“Sir Talion,” she said, turning to face him. “Have you ever been out to buy food like this with His Highness?”
By “His Highness,” Ras wasn’t sure at first whether Tishna meant the real Auriol or Fiarca-in-disguise Auriol. But in both cases, his answer was the same.
“No, I haven’t,” he replied. “We were too busy when we were enrolled at the academy, and he was always too serious to ever sneak out of the dorms.”
“Oh. In that case, this memory can be just for the two of us.”
Princess Tishna clasped her hands in front of her chest, as if in prayer. Ras was a little put off by her sudden good-natured remark.
“Did you ask me to be your bodyguard just so you could spend time with me?” he asked.
“Partly,” Tishna admitted. “But mostly it was just a way to get back at the crown prince.”
“Get back at him? What has Auriol ever done to deserve that?”
“Oh, you mean you haven’t realized?”
For some reason, Tishna responded to Ras’s innocent question with an accusatory glare. But when he thought about it, Ras started to have some idea of what she might mean.
For instance, the fact that Crown Prince Auriol was actually a woman. That she was hiding that fact and marrying Tishna for her own political convenience. And to top it all off, the fact that she was using Ras to seduce her. Any one of those could be the reason for Tishna’s annoyance.
But there was no reason Tishna should be able to know about that now. The only time she would find out was later—after she was married to Prince Auriol.
“Princess Tishna,” said Ras, building his courage. “It’s true. You really have lived through the—”
“Agh!” Tishna suddenly shrieked. “Is that the time?!”
The church bells were ringing, signaling that daybreak was just a few minutes away.
“Ras!” Tishna cried. “Do you know how to ride a bird?”
“I—I do. Kind of.”
But Tishna was barely even listening to Ras’s response. Instead, she frantically crossed the street to a vegetable wagon,
“Sorry, sir,” she said to the owner, “but could you lend me this bird right now?!”
“Huh? B-bird?”
The owner looked over his shoulder at the riding-goose that had pulled his cart in from the farmlands outside of town.
“Please!” Tishna begged. “I’ll give you this!”
“Money? W-wait, this is a gold coin! I can’t possibly take this!”
“Not enough? Then I’ll dip into my paltry funds…”
As Tishna rummaged through her pockets, a golden pendant fell out from between her breasts and dangled from the chain around her neck. Its worth was evidently beyond a city girl’s reach, and what was more, it was engraved with the royal seal.
The vegetable stall owner’s eyes went from it to Tishna’s features, and all of a sudden, the blood drained from his face.
“Th-that golden hair… Y-you’re the W-Wicked Princess!”
Ras stopped Tishna from fishing through her cash and moved her behind him.
“Sorry, shopkeeper. I’ll bring this bird back, I promise.”
“Th-that’s quite all right, sir… Take care…”
Ras’s menacing attitude caused the man to bow his head and meekly hand over the reins. Ras picked Tishna up and then climbed onto the bird’s back.
The creatures called “birds” were of rideable size and covered in plumage. A military bird of adult age could reach running speeds in the region of seventy kilometers per hour. Of course, the one Ras borrowed was just a pack animal, but it was more than capable of outrunning a human.
Tishna lay sideways, resting in Ras’s arms. Even an experienced rider like Ras balked at the thought of riding bareback, but Tishna peacefully lay back, resting against his chest. It wasn’t an easy thing to do unless she already trusted Ras completely.
She giggled. “I do feel sorry for that poor merchant.”
“If you felt sorry, you wouldn’t have done it in the first place,” Ras shot back. “Now, where are we going?”
“To a hill overlooking the royal palace,” Tishna answered. “Turn left before that church, please.”
“Are we going through this forest?”
“Yes. There’s a place just ahead where the city wall has partially collapsed.”
“Now, how do you know that…?”
Ras was pretty sure it wasn’t Princess Tishna’s first foray out of the royal villa, nor her second or third for that matter. He could only imagine the stress she caused to her protectors.
“What do you think of Charlgia, Sir Talion?”
“It’s not quite what I expected. For a town so supposedly built upon history, there’s a surprising lack of upkeep. There are a lot of dirty-looking people in the streets, too.”
“Yes.”
“That said, crime doesn’t seem very high, and there’s a kind of energy to the place. Your father must be a decent statesman.”
Those were Ras’s honest thoughts. The tiny kingdom of Charlgia was not prosperous by any means, and yet its people were happy, no matter their standing. It was proof they all held faith in the future of their nation.
“I think so, too,” said Tishna. “Charlgia is just beginning to find its feet again after being ravaged by war.”
“With Registan?”
“Yes,” Tishna nodded, a serious look on her face.
The Registan Empire spanned the eastern reaches of Danakil and was responsible for the war that led to the formation of the Shrumland Alliance. A series of five devastating military campaigns resulted in major losses for almost every nation on the continent.
Charlgia had also suffered much, and it had now been twenty years since the armistice was signed. The primary reason that Argyll, Charlgia, and other nations entered into the Shrumland Alliance was to defend against Registan’s aggression, and the primary aim of the upcoming summit was to strengthen those bonds.
“Even so,” said Tishna, “this all happened long before I was born.”
“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect you.”
“Quite right. I cannot call myself a victim of the war, but the fact remains I have been sacrificed for this country’s aims.”
Tishna gave a lonely smile. It was because of the war that her home nation of Lumede had become a vassal of Charlgia. When Registan invaded, they were forced to seek help from their neighbor, and as part of those terms, Queen Maia was married off to the king of Charlgia. Here, she lived the life of a prisoner, trapped inside the royal villa and very rarely allowed to leave. Even if that tale didn’t affect Tishna directly, the resulting effects were impossible to ignore.
When the two reached the top of the hill, Tishna breathed a gentle sigh.
“What a relief, it looks like we’re not too late.”
Ras suddenly recalled that Tishna had been awfully concerned about the time.
“Stop here, Ras. I’ll show you the most beautiful sight in all of Charlgia.” She pointed through the trees to a body of water called Lake Barlama. With the state of the world as it was, this was one of the few freshwater lakes left. It was even said that one of the reasons the emperor of Registan wanted to invade was to secure its beauty for himself.
“Well, well.”
As the morning sun broke the dawn, the lake sparkled in a kaleidoscope of colors. The green of the forest decorated the white of the city walls. All of it was bathed in prismatic light from the shifting waters that changed from second to second. It was a sight more colorful than any jewel—born only for a second, the moment the sun rose.
“I always wanted to watch this sunrise with you, just once, Ras. Thank you. You’ve made my dream come true.”
She smiled and looked up at him. Her face, illuminated by the sun, was more beautiful than the scenery itself, and so fleeting it could vanish at any moment.