Princess

"Mularigai! Mularigai!"

In words I don't understand, Arya storms the village elder's house. Sera's mom works guard duty, so she let us in with a smile and a few words. I didn't understand those, either.

"Mularigai! It's important!" We break into the basement, breach and enter style! Sorry, I'm exaggerating.
We enter a dark room, barely lit by candlelight. An unkept mess sits upon a desk beside a small bed. There are no old ladies in sight, not even the one we're looking for!

"Oh my, do you need something?"

A head peeks through the doorway behind us, curious to see what we're up to.
The stranger enters with a charming voice. "And here I thought we had some thieves. It's just you, Arya."
"Ah, um..." Arya's bluster rapidly leaves her. "...Is the village elder around?"
Whoever this maid(?) is, she must hold unparalleled power. Even Arya is afraid of her.
"Are we speaking like this because of our curious guest?" The maid turns her attention to me.
Wow, her eyes are a vivid red, piercing, yet gentle. I've never seen red eyes before. That, paired with the blue hair a lot of the villagers have, makes for quite an odd sight.
...I shouldn't call women "an odd sight", should I? I'm so glad I learned when to keep my mouth shut.
"Arya, Arya. I think I've charmed him!" The odd sight cheers.
"Um, Princess... You have the prince, and Ven here already has someone." Arya brings down cold, harsh reality on- huh, wait, Princess!? THIS is the princess? I'm so sorry for calling you an odd sight, please don't execute me!

"Arya... Not only do you give up my identity to a stranger, but you bring up the prince despite knowing full well the kind of man he has become."
"I-! Um... I'm sorry... for the second part."
"Oh? You planned to give up my identity? To think there was a traitor inside the village this whole time..."
"No no, it's not that!"
"So... tell me, what has this man from another world done to earn your trust?"

The atmosphere in the room turns sour pretty fast, and Arya decides that this is the perfect time to tag me in. Why? What am I doing here? I don't know who this is! Princess? Princess of where!? Why do I care!?
I clear my throat.

"Pleasure to meet you, Princess. I'm Ven of the Hildna family."

Nailed it.
"No, dummy!" Arya whispers an insult toward me. "Do the cube thing again."
"I don't know how to do that! It just happened!" I explain.
The princess approaches. "And what does the Hildna family offer in service of my crown?"
Okay, think think think. Hold the cube, check. Think about a cute girl, check.
No? Nothing? It worked last time!
Arya suddenly chimes in. "Show us what you can do!"
...oh, that might work.

"I wish I could show you everything."

◇ ◇ ◇

In a room with three people, two stand frozen, unmoving, yet awake. They look around, their emotions show on their faces, but they don't move from where they're standing.
Once again, the cube begins to glow. For as long as I hold it, it'll continue to heat up. Eventually, I will have to let go.
The last time I did this, Arya learned about my job and my family. She said she "saw it", in fact. Does that mean this cube turns my memories into... a movie? Kinda creepy, I hope not.
Maybe they only see what I focus on. Or maybe, at the very least, I can influence the cube to focus on certain memories.
I want to look good, so let's think about some good memories! ...oh no, I'm still thinking about when I asked my girlfriend out. That's embarrassing, don't show that.
Oh, I know! When I was nine years old, I saw a kid younger than me steal chocolate from a family-run shop. I, being the proud son of a proud dad, struck a pose and called out the criminal before they could escape!
That kid must've been five or six. They started crying, their mother picked them up, and I felt a bit guilty about it... But then a rough, gentle hand ruffled my hair. It belonged to the only parent I ever knew.
To no one, he whispered a few words. "You gave me a great kid, Mari."
I don't think he expected me to hear him, but ever since then, I've wanted to be a bit more like Dad.
Tall, and brave... and thankful.
I really got lucky with the life I lived...
Why am I talking in past tense? I haven't finished living that life yet!
...
I'll get back to you, I promise...
There's no one here to hear it, but even so, I promise.

"Oww, hot hot hot!" I drop the cube later than I probably should have.
I'm getting sick of burning my hand.
"I understand." A gentle yet powerful voice pierces the room's silence. "Once I return to power, I will do everything I can to help you."
Her eyes, shimmering like rubies, convey an honesty one could only trust.
Meanwhile, Arya is crying again... She must be really weak to this kind of stuff. If this world had movies, she'd be in a lot of trouble. Her tissue bills alone would skyrocket! ...do they have tissues in this world? I could ask, but... maybe this isn't the right time.
What I should ask is...

"What do you mean, 'once I return to power'?"

◇ ◇ ◇

Arya didn't want a guy to see her sobbing her eyes out, so she left. Actually, she said she was going to find the village elder, but I think she just wanted some privacy.
"So, we're alone." A strand of blue dances as the princess leans forward. "Should I introduce myself, Mr. Hildna, or would you rather call me 'Princess' forever?"
"Uh... A princess is what you are, right?" I respond. "Wouldn't it be rude to call you anything else?"
She brings a finger to her cheek. "Is it so wrong to be rude? I might not mind."
"I would." I'm not here to hurt people or disrespect anyone. I just want to get back home.
"Aha~ You're no fun!" She jeers with a laugh. She looks like she's having fun, to me, at least.
"So?" I bring us back to the main topic. "Why is a princess hiding away in a starving village?"
The princess laughs once again, but this time, it sounds a bit forced.

"You really know how to ask a question, don't you?"

Atop the messy table, the princess begins to draw a simple map. It's not exactly accurate, but it gets the point across.
To the east of this village is a coastal city named Lann. It and the surrounding districts are ruled by the newly-crowned King, Vio.
To the west, beyond the mountains, sits Yve, centre of the continent. Its ruler was assassinated a mere month ago, and the next in line for the throne, Feana, is currently missing.
Of course, Feana is right in front of me.
Feana and Vio grew up together. They fell in love. Eventually, while renegotiating peace treaties, the rulers of Lann and Yve decided their firstborns should marry. Vio and Feana were fated to be together, it seemed.

"An arranged marriage between two people who already love one another? That sounds nice."
"Haha, indeed it was. Like a dream, almost."
"He was that good of a guy?"
"His name means Bright Flame. Mine is the name of a flower. He told me he'd be my Sun."
"Like Soon and Larila?"
"Yes. Like Soon and Larila..."

So even a princess dreams of being swept off her feet by a prince...

"But then, why are you in hiding?"
"If he finds me, I'll die. That's all."
"That's all!? That's a bit of a jump from being lovers, don't you think?"
"A play always ends in tragedy."
"But you aren't in a play. You aren't Soon and Larila, you're Vio and Feana."
"And once, we were in love."
"You say that so calmly..."
"I've had enough time to weep."

At the very least, no one can deny her determination.

"So... those negotiations can't have gone to plan."
"Quite right."
"What went wrong?"

A moment of quiet lets my question rest before it can be answered.

"If we all had fathers like yours, the world would be a better place."
"Oh... I see."

So now the kids are left to suffer under the weight of their parents' failings? That doesn't sound fair...
Even so, Feana looks like she has come to terms with it. She's accepted the world for what it is.
I can't imagine how hard that was to do.

"If they all had daughters like you, I'm sure they'd feel very lucky."

I speak those words from the bottom of my heart.

"Arya, Arya. I think I've charmed him!"
"You didn't! And Arya already left!"
"Aha~ So she did."