35 Eva of the Order

A woman's sleeping face. A scaled four legged body. A furred, coiling tail.

"Are you fascinated by the Order's emblem, Princess Eleftheria?" the woman, who introduced herself as Eleina, asked at the head of the waiting table. We were now inside a different room, well inside the Order's territory. My other two companions left earlier to announce my arrival to the leader of the organization. For whatever reasons, Farseer was held in a different room, so I was alone with the new acquaintance.

Just as implied by Eleina's question, I had been staring at the emblem at the wall beside me for probably a long time. I lowered my head in embarrassment. I muttered, "... It is quite an unusual figure."

Then, finding an opportunity, I looked back up at the woman and asked, "Do you know what the creature is called?"

Eleina looked towards the emblem, thinking thoughtfully. "I believe it was never meant to be a representation of any real being. I suppose it was an emblem designed long ago by the Order's first founders."

Hiding my disappointment, I nodded quietly.

Then, Regina and Janmira came into the room. Regina smiled as usual, but there was a heaviness in the air that hinted at the seriousness of her next words. "Princess Elly, your presence is being requested by High Monk Eva."

I stood up from my seat, wondering what this would all be about. I didn't even know anything about this "Order". Although I knew Farseer and Regina wouldn't bring me to a dangerous place, I also worried after not seeing my mentor at all since coming here. Not to mention, Eleina's creepiness when she immediately knew my identity at first glance was definitely unnerving as well. As much as I wanted to pull either of them to the side and ask them, "Where exactly am I?" and "Who are these people?", I also sensed it wasn't the right time. I was also pretty sure that if my mentor and the yellow-haired mage wanted to tell me about this "Order" beforehand, they already would have. Yet they didn't, so there must be a reason for having me come here so blind.

I sighed, and willed myself to bravely go through it all. As a princess, lost or not, I knew when I had to step up and act accordingly.

"Alright," I announced. "Please lead me towards the room."

Regina grabbed my shoulder reassuredly and led me forward. And so Regina and I travelled down the dark halls quietly, our gait slow and steady. I resisted the urge to ask my questions. Then, she broke the silence herself, "Aren't you going to ask anything, Princess?"

"Will you even be able to answer?" I asked back, my head facing forward.

I heard her soft laugh. "You are clever for your age, Princess Elly."

"I only deduced from some things. You and my mentor would never have brought me here without any knowledge unless you had no choice but to do so."

"Well... I can't say you're wrong," Regina said. "But, I can still give an advice here and there."

"Really?" I only asked, waiting for her answer.

"Tell the truth, and only the truth."

"... That's it?"

"Yes," she said, just as we had arrived at the front of large and heavyset bronze double doors. "But, it doesn't mean you cannot control which truths to tell."

Then, she grabbed my shoulders so I would face her. She told me, "And I believe you would know what is wise to tell and keep unknown."

I nodded slightly after a moment of pause. I was a bit shocked to realize that my hands were shaking slightly. For what reason, I wasn't sure.

"Well?" Regina asked as she straightened her back and motioned to start knocking on the door. "Whenever you're ready."

I breathed in deeply, wondering why I was so nervous about what should be a simple meeting. "I'm ready, Regina."

She knocked on the doors. It made a soft sound, quiet enough that I worried whether it would have been heard at all. Not too long after, however, a woman's deep voice resounded beyond the doors. "Come in."

~~

"Chocolate or tea?" the tiny woman asked.

Nervously, I replied automatically, "Tea."

Sipping at the delicate cup, I knew I head chosen wrongly. My past life's tongue would have loved the bitter and sour tea, but my childish self could barely take a single polite gulp. I probably showed my displeasure on my face, because the person in front of me laughed a bit.

"I apologize," she said in a weirdly deep voice. "I should have known my home-grown tea leaves would be unpalatable."

"Oh, no," I refuted hastily. "It has a distinct flavor that I am sure many a grown person would adore. It is just this body of mine..."

She tilted her head in curiosity. "Are you referring to the sweet tooth of a young human being?"

I laughed wearily. "Yes, I suppose I am. I do prefer sweeter things now. But, that is not to say that I would refuse whichever food is offered me. I would never be too picky about the graces I receive."

"Interesting," she mumbled. "You seem to be saying that you might like this tea if you were fully grown?"

"Well, yes," I answered flusteredly. "I believe I do like bitter teas."

"Hum hum..." She looked at me with her slit-like, violet eyes. "You seem so very sure about what you may like in the future."

I panicked, now registering what I had been saying. I remembered Regina's advice, so I knew I couldn't blatantly claim otherwise. However, I knew there were always varying directions a conversation could take, and I have learned a thing or two as a princess. When in doubt, or when feeling cornered, one should simply sit back elegantly and smile gracefully at the question.

So, I smiled and sat quietly.

"Well now, how rude of me," my interrogator said after an uncomfortable pause. "I haven't even introduced myself yet."

... Works like a charm.

"I am Eva, High Monk of the Order, and it might interest you to know that I have come from the Kingdom of Saule as well." She smiled her thin, red lips. Looking at her purple hair and tiny frame, she didn't look like most of the people of Saule, but it wasn't too weird of a claim.

"I am glad to meet a fellow countryman in the floating Isle of Malaya," I answered politely. "As you may have already heard, I am Eleftheria of House Saule, once the First Princess of the Kingdom of Saule."

"Oh, I doubt you have been abdicated. Even from high up above the ground, we have heard a couple of things from the various nations in the Aerim Continent, one of which is how the Kingdom's First Princess' power is still intact in the palace. Don't you know there hasn't even been any official announcement of your... absence?"

"What?" I asked in shock. In the past three months, my disappearance was the juiciest gossip for a long time. So, what is this monk saying?

"Well, if the palace hasn't made an official proclamation of your disappearance, your abdication to the throne would not be set in stone as well." Seeing my still confused face, she said plainly, "If the King hasn't deemed you gone, then you will still have a seat of power to return to. Your father, King Thrace, still believes you are alive."

That shook me to the core. I have always avoided hearing any news from the palace, because I knew I would feel bad upon seeing the announcement of my death or absence. But to think that this was actually happening... It seems like Prince Clement has indeed upheld his promise to secure my seat of power.

Although, I still doubt it would last forever. And it's not like I was planning to return anyway...

"What are you thinking about, Princess Eleftheria?" the High Monk Eva asked in her deep, sultry voice.

"Well..." I wondered if I couldn't even lie about my own thoughts. "I suppose I was thinking about how surprising the palace had acted towards my disappearance."

"Did you expect them to quickly claim you dead?" she asked with a straight face.

"Ah, well..." I muttered. "I suppose so. All this stalling simply seems like a waste of time, yes? The King should have moved efficiently and deemed me unable to fight for the throne. Two months, no, even a month of my absence should have been enough to confirm it. Having an indefinite chaotic structure to the political playing field will only attract trouble and much confusion in the long run."

And, silently, I thought, 'If second brother had a public role in keeping my position, then I worry about the attacks and complaints against him. In less than a year, the court would be more than a bit frustrated about the ambiguous role of the crown's third-in-line.'

I barely have enough time until I have to do something about this situation. I looked up at the High Monk... The Order seems to be quite knowledgeable about the happenings in the court. I wondered if they could somehow prove useful to me.

"Hum hum~" Eva bent forward, her tiny body barely making it halfway up the table. "You seem to be sporting quite an interesting expression, Princess! It almost looks like you are about to swindle me into your laps!"

I coughed in shock. "W-What do you mean by that, High Monk Eva? I never looked like that."

"Oh, don't bother hiding your thoughts from me. It won't work," she replied, getting up from her seat, or rather, hopping down onto the ground. "Don't you have questions about the Order? I can see it clearly from your beautiful, blue eyes. Go on then, ask away."

I watched as she walked in a happy gait, carrying a glass of iced chocolate in her small hands. On her backdrop was a board of pure glass, and written on the glass were runic symbols and complicated magic circles. She asked again after taking a slow sip at the brown liquid, "Well? I don't have all day."

I gasped a bit at her impatient tone, and hastily got up as well. I approached her warily, staring around the large, quite messy room. I doubted any organization with a leader who had a disorganized room like this would be so powerful, yet I sensed a great power from the tiny woman filling the room with her presence.

"The Order." I breathed in deeply. "What is it?"