The Embrace

The crowd that had been cheering for us fell silent. Everyone glared at the little girl, who seemed to shrink back in fear. A woman rushed to her side. They looked identical to each other, albeit much older.

This must be her mother?

"I'm so sorry, Princess!" she begged on her knees. "Please forgive her. She is young and struggles with separating fact from fiction. Lady Porcia, let's hurry home now, please?"

Ah. So she's an attendant. I wonder why their features are so similar?

The girl stomped her foot and cleared her throat.

"No!" she yelled defiantly, tears beginning to cloud her little eyes. "Because of you... it's your fault my sister became like this!"

Her and her sister must be extremely close. She seems to care for her a lot. It reminds me of the love I had for Remier. No, still have.

"Princess, let's carry on," Maliece said, coming to my aid. "We have time for these things, but not a lot."

"And you're just as bad, ugly knight!" the girl hurled at Maliece. "You're supposed to be a knight, but you're not protecting my sister. You're protecting her instead. You're an ugly traitor!"

"What did you just say to me?!" Maliece said, preparing to strike the child.

I held my arm out in front of Maliece. She stopped in surprise. I knelt down in front of the little girl. She slapped me immediately, her little hand leaving a red print on my cheek.

"Princess!" Maliece said.

But I held up my hand to silence her.

"Little one," I said to Porcia with a smile. "Does that make you feel a little better? To slap my cheek?"

She jumped back before looking towards the ground. Her little hands trembled.

"Yes, but not enough!" she cried. "It's not enough for how you hurt Luraie. She's a mess right now because of you. She even... yelled at me because of you!"

I sighed, pulling her into a gentle hug. She fought at first, calling me many different expletives I was shocked she knew. But she soon calmed down into a ball of sobbing.

"I had a sibling I treasured just as much as you treasure your sister," I said. "He was annoying, a trickster, and constantly got on my nerves. But the amount of love I had for him was immense. Seeing him hurt, was enough to shake my soul. I don't know your sister. However, I do know the feeling of seeing someone you treasure in pain. Would you allow me to try to fix this?"

She grumbled and twisted her head deeper into my chest.

"How can you fix it?"

"Hmmm," I hummed playfully. "I can try to fix it... but that may not be so. I may be able to return your sister to herself. So she won't yell at you again."

She popped up with a start. Her movements mimicking a small bunny as she hopped up and down in my lap.

"Could you really do that?" she beamed, her eyes twinkling in anticipation. "Luraie could be herself again?"

"I will try my best," I smiled.

She hugged me, wiping tears and snot from her face. It wasn't until she ran back to her attendant that something dawned on me.

That entire scene just played out in front of the crowd.

I looked at everyone around me. They stood, stunned by what they had seen. I smiled at them before awkwardly strolling forward.

Suddenly, Maliece burst into a fit of laughter. The crowd around us erupted in cheers. I stopped, both in shock and overwhelmed by the spectacle. Evanil just looked at me and smiled brightly.

"You may be able to handle the situation at the palace better than I anticipated," he said. "I look forward to seeing what you do then."

What is he talking about and why is everyone cheering?

"The princess is kindhearted and just! She's amazing!"

"She didn't even reprimand her for injuring her! Did you see that?"

"She even got Lady Maliece to stand down! How?!"

"And Prince Evanil looks so taken with her!"

How did this happen?

Maliece chuckled, placing a proud hand on my shoulder. We continued on to the palace, leaving the roaring crowd behind. We laughed and discussed the situation the rest of the way. Evanil filled me in on who Luraie is.

"Luraie is essentially my ex-girlfriend," he sighed. "We were engaged the year after your father took off to Kitelle. I was forced into it by my father's vassals to keep the power in Robaine stable. However, I found out later that those vassals were paid by Kitelle royals to mingle in our affairs. They and Luraie were sent to infest our kingdom and corrode it from the inside out. When one of them slipped up in a drunken fit during a ball, we got the information we needed."

"That's when he sent me to Kitelle to investigate what had been going on," Maliece said. "I came as a maid working under a noble we had good relations with in Kitelle. That's when I found out about the situation you were going through and the plan of the Kitelle royals to smother our kingdom under their thumb. They have no respect for the treaty!"

That is a lot of information and we haven't even reached the royal palace yet. If what they are saying is true, then William is far worse of a person than I thought. But still, where do I fit in to this? Why do they still need me? He could just marry whoever he wanted after kicking her out.

What makes me so special?

We arrived at the palace but I had no time to marvel at it. Both Evanil and Maliece rushed off towards the entrance. Screaming and the sound of breaking could be heard coming from inside.

I followed them, my heart pounding in my chest. What was going on?

We burst into the throne room, and I was met with a scene of chaos. Luraie was standing in the center of the room, her eyes wild and her hair a mess. She was holding a knife, and she was pointing it at Evanil.

"You!" she shrieked. "You're the one who did this to me! You're the one who took everything away from me!"

"Luraie, please," Evanil said, holding his hands up in front of him. "Calm down."

"Calm down?!" she yelled. "How can I calm down when you've ruined my life?!"

She took a step towards him, the knife still in her hand.

"I'm going to kill you!" she said.

I stepped forward, placing myself between Evanil and Luraie.

"Luraie," I said, "I know you're angry. But you don't need to do this. We can talk about this."

She turned to look at me, her eyes narrowing.

"You?" she said. "You're the one who's responsible for this! You're the one who stole my place as princess!"

"I didn't steal anything," I said. "I'm just trying to do what's right for my kingdom."

"You're not my princess!" she screamed. "I am! And I'm going to make sure you pay for what you've done!"

She raised the knife, and I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact.

But the impact never came.

Instead, I heard a voice. It was mine.

"Please think of Porcia," I said.

Luraie's eyes widened, and she lowered the knife.

"Porcia?" she whispered.

"Yes, Porcia," I said. "I know you're angry, but this situation isn't about just you anymore. You have a little sister who is so worried about you and so scared she stood in front of a crowd and struck me. She risked her life for you while you are here throwing a fit. I only know a bit of the situation but you knew this was one of the outcomes. And you know this isn't the way to fix it. I have a brother that I lost. That I forgot to protect in my fit of emotions. Had I reacted faster, had I moved quick enough he'd still be here. I can't go back in time to fix things. You can still salvage your life and your sister's life."

Luraie shook her head. "It's too late," she said. "Everything is already ruined."

"No, it's not too late," I said. "You can still turn things around. But you have to calm down and think."

Luraie hesitated for a moment, then she lowered the knife.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. She took a deep breath and I could see the anger starting to fade from her eyes.

"Thank you," she said. "I'm sorry my sister struck you."

"It's okay." I chuckled.

She turned to Evanil. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I initially agreed to this entire thing because I had no choice. My family was falling into ruin. My parents…I couldn't refuse. I thought, if anything Porcia could enjoy the spoils of a good life. But I went too far. We all did."

Evanil smiled. "It's okay," he said. "You can explain more later."

Luraie sheathed the knife and walked over to me. She hugged me tightly.

"Thank you," she said again. "You're a good sister. I'm sure that your brother, even in death, holds no grudge against you."

I smiled and hugged her back. My heart aching at her words.

"I'm glad I could help," I said.

Luraie turned to Maliece. "I'm ready to go," she said.

Maliece nodded and led her away.

I watched them go, and I felt a sense of relief. I had been able to talk Luraie out of her fit, and can only hope that things will turn out okay for her along with Porcia.

I knew that there would be more challenges ahead, but I was confident that I could face them.

However, my confidence only lasted for a moment as a voice rang against my ears.

"Ah, you really do have the spirit of your father. It seems that you've grown a bit due to your escape? That was different from what I was expecting based on the reports of your disposition. I guess rumors are just rumors."

I turned to see a frail, decorated man standing before me. Two knights joined him at his side.

"Father." Evanil said "I guess Luraie's commotion caught your attention?"