In the central continent, humans are the predominant race. But only when you compare them to the other races. Humans don't amount to the majority of the population as some claim. The other racial groups of note are, in order of representativity, dwarves, lizardfolk, beastkin, gnomes, and half-breed humans. The latter group includes the progeny of humans with other compatible races like elves, orcs, demons, and the elemental races. Beastkin also represents all the different tribes. Feline-kin and Canine-kin are the majority, followed by bear-kin, rabbit-kin, and rat-kin.

Excerpt from the Great Compendium of the Races, vol 1.

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"Then with your Highnesses permission, I am going to gather my meager belongings."

"Yes, Gurf. Do as you must. We can wait." Pearl answered.

"Take your time, Sir Gurf," Dawn added, stinging Pearl a bit for being too intimate to their shared knight. "We don't want you to leave anything important behind."

"Your Highness is too kind with this one." He locked eyes with his niece. "I believe the princesses want to talk to you. Measure your words well, I won't be able to protect you from them."

The girl swallowed and nodded. Her frightened state was blatant.

Gurf went inside to gather his essential things.

"Now that your uncle is gone, you listen very carefully, you greedy waif." Pearl began to lecture to the girl.

The girl wasn't insane to answer. After a pause, Pearl continued.

"I only spared your neck from hanging at the gallows because of your uncle and Lumina's kindness. I still regret letting that slip. But now it is in the past. You will serve me and train to be a maid under Deb. You are to obey our orders and act in our best interest. Do you understand? Speak."

"Yes, your Highness."

"Also, you will cast away your old name so it doesn't tarnish your new life. You are now known as Lola. Go inside and get only the essentials. Deb, she is all yours. Whip her into a proper maid."

This was the terrible power of royals, in all its glory. They had the life and death of commoners at their hands. If the girl showed any sign of rebellion, Aidan would be forced to kill her right there as a lower noble under the princesses. And he would do that because if he didn't Gurf would. And if they tried to escape, they would have to stop anyone from reporting it. One word that they defied a royal and the whole world would be their enemy, the other Royals would stop at nothing to make sure their privilege remained unchallenged.

Aidan knew the only reason it was not coming after himself was because he was talking through Lumina's mouth and his family's unique status. His own neck was balancing on a razor's edge.

"As you wish, your Highness." 'Lola' answered. Her old name now would be known only by her and Gurf.

Pearl was strange. She was having too many ups and downs, crying one moment and sexually harassing Dawn in the next. Right now she behaves like her old self, the mask falling in place easily due to a lifetime of practice. But who knew the way the molasses inside Pearl's head dripped. It seemed that being freed from the burden of looking and sounding prim and proper unleashed her inner character. Aidan wondered if Deb had been 'reborn' by Pearl's whims too. He looked at Sora and she raised an eyebrow before glancing at Pearl and turning her head sideways with a muffled 'humph'. She seemed to be still jealous.

"I am ready, your Highnesses. I took the liberty of taking extra provisions, you seem to be traveling rather light." The implication was obvious. Gurf knew they were on the run.

Of course, he would know. Pearl was in a rather drab dress. There was no retinue of maids and guards. But recruiting Gurf came with an extra bonus. He had a lot of dried meat and pelts in his cabin.

"Gurf, I renamed your niece Lola so she can shed behind her old ways. She will go inside to gather her things now." Pearl stated.

"Gurf, could you help Sora and I repack? I think we could redistribute the weight." Aidan called.

"I'm sorry this region is not kind on pack beasts." He pointed out and went to sort the things with the others.

While they packed the pelts and the dried meat, Aidan was relieved to finally have some male company that was not a walking catastrophe waiting to happen.

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"Gurf, any monsters worth of note around these parts?"

"I've seen a few goblin tracks going northeast, milord."

"Call me Aidan, Gurf. My station is only a step above yours now anyway."

Commoner, chevaliers, baronets, barons. The first four strata of society. In some places, you might divide commoners into slaves, serfs, craftsmen or traders but in Yutis and the surrounding countries, there were no such distinctions.

"Right. I am glad you are awake, young Aidan. You were way too sick when I first met you."

"I got lucky. It is all due to the princesses' efforts."

Someone snuck near them. "Why I am the only without a pack to carry?" Cythrel inquired.

"Little miss shouldn't worry about that. We are strong enough to carry the burden." Answered Gurf.

The little elf pouted. "I am not a little miss, sir Gurf. I am thirty-two years old."

Aidan choked on nothing and coughed. The little girl was older than him and Lumina combined!

Cythrel patted his back. "Don't worry, I'm not offended." She told the two men. "It happens a lot with my people."

Aidan stopped to remember what he knew. Elves a thousand years old were rare, but not unheard of. There were more elves a thousand years old than mages with four elements.

"Anyway, sorry. I had no idea, Cythrel." He apologized.

"I have to admit, it is way easier to pretend I am as young as a human child my size. And comparatively to elven development, I am. So please keep treating me as you would before. But let me carry my own weight. I am no mascot."

Skippy protested. Cythrel laughed.

 "We're together in this, pal."

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"Cythrel, can you use any magic?" Aidan finally got to ask her after they finished repacking the luggage.

Gurf was talking to his niece and Deb, Sora was out scouting with Skippy, and Pearl was hogging Dawn's attention, but it was mostly the other princess talking about ballroom clothing styles. It seems Melissa will throw another engagement party next Summer. And of course, Pearl is invited and Lumina is not.

"I'm sorry, milord. I can't." She answered Aidan's question, startling him. Dividing attention between two spots and two different activities was hard.

"That is fine. Don't worry." Now that he could focus on the elf girl, she was really restless. "Is something bothering you?"

"How can I be of service to the Lord?" She asked as if confessing something. "Please tell me what I can do for you."

"Lady Cythrel." She grimaced and looked away. Her discomfort at his words screamed 'I am no lady'. "Fine. Lumina and I, we do what we want. I don't need a reason to help someone. You owe us nothing."

"I stole the Lord's coin. I, a worthless orphan and slave. What kind of aristocrat repays larceny with kindness? What do you want, milord? I don't think you want this body, you didn't show any interest in the other women around you. No stolen glances, no reaction at all."

'And they are way more attractive than me'. The words remained unspoken, but they were there in her eyes.

"Body, Spirit, Mind, and Heart," Aidan spoke like a mantra.

"I beg your pardon, milord. What is that?"

"The lemma of my house. The four pillars we strive to strengthen as one. The core of what my father taught me."

Cythrel didn't respond, but she leaned forward and removed the hair from over her ear, intent in paying attention.

"A body that cannot wield a sword won't defeat adversity. A spirit that cannot cast a spell won't reach enlightenment. A mind that cannot withstand torment won't see the path. And a heart that doesn't beat will achieve a hollow victory."

"Beautiful." The only word that came out of her. 'And to think a human wants to achieve all that in a mere century or two.' She thought.

"Yes, but I didn't ask for any of that. I just wanted to live a quiet, happy life."

"We are shaped by fate, just as we shape it. An old maxim of my people. You did have a choice of letting the princess die."

Aidan clenched his fists. The worst part was to control Dawn's reactions to not show his real emotions. He felt the knot in his throat as if some unseen claw was clamping on it.

"Found it." The elf girl stated. "This is something I can do for the lord. Although I might be trespassing someone else's demesne."

Cythrel hugged Aidan and caressed his hair. He broke. Both he and Dawn started crying. The elf girl noticed the synchrony between them and made her conclusions.

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"Lumina, what is wrong?" Pearl shook the shoulders of the princess that just broke in tears out of nowhere. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have joked about Melissa's aversion for you." And drew the wrong conclusions.

She sobbed and recomposed herself. "I'm sorry, Pearl. It was nothing. I don't even remember Melissa. Third princess of Calanthe, but that is as much as I can tell. I couldn't pick her face in a crowd."

"Oh, you don't have to. Just look for the gaudy tiara and the ample bosom. Next to her even you might have nothing. I'm amazed she can walk without falling forward." Pearl described Melissa with extreme saltiness.

"Please tell me more." Dawn goaded Pearl into talking more so she could focus elsewhere.

"You see, Lumina, I should tell you of the day you ruined her engagement with this most dashing Marquis of a neighbor country, it was the very party to celebrate said engagement and then you strutted into the ballroom and..."

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"Did you defeat adversity, my lord?" Aidan nodded, his face lying over the absolutely flat elven chest. "Did you broaden your knowledge? Did you stray off your path so far?"

He nodded on all counts, even though he was unsure of the path one. Cythrel kept patting his head and running her elegant and slender fingers through his scalp.

"Do you believe that your victory was hollow?"

"No."

"Then you haven't failed. That the call to battle finds you every day and every day you leave the battlefield bloodied but victorious is what makes you worthy."

"Thank you. I really appreciate your mindfulness."

"Milord, can I ask you a most inconvenient thing?" Cythrel separated them and looked at him in the eyes.

"Yes, ask me anything."

"Where is the real princess Lumina?"