- Capital city, Kingdom of Helesta | Days later... -
After the bandit problem was dealt with, Lize, now with two Felgardian princes with their own retinue of royal guards returned to the capital city of her kingdom where they were welcomed warmly. It was a surprise to the citizens when they saw that the two of the three princes of the House of Felgarde are in their lands now. Even more, they came with the Second Princess of Helesta and in a short amount of time, rumours started to circulate around them, including the possibility of one of the princes having a less than professional relationship with Lize. Royal censors caught wind of the rumours and they quickly derailed them.
When the two Felgardian princes entered the castle and into the courtroom, everyone inside had the same reaction as those from the outside, but they nonetheless welcomed the two foreign princes. While the two royal families conversed, Lize developed an interest towards Falric who quickly proved himself to be an honest and pragmatic person.
She never had any interest with the other princes of their vassals. They have tried to woo her and her sister, Diana in an attempt to somehow start a relationship with them to no avail. This led Lize to see princes from other royal families to be insufferable beings, although her kindness always prevented her from saying that out loud, and she was thankful that it did.
However, (Falric's) case was different. When other princes would continually praise Lize and her sister in order to win them, (Falric) said what he wanted with care and caution, and is not afraid to voice his disagreements on one thing or another. Several princes living near the castle gave her gifts while on the other hand, (Falric) gave her advice on how to be more confident in her abilities. When other princes saw her for her beauty and riches, (Falric) recognized her intelligence and knowledge in literature and military arts. Whatever the case, the Second Prince of Felgarde has caught her attention and her interest only grew.
It was a peaceful morning in the Kingdom of Helesta. The citizens are going about their daily lives as preparations for the Peace Festival continued without delay. News of bandit attacks didn't stop, but they were quickly subdued now that the Helestan military has brought out the reserves to better deal with threats. Lize stood on the balcony on one of the higher levels of the castle as she gazed at her people below.
"Is something the matter, milady?" Sebastian Piyodore, an unassuming little chick with a monocle over one eye asked Lize as he perched on her shoulder.
"Ah, it's nothing, Sebas. I was just thinking of something..." Lize trailed off, but Sebastian caught on.
"It's about Prince (Falric), is it not?" The chick asked.
"H- huh? How do you know?" Lize questioned, surprised.
"Pardon me for saying, but I was observing your reactions whenever you interacted with the Felgardian prince. I noticed that your reactions are significantly different to the times when you spoke with our kingdom's princes." Sebastian answered.
"I guess so. Prince (Falric) is just so..." Lize spoke but trailed off again.
"Different?" Sebastian adds for her. Lize nodded.
"Yeah. He is a prince, but he acted as if he isn't. At least it felt like it." Lize muttered.
"I admit that I find him to be an oddity for a royalty. Do you happen to be attracted to him?" Sebastian asked, which caused Lize to flinch.
"W- what? No! That's just preposterous!" Lize embarrassedly exclaimed. "It's not like we know each other that well." Lize said. Sebastian was amused and suspicious but didn't press the issue further.
Lize remained silent, staring into the horizon as the morning sun lit the capital city in a brilliant light. She wanted to dismiss (Falric) from her mind but something within her is preventing it. Her trying to suppress thoughts about the Felgardian prince only served to fuel her curiosity and it annoyed her.
"Lize, are you here? I brought tea." A female voice spoke to Lize. She looked behind her to see a woman with what can be described as animal ears on her head and dressed in a maid outfit while holding a tray of the aforementioned beverage.
Inui Toko is a Cerberus who runs a tea shop in the city, and is a good friend of Lize. She may look and act young from an outside perspective, but her age surpasses that of many, claiming that she lost count on two hundred years.
"Thank you, Toko." Lize said as the Cerberus set the tray down on a table. They both take their seats across each other and Toko picked up the porcelain teapot and poured the contents to the cups.
"I heard that you escorted the two princes of Felgarde on your way here. Is that true?" Toko asked Lize who hummed.
"It was more by chance really. We came across each other and happened to share the same goal of saving the town from the bandits that are attacking it, and you know the rest." Lize replied as she took a sip from her cup. Toko nodded. "What do you think of the people of the southern plains? The Felgardians, to be exact." Lize asked and Toko goes into thinking.
"Hmm, I'm not so sure. Now that I think of it, I've lived for so long already and I've never met a Felgardian before until now." Toko mused as she continued to think for an answer. "I don't really know. Helestan intellectuals referred to them as aggressive and territorial in nature, but I don't want to believe their words unless I see for myself." She said. "What about you, Lize? What are your thoughts now that you've met them, two princes of the House of Felgarde no less?"
"Where do I start...? For starters, they've just disproved some of the things that I was taught about." Lize said.
"Like what?"
"Well, how do I say this... They're hospitable?" Lize with uncertainty. Toko raised an eyebrow.
"You don't sound too confident in your answers." Toko commented.
"It's just unbelievable. They offered help in the restoration of the town that they almost singlehandedly saved. Even Prince (Falric) and Prince Dale personally lifted materials for the repairs." Lize continued. Toko hummed in understanding.
"Huh. That's quite uncharacteristic for them considering they are of royal blood." Toko said and Lize nodded. "That also explains why it took you days to come back here." She added.
"Yeah. I had to stay since I might as well bring the princes with me on my way back. As a sign of courtesy, you know?" Lize said. Toko smiled.
"You're so kind." Toko told Lize with a smile, causing the princess to blush.
"Ahah... Thanks." Lize muttered as she took another sip from her tea.
"What about the princes?" Toko asked Lize as her smile slowly grew into a smirk.
"What do you mean?" Lize said, genuinely clueless to what the Cerberus meant.
"You know, them. Do you find at least one of them..." Toko intentionally trailed off with a knowing look on her face. Lize caught what she meant and her blush brightened.
"Please don't." Lize told Toko who laughed in response.
"Ahaha! Alright, I'll stop with the teasing. But seriously, what do you think about them?" Toko questioned with interest painted on her face.
"What makes you ask that though?"
"Well, like I said, I never met a Felgardian before, much less someone of royal descent. It's natural for me to be curious, no?" Toko said. "Besides, I'd like to hear opinions from a friend." Lize smiled after hearing that.
"Uhh, well, I don't know. What do I say?" Lize asked no one in particular. Toko turned to Lize's butler-chick, Sebastian who is sitting on the table.
"What about you, Sebas?" Toko asked him.
"I shall respectfully refuse to comment, Miss Toko." Sebastian told Toko who shrugged. Lize cause her attention and she gave her an answer.
"On one hand, Prince Dale is entertaining to say the least. He seems to like to joke about with his older brother and people who he likes. Prince (Falric), on the other hand, seems like the kind of guy who didn't like to act like a prince, even though he is, and he spoke out his mind with care." Lize answered while pausing at certain points and Toko hummed.
"So it seems. I also noticed that you enjoyed talking with Prince (Falric) while you two are just by yourselves." Toko mentioned.
"What? How did you know that?" Lize questioned the Cerberus as her eyes widened in realization.
"I was observing you." Toko simply answered.
"You too!?" Lize exclaimed in embarrassment. Toko laughed and apologized to her.
"I couldn't help but notice how different is the way you communicated with them, especially with Prince (Falric). You never spoke to any of the princes in our kingdom like you did to them as far as I know. So, what changed?" Toko told Lize who sighed.
"I don't know, Toko. He and his brother are just so different from what I'm used to." Lize muttered. "Are all Felgardian royalty like them?" She asked out loud.
"Who knows? It's a different world out there in Felgarde." Toko said and Lize just nodded.
She gazed down at the lower balcony where Prince (Falric) as well as her eldest sibling, Prince Grandi are on, talking to each other like long lost friends. She observed them as she enjoyed the tea and crumpets prepared by her friend, wondering what they could be discussing about. She also wants to ask him as to why he acted the way he did days prior, wanting to know what influenced him to do such.
Again, she thought that it could just be a facade, but she still wants to know.
Meanwhile, the two princes on the balcony below are having their own breakfast along with their retainers, conversing as if there was no barrier between themselves. All of them are now wearing what can be considered formal uniforms for occasions like this and they spoke in their own courteous ways, but they more often than not interacted in a more casual way. While their retainers conversed, (Falric) and Grandi are on one side of the balcony, talking like long lost friends.
"Well, it's not like we wanted bandits in the first place. They can go to high hell for all I care." Prince Grandi said to (Falric) before taking a sip from his coffee.
"You're telling me. Us Felgardians had to constantly be in alert since we all know that we have the most bandit attacks every year." (Falric) replied to Grandi.
"Are you sure about that? Our bandits want our riches and they think big, like how you noticed when you came to the town in the outskirts. They were trying to sack it until you and my sister arrived." Grandi told (Falric).
"That's quite an interesting breed of bandits you have." (Falric) commented and he chuckled.
"Corruption, my friend. We suspect that some of the Helestan houses are supplying them with weapons, but we have little evidence at the moment." Grandi revealed and (Falric) nodded.
"Do you need help with dealing with them?"
"Help from Felgardians? Heavens no! For all we know, you red capes will just ride then down and wipe them off from the face of the earth!" Grandi joked and they both laughed.
"Hahaha! That's just a stereotype, Prince Grandi!" (Falric) laughed. "While I don't deny that we did that often, we don't do it all the time. We use plenty of diplomatic solutions." He told the Helestan prince.
"Or should we call them 'aggresive negotiations'?" Grandi remarked jokingly.
"Hah, perhaps. But like I said, we did use force often, but not as often as everyone else may think." The Felgardian prince said.
"Coming from a Felgardian royalty, I should take note of that." Grandi mused.
"Let me guess: your so-called scholars give my people bad impressions to the students." (Falric) asked after sipping in his coffee.
"You got it. I used to believe them at first, but I noticed their excessive insistence on the matter so I became suspicious." Grandi said and (Falric) hummed. "I decided to find out myself by going to the borders between our kingdoms, enforcing law on the way, and that's how we first met."
"I suppose it changed some of your opinions about Felgardians?" (Falric) asked and Grandi nodded in confirmation. "Heh, some things do go for the better." He commented.
"Well, let's hope the Peace Festival becomes successful." Grandi said. He then raised his cup as a sign of goodwill. "For peace." Grandi said and (Falric) did the same.
"For peace between our kingdoms." (Falric) said and he too raised his cup the same way before they both drank on their respective drinks.
After that, they both looked down towards the city. They noticed some commotion taking place in the central plaza and (Falric) noticed something familiar. He noticed Felgardian banners in the crowd with knights mounted on horses moved through the streets.
"Looks like Prince Lev of House Taurius has arrived." (Falric) mused at the sight of one of his family's vassals. Grandi glanced at him.
"Friend of yours?" Grandi asked and (Falric) shook his head.
"Barely. We talked before but I wouldn't call us friends." (Falric) replied. "There will be more coming. House Caesar, House Severus, Clan Dumitrescu, and the rest will be sending emissaries soon."
"And it would seem that a Cheliot ambassador has just arrived too." Grandi said as he pointed to the plaza where indeed Cheliot banners of blue flew across the roads.
"I don't trust them, them Cheliots." (Falric) bluntly commented.
"Bad blood?"
"More like 'betray you at the most inconvenient time' kind of people." (Falric) responded with some venom in his voice. "Some of their houses like the House of Tudor used to sign treaties and other agreements with our vassals. Lately, they've been violating terms, and we've been more suspicious of the Cheliots since then." He revealed.
"So bad blood alright." Grani mused. (Falric) just shrugged. "What has brought you to have that opinion about the Cheliots?" He asked.
"You should know that they have been slowly eating away at our borders. We even caught soldiers from House Whitescale camping inside our territory some odd months ago." (Falric) replied and Grani looked at him in curiosity.
"Should we be worried?" Grani asked.
"Well, once the Peace Festival has concluded, I hope that we don't have to." (Falric) said and Grani nodded.
Prince Grani turned to look at the city below. Remembering something, (Falric) set down his cup of coffee and brandished a sheathed knife with intricate engravings. He unsheathed it, reflecting any sunlight that hit it, and the glimmer of the blade was noticed by Lize and Toko from above. They were worried that the Felgardian might do something grim to the Helestan prince, but they both breathed a sigh of relief when (Falric) handed Grani the knife instead of something else. Grani was taken by surprise at the sight of a familiar tool and took it from (Falric's) hands.
"You still have that thing from when we hunted those vagabonds, huh?" Grani questioned amusedly as he set his cup down before taking the knife and inspecting the well-crafted blade. (Falric) chuckled.
"It's not like I'm going to just throw it away. It symbolized the first time a prince from each of the kingdoms worked together in a long time." (Falric) said and Grani stared at him for a moment.
"Is this you being sentimental or just because you're inclined to do so for some nefarious goal?" Grani questioned amusedly.
"Hah, please don't make it sound like I'm the villain of this story." (Falric) remarked and Grani laughed. "And who knows? Maybe that knife will have some greater purpose in the near future." He added.
"You're right. Symbolism will be needed if we are to make this peace happen." Grani handed the knife to (Falric) who sheathed it back.
"I couldn't have said it any better." (Falric) mused.
For the day, they talked as friends. They spoke about trivial things and laughed at jokes. Emissaries from the neighboring kingdoms including those from Ravenholm continued to arrive one by one as the people begin the final preparations for the Peace Festival. Soon, peace treaties will be signed and the dormant war between the kingdoms will finally be put to an end.
Lize smiled at the thought of an age of peace. Toko and Sebastian noticed it but they didn't say anything.
"Maybe we will be at peace after this. Maybe there will be a chance for all of us to see each other a friend's." Lize whispered to herself as her smile brightened.