Princess

With another day passed and the young mistress still absent, Sae had nothing to do but go back to Coveford village. However, just as yesterday, he wasn't alone. The woman who looked identical to the young mistress was given the nickname "princess", due to her spoiled yet royal attitude.

Sae wasn't even allowed to ride Sae over to Coveford village since she wanted to walk and talk with him the entire time.

"Sayrid, can I call you Sae?"

"Mm."

"SAE! SAE! SAE! You're not very bright, are you? You know, it's our first date together...you really should, at least, show me your smile."

Sae didn't say anything. He only rolled his eyes while his patience was slowly deteriorating. The walk seemed to have lasted forever, the path never-ending. The walls of trees on either side seemed to be coming closer, the tree tops curving in to crush Sae and put him out of his misery.

"Hey Sae...do you like the young mistress?" she asked, a little hesitant. But when her words reached Sae's ears, he stopped walking. The princess stepped a few steps ahead, not realizing that Sae had suddenly stopped a second ago.

When she turned around, her eyes were wide and her hands instantly fidgeted with her skirt. Sae's eyes were horrifying. As if the devil himself had possessed Sae's body, the raging fires of hell invaded Sae's irises.

"S-Sae?" she asked, scared for her life. Her mind was telling her to disappear and report to the young mistress, but her body didn't even allow her to do such a simple thing as turn to mist and save herself.

"...turn around..." Sae spoke in a low voice. HE sounded as if he was suppressing the unexpectedly raging anger within him.

Without any second thoughts, she turned around immediately and held her hands to her chest while trying to breathe steadily, thinking of the young mistress. In her head, she was counting as a way to try to calm down. She could hear her pounding heartbeat and panting. She couldn't fathom why she was acting like a damsel in distress seeing Sae like this. Was it because of how mortified she felt yesterday? Was that really it?

For some reason, she turned around but she saw the man she recognized. Sae had his hands in his pockets and he had his usual uninterested expression on his handsome face. She slowly stepped closer to him. But as she did this, her heartbeat started to quicken...

"Are...are you alright?" she asked, shyly. She avoided eye contact by staring at the ground. Sae clicked his tongue, offending her and instantly gaining her full attention. She started blushing intensely, trying to avert her gaze but Sae forced her to look at him in the eyes.

"Ah, has the little princess's ego diminished? Hmm, what a shame. After yesterday, I was looking forward to another little adventure with you." Sae sighed before taking off again. The princes however, was absolutely dumbfounded. She watched Sae walk ahead with burning determination in her eyes. Determination...to get her revenge on him for scaring her like that.

...

"Hah..." she huffed, crossing her arms and her eyes sealed shut. The entire day, she failed to get revenge on Sae. Funny thing is, Sae didn't even do anything. It was HER that failed because of her weak little heart blocking her from being too close to Sae, by whom she was now intimidated of.

In the young mistress's room, she laid on the bed with an arm covering her eyes. She had said her farewells to Sae back at the crystal lake, and no longer wished to see him. She missed her mistress whom she saw more as an older, wiser sister. She missed her warm gloved hand caressing her cheek, and her swift voice comforting her.

"Surely, she won't mind if I tag along...right?"

She jumped up from the bed, closing her eyes and in the next moment, white mist engulfed her and soon the room was empty.

...

"Young mistress, you were free to go yesterday. May I ask what you are still doing here?" Levi stepped into the tent, where the young mistress quietly sat at a round table. She set down a tray with a teapot and cups. The young mistress, without a word of warning, took off her mask and placed it in her lap. Levi just stared at her with a blank expression.

"Miss Clyde, do you mind if I drop all formalities...and have a casual conversation with you?" her voice was soft but carried the sorrow of a woman trapped in her own mind.

Levi nodded before sitting down and giving the young mistress and herself a cup of tea.

"For a reason I cannot understand, I don't remember if I have already asked you this...but why did you choose Country X?"

Levi scoffed, putting down her cup. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms, "Country X is a dead country with a mysterious, forgotten past. A past that I couldn't care less for. I'm here to build an empire, more importantly, a future. If you ask me, Country X is the perfect place."

Levi took another sip of her tea, her emerald eyes staring into the young mistress's.

"Levienne, some things are best left untouched. Sure, this is a dead country, but that does not mean it should be-"

Levi threw her teacup at the floor, the sounds interrupting the young mistress.

"You make it so obvious, that it's rather disappointing. You may have some sort of connection or emotional bullshit related to this country, but you haven't made Country X yours. You fail to boldly express what is yours, and that is why everything you have will soon be taken away from you."

The young mistress thought of everything in her possession. Not only the people in her life, but also her life itself could be stripped away from her and all of her secrets could be exposed. She got so carried away with thinking of what might happen that she didn't even feel the presence of a lonely princess standing behind Levi...tears streaming down her face.