I glanced back at my sister and her four guards. “Are you sure about this? She’s got bodyguards. I won’t be arrested, right?” I whispered to Abby.

“Weren’t you just saying a while ago that you had a plan to meet her without being a royal guard? It’s only natural you have to get past a few guards along the way,” Ari retorted.

“Y-Yeah, I did say that… But there are four bodyguards there! Four!”

Abby shrugged. “Well, usually there are more. Count yourself lucky this time.”

“Yes!” Em encouraged me. “There aren’t many people around either, so I’m sure you have a chance!”

“Okay, fine then.” I quickly stood up from my seat and looked over at the princess hesitantly again. Still uncertain, I turned back to my friends, who proceeded to urge me to continue. Eventually, I gave in and took my first step to my sister’s table.

I looked up from my feet and saw one of the bodyguards watching my every movement. His eyes told me that if I took even one more step in his direction, I’d be in trouble.

But when my sight went back to my sister reading her book, my confidence came back. This chance couldn’t possibly come again. We were in the same room! And she was only a few tables away from me! How could I let this slide?

I took a few more steps in her direction, making it clear it was my intention to meet her. The guard that had been watching me took this hint and shifted his stance. Still, he continued to keep an eye on me, waiting for me as I continued to walk towards their table.

When I was only halfway there, the stress became too much to bear. I stopped and opened my mouth. “Um—”

“I’m sorry, boy, but I believe the restrooms are in the other direction.”

“No, I—”

“Her highness would not like to be bothered right now. So I believe you are looking for the restrooms instead, am I correct?”

“No, I’m just—”

The soldier took a step in my direction and opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off. To my surprise, the princess had closed her book neatly on the table and laid a hand on the guard’s arm. She looked at me with interest.

“It is okay, Mr. Matthew. I can spare time for some company right now.”

Matthew turned to my sister in surprise. “But, Your Highness—”

“It is okay. I don’t mind.”

“Your Highness, you are just a child. You must know that your father has entrusted your safety to me.”

“Please? I really do insist,” the princess requested in a formal tone.

The man turned his head to study me again. I had taken a few more steps forward, but his stare made me stop.

“You look very determined to meet her highness, boy. Regular citizens generally stare, take a simple photo, and leave. What business do you have with the princess?”

“I just want to… She’s my…” I trailed off, this time not interrupted by the guard, but by myself. I can’t simply just say she’s my sister, right? Nobody could possibly believe me. After all, if her entire temporal body were shifted here, it’d be as if she were born here as a normal person.

Then if that were the case, why the hell am I still searching for my “sister?” I had only seen her for less than a year when I was four years old! And this person in front of me isn’t even the same girl, but what she would turn out to be in a different timeline. Can this really be called a reunion?

“What is your name?” My sister’s question broke me out of my thoughts.

“D—Day! I mean, Damien! Damien Reyes.” I bowed down after introducing myself. Would that name spark a memory? No. I shook my head. How could that be possible? She had only been a few months old. And her memory probably just reset after her chronal body was moved.

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Suddenly, a second bodyguard spoke up. “Sir, I think…” His voice trailed off as he motioned to my body with his eyes. The first guard studied me, and his eyes landed on the dagger attached to my side. I had left it completely out in plain sight, but a concerned expression took over the soldier’s face. I quickly took my dagger out, laid it on the table beside me, and raised my arms up, showing my innocence.

My gesture was ignored, as Matthew turned back to my sister. “Your Highness, I believe that will be enough today. Shall we return to the palace?”

“I have only been here for an hour, though. May I finish this chapter first?” She opened her book and started reading again.

“Princess Alaina, I really do insist. It is already extremely kind that I haven’t arrested this boy. I do not wish to tell your father about this.”

She stood up, clearly annoyed. However, that expression quickly disappeared as she flipped her golden hair back and stood straight. She was only half the height of the soldiers around her, but it looked as if she led the group to the exit.

As the door to the coffee shop opened and the bells clinked, she turned back and did a short curtsy. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Reyes. Let fate bring us together another time.”

I stood there in the middle of the tables as the princess walked away with her bodyguards. So just like that, she was gone? Again? The first time, Princess Alexis simply disappeared behind the doors to the manor. This time— wait. What did those guards call her again? Princess…

“So, Princess Alaina or Princess Alexis? Which is your sister, Day?”

I turned to Abby, who was leaning back in her seat with a smug look on her face as if she had just caught me trying to steal something. What did she mean? There were two princesses? Did I have two sisters? It should be just one, right? Just how did it come to be like this?

Mr. Westelius had just come to take our orders. But when he sensed the tense atmosphere, he glanced quickly between me and Abby, then backed away.

“I—I’m not sure,” I replied, not going back to the table.

“Oh, and mind I tell you, there are two other ‘her highnesses.’ How come you never told us you had that many sisters, huh? Princess Audria and Princess Amber. You know them, too?”

“I…” I was still trying to process what had happened. Maybe my sister’s chronal body had been split four ways, and four versions of herself were on the same timeline? Or was it just one of them which was actually her? If that were the case, how would I be able to figure out which is actually my sister? This was just way too much added to the already difficult goal of simply meeting a single person.

“Umm…” Em looked nervously at me, then Abby, and then back at me again. “Why don’t you take a seat, Day? I’m sure there’s some misunderstanding here.”

“Oh, yeah, sure there was a misunderstanding,” Abby continued as I sat down on my original seat. “—a misunderstanding on our part about how you might actually be up to some shady business here!”

“No, it’s not how it looks—”

“Oh, so first you lie to us about who you’re actually looking for, and now you’re saying it’s not how it looks!?”

“Calm down, Abby,” Ari said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She brushed it away, but he continued. “Day should at least have a chance to explain everything. Maybe his sister is just one of the princesses?”

“So now you’re on his side too!? When he told us about his sister, he didn’t even say she was such an important person! Still, he doesn’t even know that there are four princesses! Plus, you say you’re from this time-travel free zone, so how did your sister become a freaking princess!? They were born here, you know!? You can’t be the son of a king or prince!”

“I’m sorry, friends,” Mr. Westelius, who had just come back from the front counter, said, “can you please keep it down? I don’t want to bother our guests on the other side of the shop.”

Abby crossed her arms and pouted. “Sure. I will try to lower my volume. Can you take our orders now?”

The waiter took out a small notebook and wrote down our orders nervously. He bowed quickly after we were done and walked away. When he disappeared behind the corner again, I turned back to Abby.

“Abby… I can explain myself.”

“Go ahead,” she said, still frustrated.

“Actually… it was someone else who had told me my sister had become a princess. They were the one who sent me here. I mean, I was only her brother for a few months before she disappeared. But I still decided to come to look for her.”

“So you’re one of those people searching for a live version of someone they lost, huh?” Abby said with a noticeable hint of disgust in her tone. “People would seriously do anything when they are free to time walk however they want.”

“No, I swear! It wasn’t that my sister had passed away! Master told me that her temporal body was shifted here!”

Abby chuckled sarcastically. “Adding more of this fantasy to your story, huh? You can’t make stuff up like this if you have basically no knowledge on this time-travel business, you know.”

I put my head down and dug my hands into my hair. Just why wouldn’t she get it? All I’m doing is telling the truth! Just how many ways could this girl turn my truths into lies?

I raised my eyes back up and looked into her eyes in desperation. “We’re still… friends… right?”

That took her by surprise. She sat back up straight and put her hands on the table. “No, no! Don’t think that way! I promise you, we’re still a team, okay? I was just a bit confused about your story, that’s all!”

Ari sighed. “So you finally came back to your senses, Abby. Just think about it. We’ve been traveling with him for three days. He’s literally done nothing suspicious. Let’s just give him some time.”

Abby thought about it before turning back to me. “Yeah, sorry, Day… I guess I jumped to conclusions there.”

I sighed in relief. Someday, I have to find a good time to tell them about my story more. I took out my hand and raised it above the table for a handshake.

“Team?” I asked.

Abby put her hand flat over mine, ignoring my handshake position. Em and Ari did the same. “Yes. Team.”