Almost Enough to Work With

Diane had barely enough time to write the news to all of her potential allies before she had to pack up and leave. Mina was a godsend in terms of organizing her things, not to mention delegation— she was more competent than Diane had dared to initially hope.

Mina was outright capable, and that meant that Diane could use her. Perhaps Mina could help her research? She could even act as a spy amongst other servants, if only Diane could afford it.

She considered this possibility in their hastily-packed carriage, just as it left the walls of the capital. Crown Prince Theo rode in a much glitzier carriage ahead of them, surrounded by a swarm of guards, at least two dozen strong. Even the carriage was emblazoned with the royal insignia of a unicorn, raring on its hind legs, horn skewering the sun. It was followed by a supplementary carriage, likely chock full of whatever else Theo thought he needed.

It was obvious who was riding the first carriage. Of course it needed to be protected that strongly-- there was a reason why Diane had opted for the least conspicuous carriage in the Seraphine estate.

Anyway, it worked out well enough: Emperor Gladius had insisted on pairing her with his handpicked escorts, which meant that while her idiot fiancé had a small army, Diane was left with six guards to protect her, Mina, and all of their belongings as they left their home country and continued onto foreign soil.

The message was clear, but that just meant that Diane could travel more quickly. She and her little band of knights were traveling light and lean, and with that knowledge in mind she stopped the carriage and informed her party that they would be arriving at The Academy in no more than ten days.

The reception to this order was about as much as Diane had expected: the six knights glanced around at one one another, hemming and hawing, until Sir Marron stepped forward. Perhaps this was their ringleader: he certainly looked the part. Broad-shouldered, with a dark brown beard and hair and piercing green eyes, Diane could tell from the very first moment she laid eyes on him that he was a noble. There was even a pallor to him missing in the other knights-- she wondered if he trained in the same conditions as the others.

"Miss Seraphine," Marron began, "The expected travel time is fourteen days. To have us get there in ten is unreasonable, if you'll excuse my insolence."

Diane only smiled, turning her head to the slowly receding party of the Crown Prince. "I would expect fourteen days to be reasonable with two large carriages and a party of more than twenty," she replied, "But given that we're traveling light, I don't see an issue." The knight opened his mouth to retort, and before he could Diane continued, "Consider that you'll be able to check the perimeter of Crown Prince Theo's quarters before even his own knights. Should there be an intruder or assassin, who would get the credit for thwarting them?"

This stopped the knight in his tracks. He scratched at his bearded chin, looking down. All it would take was another push. "You'd also be gaining the favor of the future empress-- do you know exactly what strings I can pull?" Sir Marron smiled, not recognizing the implied threat. At least he was strong. "My position as Crown Princess is to aid His Highness. This is just a means of doing so. Don't you think?"

Marron glanced back at his compatriots with a smirk. "Let's say that this was my idea, and I convinced you to do this for the sake of the Empire, and we have a deal."

Diane stared at Marron, dumbfounded. This scheming motherfucker. She looked at the other knights, noted the deference that they had for Marron, ignoring her in favor of him. So this was Lilith's true place in society-- another reminder that all the respect she had was due to her status and nothing more. God, if it wasn't frustrating as all hell. "Alright," Diane decided, pulling her shoulders back and standing as tall as she could, "That will do." For now.

She decided then and there that she would have Marron sent back to Etienne with his tail between his legs once they reached The Magic Tower's esteemed Academy. "Mina was kind enough to prepare rations for tonight. If we ignore the Crown Prince's detour to Vasalle, we can cut our travel time further."

Marron's thick eyebrows inched toward his hairline. "You intend to camp outside?"

Was this really a surprise? "I intend to stay the night in our carriage. You're strong soldiers-- you've surely survived worse than a night under the stars." Best to use their machismo pride against them. "Now, if you'll excuse me," she shrugged, turning back toward her carriage, "Let's get going."

____

After hours of brutal galloping across the countryside, Marron decided on a clearing for camp. That he didn't even pass this by Lilith before ordering the party to stop did not go unnoticed; she wrote down his various improprieties in a small journal of hers, to be kept as evidence for later. Mina watched her write with a tired expression, looking outright sick.

"Mina?" Diane tried, "Is everything alright?"

Mina took a moment to speak, gathering herself. "Before I met you, I'd never ridden in a carriage. It's... nauseating, if I'm being honest."

"Especially at this speed," Diane agreed.

Finally Mina allowed herself a watery smile. "I have no idea how you can write through all of this. And goodness knows that I've never heard of a princess roughing it out in the woods."

This made Diane snort a quiet laugh. "There's a lot that you don't know about me," she replied, "And anyway, we'll be spending the next night in an inn."

"Thank Goddess," Mina sighed, and once again Diane felt... strange, like an outsider. Even their gods were different, if Diane's idea of God really existed. It was a jarring feeling, hearing that phrase from people here. Thank Goddess. She wondered if she'd ever get used to it.

Once the sun had set, and the fire was crackling, the entire party sat on recently-cut logs for dinner. That Diane had been unable to help prepare anything went unnoticed by the entire party, except her.

This was what it was to be of a different class-- never fully alone, never fully a part of the group. It was a first for her, and suddenly the weight of expectation put upon her felt heavier. As they ate, largely in silence, thoughts that Diane had tried to put off flooded her mind once again:

Was this reality? Had she actually died? Had her brother just. Left? She couldn't ignore the non-zero chance that she was just in a coma, and that all of this was one great winding dream, built from her subconscious. Yes, Diane had liked otome games-- it was primarily how she spent her time when she was alone-- but to this extent? Had her mind built an entire world for her?

And if that was the case, how could she get back? The easiest solution was probably just... dying in this world. Right?

But what if she'd actually died, and dying now would just mean death again? God. She hated these thoughts. They were never productive; they just went around in circles, like some shitty indecisive ouroboros. No. No, she had to make a decision and act on it. Just like when she decided on her law school.

So: if she didn't have perfect information about her circumstances, then she would act probabilistically. There was a non-zero chance that she was dead, and a non-zero chance that this was all one great new age dream. Those two facts didn't have to be in competition with one another.

The fact was, Diane didn't want to die. Even if it took place here, she wanted a long, comfortable life. She wanted freedom from all of this-- hell, if this was a dream and she woke up, she'd have enough money to retire on anyway.

Okay. She wouldn't die-- not here. If this was actually reality, then she'd face it and live on. But if she did die, because the chances at this point favored her demise, then. Well. At least she'd find out the truth.

That was enough for her, she decided with an internal wince. The circumstances were hardly favorable, but she could work with it.

She could work with this. That decided, Diane finished off her jerky with a newfound determination. Done with dinner, she stood and informed the party that she would be retiring to her carriage for the night-- and that Mina was welcome to join her. Diane would hardly let the girl spend the night outdoors with a bunch of soldiers. Who knew what they were thinking?

____

Diane allowed her dark hair to sprawl along the cushioned seating, staring as she was up at the ceiling. She'd watched as, slowly, over a period of hours, the fire had dwindled down into a low flame. Mina was next to her, eyes closed; Diane doubted that she was fully asleep.

"Think they're sleeping?" Came a whispered voice from the campsite, surely Marron's.

Another voice popped up, and Diane recognized it to be Sir Bertrand's-- the knight who'd insisted that she step back and watch as the crew set up camp. Diane remembered his outstretched hands, rough, with callouses built by years upon years of hard labor; even his dark brown hair had been bleached by the sun. He was no nobleman. "It's been, what, two hours? Surely."

"Thank goodness," sighed another, maybe Sir Navier, the younger, slighter man with delicate features and blond hair that glowed in the sunlight. He kept throwing her strange glances throughout their ride. They weren't lustful in nature, just... suspicious. "She's so strange. I'd heard the rumors that she'd changed, but it's like she's not even human."

Marron snickered. "Who knows. I just wonder why she had us break ourselves to get away from the Crown Prince. It gives some credence to the rumors, at least."

"What, that she lost interest in him?" Bertrand asked with a husky laugh.

A beat of silence. "She's just a spoiled little thing who thinks that she can break an agreement between noble families just because of her feelings," Marron griped, enunciating the word 'feelings' the same way someone else might say 'shit on the bottom of one's shoe.' "She's throwing a temper tantrum, and we have to tolerate it."

Interesting. That was certainly an understandable view, knowing what Diane had just put them through. It was incorrect, but the group of knights would better understand her reasoning once they met with Theo's traveling party at the Academy. She couldn't help but wonder how many casualties they'd have, flaunting their wealth all the way across Etienne. Maybe half of them would make it to the Magic Tower's Sovereign Territory?

"I think the fever drove her mad," Bertrand finally announced, louder than the others, only for the rest of them to shush him. "What? After a day of riding like that she can't possibly be awake." Wrong, but this intel was too valuable for Diane to bother interrupting them. "No sane princess would try to set up camp with commoners. My money's on madness."

There was a faint sound of coins clinking. They were betting on her fitness of mind. These were imperial knights sent by the Emperor himself, and there they were, gambling over their charge.

Quietly, Diane reached for her journal. She cracked it open and squinted in the fading firelight as she wrote down this fresh new indiscretion.

This would be evidence.

"I think that she's planning something," Navier replied, and this caught Diane's attention. Did one of them actually respect Lilith enough to see through to her actual intentions? "It's all a ruse," he continued, and Diane was legitimately interested in what he had to say next. Perhaps she could even make of him a loyal guard. "She's just doing this for his attention. All girls do that-- pull away to make you chase them. They can call her a princess and the next Empress all they want, but I know a little girl when I see one."

Wow. Okay. Sir Navier was written off with the rest of his fellow knights, and already Diane planned her next steps once they reached the Academy: she would have Mina hire mercenaries for better protection. Thinking about her, Diane glanced her way-- only to find Mina, eyes open and alert, staring at Lilith. Pitying her.

Diane's skin crawled.