For Eliza Bedryant, Second Princess of Britain, life was a constant struggle.

She had already missed her chance at being the heir to the throne, but she also bore the misfortune of being only “average” in her adaptability to the mythic. Her blonde hair, once thought of as a sign of beauty, turned into loathing as the young girl learned of the true meaning behind their hue. And as to rub salt into the wound, what she lacked, her elder sister had it all.

Shining silver hair, the first of her lineage to achieve perfect recreation of their legendary ancestor. Immaculate talent at magic and swordsmanship alike. Well-versed in etiquette, resulting in an irresistible pull that even took away her Prince Charming. Every time she looked at her sister, in her eyes was only an insurmountable cliff, stretching further than ever.

The little girl bore the same envy for the entirety of her childhood years. But then, an incredible stroke of luck was bestowed upon her.

For unknown reasons, her sister was banished to an island in the south. Though she did not understand politics, Eliza had an idea that her sister must have angered their mother, the Queen, for her to be pushed away. All in a single night, she had become the only heir left to the throne, and she planned to strive to fit the lofty position in every way she could. The little Eliza would study until her eyes were red, read until her voice gave out, and practice swordplay until her hands bled, all in the hope of one day being the dignified, impeccable image of a Queen that she had imagined.

Or at least, that was what she had thought.

When she was counting the days until her twelfth birthday, her sister appeared yet again in the Palace without any notice.

Eliza wasn’t supposed to know of this event. Her sister had successfully practiced the art of teleportation, and she had been using this to relay the situation on the isles to the Queen whenever she could, hidden away from the privy eyes of others. Masked as a banishment, Beatrice’s true purpose was to monitor the activities of a certain heretic, and it was all a trial for her to show her worth as the future heir to the throne.

That day, Eliza learned that she had already lost it all. Never in her life was she worth any more than her sister would ever be – no talents, no power, not even a person to lean on when she was on the verge of collapse. Bearing this curse of inferiority, she would be alone on her road to mediocrity, and it was something that she could never take.

Long had she waited for the perfect moment, when the stars would align to bless her fortune. And finally, her effort had paid off. Beatrice had failed to contain the threat that was imminent on the cursed isles, and in turn, had to be summoned back to the Palace along with the heretic. It was finally the chance for Eliza to receive her justice, to see her sister’s distressed face at last when things didn’t go her way for once.

That day, Eliza felt like she was walking on air. She patiently counted the hours that passed, eagerly gazing towards the castle gate, waiting for her sister’s return. However, it was naught but the calm before the storm.

Beatrice went home before the due date, for once. Using her teleportation spell, she was back in the castle when Eliza had least expected it. But to make matters worse, once she rushed to the round of servants, forcing herself into the welcoming troupe, all she received from Beatrice was the same old look of contempt, mixed with the usual air of superiority. Even in her darkest hours, she remained too dazzling to reach. Even at her lowest point, she still didn’t consider Eliza as anything important.

The girl couldn’t handle it. If this wasn’t enough for her sister to take notice of her, then what would be? Would she forever live in her sister’s shadow, forever suffer from those eyes of contempt?

The girl had vowed to never see it again. If it was destined that she wouldn’t be enough for her to surpass Beatrice, then Eliza would make sure that her sister would remember her as the obstacle to her ambition. And luckily for her, there was a perfect opportunity already present.

“Isn’t Her Highness the First showing too much sympathy for the prisoner?” It was a question that Eliza had only accidentally heard from one of the physicians who went to the isles to retrieve the criminal along with her sister. However, that was already enough proof that there was something amiss – after all, for a just ruler, there would be no room for unnecessary compassion. Any threat to the eternal peace of the nation must be nipped from the bud, that was something that even she, as the Second Princess, was too used to hearing. For her so-called perfect sister to show mercy to this threat to the kingdom, there must be something special between them. And Eliza would find any way to pry that secret open.

The little princess made her way to the underground dungeon with little resistance. The guards were all too used to her antics, so much so that they’d rather the girl roam free than deal with her tantrums whenever they could. Of course, that also meant that she was going into the dark, moldy hallway with only a single torch as her companion, but for Eliza, it was well worth it to finally pull one over Beatrice.

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“That being said, this is still a nasty place…” the girl mumbled, raising her torch hand while covering her nose and mouth with her other. The dreaded stench of sewage water permeating the area was still a natural deterrent to any intruders, but it wasn’t enough to stop her from continuing forward.

At last, Eliza arrived at her destination as the sight of rusted iron bars appeared before her, along with a single guard nodding off at the side.

“Hey, you,” the young princess called out.

There was no answer, other than just a snoring sound that gradually grew bigger with each passing second.

“Hey, you!”

“W–Wha? Who goes there?” The guard, agitated by the deafening shout, jolted out of his slumber and grabbed his spear, turning around in surprise. After a second to identify the culprit, he only let out a sigh of both relief and annoyance:

“Your Highness, why are you here?”

“What else? I want to see this heretic!”

It was a clear request, but the guard only stood there in disbelief, thinking to himself that he had misheard something. A heretic wasn’t some kind of attraction, he posed the kind of danger that pushed the knights at the scene to borderline fear. There was no telling what someone of that caliber could do to a young, impressionable girl such as Eliza herself.

But then again, why should I worry about her? The guard, unfortunately, was also too used to Eliza. Or rather, even someone of a lowly position such as himself also noticed the obvious gap in power. Eliza was, frankly put, nothing but mere knicknacks. Even if she was gone there was nothing that would be affected; the girl didn’t have the kind of sway that her sister, Beatrice, did. At best, it would be a waste of time; at worst, there would be an insignificant, arrogant royal that kicked the bucket. Either way, it didn’t affect him one bit.

“Well, here you go,” gesturing towards the prison cell, the guard answered. “Just don’t do anything reckless, you hear me?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eliza only gave an answer for the sake of giving one, before turning her attention to the person inside the cell.

Throughout her entire twelve years of life so far, Eliza had only had her heart flutter twice. The first was before a certain dark-skinned boy, whose kindness and beauty knew no bounds even to someone like herself. The second… was this moment.

“My…” she could only mumble. Though his face was bloodied from the wounds, his hair was dirty from sweat and dirt, and his eyes were shut tight, the girl could still make out his beauty. Shining golden locks that would give a radiant light with some washing. A toned, chiseled body forged by the outdoors, with the kind of wild, untamed side unlike her Prince Charming. And yet, his skin remained an unblemished pearl color, creating the perfect contrast between a sheltered beauty and an uncontrolled beast.

Eliza shook her head for a second, ridding herself of any unnecessary thoughts. No, no! Pedro is still leagues better than him!

Feigning a cough, she continued to reach behind the bars.

“Hey, you. I’m talking to you, the one in the cell. You’re in the presence of a Princess.”

There was no answer. Of course there wouldn’t be, since Peter hadn’t regained his consciousness. Naturally, Eliza didn’t know this, and so, thinking that the heretic was just simply asleep, she once again raised her voice in anger:

“Hey, you! In the cell! You’re in the presence of a Princess! Get up and show me some respect!”

Once again, no answers were given. Eliza had never faced such humiliation before. To have her call ignored was unthinkable, enough to push her to a tantrum once more as she quickly grabbed the standing guard and dragged him over:

“Do something about this, you!”

“But… what do I do?” Answered the guard in a confused tone. Had it not been for the helmet that he wore, he would have scratched his head already. “I can’t possibly wake him up.”

“What is he, a prisoner or a guest of honor?” Shouted the girl. “Drag him up if you have to!”

“No, Your Highness, you don’t understand… I’ve tried that already, but he’s still unconscious. Nothing can get him up, and we can’t risk hurting him too much either, or Her Highness the First will…”

It was the one thing that the guard should never have mentioned against Eliza.

“Her Highness? Her Highness? In the end, it’s still her, huh? The one you’ve set your allegiance to; the one you actually trust with making decisions! If she’s so great, then why not just prostrate before her and ask to lick her boots or something, you ungrateful dog!”

“Your Highness, please calm down…”

“Calm down? Calm down!? How about you calm down, imbecile! Give me the key, or off with your head!”

The guard had the painful realization that there was no arguing with the tantrum-throwing child anymore. If there was anything to blame, it was the fact that he had thought she could be reasoned in the first place.

With only a sigh of defeat, he rummaged through the pouch on his hip and took out a chain of rusted keys.

“Here you go. Please… don’t do anything reckless.”

Without a word, the spoiled princess snatched away the keys to the cell and opened the door, running straight in without a second thought. Faced with the insolent boy that dared to ignore her orders, Eliza delivered a kick straight to his stomach, along with a shout:

“Wake up, swine!”

Her foot never managed to find its target. Meanwhile, her face soon turned pale as a ghost, for the moment she was about to connect, a hand had already grabbed her ankle in place.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice sounded. It had the innocence of an adolescent boy, yet bore the malice of a timeless being.

“Y–” Eliza couldn’t even finish her first word. With a swift pull, the boy, fully awakened, had already put her in a chokehold with his bloodied arm.

“Don’t move a muscle, if you know what’s good for you.”

The guard, finally broken free from his trance, attempted to rush into the cell. But before he could move a single step, a sturdy root had already sprouted, coiling around his legs to lock him in place. Another one hit the man straight in the back of his neck, right through the tight opening of his armor, knocking him unconscious.

“That goes to you too,” the boy let out a smirk. “Now, where is the remaining player…”

Almost right on cue, another pair of distressed voices sounded:

“What is the meaning of this? Eliza!”

“Lady Eliza, where are you?”

With a conniving grin on his face, the boy mumbled to himself. “There she is. Let our little game begin.”