10 Crown Prince's Room (2)

Anna had a dexterous hand. She diligently cleaned the floor, changed the bedsheet, dusted the furniture, and then lastly, wiped the fragile vases and souvenirs that could break with one careless touch.

After she was done, she opened the window to wipe the pane.

Right when she was busy wiping the window, a raven suddenly perched on her shoulder. Anna was slightly surprised, but when she noticed the lustrous black-blue feathers of this raven, she knew that this was the same raven who helped her before.

"Oh, you are that raven who helped me before!" Anna said. The raven rubbed his head on Anna's cheek as if they were already a close friend. "Ahahaha, why are you here? Do you want to accompany me to clean the room? Well, I'm sorry, little friend, but I'm afraid you might make a mess inside the room. This is Crown Prince Ignis' room. If I break something, then I might risk my life."

The raven insisted perching on Anna's shoulder. Anna giggled, "Alright, as long as you don't fly anywhere when I'm cleaning, okay?"

Anna continued cleaning the room with a raven on her shoulder. The raven's head endlessly looked around the room as if he was guarding Anna over something. Anna giggled again. "Little friend, I feel like you are guarding me right now. Don't worry, there is only you and me here."

The raven clucked few times before his eyes were set on the portrait on the wall.

The portrait of three royal siblings.

Anna noticed the raven and followed his line of sight to the painting and commented, "You notice that too? From the left, that is Crown Prince Ignis, the late Princess Serena, and then… Prince Corvus…"

"Ah, little friend, you may not understand me, but I feel pity for Prince Corvus," Anna sighed. "Whenever I see his ripped out portrait, it reminds me about his terrible fate of being chained forever. I know that he killed his father and little sister, but it was because he could not control his overwhelming power, right?"

"But it's been ten years already. He must be very lonely in that tower and probably hates himself for his sin. Don't you think it's a bit unfair for him? Maybe this time, he is already in full control over his power."

"I just think that Prince Corvus deserves a second chance," Anna smiled while staring at the portrait. Meanwhile, the raven already stopped staring at the picture, but he stared at Anna instead. The raven rubbed his head on Anna's cheek again in response.

Anna smiled and walked towards the window. "Okay, little friend. I know that you want to accompany me more, but I need to close the window. You should go now. I will meet you again in the Swan Lake later, ahaha."

It took a while until the raven flew away and perched on the tree across the window, still watching over Anna.

Anna shrugged at this raven's behaviour. "Well, Raven is a very smart bird. Maybe that raven understands what I'm saying."

It was already evening when she finished cleaning.

Anna closed the window and checked the room that was sparkling clean. She sat on the bed to take a breather.

"Ah, another job well done!" Anna complimented herself after seeing the clean room. She sat for a while to rest but slowly getting sleepy, mostly because of the warmth emitted by the firestones on the chandelier.

The cosiness made her drowsy, and soon, she fell asleep on the bed.

***

Ignis was inside a carriage heading to his Kingdom. That was when he felt the stone in his pocket vibrated. It was the sign that someone had been inside his room in Lunar Palace for too long.

Ignis frowned. He already put a spell on the firestone as a device to watch over his room, in case someone dared to set a trap to kill the Crown Prince of Lunaris.

"What rat dares to enter my room?" Ignis said as he rubbed the stone to see the image of a maid cleaning his room with a raven perched on her shoulder.

Ignis frowned when he saw the raven, but then he shook his head. "No, there is no way that bastard could turn into a perfect raven like that. He killed Father and Serena when he wanted to show off and forced himself to shapeshift… but he turned into a monster instead of a raven. There is no way he can do it."

The maid cleaned the room, and after a while, she stood in front of the royal siblings' portrait and commented, 'Ah, little friend, you may not understand me, but I feel pity for Prince Corvus.'

Ignis, who heard such remark from the mouth of that maid, gnashed his teeth in anger. "You stupid maid! How dare you say something like that!"

The maid then continued with, 'I just think that Prince Corvus deserves a second chance.'

"He doesn't! He deserves to die and rot in hell for his sin!" Ignis yelled inside the carriage.

The maid let the raven go and then closed the window. She sat on his bed for a while before sleeping peacefully on his bed. Even went as far as hugging the pillow. For Ignis, it was a provocation and humiliation at the same time because he swore that he would never let any woman sleep on his bed unless it was his wife.

"AND SHE DARES TO SLEEP IN MY BED!" Ignis clenched the firestone until it shattered. He was breathing heavily, trying to control himself.

He finally calmed down after a while. He scoffed as his gaze darkened. "What an insolent maid, I will find you, and I will make you realize how impudent you are."

His royal carriage passed through the woods. He should arrive on time for the banquet tomorrow morning.