In a single moment, I was lifted above the ground. Corin's grip on my neck tightened, completely blocking all airflow. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I clawed at his hands, struggling to break free. However, the armoured demon didn't even flinch.
One look at his visor was enough to tell me he wouldn't hesitate to kill me this time. I used up my grace and messed up immediately.
'T-Think! Something. Do… something!'
All energy in my body quickly drained away, making it impossible to make any moves. I quickly scanned the grove, looking for anything that could help me. I remembered all tactics I'd learned – throwing dirt, false confessions, spitting in their eye, pissing my pants. None of them would work.
'D-Damn it…'
"Sir Corin!", The little girl's voice cracked. She sniffed, trying her best to stifle her tears. "Please let him go. He spoke no falsehood."
I wheezed for air as my body fell flatly to the ground.
"Forgive me. I have failed to introduce myself.", Interrupting my violent coughing fit, the princess lifted the sides of her robe. She then bowed gently, saying, "My name is Alea Sherwood, heir to the throne of the Sherwood Kingdom and as you've already surmised, the Kingdom's current guardian Mage."
Through blurry eyes, I glared at her, then at her knight. Twice now that man had almost killed me over nothing.
'If only I could-no, what am I thinking? I'll die if I piss him off again.'
I quickly brushed aside all ridiculous ideas of vengeance. Perhaps when I found myself fancying a new scar, I would call his mother an ass and his father a cunt. Till then, he was the oh-so-merciful knight in black…
"I apologise for Sir Corin's brash assault. He's simply protective of me.", she placed a gentle hand on my head and before I knew it, the pain was gone like before. "You said you were sent here to help us, is that not so?"
"Princess-", Sir Corin raised a hand to grab the princess, but stopped after one glance from the princess.
"We have no choice here. I will accept all the help I can get. Unless you have a way of dealing with those dragons."
"Very well, princess." Finally, the knight dropped his hand and went silent, simply staring at the princess. I was most likely overthinking it, but from where I was, it felt like he was staring at me instead.
Not like I could blame him. I'd also be extremely suspicious of a stranger offering to help me in my greatest time of need.
'Though, I still did accept her help…'
I sighed.
"Is there somewhere we can go? Like, somewhere safe that the dragons won't easily destroy like that city?", I asked.
"I propose we beseech the kingdom of Entrada for aid, princess."
"What? S-Sir Corin, why would y-?"
"Because it is our only viable option. Unless you would rather wed yourself to the king of Fiorre for his aid?"
The princess' mouth shut close and her bubble-like eyes shook within their sockets as her face contorted into one of sheer dread.
I frowned.
"How far is it?", I interjected. "As in, how long will it take us to get there?"
After my question, the only thing that could be heard was the roars of the dragon from the kingdom. Both princess and knight stared at me quietly, instantly making me flinch.
'D-Did I make a mistake?'
"A fortnight.", Corin answered.
In that moment, Ami's words came back to me. "Well, in about a week, a Story Dome's going to erupt here, and we have reason to believe, no one will survive it."
'I don't have two weeks!'
That wasn't completely true. In fact, there was an argument to be made that I actually did, but there was no way for me to confirm that. I'd heard stories of time being distorted in Tomes. That story walkers described spending decades in Tomes only to come back to the world only to have spent a year in there. The timelines were always vague and the sources were even more obscure.
If there was one thing I'd learned in the past eight years, it was that you couldn't believe everything you heard.
"A-and this Fiorre? How long will it take to get there?", I gulped, preparing to get grabbed again, but that didn't happen. Instead, the knight casually answered me.
"It's a week-long trip."
"Oh.", I looked at the princess, but she didn't meet my eyes. She stared at the ground, tightly gripping her gown.
And in that moment, my perception of her changed. Because of her demeanour and reaction earlier, I completely ignored the fact that at the end of it all, she was still just a child. Even if she wanted to protect her kingdom, there was most likely a selfish part of her that would rather watch it burn than marry someone she didn't want.
"I know, it's not my place to speak, but may I offer up a suggestion?"
"Yes.", Corin's voice was as neutral and hollow as it could be.
"I think the best thing to do here is get the princess to safety as soon as possible.", I paused, waiting to see Corin's reaction, but I got none. "I know the princess may not want to do it, but I think marrying the king of Fiorre will be much better than risking the few who do manage to survive this dragon assault to eventually die due to a lack of aid."
I looked at the princess again, but she still kept staring at the ground, clearly frustrated. Perhaps even angry at me for my statement. Something like:
'Who gave you the right to intervene.', she'd ask.
'Why, you did, princess.', I'd say.
'Damn you and your irrefutable logic! You're right. Let's do what you say!'
Is what would happen in a perfect world. Unfortunately…
"I agree."
"What?"
I blinked multiple times and shook my head, taken aback by what was clearly a mistake.
"I agree with you. You're right. The most logical choice here is obviously to get aid from Fiorre, regardless of certain people's exceedingly selfish desires and childish whims."
'Was that… Did he just throw a jab at the princess?'
His gaze was still on me, unnerving me even further.
"We will set off then. To Fiorre, to seek asylum and aid for the aftermath."
He meant it.
'Is this because I made a decision?'
Was this how stories worked?
'Well, that would make some sense. Just like Ami said, they aren't real people. I just need to see their defining traits to figure out where the story is headed.'
The knight was pragmatic and protective of the princess. The princess was young, hopeful and kind, so her decision making wasn't exactly the best. Clearly, she just lost everything and doesn't want to accept it.
'Okay, so I see how it is.'
There was no saving that kingdom. This was the kind of story where the princess simply lost everything. She failed her position and she failed to protect her kingdom. And now, she was going to fail to escape a marriage she'd rather not go through with.
"No! We can't do that!", She barked – a futile attempt at escaping her reality.
Corin slightly shifted his head, quickly directing his gaze to the princess.
"Why not?
"You don't get it. Trust me, I would marry the king if it means I can save my people immediately. It's just…"
"Just what? Your people are already dead.", I felt my heart twinge. The moment I realised what exactly she was, there was something that started to spill into my stomach and now, it was coming out. "You failed. You were weak and there was nothing you could do."
'Shut up! Shut up!'
I tried to put a lid on it, seal the vile and ugly words pouring out. But I couldn't.
"Don't be selfish. Think about the potential survivors. Think about your knight who's risking his life for you right now. Just do this one thing and maybe you can make up for your terrible failure."
Next to me, Corin felt like a ticking time bomb. The more I yelled at the princess, the more I felt my death looming, but I couldn't help myself.
Something about watching this miserable wretch who couldn't simply accept the reality of her situation just irked me. I couldn't… oh.
'She's me. Damn it.'
"What? Just how shallow do you think I am?", She hissed. She glared at me; all innocence lost from her now fierce eyes. "I don't give a damn what happens to me. My people are all that matter! They put their trust in me and that is exactly why I can't get married or go to Entrada."
"What? You're making no sense."
"They need my help now. Right now, each and every single citizen is trapped in the palace's underground chamber."
"You can't mean…", for the first time, there was a hint of emotion in Corin's voice.
"Yes. Right before the barrier shattered, I managed to drag the citizens into the chamber. There's no food or water provisions there, so they will most likely die from thirst or starvation if we don't get them out. It will be too late by the time we come back with aid from a different country."
'Oh.'
And now, my perception of her began to change once more.
"I'll have to apologise for my earlier statements, princess. You didn't fail.", I found myself smiling.
'She's me? Yeah, right. Don't go projecting your useless crap onto her!'
Unlike me, when her whole world came crumbling down, she didn't just cry about it. She pivoted and saved her people. And even if it wasn't the best method, thanks to her, some citizens were still alive.
She wasn't me. She was better.
A forced marriage? A child's despair? The logical decision?
I didn't want that. I couldn't allow it, especially if I decided where this story goes.
'In the first place, why did I think there was no hope for the kingdom? Just because dragons were assaulting it? This is a story for crying out loud, there's always hope! I'm not choosing such a morbid ending for her.'
"Princess. I have another idea.", it felt like something possessed my body. All thoughts of completing this story in time to prevent a story dome suddenly didn't matter to me. "Let's save your kingdom. Just the three of us!"
I didn't want to admit it, but perhaps because I saw myself in the princess, I didn't want her to lose. Not like this at least.
[Your words have had a great impact on the Key Characters [Alea Sherwood] and [Corin the Loyal]]
[They will both remember this]
'What?'