Princess Fiora (1)

"Princess—" 

"Please, call me by my name!" 

Fiora interjected, not wanting Aria to address her with formality. 

"... Umm, sister Fiora..." Aria replied hesitantly. 

"Um… that's more like it!" Fiora said with a smile.

"Have you ever talked to my brother before? When he was a kid, I always saw him go to the palace with my father all the time," Aria asked with curiosity.

"… He was my first friend…" Fiora muttered softly. 

"Friend!?" Chloe and Aria exclaimed simultaneously, surprised.

She then began to tell them about her first meeting with Winston. They first met when they were both 7 years old. At that time, her second brother, Prince Lucien, was 14. Her father had invited Richard, Winston's father, to teach Lucien swordsmanship at the palace. Richard wanted Winston to train and duel with Lucien, even though Winston had only recently turned 7. Fiora would always sneak out to watch her second brother train, and that's when she spotted a strange boy training with him. The boy looked furious and fierce, and she was immediately scared of him. He was very aggressive when he dueled with her brother. Despite being younger, his strength was on par with Lucien's.

Fiora felt embarrassed watching him read books that were too complicated for her. Irritated and determined, she finally mustered the courage to approach him and ask a question.

"... Why... are you reading this kind of book?" She asked nervously. Winston glanced up at her, quickly stood, and greeted her politely.

"Good afternoon, Princess Fiora. My name is Winston Harrington." Winston greeted her, bowing respectfully with a smile. Fiora was scared at first, but she noticed that he seemed different when he was reading. He appeared to be just a normal boy who genuinely enjoyed his books. 

"Lord Winston?!" Fiora muttered, stunned by Winston's smile. 

"Is something wrong, Your Highness?" He asked, leaning forward toward her with concern. 

"Heh... I'm fine," Fiora replied, her face reddening as she distanced herself. 

"Ah... Your Highness was asking about my book, right? It's a history of inventions," Winston said with a smile, showing her the cover of his book. 

"... Inventions? Why would you read that?" She asked, looking at the cover curiously.

Winston explained that his sister loved this kind of subject, so he wanted to read all sorts of things to teach her and talk with her when he got home. When Fiora heard this, she felt a bit jealous of how close Winston was with his sibling. In contrast, she was always left alone inside the palace because she was the youngest.

"Do you want to read together, your highness ?" Winston asked her casually. 

"... Me ? Read with you ?" She replied, confused.

"My apologies for my rudeness, Your Highness. As a noble from the Harrington family, I apologize for this unrightful invitation," Winston quickly apologized, kneeling and reflecting on the invitation he had made. Even as a noble, he knew that he didn't have the right to invite royalty so casually.

"Ah... don't apologies ! .... Would you like to be my first friend?" Fiora asked shyly, gesturing for Winston to get up. 

"... Friend?" Winston was confused.

 "... Yes." 

"It would be an honor to be your friend, Your Highness," Winston replied calmly, bowing his head with respect.