After flashing General Connor inside her room, Reya could not feel anything but uncomfortable while being accompanied by the General himself. Her cheeks are still flushing after he witnessed her great mountains.
"Connor – why would you do that?"
"Princess! I'm sorry… you have been behaving quite unnaturally since this morning. I thought something must've happened to you. I can understand if you no longer want me as your –"
"Connor. I –" Reya was at a loss for words after his response.
'He guessed right about my disappearance. He was just fulfilling his duty,' she thought to herself, lowering her eyes.
"Yes, Princess? I'm ready for whatever your answer may be." The General had replied very humbly.
"General Connor, I'm sorry. I should've kept the door locked. You do not have to lose your job for my idiocy."
"Princess… I –" Connor mumbled, feeling elated about her decision.
'She's ok with me seeing her naked? Is this… is it finally happening?' Connor's mind filled with lustful thoughts. 'No. I'm just misunderstanding. In no way in Hell will she ever!'
"It's my fault, General. Can you please, forget this ever happened. I'm getting late for breakfast. So if you'll accompany me," Reya replied with honor.
"Yes, Princess." Connor stepped to the side and allowed the Princess to move through the hallways. Then, he followed her.
'I – I should say something…' Connor was at a loss for words. He had never been in such a situation. This was a first for him.
"You did look beautiful, Princess," Connor added.
"WHAT? Connor! What – what are you saying!?" She screamed out just as he said this. "You're misunderstanding things, fool!"
"I – I'm sorry. It just felt natural to say."
"It clearly is not, Connor. God, let's just forget this ever happened between us."
"Yes, yes we shall," Connor gulped.
At this moment, Connor knew that he fucked up.
///
Still flushing, Reya enters the Dining room of the royal family. Everyone's already seated around the table. The only seat that remains vacant is the one beside the King himself, reserved for his daughter.
"Dear God, Reya. Where the hell have you been?" The King asks as she enters the room, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I'm sorry, Father. It's just a simple matter with my dress," Reya lies, pulling a chair to get seated.
As she enters, none of the royal family sitting around her even looks at her, let alone smile. She gazes around the table, taking a seat. Her mother is seated right beside her, and even she does not care enough to look at her.
In the far corner of the table sits the traitor of an uncle, Ragnar, and his wife. They do not turn to see the Princess either. None of her cousins turn to her. It's as if the entire family is rejecting her existence.
"Well, we waited for you to arrive, Reya. Please, continue with your meals now," her father replies, smiling gleefully like he always does.
He's the only one with a smile in that table.
Reya lowers her eyes, furrowing her eyebrows.
'Is this because I rejected Prince Loy's proposal yesterday? What does my entire family have to do with this proposal…? And that backstabbing dog, Ragnar. You are blindfolded in the throne, Father. It seems that I'm the only one who's thinking like a Ruler in this family now,' Reya thinks as she gazes at her Father's gleeful eyes, munching away at the food.
'I can change things, Father. If you allow me to.'
Soon, the breakfast ends.
The princess stands up without a word to the rest of the family. Then, she takes her leave. Connor accompanies her all the way up the stairs to her room. The way she stomps her feet makes Connor wonder what she's thinking.
'The Princess is acting way stranger than she usually does. Whatever the fuck happened this morning, it really messed up Reya.'
Slam!
The Princess slams her door shut, right in Connor's face. The guard who stands beside the door shivers as he sees her reaction.
He turns to the general, gulping. "Did you mess up, General?"
Connor stares into the guard's face for a few seconds. A deadly silence falls between them. "Do I look like I messed up?"
"Yes?"
"Know your place, runt." Connor takes his leave, leaving the guard with cold feet.
Inside, the princess rips off the buttons of her new dress too, throwing it into the floor. Once more, she messes up her braids furiously, gritting her teeth. Images of the dark elf named Elm flash within her mind, watering her eyes in the process.
She throws open her windows, letting the gale of March blow upon her face. Her hair flows to the rhythm of the wind.
The letter comes back to her mind.
The elf's red eyes, his handsome face. His gentle touch. The freezing cold water making her body go numb. It all comes back to her, crawling up her skin.
She throws herself on the bed, lying face-first on the mattress.
"Why… isn't life easier? Why can't I just choose my own husband and marry her? I am the heir to the throne. The daughter of a king. But I have less power over my own life than any of those girls in the city. Why me?" She groans, flipping around on the mattress.
"And that double-crossing Ragnar. I'm going to behead him."
Reya closes her eyes with an exasperated sigh escaping her lips. Nothing is within her power.
Absolutely nothing.
"Hm…" She nibbles on her lip, remembering the moment Elm's tongue came into contact with hers. His hands were moving all over her body. That moment where they just kissed.
'All my thoughts disappeared, just like that… huh?' She asks herself, remembering the long kiss they shared.
'I miss him.'
Without the embrace of that elf once again, somehow, Reya feels isolation filling the air in her room. The pond. The woods. Riding the horse through the night with no one to stop her.
She wants to enjoy that freedom.
'I'm a caged bird who tasted the freedom of flight. Now I can never go back to the cage… can I?'