious man smiled wickedly. "Not yet. The pawn has not yet completed his role."
He extended his hand. "First, connect me to the Devil Monkey."
The fox handed over a communication device. "The Devil Monkey is on the line."
The mysterious man spoke into the device: "Commander of the Fifth Battalion speaking. Why the delay?"
The Devil Monkey's voice came through the device: "Minor complications. I'll finish the mission soon."
The Fifth Battalion commander, in a calm but threatening tone, "I will dispatch the Black Tiger and the Raging Dog. I want this mission done quickly."
"Understood."
The call cut off.
**********************
on BAYADNA
The Devil Monkey was sitting on the roof's edge, his mask beside him.
"Time is closing in, brother," he whispered to the wind.
He pulled a torn photograph from his coat and stared at it as if memories flowed back to him, whispering,
"Do you remember that day in the lab? The day we left different?"
He put the mask back on, his eyes burning with resolve.
The Devil Monkey:
"This time, I will not hesitate. This time, I will finish what we started."
He vanished into the dark, leaving promises of blood and vengeance.