The Princess Who Returned

Chapter Seventeen

Tristan

It took too long to walk back but I did not care for quite a while because of how dispirited I felt but then I remembered that Mom was awake and that Lily was not under the potion and rushed. If mom saw her acting out of character she might hurt Lily and I could not have that. I might not be able to help Lily get home but the least I could do is keep her safe and alive here if not happy. That was all I could do and I would do it to the best of my ability. This was our life now and there was no escaping it.

All we could do for each other was make things a little more bearable. Thankfully, I did not have to explain what happened since she had no clue of my conflicted feelings but there was an issue when I got back. We had to be very careful today since I had not given my mother a sleeping potion but she seemed to have grasped how to act like Trista by now and could make it through today.

When I got back she was still writing and I called out to her, "Trista, Do you want to watch me make potions instead of writing in your diary." She seemed to get the hint suspiciously fast and quickly switched to Trista mode, "Can fishes swim in water?" I chuckled and said, "I assume that is a yes." She vigorously nodded her head and I headed towards my desk.

Once there I started my work and she watched for a while and then asked, "What are you making?" "Telepathy potion so we can talk to each other through more secretive means." "Like spies!" I nodded and she started running around the tree house like Trista did when she was excited. Lily had nailed the character and I was relieved; this could still work. "Calm down Trista." I said while smiling and she stopped which was something else Trista did.

She had always needed someone to stop her otherwise she would run for hours. Once I stopped Lily she joined me at the desk and watched me making the potion intently. This was something they both did but while Trista was just fascinated by the bubbles and colours Lily actually wanted to learn and I wanted to teach her but Trista would never agree so we couldn't do this.

This is not how things are supposed to be. Living in the forest should not have been so stressed and strict. Life is always supposed to be free here and it had been before Trista died so I was still not quite used to the restricted feeling even if it had been sixteen years. Lily seemed to fit right in which could be put to her upbringing. She was a princess after all. Regardless, I was not happy with this life.

Once the potion was done I split it into two cups and gave one to Lily and said, "Let us drink this together on the count of three." She nodded and I started the count. At three both of us finished our glasses in a big gulp. "Now we wait for a few minutes. If you experience brain freeze it means the potion has worked." She whined, "I hate that feeling." In response I rolled my eyes and we waited in silence. This potion would be an important tool and I was glad to have finally mastered it.

Soon enough, I felt the brain freeze and was assured of the fact that it worked. To test I sent my first message to her, "Can you hear me, Lily?" she nodded and I let out a sigh of a relief. The next transmission came from her, "What is up why haven't you given me the antidote? We are nearing the end of our session." "Mom is awake now so I can't risk it, you did a great job at the act though." "Thanks, I wanted to tell you something by the way." "What is it?" "I will say it out loud but I mean every word." I was confused but I cooperated and she said with Trista-like enthusiasm, "I really love living here Tristan. This is such a wonderful place. I can't imagine being born in another place."

For the second time in the day I was left dumbstruck. She had said exactly what I wanted to hear and much more. I no longer had to feel guilty! "You really are overdramatic Trista but I like this place too because you're here with me."

I meant every word as well. She was my good reason to living and had made living here more bearable. Lily was the first good reason I had in sixteen years. "Well, we better get to mom. She must be awake by now." She nodded and both of us left together.

My problems had finally disappeared. I had nothing to feel guilty for any longer so why did I still feel so guilty? Why was I not happy? Why did I feel even guiltier than before? Why was there still a pit in my stomach? No, I was just overthinking. I was just finding it hard to believe her since this was something I had only dreamt about. Yes, that was it. There was no other reason. So I pushed these thoughts aside and focussed on finding mom with Lily who was unusually quiet and looked sad.....

Lily

I had done it; I had told him the lie and it had served the purpose. He looked really happy and that made me glad but the fact remained I wanted to go home. I didn't want to be around Ophelia. I wanted to go home and this could never be home. I hated having to do this. I hated this whole situation but I had to act in order to leave and be there for a friend.

I made the decision but I still felt resentful towards them even Tristan. I hated this feeling so much but there was nothing I could do. Why couldn't he just realise how bad his mother is for him?! Why can't he realise that leaving is the best thing he could ever do for himself and me?! No, now was not the time to dwell on these feelings. I had a role to play for a few hours until night fell. Once it was night time and they slept, I could let it all out. With that I switched to Trista's perky nature and went to meet Ophelia with Tristan. She was going to teach us how to hunt today since according to her we were ready for the bloodshed. Neither of us was excited for this endeavour because no matter what we tried we could never ignore the truth of what this game actually consisted of. I really could never enjoy life here.

The flight took a few minutes and when we reached the spot we saw that she had changed into appropriate gear. She had changed out of her casual t shirt and pants into armour of sorts and had a basket of arrows slung across her shoulders. Me and Tristan exchanged anxious looks. She noticed and asked, "What's wrong kids? Are you both scared?" maybe that could be our escape so we both nodded while I said since I was clearly the favourite child, "Yes, mom we're very scared and don't want to do this. Can we skip?"

"Don't worry mama will keep you both safe. Just change into this armour and take some weapons from my hut. I promise you; it'll be fun." I whined, "But mom we don't want to do this. Why can't we learn something more peaceful instead?" "I can't listen to you this time Star, you are a demon and have to do demon things to survive. We are naturally hunters. These lessons have been delayed for too long."

In the end we had no choice and had to partake in her lessons. The only relief we had was that at least the two of us were together and not going through this mess alone. The telepathy potion also helped a big deal because every time one of us had to shoot or stab our prey we were able to send each other messages to provide support and lessen the guilt. He was my pillar of support and I was his. We were stuck in this mess together and would cope together. For a time, my resentment lessened because I kept wondering that if I despite being with someone still found it hard to kill and was weighed down by the guilt then how would ha have done all alone? This further strengthened my will to stay with him. It was cruel letting the person I care about deal with this hell on his own. I couldn't abandon him.

That night after we had dinner, I immediately went to bed well to a tree branch since that is where we slept. I was unable to control myself any longer. A lot had happened today we and I had to come to terms with it all. Just how had I gone from a human princess whose only struggle was dealing with lessons and royal duties to a demon who had to worry about surviving the wrath of another demon.

Just what kind of twist in fate turns a human into a demon. How is this even possible?! How could I go from someone fairly loved by the people of Yale to someone who nobody remembered?! How could I go from having a human friend to having a demon friend?! How does any of this makes sense?! Why did any of this have to happen?! Why did I have to lose my peaceful life like this?! Why couldn't I get it back?! Just why did I have to stay here with a psychopathic monster. Why did I have to make this decision?! Why did I have to start caring for that damn demon?! If I didn't care, I could have easily left him behind and made a run for it but now I could not. No matter what I did, what I said and what I felt. I knew that I could never take a step out of this forest without him or without at the very least freeing him from the woman who gave birth to him.  All I could do now was cry and so I did.