Her stern voice caught me off guard as I took another look at her. Considering her fame for being intelligent and well mannered, her discovery of my identity was not too far outside of my expectations. However, my secret being discovered this quickly was another matter entirely. Did she have someone secretly investigate me or was there some more obvious flaw? I quickly disregarded the wild notion. All these thoughts flashed through my head as I put on a confused expression. “Sorry…Sarra? Would you care to explain what you mean by saying that?”
I stared back into her eyes. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Shiara who was genuinely confused. I continued to stare unflinchingly into the princess’s eyes. I noticed that both irises were hazel in colour, but seemed to glow and pulsate into an amber colour. It made the eyes almost seem magical… 1*
“You really are persistent. Fine, as a show of good faith, I will explain it to you. The name Vaxen is a name that is actually reasonable and common and doesn’t sound like an alias. Starting with ‘V’ isn’t too strange. However, that is common only in the most northern countries. We aren’t close enough to the North for you to have moved from your destroyed village to Frankfurt. Your look of sadness when you mentioned your hometown seemed genuine, and even you yourself didn’t seem to notice it. Even if I had never heard of it, that look you had was genuine. So the only conclusion is that your name is a lie.” She showed a triumphant expression after she finished explaining, her face screaming for praise. She continued but her arrogant tone dropped and was replaced with an uncertain gaze.
“Also, I wasn’t sure when we first met and we were in a hurry, but you’re a girl aren’t you. I’ve met my fair share of cross-dressing nobles and tomboys, and my instincts are telling me you’re not a guy. When you pulled me off the horse earlier, my arm elbowed your chest, and even though nothing was there, thinking back, it felt a bit soft. Even my younger brother’s chest was harder.”
I suddenly felt two hot gazes slowing dropping from my face downwards. These two morons. “Do you guys mind?” Well I guess this was to be expected, she was a princess who had probably seen her fair share of foreign diplomats and nobles. This secret being discovered was, although early, to be expected and a great relief to me as it meant that she had only found out my gender and not any of my more important secrets. Some things were best not shared.
“Sorry.” She politely apologised for her intrusive gaze. As expected, she carried the demeanour of royalty, gracefully stepping back. “And by Shiara’s shocked expressions, I take it she was in the dark as well?” The princess finished off her sentence. Shiara’s face was currently going through a myriad of emotions, from shock, to annoyance, to anger and was still changing, with her face changing from a drained white pallor to a red blush, then turning into a slightly tinged purple sheen. It would have been interesting to watch if I didn’t know that her current emotions were directed at me.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Huh? ...Yes, I’m a girl. I never said I wasn’t one. You have my sincere apologies though for lying about my name. I guess you really are an astute and intelligent girl. Let me re-introduce myself to show my sincerity for our future interactions and relationship. My name is Vixen Uralya, protected by the fox totem. Although I have misled you about my name, everything else has been truthful. I hope that we can work together in the future.”
“Hmphh!” Shiara snorted through her nose and abruptly turned her head away. She decided to climb up a tree at the edge of the clearing. Her climbing skills had grown considerably compared to her initial skills, so she eventually managed to land herself on a lower branch. She poked her head around the trunk “I’m going to take a nap. Feel free to talk behind my back.” She then withdrew back to her branch as she faced away from us.
“Sorry for causing trouble…” The princess seemed dejected and ashamed of her actions. Though they were in themselves not incorrect, she probably felt that as royalty she should have had dealt with the situation more delicately. “I apologise for my blunt actions… I know it’s in your nature, but next time don’t test me like that. And again…really sorry for ruining your relationship with her, but you need to know that your personality is also at fault. You are too cautious and need to stop hiding in your shell.” I suddenly felt the urge to yawn after hearing her reprimand. I covered my mouth.
“Let’s get some sleep.” I looked up at the slowly rising sun.
“We all need the mental break. Let’s talk about what to do next when we wake up.”
I went to another suitable nearby tree and helped the princess up. Her strength and eyesight were remarkable, so I managed to help her onto a low branch quite quickly. I then climbed up another nearby tree to sleep on.
…
“I LOVED HIM! I actually liked that sneaky little liar. I thought he was the one for me and didn’t even realise he wasn’t a boy but actually a girl.”
“Shiara, I know that it really hurts when you are betrayed like that. But strictly speaking, he didn’t do anything wrong…he just left things up to your imagination.”
“So playing with my feelings isn’t something WRONG? His hair is short as a boy’s, and he acts like how most boys in the slums act, how is that not intentional?”
I closed my eyes again, ignoring the afternoon sun shining through the leaves. A cool breeze blew by swaying the leaves and shaking the shadows. It would seem that Princess Sarratina was really an able person.
“Shiara…huh…never mind. I will just leave you with a story. I once knew someone who held grudges like you. He was a close friend and trusted aid, but because of a few trivial things, had a grudge against one of his close friends. He died a sudden death holding onto that grudge and he never got the chance for the two of them to make it up. Mortality is fragile. Don’t look at the small things, but the bigger picture, and try to make it up, ok? I need both of you to be working well if we are going make it out of this alive. Please…please Shiara. Heed my advice. Bury the hatchet, lest you are buried with it.”