"Ash? Why is it ash? Is there something wrong with the room? Is it dusty in here?" Father asks, confused, mistaking Ash's name for the word ash. "You —" He points at Nanny. "You are not doing a good enough job of running this palace," he berates the aging woman.
Mother, on the other hand, staggers, getting what I meant by Ash right away. Her face turns pale as if she has seen a vengeful ghost in front of her. "She's too young… my Iris is too young to be married to that person. He's too old…"
Perplexed, Father asks his dazed wife why she suddenly remembers the Aryelan delegate from the previous week but stops himself mid-sentence. His eyes grew bigger and his lips twitched. My astute, yet somehow slow father finally realizes the reason behind my first word.
He gently placed my hand down on the table before turning his attention to the still stunned Prince. Father asserts his power without saying anything as his powerful aura sweeps across the room, making everyone uncomfortable with the sudden weight in the air. We feel the downward pull of gravity on our bodies. Most of the people in the room kneel down and heave, clutching to their clothes as they scratch the carpeted floor. One of the high-ranking knights assists Mother as her legs wobble and more blood escapes her face.
I, being the youngest person in the room, bore the brunt of the blows. Acids from my stomach escaped my mouth as my guts twisted and churned. "AAAAH." I gasped for air, but no one seemed to notice. My vision began to blur before fully blacking out for a moment and regaining consciousness, then blacking out again before waking up once more. I couldn't take the pressure from Father's mana. It's lethal for my young and fragile body.
Father stands tall and looms over Ash. "You. What kind of demonic act did you do to enchant my daughter?"
"N-nothing, Your Majesty." Ash stammers, oblivious to the fact that he had forgotten to address Father by his Amari title. Formalities be damned, he's about to die from my father's hands. "I merely said hello to the princess and grasped her hand when she extended it out, and then she said the word 'Ash' out of nowhere."
Father yells angrily as he points his finger at the young raven. "So, you were saying I was accusing you of bewitching my daughter?" he asks menacingly. "Wasn't it your father's idea to wed you to her and use the marriage to tie Amari to Aryela? Playmate? Hah!" He threw his hand in the air in disbelief. "Only an idiot would believe your pathetic excuses! So much for putting your best face forward; you go back to your rife, corrupted country full of filthy people right this instant! Tell your throne-seizing father that I am ready to wage war at any moment."
"My King!" Mother screams and clutches Father's arm.
"Don't worry, Royal Consort Luna. I won't take what His Majesty said to heart—"
"What I said is the truth," Father hisses, dismissive of the Prince's struggle and oblivious to what I am going through.
"My King, that is absurd. Please think this through, you must have a cool head to rule a country—"
"What?!" Father snaps at his wife. "That young man was sent here not to play with our daughter but to be a spy. I bet he was instructed to get close to her and know her every move so that they could use it to their advantage. Huh! I bet he was told to make my daughter reliant on him so that he could control my Iris like a puppet! Iris is a great asset to my country and I shall not allow a mere someone to ruin her."
Despite the fact that he is becoming queasy and his eyes are blurring due to Father's mana surge, Prince Ash attempts to stand up straight and show himself to Father in a proud stance. "King Adrian, please quench your anger. My father sent me here with pure intentions, and I would never do things that you accused me of. If you must, you can send someone at my side to report to you—"
"See this sly-tongue! He deliberately turned the situation on me. Now I'm in the wrong, and he's the victim!"
His overwhelming mana surges again as he becomes angrier, and my frail body couldn't handle it any longer. I squirm, but it only made me more uncomfortable. My lips wiggle for a moment before I burst into tears, drawing everyone's attention. "Waaaaaah!"
"Astahi! My daughter!" Mother takes me in her arms and starts comforting me, rocking me back and forth as Nanny wipes my mouth off my vomit. [1]
Father immediately withdraws his mana and tries to calm me down as well, but Mother wouldn't let him. "Don't. You were too caught up with her first word that you let your mana let loose and scared her."
"I-I'm sorry. I… I was just..." Father is in a panic.
"Out." The usually submissive wife says sternly. "Out and cool your head. Come back here after you're done brooding."
"But–"
"Now."
Father's shoulders slumps. He wants to argue more, but Mother is too preoccupied in calming me down to pay attention to him. He shifts his gaze to the Prince, who stands awkwardly three steps away from him, narrows his eyes at the young man, and cocks his head, sending a silent message.
"Stop. Don't take him with you. You will only bully the child," Mother intervenes, getting a feeling on what Father intends to do to the Prince. "Stop behaving like a child; you have more than five children," she comments in a huff.
"Why does he get to stay while I am forced to leave my daughter's residence?"
The Consort found the guts to reprimand the man in the royal garb: "Because he was not the person who made Iris cry."
"But he was the one who forced me to release my mana, which caused Iris to cry, so it's technically his fault," the King childishly replies; seemingly forgetting that he could simply demand for his child whenever he wants.
He walks reluctantly to the door, but lingers for a moment. When he notices that no one is paying attention to him, he walks out of the room glumly. After a while, I calmed down, and Mother reseated me in my high chair. Father is nowhere to be found and hasn't returned; perhaps he had been apprehended by Sir Arman and is forced to return to his office to attend to royal matters.
"Please do not take what that old man said seriously; he was only overthinking things because he adores Iris." Mother speaks calmly to Ash, placing her hand on his shoulder. Ash smiles at her and shakes his head.
"I understand that His Majesty was taken aback and did not truly mean what he said, but please know that I will not harm the Princess."
"I would take your word for it." Mother clasps her hands together in front of her. "How is your stay in the Royal City going? Are your needs being met without fail?" she inquires, changing the subject.
"Everyone here is accommodating and takes good care of me. I am having a fantastic time here. Thank you for your inquiry, Royal Consort."
Silence followed, and the two awkwardly smiled at each other.
Mother scratches the sides of her crinoline gown with her gloved hands as Prince Ash travels his eyes to my pink room, settling on the life-sized stuffed bear that I had received for my birthday from some country's delegate, sitting in one of the room's corners.
The attendants are back on their feet and no longer have trouble breathing, but that doesn't stop them from being uncomfortable. Jenna's lips squirms like a fish; she wants to say something to relieve the tension, but doesn't have the guts. Opal fixes her gaze on the floor, her shoes occasionally lifting from the ground as she plays with her fingers. Nanny remains quiet and poised as usual, but I could still see the beads of sweat on her brow that have formed while Father is still in the room.
I couldn't stand the awkwardness any longer; no one is attempting to ease the tension, and everyone is just waiting for someone to break it, so I take it upon myself to ease the atmosphere.
"Mama," I called out.
I had no choice but to do what I had to do. I released the tension by diverting the attention to me, and it worked.
"Oh, my," Mother exclaims. "Iris just called me. She just said 'Mama.' Did you hear it?" She snatches me out of my highchair once more, and the crowd begins to swarm around us. She gently sways me to prevent me from crying and becoming overwhelmed.
"Indeed, Royal Consort," Jenna squeals, her bubbly personality showing once again. "The Princess called you, and she sounded so cute."
"Congratulations, Royal Consort," Ash says.
"Saridayang is so adorable. Forgive me if I stepped out of the line, but she looked like a chipmunk when she said 'Mama.' Her cheeks are so round," Nanny observes.
"Right? My iris is so cute. I am hoping she grows quickly so I can spend more time with her." She stretches her arms and looks me in the eye as she holds me in the air with my armpits. "Do not grow quickly; rather, grow at a normal... or perhaps slower... rate. I don't want you to leave me so soon." Her eyes twinkled as tears welled up in her eyes, and her face displayed that sad, reminiscing expression that every parent has when handing over their daughters on their wedding day. "Oh, what was I thinking?" She cradles me against her chest and hugs me tightly. "My Iris... my lovely and adorable Iris..." she says with a broken voice.
'So much for pulling an Einstein.'
—
[1] Astahi = Damari equivalent to the phrase Oh, my god and the like.