Departure

A couple of weeks passed, and it was almost time for the ritual. Tomorrow would be the day of my departure. It had been a stressful past weeks, but at least everything was now ready for tomorrow. I had also made significant progress with my puppets. That being said, I was not yet completely ready to fight off my own people, not enough power just yet. My dancer puppet was almost done and ready, but I made some adjustments to her initial appearance.

Her initial appearance was her original, she would just be serving another purpose for the time being. At any rate, we’d see if I could take the chance to escape somewhere during the ritual. Although, I would be watched closely, so it might be a bit difficult to do it. And it was Alaric who would be personally keeping a close eye on me, and there was no way I could beat or outrun him. Not yet.

I walked by the window, and the light of the moon showered me with its gentle glow. I truly hoped I wouldn’t die on this journey. There were still many more I could live for. What was that exactly? It was living itself. There were many things you could do when you’re alive.

I took a deep breath of the cold, gentle breeze.

Time to sleep.

I should get plenty of sleep. Feeling quite tired, I jumped into bed and buried myself in my soft and pleasant pillows.

“Aaaah…” I could feel all the weight off my shoulders.

I slowly closed my eyes and fell asleep.

***

Come morning, I woke up early to prepare. After having a nice breakfast, which I had to savor by the way because there was no knowing what quality of food I would get out there, I headed straight to take a bath. I also savored the bath, making sure I was extremely clean, and dove myself into the fragrant waters.

After taking a bath, I was brought to a wardrobe, which was just right next to the bath, connected by a door. I had a wardrobe back in my room, but this one here was different. It was just a room full of clothes for me to wear. Inside were rows upon rows of fancy outfits ready for me to slip into, I had a lot of options. They varied from dark colored to bright ones. But considering the great number there were, I could barely wear them all. So many of them ended up not being worn at all.

“Is my luggage ready? My clothes and all?” I asked the maids who were with me, the ones that would help me dress up.

“Yes, Princess,” answered one maid. “It is being loaded up.”

“That’s good.”

“Any outfit you would like to wear, Princess?”

“Just black in color, and a dress that’s easy to move around.”

“We must pick one that will not be lacking in extravagance, you are performing a ritual in front of a lot of people, after all.”

“But the Princess is so beautiful that any dress would work.”

“Still, we must choose the most beautiful of dresses.”

The maids were chattering among themselves. But it was nice to know that they were taking it seriously. I, too, would like to look very good. And I chose black because it was the perfect color for me. It fitted the shade of my hair, my eyes, and my overall mystical vibe.

One of the maids took out a black dress, one with a long sleeve, and a skirt that reached just about the knees.

“What about this one?”

The maids nodded. “That is good.”

“We shall pair it with these black boots.” Another maid picked up some boots.

I also liked what they were suggesting, they had a good sense of fashion. So I didn’t have to worry much in that regard.

I changed into the dress and slipped on the boots. Not even a wrinkle in the clothes, nice. The service here at the palace truly was the best. As I sat in front of the mirror, the maids started combing and styling my hair, tying it up, but letting it hang down.

One of the maids presented boxes of earrings in front of me.

“Which would you like to wear, Princess?”

I stared at the earrings. “Hm.” I had always wanted to wear diamond earrings. “These ones.” I pointed at the black diamond earrings.

“Dark diamond earrings, a great choice.”

They then started putting the earrings on me. After that, they present a box of rings.

“Do you wish to wear rings?”

There were a lot of things. But I didn’t want a gemstone on a ring, too many gems on me would be… too much. I picked the silver and gold rings for ‌the index and middle fingers of both hands.

“By the way, go and check up on how Alaric is doing.”

I was a bit concerned that he was not yet up or something.

One of the maids left, and I waited as the maids finished up styling my hair and putting light makeup on my face. I stared into my crimson eyes, and at my face. I truly was beautiful… which I was a bit shy to mention.

The maid returned, but this time, she was with someone.

“Princess, this is one of the maids who were tasked with waking Prince Alaric.”

I frowned, puzzled. “And?”

The maid stepped forward. “The prince is still locked in his room, and he is not responding.”

“What…? What happened?”

“I did hear he had a party late at night.”

I knew it!

I let out an annoyed sigh. “Can I go now?” I asked the maids working on me.

“Yes, Princess.”

I immediately stood up and walked my way to Alaric’s room with rushed steps. I could already imagine that he was extremely drunk and had overslept.

I arrived at his room and aggressively knocked on the door.

“Brother, open up!”

I waited for a response, but there was none. I palmed my face.

“Does anyone have a key?” I asked the nearby maids.

“No, we are not allowed to possess those.”

I forgot that the keys were in our possession, and the spare was guarded. They were all secured and not handed out to servants for security purposes.

I spawned Ripper, startling the maids. I had Ripper push through the doorknob with the tip of his finger and break the lock. Once it was open, Ripper disappeared, and I aggressively stepped inside. Alaric’s room was sizable, and his bed was round and wide.

I placed my hands on my hips. “Brother! Wake up!”

I could hear groans from under the blanket. “A-Avenelle, what are you…?”

“Good morning, brother.” I narrowed my eyes. “Forgot something?”

There was silence for a moment. “... Oh, right! Ah, I overslept.” He sat up, revealing a pair of women on both his sides, sleeping.

“Just how much did you party last night?!”

“A lot… I think. Ugh, my head hurts…”

The two women then woke up.

“Prince Alaric…? What’s going on?”

“Let’s get back to bed.”

I stomped my feet. “You two, get out.”

The women slowly sat up, looking at me with surprise.

“The princess…?”

“You two need to get back home. Now!”

The two women shot up and quickly left the bed.

“Get in your clothes first!” I then pointed a finger at Alaric. “Don’t get up, I don’t want to see you naked!”

“W-What? Then you can’t appreciate the peak male body.”

“I don’t care about that. Once I leave, you better wash yourself well and wear the finest clothes!”

“I got it, I got it.” He then looked at the two women who were still dressing up. “By the ladies, you two were pretty great! Next time?”

The two women chuckled. “Whenever you call.”

I groaned in annoyance. “Just be done with this and let’s meet on the ground.”

“Got it, little sister!”

“Can’t believe you made me rush all the way here.”

I crossed my arms before walking out of the room.

“Wait, Avenelle, are you angry?! Wait!”

I ignored him and left the room.

***

The convoy had all been lined up and ready. There were knights on horses, and there were knights in carriages. The servants were also in the rear carriages. I was standing at the palace entrance, and my family was with me.

I faced Saviel with a smile. “You really came.”

“Of course, I told you I would.”

He was about to pat my hair, but I held out my hand.

“Please, I just had my hair combed.”

He chuckled. “Right, sorry. You look gorgeous, little sister. The people will surely be dazzled upon beholding you.”

“T-Thank you.” I lowered my head.

Vivienne grasped my hand. “Take care out there, my sweet Avenelle.” She caressed my cheek gently. “Shine as bright as the moon.”

“Yes, sister.”

“Keep safe, Avenelle,” Mother said. “Make sure to stay beside your brother. He’ll keep you safe.”

I glanced at Alaric, who was wearing a formal dark suit, and a sheathed sword hung on his waist. His hair was neatly combed. He truly looked dashing.

“Keep a close watch on your sister, Alaric,” Mother added.

“Of course.”

“Remember your training, Avenelle,” my father said. “But I’m sure you’ll do quite well defending yourself, at least until Alaric comes to shield you.”

Before this, I visited the knights’ training hall a couple more times. It was good to have a little practice, after all.

I nodded. “Yes, Father.”

“Now then, you should go.”

As I walked to our carriage, I waved back at my family. Our carriage was an extravagant one, and armored, four strong horses were pulling it. There were three royal carriages separated from each other, and we would be taking the one behind all of them.

I sat down inside the carriage. The cushion was soft, the carriage barely shook at all. It was really designed for the best comfort. Alaric sat down opposite ‌me.

“Hey, are you still mad at me?”

I pouted and looked away. “Just behave, and I won’t be mad for long.”

“I’m sorry, okay? I overslept.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

Alaric sighed.

The convoy started moving. We went through the massive gates and started going along the city road. Upon seeing the convoy, the people gathered on the streets. They started chatting among themselves.

“It’s that time of the year.”

“The Ritual?”

“A royal is passing through, make way!”

“Who is it this time?”

“It should be Princess Avenelle, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Princess! Be safe!”

“Glory to the kingdom!”

“May the moon protect you!”

“Princess, please bless my children!”

“Long live the princess!”

The people were cheering as we moved through the road. They raised their hands, waved their handkerchiefs, there were even children running on rooftops just to see us go by. We were truly favored by the people.

A shame that I couldn’t just show myself and wave and such, lest I give my position away. Maybe if I returned.