Princess Haruka Of Reicalth

A rainbow of shattered stained glass rained down on me as I crashed through the tower window. I rolled several times before coming to a stop.

My whole body ached as I slowly pulled myself to my knees.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my room?” a female voice asked.

I turned my head to see the crown princess and the fiancé of the Administrator sitting on a bed with a soft pink laced canopy. She covered her mouth; her eyes were wide, and I couldn’t help but think this was perhaps the worst-case scenario, but then again, this may just be the opportunity I needed.

I forced my body to stand and pointed my cutlass at her.

“I’m Captain Lark, and princess, you are my hostage.”

I expected her to look concerned, but instead she had a resigned face.

“I’m sorry to tell you, but I don’t think I would make a very good hostage.”

“Well, if you won’t be my hostage, then tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right here and now?”

“It wouldn’t matter one way or another.”

“I’m pretty sure the other administrators would care, and as far as I can tell, your family is full of them.”

She tilted her head.

“Admina-who-now?”

I searched her eyes for the slightest hint of deception, but there was none.

“Is it not hereditary?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about, but my father is a good man. He always doted on me after my mother died. Well, until recently.”

“What about your fiancé? Do you truly not know about Administrator?”

She stared blankly at me.

I sighed as I sheathed my blade.

“I believe you don’t know anything about it. If that is the case, I have no reason to fight you or use you as a hostage.” I turned to leave but staggered; it seemed fighting both the masked man and taking that hit from Valgroth did more to my body than I realised.

I heard some bare footsteps run up behind me. Before I could react, I felt a soft hand grab my wrist.

“Please wait,” she called. “You look injured. I don’t get many visitors, so please rest for a moment.”

“I would love to, but I have a task to do.”

“You won’t be able to do anything if you rush off injured,” she scolded me, and I instantly had the mental image of Túta in my head.

I sighed as I turned to face her.

“Fine, I’ll rest, but only for a few minutes.”

She smiled, her eyes lighting up.

“Wonderful! Please rest.”

She pulled me over to her bed and pushed me onto it. I’m sure I could have resisted if I were tired, but I was exhausted. She gracefully sat down on the bed next to me.

“Whilst you rest up, you can tell me about yourself. Like, why did you come flying through my window?” she asked enthusiastically.

“I have a few questions for you as well,” I replied, staring up at her smiling face.

She paused, her hand going to her chin before she flicked it around and pressed a finger gently against her cheek.

“Then, how about we both ask each other the questions we want to know?”

“Fine, I’ll go first. Where is the duke now?”

She pouted, puffing out her cheeks, and turning her head away.

“Why is your first question about him and not me?” she asked, sulking. “To answer your question, he would be in his office on the third floor of the castle.”

I began to sink into the softness of the bed.

“It is my turn now. You said you were a pirate and that your name was Lark, right?” she asked.

“That’s two questions!”

She stuck her tongue out in response.

“Fine, I’ll answer, but only because both answers are similar. Yes, I’m Captain Lark, the pirate.”

“You must be a pretty brave pirate if you are breaking into the castle.”

“I’ll take that as a comment and not a question since it's my turn now. My next question is, why are you so nice to a pirate? Shouldn’t you be calling guards?”

“That also sounds like two questions,” she teased back.

“Pirates don’t follow rules.”

She laughed, covering her mouth with the elegance and grace one would expect from a princess.

“To answer your question, I don’t have a lot of freedom. I never get visitors anymore, and when I’m not with Duke Wiscard or my father, I am confined to this room. Seeing someone crashing through my window is far from normal. It makes me curious.”

“I suppose that would make anyone curious.”

“Well, let me fuel my curiosity by asking another question. What is your purpose for crashing through my window?”

I sighed.

“I doubt you’d believe me if I told you. The simplified version is I’m here to kill your fiancé.”

I expected this to get quite a reaction from her.

She just stared blankly at me.

“Oh no. What a shame. How tragic,” she replied in a deadpan voice.

“I take it you don’t like him then?”

“That’s right, as soon as he came into this castle, all the talk has been about him as the successor. Even my father doesn’t look at me anymore.”

“Really?” I asked, sitting up. I reached forward, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. My fingers gently brushed against her soft skin. “Because I would have thought everyone would be captivated by your beauty.”

She turned away, but I could see the redness of her ears.

A moment passed before she turned back to face me, her expression now much more serious than before.

“If you are here to kill Duke Wiscard, may I ask why it is the case?”

“You may not believe the words of a pirate, and I am sorry to tell you this, but the duke plans to kill your father.”

“What?!?!” She leapt to her feet. “Why would he do that? How do you know this?”

“I don’t know the full reason, but it seems it's to seize the throne.”

She looked pained but quickly calmed herself.

“We must stop him. He is a womanising drunkard who only cares about power. He can never be allowed to become king. His arrogance would destroy this country.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

She held out her silk, white, gloved hand.

“Then, will you help me?” she asked with a warm smile.

Without any hesitation, I responded, “No way!”

“But I thought…”

“With all due respect, princess, I’m a pirate. A cold-hearted pirate. I have no intention of helping some princess. There are heroes for that.”

I hopped off the bed, grabbed her hand, and spun her around, pulling her into an embrace. "But if your enemy happens to be my enemy," I murmured against her ear, "then I'll cut them down."

Her face turned red, her lips trembled. She took several steps forward and blinked a few times before lifting her hands to cover her face.

“Mister pirate. Are all pirates big liars like you?” she asked, peering through the fingers covering her face.

“Have you ever heard of an honest pirate?”

A few silent minutes passed before she lowered her hands, her face no longer flushed.

“Well, mister pirate, I’m grateful. Even if you won’t admit that you intend to help.”

I knelt down, reached for her hand, gently lifted it and kissed it before looking directly into her eyes.

“Well, if you can forgive me, my dear princess. I would love to stay and chat, but this lowly pirate has an enemy to defeat.”

▪──── X ────▪

End of chapter 43