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CIEL FALLS ILL
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K06 ‖ A Royal Vengeance: Famous Destinations
𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖉𝖊:
Italic words — the thoughts of a character / a foreign language is spoken
Bold and italic words — a lie, only when Princess Caitlyn's around
Bold, italic and underlined words — the timeline of memories, past, hallucinations etc.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Year 2039
Private Residence of the Royal Family, Saudi Arabia
[22 hours 26 minutes left in the game]
After her second breakfast with the Qatari princess, Caitlyn of Norway was convinced that the princess was a genius forced into hiding by the strict patriarchal society she was born into. Princess Ishtar was bound to follow the centuries-old rules that were cold and unbending albeit in a new age of modernization.
A sigh left her lips.
Caitlyn glanced to the side, taking quick breaths as she readied herself for the first step of Shaho Hassetsu (射法八節), the eight steps in shooting an arrow in Kyudo: "ashibumi". As she followed through with "dozukuri", and "yugamae" all the way until the sixth step, "kai". The princess held her stance, clearing her mind while breathing in deeply before letting the arrow fly. A tsurune (弦音) was heard - a sound made when the bowstring hits the bow when shooting an arrow.
A dull thud sounded as the stiff point of the ya (矢), bamboo arrows used in Kyudo, embedded itself into the center of the target.
The princess of House Hárfagri lowered her 2.27 meters bow and completed the last step, "zanshin". Ice-blue eyes flashed with delight at the sight of the arrow embedded in the center of a regular archery target. Of all ten arrows released, only one hit the center while the rest surrounded it, also embedded in the target.
While others would consider it as an unsatisfactory result, Caitlyn was delighted by it. Compared to the last few months when she was fresh out of sorrowful rage, she could barely hit the target. As Kyudo emphasizes the balance between tranquility and action, it shows that the princess's mental stability was slowly improving now that all her arrows hit the target.
A short and crisp applause sounded. Caitlyn recognised it as Valkyrie's.
Soon enough, Valkyrie moved over to the princess and took the 2.27 meters bow passed to her. Setting it aside with care, Valkyrie rushed help her charge remove her yugake (弽), a deerskin glove worn on the right hand used to protect it.
"Congratulations, your highness," Valkyrie said, helping her charge onto a bench at the archery range of the Saudi Arabian palace. "At this rate, you could enter the Olympics for archery."
An amused scoff was received. Caitlyn gave her lady-in-waiting an eyeroll. "I am a close ranged archer, specialized in shooting arrows to a target 28 meters away from me," she said. "The furthest I could shoot is 40 meters. I could barely hit a target 50 meters away, much less 60 meters away." Caitlyn accepted the glass of water from Valkyrie. "And you think I could hit anything if the target is 70 meters away?"
"I don't think so," said Valkyrie, taking the empty glass away and placing it on the side table. "I know so, your highness."
"Stop your flattering words, I'm no professional archer," said Caitlyn, resting an arm over her eyes as she leaned back into the seat. With a short nap in mind, the princess started to relax herself but before sleep could overtake her consciousness, her phone rang, startling her awake.
Valkyrie answered the phone, quietly walking away only to return in a few seconds and pass it to Caitlyn. The Norwegian princess let out a loud sigh. Immediately she could hear the Irish princess greeting her on the other side of the call.
"Hey," Princess Caoimhe was heard sounding rather cheerful, which was a rare occurrence.
"What is the bad news this time?" Caitlyn drawled lazily.
Caoimhe hummed. "The end of the game, naturally," she said. "It wasn't much of a surprise really. Prince Pompous isn't the best mastermind after all." Regardless of the situation, the Irish princess always finds a way to criticize the seemingly perfect Prince of Italy. Considering their strained relationship, it was nothing out of the ordinary.
"There should be 22 hours left. Explain," ordered the Norwegian princess, feeling annoyed.
Happily, Princess Caoimhe replied, "Naturally, Prince Charming failed because his sister intervened," her cheery tone did not match the grim situation at the moment. "And how does she know, you may ask? Simple. The mouse is the problem. He snatched the villain's phone when he's talking to his sister and managed to tell her their situation. Long story short, the game was called off." She recited the failure of her archnemesis in much vigor.
"What situation?"
"As we know," Caoimhe said patiently like she was speaking to a toddler, much to Caitlyn's ire, "they're in South Africa and have freed Prince Jayvyn. Unfortunately, Prince Gold Hair was down with a fever which brought them to the whole situation. But, there's some insignificant things happening along the way, so I'm not going to bore you with that."
Prince Gion's failure put Caoimhe in such a good mood that it seemed downright infuriating and disgusting to Caitlyn who was in a nasty mood. It did not seem fitting that her friend should be cheerful at the moment.
"Thank you," said Caitlyn through gritted teeth.
Looking away from the archery targets, her ice blue gaze settled on the glass placed on the table beside her. Then like a cat swiping stuff off the counters, Caitlyn casually pushed the empty glass off the table. She watched as it fell and shattered into thousands of pieces. She felt empty deep inside and had hoped that the shattered glass could bring her some sort of delight.
There was none.
From the corner of her eyes, her aide had kneeled down with her head lowered, forehead almost touching the ground. An annoyed tsk sound left her lips.
"Did you break a glass?" Caoimhe asked as she picked up the sound of glass shattering on the other side of the call.
Caitlyn said dryly, "Yes, was it that obvious?"
Caoimhe hummed, "I expected that to happen. Anything else you need at the moment?"
Caitlyn took a moment to consider before answering, "Some peace for today but I will need a plane to Australia tomorrow morning." Then she added, "And for future references, I need proper intel on Alexis."
"'Tinie and I will be there to pick you up, then we can head over to Australia together," she said before moving to retrieve her laptop. "And what do you need the princeling's intel for?" she wondered, her hands already typing away on the keyboard.
"Our own safety purposes," said Caitlyn. "He's living on the top floor with the princes for a reason. You said they call him a prince?"
"From what our spies informed, yes," Caoimhe said, midnight blue eyes glued onto the screen. "Prince of some Cauliflower Island or something. I'm still astonished that their geographical knowledge is so poor, not to mention their lack of historical knowledge too." Her lips pulled up into a sneer.
"I'd need you to look into it," said Caitlyn as she stared into space. "I'll cover any sort of expenses as usual. Any new leads about the snake Fowl?" she asked.
Teasingly, Caoimhe replied with a question. "The American President couldn't get anything to tell you?"
Caitlyn wrinkled her nose in irksome. "Even if father knows anything, he would never tell us." She could hear the Irish princess snickering at the answer. "Just get it done," said Caitlyn, exasperated. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye," was Caoimhe's chirpy reply.
The call ended and Caitlyn let her hand fall to her lap. She was conflicted. On one hand, it was satisfying to see Prince Gion fall from his grace. On the other hand, Caitlyn was infuriated that she could not teach her brother a proper lesson. Charles was meant to pay for his disloyal act of treachery and yet Caitlyn was the one left feeling devastated.
As her ice blue eyes followed the figure of Valkyrie cleaning up the glass shards, the Norwegian princess remembered that they are others who would feel just as upset about the news.
The princes who waited day and night to be saved by their so-called "friends".
In the end, it all comes down to how much faith they put into their allies and how emotionally strong they are.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Soon, the night fell and dinner time arrived without disturbance.
When Caitlyn brought the news of the game ending, the dining room fell into a deafening silence. Princess Ishtar and Princess Caitlyn left their food untouched as the Saudi Arabian prince stared into space, allowing the news to register in his head. With the tension being thick enough to be cut through with a knife, the prince declared that he will keep his brother home, regardless if he will be free to attend Momos Academy again.
Prince Arafat demanded that the Norwegian princess tell Prince Gion and the Vice principal that Prince Uthman is unfit to continue studying as he is still unfamiliar with certain things in his own country.
Princess Caitlyn agreed unanimously.
Then, dinner continued on with a few more minutes of the princesses shifting uncomfortably in their seats before the prince dismissed them. Leaving the room, Princess Ishtar only offered a weak "good night" before retiring to her room in the guest quarters while Princess Caitlyn was escorted to a rooftop pool area where an employee of hers awaited her presence.
"Hey boss," an arrogant smirk painted the lips of the twenty two-year-old Jacob Gryffin Caine, second heir to the wealth of House Caine. Donned in a gray button-down shirt with rolled up sleeves and black slacks emphasizing his long legs, the young man towered over the princess's 179 cm frame at 190 cm. He bent over and took the princess's outstretched hand, placing a kiss on her knuckles.
"Right on time, Jacob," Princess Caitlyn said, keeping her hand in his grip. "How are things in Honduras?"
"All good now," a smug look overtook his face as Jacob stared down at his employer, feeling triumphant. This was one of the times he managed to get a job done in a nick of time. A praiseworthy feat that others in the same line could only dream of achieving. "I will have the secretary send you the full report later."
Princess Caitlyn answered in a satisfactory hum, the only praise Jacob gets all the time considering how inflated his ego could get. "And the situation in Japan?" she asked, walking slowly as her proxy led her to the railings of the rooftop overlooking a lush garden below.
"When I first contacted his royal highnesses, Prince Gion was certain he could win," said Jacob, screwing up his face in a disgusted gesture, "but I called Prince Shintarou a few hours ago, he claimed that Prince Gion had lost." the young man scoffed, the corner of his mouth lifted. "Prince Shintarou assured me that Prince Junta was still in his possession. Seems like he's the only one who can get the job done. " He drawled in his smoky voice.
The princess nodded absently. "That's good," she said. "And I knew of the failure already."
"Brilliant," Jacob muttered darkly.
"Fret not," said Princess Caitlyn. "You are no longer required to contact Prince Gion from now onwards. I will deal with him personally." She turned to his side, leaning into his taller frame.
Relief clouded his features as he placed his left hand on the princess's waist. "Thank the Lords above. I thought I was about to go insane, listening to him brag," he groaned, burying his face into her winter-smelling hair.
"You hate him too much," Caitlyn sighed. Gloved fingers traced the tattoo of a skull on Jacob's right biceps, ice blue eyes followed the curves of the serpent encircling the skull. Jacob's electric blue eyes closed at the sensation.
"He is arrogant and self centered."
"I thought both of you have that in common."
The young man pulled away, glaring at the Norwegian princess. Nothing infuriated him more than needing to contact the peacock of an Italian prince, much less being likened to him. Of everyone in the world, the princess knows that best and yet a giggle escaped her lips.
He said firmly, "You thought wrong."
"I don't think there's anyone else self-centered enough to reject a Crown Princess," said Caitlyn with a teasing smile, her hands resting on the man's lean biceps.
Jacob snorted. He rolled her eyes, recalling the situation of promised matrimony he was forced into with the princess back when he was just a child. "I'd rather not be the consort of a queen," he said. It was bad enough that he was born second and could only inherit part of the family's wealth. However, being consort meant duty and he would lose the wealth and freedom he was promised since birth.
"And being her teenage fling is fine?" Caitlyn teased.
That was different, of course. Being the lover of a princess promised fame and glory as well as all the gold he wanted with no strings attached. Jacob's mouth curved into a smile.
Caitlyn received a tired hum in return as he leaned down letting their foreheads touch. The princess chuckled. "You've suffered too much. After the problem with the resort is settled, you can take a month off. I will handle my own meetings for the time being."
"Thank you, your highness," his minty breath fanned her face. "I hope you keep your word."
[the game ended]
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
2233 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜