Longing for Freedom

[New Pov]

"Okay, okay! I get it already!" I shouted at the top of my lungs in my own room, being glanced at by the scowl of my own right-hand maid. I sat in a fetal position on my silk bedding, the curtains draped around the sides as silver linings adorned the cement walls, crafted by skilled hands. My eyes hung to my feet, my toes idly moved around as I waited to be scolded. My long blonde hair was disheveled, and my hands hugged my slender legs shrouded in a nightgown.

"I'll join the dumb ceremony–" Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I muttered, a soft exhale coming from the mouth of my caretaker. 

"Princess Abigale, this is your brother's ceremony, try to be a little more courteous." She lectured, her arms crossed and expression softened to me. "It's been a tradition ever since his passing, and it means a lot to your father."

"I know…" I murmured my disappointment far from hidden.

"Besides, it's the only time you get to go outside, you should be excited." The maid mentioned, trying to cheer me up with her words but that only served to make me feel worse.

"That's exactly it!" I snapped, though there was no anger in my words, my teeth gritted together in disappointment and anticipation before finally settling down.

"I only get out once a year and every year it's the same thing– over and over, I'm sick of it. I want to travel, I want to see the outside, but instead, I'm trapped in here like some kind of doll…" I hitched on my own words, stumbling on my own emotions.

"You're my maid, you belong to me, why can't you just choose my side? You've been so caring and kind to me, ever since my mother died you were the one I looked up to, Meraline"

I just heard a sigh, a sign that she was weary of my words and reason.

"I belong to no one but the king, I'm merely doing my job in ensuring you carry out your duties and to your safety." Meraline walked over to the door, her hand rubbing on the pristine wooden frame before looking back at me with a cold stare.

"The ceremony is in four days, I suggest you get prepared," and with that, she left without another word to me.

I let out an annoyed groan, tossing my pillow at the door long after it had closed. Burying my head into the bedding with tear-filled eyes.

"This is so dumb–"

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[Alya's pov]

"Ah, so you're here with a friend?" Fran pondered as I walked alongside him through the lively village. I nodded with a soft smile, looking up at him.

"Yeah, he's recovering from a fight earlier…"

"Sounds like you'll be here for a while," Fran commented, looking at me from the side.

"Yeah probably, we've already been here for three days so." I reached up to scratch my cheek with an awkward giggle, my hand squeezing my staff a tad bit lighter.

"In three days, would you care to join me during the festival? There's also a ceremony the day after but I doubt you'd be interested—"

"No, I'd love to!" I interrupted him, Fran looking at me with a slightly surprised look, before breaking into a smile that made me buckle internally.

"S-sorry…"

"You're fine."

We continued to walk side by side, he would often point out things I'd never seen before, the local fruits and foods, the songs, and the culture. I couldn't wipe that stupid smile off my face as he showed me around.

"Are you a local here?" I pondered, looking at him with a look of admiration for his knowledge.

He shook his head with a small smile as he responded.

"Me? No, I come here every year as a merchant. It's a big business selling at one of these festivals."

"Oh, that does make sense," I murmured, a thought crossing my mind as I looked up at him once more.

"Speaking of, what's this festival even for?"

Fran looked up ahead, his smile wavering a bit, the city was lively around us, serving as a good ambiance in the backdrop of our topic, the smell of food still dances in the morning winds.

"It's to celebrate the late prince." He answered. My heart sank at his words.

"Oh…" I mumbled, feeling bad for whatever could've happened. "How long was it?"

"It was fourteen years ago, he fought in a war alongside his father against the Dynasty," He explained.

"The dynasty… I heard about them, you have to win a war to be able to leave right? Or they take over your country!" I shouted in realization, now even more intrigued than ever in the situation presented to me.

"But why leave? Joining the Dynasty has a lot of benefits for small villages."

"No one knows why, but it happened around the time of the princess's birth, which means it was probably because of her. Though the villagers don't know the reason, they trust their king, he never steered them wrong before." His smile grew bigger before he turned to me.

"Besides, it looks like this town is doing great for itself in its fourteen years of independence."

I was taken aback by his sudden shift in tone, giving him a soft nod to his words.

"Yeah, this village is beautiful."

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"I see, so that's how it is…" An eerie voice spoke upon a throne made of obsidian crystal, their legs crossed as they stared into the severed head of a monster we met not too long before. 

"What an interesting warrior." They muttered as they licked their lips, a burst of excitement running up their spine.

"I wonder who he could be, I wonder how this will play out."

"I need to see him…"

"He could just possibly be– one of them."

Many monsters made their way to them, surrounding them by their feet before they reached down and pet them, all six of their arms grazing against their rough outer scales.

"This'll be the most fun I've had in a while."