Making Both Ends Meet

"Welp, we're finally here. The huge thing inside these inner walls of the city, is the symbol of Narashel's power and stability throughout history--the royal palace."

The next morning I brought Aoi with me to see the palace in person, at least just outside its protective walls. Standing in front of the huge gate, the two of us marveled at the scenery inside the huge complex.

"...But big brother, is it really wise for us to be here? You're not planning to storm in right at this moment, am I right?" Aoi asked.

"What we're doing is just an ocular inspection of the palace. I'm not as reckless as what you think," I rebuffed her words.

Though to be honest, despite it being more of a long shot, I'm actually hoping that I would be able to see Miss Lerish even from here. Even for just a moment, I want to see if she's okay.

"Hey you two, what are you doing here?!"

A guard suddenly came and yelled at us, his hand placed on the sheath of his sword.

"You two, did you not know this place is off-limits? C-Could it be...you're planning to trespass, you--"

"Ah, how can we do that?!" I waved my hand at him. "We're just tourists, you know? We were so fascinated by the beauty of the palace that we didn't realized that we're already standing by the gate!"

"...Yes, yes! The palace is beautiful!" Aoi nodded her head vigorously.

Clicking his tongue, the guard said, "I'm sorry, but you should leave now immediately. If not, I have no choice but to..."

The moment he's about to unsheath his sword--

"Is there trouble going on here?"

A strange young man came from nowhere behind us. For some reason he's wearing all black, as if he just went to a funeral before going here. Not only that, but his clothes looks somewhat outdated for his mien; he looks about 2 or 3 years older than me.

"M-Mister?!" the guard froze in shock upon seeing him.

The man glanced at us and asked the guard, "Who are these people?"

"T-Those brats, they went here despite the palace being off-limits! I-I'm doubtful of their intentions, Mister!"

"Like I said, we're just tourists!" I yelled at him.

"Oh, tourists!" The young man exclaimed. "Come on, you shouldn't treat these people so harshly. This country's tourism industry depends on them."

He then looked at me, and asked, "Do you want to see the palace even closer?"

"E-Eh?"

"B-But Mister, you can't do that?!" the guard roared in disagreement.

Hearing his words, the young man's amber eyes instantly turned dagger sharp.

"What do you mean by 'can't'? Are you trying to go against me?!"

"M-Mister..." the guard, now visibly trembling, gulped his saliva then said, "I-I...I will let them in now!"

"Fuh...thank you," the young man spoke happily.

Despite the warmth of his words, the coldness of his eyes prevailed.

"You two, follow me," the young man said to us.

"Uhh...is it really alright? We're not actually planning to..."

"Oh, it's fine. Don't hold back and just come in."

Since this opportunity arose by itself, Aoi and I--after a quick deliberation--decided to follow him inside the palace gates.

-----

With a leisurely gait, we were led by the young man in black to a pavilion just outside the palace. On the way, we feasted our eyes at the countless fountains and plant sculptures artfully placed around the area.

"Pardon the inconvenience just now. Actually, tourists like the two of you are very close to my heart. Whenever I see locals not giving tourists the warm treatment they deserve I feel very, very upset," he said as he invited us for tea.

"Even though it's too much, my sister and I would like to thank you for letting us here inside the palace complex," I replied.

"Hwe-he-he...you're welcome."

As he sipped his tea, I stared deep into his eyes. The glaze of his amber eyes are a conundrum: they give off a cold impression to an outside observer, yet at the same time they seem to flash fire. Their vividness also contrasted the color of his ashen hair and adding more points into his 'Mysterious White Haired Guy' index, which my nutcase of a childhood friend frequently use as a standard when looking for hot 2D guys.

This guy isn't just an ordinary someone, no doubt, and it seems that he's not afraid to show it to everyone.

Noticing that we haven't moved our cups for a while now, he spoke: "Hmm? Why are you just staying still like that? Don't hold back--tea is more delicious if there are more people to enjoy it."

"Y-Yeah. You're right..."

I looked at Aoi for a moment and she silently nodded her head at me. Telling myself that I won't get poisoned or anything, I raised my cup from the table, and sipped a small amount of tea. I instantly felt a strange sense of warmth coming forth from my body, as if my whole body's being bathed in it. It's also a bit bitter, but it's surprisingly pleasant to the tongue.

"You two are very fortunate, you know? Only a few people get to experience having this kind of tea," the young man said.

As he enjoyed his own serving of tea, he raised his one foot and placed it on the table. This guy, does he have any manners?

"...Not worth bragging over," Aoi muttered under her breath.

"Say what?"

"Ah, she said she liked it," I quickly covered Aoi's mouth.

Aoi, just be quiet, okay?

Putting his foot down, he continued. "That being said, despite not being a noble just like you, I can freely drink as much of this classy tea as I want. Do you know how I'm able to do that?"

We shook our heads in response.

With an air of pride in him, he leaned forward to me and said, "It's because I'm about to be married to a member of the royalty."

The way he said those words in front of me, it wasn't just a mere answer to his own question. It's a declaration that the princess solely belongs to him, and a warning for those who dare taking her away from him.

It's uncertain if he already knew our intentions for coming here, but there's a high possibility that's the case. All of this farce, is but a formality at this point.

"Oh, I almost forgot," he suddenly stood up from his seat and exclaimed, "I have some important things to attend to for a while. Mind if I leave you here alone? I'll tell the guards to let you stay here for a little longer."

"No need to do that. We're about to leave anyway," I replied.

"I see. Thank you very much for joining me here, then."

He smiled, then walked a few steps towards my seat. As he stopped right beside me, he whispered:

'I would prefer it if you give up on the princess right here and now.'

"..."

Even though I remained silent, I didn't feel any fear or intimidation because of his warning. Rather, I can't help but to smirk, because for the first time in my life someone has threatened me that way--something I didn't get from that boar guy or even Myriel.

"What's your name, Mister?"

"Ren. Ren Mortel."

"Well then, see you again...Ren Mortel."

Without saying his name he bowed his head and started leaving, walking and hopping in frolic spirit about the garden.

Witnessing everything from the side, Aoi angrily commented: "...Why did you let him speak to you like that, big brother?! Are you fine being underestimated by others?"

"It's alright, Aoi. I'm fine," I smiled as I gently stroked her head.

In fact, I'm all fired up. I'm not a competitive person, but after seeing who the lucky guy is personally, it gave me more reasons to take her away from him.

Miss Lerish, please wait for me.

-----

Waking up from what seems to be a forced slumber, Lerish found herself in a place that is familiar to her.

"Am I...inside my room?"

Indeed, she's in her bedroom. A large and spacious place rightfully designed to accommodate a person of her status, this room served as her own sanctuary; right now, she thought of it not different from a prison cell.

"How long it has been since I lost consciousness? Uuu, my head hurts..."

She slightly eased her head up, then immediately placed her hand on her nape. 'Despite his technique being painless,' she said to herself, 'I still felt a great pain in my heart, as if it's being crushed and cut into bits.'

She felt very hurt and possibly, betrayed. The one who helped her escape from behind the scenes--His Majesty the King himself--still sought out to retrieve her in the end. If he doesn't actually want to let her escape, he shouldn't have helped her in the first place.

What was he thinking all this time?

"No, Father won't harm me. I believe he's only being coerced by someone, and that certain someone is..."

She heard the key turning in her door. A small spasm of panic rose from her chest, causing her to get up from the bed in panic.

"Who's there?" She demanded. Her heartbeat raced so fast she felt like it'll burst. Desperately trying to defend herself, she grabbed her pillow and asked once more: "Who's there?"

The door slowly opened. All the fibers of her body tensed at the same time, her hands gripping tight on her pillow. The door went ajar, then a young man appeared and stood at the doorway, looking at her with a confident smile.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just checking on Your Highness' condition. I'm relieved to see you awake now," the young man replied.

"I don't need your concern. Go away."

The young man chuckled and said, "Now, now princess, being so angry is no good. I don't want to see your face get sullied from frowning too much."

He took a step towards her. Lerish yelled "Don't come near me!", but he didn't heed her pleadings. One more step closer, and another, and another--until he stopped right in front of her.

"Your beautiful face, especially your eyes...makes me want you to be mine even more."

Lerish grimaced in disgust to his words. No matter how handsome this man in front of her might be, his whole being is totally undesirable for her, giving her no reason to fully accept his offer in marriage, not even letting him into her life.

She had hated him the moment his eyes first laid on her. Those feelings never changed even after a year has passed.

Trying to remain composed after seeing her reaction, the young man said: "By the way, Your Highness...I saw a young man just a while ago in the garden just a while ago, along with his sister."

"Young...man?" Lerish slightly raised her head, intrigued and confused as to why did he brought it up just now.

"Yeah. What's his name again? Ron, Ten...hmmm...ah, Ren!"

"R-Ren?!"

Lerish's emerald eyes widened when the young man mentioned his name. 'What's going on? Why did they try to go here?', she asked to herself. She felt great worry for Ren, since she's certain that there won't be next time if he gets caught.

However...

Underneath her visage that shows suffering and desperation, she felt elation coming from deep within her. Ren--and all the people who treated her like one of their own--are trying to save her from the young man.

Noticing the abrupt change of her expression, the young man's smile faded and all of a sudden, grasped Lerish by the neck.

"N-No...please..."

"You're happy, right? You're happy to find out that person's trying to save you, right?!" he broke out in rage. "Well, too bad--I won't let that happen!"

He slowly tightened his grip around the princess' neck. As she struggled to draw a breath, Lerish can see through his amber eyes shine the flame of his soul burning with hatred towards Ren.

"N...N-No...please..."

"H-Huh?!"

At that moment, as if returning to his senses the young man quickly withdrew his hand from her neck. Lerish coughed and panted, as she almost died of asphyxiation because of him.

"Y-Your Highness, I didn't mean to--"

"Get out!!!"

Lerish roared as she threw her pillow to his face. He tried to apologize again, but he chose to retreat after seeing her face filled with revulsion against him. He turned away silently, locking the door as soon as he left the room.

"Hah...haahh...hah..."

Despair, fear, hatred. Never in her life she has felt that much burden in her heart, and he's the one to blame for it. Immediately after the young man left she opened one of her drawers, and found a dagger inside it. Mustering her courage, she held the object and pointed the tip towards her neck.

"If I can't get out of here, I might as well..."

'We are all in this hell together, Your Highness. Don't you dare give up.'

"Eh?"

As she was about to thrust the blade into her neck, she heard Ren's voice in her mind.

'Miss Lerish, believe that you'll be able to surpass all of this.'

"Ren..."

*clink*

Dropping the dagger from her hands, she sobbed as she fell down to her bed. 'Why,' she complained to herself, 'why is it my spirit keeps on giving up? Why I can't be like him, that despite knowing that he's at a disadvantage, he keeps on doing what he can to help others?'

The promise he made with her, is what binded him into doing a futile attempt to save her. He shouldn't be even helping her, and yet he's out there trying to find a breakthrough.

"If he can do it, I..."

Lerish opened another drawer, this time finding a magic tool that looked like a quill pen. On a piece of special paper she wrote a letter without her stamp, then added a few diagrams below the letter body. Afterwards she folded the letter into a bird, then whispered something onto it:

"Your promise...I will also fulfill my part of it."

Placing the paper bird on her palms, it gracefully fluttered up into the sky when the winds outside her window blew it away. Having her message written on a special paper, she's confident that it won't get intercepted by her father's forces or even the young man himself.

"Ren, I'll be patiently waiting for you," she muttered with a hopeful sigh.