12 Stanint I

A chilling breeze welcomed the royal party with open arms as they approached Stanint. Its towering stone walls were beautiful despite the obvious wind and weather erosion, and the farms along the outsides of the metropolis all appeared to be faring well. There were hardworking individuals tending to the fields with their clothes covered in dirt; as far as Calluna could tell all of these people looked to be healthy – which was a good sign.

"We are nearly there, Your Highness!" Vincenzo's voice called from outside the cabin, through the window. "Hang in there, I'm sure you're very hungry after two days of travel."

"Thank you, Captain."

Calluna was, in fact, starving. She hadn't ever gotten motion sick in her previous life, but she found out after twenty minutes in the horse-drawn carriage that this body wasn't so fortunate. Her stomach had churned and revolted the entire way there, making it difficult to keep down the meals Guinevere prepared for her as they traveled.

Her amber-brown eye stared coolly out the window at the changing scenery, the farms soon replaced by small dwellings and shops. After passing them on the cobble streets, they continued through the gates to inner Stanint.

It was exactly as she had read.

There was nothing particularly notable about the city itself, but the liveliness and pleasant bustle that radiated from its inhabitants made it a good place to visit. There were a handful of beggars on street corners and homeless people living in the alleys, but overall it seemed well.

The sun was lazing in the sky high above them, marking midday with its brilliant white rays. Since Calluna had denied any extended rest stops on the way to Stanint, they had arrived a day early. It was exactly as she had planned, because she wanted some time to relax and recuperate from the trip. The prince also wanted some time to wander the streets to explore and witness the city's goings on through her own lens. She had and always would be an advocate for hands-on learning and coming to understand people or situations through direct study.

She rested her head against the frame of the door and heaved a sigh. Her heart was pounding against her ribcage with great strength as they neared their place of stay. Calluna raised a slightly shaky hand to her neck and felt for her pulse, brow furrowed as she felt the sensation of her blood racing beneath her fingertips.

She felt anxious and didn't know what else to do for the last half hour of their ride, so the prince decided to try and talk to the horses again. It would, at the very least, be a good distraction.

'Momo? Mura? Can you hear me from here?' Calluna reached out with her mind, unsure if they could hear her.

「Yes?」It was Momo who responded.

'I know that I am likely not someone you want to talk to, but I was hoping you wouldn't mind telling me about yourselves?'

「What would you like to know?」

'Ah… well, how old are you? Have you always lived in the royal stables?'

「I am twelve, he is five. I was a gift for your tenth birthday from another country when I was two. Mura was bred and raised in the Royal Stables.」

'Oh- you were meant as a present for me?'

「Yes. You are the one who named me.」

'But… didn't Mura say that I ignored you? Why would I ignore my own horse?'

「You never paid me much mind from the beginning, but when you were eleven you lost interest in riding altogether. You've not spoken to me since.」

'I'm sorry… that's awful of me. Ah, then… What are your favorite snacks? Mura too.'

「Oats!」Mura replied enthusiastically.

「I enjoy apples.」Momo answered.

Calluna took note of their preferences for later. 'I'll make sure to bring oats and apples, and I will visit often once we get home.'

The rest of the ride went by in comfortable silence, nothing but the sound of wheels on cobble and the clicking of hooves against the road. The crown prince managed to nap for the last fifteen minutes.

"My Lord, it's time to wake up," Guinevere said, gently prodding Calluna's shoulder.

Calluna opened her eye and smiled at the auburn-haired woman before her. "Alright. Thank you."

She sat up straighter and yawned, releasing all that was left of the fatigue from their trip. She felt the slight inertia hit her as the carriage pulled to a stop outside of Baron Shen's estate. Calluna's stomach lurched and rolled, and a new wave of nausea washed over her whole body.

Guinevere stepped out of the cabin first, and Calluna came second. Vincenzo was waiting patiently out her door to give her a supporting elbow, with his unchanging smile and confident twinkle in his eyes. She took an unstable step out the door and took his arm, finally able to take in the estate.

It was a beautiful mansion with well-manicured lush grass and a running fountain outside in the center of its front yard. She took in a deep breath, wanting to absorb the fresh air as much as possible.

"I wish I could take a picture." Calluna muttered quietly.

Vincenzo glanced down at the prince and cocked a brow at her statement. "What?"

"Oh-" she coughed awkwardly, "It's just beautiful, that's all."

"I… see?"

An unfamiliar voice interrupted their broken conversation. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, you've arrived earlier than expected!"

Calluna inferred that he was Baron Shen based on his fancy green attire and the way he carried himself. He was in his early forties from the looks of it, but was clean-shaven and handsome. Wavy black hair with a few streaks of gray bounced downward in front of his eyes, and a pinched smile decorated his face.

"Greetings, Baron Shen," Calluna replied, walking over to him leisurely. "I hope you're doing well."

He bowed deeply before her in reverence. "Of course. I'm happy that you've arrived safely."

"Rise," she ordered. "I hope you excuse my forwardness, but I've had severe motion sickness the entire ride here and I desire nothing more than a filling meal."

With a curt nod, Baron Shen made a hand motion to the maids that had followed him out of the mansion. They immediately began to head inside to begin meal preparations. One of them, however, approached Calluna and bowed.

"Before we start cooking, Your Highness, we would like to know if you have any food preferences. The last time you graced us with a visit, you hardly ate any food at all and claimed none of it was to your tastes."

She nearly groaned out loud at the news. It was obnoxious having to deal with the repercussions of being a brat when it wasn't even she that had done it. "Ah, no. My tastes have matured since then, I apologize for my previous inconvenience. I promise I will be more than happy with anything you prepare."

The maid, though wide-eyed and seemingly confused, turned and left without another word.

"Will you show me to my quarters?" Calluna asked the Baron.

"Yes, I will do that. Come with me," he replied, holding out his hand.

She took it without hesitation and allowed him to lead. Vincenzo followed several steps behind and remained silent, but every time Calluna looked back at him, he winked.

Shen opened a tall doorway and motioned inside. "This will be your room for the next few days, Crown Prince."

"Thank you, Baron Shen. I will see you at supper?"

"Yes. Rest well until then. A maid will fetch you."

As soon as they were alone once again, Calluna grabbed Vincenzo by the arm and tugged him into her room. She closed the door behind them and found the nearest seat to throw herself down into.

"Woah, you don't have to be so aggressive about it. If you wanted to be alone you could just ask," Vincenzo said with a smug expression, stumbling into the room behind her.

"Shut up," Calluna whined. "I'm so tired! Also I'm so annoyed having to pick up after what this g- uh, the me with memories, did to all these people. How could one girl be so obnoxious?!"

"You're royalty, I don't think anyone expects anything else from you."

"Oh, yeah. I was a princess back then, though. Now I've claimed myself the crown prince and am actively pursuing the throne. It's going to be so difficult to change everyone's perceptions of me. I wasn't even nice to the horses, V. The horses!"

"What? How do you even know that?"

"They told me so themselves. Momo was a gift to me and I didn't even talk to her, can you believe that?"

"I'm sorry, the horses told you?"

"Oh-" Calluna stopped mid-vent. "Is that not something everyone knows?"

"Uh..?"

"I'm a nature empath or something. That's what Momo told me, anyway."

"Really? Those are so rare… I do wonder why you didn't tell anyone before your incident…" Vincenzo's green eyes looked down as he fell deeper into thought.

"Me too!"

Calluna heaved a sigh and continued her rant, Vincenzo listening to her with a relaxed and understanding expression the entire time.

'I can talk to animals I guess? I really have no idea how it works, and frankly I feel like I'm losing my mind. I know how funny that sounds; I have quite literally died and woke up in a new body in a different universe, but my ability to talk to animals is the thing that sends me reeling.

I don't know why that's the case, but whatever.

I'm so nervous about talking to the baron… but he's kind of handsome. I thought about flirting with him and then realized that I'm in the body of a nineteen year old and figured that would probably be bad.

Anyway, hopefully I don't screw everything up tomorrow.'

Next chapter