I let out a sneeze and sniffed as I wrapped the blanket around me tightly as I scooted closer to the fire. Custard placed his massive tail in front of me to provide me with more warmth. Viex, shifting back to his smaller form, wrapped himself onto my neck.
“What the hell is wrong with this place. Why is it so cold!?” I demanded as I continued to shake. I was already dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and some trousers that we had to pin to the side. I refuse to wear another fancy dress and shiver to death.
What’s worse is that we had to camp outside because the inside of the cave is colder. It was too damp and wet from the spring and the hole at the top didn’t help either.
Ren appeared and placed a blanket over me before sitting by my side. He scratched Custard’s chin and laughed. “ I see demon wolf is keeping you company. I knew that was a good name. Dan and I even suggested it at first.” He joked.
Custard did not like being called a demon that he raised one of his gigantic paws and knocked Ren to his back while pinning him to the ground with a growl.
Now it was my turn to laugh at him. “He doesn’t want to be called a demon wolf.”
“Yeah.” Ren grunted as soon as he got up. “I figured that one out without you translating it.”
“You shouldn’t have teased a sweet guy like Custard.” Nate chastised him while nuzzling Custard’s cheek. “Isn’t that right, boy?” He cooed. Custard’s tail wagged in agreement with Nate and he even licked the side of his face.
It’s amazing how immediately Nate can get along with spirit animals that easily. Even Viex was getting a little bit comfortable with him. He’s like a Disney princess in the spirit realm. I mean, considering his family background he would be Cinderella.
Or Cinderello.
I glanced at Prince Terrence, who was throwing firewoods at our campfire along with Ace. “Prince Terrence, are you really coming back with us to Thalia?”
“Yes, princess.” Prince Terrence’s long hair was tied back into a ponytail. It looked so smooth and silky that my fingers were itching to braid them.
I have to ask him - convince him - to make his hair pretty at some point.
“Are you sure? What about Nate’s mother? I mean, I can’t exactly call her your wife and all because she’s not your wife in the first place but more of your brother’s that you took. But not really because you saw her first and did not call dibs and…” I stopped when I saw the strange looks that they were giving me and finally realized that I must have said too much. “Let me guess, ‘Shut up, Rose!’?”
“Wow. And I thought I was the chatterbox!” Serena called out while hanging on a tree and laughing her head off before disappearing inside the tree again.
Yes, disappeared inside the tree. Apparently, that’s how and where she sleeps.
Ace rubbed the side of his head and sighed. “I swear, your mouth doesn’t have a filter.”
“Hey! I should be saying that to you and not the other way around!”
I stuck my tongue out at him while he glared. Prince Terrence grabbed our attention with a clap of his hands. “Ah geez. You both remind me of two amazing people.” He laughed. “Princess Rosalie, as much as I want to go back, I must fulfill my duty as a knight of King Varon. I know that he is no longer here but I at least intend to use my skills and knowledge to help you.”
“Prince Terrence-”
“Please don’t call me a prince because I am no longer one. I refuse to become a part of what the Kingdom of Vertez has become. I would rather be a knight of a fallen country than be known as a prince there.”
“Tell me about it.” Nate murmured in agreement.
“I still can’t believe that he is alive,” Ren says. “I mean no offense, sir Terrence, but how long were you a ghost? Were you conscious the whole time?”
Terrence’s gaze focused on the flickering of the flame. “My body may have been frozen but my spirit isn’t. Because of that, I was able to roam freely. But that did not happen until the war was over and King Varon died.” He gritted his teeth in anger and the wood that he had in his hands snapped like a twig. “That fool. I could have helped him but he turned me into stone.” He grunted.
“But at least because of that you were able to meet Nate.” I pointed out. “Doesn’t that count as something?”
Terrence sighed and the anger immediately left his eyes. “You’re right, Princess. Maybe everything does happen for a reason.” He looked up and met gazes with Custard, who simply cocked his head to the side. “Even your Custard there. What are the odds of him finding that pendant that allowed you to see me?” I nodded in agreement and decided to pick some grapes off of my bowl and aimed it at PRINCE Ace, who was sitting quietly and listening to Terrence. I snickered quietly as I started to take aim. “Spirits are everywhere. They are always watching over us. They would reward those who are good and would punish those who are evil.”
At his sentence, I paused and gulped. Spirits? I fearfully looked around me until I saw PRINCE Ace meeting my gaze with a venomous one.
Yeah, Terrence. I agree. There’s one evil spirit glaring at me right now. I smiled sheepishly at Ace before eating the grape instead.
“Anyway, I wasn’t only watching over my son. I was also watching over your progress, princess.” Terrence added.
Memories of me goofing around, hiding during our morning run, me screaming bloody murder when I wasn’t given any sweets, and me cheating on the swing counts when they aren’t looking. It all suddenly came rushing back to me that I had to look to the side guilty and laugh.
“Yeah.” I choked on my laugh. “G-Good to know.”
“Your stamina badly needs improvement.” Terrence commented making me flinch in embarrassment.
“Gee. I wonder why.” Ace said with a raised brow as he looked at me. Was that a hint of sarcasm that I heard? Hopefully not.
“Maybe?” I replied. “I mean, I don’t do any physical activities back in my world.”
“Yes. It is only natural that Tamers have low stamina. You use most of it for your familiar during a fight. That’s why your kin are vulnerable when left alone. Not only is your partner using a portion of your stamina and magic, but you also need to defend yourself. Actually, I can see some improvements in your stamina because you were able to make a contract with Viex.” I snorted and looked at the princes smugly when Terrence praised me for my stamina. Unfortunately, the princes all gave me an unimpressed look.
“And because you now have two contracted spirits, you must double your training so you would be able to handle them both when they morph. For now, they can morph freely in this place because this place is filled with magic so they are only using a small percentage of yours.” My smile immediately fell while it was the princes’s turn to smile.
“Do I have to? I mean, Custard and Viex could just take turns shifting.” I suggested with a hopeful look on my face.
“You can.” He says and I let out a breath of relief. “But I don’t think Ferius would allow you to take a break in a real fight.”
Yeah. I figured. Stupid Ferius. I have not met him yet but I am starting to hate him. More than when he decided to target me.
“Hook swords were a good choice for you in the beginning.” He added.
“What do you mean ‘at the beginning’?” Nate asked.
“How do I say this.” Terrence trailed off while rubbing the back of his head. “She’s a little...you know. Clumsy.” A series of agreements from the princes were heard at this point. I fought the urge to throw a grape at them all because the spirits might be watching me and punish me for wasting food. “Hook swords can drain your stamina a lot, but it is the best for defense and offense especially for her.”
“Are you saying that we should change her weapon of choice?”
“Either that or we tripple her training.” Terrence suggested.
“I say we change my weapon.” I concluded.
Viex annoyingly placed his tail over my lips to stop me from talking. ‘Kids should not interrupt when the adults are talking.’
‘Hey! I am a young adult. I am of legal age!’ I argued with Viex.
Viex simply yawned. ‘Sure.’ He says, clearly unconvinced.
Despite the questionable looks that the princes were giving me, Terrence nodded at me in agreement. “Yes. I figured that it would be the case.”
“Then what would you suggest?” PRINCE Ace asked.
“I know of a weapon that the king prepared in case his child would be a girl. It’s still in the ruins. Once we head back, I will have to go and fetch it.”
“What is it?” I feel like my eyes were twinkling with interest as I scooted closer that my face was getting closer to the fire. This time, it was Custard who slapped his tail to my face to bring me back to his side.
‘Master, let them talk.’ Custard scolded me.
‘I swear. I no longer know who’s the master and who’s the familiar between the three of us!’ I irritably replied.
“I can’t exactly explain. But I know that King Varon would like you to have it as well.”
“Let me come with you.” Nate says.
“That would be highly appreciated, but I need you to help the princess with her endurance training. Considering that you’re the only one who treats her fairly without bias. Don’t worry. When I get back, I will be the one teaching her.”
“Ren is okay.” I said before pointing at Ace. “But that one is clearly out to kill me ‘accidentally’.” I pointed at Ace.
Ace turned at me for my accusation briefly before looking back at the fire. “Really? Must be your imagination. I would never do such a thing.”
I looked back at Terrence with a ‘see?!’ look on my face.
“You two get along well in person.” Terrence laughed, making me think that he must be crazy or blind. Then he was looking back at Nate. “Now you can see why I want you to stay.”
Nate was laying on Custard’s back as he sighed. “Couldn’t be helped. I guess you are stuck with me princess.” He glanced down and winked at me.
“Unfortunately so.” Ren muttered.
Nate got down and sat to my other side. “I guess you are forever stuck with me, princess. I even got my father’s blessing. He approves of us.” He suddenly grabbed my hands. “It must be the will of the spirits!”
Ren suddenly reached out and poked his eyes. “How about I send you to the afterlife so you can ask them directly just to be sure. Don’t worry, maybe they will find your flirting unbearable and send you right back.”
Nate rubbed his eyes before glaring at Ren.
Uh oh.
I looked at Terrence for help. “Sir Terrence?”
The Vampire knight doesn’t seem fazed with their bickering. Instead, he looked amused. “Sorry about that, princess. But Nate is actually a good guy. He may flirt a lot but he really doesn’t have that much experience when it comes to women. He’s a gentleman at heart.”
Everyone paused as we all let Terrence’s words sink in. It was too quiet that we could even hear the sound when I dropped a single grape on the ground.
Nate immediately left my side, grabbed an apple, and offered it to his dad. “Eat.” He said through gritted teeth while smiling pleasantly.
Terrence looked confused at his son’s behavior. “Why? Did I say something wrong? Son, having no-” Nate cut him off by shoving an apple in his father’s mouth.
“Dad, don’t ruin my playboy image!” He hissed before looking at us with a huge smile on his face.
“Nate…? Are you a vi-” I started to ask. Nate’s eyes widened sinisterly at me that I bit back my words in fear.
“Who’s ready to sleep!?!” His cheery tone was obviously forced, but that wasn’t what convinced us. Instead, it was the deadly look on his face that made us decide not to question him. Even Ace was speechless at this point.
Soon after, we all decided to sleep. I didn’t have any trouble with it though because it has been a rough day for me that I immediately began to dream.
‘Master. Master’
‘Princess.’
I groaned and moved Custard and Viex’s snout away as I rolled back to continue my sleep.
‘Master, wake up.’
I peeled my eyes open and sleepily glared at the two. ‘Quit it. I am trying to sleep.’
‘Princess, you have to accompany us.’
‘Can’t you ask one of the princes to go if you want to use the bathroom?’ I replied in my head and felt something prick my neck. Viex immediately placed his tail over my mouth to stop me from screaming out loud as I got up.
I glared at Viex. ‘What’s the big idea? Why are you two harassing me in my sleep?!’ Just then, I finally noticed that the two had morphed and were emitting a shear blue and golden glow. ‘What’s happening with you two?’
Custard looked at Viex for an explanation. ‘We have to scatter our aura in the forest to purity it. Didn’t you listen to Serena when she said that becoming a royal spirit means that we have to keep the spirits in check?’
‘I...She wasn’t being specific about it! But why now at this time?’ I demanded and looked up at the sky. Even the princes were sleeping peacefully in their own spaces on the ground. ‘What time is it? Midnight!?’
‘It was supposed to be after we morph. Unfortunately…’ Viex trailed off to look apologetically at Custard. I was a bit relieved that Viex never held Custard responsible for getting possessed. He even patted his shoulder encouragingly when Custard was starting to lower his head in guilt.
‘Alright.’ I agreed and got up. Even though all I want to do right now is to sleep, I don’t wish for Custard to feel like he was troubling me. ‘What do I have to do?’
‘Hop on to Custard. You have to come with us as we run. Otherwise, we might stray too far and drain you of your magic. It won’t be good for you.’
‘Master, you can sleep on my back. I promise to run gently.’
‘I know.’ I responded before climbing onto Custard’s back. Viex stood by our side for a few minutes as if assessing if we were ready before he ran ahead. Custard started out on a slow jog at first before running at an even and steady pace. Viex did not run at full speed and we were able to keep up with him.
I was honestly planning on sleeping at Custard’s back, but then I noticed how their glow started to scatter all throughout the forest, giving it a soft glow and leaving the image of huge fireflies all around us. I was in awe that sleep was the last thing in my mind right now.
‘Master? You’re not going to sleep?’
‘Nah. I feel like if I do, I will miss something amazing.’ I said. I heard Viex snorting at my side in amusement.
He must have done this when he was with king Varon.
Our small little group continued to run around the forest, passing by numerous animal spirits that would glance at us curiously. We passed by a few waterfalls, swamps, and even a few caves. I noticed that whenever we were running in the forest, Viex and Custard would glance up at the trees, exchange a knowing smile, and would smirk at each other. It was as if they knew something that I didn't.
I sure hope that those are not some ghostly spirits that Terrence was talking about.
We finally stopped by the river so that Viex and Custard could rest and drink some water before continuing. I was sitting on one of the logs and stretching my feet while watching the two.
“Do you think the princes are still asleep?” I suddenly asked them.
Custard choked and sprayed Viex’s face with water. Viex used his tail to wipe the excess water over his face to shoot a glare at Custard before looking at me. ‘Why would you ask that?’
“I don’t know. I just hope that we could have brought them along with us. It is a shame that they weren’t able to see what we just saw.”
Custard wagged his tail excitedly. ‘Don’t worry, master. One of-’
I don’t know if it was for revenge or annoyance but Viex suddenly slapped Custard with his tail. ‘Can it you mutt!’
Custard shook his head to get his bearings back and growled at Viex. ‘Hey! What’s wrong with you!?’
‘You’re too nosy! Mind your own business. Let the princess grow on her own.’
‘You could have told me instead of hitting me.’
‘I don’t feel like talking. You’re too slow.’
The tension between the two was starting to increase that I decided to finally intervene before things got out of hand. “Hey! Stop it you two. Geez. Why can’t the two of you just get along?” I got up rather quickly and accidentally stepped on mud and fell back. I felt a gentle hand at my back stopped my fall and pushed me back up. I stumbled a few steps forward before looking back.
No one was there.
Have I just imagined it? No. I definitely felt something.
Someone.
I looked back at my familiars to see that Viex and Custard were looking up at the trees. Viex noticed me first and hit the back of Custard’s head to get his attention.
‘Ow! That’s it. Your days of being mean is over!’
‘Bring it on, you brat!’
“Damn it you two!” I yelled and angrily marched over them. As I was busy pulling Custard back from attacking Viex - since he was the one who was ready to pounce - I could not help but think about the gentle warmth of that hand. It felt oddly familiar but I just couldn’t wrap my mind around it.
Could it be? No. Impossible. It couldn’t. I mean, he-
‘For your size, you are such a wimp.’ Viex taunted and I felt Custard’s hackles raise.
‘THAT’S IT!’ Custard lunged towards Viex while I was holding on his neck.
“Custard!” I yelled as I flew in the air along with my overgrown unicorn wolf as he pounced at Viex.