“Hello?” Ace was asking me but I refused to turn around and look at him.
I can’t I am not ready yet.
“Aha..ha.” I choked on my spit as I laughed. “Thank you. And sorry about that.” I straightened myself up and fixed my shirt consciously. I sure hope that I did not smell since I was still wearing my training uniform.
Viex, the traitorous fox, switched to Stella as soon as I fell back. The two of them were now sharing a look as they watched how awkward the situation is.
“You seem familiar.” I heard him say. “Your...your presence that is.” I could hear him moving to my front in order to see my face. I began to panic and moved as well just to avoid making eye contact with him.
I know that we would see each other again when the time is right but isn’t this too early? And what are the Feradins doing? Why are they leaving him alone?
“I get that a lot. Like a lot A LOT!” I laughed again and was now shielding my face from him.
I miss him but I don’t want to see him. If I do, then I would feel like I was back in those last moments that we interacted.
Where the heck are the Feradins?!
“I beg your pardon, but may I see your face? I swear you really look familiar.” He started to shift and I followed his movements. He was getting really persistent by the minute that it was getting harder to make it seem like I wasn’t doing it on purpose.
“Princess, are you avoiding me?”
“Wow! Pretty birds!” I pointed up at the sky to the nonexistent birds and immediately felt him scrutinizing me with his gaze. Even Viex and Stella have already moved away when they saw Nora being escorted by a guard to the garden.
And they say families should stick together.
“There are no birds. Are you feeling alright?” He sounded concerned for a bit that I remembered that it was how he spoke to me during our last moments together. I started to stare at the empty space in a daze that I did not realize that Ace had already moved in front of me.
He leaned forward until our faces were only inches apart. “Princess?” He called for me again and brushed a few strands of hair covering my face.
I was so shocked and flabbergasted that I screamed and headbutted him. Both of us yelped in pain as we clutched our aching foreheads.
“Ow! Why’d you do that!?” From my peripheral vision, I saw him started to raise his head to look at me. I panicked and poked his eyes instead.
“Don’t look at me!” I yelled at the same time and was just about to run when I realized my mistake.
Why the hell did I just hurt a person with amnesia!?
I turned back. “Shit, I am sorry!” I whimpered, but when I saw him, I covered my eyes. I don’t want to see him!
“What is wrong with you!?” He demanded. “You should look at a person when they are talking. Especially when you assaulted me.”
“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry.” I repeated over and over, but Ace has become more aggressive as he tried to pry my hands from my face.
“I said look me at!”
“No! I’m sorry! Please just leave me alone.” I pleaded. “I am a princess! You can’t do this!”
“And I am a PRINCE! DAMN IT, WOMAN!” He yelled. In that split second and in that exact moment, I heard the old Ace back and finally looked up. And when I did, I had a good look at his face.
He was just as I remembered him. Soft pale skin, strong jaw, midnight blue eyes, and a light scar on his left eye - a remembrance of what he went through to save my sister.
I was stunned. The elf prince looked ticked off at me that I actually thought that everything is back to normal again.
But then, his face began to soften. “I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to be rude. Forgive me.” He says regretfully.
And just like that, all the emotions that I kept within me came bursting out. Tears started falling down my cheeks as I looked at him.
And it wasn’t even one of those pretty lady cries. No. It was one of those ugly-ass wailing kid wails where your mouth is open 24/7.
“Oh shit.” Ace backed away looking nervous as I continued to cry. “I-I-I um…” He started patting his coat as if he was looking for something. He pulled out a handkerchief from his coat and tried offering it to me. “Here.”
But instead of giving it to me like a normal person, he unfolded it and used it to cover my entire face gently.
“What are you doing!?” I demanded while I was still crying. “Why are you covering my face!? Am I ugly!?”
“Because you were crying!”
I took the handkerchief from my face and raised it to his face. “You can’t do this! This is not how you are supposed to treat people who are upset!” My breath caught in between heaves as I sniffed.
“Okay okay!” He says but he was looking the other way but his body was facing me. “Just please, use it to wipe your face and...to maybe...hide?”
“Now you don’t want to see my face because I just cried?” I hiccuped. “Fine! Later, I will return this after I cover it with snot!” This wasn’t how I wanted Ace to remember me in his
new life, but I can’t help it.
Memory or no memory, he can sometimes be a little insensitive!
I started walking away. My head was fuming. I used the handkerchief to wipe my tears and could not help but smell his familiar scent on it.
“Wait, Princess!”
I turned around at that moment and ready to raise my middle finger, but when I did, I saw Prince Ace coming after me. “I’m sorry. All this time I have been really rude towards you. I just thought that I knew you since you were there when I woke up. I was hoping that...maybe I can remember something if I am with people who knew me.”
I have never even considered that. I never even considered that he may one day remember something. “How...how far do you remember?” I had to ask.
Ace stared at the ground for a few moments before he answered. “I can’t say that I remember them. More like I get certain feelings. I felt...hurt when the king died. Then I felt love for the people who took me in as their family. Well, they are my family. I guess I can only say that I get certain types of vibes instead of memory. It’s like I know whom to trust.”
“But still, you can’t remember anything.” I said concluded for him.
“Yes.” He confirmed and then looked at me. “I don’t even know what kind of person I was before. If I seem more of a jerk to you now, please forgive me.”
More of a jerk? I badly wanted to tell him that his old self would have hung me to a tree by now and curse at my ancestor whom I inherited my intelligence.
“No um...That’s okay. I was just surprised.”
Ace seemed relieved at my words. “Can I ask you something?” He said seriously.
“Go ahead. You’re already asking anyway.”
“Are we a couple or something? Before I...forgot?”
My eyes widened at his question. “Why-Why are you asking that question?” Right now, I was wearing the handkerchief like a mask to hide my blush.
“Because I felt happy when I saw you just now. I was sad when you cried and hurt when you walked away.” Ace’s brow furrowed as he rubbed his chest. “I...I think it is a different sort of feeling that I have with my mother and Nora.”
Shit. Now how am I supposed to respond to this!? I never thought about it again because I would just end up crying when I remember him.
I already have a lot of heartaches to deal with!
I need to hit my head with something so I can fall asleep and avoid his question. But that would be so wrong considering his situation.
“We...you know. We don’t really get along…?” My hands flew in the air and made some gestures as I talked as if I can shoo away the awkward atmosphere. “I mean, you were my tutor and you always call me stupid.”
Ace’s brow furrowed. “I don’t sound nice at all.”
“YES!” I agreed with him. “You are the most egotistical guy out there. And you don’t want people to call you Ace. You always correct them and make them call you ‘PRINCE Ace’. You are obsessed with Nora, you hate it when people disrespect books, and you are always ready to fly off and kill someone.”
His eyes widened at my descriptions of his old self and he seemed horrified. “I do that?! I sound like a maniac!”
“You kinda are.” I nodded. “But you know? Out of all of us, you are the most reliable and caring PRINCE, that I have ever known. And…and it took you to have amnesia for us me to realize this. I’m so pathetic.” I whispered and then I looked up at him. “As for your question, no. We weren’t a couple. You confessed to me but I wasn’t able to fully give you an answer. And with everything that has happened...I-I just want you to be…” I stopped talking when I saw that he wasn’t even paying any attention. Instead, he was looking up as if he was trying to hear something. I frowned and placed my hands on my hips. “Fine, I’ll stop talking then.”
Now I know why Ace was annoyed at me for not paying attention when he’s talking. It really is annoying.
Ace reached out a hand and a black crow landed on his finger. It let out a few squawks at him. “Thanks.” He told it before it flew away.
I blinked as I tried to comprehend what I just saw. Not only has this guy lost his supervillain personality, but he was turning into a Disney Princess! He’s talking to animals!
The elf prince returned his gaze back to me. “Sorry. Before my family went inside with the other royals, I sent him to spy on them because I was worried. They didn’t allow me to join the meeting because of my current condition.”
I watch his face register with worry and couldn’t help but feel concerned as well. My Aunt, the king, Ren, and Nate were there as well. “What’s wrong?” I dared to ask.
“Apparently, royals and nobles are now on two sides. One is defending yours while the others are against protecting you.” At the last part, I saw him frown.
I scoffed. “Yeah. It would be over soon. I am pretty sure that most of them will decide to hand us over.” I frowned at the thought.
“Actually, no.” Ace says. “There are royals siding with you. A lot.”
I held his gaze for a moment and tried to see if he was lying or not. He wasn’t. “Even...even your family…?” I hesitated to ask.
“Especially my family.” He confirmed and offered me a reassuring smile.
And just like that, my gaze wandered off of Nora and Stella playing by the garden. Both of them were being accompanied by Viex until he felt my sudden distress. He left the two kids as he jumped onto my shoulder.
‘Princess, are you alright?’ He asked in concern.
‘I’m fine. Don’t worry.’
My gaze shifted back to my sister. This drama will never end. Not while I am still here. And not while I chose to hide.
I look back at the castle. I told myself that I would fight my own battles and yet there are still some who are actually fighting for me behind my back.
And here I was, standing outside when I should be the voice that should speak out for my sister and I.
“Could I ask you a favor?” I said and as I faced him.
I wasn’t going to run anymore.
“Of course.” He answered.
“Could you take me to the meeting room?”