Calm After Storm

"Then I'll call the princess. She was worried about you." The woman says and leaves the room.

Well, apparently everything went well, I guess...

After a few seconds, I hear quick footsteps towards the room where I am.

The door opens abruptly, and Ryza enters the room.

"You woke up!!" She says as she runs towards me and throws herself at me, giving me a hug. "You're crazy, you know that?" She says whimpering.

"hehe, sorry."

Soon after, two people enter the room, a woman and a man.

The man has gray, slicked-back hair and a full brown beard. His jaw is square and even reminds him a little of Giga Chad...

His eyes are brown, round and almond-shaped. He doesn't look very old—maybe somewhere between 40 and 45 years old.

He wears a red cloak with some gold details. Underneath, he wears blue clothing with a belt running horizontally across his chest. He wears loose white pants and flip flpos on his foot...

The woman has brown hair tied in a bun. His face is thin, and his eyes are black. Her eyes are large and round, with stunning eyelashes. She is probably between 30 and 35 years old.

She wears a yellow tunic that extends to her feet, in addition to having wide sleeves.

"I think we have a duty to introduce ourselves." The man says. "I am Tirey Wanderberg, son of Agraton." Wanderberg? This is the king!?

I remember one time Ryza said her name in full: Ryza Wanderberg.

My hands start to sweat.

"And I am Sinphie Wanderberg, daughter of Rekko." The woman says.

That must be the queen!

By the way, why is the king wearing flip flops!?

"We came to thank you for saving my daughter's dog, I don't know what she would do if she had lost him." The king bows his head as a sign of thanks.

"No need to thank me, I just did what felt right…" I say with an eager smile.

I look at the door and see some maids snooping through the crack in the door.

"Anyway, to reward your act of courage, we will make a special feast for you and your family." Tirey says.

This is the most party-loving king I've ever seen. Certainty that tax money goes directly to celebrations...

"By the way, where is my brother?" Rapid footsteps are heard, until suddenly William enters the room.

He's wearing all-white pajamas, just like me.

" Arf... Arf" He breathes heavily. "Are you well!?" He asks getting closer.

"I'm better."

"I was worried when they said you were unconscious..." My brother says. "Damn, I wasn't strong enough..." He says with hurt.

"Don't worry, you did your best." I try to make him a little more relaxed.

Arriving in the room, Richard and Hera are the next to enter

"I'm glad you're awake!" Hera runs and hugs me. "You guys suddenly disappeared, so we went looking for you in the kingdom and, and, and..." Clearly, she was nervous before all this happened.

I rub her back to try to calm her down.

"When we arrived at the kingdom, we asked everyone where you were, until a guard informed us about what had happened." Richard says.

"How long have I been asleep?" I ask.

"Since yesterday. You looked very exhausted." Tirey comments.

"And most importantly, where is Foguinho??" I should ask this first!

When I say his name, the dog comes running into the room and climbs onto the bed.

"Will this fit?" Sinphie speaks.

Foguinho gets on the bed and starts licking my face uncontrollably.

"That tickles." I say as I try to deflect. "Another thing: what happened right after I passed out?" I question.

"The guards took you to the captain of the defense squad, and then she took you to the doctors and told us about what you had done." Sinphie says. "Ryza thought you were dead when she saw you passed out." She adds.

Ryza blushes a little and looks at the floor.

"Well, now I'm going to get back to my work." Says King Tirey as he leaves the room.

"I will help prepare the banquet." The queen says and left the room. "Ryza?" The queen looks at the princess as if calling her.

"I'll be right there." Ryza says angrily as she follows Sinphie.

Ryza told me that her mother teaches her how to cook and do homework, even though the maids already do those jobs.

"I confess that it was very cool for you to save the princess's puppy, but I want explanations of how this happened." Richard says with his arms crossed.

"Well, how can I say..." I scratch my head with a bitter smile.

After that, William and I told everything that had happened in the last year until we reached this moment.

We told why the princess ran away from home, how we met, where we were going, etc.

"Why didn't you guys ever say anything?" My mother asks in bewilderment.

"We think this could be dangerous for the princess's safety." I answer.

"I see. So you became friends with the princess..." Richard muses aloud. "You really have no limits, do you?" My father says with a smile on his face.

"Rest for now, we won't stay long in the king's castle, as much as I would like to stay a little longer..." Hera says.

They then leave the room, and I finally have some peace after all the confusion.