My fingers restlessly wandered through the soft, white fur of my yet nameless summon. It was almost half an hour ago that they had brought me here, but I still struggled to accept the cruel reality that had once again struck me down.

Maybe I never had a chance to escape. Maybe the king had long since decided to confine me here, in this gilded cage, but it was far more likely that it was me that had made it possible. If only I had gone in my human form since the beginning, maybe he would have treated me differently. Maybe I would never have said those disastrous lines.

“Why did I think it was a good idea to tell them about Cilia?”

Not only had I told them about her, but I had also shown them the figurine! It was only natural that they would ask even more questions.

In the end, it was the very same guard who had used the detection stone on me that sealed my fate. He revealed a single piece of information, one that I hadn't even thought of. By using the stone, he could not only see my race, my name and some basic stats but also my titles, the names given to us by the gods.

Each of my titles revealed something I considered private, something nobody should know aside from me. The worst one of them was Cilia’s Child, which not only gave me some boost to nature, light and fox magic, so basically everything I could do, but also directly told them that I was indeed related to the goddess of the foxkin.

I could have claimed that I had lied and Cilia was no goddess, but how could that have worked? Titles could only be awarded by the gods, and one of the gods had decided to name me the daughter of Cilia.

Naturally, this alone didn't mean Cilia was a goddess herself. She could very well be a different existence that was just named after a long forgotten goddess. She could be a leader, an emperor, a saint, just somebody the gods had decided to be important enough to mention. It was my own words that had driven me into the corner even further: I myself had called her a goddess. And it was me alone who had shown her to them.

The figurine itself was something that couldn't be from this world. It was too well-made, something that would be hard to replicate even in my homeworld. Her hair was almost perfect, with the sole flaw being the material itself and her tail and ears were just like they had been when I saw her back then. Her eyes looked lively as well. Even her bust was bigger than mine, though only slightly – not that I cared.

She looked like a twin of mine, so much in fact that only Ofris, Mabel and maybe Sahria could tell us apart if she were to color her hair to fit my own.

In the end, there was only one way for them to interpret all of this: I was not only the sole survivor of the Foxkin but also the daughter of a goddess. They called me a saint and gift of heaven, something sent to them to bring them health and fortune. And in their messed up heads, confining me in a palace was the best way to deal with this.

The place they had given me was far more than anybody could ask for. It had a large living room with a fireplace, comfortable couches, a writing table and just the right lighting to make you feel comfortable the second you entered it.

There were four doors leading out of the room. One was connected to a slightly smaller bedroom, others led to a bath and a study with a few dozens of books I wouldn't be able to read no matter how hard I tried. The last door had brought me, or rather us, into this room.

'Us' meant me, my sleeping beauty of a fox and the stranger sitting in front of me, on the other side of the table. He was fifteen or sixteen at most, had a well-trained body and bright blonde hair with blue eyes to boot. This guy was the living example of a fairytale prince only that he was real and this wasn't a fairytale, at least to me. His title, Prince of Aurent, was the real deal.

I could only guess what it meant that he was here. His father, the king, had tasked him with showing me to this room and keeping me entertained, despite dozens of servants being available on a moment's notice. There was no reason for him to send his heir instead, other than making him befriend me – or worse. For all I knew he was already trying his utmost to win my heart to take my hand in marriage.

At least he was friendlier than his father. Not only had he arranged for a variety of snacks, sweets and drinks to be brought here, he had also formally introduced himself as Laurin Sebaar, son of Hensin Sebaar, thus confirming his status as the heir of the throne.

All of that couldn't change the fact how we had met, with him staring at my nude body after hearing me bark like a wild animal in my fox form. Even now, there was still a little red appearing on his cheeks whenever he met my eyes.

“Can't he at least pretend that didn't happen?!”

He couldn't. For minutes we just sat there, without speaking a single word. Only faint chewing sounds broke the silence, as both of us tried to block out the awkwardness by stuffing far too many of the snacks into our stomachs.

“Why don't you say something?!”

Like me, Laurin became increasingly restless as time went by. But contrary to me, he didn’t seem to be happy just eating sweets. Instead he seemed to prepare himself to say something, over and over again, only to go back to fidgeting again. It was only when I was about to say something myself that he finally found a way to start a conversation.

“So- sorry,” he began, “my father shouldn’t have treated you like that.”
“He treated me well.”
“He abducted you!”
“He did,” I confirmed with a laugh. “But I don’t think he meant any ill will.”
“Still…” he fell silent for a bit. “You should be with your friends!” Laurin looked at me with determination, only to become restless the very next second. “That doesn’t mean I am not happy you are here! I am! I mean-” He went silent again.

I couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. Laurin seemed to be a good guy, even though he was too shy for his own good. A part of me was even enjoying talking to him like this and watching him blush whenever I laughed. I felt like a cat hunting a mouse.

“This must be the fox me speaking…”

“Thank you,” I finally answered. “It means a lot to me.”
Laurin smiled. “I will do anything I can to help you!” He promised. “Just wait for me to talk to my father. He will allow me to bring in your friends and family.”

He wouldn’t allow a thing. Hensin seemed to be approachable and friendly, but that didn’t mean he would let me run loose. Not after all the stories they seemed to have told him about my kin. I was like a chicken that was able to lay golden eggs. Nobody would let me run free when there are wild dogs roaming around.

“At least I am not alone…”