Chapter 5: The Destructive Princess and the Proposition

Chapter 5:
The Destructive Princess and the Proposition

 

THE DAY AFTER the knights wiped out the traffickers at the cave, we went to visit Val and the children. The knights were looking after them and the rest of the victims, putting them all up in their own rooms while they recuperated.

We took a carriage to the area where the victims were recovering, and then a knight led us into a private room. Eventually, they brought in Val, Khemet, and Sefekh. We tried introducing ourselves to the kids, but they hid behind Val, quick-blinking eyes going wide as saucers. They didn’t seem to recognize us now that Prime Minister Gilbert had returned us all to our true ages.

“That’s the firstborn princess, the younger princess, and prince of this kingdom,” Val told the hiding children.

Their faces flushed red.

“Huh?! No way!”

Khemet shrank even farther back behind Val, but Sefekh peered closer, looking us up and down without reservation.

“Hang on, Val! Wh-why do you know who they are?” she demanded. “Wait, don’t tell me they’re gonna execute you?!”

When he heard that, Khemet ran out in front of Val and linked hands with Sefekh. These two small children stared us down, as though they were trying to protect Val.

“Val had a reason for kidnapping those people!” Khemet shouted.

Val just smirked from behind the kids.

“Don’t worry, we’re not going to do that,” I assured them. “I’m sorry I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Pride Royal Ivy. This is Tiara, and that’s Stale. The knight’s name is Arthur. We know Val from…” How could I explain this? Fealty contracts and ambushes seemed like a bit much for kids. I turned to Stale for help.

“We became friends with Val,” Tiara said instead. “Big Sister found him collapsed on a road and helped him. Now we’re all very good friends.”

Wow! She referred to him as a friend so easily—and she wasn’t entirely lying either. That’s the heroine for you. Always willing to see the best in others.

“Val told us what happened,” she went on, “and that’s why we could send the knights out to help. We’re so grateful to him!”

She leveled a meaningful look at Val, who hesitated only for a moment.

“Th-that’s right,” he said. “That’s how it happened.”

Tiara shook Khemet and Sefekh’s hands and told the children she hoped they could all be friends. Her kind manner instantly forged a bond between her and the children.

“Let’s all be friends!” they agreed. This time, they didn’t try to argue that Val had no friends.

“Big Sister Pride worked hard to save the three of you,” Tiara told them.

“Thank you very much,” Khemet whispered in his shy, fragile voice.

Sefekh’s face turned bright red and she didn’t manage a reply.

Suddenly, Khemet gasped. “Arthur?”

Sefekh followed his gaze and let out a cry. “You! You’re the one who got caught because of Val!”

Well, that was one way of seeing it. Arthur put up his hands, already trying to deny it.

“Arthur is a knight who worked along with Val,” Stale said. “He was there because he snuck into their headquarters. The Jeanne and Gil you met there are safe too.”

The children went from stunned to relieved as Stale explained the plan.

“So Val didn’t capture all those people,” Khemet said.

“Are you done yet?” Val cut in. “You said hi. What else do you need?”

He was right that we’d gotten what we came here for, but I still had more questions. “What are you going to do now?” I asked Val.

“Huh?” Val seemed confused as to why I would even ask. “We’re going home to the slums.”

Sefekh and Khemet nodded, unperturbed at the prospect of returning to that place.

“Our house got wrecked in all this, so we’ll have to find a new one,” Khemet said.

Yesterday’s trip was the first time I ever went to the slums, though I’d heard some things about it. It was deemed too dangerous for me to visit, so the covert operation was the first time I’d really experienced it.

I was appalled by what I found. Rubble and trash covered the ground. Most houses barely stood. People slept anywhere they could find, anywhere they could put a roof over their heads. Prime Minister Gilbert had been working on improving the slums, but there was still so much to do. Sure, an able-bodied adult like Val could find work, but what about children like Khemet and Sefekh? They had to just scrape by and survive until they reached adulthood. We could build orphanages, but that wasn’t a solution to the underlying issue.

Wait. That law Prime Minister Gilbert was proposing…

I muttered to myself, musing over the implications, trying to fit all the pieces in place. Although I had an inkling that Stale, Tiara, and Arthur were trying to get my attention, the evil and brilliant Pride’s brain was firing on all cylinders. I couldn’t spare a moment to answer them.

That law… If I use it for that purpose… Yeah, I remember that from ORL… But that brings up another problem… Wait. If I do it that way…

“Val. Khemet, Sefekh.”

I whipped my head up, startling all three of them. Sefekh flinched back while Val and Khemet watched me warily.

“How would you feel about working for me?” I asked.

Val, Stale, and Arthur let out a simultaneous “Huh?!” while Khemet, Sefekh, and Tiara blinked rapidly in silence.

“It’s a new policy,” I said. “The ‘allied policy.’”

I launched into the explanation. Recently, our allies announced their intention to pass a joint law together. Mother had put me in charge of seeing it through. Basically, I would combine Freesia’s institutions with our allies to build a school more similar to the ones I remembered from my past life than the haphazard education offered here.

One of Prime Minister Gilbert’s recent triumphs included passing a law to establish free education for developing youth. That opened a door for me to form this joint institution between our kingdom and our allies.

The Kingdom of Freesia reached out to all the countries along its direct borders to form this alliance, meaning we sat in the geographic center. That, plus our ample available land, made building an academy here an obvious choice. We could also build a school alongside that so that young children would have shelter and education free of charge. This could raise the standard of living for lower-class children and provide a means of getting work in junior high and beyond. Even when they got older, they should have what they needed to survive on their own in the world. I hoped it would be a path to better understanding between kingdoms and a brighter future for the people of Freesia. I knew that ORL had academies in the game, so I felt confident all of this could work.

That was where Val and the children would come in. I needed people to get the word out and spread the news from kingdom to kingdom. Communication was slow here. A carriage ride could take seven or eight hours. Getting to the next kingdom over could require days of travel.

But with Val and Khemet’s combined power, they could cut that travel time down to nothing. Khemet could enhance Val’s power until Val created a sweeping carpet of rock like a roller coaster. That speed and scale would get them easily to other kingdoms. Val could protect them, and Khemet and Sefekh could take care of things the contract barred Val from doing. Heck, they could even create a national postal service that spanned the entire kingdom, alongside the new school system. Freesia would gain two powerful new institutions, aided by those with special powers in combat and mobility.

“So, erratic little Miss Princess wants me and Khemet and Sefekh to help her?” Val said.

He tried to glare, but I could hear the surprise in his tone. This was a huge offer. Stale rubbed his lips as he analyzed my plan, but Arthur simply gaped. Tiara smiled at me, eyes sparkling.

“That’s right,” I replied. “It’s an idea I’ve just come up with, and I’ll need to consult with Prime Minister Gilbert and Mother, but…”

Val crossed his arms, knit his brow, and glanced over at Sefekh and Khemet.

“Fine,” he said. “We can make a lot of money if we’re working for the government, and it’ll help Khemet out in the future.”

“I want to do it too,” Khemet chimed in. “I’ll go anywhere with Val and Sefekh. I really like your idea, Your Highness.”

Val sighed and shook his head, staring up at the sky in exasperation. “Sure you wanna use a criminal like me for this, Miss Princess?”

“That’s a good point, but I don’t think we need to worry,” Stale said. “We don’t know if Mother will give her permission for this, but there’s actually no one better suited to this job than you, Val. You can’t obey any contradictory orders. You’ll have to just do your job.”

Val hung his head at that response.

“I’m not ordering you, Val,” I said. “If you don’t want to do it, then we’ll pretend like I never said any—”

“I’ll do it,” Val interjected. Even with his head hanging, he jumped in to cut me off. “Why not? It’ll bring in more cash than haulin’ rubble.”

“That’s great news, Big Sister!” Tiara said.

“For real?” Arthur muttered.

“Are you sure?” I’d only just come up with this idea. I expected Val to reject it, or at least mull it over for a few days.

“Yeah. And hey, wasn’t it your idea in the first place? Ha! Chickening out already, Miss Princess?”

He smirked and stepped closer. I stood tall and faced him, even as Arthur and Stale flinched at either side.

“Just give me whatever orders you want.”

Khemet and Sefekh tried to stand beside him, but Val swatted them back and dropped to his knees. Huh? Wait, is he…?

I had a moment of déjà vu, then Val lifted my foot and pulled off my shoe.

What?! Hang on! Not this again!

“After all, I’m bound by that contract.”

Val kissed the top of my foot in a gesture of servitude.

“Everything shall be as you desire, Princess Pride,” he said, his grin curling.

Prime Minister Gilbert had made the same vow a bit more than a year ago, but Val’s came laden with a suggestive undertone. Why is he doing this when we already have the fealty contract?!

I turned my face away, squeezed my lips together, and held still. Val peered up at me from below, his lips pressed against my foot. A smirk spread across his mouth, and then…

Lick.

“Aaaaaaaahhhhh!”

Val…! Val just…! He just licked my foot!

I shuddered at the sensation and tried to jerk back, but I lost my balance and landed right on my butt with a thump.

Val howled with laughter at my fall. Sefekh and Khemet just watched all this with heads cocked in confusion, while Tiara’s face flushed bright red. Stale came over to offer me a hand, but his face was a bit pink too. He shot Val a glare.

“Oh, don’t be so upset, Mister Prince,” Val said. “My contract won’t let me do anything like what you’re thinkin’.”

Stale’s anger did not abate, much to Val’s amusement. He helped me up and slipped my shoe back onto my foot. My heart still pounded against my ribs. My face burned so hot, I could have lit a fire with my cheeks.

The fealty contract forbade Val from harming or forcing himself on anyone, not just me. Any rendezvous he had needed to be consensual. But beyond that, he probably just saw me as a little kid, being seven years older than me and all.

“Just thought I’d pay my respects,” he said with a snicker.

Despite my embarrassment, this shift in Val encouraged me. He no longer hung his head and skulked around like a beaten down ex-convict. He was animated now, lively, joking even. Later on, he’d receive his official new job title from Mother.

The royal postman.

Once he got this new assignment, I allowed him a few exceptions to the fealty contract. First, I had to let him leave the kingdom, of course. Second, I allowed him to use his powers to capture any wrongdoers he encountered on his route. Third, I gave him permission to go on speaking to members of the royal family more casually, as he had been doing for some time now anyway. Finally, there was one last exception that Val himself requested.

Permission to fight back in defense of Khemet and Sefekh.

I granted his wish, and thus began my brand-new relationship with this found family of three.

 

***

 

“You’re back already, Val?”

Stale and I gaped at the trio before us. When Tiara and Arthur stepped out of their carriage and joined us, their mouths fell open as well.

“Huh? You’re the one who told me you wanted it delivered fast,” Val said, wrinkling his nose in annoyance. He then reached into the bag slung over his shoulder and offered me an envelope with a gruff, “Here.”

Still dumbfounded, I accepted the letter. As his master, I had to receive all new deliveries directly from him. This one came from the Kingdom of Sanzashi, where he’d headed yesterday for his first mission. Normally, it took five days in the fastest carriage money could buy. Val, Khemet, and Sefekh made the round trip in a day. I knew they’d be fast, but I never expected them to be this fast. In fact, I’d hopped on a carriage this morning, thinking to observe the village while I waited for them. I’d thought I had a whole extra day before they returned, yet here they were.

“Didn’t you leave yesterday?” I asked him.

“Yep. We delivered it yesterday, got the new one this morning, and came back. You got a problem with that?”

“No, not at all…”

I hesitated to say any more. Val was clearly annoyed, so it wasn’t worthwhile to push him for more details right now. Meanwhile, Stale scowled at the letter as though he doubted its authenticity.

“Well, great work,” I said. “I’ll report the results to Mother. I’m sure she’ll be astounded.”

It still didn’t feel real. I thanked them weakly, and Val clicked his tongue at me. Even Arthur quietly murmured, “Amazing.” Val had no response for that one. Khemet and Sefekh spoke up instead.

“It was so cool!” Khemet said. “We left the border, and then all of a sudden, we were in the kingdom of Sanzashi!”

“They went so fast right out of the gate!” Sefekh gushed. “Ugh, I wish I could’ve had more time to take in the sights! It was my first time leaving the country!” Obviously displeased, she gave Val a smack.

“That cave the traffickers took you to was outside the country,” Val pointed out.

“It really is an amazing power,” Stale said. “Too bad about your ‘control problem,’ though.” He pushed up his black-framed glasses.

Val gave a loud laugh and smirked at Stale’s attempt to dig at him.

It took a little more trial and error to sort out that Khemet couldn’t control his powers on his own yet. His amplification varied depending on who he worked with. With Stale, basically a stranger, Khemet provided only a slight boost. But he could turn Sefekh’s trickle of water into a fire hose. Even Val’s power surged when Khemet boosted him. For now, at least, Khemet’s powers only seemed to help Sefekh and Val.

“You better not rope Sefekh and Khemet into anything dangerous,” Arthur said, glaring at Val.

“Too bad. Sefekh jumps to violence a lot quicker than I do. She’s the one you should really worry about.”

“What was that?!” Sefekh snapped. She shot a weak beam of water at Val, but she was holding Khemet’s hand as she did, so even that little trickle was like a whole bowl of water dumped over Val’s head. Quick to violence, indeed.

“C’mon, Mistress,” Val said. “Gimme my reward already.” He held out his hand to me, expectant.

“I have to go get it from the royal residence,” I told him. As ever, I was due to pay him for his deliveries.

Lately, Val (and even Khemet and Sefekh) had started calling me “Mistress.” Tiara had inherited the title of “Miss Princess.” At the very least, it made it easier to tell which of us he was speaking to.

“Elder Sister, you don’t need to go all the way back for that now,” Stale said, putting me first as always. “Just let them wait for you to return from your observation.”

“Sadly, we ain’t got no money right now. If I can’t get some booze, then I’m puttin’ off the jobs you and the prime minister gave us.”

“Don’t forget that I’m allowed to give you orders too,” Stale snapped, irritated by Val’s response.

Val just snorted and set his hands on his hips.

Outside of delivery work, Val would do occasional jobs for Prime Minister Gilbert. On top of that, he met regularly with an informant in the village to receive intel that he passed on to Stale. Stale would review it and then send it on to the prime minister. This little network proved incredibly powerful; it had even helped us take down more traffickers.

“It’s fine, Stale,” I said. “I want to get this letter to Mother quickly anyway.”

I tried to divert Stale’s menacing glare. Tiara tugged on his arm too.

“It won’t take too long,” Arthur added.

Stale glowered a moment longer but finally let out a sigh. “As you wish, Your Highness.”

I bit back my own sigh. I didn’t need them sniping at each other when we all had work to get done. But when we turned toward the carriage, Val just had to sneak in a final jab.

“Would ya look at that,” he said. “Your little prince is a bit of a handful, huh?”

Swish! Stale whirled around and glared anew at Val, face flushing bright red. Val snickered, and I tensed for a confrontation, but Stale had no response this time.

“Ah,” I said softly, realizing what this was about. Everyone but the three of us tilted their heads in confusion.

This was about more than just the present moment. It was about the rescue outside the traffickers’ cave. When I jumped over the cliff to try to save Val, we both ended up in free fall. I’d whistled, hoping that Stale—who’d passed out after saving that boy—would somehow hear it. He did, and he dove after us to teleport us to safety.

“What would you have done if I didn’t hear your signal?” Stale had asked at the time. I didn’t know what to say; I hadn’t really thought about it. I’d simply wanted to save Val. I was so sure Stale would hear me, that he would come to my rescue if I called. Because…because…

“You’re my prince, Stale.”

Stale was always by my side. Maybe I was too spoiled by him, but he really did remind me of a prince from a fairy tale. Though, I supposed in this instance he really was the prince of an entire kingdom.

Val mocked Stale for this new moniker back at the cave. And now he mocked Stale again by calling him my “little prince,” and “a handful” to boot. Both times, Stale went red in the face and glared daggers at Val, lips trembling.

“Hey, Mistress. You’re sure surrounded by a bunch of kids here,” Val said. “What do you say to getting some lessons from an adult? I could teach ya all kinds of things these kids know nothing about. Why don’t we start tonight?”

“Wh-what the hell do you think you’re saying to Her Majesty?! Knock it the hell off!” Arthur shouted. He rushed to his feet, his face as red as Stale’s and his fist drawn back, ready to sock Val in the face.

Sefekh raised her hands to protect Val, keeping the young knight at bay. Khemet stopped her, but I could still see Arthur heaving ragged breaths as he eyed Val like a threat. Val grinned in the face of Arthur’s rage.

“So young,” he sneered, sticking his chin out. “What? Wanna join us? I’d be happy to judge just how much Mistress’s brat of a knight is able to please her.”

Nope, now I had to say something. “Please stop saying creepy things to Arthur!” I tried to sound imposing, but Val burst into laughter. When I huffed and stomped my foot, he only laughed harder. I was used to his weird comments by now, but I wished he could leave Arthur and Stale out of it.

“Arthur is a diligent, kind, strong, proud, incredible knight,” I said. “I’m happy enough just to have him by my side. That’s all I need.”

I hugged Arthur’s arm protectively as I stared down Val. But he just kept on cackling. In fact, he might have laughed harder when I grabbed Arthur. Wait… I glanced aside—and found both Arthur and Stale red as tomatoes and refusing to look at me. Arthur looked to be swaying from side to side, a shell of himself.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

I tightened my grip on Arthur’s arm, but he just straightened up and kept his eyes downcast. Val was nearly doubled over with laughter.

“I could make things much more fun for you than these kids!”

Infuriated, I gave the best comeback I could muster. “I’m having plenty of fun already! I don’t need your help!”

“Well, that’s all that matters,” Val said, though his smirk belied his words.

Stale, Arthur, and Tiara scurried to the carriage, eager to get back to the residence. I couldn’t really blame them. I was eager to be off too after all this. But before the guard could close the door, Val called out “Mistress!” one more time. I sighed and turned, ready for another argument…but instead, I found him standing there holding Khemet and Sefekh’s hands, oddly subdued for once.

“I’m lookin’ forward to that ‘school’ of yours. Let my two brats here attend when it’s done, okay?” he said, his mischievous smile more innocent than before.

Khemet and Sefekh looked at each other at the phrase “my brats.” Though Val’s smile still held an edge of laughter, it was genuine too. Much as he joked around, when it came to those two kids, he was deadly serious.

“Of course,” I said. I returned his smile, a true smile this time, one from the bottom of my heart.

I had high hopes for the new school. I wanted it to benefit everyone, including Sefekh and Khemet. Stale even said he hoped the boy with that strange light power could attend.

A national mail service, an independent school system, and strengthened ties with our nearest neighbors.

I did it all for the people of Freesia.

But we still had a long way to go.