Tor's capital was named after its founding Emperor's lover, Azalea.
The story went that Tor's first Emperor, named Maverick, first met Azalea during a time of devastating war. One of his soldiers betrayed him and he was ambushed, nearly losing his own life and leaving Tor without a ruler. He was within an inch of his life and begged the Gods to save him and that was when he met Azalea, like an angel that descended directly from the heavens to bring him back to life.
Azalea was a traveling nomad and also adept in healing magic, hailing from a family of doctors. She nursed the nearly-dead Maverick back to life and even extended her help to the other soldiers, using her powers to prolong their activity in battles. From then on, she was proclaimed as their Saintess, an honorary title.
Maverick even introduced a "Lover's Day", a day meant to celebrate your lover and ensured that couples married or engaged on this day would forever have the blessing of the founding Emperor and the Saintess Azalea.
It was as if everyone forgot about his actual, legal wife.
When Apollo recounted this story that was meant to be adorable, Evelyn felt her face scrunch though she tried her best to not make it noticeable. It was a heartwarming tale, but Evelyn couldn't help feeling a bit of resentment towards Maverick and Azalea. She wondered how his legal wife must have felt, watching her husband and his mistress be celebrated by the people of Tor.
Were all the men of this family incapable of staying true to their wives?
In contrast, Jinx's eyes practically lit up. It was clear she was fascinated with the story.
Evelyn flicked her forehead with a teasing smile, "Aren't you too young to be thinking about these types of things? Don't tell me my little Jinx already has someone in mind?"
The maidservant's cheeks flushed red and she swatted her hand away, huffing. "Your Majesty, please don't tease me! I'm not a child anymore."
"Shh!" Evelyn gave her a scolding look, "What did I tell you before? We're undercover. While we're outside just address me by my name. Come on, try it."
Her expectant look made the young girl fidget in her seat but she obeyed the order nonetheless. "E..Evelyn." Her voice squeaked.
"Good girl! Was it really that difficult?"
Apollo watched the two girls converse in a light mood, a smile blossoming deep in his heart.
The group was seated on a spacious cafe balcony, offering a beautiful view of the capital, which included the sea from afar, the bustling crowd, and shops lining the pathways. Apollo remembered the look of amazement on Evelyn's face when they first arrived on the busy streets of the capital. He understood that while she had entered her own kingdom''s city on multiple occasions, it simply could not be compared to Tor's capital, Azalea.
In truth, Evelyn did not actually believe that Apollo would really sneak them out of the palace. Yesterday, she merely laughed it off as a joke but the next day when she heard Jinx's scream as she found him standing on her balcony expectantly, she could no longer laugh.
The knight had immediately thrown some commoner-girl clothing at them to change into. Their undercover identities seemed to portray that of two wealthy commoner girls and their guard.
"Are the both of you done resting now? There's still a lot more sightseeing and we don't have much time."
Evelyn stretched her legs and nodded. They had already been out for half a day already and they hadn't even seen half the city yet so both the girls were eager to leave the cafe and explore more.
As they walked through the busy streets, Apollo pointed out various landmarks and explained the city's history. Evelyn was amazed by the grandeur of the buildings and the beauty of the sea in the distance. She couldn't help feeling a pang of envy towards the people of Tor, who got to call this magnificent place home.
Azalea was a stark contrast to its rulers. The people possessed a genuinely welcoming and friendly atmosphere. The locals displayed remarkable openness and pleasantness, eagerly engaging in conversation with the group. The city's people were infused with a liveliness and spirit that was truly infectious, infusing the streets with a palpable energy that was hard to resist.
As the day went on, they visited shops and food stands, tasting the local delicacies and admiring the wares. Jinx had been awarded some pocket change so she was particularly excited to try on some new clothes and accessories, while Evelyn was more interested in the cultural and historical significance of the city.
When they approached the final stretch of their exploration, Evelyn could no longer bear to listen to Jinx's stomach growl and incessant complaining about her hurt feet.
Apollo chuckled. "Don't worry, we're almost there. Let's take a break at that park over there." He pointed to a small green space ahead, where a group of children were playing and shouting loudly.
As the group sat down on a bench, Evelyn stretched her legs and took in the surroundings. The children caught Apollo's eye, and he stood up, walking towards them.
"Hey, do you guys want to learn a fun game?" he asked, crouching down to their level.
The children's eyes widened with excitement. "Yes, please!" they shouted in unison.
Apollo taught them a game he had played as a child, using stones and sticks to create a small obstacle course. The children eagerly followed his instructions, laughing and cheering as they went along.
As the group of children played the game that Apollo had taught them, Evelyn watched with a smile on her face. She had always been fond of children, and it was heartwarming to see them having fun and enjoying themselves.
Evelyn had a very strange case of deja vu. This was a game she had never seen or even heard of before but for some reason, she felt as if she had seen it a hundred times over - almost as if she played it before when she was a child.
Jinx soon joined in the game as if her complaints before were nonexistent, laughing and jumping about with the other children. She seemed to be having a great time, and was clear that Apollo's idea to stop and rest had been a good one.
The scene reminded Evelyn that Jinx was nothing but a child but she still had to become a life-or-death servant to ensure her own survival. A large part of her resented the young girl's father. Someone her age should be playing and enjoying their childhood just like this - not having their life tied to their owner.
After a while, Apollo called out to the children, "Alright, it's time to wrap up the game. But before we go, I have a surprise for you all."
The children gathered around him, eagerly waiting to see what the surprise was. Apollo reached into his bag and pulled out a handful of small, colorful candies. The children's eyes widened in excitement as Apollo handed them each a piece of candy. They thanked him and ran off to show their friends.
Evelyn watched with a smile as Apollo interacted with the children, his playful, older brother side coming out. "You're really good with kids," she said as he walked back over to her.
Apollo shrugged. "I work with children a lot so I suppose it comes easily."
"As a knight?" She frowned in thought. From her understanding, he was just a knight that worked in the palace and took care of the training grounds. Because there wasn't an heir yet, there were no noblemen bringing their children to the palace to curry favor so there really shouldn't be any need that his job required him to look after any children.
Apollo knew well that he had made a slip of the tongue.
Before he could answer, Jinx ran back to them, her hands full of flowers. "Look what I found!" she exclaimed.
Evelyn took the flowers from her and examined them curiously. They were a vibrant shade of pink and smelled sweet with a velvety texture. "These are beautiful," she said in awe. "Where did you find them?"
"In the garden over there," Jinx said, pointing in the direction they had come from. In the distance, there was a small meadow with wildflowers of various colors growing abundantly.
Evelyn looked over at Apollo, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Well, we can't let these go to waste," she said. "Let's make flower crowns."
Jinx's face lit up at the idea, and the three of them set to work, carefully weaving the flowers together to create crowns.
By the time they finished, the sun had begun to set and the loud chatter of the area was dying down. Apollo was the first to stand and stretch his legs, helping Evelyn up after.
"Thank you for today. Really." Evelyn's voice was sincere with gratitude as they walked down a secluded path to the palace.
She meant it. She had felt like she was going crazy stuck in the suffocating walls of the palace. The staff of the palace were mostly cold to her so she stuck to her room with Jinx or the training grounds with Apollo.
At first, they did respect her at least a little but it was becoming crystal-clear that the Emperor didn't favor her in the slightest considering the fact the two of them had yet to meet outside of their wedding night. She felt completely alone. Sure, she had Jinx by her side but a part of her couldn't help tracing that back to her being a life-or-death maidservant - death was the only other option for her.
Apollo nodded in understanding before his face suddenly went dark. Evelyn's body tensed slightly and she immediately pulled Jinx closer to her.
The secluded path they were taking was an isolated, woody area. In the dark, it felt gloomy and eerie which usually made people feel as if they were being watched by a creature of the night.
Evelyn and Apollo had trained for years so they would never mistake this feeling.
They were being followed.