Like a child, Koharu clung to my arm as I led her up the never-ending staircase, the steps more precarious than ever with twice the weight sometimes pressing against them.
"I haven't been in the new castle." She giggled cutely. "But it's glum. Only my dad and brother would pick this gloomy palette!"
Koharu pointed to a spot on the wall. "See, right there I'd put a pastel artwork. And over there, I'd paint it a shade of blue. Where'd Dad even get all these skulls?"
*To be honest, I don't think anyone wants an answer to that.*
"Then, Miss Designer, what's the Sun Castle like? A blinding yellow?"
She snorted. "That's a cute name. Probably doesn't fit, but I still like it."
Facing away from her, I gave the floor a dumb grin, too focused on not toppling over.
"Anyway," she continued, "it's not that bad but yeah. You're pretty spot-on. It's also pink and orange and red and a little white—all the colors of a vibrant sunset. It doesn't look like a funeral, at least."
I glanced around the building. The aforementioned skulls and black curtains glared back at me. "You make a solid argument."
"Duh. How much more do we have to go, Lia? There are so many stairs," Koharu whined, and she reminded me of a slightly less annoying version of Leo.
"Not much, but shouldn't you be used to walking a lot since you live in a castle?"
Brushing against me, she entered a laughing fit. "Of course not! I use magic to get around, silly!"
*I swear: The magicians are coming for me in my dreams!*
I halted in my tracks, and she ran straight into my back, falling onto her butt.
"Ow! Don't do that!" she demanded unconvincingly in a high-pitched voice.
In her drunken stupor, she stumbled slowly down the stairs until I stopped her with a vice grip on her blouse.
"Aw, thank you!"
She hugged me around the waist—painfully so. I froze, neither fully comfortable nor uncomfortable with the action. She was obviously the bubbly, clingy kind of drunk, which was both endearing and bothersome trying to trudge up numerous flights of stairs.
"Ko… ha… ru… you're," I choked out before she let go.
"I'm sorry, Lia." Hardly seeming guilty, she bowed her head to me. "Let's keep going!"
I remembered my original intention behind stopping then, so I clasped her shoulder, preventing her from sprinting ahead.
"So… are you a fairy as well?"
"No!" She waved her hands and turned her head away to refute my statement. "Each member of the royal family is kinda magical. Courtesy of Leo, of course."
"Ah, yes." I shook my head, cursing my spotty memory. "My dad mentioned something of the sort if I recall correctly. Let's continue then."
Without much intermittent discussion, we reached the prince's floor at last—breathing heavier than normal. The pleasant weather beneath us was a godsend as we trekked to the upper levels of the castle.
"I believe this is his room," I said, pointing to the simple yet elegant door I knocked on earlier. My mind flashed back to the heated discussion I heard before, yet I noted the silence I observed this time.
"Wonderful! Thank you so much for bringing me up here!" She almost hugged me again, but I gave her an uneasy look, recoiling for the sake of my organs. Koharu backed off with a light chuckle.
Walking to the bedroom door, she flung it open without caring to knock.
*Who leaves their room unlocked with this many guests? That's almost like asking to get it ransacked.*
"Aki!" She beamed with her eyes closed, the unaligned tooth from before poking its way out. "It's your sister!"
"Funny, Koharu, but I don't have a sister. Glad to see you, though!" Leo greeted. He took advantage of the fact Koharu wasn't paying attention.
I gave the fairy a look of dread and dissatisfaction. I managed to run into him everywhere, didn't I?
"Ah, Leo." Koharu smiled—albeit disappointedly—as she opened her eyes. "Good to see you, I guess. Do you know where my brother is? I can't walk two steps in this place without getting lost."
I wanted to cackle at her lukewarm reaction.
*I know exactly how you feel.*
"He's in the private courtyard—half trying to avoid the crowds and half trying to plot revenge against your dad for stressing him out." Leo laid across the sofa, wings bunched up awkwardly.
"Ah, doing what he always does, I see." Koharu nodded along. "Would you mind escorting me there? I've troubled Ophelia just asking her to bring me here."
I stepped between them, not sure what came over me. "It's fine, actually." My mouth ran on its own, and that was one of the few times I rambled. "I can take her. It's not an issue at all. Just tell me where to go. I need to learn the castle myself if I'm going to work here."
*Excuses, excuses.*
"No worries," Koharu said to politely decline the offer. "Magic is quite an efficient way to travel."
Huffing stubbornly, I had no idea why I begged to escort Koharu. Perhaps I longed for a friend within the castle who didn't act entirely like a child or machine and didn't merely consider class.
"Really, I insist."
"I have an idea." Leo perked up, letting his glistening wings unfurl as they dirtied the couch. "Before you two get into a fight of chivalry, how about I do a little something?"
I was terrified of his spontaneity. "And that would be?"