Freedom comes at a price and a young Earthal princess must live the life of somebody else, even if it means facing evil threats and impossible odds.
***
As someone who craves freedom, Princess Clarabelle cannot just stand by and let her life be take...
DID SHE just shut me out of the Royal Residence... where I have the right to go in and out?
The two guards stared at him, both torn apart from letting him into keeping the doors closed.
Emir could barely process that the princess, who was head over heels for him, denied him entrance.
"Emir, you princely prick!" The voice rang like a gong in Emir's ears and that, too, made everyone stop to see who was mad enough to call such a name to the prince. Seeing it was only Maxwell, Prince Emir's right-hand man and royal advisor, the onlookers went about their ways.
"Where have you been? I was looking for you," Maxwell said as soon as he skidded to a stop in front of him. With the way he was breathing so heavily, he must have run a mile. Or he might be walking for hours and hours under the glare of the early morning sun.
"And you know better not to worry about me." Emir bit back a scoff. "It doesn't matter. What do you have for me?"
"King Lucian, your father, had sent his Orin this morning, directly addressed to me."
"Addressed to you?" Emir laughed mirthlessly. "So he couldn't even write me a letter? What did he say?"
Maxwell scratched his head and grimaced. "There's nothing much. Only to tell you to be at the castle by lunch."
Even though Emir was intrigued by his father's reason, he simply shrugged it off as if not caring too much. "Okay."
He slid his hands into his pockets and set off to head for the silver gate, then remembered he hadn't cleaned himself yet. But who was he trying to impress? He might as well annoy his father to no extent.
"Wait," Maxwell said, stopping him by the shoulder. "I know there's something else bothering you."
"You can tell?"
"Of course!"
His expression remained apathetic, but a touch of quiver crushed that demeanor. "What do you think of the Skibble language? Have you heard of any Erinian who could speak that tongue?"
Maxwell leaned his head as if contemplating if he heard it right. "No? Only a child of Terralis could communicate with Earth creatures. Are you... sure you're alright?"
Emir stared down at the soles of his shoes, rolling his tongue across his lips—a sign that something was troubling him deeply.
But why can she—
A force sent him stumbling back, and at the same time, pulling his thoughts out of Anneliese. Someone bumped into his shoulders. A tiny and petite girl just walked past, her head hung low, and her chocolate hair fell like a curtain over her face. She kept on bumping into other students who shouted angry words at her.
"Hey!" Maxwell shouted.
"Forget it," Emir said, drawing his attention away from her retreating back. "I'll come back to the palace. And as I join my loving family for lunch, I want you to retrieve something for me."
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