For two nights I stayed on this rooftop, gazing at the streets until a princess arrived.
But there is no sign of a Princess, even now.
'Maybe she cannot escape again? Did she get locked up in a dark room after her proposal to her Father about marriage with an outlandish soul?' I begin to ponder as I stay seated on a rooftop with the wooden mask concealing my face.
"Hollow Lodgings. I currently live there, Princess. I'll be inside the fourth room on the second floor. Come meet me there."
The words come back to my mind as I begin to wonder if she has lost herself on the path to my lodgings. But no such thing could've happened.
I clearly mentioned it to her.
Why am I here on this rooftop waiting for her arrival?
Once the Princess steps outside, there is a massive possibility of her being followed by Knights. The King certainly loves his daughter. So he must have at least one guard dedicated to her security. If the guard manages to come all the way to my lodgings, not just me – but even Cindy and the rest of the people are in danger.
Cindy gets tortured, she spills out my real identity, and my cover blows.
My mission is over if a rumor about a man fucking princesses spreads far across the lands. I must assure that no such thing would happen. So, I am here at the alleyway which exits to the street where the "Hollow Lodgings" is.
The street isn't bustling with people. There are no pubs near here, except for some old crumbled-down lodgings and a stable to temporarily stop your horses.
A drunk stumbles in the street, here and there.
"Blagh!" A guy vomits behind an alleyway.
A rat crawls along the downspout of the building I stand upon, breaking the eerie silence on the rooftop with its squeals.
My attention does not flinch, even for a second. I stay there, unmoving like a statue as my cloak blows with the wind. My shadow hangs upon the street like a bat.
Moments pass.
I'm getting drowsy. When the clock hits the bells at midnight hour, this will be three sleepless nights. Not one.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Hooves. The sound of hooves echo into the night breeze.
My eyes fall upon the stranger. Intensity sweeps the lethargic feeling within me as the stranger arrives on the road. I hop to the side, my steps as silent as the rat crawling across the downspout. I hide behind the chimney so that the stranger cannot spot me.
"Sir, where can I find the Hollow Lodging, please?" The voice is innocent; unchanged. Just like a princess. Just like Reya.
The drunk turns to the lady on the horse. "Why my dear, just down that alley over there… but – what's a good woman like you doing here? Look at that leg~" He says, ogling at the smooth leg escaping from the edge of her cloak.
"Um, thanks for the info?" The Princess pulls back with the horse, avoiding the drunk old man. Swinging from side to side, he moves closer to the girl.
Seeing this, another drunk in the alley starts moving towards her.
Even when this happens, I don't jump straight in. My eyes fall upon the edge of the alley where the Princess came from. If anyone is following her, this would be the right time they hopped in to protect her.
"Ew, get away from me! Don't you dare make me do this, old man!" The girl cries out. She pulls on the strap of the horse and it throws its hooves into the air with a loud neigh.
"Oh boy! She's aggressive! Always good when they scream, right Kremlin?" The old man grins at his drunk companion.
"Yeah, old boy."
They circle around the princess, cornering her. Suddenly, they pull out knives. The situation is tense.
I apply mana to the tip of my fingers, but I don't move. Not yet. The horse neighs as the girl keeps screaming "Get away!" to the two drunk men.
The eerie silence of the alley is suddenly broken. If she screams louder, even the knights patrolling the alleys nearby would come for a check-up.
The situation is tense enough.
No knights show up on the scene, bashing the guts out of the drunk men. I am safe. I can assure you that.
"Yo, motherfuckers."
I throw a ball of ice at the old man's face.
Freeze!
He falls to the ground as his face engulfs with ice, blocking his nostrils and his mouth.
"Who the fuck – old man! Oh god –" I throw another ball of freezing magic at the other drunk's face, making him drop to the ground.
I leap into the alley, finally revealing myself to the Princess. She gazes at my mask and instantly notices me.
"Wha – Elm?" She utters, pulling her horse back.
"Yeah, Princess. I was waiting for you," I remark, gazing at her.
"Gosh~ thank God you were here."
I gaze down at the two unmoving bodies on the ground. "They're lifeless drunks, Princess. Nothing you can't defeat as the next Queen, right?"
She chuckles at me, scratching her head. "I mean, yeah…"
I gaze at the darkness that covers the entrance to the alley. Nothing approaches me. No one still follows in her steps.
I'm safe.
"So, where do you stay then?" She asks me, noticing that my attention has gone to the entrance of the alley. I remove my mask and smile at her.
"Just down that road. The street is lively there, Princess. Unlike this dark alley. I was waiting here for you to assure your safety."
She narrows her eyes. "How did you know that I was coming?"
"...for two whole nights," I add, letting her know how long I've been waiting.
"Oh," she flushes, lowering her eyes upon understanding that I was simply waiting on the rooftop for her to arrive. "Well, can we go to your place now? We have a lot to converse about, Elm. I need to tell you this."
I nod at her request. "Of course, Princess. But, please. Go into that alley and enter the wooden lodging that has blue lights sparking from its windows. I need to be sure, Reya. I need some time here to make sure that you are not followed by anyone. So, if you please enter that lodging. The woman at the counter will take you to my room, ok?"
The Princess gazes into the dark entrance of the alley. "I'm – ok." She resists her words, the uncertainty clear within that pause.
"Thank you, Reya. We can talk all night if you want to. Just give me a few minutes."
"Sure," the girl turns the horse to the side. She gazes at me until the horse turns into the alley.
I gaze at her back, smiling. 'Poor girl. Makes me sad,' I tell myself, seeing that innocent face. Tonight may just as well be the final night she can spend with me.
I turn to the entrance of the alley, standing in the middle of the road with two dead drunks at my feet.
I'm unmasked. Because I'm not scared.
I know that whoever comes across that entrance will die.
The eerie silence crawls up to the alley once more. I sense nothing from the distance. No presence. No nothing.
"Did no one actually notice the Princess's disappearance?" I ask the empty air that fills the alley.
I turn.
A sudden whiff. A sudden change in the low levels of mana that surrounds the alley. It's familiar. I've felt this before. Grinning, I turn around to gaze at the darkness again.
The hooves of a horse echo into the silence alongside a vigorous sniffing sound of a hound.
From the shadows, a massive pale wolf appears. Then appears its master, mounted on a horse in glorious dark armor.
I stand there with a grin drawn across my face, clutching my fist.
The dark knight pauses for a moment. The wolf does not stop sniffing. It marches forth, but its master has stopped. The chain pulls it back into place.
"So, you're the new king, huh?" The Dark Knight asks me.
"What if I say that I am?" I question him back.
"Hm. I see. In my hand is Pale. A wolf that can sniff out the smallest bit of mana that a person could leave. A wolf that I myself trained. Give up the Princess, nice and easy. Stop whatever game you're playing, and leave us in peace. I will not harm a hair in your head. Or, fight me and die, fake dark elf."
Just by gazing at my crimson eyes and my black hair, he guessed it.
Only its own kind can guess like this. I smile, remembering what the Princess told me at the pond.
*"I used to come here, you know. All the time, when I was a kid. There was someone with me, those days. Dark hair. Red eyes. Long ears. He was my friend. I might've loved him too~ but I was still a child. I didn't even know what love meant back then, haha. So, I feel like it's as if I'm fated to marry you ~"*
"So, you're the true lover?" I ask him, my grin widening.