How did it come to this? Princess Rosaria ponders with an aching heart. She holds Xal in her arms, both of them kneeling on the ground in front of the door to Xal's secret house. The ends of her white one-piece dress are increasingly turning brown from dirt, something she was taught to never let happen. But at this moment, the mixture of grief and distress doesn't allow her to pay attention to her appearance.
「Damn it, Hero!」 she cries out in agitation. 「Why?! Why must you do this?!」
Hero, who is standing meters away, exclaims,「I must correct what is wrong! It is my duty to rectify this blasphemer!」
「No!」 Rosaria screams, breathing in gasps of air before adding with a softer voice, 「No, it's not. It's me you want, why did you have to go and do this to him?」
Looking at Xal's face, seeing him frail and withered as tears of blood stream down his cheeks, a feeling of hatred starts rising in her heart. Not toward Hero, nor the court who supposedly set the grounds for this to happen by denying Xal his rewards — no, it's hate toward herself. She's the one who let this happen. Her stupid self let the urges and shameful feelings be in control for too long, and this is the result. Punishment by the heavens, with Xal as the collateral.
Suddenly, Xal starts coughing up blood, 「Because he wants to get rid of me! All this time!」 he spits out, mad with anguish. His limbs are getting increasingly lifeless, soon unable to support his own body as he slowly falls head-first into Rosaria's bosom.
She hurriedly covers his head with her hand and lets her magic flow inside her body and out of her fingers. A golden glow, sharing the appearance of Hero's spells, lights up around her hand. The shade on Xal's face slowly vanishes — however, his body remains weak, and the exhaustion on his face has only increased. A look of a mortal dispossessed of every bit of magic in their body. Realizing not much can be done for him, she shifts her focus to his nemesis.
Hero has a pure and honest heart. His faults lie elsewhere, somewhere inconsequential to his persona. There's no way Hero is the mastermind. She knows it can't be him. This is all a big misunderstanding, one she needs to fix. Before it spirals out of control.
「Xal, it's not Hero... It can't be!」 The princess holds up his face, caressing him with gentle strokes and wiping away his bloody tears which are already starting to dry, trying in vain to make his grief go away. With a soft voice, she adds, 「We've known each other since we were kids, Xal... You must be mistaken. We both know he isn't that type of person.」 A short silence passes when she notices that he has already fallen unconscious from exhaustion.
Rosaria wipes away her own tears before gently letting him go, propping him up against the door. She turns around and faces Hero with a resolute look, but once their eyes meet, her determination falters. She can't get herself to confront him. Deep down she knows that everything is her own fault. But the situation needs to be fixed, to return things to normal, where all of them got along. That's when I was the happiest.
Forcing herself to look at Hero again, she lets anger build up inside her. Xal's accusations are unfounded and the damage has been done, but things must be made right, for Xal's sake.
With a deep breath, she approaches him, anger fueling the determination to keep eye contact. 「Will you make amends with Xal if I agree to come back to the capital with you?」 the princess asks him, her voice firm but her heart getting heavy with the weight of her own guilt after realizing she just pushed the responsibility onto Hero.
Hero's expression turns somber. 「Rosaria, you must come back to the capital, but I can't make amends with Xal. He is wanted for kidnapping you!」
Rosaria's eyes widen, 「That's not true. I went with him of my own volition.」
The doubt is etched on his face. 「Xal is innocent, Hero. I know it. Please trust me.」 she implores, panic taking her breath away. If Xal can't return with her then what's the point? To go back and perform her courtly duties for the rest of her life? The princess shakes her head.
Hero still looks unconvinced, 「Why do you say that? You don't have to defend him, or are you telling me that...」 with disbelief on his face, and almost afraid of his next words, he lets out 「You love him?」
Rosaria's heart skips a beat at the question. She has never thought about her feelings for Xal in that way before. Over the past few heavenly cycles, she's grown close to Xal, and yes, they may have fooled around, but that doesn't mean she loves him. Her love for Hero has lasted far longer to just be overwritten like that. She just acted on a stupid impulse back then that has gone too far.
「No, of course not,」 she denies vehemently, shaking her head. 「We're just friends, Hero. I've known Xal since we were kids. We've been through a lot together, you know this,」 she explains with a shaky voice.
Hero's expression is unreadable, making Rosaria wish with all her heart that she could take back the past few cycles and make things right — but it's too late now.
「I'm sorry, Hero,」 she apologizes, her voice filled with remorse. 「I never meant to hurt you. I realize now that I have been foolish and I want to make things right. That's why...」
Hero must have noticed her sincerity because his face soon softens as he reaches out his hand, 「Don't worry, Rosaria. For you, I'll help Xal clear his name and everything will go back to how it was. We'll make things right.」
Rosaria's eyes flare open. Yes, this is the best course of action. She and Hero will put Xal back on track. Her wish will be granted, he will get his rewards and then they will all be together, just like in the old days. The princess' hesitation is replaced by a new-found resolve. She grasps Hero's hand and is surprised by his warm and comforting touch, the feeling natural to her. It's been too long. There's no doubt she will have a happy life now that she's taken his hand. She tightens her grasp and looks up at him with fierce determination, 「Promise?」
Hero nods.
Rosaria looks back at Xal, her heart aching with a mix of sorrow and nostalgia. The memories of the past few heavenly cycles spent alone with him flood her mind. She'll miss the carefree days, the nights, and his demands to please him. How they tried to fix his issue, without success. All that will be over when she gets back to the capital. She knows that it's the right thing to do, for everyone's sake.
As her gaze lingers on him, she notices him tossing and turning as he regains consciousness before a coughing fit wracks his body, blood spewing from his mouth. About to rush to his side to heal him, Hero stops her, pulling her into his embrace.
「Let my attendants take care of him, Princess Rosaria」 Hero states, his voice filled with authority. 「We must return to the camp. We'll prepare to leave tomorrow before the break of dawn.」
「But...!」 Rosaria puts her hand over her heart wanting to protest but instead just bites her lip and nods, chest heavy with concern as tears starts steadily streaming down her face.
They start walking back, and while Hero is instructing his troops to tend to Xal with a commanding voice, she can't help but glance worriedly over her shoulder at her friend. She trusts Xal is in good hands, but she can't stop the feeling of guilt and responsibility for his condition.
She shakes her head. This is the right thing to do.
§
Later at night, in the camp, Princess Rosaria, clad in underwear, is lying on the soft and thick bed spread on the ground inside the large, luxurious tent she is all too familiar with.
Feelings of nostalgia course through her body as she reminisces about her past adventures. Having refused Hero's earlier advance as she sent him away to his own quarters, she's sleeping alone, tossing and turning in bed. It's been a while since she last slept alone. The space suddenly feels too big to only be occupied by one person. It feels empty—without Xal.
She caresses the bed at her side while thinking about him. Did they tend to him properly? What's he doing right now? Without thinking, her hand moves down to her crotch, as she slips her fingers inside her underwear.
He should have been escorted to the camp by now. How will their life be at the court? Xal isn't a noble, and unlike Hero, he doesn't have a special status — in fact, she knows that he's a war orphan who was picked up by a lesser, almost defunct noble family just before she met him, but the laws state that he can't inherit their title nor privileges.
With her gaze fixated on an empty spot on the thick linen wall of the tent decorated with flowery patterns, she wonders who his real family was. He seems to be practically all alone. Cheated out of his rewards, it's no wonder he got so mad. Piecing everything together, Rosaria has a clearer understanding of Xal's feelings. She vows to herself that she will do everything to make the boorish crowd back at the court recognize him and stop the stupid accusations.
She can't sleep, sick from worry that near the end he looked worse than what you're supposed to when in a state of magic fatigue.
For the next hour, her mind fills with more worrisome thoughts as she keeps tossing and turning, unable to find a comfortable position. Outside of her tent, as the night turns darker, she can hear faint sounds of the troops slowly packing up and preparing to leave at a moment's notice. When can she see Xal again?
Unable to take the uncertainty any longer, the princess gets up from bed and makes her way to the entrance of her tent. She finds a guard there, a familiar face from her time back inside the Royal Quarters.
「Excuse me, can you tell me which tent Xal was escorted to?」 she asks, her voice filled with concern.
The guard, slightly surprised by her question, shakes his head,「Your Highness, which tent? I'm sorry but last I heard, he needed some time to pack his stuff and would be coming later.」
Rosaria's heart sinks, her worries for Xal only growing. 「It has been a couple of hours. With the help of the soldiers, it shouldn't have taken this long.」 she states, mostly to herself, as she can't shake off the bad premonition.
The guard only responds with a confused look while shrugging respectfully. She thanks the guard and makes her way back to bed, but she knows she won't be able to rest until she ensures he's safe and well.
Time passes until it gets past midnight. Still with no news of Xal, her anxiety has grown so strong that she finally decides to take matters into her own hands. Taking a deep breath, she gets up from the bed and listens for any outside noises. The camp has gone silent, and most seem to be asleep. The shadow cast on the tent wall signals that the guard is still standing outside, in front of her entrance. Even after she gets past him, there are probably even more guards surrounding the tent outside. And if Hero notices anything amiss, it would be over.
Rosaria wracks her brain trying to find a way to sneak out. Would they accept her request to check up on Xal? What if she was accompanied by guards? Would Hero accept that? Probably not. The princess rustles her hair, not minding the unladylike gesture. She must see Xal.
With another deep breath, she gets up and claps her cheeks twice, mentally preparing herself. She opens the curtains to her tent once more and sticks her head out with an embarrassed look.
「I need to relieve myself, would you mind accompanying me?」 she asks, noticing a different face on the guard, one she's less familiar with. They must have switched recently.
The guard straightens his gait, making his silver armor clink, 「Naturally, your Highness. Now, this way.」 He makes way for her and is about to lead her to the camp's toilet, however, the princess raises her hand before stepping out to reveal her full figure in the dark of the night.
She has put her dirtied white one-piece dress back on, not having gotten the chance to accrue new pieces of garments. 「Excuse me, I would rather relieve myself in the forest over there, I can only imagine the state of the latrine after heavy use from everyone at the camp」 she declares.
The guard frowns, eyes full of suspicion.
「Your Highness, there is a separate latrine for y—」
「My, don't worry. I've already acquainted myself with the practice of peeing in the forest from my days during our war campaign, and I know you've secured the whole forest around the camp,」 Rosaria quickly adds.
「Is that so? In that case, let me inform—」
「Ah, I can't hold it much longer...! Let's hurry.」 Rosaria squeezes her legs together.
The guard, surprised by her urgency, quickly agrees and leads her towards the forest. As they walk, the princess' mind races with her plan.
She starts making small talk with the guard, asking him about his family, his hometown, and his experiences during the war. The guard, caught off-guard by her genuine interest in his life, starts talking animatedly as they walk deeper into the forest. He doesn't notice how strangely the brushes and vines of the trees seem to be slowly moving, closing and obscuring the trail behind them.
「My, you seem to have lived quite the arduous life!」 Rosaria grins, showing her perfect white teeth and making her emerald green eyes bigger, her beauty captivating the guard.
「That is so, your Highness! My son would also like to join the Royal Militia」 the guard scratches his head with a humble look. He then hears some rustling behind them and is about to turn around, but the princess' quick grasp on his arm stops him in his tracks, 「So, do you have any plans after we return to the capital?」 she asks.
The guard turns back to her, 「I haven't really thought about it yet, your Highness. I'm just happy to have served you and the Kingdom!」
Rosaria nods, 「I see. Well, I think we've found a good spot here. I'll just go behind this tree and relieve myself.」 She walks behind a tree, and soon the slight rustling of the wind and nocturnal animals' singing of the passage of night are joined by a trickle of liquid hitting the ground. Two moons' streaks of silver light shine through the leaves of the trees in the forest.
The trickling sound stops once a minute passes and, after some more rustling, Rosaria voices,「Oh my, it seems like my underwear has gotten dirty. Would you mind quickly fetching me a new pair?」
「I'm sorry, your Highness, but I cannot leave you alone in the forest. It is my duty to ensure your safety. 」 the guard responds with suspicion.
「I am the princess, and I am ordering you to fetch me a new pair of underwear! Why would you want to embarrass me? Do you disobey me?」 Rosaria expresses her stubbornness.
The guard stands firm, 「I apologize, your Highness, I cannot fetch you a new pair of underwear, it would be inappropriate for me to leave you here. I swore to protect you at all times.」
Rosaria sighs. A few more rustling later, she comes out of hiding, her face bearing an annoyed expression. 「You were supposed to go back and then get lost in the forest,」 she mutters to herself, as she raises her hand and quickly chants a spell under her breath. She feels her magic flow through her body and out of her hand yet again, and at once, the brushes and vines from the trees around them spring to life, surrounding the guard in an impenetrable wall. He is trapped, bound, and, with a vine covering his mouth, also unable to call out for help. With disbelief and despair etched onto his face, he watches Rosaria run off into the forest.
The princess' heart is pounding in her chest as she heads towards Xal's secret house with the light of the two moons under the inky dark of the night sky leading her way.
