"Nate, any more running and this training will do me more harm than good." I panted. It was 6am. Freaking 6 AM! I want to sleep more instead of running for who knows how many laps already.
Nate slowed down a bit and was running backwards to face me. He wasn't even breaking a sweat. He simply gave me a teasing grin. "Rose, you do know that you only did 5 laps, right?"
"Only...five you say?" I glared at him despite how tired I was. "You're saying that as if running five laps is normal."
"It is."
"Admit it, Nate. You're just here to torture me."
"You should be thankful that I volunteered for you. Aside from Ren, who is currently busy with planning his twins' farewell party, there is PRINCE Ace you know. Or would you like for me to call him instead to train you?"
"Oh my! The weather is too great to sleep in. Nate, let us jog some more!" I suddenly felt motivated to run after picturing what kind of torturous training I would get if this bloodsucker decides to call the demon lord. Custard, who was running beside me, whimpered in protest.
In the end, we did 3 more rounds before Nate realized how tired I was. He accompanied me under one of the trees where a picnic blanket and basket was prepared. "Here, drink." He handed me a cup filled with water. I took it and drank it greedily. I coughed when the water went down the wrong pipe.
"And that is why you should drink in sips especially when you are tired." He gave me an amused look as he handed me a napkin. I didn't respond as I took the napkin and wiped my mouth. I watched as Nate took a bowl from the basket and filled it with water for Custard. Custard wasted no time as he greedily drank. "Just like your master." Nate chuckled and I was surprised to see him petting Custard affectionately. Custard stopped drinking his water and stared at Nate's hand. I could just picture the look of surprise on my face when Custard licked his hand affectionately.
"What kind of drug did you feed him? Fess up, Nate."
"How rude. I love animals. You see that my horse is always in a good condition. Even Cloud."
My gaze wandered to the castle. I sighed. "It doesn't seem real."
"What do you mean?"
"Dan. Leaving." I shifted from my sitting position. "I mean isn't it going too fast?"
"Well from what I have heard, it's long overdue. Plus they are mates. It's their tradition."
"It's kind of sad not having him around."
"Peace and quiet for me." Nate mumbled. I reached over and hit him. "I'm kidding! We still have the other twin, who's equally annoying."
I laughed. "Be honest, Nate. You still can't tell them apart."
"How can I even do that when they do their best to confuse everyone? Are we even sure that Dan is leaving and not Ren? Or is Daniel actually Ren? Or Ren is Dan, who is pretending to be Dan? Or-"
Before he could continue, I shoved a sandwich to his mouth. "Just stop talking before you also confuse me?" He nodded and started eating the sandwich.
I got up and dusted my pants. "I think I should go now since we're done with the morning training. I want to help with the party. It's the least I could do for Dan."
Nate nodded. "I'll go too, after cleaning up. See you there." He waved.
I smiled and gestured for Custard to follow as we both made our way to the castle. As soon as I entered my room, the maids hurried and helped me clean up. The bath felt really good as it washed away all of the fatigue and sweat from my body. Once I was done, I picked a light blue dress, perfect for a casual party. It was a sleeveless dress with it's strap made of soft ruffles. The dress doesn't have a corset, but it showed off my curves. For the shoes I wore some short heels since they would be covered with the dress anyway and the queen can't see them.
The maids helped by tying my hair up in a side ponytail with some side braids. Little flower ornaments decorated all around the braids.
"Oh no. No make up." I moved back when I saw one of the maids holding a powder cushion.
"Princess, I'll just put some on your nose since you tend to get oily on that part."
I gasped and covered my nose. "Way to point out my insecurity." I mumbled.
"And since you have no sleeve to rub your nose on, then your nose will remain shiny for the rest of the day."
My jaw dropped. "How and where have you been observing me!?"
"I would also recommend applying some tint and balm on your lips so you would avoid licking them at the sight of food."
"How are you-"
"We should also-"
"Okay fine!" I cut her off before the other maids hear what she has to say. Though I have no idea if the others knew about it or not, it makes me feel embarrassed. Maybe I should lay low for a while.
I let the maid do as she pleased but made sure that she didn't go crazy and start putting some heaving stuff on my face.
Once I was done, I headed to the ballroom where the farewell party for Dan will be held. It was a small party just for us, since we couldn't do a proper one because of the limited amount of time. The ballroom itself was beautifully decorated. There was a space in between and rows of long tables with pastel pink and white table cloths were lined. Pastel blue and purple cloths were hung from column to column adorned with flowers.
Custard saw the setup and yipped happily and ran around to check the room.
So much for a simple party.
I saw Ren standing by one of the tables set up. I headed over to him to see what he was looking at.
"Hey." I greeted him.
Ren suddenly stiffened up. He turned around and bumped the table and cursed. "H-hey! I didn't notice you were already here." He smiled.
"I thought I should come early and help you with the preparation, but I think you had it all figured out. Great job by the way." I nodded in approval at the tables full of colorful desserts, which all seemed to look like flowers with pastel colors. "If you don't mind me asking, does Dan or Liliana into pastel colors and......flowers?" I asked as I took note of the theme in the room.
Ren sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "About that. While I was preparing for a more simple layout, a certain PRINCE told me that it is too plain and he would help out."
I stared at Ren. Something about the way of him saying PRINCE gave me a hint of who it was, but that character of him helping out seemed too unreal. "Is it prince Fred?" I said hopefully.
Ren's face darkened for a second before he bit his lips. "No."
"Prince Nate?"
"He was out training with you."
"It can't be prince Dan. And PRINCE Ace is too prideful to help out."
"What are you doing here?"
I let out a loud and unattractive gasp when I heard his voice behind me. I turned around to see Ace glaring. "Why do you always do that!?"
"I have no time for a stupid plebian like you. Move." He moved past me and headed for the maids who were busy decorating.
"More flowers! Bring in every kind. Light colors are better. If I see anyone putting flowers with colors that don't match the theme, then I would feed it to you!" The maids trembled in fear as they continued to work. Ace kept on barking orders at them.
I leaned in to Ren and whispered. "Is it me or is he taking this a little serious?"
"It makes me wonder who Dan's actual brother is. I mean, he puts more effort into this than I do."
"Maybe he saw your hosting skills as lacking."
"Hey!"
"You two!" Ren and I flinched when Ace turned his attention to us. "If you guys are not going to help, then get lost. This place needs to be perfect!"
"We'll help!" Ren and I said at the same time. Even though Ace scared the hell out of me, I still want to take part in this for Dan. I don't want to send him off without doing anything after all.
A small movement by the north entrance caught my eye. It was Nate coming in. He stopped as soon as he saw that it was Ace who was in charge. Very carefully, he turned around and quietly made his move to leave. The coward!
"Hey, Nate. You're finally here to help!" I yelled and Ace immediately turned and spotted him. Nate flinched and glared at me. I grinned and waved at him.
"You. Hurry up and get in here. You and the mutt will be in charge of the cutleries. As for the stupid female over there, help the maids with flower arrangements."
I wanna argue and make a comment about him calling me stupid, but seeing as though he is in a foul mood right now, I think it won't be a good idea. Besides, this party is for Dan.
I was wrong. This party wasn't for Dan. And the reason why PRINCE Ace was helping out was for a very different reason that does not involve Dan."Hello, brother. Good to see-""Nora!"Ah there they are. It was the Feradin sibling. Eltur, the older sibling and the crown prince of Tordis, had his beautiful silver hair down. A golden jagged jewel decorated his left ear. For a crown prince, he was dressed in a plain white shirt with a leather vest and some black trousers. Darem, the second prince, wore the same clothing, but his golden brown hair was tied to a ponytail - showing off his pointed ears. Alongside them was Nora, the youngest sibling, who was dressed in a plain white dress. As always, she looked like a mini version of Ace but as a girl. Her hair was tied into pigtails and was decorated with lav
"I said higher!" Ace barked at me during our morning training. He's currently teaching me the basics of sword fighting. At first I was glad because it meant that my stamina is improving if they are willing to teach me something different.Now, I was dreading it.I wasn't sure if I was just a bad student or Ace was just venting out his frustration at me. You see, earlier this morning, his siblings had to go back, which means he has to part ways with Nora. This siscon wasn't happy to see his beloved sister go, and because he wasn't allowed to escort her since he has a duty to train me."Give her a break." Nate said gently as he stood beside Ace. Nate has no reason to stay here, but he actually stayed when he saw my worried look when I found out that Ace was teaching me about sword fighting. "Remember, sh
In a flash, Nate was by the rocks and dragged a small child hiding behind it. The child was wearing a white seaman pants adorned with sea shells and seaweeds for his belt. His hair was an ocean blue color and when he glanced at Nate, his green eyes sparked with fear.Nate, upon having a closer look at the boy, had his eyes widen in shock. "What is a sea folk like you doing here?""A sea folk?" I looked at Ren for answers."People of the sea." Ren answered curtly. "Sorry, they never show up in social gatherings and they aren't in any trades with the other kingdoms. Not much is known about them. Even seeing one is rare enough."Ace suddenly marched towards the boy, who was now cowering in fear. "Do you know something about the whereabouts of my sister?" Ace d
The Atla kingdom might be my most favorite place in this world. If it weren't for the fact that there's a virus named King Corona.The kingdom itself was underwater - obviously. Ace and I must have bickered longer than we thought because where we're standing right now is the seafloor. I looked up and saw the same huge magical barrier that separated us from the water. Tall coral reefs lined the place and were constantly being rained down with water. Large domes made out of sand and rocks lined with moss seem all have a large shell in front of them - are those their homes? One would assume that since we are deep in the sea that it would be dark but no. Multiple glowing jellyfish - enclosed in a circular bubble - are constantly swimming in the area and giving us more than enough light to see our surroundings.
Dinner came. Ace, Nora and I waited patiently for four hours. When the moment of truth came, I used the key to unlock the door. Once it was done, I looked outside to make sure that the coast was clear. When I was certain, I looked back at the Feradin siblings to confirm before breaking the key."Figures. You are an expert at escaping rooms afterall." Ace commented."I know!" I whispered and beamed proudly at them. “Thanks!”"That was not a compliment." He snapped.Stupid arrogant PRINCE!I let Ace lead the way this time as he has a more solid sense of direction compared to me. We headed to where I assume is the way to the East. I followed him silently and I have to say, I was really impressed that Ac
"The King is dead!" Someone yelled.The fighting seemed to stop. Or more like it was over. I looked around us to see that most of the men were down. Some were dried up and shivering as Custard ate what seemed like smoke. The more Custard ate, the more energized felt. Is their essence actually giving me back my used up magic?As I continued to wonder, I was suddenly engulfed in an embrace. "You're okay!" Ren cried. "I was so worried when Nora told us that you were facing a dangerous man and that Ace is hurt." As soon as the words left his mouth he paused from hugging me. "Wait, where is he?""It's PRINCE!" Ace grunted, still kicking the body of the dead king. With his good hand, he pointed the dagger at him. "You better keep that in mind if you want to live."
I suddenly woke up to find myself lying on a soft and comfy bed. I looked around and the familiar setting made me realize that we were still in Atla - I mean, if there are other kingdoms that use shells and seaweeds as decorations. I tried to get up but my body wouldn't move."What the-""Had enough rest?"I moved my head in order to look at PRINCE Ace, who was currently tied to a bed like a mad man. He was now wearing a shirt and I could see that his wounds were all healed up, but the bruises were still there. I looked at him and started laughing. "What the heck happened to you!?" I asked in between laughs.Ace narrowed his gaze at me. "Those worthless princes told me to stay put because I was injured!" He yelled and started struggling to fre
I was sitting on the lunch table and listened to their conversation. We didn’t have our early morning training today since I don’t have a wooden version of the sword that I am supposed to practice with. Also, I do not have enough magic/mana/power left to even practice my wolf voodoo.“It’s hard to believe that The kingdom of Alta, were involved in a trade with the Tereau.” The Queen, my aunt, said. “It makes me wonder how they were able to reach out to them. The kingdom of Atla never mingles with land dwellers like us.”“That’s hard to believe?” I said with a mouthful of meat. “You should see PRINCE Ace in a dress yesterday. It was very disturbing and fascinating at the same time.”