At an 18-year-old hunting competition Stella Culver, impersonating Zach at her mother's command, encounters Prince Hudson as attackers ambush the group. Soldiers chase Hudson's horse toward Yara; during the melee Yara falls and is crippled and General Holt is hit by an arrow amid accusations he abandoned his post. Troops call for reinforcements while a guard says, "I'll protect His Highness." Hudson's childhood head injury left him simple-minded and exposed. Reborn and finally able to appear in public, Stella decides to save Hudson and rides into the tightening search as attackers close, leaving his fate unresolved.