Chapter 6 - Mochi vs. Nao

The two had barely escaped the maids, though it wouldn’t be long before the chase in the halls became a search party of the rooms, and the library was an obvious spot to look for the “dreary princess”.

Milly began to frantically zoom around the library, scanning the stacks for a book like the one she had used the night before. While you might think it curious that a library would have two copies of the same book, when the king discovered his precious only daughter’s favourite hobby was reading, he’d started purchasing every book that passed hands in the kingdom. This resulted in more than a few duplicates among the stacks, and created a new job for the already overworked curator of said library.

Being able to fly made quick work of checking the taller shelves, and for the first time Milly found herself glad she was a ghost, before quickly rethinking that she wouldn’t even be in this situation if she wasn’t a ghost, or had been better at magic.

Meanwhile, below and near the door, Mochi had been calling out for a while with a simple ‘hey’. Every time she was ignored however the ‘hey’ became a little louder, and her teeth clenched a little more, and her nose starting twitching, until finally-

“HEY. WHERE IS THE MEAT?”

Milly froze. She had completely forgotten about her lie that the meat was “on the other side of the door”. Slowly she floated back down to her angry companion and tried to explain herself.

“T-technically the meat… isn’t here.”

“You… LIED?!”

Mochi snarled and began lunging and chomping the air.

“I-it wasn’t a lie! B-because if you carried on through the library, and into another hall, around the courtyard, make a left and go down the stairs you’d be… in the kitchen.”

They argued back and forth as Milly desperately tried to sooth Mochi and convince her to check just a few more books, and once again failed to notice steps approaching behind them.

“Princess?...”

“It’s one of the mad people! I’ll kill you!”

The two turned and met eyes with a maid who cautiously approached them. She was wearing the same purple uniform as the other maids they encountered previously, but the bottom of her dress had the royal crest embroidered into it. Her hair was long and soft pink and her eyes were a deep purple. If she didn’t look so confused at the sight she was seeing, she would have a very kind looking face.

“Princess Druscilla?”

“Milky, who is this!”

“Milky? Is that what you chose for this week? It doesn’t really fit the theme of all the other names you’ve picked but... Alright, Princess Milky. May I please ask why you're in the library in your undergarments, and why the castle maids are claiming you’ve committed a murder? Also… Please explain the floating dog?”

“That's too many questions! I asked you first! If you don't have any meat then-”

“I see. You're not the princess. Then prepare yourself!”

The maid’s soft gaze became cold and piercing, and she swept a foot outwards and around to the side, lowering her body. She lifted her fist and revealed needles between her fingers that caught the dim light of the library.

She sprang forward with incredible speed toward Mochi, who growled and bared her teeth, lifting her rear up again like she had before sprinting into her escape from the ‘union of maids’. Mochi sprang off as well and dashed about the library, keeping pace with the maid and bounding around tables and book carts.

The maid was slightly faster however, and managed to grab Mochi’s dress, flipping her onto her back and pinning her with the needles drawn into the air.

Mochi yelped and her eyes welled up, and she began to whine like a puppy calling to its mother.

“Nao! Stop! It's me!”

Milly called out just in time, and the maid stopped her spiked punch, looking up at the ghost who floated in front of her.

“That voice…Princess?”

Milly did her best to de-escalate the situation and explain what she could to the maid.

“My, what a mess our dreary princess has gotten herself into. It's a good thing I found you before anyone else, though the library was an obvious place to look.”

Mochi had been sitting patiently while the other two talked, until she wiggled her bum and bashfully interrupted.

“Hey lady… you smell nice. Can I have that?”

“My, how polite compared to before. I guess you smell the dried fish in my pocket, I was going to have it for my snack.”

“....FISH?!”

Mochi perked up at the word, and her eyes sparkled while her tongue hung out and a bit of drool fell to the floor.

“You can have some, but you need to call me by my name and ask properly. It's Nao. Na-o. Go on.”

“N….Nao… Can I have the fish?”

“Please?”

“Fish please!”

The drool had formed a small puddle on the carpet and Nao pulled a cloth bundle from her pocket, unwrapping it carefully and tossing a small dried fish in the air. Mochi pushed off the ground but failed to catch it, landing on her face, but still scrambled to find and eat it when she recovered. Once she had made quick work of the tiny morsel of fish she returned to a begging position in front of Nao.

“Fish please!”

“Now, now. You'll have to wait a bit, we need to help Miss Milky find a book. Sit girl.”

Mochi sat with a plop on her behind and looked at Nao with a big smile expectantly.

“Oh fine! Good girl Miss Mochi.”

Nao fed Mochi another fish and gave her a gentle pat on the head with a smile.

Meanwhile Milly was so grateful to have someone that Mochi listened to that she forgot to correct Nao on her name, and instead just tugged on her ears and cried with relief.

Mochi: 0

Nao: 1