The first child was born in a fit of cries and tears — a terribly normal and healthy child. When presented to the King of Daeman, he had claimed that she had a face most fitting.
“Although we are a small, rural kingdom, you are a most fitting heir — the first princess of Daeman. And for you, this name has been prepared. Your name is Fie—”
And right at that moment, the second child was born.
In contrast to the first child, she was far more quiet, and had a strange ability to draw in the eyes of all those around her.
“Oh... Oh! This is...”
Upon seeing this, the King of Daeman said thus, in an emotional voice:
“A child of unparalleled beauty! A child wrapped in a most mysterious light! This has to be a special child. We have to grant such a child a fitting name. Yes, we have decided! Your name is Fielle. The most honored and regal name passed down in our royal family!”
And after that, that child, who was beautiful beyond means, exuded wisdom beyond her years, who was surrounded by a regal air, had enchanted the King of Daeman so much that he forgot about his firstborn for approximately six months. Although she was cared for appropriately by the nursemaids, and as such, never really had any dangers to her life, she had long missed the period where names would be given to heirs.
So the records officer, who really just wanted to get this over with, ended up formally writing down her name as “Fie.” And of course, as a result of the second princess Fielle’s absolute beauty, the King of Daeman had all but forgotten about Fie’s existence.
As if they were a set — one desired, and the other not, the pair of princesses were sold off.
To say that it was a devilish practice was not too far from the truth.
And this was how Fie, who had finally reached the capital, ended up in an antiquated pavilion of the main palace, trapped and destined not to meet a single person on her supposed wedding day.
Fie’s relative mistreatment, in turn, would proceed to intensify as the days passed.
Although this pavilion and its courtyard were in the main castle grounds and surrounded by four walls, all the guards avoided the single entrance to it, as if wanting to avoid a particularly foul smell. Eventually the guards posted there started viewing it as a nuisance, so during the day both of them were nowhere to be seen. They were usually gone before the changing of the guard even took place. When the shift changes did happen, the timings were always off, and not a single guard would show up for the lookout shift.
To top it all off, any present guards would just leave their post empty even if no one was there to take over — which basically meant that at this time of the night, there was literally no one left standing watch.
(They’re sleeping, aren’t they? They eat as much as they want during the day, rest as much as they want when they feel like it, and then happily go to sleep at night. Some guards they are.)
In fact, Fie probably did a better job of keeping watch, considering that she had been looking out of the window quite intently the past few days.
Oh, of course, Fie had no servants or personal maids of any sort assigned to her, either. All of the servants and maids from Daeman had chosen to stick to Fielle instead, with the knowledge that she would become the future queen of Orstoll. It was advantageous to be a queen’s personal servants — one might even be able to break into society with such a position. As such, none of them wanted to be seen with, let alone serve the “bonus” princess that had just tagged along for the ride.
And finally, even the “head chef” who had worked in the lower rungs of Daeman’s kitchens seemed to have other plans for himself.
Orstoll’s capital, Wienne, could be said to be center of the world in more ways than one. Culture, music, food — the capital had it all.
And with that comes the legions of those who want to better their skills and work in said capital. The chef was no different. He had just followed Fie to hitch a ride for free. After which, all he had to do was get fired, and then he’d be free to pursue his own interests.
Indeed, to get fired by a selfish princess while he was stuck in a foreign land was the perfect plan to drum up sympathy points, and maybe even let him easily land a job.
With that aim in mind, he had been preparing nothing but cold soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Fie ever since they had arrived at Orstoll, hoping that she would catch a hint.
“Um... well... uh... I’d like to... um... resign...”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
To think that he couldn’t even say such a thing properly despite having wanted to for a while — Fie could not help but wonder how he would fare in the clutches of the capital city. In spite of herself, Fie found a modicum of concern for the chef.
With this, the charade finally ended, and the only one left inside the back pavilion was Fie.
Finishing off her cold soup, Fie looked up and out of the window, all alone in the quiet courtyard.
“Ahh. Seems like I’m just going to have to accept my father’s foolish whims and fancies. Not like he really cared about my life anyway, since he ruined it without a second thought... So then, I’ll die alone in this courtyard after some decades or so, huh...?”
The guards were clearly not outside the pavilion. In other words, Fie was the guard.
(So basically... They’re telling me to stay put in this place and never leave. Not like the Ice King would let me out of here anyway... What a wasted, empty life...)
Fie gazed at a portrait of her supposed husband, whom she had only seen in said portrait. For a moment, Fie considered angrily setting fire to the canvas, but instead was filled with an overwhelming emptiness as she burrowed into her bed.
(I wish I could throw this life away...)
Although Fie just wanted to go to bed, the celebrations outside made it impossible for her to fall asleep.
(Look, I get that they’re happy and all, but isn’t this a bit too much for this time of the night?)
It was as if, on this day, in this kingdom, the only one who felt this depressed was Fie, and Fie alone.
It was then that Fie had the idea to go for a walk. Not like there were any guards present to stop her anyway. Even if the King had wanted to keep her cooped up in this place forever, it was his responsibility to at least assign guards that were actually up to the task. She had no reason to hold back, with everything said and done.
However, it would be inconvenient if she were found wandering outside, to say the least, and as such Fie made the decision to walk around the pavilion’s perimeter walls instead.
And this was how Fie finally stepped out of the back pavilion for the first time.
“It’s so vast... It’s... completely different than the castle in Daeman.”
Outside the walls, in the open, sprawling garden of the royal palace, were plants and trees that Fie had never seen in her homeland — deep viridians and vibrant flowers, visible even through the dark of night. The dewdrops, catching the light of the moon and faraway fireworks, glittered in a silent display of beauty.
At last, it sunk in that Fie had come to a faraway, foreign land.
In the shadows of the perimeter walls, Fie walked along silently, not wanting to be discovered by the denizens of the palace. Then she noticed that she had stepped on something, a paper of some kind.
“Hmm? What’s this?”
Holding up the piece of paper to the light of the moon, Fie squinted at it, trying to make out the words on its surface.
Seeking apprentice knights! The Orstoll Royal Knights are seeking squires! Commoners! Nobles! Travelers! Wanderers! Those of no formal identification! There will be no discrimination, come one, come all! We seek only those young and talented! Admission tests will be held soon!
Upon reading the words on this sheet of crumpled paper, a series of thoughts flashed across Fie’s mind.
“This is it!” Fie raised the paper high up into the light of the moon. “If I get accepted, I’ll—”
Walk my second path in life.