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Ai, the sole princess of Ore felt her heart drop in consternation, as she turned to see that she had been followed into her secret refuge. She wiped her teary eyes and turned to behold the youth with raven dark hair and shiny blue eyes staring down at her. He was much taller and looked older than she.
“Who are you and how did you find this place?” She asked, agitated.
"You ran into me a moment ago and I simply followed you here, " the boy declared proudly.
She vaguely recalled crashing into a person she assumed was an official from another kingdom, and had begged his pardon, before running off to her intended destination.
Her Secret Garden.
For the first time since her father gifted it to her, Ai appreciated the existence of the hidden refuge. It was a secret inner garden, camouflaged by an outer one and known only to a few trusted servants, who kept it groomed and tidy for her use. King James had presented it to her on the seventh anniversary of her birth. It took several years, but she eventually became familiar with the secret entrance and the secret passage within it that led out of the palace.
Her reason for being there at that time was to escape the scornful gazes of the guest princes and princesses who had been unkind to her, despite her being the host princess of the ongoing Yachad festival.
Unlike the Ore nobles, who regardless of their contempt dared not scorn her, the royals from other kingdoms were her peers and were not afraid to disregard her like she did not exist. Some princesses even dared to speak indiscreetly on their parents' warnings to avoid her for her peculiar complexion. She wished to heaven that she had not stepped out of her chambers that day.
Ai gazed dumbfounded at the boy before her for a moment, then inwardly acknowledged that her carelessness had made the unfamiliar youth discover the secret place.
"Why have you followed me here?"
"You stumbled into me looking troubled, and I followed to make sure all was well with you." She glanced up at him curiously, knowing she had never met any quite like him.
“Princess, Princess, you must awaken now.”
Ai opened her eyes to the red-headed, fair-faced maidservant, whose full lips held the widest smile and hazel eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Forgive us, Your Highness, but you have slept longer than you usually do, and you do have that case at noon.” Another voice in the room said. Ai looked beyond the smiling redhead, to the blond-haired and blue-eyed small woman, who was far beyond her thirtieth year and had such fair skin that made her look almost translucent. They were her trusted handmaidens whose loyalty she had no reason to doubt.
She sat up on her bed and smiled. “Do not let it bother you, dear Martha, I did have a captivating dream that kept me in slumber, and I thank you for waking me. Now, we must make haste for I wish to outwit that knight of mine today.”
The two women curtsied and began to ready the princess for the day. Ai was not surprised that she had dreamed about the defunct Yachad festival, since it had beclouded her thoughts before she went to sleep the previous night.
The Yachad festival was a festival of great kingdoms, which Ore had hosted for two consecutive years. It was a meeting of sovereigns and royals to maintain a diplomatic balance and avoid wars. It had been discontinued in the second year due to a disagreement amongst the kings.
She had indeed met the dark-haired boy at the festival. After he discovered her garden, he also brought his sister to her. They spent most of their time together throughout the festivals and struck an intimate friendship.
The siblings referred to themselves as Sora and Hana which were also names from the Nichi kingdom. Sora had explained that they had visited the same kingdom when they were younger, and it was the names they were given. She had been contented with this and had not bothered to ask their real names until the festival was discontinued, and it was too late to do so.
Although she had discovered they were prince and princess, she was uncertain from what kingdom they hailed, since many kingdoms were represented at the Yachad festival. All she had of them was a letter Sora had sent to her through a palace guard before his departure. It was one of her most treasured possessions...
“Which of these dresses do you wish to wear, Your Highness?” Surina asked, pulling Ai out of retrospection. The princess barely glanced at the two dresses presented to her, before rising and walking to her vanity.
“Whichever one shall allow for swift and noiseless movements, if you please, dear Surina.” She responded simply and allowed the two women to prepare her for the day.
Pleased with their work, she bid them goodbye and walked to the door. Ai held her breath as she quietly opened it and was gladdened to see no one in front of her chambers. However, on further inspection, she noticed the source of her agitation seated with his eyes closed and arms folded at the right side of the passage.
He had one leg bent towards himself, the other stretched out, and his back against a pillar. His sword was laid next to him, and he appeared to be asleep. Several locks of his short dark hair hovered over his forehead and past his closed lids. It was almost as though his face was glowing in the rise of the morning sun.
The princess observed his fair angular face for a moment and suddenly had a compulsive desire to capture him in a painting. The possibility of his remaining in that position long enough to be painted was however non-existent, and her immediate goal to slip away unnoticed was paramount. She acknowledged that the only way she could achieve such a feat was by avoiding him completely, using the longer path through the left side of the passage.
Ai pulled her gaze away from his compelling image and turned to the proposed path, observing with excitement that there were no palace guards around. She was certain she could easily execute her escape without interruption or embarrassment.
It was the day before the start of the Love Festival, and the palace was bustling with preparations for the grand celebration. It was the second festival held in Ore in the young royal’s lifetime, and she looked forward to it with the hope of being reunited with her precious friends.
Ai shook her head to dismiss her thoughts, as her priority for the morning was to silently leave her room without being noticed. Her feet had barely crossed her door’s threshold when the rich deep voice of her overly efficient knight came to her hearing.
"A very fine morning it is, your highness." The startled princess had to hold onto the door frame to keep from stumbling. She turned to see the fiery emerald orbs staring straight at her as though they had not been closed a moment ago.
Her knight’s eyes had always been a source of awe to her. Although green eyes were not commonplace, they were also not too surprising or unique in Ore. There was however something different and unique about her knight that she could not place her finger on. It made her wonder if he possessed Asian roots or if he was even at all from this earthly plane. It was also what made her maids think he was the most handsome in Ore.
"I assumed you were taking a well-deserved and long-overdue nap, Michael." She responded, ignoring his questioning gaze, as she frowned and wondered over and again if he was human or a supernatural being.
"I expect you would have had me awakened if that was the case." He said, rising, and picking up his sword. "Except, it was your intention to slip away..."
"And why, sir, would I wish to do that?" she interrupted defensively, putting her hand on her waist as he approached her, looking everything like the supernatural being she supposed him to be, in the Ore military uniform.
"Perhaps, you wish to escape my tiresome presence." He responded, stopping right in front of her and staring down at her with a brow raised. The princess was considered a tall female, but before her knight, who stood almost two heads taller than she, it was as though she were a child.
She did not put it far from him to think of her as a child, as he was a little over five years older. She was aware that most were intimidated at the mere sight of him but she, on the contrary, did all in her power to intimidate him. It was all in futility, as he was the boldest and most courageous individual she had ever met. The fact that he stood almost two heads above her, was only one of the many pitfalls in her endeavour.
"I should have escaped, if you were not so odiously efficient!" She mumbled, squinting her eyes in a bid to give him a darting look. "I did not make a sound! How is it that you became aware of my presence?" The man smirked smugly, lifting his head.
"I believe your assumption that I was in a state of slumber was your first error."
"That is nonetheless of little significance since your eyes were closed, my door is noiseless, and so was I." Ai argued.
"Would it satisfy you if I told you that I could smell your presence, Your Highness?"
"No, it would not! I wear no strong scents."
"Well then, what shall I say that would be pleasing to you?"
"I have not asked you to tell me what I wish to hear, Michael. I get my fill of that from the palace servants.” She responded with evident annoyance. “All I ask is that you tell me how it is that you have the supernatural ability to sense a person's presence regardless of the distance. As your princess, I demand that you tell me the truth and nothing less!"
There was a twinkling in his eyes that indicated that he was keeping himself from laughing.
"I have told you several times, but you always choose to disbelieve me. I have therefore resigned myself to saying whatever is pleasing to your hearing."
"The sad explanation of having all your senses alert is not very helpful to me now, is it? You ought to train me on how to achieve this by telling me every detail."
"It is not my duty to train you, Your Highness. I believe you have some other soldier in that respect." He stated grinning.
The princess thought of the skilful soldier her father had put in charge of her battle training, since the awful incident at the orphanage. She had long surpassed the middle-aged man’s skill and was quite bored of sparring with him.
"You are my knight, and you should teach me!"
"My duty, dear princess, is to protect you."
“I should not need your protection, had I your skill, should I?"
"But how shameful would it be to our kingdom if our sole princess protected herself?" The knight responded, and Ai stumped her foot in childish annoyance.
"You know, you should have remained Jarit, for you are most certainly made of iron!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she noticed the man’s smile vanish abruptly and wished she had not uttered them.
