I don’t feel safe at all as I travel alone from the enchanted forest and back to Gija. It’s not because I am alone that I am worried, but rather the fact that my powers have not returned. By now, I believe that I am already at the point in my life where I would even accept the fact that they would never return.
But my powers are not my concern at the moment. What I need to prioritize right now is getting back to the human realm and bringing President Leo with me.
How could I have been so stupid and blind? The person I was looking for was right in front of me. That whole clue is already in the name. I remember Kellar using the name Leo as his alias when we first met as kids. He did not want to know that he was the son of a wicked king, so he pretended to be a servant boy named Leo so he could hand me food as frequently as he could.
I should have probably told Kellar where I was going before leaving. Otherwise, he might worry. Yet, Kellar is in the middle of getting his treatment, so I don’t really want to disturb him like this.
I have just left the enchanted forest and am on my way to Sanver to borrow a horse when I see a few fairy sentinels standing in front of me.
They catch me by surprise, but knowing that they are from the Fairy Kingdom, I knew that they would not harm me. In fact, maybe I can ask them to give me a ride back to Gija.
“Excuse me!” I know that I am wearing clothes fit for a man right now and might not even look like a proper noble lady. I am just hoping that they will see my silver hair and isquickly recognize who I am.
One of the sentinels dismounts his elk and moves closer to me with a weapon in hand. He appears to be about to draw his sword, but one look at my hair causes him to retract it.
“Are you Princess Stella?” He asks.
The question brings me an immense amount of relief because, at least, I don’t have to explain myself.
“Yes, it’s me.” I admit. “Do you think that you can—”
“Come with us. We are taking you back to Prince Chace.”
“Prince Chace?” I stammer. “No, I am actually heading back to Gija. I am sure that Prince Chace will understand if I just visit him some other time.”
“This was not ordered by the crown prince. It’s by the queen herself.”
If only the order was from Chace, it would have been easier to convince them, but when it's from the queen, I know that there’s no other way around here but to flee. The queen has always been so obsessed with me marrying his son. Maybe because I have been out of her grasp these past few days that she has become so desperate to even have sentinels to wait for an opportunity for me to leave.
Ah, how I miss my magic. It would be easier for me to leave this place at this point.​​ One cast of my magic and I could have freeze their legs on the spot while snatching one of their elks.
Maybe I should not have asked Javi to leave and asked her to give me a ride instead. Sometimes, I can be pretty stupid.
Too late for regrets. I should just do what my brother-in-law taught me if a guy ever bothers me. Sometimes, it pays to listen to him lecture me about my safety.
I thrust my knee up, hitting the fairy in his family jewels. While the guard is distracted, I head towards the elk and jump on its back.
I’m pretty good at riding horses. In fact, I could say that I am better at it than my sister. But riding an elk is a different story.
Though they may not be as fast as horses, they are very loyal creatures. That being said, it did not take me, a total stranger, riding on its back that it started to go wild by jumping around in order to get me off of its back.
With its wild trashing, I fall on my back with a heavy thud. A few curses escape my lips as pain electrifies my body. I have just managed to sit up when I see swords pointed in my direction. It seems like the fairies are no longer trying to play kindly to me after my little fiasco.
There’s no way that they are going to let me off so easily this time.
“By order of our high queen, you are to return with us and be our crown prince’s intended.”
These guys are crazy! More like, the queen is crazy! How long is her obsession with me going to last!?
“You guys are insane! Wait till my sister hears about this!” I know that it is pathetic of me, but having my powers gone and having nothing to defend myself is all that I can think of right now. It seems like my mental health has relapsed into a state similar to when I was a child and mostly had my sister take care of me.
I keep trying to summon my magic, but nothing just comes out. I feel like I am going to have a panic attack when I see one of the guards reaching out to grab my arm and haul me up.
“Get the powder. We have to make her sleep.”
I try to kick the man holding me, but other fairies appear and force me to stay in place. One of them seems to be carrying a dusting of fairy powder. I can safely assume, based on its blue color, that it is sleeping powder.
I don’t care who. I just want someone…anyone— to save me!
The powder is already inches away from my face when a dagger suddenly comes out of nowhere and goes through the hand of the fairy, slicing off a few of his fingers. The man screams and stumbles back. Blood spurts out of his hand while he screams in pain.
A figure drops from above and lands before me—Kellar.
“If would appear that the fairies have gone deaf. Did you not hear the princess say that she doesn’t want to go with you?” He says before brandishing his sword.
“By order of the queen—”
“Ha! The queen again.” Kellar snickers darkly. “It would appear that Chace is still powerless against his mother’s wishes. No wonder he got rejected by the princess. He’s still just a slave for his mother and cannot do anything for himself.”
The guards clearly did not like Kellar’s insult to their prince, because they soon started to head for us with their weapons.
“Stay out of this, Stella. It will be over in a few seconds. Just close your eyes.” As much as I want to help out Kellar, I could never do anything without my magic. Just as he asked me to, I shut my eyes, saving myself from the gruesome image of whatever Kellar is doing. I can never get used to the sight of blood, which is probably why I am grateful to Kellar for not only saving me but also for giving me a headsup.
Soon, the noise starts to fade. I feel a hand gently grabbing my hand. “Let’s go. You’re safe now.” He says it so endearingly that I can’t help but feel weak on the knees.
I have just opened my eyes to meet his gaze so I can thank him properly. To my surprise, Kellar’s gaze starts to close, and his eyes start to roll back.
“Kellar!” I reach out and catch him just in time as he’s falling. I gently settle him on the ground beside me, as I cannot fully support his weight. “Kellar, Kellar!” I keep slapping his cheek gently to get some sort of reaction from him, but there doesn’t seem to be any signs of movement. “Wake up. Please!”
No matter how much I begged, he did not open his eyes. The only good news that I can tell right now is that he’s still breathing.
I need to get him back with the nymphs!
But how? Carrying him is going to be difficult, but I didn’t say that I wouldn't try.
The only problem is, how will I be able to carry him while defending us at the same time?
I want to curse my luck. Kellar has just taken care of the fairies, but now the rogues have just appeared.
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that there’s only two of them. The bad news is that I still do not have my magic, and I have to defend Kellar and myself from these two rogues.
I went and grabbed Kellar’s sword, but to my surprise, it was heavier than it looked. I can barely even lift it.
Bloody hell, how do these people train to carry a sword this heavy and swing it around!?
“Relax, princess. We are not here to harm you.” A female rogue with short red hair and an eye patch walks over and addresses me.
“You guys are here for Kellar, right? I won’t let you have him.” The line sounds so cool in my head, but the moment I said it out loud, it became quite shaky.
“Wait.” The red haired lady pauses before advancing when she notices my stiff form. “I’m Alexandra. I used to work in the kitchen and serve Prince Kellar.” She probably noticed that I wasn’t giving in because she soon adds, “We have no interest in harming Prince Chace. We merely want to help him. He’s in trouble, right?”
I nod. “I need to deliver him to the nymphs. They’ll know what to do.”
Alexandra bows. “Then allow us to be of an assistance, princess. And if we may, we have to move fast. The fairies just now has sent word for backup. Reinforcement will be here soon.”
In all honesty, I still don’t know whether to trust them or not, but considering the urgency of the situation, I decided to trust them.
Thinking about it, if they only wished to take Kellar, they would have done it already. In fact, they could have easily killed me.
Maybe I need to give them the benefit of the doubt, especially since the faes are heading over.
“I’ll take you to the nymphs.” I say. “But before we enter the realm, you have to give me your weapons.”