It was the next day and it was time for the others to leave as well. Ace pushed my back lightly as I was hesitating to approach the twins.
“Go on. They won’t bite. If they do then I will break their jaws.” Ace’s face hardened as he said this.
“Very reassuring.” I told him. Ace smirked at me before he tilted his head towards the princes.
“Go on then. It will be a while before we see them again.” He urged.
At his words, I made my way to Ren and Dan, who were both busy packing their belonging in the carriage. When they saw me, they paused what they were doing just to stand in front of me.
“Hi.” I waved at them and tried to smile.
The twins noticed my strange reaction and immediately exchanged glances. Ren was the first one to speak. “Come on, don’t tell me that you’re going to cry again?” Ren laughed lightly and ruffled my head. “If you start crying, then that guy might think that we bullied you and come for our necks.”
“Yeah.” Dan agreed and came close to whisper in my ear. “Or perhaps you came here because you changed your mind and would like to come with us instead?” Dan sneakily opened their carriage and gestured for me to come inside. “Come on, Rose. We won’t tell anyone.” He winked.
Ren slapped Dan at the back of his head and pointed at someone behind me. When I looked back, I was surprised to see that Ace has come closer and was now standing just behind me while cracking his knuckles. His gaze pointed towards Dan.
“It was him.” Ren immediately pointed at his twin. “All him. I swear I did nothing.”
“Brother!” Dan gasped. “How can you sell your own sibling?!”
“What was that?” Ren looked away and covered his ears. “I have a sibling? Sorry, I don’t remember.”
As the two of them babble, I went in and pulled them into a hug. Viex and Custard joining in as well as they have grown attached to Ren.
‘Don’t leave, master Ren!’ Custard howled sadly.
‘Quiet you!’ Viex slapped him across the face with his tails.
“I know I keep on saying this but I will really miss you guys.”
Ren and Dan returned the gesture. We stayed like that for a few more minutes before we parted. “Don’t worry. We’ll be seeing each other again.” Ren says. Then he looked at Ace with a serious expression. “Take care of her.”
“You don’t have to tell me. I always have. Heck, I took care of all of you while you were here!” Then I saw a hint of a smile playing on Ace’s lips that Ren returned before he and Dan continued to pack up their stuff.
Ace and I left as we moved to where King Fred was. His carriage was just in front of Ren and Dan’s. We saw Nate and Fred laughing at something just before we got there. It was Nate who saw us first and grinned. “Well, it looks like they’re here.”
“I swear, King or not, Nathaniel, if you dare make any pickup lines, I will choke you with your cape.” Ace warned him.
“Ace!” I elbowed Ace before I looked back at them. Nate simply laughed at his threats while Fred was looking at me with a warm smile.
“Are you guys here to see me off?” He asked.
In response, I nodded. “Safe travels, Fred.” I gave him a short hug because I was afraid that I was going to cry as well.
“You take care of yourself. And never be afraid to call us for help.” He says.
Just when all of us were getting together again, we had to be separated once more due to responsibilities.
After saying our farewells, Ace and I headed for his family next. Queen Siera was carrying Nora in her arms while facing the carriage. Eltur and Darem were just assisting the workers in placing their luggage in the carriage.
It was Nora who first saw us. She wiggled for her mom to set her down before she came running to Ace. Ace picked her up and carried her in his arms.
“Bye, bwother.” She says.
Ace raised a brow at her. “Why does it sound like you’re excited for me to go?” By the tone of his voice, he was clearly offended.
“Dear.” Queen Siera suddenly pulled me into a hug, which somehow surprised me. “Thank you. Again. And please take care of my son.” She whispered in my ear.
I had to laugh at that request. “Of course. But the him right now...I think he can take care of himself.” As queen Siera and I turned to look at her kids, we saw Ace snarling at his two older brothers as they pleaded if they could hug him.
“Come any closer to me or Nora and you both will have broken arms when you return back home!” He told them.
Eltur looked at me with a pout. “Rose, is there any way that you can make him a bit nicer? I mean, just towards his friends and family the next time you bring his memories back.”
“He wouldn’t be PRINCE Ace without all the cursing.” I laughed.
Ace looked back at his brothers with a smug smile on his face. But it was suddenly gone when he realized something. “Don’t tell Nora that I am cursing!” He mouthed at me.
Queen Siera and I just laughed because, at that time, Nora looked at him and read his lips. Now she was asking him what kind of curses was he talking about.
And then it was time for all of them to go. We finally said goodbye to them before we headed back to the castle. And I could not help but notice how quiet it all was.
I let out a frustrated sigh at the defeating silence. “You’ll see them again.” Ace assured me.
“Yeah.” I agreed. “But saying goodbye really hurts. How about you? Are you really not coming with your family back to Tordis?”
“No. King Ferius is still after you.” Then he crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re crazy if you think that I will leave your side. Not to mention that we still don’t know anything about the traitor.”
“Speaking of which.” Ace and I were walking out into the garden once again to find my sister, who will obviously be with Kellar once again. “While you were gone, Nate, Ren, and I made a trap and we deduced that the suspects are the knights.
Ace raised a brow at me. “Including Terrence?”
“I-...actually we don’t know. A lot has happened after that and-” When I looked in front of me, I let out a scream of horror.
Ace, Custard, and Viex immediately jumped in front of me and started looking around.
‘Stay back, Master!’
‘Keep close, princess. We’ll protect you.’
“What? What is it?” Ace demanded.
I pointed to the direction where Stella was talking and laughing with CHACE! As soon as Ace saw what I was pointing at, he began to relax and give me a deadpanned look. “Are you serious?”
“What is….that fairy prince still doing here!? Isn’t he suppose to be back with his people!? Call a carriage and let’s throw him in there!”
Ace still has no emotions as he was looking at me. “He’s just Chace. And he is a good kid. Except for the fact that he constantly follows me before whenever he gets the chance.”
“Really? I am surprised that you did not cut his head off because I know how much you hate that.”
“True.” Ace agreed. “But when I think about it, I guess the kid just thought that he and I were in the same boat. We kind of were since our gifts are...unusual.”
“It’s because he is a winter fairy, isn’t it?” I said.
“Yes. And in the realm of the Fae’s, they are very valuable and powerful. If they can’t keep their emotions in check, all that magic could potentially kill them. That is why winter babies rarely survive.” Ace and I looked at Chace struggling to undo the ice that he made as per Stella’s instructions. “But your sister is very weird. She was able to control and figure out her magic on her own.”
“But still, he’s getting too close to Stella. Too close for my comfort.”
Ace looked down at me and grabbed my hand. “You want us to go there, right?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Because you want me to distract him from focusing on your sister.” Ace guessed and lets out a sigh. “But that would be very difficult considering that I have to pretend that I still don’t have my memories.”
“Then...what are we supposed to do?”
“I could grab a sack, put him in there, and ship him back to his parents.” He said out the words so casually as if he was delivering a simple mail. “I could do it without him finding out that it was me.”
I gapped at him. “And here I thought that you said that he was a good kid!”
“I heard from the trees that he hurt you because he blamed you for what happened to me.”
“Yeah, but my sister got him back for it.”
“But did he apologize to you after that?”
“He did actually. But it was during the time when no one was around. I guess he got embarrassed and told me privately.” Now that I thought about it, Chace really looked like he was regretting his actions because what insincere idiot would even wait for me until I was alone? Then give me some expensive cookies from their kingdom as he apologized and bowed repeatedly?
“You know, I guess you are right. Maybe Chace isn’t such a bad kid.” And just as I said it, Chace suddenly manifested a flower in his hands made of ice that he offered to Stella. I almost forgot that I was holding Ace’s hand and began to squeeze it in anger.
“WOMAN, CALM DOWN!” Ace yelled as he tried to pry my hands off of his.
“Princess, Princess!” Ace and I both turned to see Kellar running towards us with a huge smile on his face.
Viex and Custard somehow jumped onto my shoulders and began sniffing the air and wagging their tails. It was a weird gesture that they made but I ignored them as I addressed Kellar.
“Hey.” I greeted him.
When he stopped right in front of us, I noticed that he was carrying a black cat in his arms.
No, it wasn’t a black cat. It was a small panther! And he was very familiar to me.
“JAVI?!” I gasped when I recognized that it was the panther that I saw back when we were in that spirit realm.
‘Hello, princess.’
“You’re a girl!?” I gasped again.
The small panther simply flipped its tail. ‘I see you still have some priority issues.’
“You know her, princess?” Kellar asked while still smiling.
I nodded at him. “Yeah. I met her a while ago back when….we were traveling.” I said and exchanged a look with Ace before turning back to Kellar. “Is she… your contracted spirit?” I asked.
Kellar nodded. “Yes, princess. And just as I promised, I came to show her to you first!”
“Not even to Stella?” I asked suspiciously.
“No, princess. I promised that I would show her to you first because you were the one who made it possible.” He smiled gratefully up at me.
I looked smugly at Ace. “See that? Even a kid can keep his promise.”
“I did keep mine!” Ace glowered at me before looking to the side and grumbling. “It just took a while and I got a little help…”
As Kellar placed Javi on the ground, Custard decided to lunge for him with a happy yip. ‘Hello, Javi! Play with me! Play with me!’
‘Wait...No! I have to stay by Master Kellar’s side at all times! We still have to form a contract! Viex, help!’
Viex, still perched on my shoulder, groaned in annoyance. ‘Why do I have to babysit that cub?’ He hissed before he got down and tackled Custard away from Javi. But Custard now thought that Viex was playing as well and began to attack Viex instead.
I looked at Kellar. “Do you know how to make a contract with her?”
Kellar blushed in embarrassment and scratched the back of his head. “Javi knows, but I am nervous if I will ever be a worthy partner for her.”
‘Sweat about the small stuff, kid. Javi is your only partner. The princess only has two because I am a royal guardian. In other words, you won’t get another one other than Javi here.’ Viex scolded him before slapping Custard with his paw.
At the impact, Custard shook his head before looking at Kellar. ‘Yeah. Capable or not, we spirits are loyal to our masters. My master isn’t the smartest but she is the best!’ Custard added, making me glare at him.
“Gee, buddy. Thank you for the support.” I said through gritted teeth.
‘You’re welcome, master!’
Ace suddenly placed a hand on my shoulder as he addressed Kellar. “Why don’t you ask the princess to teach you?”
“What?” Kellar and I were both surprised at his suggestion, but Ace simply met my gaze and smiled.
“Aren’t you a tamer princess? And weren’t you the one who brought his powers back? You should really learn how to take some responsibilities.”
“I-” I stammered, but when I do think about it, Ace does have a point. I know personally how difficult it is to manage magic that has been forgotten and with no one to even teach me anything. I didn’t like the feeling of being alone and I certainly don’t want others to feel that as well. I smiled gratefully at Ace before looking back at Kellar. “I’m not the best teacher there is, but I will teach you to the best of my ability.” I promised him.
Javi jumped into Kellar’s arms as the two exchange a look. Then, they both bowed at me gratefully. “Thank you, princess.”
“Amy! Amy!” Stella called out to me and when I turned back, my sister was hugging me and was crying. I saw Chace smiling as he slowly walked towards us.
“Alright, you!” I pointed at Chace, making him give me a confused look. “What did you do to my sister that made her cry?” I demanded.
“What? No! I did not make him cry I-” Chase stammered.
“Amy!” Stella was now pulling on the sleeve of my shirt to get my attention. “I did not cry because I was upset. I cried because I was happy!” Now that I looked closely, Stella was smiling brighter than usual.
“It’s King Luke! He finally woke up.”