Lily could only frown upon the people around her. Her father had indeed come home.
But instead of focusing his attention on her, he spent his time talking business with his guest, King Bulrush of Azalea-their neighboring country.
Bored with the topic of economics and trading, the young princess slipped away from the room where they were having their conversation.
Lily had gone to the back garden to get a whiff of fresh air. The tall hedges of the maze prevented her from going further and getting her lost.
"Reed, don't come near that girl. I heard that despite being the princess, she is actually trying to be a witch." A familiar male voice filtered her ears.
Her brows scrunched up as she turned her attention towards a flaxen haired boy who was giving her a haughty look.
"Briar Hawthorn..." she muttered in disgust. She really couldn't understand why he had some sort of animosity towards her.
"Briar, desist from talking to her highness like that." His older brother, Reed, chastised him. "Her interests are a bit different but you shouldn't treat her lesser than a lady."
"Thank you, your highness Reed!" She smiled shyly at the crown prince who took her hand and gave it a kiss.
Crown Prince Reed was such a young gentleman. He always treated her with respect befitting any royalty. He was never not like his delinquent brother, Briar.
Ignoring his brother, Briar asked. "Did your spell casting work this time, your highness?"
Lily decide to bite her tongue to prevent her self from engaging into another battle of words with the prince. He always find ways to get on her nerves.
"You always claim to be a witch but you always fail to cast even just a simple magic." Briar added. "I doubt you could even use magical tools."
Lily's brows knotted at the second prince's remark. "Of course, I could use magical tools. They are just simple household items and they are designed so that anyone even those with mixed blood can use them."
"What I am aiming for are high level spells that could sew your filthy mouth shut!" she spat.
"Really? As if you could do that... " Briar continued baiting her. "The last time we visited you, you had declared that you are going to show to me a spell that could surpass even the Great Wizard, Kreuz. So where is it now?"
He further continued. "I bet you couldn't even make a simple spell such as transfiguring me into a squirrel work."
With Briar's incessant taunting, Lily finally snapped.
"Fine, I'll show you something worth your while." She took the vial and made a pentagram on the carpet of grass.
Reciting the spell, she gave Briar a challenging look.
The pentagram gave a pale blue glow. Just then a surge of wind blew some dried leaves into the circle and an unanticipated reaction from the spell happened.
The pentagram produced a spectrum of colors which illuminated the garden with dancing lights.
The triad stood awestruck by the way the hedges were covered up by different hues.
But before they could further enjoy the spectacle, a part of the hedge suddenly caught on fire, which rapidly spread through the ground.
In panic, the princess recited another spell that would quench the fire.
But due to the chaos that followed, she mixed up her words and ended up making the fire blaze and engulfed a part of the courtyard.
Reed kept his head together and took a pail beside the garden well. He began collecting water and splashing it to the raging fire.
But despite his effort, a fire made of spell could not be quenched by normal garden water alone.
In order not to be burned, Reed was forced to his affinity with earth.
Putting his hands on the ground, he manipulated the soil to form a wall to prevent the flames from reaching them.
However, the fire rose higher which caused the children panicked even more. With all the chaos that ensued, the three of them find themselves trapped inside the garden.
With the smoke getting thicker, the three had difficulty breathing.
Lily was horrified with how things turned out, but she couldn't do a thing. Her eyes got teary as smoke clouded her vision.
She could feel herself losing consciousness not only due to the effect of the fire but due to depleting mana for the spells she had cast.
As the fire began to slowly inch their way, Lily fell to the ground. Her breath came in short pants due to lack of oxygen.
With her fading consciousness, she caught a glimpse of light and the fire slowly ebbing away.
~~~
The princess stirred as bright light hit her face.
However, it was not actually the sunlight that caught her attention and woke her up rather it was from the hushed tones that she could barely hear.
From the bed where she was lying on, she could make up the forms of her lady-in-waiting and the young wizard by the door.
Pretending to be asleep, she spied at the couple.
"Will you be all right?" Hazel asked worry lacing her tone. Her face was filled with sadness as her hazel eyes fell on Zeke.
"I'll be fine." Zeke gave her a smirk despite the tense air. "I didn't know that you are worried about me."
Scowling and avoiding his gaze, she made her come back. "Who said that I am worried about you?"
"I wasn't worried... just a little concern." She added with a slight blush marring her face.
"Stop denying what you feel, Hazel. We both know that the feeling is mutual." He said with a cocky grin.
Lifting up her chin, he made her face him. "Just be honest with yourself."
Hazel lightly slapped his hand away and moved a few steps back. "You know that we can't be together especially now that you are going away."
Lily's ears perked up as Hazel mentioned the last four words.
'Zeke is going away? Why would he leave? Did Zeke do something which had offended the King?' such questions popped in her mind.
The King! Her father had come back home with guests and the two princes were here...she stopped short as events came flashing before her.
She wanted to ask Zeke and Hazel about what had happened but she could not ruin the mood.
"Stay safe." Hazel said making the princess snap out of her musing.
The princess seemed to have zoned out and failed to catch their conversation.
Lily turned just in time to see Zeke putting a necklace on Hazel before he pulled the maiden close and crashed his lips on hers.
Lily could not help as a smile split her face at the scene. She always had a suspicion that there was something going on between the two.
"Take good care of the princess for me." He said as he let his forehead rest on Hazel's.
"I will." She answered before they shared another kiss.
Lily closed her eyes as to give them enough privacy. She only peeked through her lashes after she heard Zeke's receding footsteps.
She sat, looked around the room and spotted Hazel's forlorn figure leaning by the door.
Upon noticing the princess, Hazel hastily masked her sad look with a smile and made her way to the princess. "Finally, you are awake!"
Lily noticed the circular amulet hanging on the necklace Hazel was now wearing. It gleamed as light hit it.
"Are you feeling all right, my lady?" Hazel asked.
Lily just shook her head. She wanted to ask questions but stopped short when she felt that her throat was parched.
Giving her water to quench her thirst, the lady-in-waiting informed.
"You've been asleep for more than 72 hours. We were worried about your condition but the healer said that there wasn't any physical harm."
"What happened after I set the garden on fire?" she asked with a hoarse voice.
"Master Chervil and Zeke cast a spell to stop the fire from spreading. They managed to subdue the flames but the whole maze was burned to the ground and a huge part of the courtyard was reduced to ashes."
Being a perceptive child, Lily noticed that Hazel had hidden a few facts from her. By demanding from the attendant what else had happened, she had learned about her father's latest decree.
Without waiting for Hazel to finish her report, Lily bolted up and immediately run to the throne room where her father was.