Ichiya waved hello to the duo that approached both her and Aoki and as they arrived the two of them looked curiously at Yuna, who in her hands carried her brother's bow and the cursed sword that she held in her last battle

"My lady, if my eyes did not deceive me your soul was in a blue color" He told Yuna as she raised a hand to rest on her chest to reply to Aoki

Fae was attentive to their conversation until Ichiya elbowed her to attract her attention, a growing smirk on her face that didn't comfort Fae

"What's up red-cheeks?" Fae, unamused by the words she was given replied with narrowed eyes and crossed arms that gave Ichiya nothing but a chuckle

"I'm joking no need to get angry " She added on, her smirk softening into a friendly smile

"Where have you been? we went to the memorial stone but we couldn't find either of you" She asked with a raised eyebrow

"Just took a walk together and then discussed what would be doing in the future" Fae replied to Ichiya who hid her grin behind her hand

"My my is that what the youngsters call it these days" And then finished her words with a brief chuckle that pushed a sigh out of Fae

"What youngsters exactly?" She asked her with a tilted head that had a slightly irritated expression on its face

"Because Yuna already is more than a century old, and I'm pretty sure yours truly is older than you" her words brought a raised eyebrow out of Ichiya

"Talking about age, I'm 19, you?" She gestured to Fae with an open palm while her answer brought a scoff out of her friend, Fae didn't expect somebody so young to wander into other countries

"Twenty-one your eminence" Fae spoke with a small smile and a slow nod while her words prompted a brief chuckle from Ichiya

"Jokes aside, what are your plans now?" She asked Fae who gave her a small smile in return

"Definitely have to go back to Flora since I've got an errand that I have to do there" Fae answered, and then shrugged

"But after that, I don't have anything planned" Ichiya smiled

"By the time you complete your errand, I'm sure your next goals will be clearer" Her comforting words prompted a smile to surface on her friend's face

"Just look at Yuna, she's an example of how surprising life can be" Both women then looked at the smiling Yuna that was discussing with Aoki

"As long as you feel better my lady" He told her, bringing a warm smile out of Yuna

"That I do, more than ever, thank you" Yuna then looked at Fae for a silent second, her smile still present on her face

"But I'm afraid we have to leave now" And then looked back at Aoki who smiled slightly

"Understandable" His eyes then laid down on Fae

"I will have a ship sail you back to Flora, no need to worry about the details" Who then immediately gave him a warm smile

"Thank you" and a polite nod

"But it's getting late" He then replied and as Fae looked up she could see the melting orange birthed by the sunset soothe the skies with its color

"I'll have the ship and men ready by morning, but for now you'll stay here" He then looked at his granddaughter with a smile

"I'm sure there's an empty room in the palace" And as she heard those words, Ichiya immediately gave a confident nod

"Of course, leave that to me" Aoki gave her a small smile before a nod of approval

"Alright then, let me walk you back to the carriage" Ichiya raised an eyebrow at her grandfather's words

"Not coming back with us?" She asked him

"Unfortunately, I have a couple of meetings that need my urgent presence" He told her with a hint of exhaustion betraying his facade

"I understand" Ichiya answered him with a small smile

"Don't overwork yourself" He gave his granddaughter a slow appreciative nod before his eyes looked at the smiling Yuna

"Are you both ready?" And then to her host who bore a similar smile on her face

Both gave a sharp nod and from then on they walked back to their carriage, with Yuna vanishing away leaving energy particles to be carried by the wind

A gasp resonated in Fae's mind that took her by surprise

"Is everything okay?" Fae whispered to herself as she walked behind the duo

"I..." Yuna's voice inside Fae's head sounded shocked to the point of having no words to speak

"Do you remember when I said that when I disappear, I arrive in a world of darkness?" She asked her friend

"Yeah?" Fae muttered quietly

"Now I am standing in a field of wheat" She told Fae, using a soft tone to speak her heart

"The earth is beneath me, and the sun is shining down on me" She then laughed and warmed Fae's heart with her laughter alone

"I had to die, to learn to live" She heard her say, not being able to see her face yet so sure that a smile was the first thing plastered on it

"Very poetic if you would ask me" Yuna then let out an audible sigh, one of relief

"I'll explore the fields that I've stumbled upon, if anything happens over there you can count on my help" She then smiled

"As always" And that same smile infected Fae as her face had to show one of her own, but she had no words to reply, just an enjoyable silence

And so the trio walked back towards the carriage that Ichiya and Fae took to arrive here, small talk ensued between Aoki and Ichiya while Fae was pleased enough to only be a listener, her heart warmed by seeing the duo in front of her speak with each other with so much care for one another

As they arrived both Ichiya and Fae climbed inside their carriage while Aoki informed the men that Fae was to be their guest

They waved goodbye to Ichiya's grandfather before they parted ways, their carriage set to come back to the palace

"I'm glad Yuna is feeling better" Ichiya told Fae who immediately smiled as soon as she heard those words

"Me too, believe me" Ichiya looked silently at Fae for a split second before she answered

"I'm sure she's happy to have a friend like you" Fae didn't have an answer to that as she could only nervously chuckle

"Am I also your friend?" Ichiya asked Fae with a smirk and narrowed eyes, in reply Fae raised a confused eyebrow

"I thought it was obvious by now?" She told Ichiya who didn't have anything to say but a brief chuckle as she looked aside

Fae folded her arms and looked through the window of the carriage to gaze at the scenery that occupied her mind away from the trip

"Oh yeah I remember" Fae suddenly said as she looked at Ichiya who now had her eyes locked with the former's

"What were you doing in Flora?" Ichiya had a smile grow on her face at the sound of that question

"Believe it or not I just wanted to explore more of the world" She told Fae

"I've been stuck in the empire for all my life, I just wanted to see what it was like outside" Ichiya continued, Fae could understand how it felt to be stuck like that

"Well maybe one day you could come to Flora again, I'll be honored to have your highness as a guest" Fae replied, doing a respectful bow with her right hand on her chest that brought Ichiya to a warm laughter

"Your grace is touched by your words" She replied to Fae with an even warmer smile before she looked away

Fae chuckled to herself and looked back at the window, but now with a small smile on her face, she never thought she'd be friends with a princess in her journey to comfort Yuna, but life seemed to have quite the surprises for her, maybe this world was better than her own after all

....

It was night, the carriage arrived safely back at the palace and as they got down from it Fae saw Ichiya thank the Ayashi that accompanied them to safeguard both the women, and their bodyguards had no words for the princess but slow nods, yet Fae knew that a mere thank you would go a long way to make people like you, it was comforting for Fae to know that the crown would eventually go to a person like Ichiya

The Ayashi that were guarding the palace seem to already know of Fae's stay here for the night, Aoki most probably have informed them before he went to catch up with the duo

"Your grandfather is very thorough in what he does huh?" Fae asked as she walked alongside Ichiya in the hallways of the palace, the latter's chuckle echoing throughout the emptiness of the hallway they walked through

"That's why everybody loves him" She replied to Fae, giving her a sidelook as they walked side by side

"He's a just ruler, and one that takes his position extremely seriously" She added on, looking in front of her as she walked

"He once told me that him becoming the ruler wasn't a privilege but a responsibility" Fae had her eyes locked with Ichiya who then crossed her arms

"Guess that's true, but I don't really think overworking is his responsibility to achieve" Her friend had a smile on her face as she saw Ichiya go into a brief pseudo-rant

"How did he become the emperor in the first place?" Fae asked with just curiosity as she still had no idea about the subject at hand

"Well" Ichiya chuckled

"You could say my grandfather became quite the popularity when we were at war" She added

"When he came back from Yokohama he gave Yuna's speech back to the people, word by word" She spoke as she looked at Fae's curious eyes

"And after that, he fought in the front lines and lead armies of men and women that put their lives for the empire" With a smile, Ichiya continued

"He became sort of a war hero with his time leading the troops, and after peace was agreed upon, everybody wanted him and his family as the next royal bloodline" And after that Ichiya had no more to tell but a mere smile on her face

"Anyway, we're right here" She gestured to the door that when she opened, it revealed to be a much more fancier bedroom than what Fae expected

Walls covered with works of art that depicted waves rising up above the sea while other paintings showed the beauty of trees carrying orange leaves on their lengthy branches

There was a single double-sized bed at the end of the bedroom, a nightstand was next to it while the room itself had a brown closet and a screen that Fae assumed was used to change clothes behind as she herself wasn't much of an interior decorator

"What do you think of my room?" Ichiya asked Fae, on her face the expression of both curiosity, and impatience

But Fae could only chuckle

"I like the plushie" She said before pointing at the stuffed panda bear that was very neatly placed on Ichiya's bed and half-covered by her blanket

"Oh come now, I'm a princess, I have to act the part" Ichiya replied to the narrowed eyes Fae with a mischievous tone and a sly wink

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Sure, princess" Fae smiled before continuing

"Now where's my room?" Ichiya narrowed her eyes at the question given

"Do you really think you're sleeping in your own room?" The confused Fae slowly arched her eyebrow

"Wasn't that what your grandfather said?" She told her, Ichiya crossed her arms and slightly furrowed her eyebrows

"And do you think he knows anything about having a sleepover?" Fae looked at the very so serious Ichiya for a silent second of surprise before her body broke into laughter

"Hey I never have any guests at the palace! understand me a bit!" She yelled at Fae who sat down on Ichiya's bed and took off her backpack

"Alright alright, I have no problems anyway" Ichiya smiled and sat down next to Fae, her eyes glued with the backpack that was now on her friend's lap, the latter noticing the rising curiosity of the former as she gave her a smile

"This is something from my homeland, it's used to carry things" Grabbing the backpack from it's handle she gently rested it on Ichiya's lap, who grabbed it and admired it all around

"The material feels weird at the touch" She told Fae, who put her hands behind her to lean against the bed as she enjoyed the curiosity that Ichiya had all over her face

"How do you open it?" She asked with a soft tone while rotating the backpack in her hands to take a good look around it

"You grab this" Fae moved closer to her friend and gestured at the zipper

"And then you pull it all around" She told her

"Huh" Ichiya grabbed the cold metal zipper and clumsily pulled it, and while she was doing so Fae laid down on her back and grabbed the plushie that was covered by the blanket, lifting it with her hands and staring at it with a smile

"Ohhh" She heard Ichiya make a pleasing sound as she finally opened what to her, was a strange contraption, and that alone made Fae snicker under her breath

"What's this?" Attracting Fae's attention as she looked at Ichiya she could see her holding her plastic bottle from its cap, her eyes narrowing to look at the liquid inside

"It seems to be water? Am I wrong?" She looked at Fae for the answer to her question, and with the slow nod she gave her a smile appeared on Ichiya's face

She then put the water bottle aside and delved deeper into the backpack of the owner that was more content staring at a plushie

"These are all so weird!" Ichiya exclaimed, holding a notebook and a pen in each hand, Fae paid her no attention as she laughed and held the stuffed animal close to her chest

"Why do you have so much paper, are you a scholar of some sort?" Ichiya turned her head to gaze at Fae who was enjoying simpler things

"I guess, yeah" Her brief answer didn't please Ichiya one bit and she made it obvious by an audible sigh

"You're so weird" Fae seemingly took it as a compliment as she displayed with a chuckle

"Guess that makes me unique in a sense" Fae replied to her with a smugly raised eyebrow and a smirk on her face

"Wow, and sassy too" Ichiya answered with raised eyebrows while Fae laughed

"No but really, you know more about me now but I have no idea who you really are" Ichiya questioned Fae who just now made eye contact with her friend, a warm smile on her face as she could see that the question was genuine with how serious Ichiya looked, for once

"Why are you so far from your homeland?" She asked the laid down Fae

"Actually, where even is your homeland" And the questions weren't ones that she just could answer with no consideration, but then again she did tell Yulia the truth, and Yuna most probably heard their conversation so that's two people that know about her background

But both the two of them are very close friends to Fae, but what was Ichiya to her really?

"Well, if you really want to know" Fae straightened her back to sit on the bed and next to Ichiya, the plushie she was hugging once was now on her lap

"I'm from another world" She told her friend with as much of a serious tone as she could, and it seemed that Ichiya didn't have any snarky comments about it either, merely looking at Fae with serious eyes as her lips formed a thin straight line

"I was walking at night and then all of a sudden I lost my consciousness and arrived in this world" Fae shrugged as she lifted her hands in ignorance

"I have no idea how I arrived here nor why me of all people" She finished her words with pursed lips and brown eyes locked with Ichiya

"That must've been scary" Ichiya comforted Fae with a small smile and sympathizing eyes

"A little bit yeah" Fae took on a similar smile

"But a lot of the people I've met so far have been really kind to me" She then snickered to herself

"Without them, I probably would still be lost" She told Ichiya, who then took on a soft smile on her face as she saw Fae laugh

"I'm interested, who are those people?" She asked Fae, who decided to skip her first meeting with a person from this world since talking about that would probably kill the mood

"Well, I've met a silent but very serviceable knight" She hooked her left index finger with her right thumb as she started counting

"An innkeeper who gave me a lesson in geography and his daughter who was really adorable and nice to me" She counted two

"A guild master that knocked my ass to the ground and then, later on, we became friends" She counted three while her ears could hear Ichiya's laughter

"And Yuna, obviously" Fae tilted her head to the side as she counted four, Ichiya gave her a slow smiling nod

"Actually" She raised an eyebrow smugly while a smirk took the place of the soft smile she had, her index hooking with her pinky

"I'd say you've been quite kind to me too" Fae continued, Ichiya playfully faked being surprised with her wide eyes, smile, and raised eyebrows

"To both me and Yuna, thank you" She finished her words with a warm smile to give to Ichiya and silence that filled a singular second before the latter broke it with a chuckle

"Geez, Fae, you'll make me blush" She said while scratching her cheek with her index finger

"I'm glad I could help Yuna back, you two saved my life after all" Ichiya added with the corners of her lips raised in a smile that infected Fae

"I'd say it was worth it, Yuna got her truth while I gained a friend" Ichiya chuckled to the words given yet had none to reply with, only turning her head to look away

"That reminds me, why did you decide to take your trip to Flora?" Fae asked her friend who turned back to lock eyes with the former, an expression on her face that seemed more than happy to give the answer

"I might've lied about being a merchant but I did mean what I said" Ichiya replied, a small smile on her face

"I love adventurers and exploring new regions" She told her

"And that itself was birthed from how isolated our nation is" She added on, gesturing with an open palm as she spoke

"See, we don't really have different cultures or traditions here in the empire" Ichiya said, on her face an expression that wished the opposite

"Everything is passed on from one generation down another, nothing changes, nothing is questioned" She then shrugged, confirming that to her that fact alone was absurd

"And since we're so isolated from the outside world, it has created an echo chamber where people can't see the fault in their methods" Letting out a long sigh as she leaned back on her bed, Ichiya looked up at the ceiling

"Sometimes it felt like I was the only one in the world with different opinions and values" She then looked back at Fae with a small smile

"That's mainly why I was more than happy to leave the country temporarily" Fae, however, had a question to say before Ichiya could continue

"What about your parents? were they okay with it?" Ichiya chuckled

"They don't get much of a saying into what I can or can't do" Even with her question answered, Fae couldn't understand whether that was a good or bad thing

"Though I'm surprised he let you go to another country, especially with how closed off your homeland is" Fae decided to not delve further as she switched back to the topic at hand

"Well, my grandfather is a traditionalist at heart, a very stern one at that as well" Even with those words, a soft smile was on Ichiya's face

"But even so, he's a very kind man who always tries to understand people and where their opinions might come from" She then crossed her arms and snickered

"Although he doesn't agree with my views, he respects them, to say the least" She told Fae

"And it was actually his proposition to send me on a trip overseas" Her words made Fae slightly widen her eyes in surprise

"Oh really?" She asked, with Ichiya smiling widely to then nod once

"Yup, he wanted me to see the outside world, maybe hoping that it'd make me realize why we need our values" She then scoffed and looked aside for a second

"My journey started in Flora, then I went to Aralia and explored the border cities, I went back to Flora and I passed by the capital and then came all the way back to Newbury, meeting you on the way" She then looked back at Fae with narrowed eyes and a small smile

"And honestly, my views haven't really changed, but" Taking in a deep breath, she continued

"I stopped blaming my fellow countrymen's views, the glorification of war, and how dying in battle was the best death one could have" Ichiya said

"How if one tarnishes their honor, they could not have a chance of redemption only by spilling their own blood" She let out a sigh as she shook her head disapprovingly

"Things like that seem very primitive to me" She added

"But on the other side, if we're not strong enough, what happened a century ago will repeat itself" She let out an exhausted exhale before Ichiya laid down on her bed, her feet still touching the hardwood floor

"This world really is brutal huh?" Ichiya looked at Fae with a smile while the latter couldn't smile at the despair she heard

"You know, back in my world we had a saying" Fae replied to her now attentive friend

"If you wish for peace, prepare for war" Ichiya scoffed

"The people of your world seem very wise" She told Fae, who slowly shook her head

"No, not really" She answered, Ichiya was curious as she had a raised eyebrow

"We had two world wars happen that took the lives of dozens of millions, with like twenty-one years between the two" Fae said

"And most of those casualties were civilians that were victim to genocides that only happened because of prejudice on race and religion" Fae shrugged

"Believe me this world isn't the only one that's messed up" Ichiya slightly furrowed her eyebrows

"Then are you saying humans themselves are the problem?" She asked Fae, who let out a continuous exhale as she too, laid down

"Maybe" She turned her head to stare at Ichiya and her curious black eyes

"We can be a blessing to each other as much as we can be a curse" Fae added

"We have so much empathy in our hearts that we can achieve great things to one another, but that same heart can harbor so much hatred" She put her hand on her own heart as she spoke

"That it can make some people make horrible things" She told her

"Even good people, can one day do bad things" She then looked up at the ceiling

"Everything matters on what kind of things you've met throughout your life, I guess" She added on, letting out a sigh as she interlocked her fingers to put them behind her head as a makeshift pillow

"Good folk can become just as bad if they're pushed too much, or lose too much" Ichiya hummed at those words

"Then do you think the opposite is true as well?" She attracted Fae's attention as she raised an eyebrow and gave Ichiya a sidelook

"Do you think bad people can be redeemable?" That question made Fae slightly furrow her eyebrows

"Good question" She then looked back at the ceiling in search of an answer that wasn't there

"No" Her answer was short and sharp, taking even Ichiya by surprise as she raised a curious eyebrow

"Really? no matter their crime?" Fae scoffed then looked at Ichiya

"I don't count stealing an apple as a heinous crime" Ichiya chuckled

"What if somebody was coerced into committing murder?" Fae raised an eyebrow curiously

"Emphasis on coerced" Ichiya added, making Fae hum briefly

"Well, that would depend on the family of the victim whether he'd be forgiven or not" She told her friend, eyes locked with her

"As for me, I wouldn't want that person close to me" Her answer made Ichiya smile slightly

"Then do you think soldiers are murderers?" Fae slightly furrowed her eyebrows

"Not really no, they're doing what they have to" With those words Ichiya laid down on her side as she faced Fae, using her arm as a pillow for her head to rest on

Fae wondering what was behind that smile raised an eyebrow in curiosity while that same smile slowly turned into a smirk, and then she realized what pit Ichiya pushed her into as she clicked her tongue

"That's not coercion, go away" Fae replied

"Hehe" While Ichiya had nothing but a chuckle behind the back of her hand to give

"Is it not though?" Fae with pursed lips looked back at the talking Ichiya

"You said it yourself that most casualties from those two wars were civilians due to genocides and massacres" She then smugly rested her elbow on her bed and her cheek on the hand of that same arm, her black eyes locked with Fae's

"I don't really believe that they couldn't say 'no'" She told her

"However my point isn't to degrade soldiers, far from it, Fae" Ichiya added, having Fae's full attention

"My point is that some people can be forgiven, you said it earlier, good people can do bad things if they're pushed far enough" She said, her smirk softening into a small smile

"All they need to be put back into the right track is forgiveness" Fae crossed her arms at those words

"What about punishment? don't they deserve to be punished at least?" Ichiya snickered at the question

"I never said they shouldn't be" She replied

"A loving parent still cares for their child after the spanking" Fae chuckled at what her friend said

"Classy example" And Ichiya joined her with a brief and soft laughter

"But that's exactly what I want punishments to be" She replied to Fae

"A moment of revaluation of one's life, not a disability" She added on as her friend could swear she saw a glint in Ichiya's eyes

"I'd rather teach a thief to not thieve than to cut his hand off" Ichiya concluded while Fae couldn't but give her a warm smile

"That's a very optimistic way of thinking" And Ichiya laughed

"I think the word you're looking for is naive" She said with a smile while Fae scoffed

"I'm self-aware don't worry" She added alongside a small smile plastered on her face

"But I don't think there's any shame in working for a better world" Fae smiled at those words

"That, I wholeheartedly agree with" Ichiya looked at her friend's brown eyes for a couple of silent seconds before narrowing her eyes mischievously

"So you disagree with everything else?" Fae chuckled at the question given, and as she laughed, so did her friend, both enjoyed each other's company like no other