𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 | 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

06 | A Noblewoman's Escape

D-14

THE SUN WAS high above, casting sun-kissed rays upon her visage as she stared pointedly at the sea of blue above her head. Plucking a freshly bloomed edelweiss flower from the moistened soil, [Name] thought this to be an idyllic moment, her glittering green eyes admiring the unnatural plant fitted snugly in her palm, twirling the stems.

"Edelweiss," She whispers, her voice quiet. "Beautiful name."

[Name] pushed her braided golden hair back, carefully setting the flower behind her ears. Voices of passing servants echo in her ears, their admiration for her elysian presence evident in their gaping faces, which only made her want to laugh. She was the crème de la crème of the Kalorian Empire, a blooming flower of perfection emerging from the darkest of shadows to make herself known and loved in this wretched place of an Empire.

She was kind, graceful, elegant — the epitome of purity; a princess blessed by the Gods and favored by them. And they knew that. She was all young women aspired to be, even if they were decades older than she was. [Name] used such to her advantage, her influence a big factor to gain allies powerful and strong.

As she admired the numerous bushes of flowers that surround her view, a man dressed in a deep obsidian robe appeared before her in a cloud of wispy smoke. His dark, black hair is swept over his shoulder, intricately braided with silver strings that glimmered under the sunlight.

[Name] knew this man—or boy—all too well, his mischievous smile plastered nearly permanently on his face as he stared with anticipating red eyes, twinkling with an urge to stir trouble- again. His acts of mischief has long burdened the princess with the responsibility of cleaning his messes, the weight of his whims and caprices doing naught to better her woes, the strength of his magical capabilities enough to make her docile; a puppet folding to his every command.

"What must you need this time, Hakan?" She asks, wearily sinking further into her seat.

"I need to shit. Badly."

+++

A silence stretches between [Name] and Hakan, an underlying sense of irritation palpable in the atmosphere of cold quietude. The first princess nearly shatters her cup, exhaling a sigh of exhaustion as she gently massages the flesh of her temples, feeling the pounding headache that grows swiftly with every breath.

"You know where the restroom lies."

"But I'm scared. Can't you go with and hold my hand?"

"Oh, how wholesome. Do you want me to wipe your ass clean, too?"

Hakan's response is cut short by his own hesitance, registering the princess's words in the gears of his fuzzy mind. Hakan was a cheeky magician who more than often butted heads with [Name] rather than perform his duties as the highest ranked magician in the Black Tower, regarded as the "Princess's Playmate" to the palace.

He tugs at the cream white, rough-spun fabric of his dress shirt that peeks from his dark robes, the warmth of the Rothian sun dawning upon him as sweat gathers at his brow, his obscured body bearing a sheen of sweat. Hakan swiftly uses his mana to cool him down, along with the princess before she throws an unwanted fit at the sun, and realizes that the sweat isn't due to the sun.

He really needed to shit.

"Isn't that inappropriate to say for a princess?" He ponders, smugly raising his brow.