“I truly am sorry, Princess Vera, but the vital targets listed in the report from yesterday have started moving, and I must investigate their current activities before they go dark,” Harper apologized as Vera tried out the necklace. It was too bright compared to her shirt, making her discard it with the other necklaces that had been brought out in preparation for her expedition outside the castle walls. Maybe a simple silver chain would be more fitting. “Princess?”

“Just call me Vera, please,” she requested for the tenth time that week. “It feels weird having you call me by my title all the time.”

“Sorry, Your Highness, but that would be improper,” Harper replied apologetically a second time in a row. Vera just deflated a little at the words, her dreams dampening just a little more. “Are you sure that this excursion of yours will be safe? The royal guards meant to follow you out today have been recalled due to preparations for Prince Phillips's surveying of the Dungeon in two days, and they have been replaced with mere castle guards.”

“I’d say that I would feel safer with you by my side, but we both have to make sacrifices today,” Vera said, nodding to herself as she studied her final outfit in the full mirror. The dressers had wanted her in a full dress and jewels, but that wouldn’t have worked at all when venturing into the middle district.

If she kept herself to the upper-class areas, it wouldn’t have been too out-of-place, but a comfier jacket along with functioning pants and boots were so much more realistic to move in when walking around in the middle-class areas. The small tiara and guards that would be following her would show off her status regardless of if she wore a dress or not, so there was nothing to fear when it came to being recognizable.

“Kulvik is a dangerous place, Your Highness, and we must recognize that to keep you safe,” Harper pressed on, causing Vera to sigh. Turning on her heel, she walked over to the Illusionist and hugged her tightly. “You— Your Highness?!”

“I love that you worry about me this much, Harper, but sometimes we need to take risks,” Vera confessed, holding the other’s shoulders in place. “And don’t act like I’m defenseless without those guards. Who is it that’s been buying me enchanted items from the black market for the last five years?”

“... Me.”

“And who is it that pressured me into training with them to react at a moment’s notice?”

“Also me, Princess Vera, but there is still—”

“I know, Harper,” Vera cut in before the one who’d stood by her since they were basically children could continue. “If you really want me to, we can delay the trip by another hour and see if Phillip can get some of his men to guard me like they were supposed to, but, regardless of what he says, I’m still leaving to be seen by the people. Do you understand that?”

…

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Thank you,” she said, hugging her again before letting Harper leave the room to send the message along.

Her courage seemed to disappear as the Illusionist left, Vera sitting back down in her chair and looking over her choices yet again. She wasn’t going to change anything about her outfit, truthfully, but the pretend second-guessing allowed her mind not to focus on what needed to be addressed at some point. It was years overdue already, and yet they both acted like nothing was amiss.

When will the ballroom give in?

Her thoughts were met with no answer, to the surprise of nobody, so she got up from the chair soon after to inspect the gear hidden within her outfit. One of the more frustrating parts of magically enchanted fabrics was that the pockets designed to be invisible and undetectable to the touch made it very hard to quickly check whether or not they contained the right items. A quick pat down was useless, meaning she manually had to stick a hand inside each of them to feel for the item, make sure it was the right one, and then put the pocket back into its invisible form so nobody would question it.

How exactly her servants were able to wash this outfit without breaking anything about it made her question how the world actually worked.

Wand to stun on the right thigh, wand to kill on the left thigh, mirror to break in the left chest pocket to put up a magical shield, right one for the paper that will reveal my location to Harper for 24 hours…

Rummaging through the dress she’d worn earlier in the morning, she silently moved a piece of paper to her new outfit. She knew that her Illusionist wouldn’t ever let her forget it if she was told about this near-miss.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but the crown prince was unable to procure Royal Guards for your trip,” Harper announced seconds later as she entered the room once again. She eyed Vera stepping away from the dress but didn’t comment on it. “He has, however, promised that the highest-ranked castle guards will be there to personally ensure your safety. Some of them have allegedly protected you before.”

“They probably have,” Vera added. Those at the top must’ve been there since she was ten at the oldest, meaning they’d been stationed close by every time she had wanted to see the city with her father. The royal variant had been there as well, of course, but they’d been focused on overall safety rather than standing by her side. “I don’t see a reason to wait longer then. Are my guardians for the day ready to move out?”

“From what I have been told, they are ready for you by the first gate.”

Vera thanked Harper for the information, giving her another hug while ignoring the Illusionist's protests. Her friend wouldn’t be able to wish her farewell at the gate, needing to hurry to another side of the city to accomplish the day’s goal, so she had to make it memorable here.

“Princess Vera,” Harper said as they reached for the door to lead her out into the hallway. “Remember to call for help if you need it.”

“Of course,” Vera promised before leaving for the gate. When she glanced back in the hallway, the Illusionist had already disappeared. “Quick as always.”

I really am jealous of that ability some days.

The gift to walk around invisible seemed so useful to her, yet Vera would likewise not trade away her own gift for it. Having somebody close by who could shroud them both from other eyes was enough for her.

“Princess Vera,” a rough voice greeted her as she went through the castle’s front garden and neared the first gate. Three guards, with different colors than those worn by the ones protecting the entrance normally, were standing ready to receive her. “We have prepared a coach for you to ride in.”

As she got closer, she saw that the guard was a woman in her mid-thirties. The helmet made it hard to see too many facial features, but the hands and calm, green eyes made it clear to her.

“I was actually hoping to walk there,” Vera said, making the other two guards sent to escort her flinch. “Unless you believe that to be a problem?”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“There is no problem,” the first assured her. Vera took note of the lion insignia on her shoulder. Only those who had helped save royalty in the past were granted the privilege to wear such an emblem. “If you wish to walk, then we shall walk.”

“Perfect,” she replied with a practiced smile that stopped any protests. “Please, lead the way.”

As was customary, one guard walked in front to clear the way while the two others were behind her to watch for anybody trying to sneak up on them. A standard practice done since before the country was formed because of its long history of helping keep the person in the middle safe.

Not from ranged attacks, sadly, only the Royal Guard having their armor enchanted to also protect others from arrows or minor magical attacks, but the relatively tight streets were seen as a good enough deterrence to anybody trying such a thing. It was hard to aim from a long distance when it was a challenge to see more than twenty meters ahead at best.

And, even then, any who tried to put a hand against royalty wouldn’t be treated lightly by the populace. Their image of them was too strong to allow for them to be cut down by just any fool.

“Is that—”

“It is!”

“Princess Vera!”

“Please keep a distance,” the guard at the front shouted with a strength that somehow made people halt in their steps. Vera had to admit that it was a powerful voice, smiling as she waved to the upper class watching her go by. She recognized several of the shop owners who went out to see her, though she was happy that she didn’t need to talk to them face-to-face as she’d forgotten most of their names. It’d been so long since she had needed to venture out into this area personally, even if this was the district where most of her wardrobe had come from.

I can blame Phillip and father for that, I suppose.

The gifts from her last birthday had been quite the battle fitting into her room.

Those thoughts kept her occupied as she kept moving through the elegant streets, the people rising from the chairs in the cafes and restaurants they visited. The guards were making sure nobody got too close, but some still leaned over railings to look down at her.

People who didn’t need to work a day in their lives lost their minds just at the sight of her. Was it because of what she represented or because of what they could get if they were able to befriend her? While she liked to dream about it being the former reason, most who lived this form of life reached that point by focusing on the latter possibility.

What could they gain from this?

Just about everything, when the royal coffers stood behind them to support.

Disgusting.

Vera understood the need for these types, understood that she had to smile, wave, and laugh when they shouted her name, and she understood that saying her honest opinion about some of the truly greedy here wouldn’t help her in the future. So she didn’t, calming herself with the understanding that she and Harper had already organized an extensive list of people to subtly suppress along with who needed to be pushed into the limelight in their stead.

“Please watch your step, Your Highness,” the guard at the front warned her, as wide downward steps appeared. Nine of them, in memory of nine warriors, each the length of their weapon of choice. “Many as elegant as you have lost their footing here.”

“I have heard,” Vera replied with a small laugh as she took the offered hand, making sure not to join the list of people who’d stumbled down the steps. While it was a nice piece of history, Alin really should’ve thought of a better way to honor the fallen when designing this part of the city. “I don’t believe it’s much further before we need to take our first stop of the day.”

At least the steps signified the change in districts, Vera officially stepping out of the upper class and into the main part of the city where the majority of the population lived. The middle-class district, with people she could trust as being earnest in their ways of life.

“Do you intend to visit the newly opened jewelry store?” the guard asked as she began to lead the group through the street once again.

“Not originally, since I wasn’t made aware of a new shop offering such wares, but I wouldn’t mind taking a look,” Vera admitted, seeing the woman nod her head as they kept up their pace. Some of the people shopping and eating began to recognize her, the whispering starting up in full around her. “Have you visited the store yourself? I’m surprised I haven’t heard of it myself.”

“Yes, I, uhm… visited last month with my husband to acquire jewels for rings,” the guard explained awkwardly. Understandably so, since they had been trained from the first day to answer in a short fashion and not talk unless necessary. Royals weren’t expected to always talk with others of lower class, after all.

“Oh? Wedding rings perhaps?” Vera pressed on, not caring about such traditions. Especially not for those who had previously saved somebody in her family.

“Yes, Your Highness,” came the answer. “We are expected to hold the ceremony next month when the Heirloom Roses bloom. It is a tradition to marry under those flowers in my family.”

“How delightful,” she said, genuinely happy for them. “I’ll be sure to send a gift for the ceremony.”

“I— Thank you, your highness.”

Some jewelry perhaps? Maybe a piece of land, if they don’t already own some. Harper probably has a file about her that I can use to figure out a good present.

The idea was put away for later, as she saw a sign ahead that featured a brilliant yellow gem drawn on it alongside a nearly illegible name put next to it. ‘Starlit Stones.’ Not a bad name, though Vera was now sure she’d never heard of it.

A perfect opportunity to be seen shopping by the people, when it was something she actually was curious about. With two guards standing by the entrance and one following her inside, she was able to see what the store had to offer.

“Is there anything specific you wish to see, Your Majesty?” the shop owner, a nervous woman in her late fifties with some gray lines in her hair, asked.

“Oh, nothing special,” Vera replied, ignoring the wrong title in favor of studying some of the gems at the counter. Safe behind a thick layer of glass, she was presented with various shining stones. Some were prettier than others, the color and cloudiness varying, but they were clearly carved by a practiced hand. “Just looking around for… now.”

By the end, the words weren’t true, as she reached the middle of the display and saw a glistening gem. It reflected light perfectly with its bright yellow coloring while also emitting a soft glow by itself.

Beautiful.

“Oh, you’ve spotted the Starlit gems?” the owner said with a nostalgic tone. Vera just nodded, already knowing somebody who would love it. Or, well, she would love to see a certain person wearing it. “I take it you are a fan?”

“I won’t deny that,” Vera confirmed with a smile, being handed the yellow gem after asking to see it up close. “It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you for the kind words. It assures me that the long journey to bring them here was more than worth it,” the woman replied. Vera noted the charming edge in her voice, as she prepared to truly sell the gem to her. Not that it was needed, as Vera was already trying to figure out what gift wrap would work best for it when she got it properly settled into a necklace. Perhaps the modern square folds? No, Harper was too traditional for that. A beige-white box would suit her more. “The true origin of these gems is unknown, but they can only be found in the far northern continent in one mountain only. The crater at its very top implies that the mountain was hit by an asteroid in the past, which made the locals give the gem its name. That and the fact that it glows as bright as a star in the sky during the night.”

“A lovely story,” Vera said, eyes searching and failing to find a price tag. Everything else had one neatly put next to their place on the stand, yet this was missing one. “Sorry, but how much do you want for it?”

“Excuse me?” the owner exclaimed. “To take payment from one such as yourself? Your Highness, that you want to wear a gem brought to this country by me is payment enough.”

I don’t, though.

“It wouldn’t do well on my conscience to take this for free,” Vera countered, noting that she needed to find another place to buy the box from. While they had some perfect ones on the side, she didn’t need to cause offense so early in the day. “If you refuse to let me pay full price, at least let me pay a reduced amount.”

She was able to bargain until the price was high enough that those watching outside would think her altruistic but not to the point where she was a victim of deceit. A good enough balance and it allowed her to buy a few other gems that she had noticed after so long inside the shop. Nothing as pretty as the first one, of course, but a few that could work for casual wear in the future during the winter months.