I met his eyes. There were curiosity and suspicions in them. I gave him a nervous smile and walked over to him.
'Ari, I thought I was still invisible.'
'I thought you didn't need it anymore.'
"You didn't answer me."
"I-I needed to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water." Hermon stared at me for a long time before nodding. Hermon went back to his side of the bed and turned away from me. "Why do you ask me?"
I climbed on the bed and leaned over to the point I could see his face. Hermon turned to me. Our faces were inches apart. Hermon rolled away and stood up as I smirked. "W-what are you doing? I-I am telling you I-I like girls."
"Oh...then, why are you blushing?" I crossed my arms and legs while looking up at him. I can't say I don't like this. It was pretty fun teasing him. I watched as his face flushed even redder. What was he being taught from this young age?
"Because you are being a bully." I tumbled over and started laughing out loud. My stomach was hurting, so I crossed an arm on my stomach. I wiped a tear away with my available hand.
"I like girls, too, so you don't have to worry." I patted his side of his bed, telling him to lay down. He looked at me hesitantly before he laid down on the bed. He was hugging his pillow. After a while, I heard a soft snore coming from him.
I couldn't sleep or meditate the whole night. I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. He kept on calling me a human, which meant he wasn't a human. What if he was an elf or a dwarf? I never met them, but I knew they were usually described as creatures of the light. The books have only talked about those two races besides humans.
I kept on getting this eerie feeling that something bad is about to happen. I turned to see Ari sleeping. I wonder if elves and dwarves can use dark magic? What about dragons and other types of mana-beasts? Ari was a light mana-beast. What about Ariella?
So many thoughts went through my head that night. I somehow fell asleep after hours of sleep. The next thing I know, it was morning, and something heavy was on top of me.
"Ari, get off of me. You are really heavy."
"I'm not heavy. Big Bwutha is just weak." I opened my eyes to see Ami on top of me. She was seriously pouting at me. Ami got up and jumped right into my stomach. The air knocked out of me, and I started to cough. It took a few seconds until I was fine. I heard a laugh beside me. I turned to see Hermon was sitting with his legs crossed and his hands on his ankles. His head was down as he laughed.
"Ami, can you get off of big brother? Please?"
"No." Ami crossed her arms and turned away. "Big bwutha said I was heavy."
"I'm sorry, Ami. You are right. Brother is weak." She still didn't listen, so I pretended to cough really bad in Hermon's direction.
"Eww, you got spit over me." I guess he knows how to be informal. I sneered mentally and focused on coughing more on him. Ami grabbed my face and turned my face towards her. I lessened the strength of my fake coughs. I watched as her face was full of concern. She got off of me and sat on the side.
"I'm sowwy, big bwutha." I watched as Ami started to tear up. I put my hands on her shoulder.
"I'm fine now. See! I am not sick." Ami stood up and smiled brightly. "Can you see what mommy is doing?"
Ami nodded and ran out of the door.
"You're sister is cute." I snapped my head at him and made a disapproved mixed with disgust face. "I do not fancy your sister."
"You went back to formal. You were fine with being impolite yesterday and even thought-"
"That was last night. Please do not talk about it." With that, he got off the bed and walked out of the door. Ari walked over and sat next to me. She must have woken up during the quarrel.
'Good morning, baba.' I gave her a small smile and patted her head. She purred softly.
'Good morning Ari. Let's go.'
With that, we went downstairs. Another attack never came after that night. It was peaceful. Today, the royal dresser came to visit with the prince's formal suit. The mansion got crowded, and there were maids than usual. I thought all of this was supposed to be a secret. Won't all of this attract a ton of attention?
The royal dresser was kind enough to make our dresses and suits for the ceremony. He already, but just needed to adjust the size if need so he took our sizes. Ami was jumping up and down excitedly as she saw her dress. Apparently, our theme color was royal blue with gold and black. The dresses got done readjusting and gave us the outfits by evening.
The big day arrived the next day. Everyone woke up early, excited to start the celebration. Dad frequently went to the castle for the last few days to talk about the plan and the strange occurrence that happened that night. He didn't go into full detail when mom talked to him, but he looked worried. Dad took the day off just for today, even though the king requested of him. Dad apparently insisted he wanted to be with us. In the end, the king permitted him since dad was being stubborn about it.
Everyone got into their dresses. Hermon refused to dress in my room the same time I dressed, but he was totally fine with maids seeing him partially naked. It took him so long to get prepared that I had to use Arthur's room to get dressed. When I arrived at his bedroom door, he was already ready and getting out in his full attire. I got ready pretty fast.
I went downstairs to meet everyone. I bet the carriage was ready for us too. Mom looked stunning in her dress.
"Lady Beatrice and Lord Evander will be following our carriage with theirs. They already sent a messenger saying they are ready." Dad nodded in response.
A loud knock came on the door, which caught everyone's attention. Helga went to answer and opened the door. A frustrated soldier came inside without saluting and walked straight to dad.
'Ari, tell me what that guy says.'
The soldier whispered into dad's ear. Dad looked shocked from the news. There was panic written all over his face, but he took a breath and calmed down. Dad turned towards the soldier and nodded. Dad turned towards mom.
"I will meet you there. Prince Hermon will stay here with you guys. I don't think the palace is safe at the moment."
"Is there anything wrong?" Hermon stepped out into dad's way. "What happened?"
"I am sorry, your highness. I cannot discuss this information with you. I have to go."
With that, dad rushed out of the door, leaving us behind. I turned towards Ari.
'What did that soldier say to dad?'
'The king got stabbed this morning by an assassin.'