"Alright, I'll be done in a moment. You can sit on the bed if you'd like." He did as instructed before making himself as comfortable as he could be. "Do... you happen to know what Sinbad wants me for?" He answered with a simple no, as I continued to brush out knots and snarls. I wanted to talk to Masrur a little more, but I knew he was more on the quiet side. I couldn't blame him for this, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, so I decided to keep the peace. Once getting my hair under control, I turned to face the burly man, "Sorry to keep you waiting." Masrur was a man of little words, which I could respect. I was more than happy to keep the peace. "Do you have any family, Masrur?"
"Two wives and a child on the way." He answered, which made me gap.
"Congratulations Masrur." I praised softly, as I watched a flicker of happiness bounce around in his eyes. A man of stoic expressions, yet of emotions like anyone. "Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?" He contemplated my question for a moment, before staring down at my figure, "Oh? Sorry, I shouldn't assume. They'll be a bundle of joy either way, I'm sure." Making it to his office door, I pushed open the wood, before glancing over to Sinbad stationed at his desk. On one of the couches was Sharrkan.
"Greetings Princess~" Sharrkan grinned, waving his hand at me in recognition. "I hope you slept well!" Freezing up for a second, I realized he meant this innocently, before I opted to answer.
"I slept wonderful. Thank you for asking, Sharrkan." Moving my gaze over to the King, a glimpse of his smirk caught my attention, "Good morning, Sinbad. Was there a reason you wished to see me?"
"I just thought it would be nice to have your company." Sinbad spoke with a soft smile. Taking my leave to get my dress, Sharrkan and Sinbad were left alone. "What is it, Sharrkan? You obviously want to say something."
"I thought the Princess was only a trade partner. Why is she... coming back to Sindria? On that note, why did we go to Feanel anyway? It was so boring~ Not one singles bar." The white-haired prince cooed out, putting his hands behind his hair. Sharrkan was a man of humanly pleasure, but he merely was because of Sinbad. Walking back into the room, I positioned myself across from Sharrkan, before getting to work on the dress again. "Princess?" Humming in assertion, he continued, "I wanted to thank you personally for allowing us to see Feanel." His words threw me off a little before I stared up at him in confusion. My first visit to Sindria was not stationed too much around Sharrkan. In fact, he was probably the General I saw the least. The brief argument he had with Yamraiha came to mind, as I smiled at the humorous memory.
"The pleasure was mine, Sharrkan." I smiled, continuing to move the needle along. "What did you enjoy the most in Feanel? If I may ask."
"The women~" He cooed out, making me stare up from my work. 'Did he really say that?!' I thought, before keeping my composure. Yamraiha and himself fight all the time, and with two words, I could see why. "The wine was pretty good too! It was aged perfectly~" Alcohol and women... he reminded me of someone... Oh, right, Sinbad. "In all seriousness, your kingdom's medicinal herbs also caught my eye. You see, I'm the Prince of Heliohapt, a kingdom in the Dark Continent. We specialize in medicinal herbs as well."
"The Dark Continent, you say?" I questioned, as the white-haired male nodded coolly. "A friend of mine actually lives there... or at least I think he does. In any case, I would very much like to see what types of goods Heliohapt has to offer."
"I would be more than happy to show you sometime, Princess~" A small wink made my heart flutter a little, before I turned away all together. "So Princess, are you skilled with anything else besides the needle?" The way the question was phrased made my expression sour, however, I opted to indulge him. For Sinbad's sake.
"If you speak of one-on-one combat, I have no experience whatsoever. I'm the High Priestess of Feanel. My job is to heal, not inflict pain and suffering. Though... I do wish to learn how to use a sword eventually... For protection." I spoke the truth, as Sharrkan grinned in my expression.
"Well~" He cooed out, getting up to sit next to me, "I happen to be very skilled myself with swordplay... If you'd like, I could teach you a thing or two~"
"Enough Sharrkan." A masculine voice spoke over. Turning my gaze toward Sinbad, I stared into his eyes. Sternness were held in those amber orbs. From the glint in his eyes, or the lack of thereof, I snapped my gaze away immediately. With unspoken words, Sharrkan got up and quickly left the room, leaving me alone with the purple-haired sailor. He seemed stressed out of his mind, as small eyebags hung under his eyes. "I should apologize to him later..." He grumbled under his breath, as I contemplated about what to do. He wasn't one to lose his temper, and I didn't want to cause more trouble.
"Are... you doing alright, Sinbad? You seem very tired." The male stared up from his paperwork, giving me a vacant glance, before showing off his genuine smile.
"I did not sleep well last night." Sinbad answered simply, as guilt reaped over my features. The King took notice of this, "It had nothing to do with you, (Y/N). In fact, when you fell asleep last night, I slept as well." A small hue reappeared on my features, as I adverted my gaze.
"Did I... do anything embarrassing last night?" Sinbad hummed in questioning, before I continued with a stutter, "W-Well, I've been told that when I stay up late, I... tend to do somethings I wouldn't normally do." At this he grinned.
"Can you give me an example?" The sailor cooed out teasingly, however, I didn't answer his request. Not only because I had no desire to tell him, but because I couldn't really remember the times like those happening. "From that look in your eyes, I can tell you really don't remember, huh?" Shaking my head, he smiled, "Last night, you requested to talk here. In this room, you insisted on brushing my hair. When you got done, you fell asleep on me. After that, I took you back to your room and went to sleep myself." The moment he told me, I remembered. Suddenly, a wave of embarrassment passed over my brain. 'How could I do that?!'
"I'm sorry!" Bowing my head till it reached my knees, Sinbad became excessively surprised.
"Woah, there isn't a reason for that!" He recognized, as I glanced at him pitifully, "Like what I said last night... I quite enjoyed it." Feeling butterflies in my stomach in my stomach again, I suddenly turned away to hide my expression. Moments like this... felt really warm and fuzzy.
...
Sinbad was stationed beside me, with a determined grin on his features. I was shaking from excitement from witnessing the sight of Sindria once more. Sinbad had created such a beautiful country, that staring upon it brought me almost half the joy I feel from gazing upon Feanel. "(Y/N)?" Sinbad asked, as I turned to face him, "You are my honored guest. And I wish for you to have a wonderful time in Sindria." Agreeing with him, my eyes trailed back to the country on the water. Once docking at the ports, Sinbad and I were the first to walk down to the pier. "(Y/N), would you like to take a-" Suddenly, a red string wrapped around the purple-haired sailor's neck. He was slightly choking out but continued to smile.
"Now, you've been gone for over a month, without any notice but a single note in the corner of my desk... Do you have any reasonable explanation?" The white-haired assassin was pissed off. Sinbad pointed toward me, unable to speak. Ja'far was the first to meet my gaze as he started to yell at Sinbad again. 'Called it...' I thought, before the advisor took a quick gander at my figure once more. "Princess (Y/N), welcome back to Sindria." He bowed out of respect as I did the same.
"The pleasure is all mine, Ja'far. I'll leave you and your King alone for a while." Wandering off, I went to explore more of this beautiful island. In the moment, I wasn't a Princess, nor was I of any importance. I was like any citizen. Well... kind of. I would have been if a certain Fanalis wasn't following me around from the 'shadows.' Walking into an empty alley, I managed to catch Masrur off guard. "Masrur, would you care to join me? You didn't have to follow me so." Nodding his head, we left the alley before making our rounds. "So why were you following me in the first place, Masrur?" I asked.
"I was ordered to keep you safe." Raising my eyebrow a little, I opted to let it go. Passing through a clothing market, I stopped in a few shops to get new needles and thread. Everything in the shops were so beautiful that I couldn't help my gawk at the merchandise.
"Are you seeing anything you like, miss?" The store owner queried happily, as I shook my head. "We have quite a bit of stock, so don't be scared to buy anything." A simple smile echoed on my features, as I continued to browse the goods.
"Actually... do you happen to know where I can get some horsehair?" The shop keep stared at me for a second, before redirecting me down the street. "Thank you. I'd also like to buy this from you."
"A... ring?" They queried. It was a simple silver band, with etched designs similar to the Sindrian emblem. Though the size was much larger than my fingers' diameter, I was sure that Sinbad would enjoy it. I had to return his hospitality somehow. Buying it quickly, I ran out of the shop and toward the Fanalis that was accompanying me. Masrur and I continued around Sindria's market and thriving economy. I bought my horsehair before, gently placing it in one of my pouches. I hadn't looked so closely at everything as I was doing right then.
"I'll be taking you back to the palace now." The day had gotten away from us, as the sun set over the rock walls. Nodding, I followed alongside him.
"Hey Masrur? Can I ask you a question?" He hummed, before I continued, "Do you happen to know why I'm in Sindria? Sinbad nor my sister told me the reason for my visit..." The male shrugged his shoulders, insinuating that he didn't know a thing. But in reality, the Fanalis knew the reason for my presence and was ordered by Sinbad to keep it a secret. Something in me screamed that he was lying, but I let it go then and there. There was no use in arguing.
I didn't want to appear rude or disrespectful any more than I was being. It wasn't gaslighting. Simply put, it was a mannerism that I learned from my studies. Being courteous usually gave me the answer quicker. A representative of Feanel wouldn't behave so rashly. However, I couldn't help but feel a little aggravated.