Exploring the mountains is fun. Sure, there isn't as much bobbing and weaving like there is through trees, but there are a lot of air currents! Flying high in the sky is easier here, and watching the ground grow smaller and smaller is... Breathtaking. It's an entirely different type of adrenaline rush, one similar to that time I went bungee jumping.
At some point, I got distracted by a giant wind mouse who was floating around the currents. Chasing the guy is fun, as it's used to the currents and easily played keep-away with me. I can't tell if the thing is terrified or having just as much fun as I am. It's during this chase that I spot something shiny on the ground.
I glide closer, using
There are also wind-horses (who sport wings made of wind- really cool) surrounding the carriage, each mounted by a total of six soldiers. Much like mercenaries - who are similar to the 'adventurer' trope -, they seem to vary in class. I spot a couple of mages, an archer, and sword-wielding soldiers. I suppose they're the protection.
I follow them, enhancing my hearing so I can listen in through the howling winds. It takes a moment to learn anything, as the soldiers seem more interested in complaining, but I eventually learn the name Ryusho as who they're guarding.
... Hey, wait, isn't that the royal family?
Well, shit, wonder what they're doing out here? If Titania is correct, then the kingdom is about a month from the mountains. Though, these guys clearly have better transportation than regular citizens - the horses are speeding across the mountains with ease.
I highly doubt the King is in that carriage, though the windows are covered so I can't see. Maybe it's one of the sons? Can't be the daughter, she's off at some college for nobles. Can't be the Queen either, she's known to be a recluse because she hates nature. Something about biting insects and harsh sun.
Hey, I get mentally connected to nobles almost daily- I'm bound to hear some gossip. Don't judge.
Anyway, I find no new information even after following them for a bit. When the sun sets and they set up camp for the night, whoever's in the carriage doesn't leave it once.
After hearing yet another complaint from one of the soldiers, I roll my eyes and move on. Considering this is the Royal Family, rumors will circulate eventually and reveal what they're up to.
Who knows, maybe they're traveling to meet me!
... I was joking.
A week later, I sit face-to-face with the oldest son of the King. The prince. The next in line for the entire fucking human race sits across from me, locked in a staring contest.
His hair is silver and straight; a trait from the King, while his vivid blue eyes are inherited from the Queen. He's reportedly in his late twenties, but he looks much younger- especially with his pale-as-shit skin.
Titania looks amused at my deadpan expression, the ass.
She does the whole ritual to connect our minds. Surprisingly, the Prince doesn't seem snobby.
He's just...
Really fucking smiley. Like, protagonist hero-complex smiley. That smile doesn't twitch once.
Titania stands by after doing the spell, and the Prince - Olivaire - has no objections.
The first thing I register from him is pure, unadulterated happiness. Which is great and all, good for him...
But...
There is no other emotion. Which is quite odd, as I've come to learn that people feel all sorts of emotions all at once in constant fluctuation. Which is weird to me, but apparently normal.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
I don't know, maybe he has a mental disability?
I, of course, think of all of this within a millisecond so he can't hear it.
'Great beast," he begins sincerely, 'I ask of you not to bond with me, but with my brother.' His mind flashes with intense protectiveness as he makes his request. I witness his ambient thoughts as he wishes for his brother's safety, both in general and...
From women?
Wait no, arranged marriage.
Apparently, the King has a habit of making arranged marriages for his children. He considers the age of eighteen to be the latest he'll allow for his children to find someone themselves, lest he pick for them. Olivaire is already married, and so is Princess Kristene. Both are arranged - because who the hell finds their partner before the age of eighteen?
Which isn't that surprising, considering the original plot of this world, but there's no rumors about this. When the royal family's relationships are mentioned, it's always romantic stories about true love and such. Which is suspicious.
There's also the incredibly startling fact that the newly weds are made to wear rings which make them have to stay within a certain distance of each other - else they risk getting poisoned by said rings.
Olivaire's wife is in the nearby carriage.
What in the fuck did I stumble across here?
I get flashes of memories next. His brother turning sour any time marriage is brought up, his father's insistence on the topic...
The face that reminds Olivaire of his own.
I've learned that unfiltered thoughts are similar to a river held back by a dam. All it takes is one thought, and the damn is broken as more are pulled through via attribution. Anyone not trained on redirecting their thoughts will find anything related to their current thought laid bare.
I witness Olivaire's descent into depression before... Something happens and the memory is gone.
Never once does the smile leave his face. Never once does his happiness waver.
Once again, what the fuck.
'I will keep your request in mind.' I tell him, and I can feel him noticing my sense of unease. Which is a weird feeling, like looking in a mirror of a mirror. I point at the rune that would trigger the color yellow, pressing the trigger rune would be unnecessary since Titania is still in the room.
Titania nods, stepping over to cancel the spell. As Olivaire bids me goodbye and leaves the tent, Titania pauses to look at me.
Looking in her eyes, I can tell that she noticed something off about him too.
Titania leaves and returns with Daimier Ryusho.
Like his brother, his hair is silver. But that's where the similarities end. Daimier's hair, for example, looks fluffy as hell. His eyes are green, and dull compared to his brother's happy and shiny eyes. His skin is tanned slightly, as well, revealing that he must go outside more than his brother.
His mood is the direct opposite of his brother. His face is blank, and despite a clear attempt to keep a regal posture I can tell his shoulders are slumped. He's younger, obviously, seventeen if the rumors are to be believed. He also just seems more... childish compared to his brother. I think it's the chubby cheeks.
He refuses to look away from me as he sits down and Titania casts the spell.
A whirlwind hits me.
Despair. Longing. Frustration. Hate.
Hope.
Unlike his brother's weirdly constant happiness, Daimier is overwhelming in the sheer amount of emotion he feels under that mask. He doesn't seem to fully realize what he's showing me.
Above the sheer intensity of emotion, one amalgamation of thought, emotion, and memory stands above all.
A yearning for freedom.
'Great beast,' Daimier thinks, unknowingly mimicking his brother, 'I wish to bond with you. What do you require of me for your acceptance?'
Desperation.
I can tell from his thoughts and emotion that this human is prepared to do anything to get out of the situation he's found himself in. To get my help in doing so.
He loathes the idea of being tied to the kingdom. Of being tied so closely to someone his father chooses, who would only further hold him down. Who's ring will keep him from exploring the world he's been shut out of, from running away, from being free.
He hates that he has nowhere to go, for his father owns the whole continent. There is nowhere to hide, not when he sticks out like a sore thumb. There is no known place outside of Doka that he can escape to.
He hates his father.
And yet, despite this, he still yearns for his attention. He feels hatred when his brother is praised for how well he obeys. He hates when he's compared to his brother, told her should smile more, that he's too unapproachable.
Inwardly, behind this facade he's built, he cries and screams and rages. But most of all...
He yearns.
He reminds me of myself. Before I locked myself away, before I realized I could do nothing but wait. Yet he doesn't even have that, for waiting will end his life as he knows it.
I lean forward, lowering my head to his level.
'What's your favorite color?' I ask, and Titania leaves the tent.