18 Daughter of the Emperor

I pause midstep before turning my body around. The girl I thought as a bunny stood before me with a kind smile. Her dark curly hair framing her heart shaped face and sapphire colored eyes judging me. She seems to like what she is seeing since she looks ready to pounce on top of me.

"Greetings to the emperor's daughter," I say without sugarcoating her identity. I clasp my hand against my fist and slightly bow. There is a certain type of greeting that is used among the nobility and royal family.

The girl wrinkles her nose at the formalities before taking my hands into her own. "You don't have to be so formal. I'm Liliana Evangeline Strom. You are the first to recognize me." She smiles brightly. She shines so bright that it is almost blinding. I can't help but flinch. She does not notice since she continued talking.

"You were so strong that your battle ended in minutes. What kind of techniques did you learn from? I think you were from the Duke family? or was it Baron?"

My thoughts: .....she talks too much.

Suddenly she hits her head lightly. "Oops. Mother and father always did say I talk too much for a royal. I didn't even let you introduce yourself." I thought I would have to shut her up- permanently- just to not hear her speak anymore. At least she's conscious about her *ahem* talking abilities.

I clear my throat and fix my expression up. "My name is Freya Aiz Winchester, daughter to the duke and duchess of Nova Lunes. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She blinks at me a couple of times as I stare at her strangely. She startles me with a clap of her hands. I'm starting to think the daughter of the emperor and empress is a bit crazy. "Wow! My parents mentioned that their close friends have a daughter similar in age to me." Her eyes were twinkling with excitement. Before she can chew my ears off again, a stern voice says, "Your ladyship." A man dressed as a butler approaches us with a plate full of finger foods in hand.

"Ah, Wren." Liliana fidgets with her hands, a light blush on her face. It seems she realized that she was overreacting again.

"Here are some of the snacks you asked for. Your parents wish to see you briefly before you go back on stage," Wren reports. He seems to be used to working with this hyperactive princess.

"Alright." She turns toward me with blushing cheeks. "I apologize for my excitement, Freya. I was just so excited to finally meet people around my age." She motions to her butler. "Please have some snacks. I have to leave but I hope to talk with you again." She rushes off before I can reply to her. The butler besides me sigh.

"Here you go." Wren hands me some food. "I hope you and the princess will become good friends." He then follows after Liliana, leaving me to myself.

"I did not think the princess of the realm is such an excitable child," Galen comments as he walks up to me with my brothers. Behind them, my parents followed. They were holding a basket.

"Freya," mother says while checking my body for visible injuries. Despite finishing the battle quickly and efficiently, mother still checks my body carefully. I wonder if all mothers were like that, considering I did not have a mother in my past life.

"Astrid, I believe our daughter is fine. Let us just enjoy the food before she has to go." Mother finally stops and takes the basket from father. "I need to make sure Freya is alright. She is the only daughter of our family." She is hinting something to father, causing him to pale.

"Of course.." He laughs awkwardly. My brothers don't pay attention to our parents' interaction. I decide not to care either. My brothers and I clean up the area and reach for a sandwich. Galen was already taking a bite. "This is great." He was talking with his mouth full. He can act like a child sometimes too.

Kaon talks excitedly about the competition, reminding me of the bunny named Liliana. I chuckle at the thought.

"What's so funny, Freya?" Mother asks.

"The emperor and empress' daughter is an interesting character. She reminds me of Kaon." Kaon looks like he did not know whether to laugh or cry. He decides to stay quiet.

"I heard rumors that she is known to be an ice queen actually," Galen interjects. He continues to munch on his sandwich. He has a thoughtful look on his face. "She seems more fun than what the rumors make her out to be."

Mother agrees. I can tell she wanted to defend Liliana since she knew the empress, but no one needs to know how close mother and the empress really are. Instead she says to me, "She is a lovely girl. I hope you become close friends." It is similar to what the butler told me.

Father has been quiet on the sidelines. I notice him glancing at me time to time. "Is something the matter?" I decide to approach him first.

He smiles warmly and pats his hand to the space beside him. I sit next to him.

"I was wondering about your martial arts. I never questioned you before but I can't help be curious about where you learned those moves. I don't believe I have taught you enough martial arts yet."

I have been waiting for this question and had long ago decided what to say. "I learned from one of the books from the library. It had pictures that I could follow easily with careful notes. I did not know how effective it was until I kept practicing every night."

Father contemplates my answer. "Even with all the notes, there are always risk. I'm surprised you don't have any marks on your body." Father was not one to be easily tricked so I made up a character. "One of the guards that came to train with the others saw me practice. He noticed how hardworking I was and offered to help. Also, he is a spirit user so he healed me so I don't have marks on my body."

"Who is he? Where is he now?" I prepared an answer for that as well.

"He comes from the south I think. I never got his name. The last time I talked with him, he said he was going to continue his adventure. I did not pry too much."

Father's expression shows that he does not completely believe my story but he decides to let it go. He reached some kind of conclusion.

He was not able to share his thoughts because the announcer called for the remaining contestants. "We will now start the second rounds."

"Come on Freya!" Aerik holds out his hand. "Let's go before you miss the next rounds." My family and Galen agrees. They urge me to leave the cleaning to them and wished me luck.

I take Aerik's hand. He used his wind element to boost our speed. I made it when the number machine shoot out two numbers. "Number 13 and 29." I feel my brother clench my hand tightly.

"It seems fate has plans for us," a sinister voice hiss from behind Aerik and I. "And I will savor every moment you scream."