I Haven't Gotten Punched For Talking Back to the King (Yet?)

"Kyo, I'm sorry…"

Renet's desperate voice seemed to come from afar, even though he was almost within arm's reach. He continued to struggle, but after returning to his natural form, the dogs went wild, and a small commotion ensued. The men holding him couldn't calm the animals, who wanted to merge back into Dragonid, as if they had been trained for this very purpose. The young king looked confused and couldn't seem to tell what was happening. I couldn't tell if I was in shock, despair, or anger was welling up inside me. I simply stared blankly at someone I'd already developed a crush on, and I didn't know what to do.

"Your Majesty?!" One of the subjects decided to somehow wake us all from our slumber.

Take him to the cage, but make sure no one knows who he is. Take Thunder to make it quicker. This situation didn't move the horse; it was only interested in the apparently delicious grass, but at least the king found a blanket tied down to the saddle, which he threw over Renet. I thought they exchanged a few words, but I didn't get any of it.

"And what about him?" - He pointed at me. - "And you, sir?"

"When you deal with this, come back for us with horses or a carriage. I want to talk to him, and I think he could use a little walk."

"Are you sure, sir?"

The young king glared at him, making him dare to doubt his words. I wondered what would happen to us next. Renet would at least be in a cage and not lying with a spear stuck in his body, which I would have expected after what I'd heard about the conflict between the races here. And at least the royal one has given away his weapon, so I was relatively safe, but I still couldn't move. Should I have reacted to Renet being taken away? I couldn't even see his face, and I think I wanted to. I should also apologize to him for getting into such trouble because of me. The king waited a while until his subjects had left with the prisoner, and only then did he approach me and, to my surprise, offer me his hand.

"Finally, I can act a little more casually." He smiled. "So you're Kyo?"

"Yes, Your Highness," I replied dispassionately, but I took his help to stand. "I need to find my crutches." I ignored him and headed for the wreck.

I wasn't in the mood for conversation, but I wasn't really capable of making rational decisions either. In the end I simply left the young king alone and moved forward. It would definitely be easier if I could be angry with Renet, but I couldn't. I realized that the help he had given me was an even greater sacrifice on his part than I had previously realized.

Damn his status; he didn't act like royalty at all, even by Neighbors' standards. He had this aura at times; sometimes he wouldn't let himself be contradicted, but he still wasn't arrogant or helpless without servants jumping around him. Besides, the clothes he wore and the things he owned were of truly poor quality. My mind, however, began to connect the dots. His aversion to food, especially processed meat, since he was only used to raw one. His face was smeared with something red, probably blood from a quick hunt, while I admired the view. The way he kept disappearing, the way he sometimes answered my question. How could I have been so stupid?! I'd promised myself I wouldn't fall for this again, but look how easily I'd been fooled?

"Hey!" The young king probably wasn't used to being ignored and was trying to get my attention. "How did you and Renet meet? I didn't expect such a reaction."

"What, some kind of crazy obsession you have with this?!"

I turned to him and raised one of my crutches to aim at him with some accusation, but I didn't have enough strength to make it impactful. Again, I felt too lost, once again deprived of purpose and security.

"Me, obsessed?" the king exclaimed, catching up with me.

"You, who else? You, and your Neighbors' princess," I muttered. "You enjoy watching others suffer, don't you?"

"Don't compare me to that madwoman."

"Then don't act like her."

The king, of course, wasn't used to being ignored, much less talked back to, and fawned over just to gain his approval. Although a moment earlier I had wanted to do everything to get to him, to talk to him, to convince him of the pointlessness of war. I already had the perfect opportunity here, yet I couldn't take advantage of it. Maybe he'll start to regret not sending me to the cage like Renet and will do so next time. At least then I'd be close to him...

My feelings were so mixed that it was hard to tell whether they were negative or positive. On the one hand, I felt cheated, although I increasingly realized that Renet had no other choice if he wanted to help me. He'd risked so much for me. And the more time we spent together, the more attached I became to him. I finally admitted this to myself, also in a romantic sense. So I realized I had to change my plans a bit, and above all, establish new priorities, and Renet had to be at the forefront.

Now it was my turn to get him out of trouble. The path to achieving this goal couldn't be easy, of course, and it was determined by the person walking beside me. I cursed myself for alienating the king from the start and ruining my chances of convincing him of my point of view. After all, I had no arguments and nothing to offer; I wouldn't even be suitable as a double spy. So I suppressed my pride and resentment towards the king, forced a pleading smile onto my face, and turned to the king, eager to apologize for my words and behavior. But at that very moment, he grabbed my arm and forced me to look at him. I was taken by surprise, but I decided not to let myself be fooled by his handsome face, and in this case, that could be one of the most difficult challenges in this world.

"Let's start from the beginning, Kyo." The king extended his hand to me. "Forget I'm a king, just Michael."

"Pleased to meet you, Michael." I shook his hand firmly, completely surprised.

"So, how did you come here? A ship or a plane?"