Ash walked down the large marble staircase leading to the royal palace's main hall. 

The brushing of her footsteps against the thick red and gold carpet was the only thing she could hear at this early hour. She arrived in front of the statue of Teshbi and paused. She looked around and saw she was the first one to arrive. As she waited for her companion to join her, she slowly trod along the white circular walls. 

She had completely overlooked the many paintings that decorated the luxurious hall. She stopped in front of the largest of them. It was a portrait of four figures, three of which looked familiar. All of them wore ornate silver crowns. She drew closer. 

She recognized Queen Gidri’s gentle brown-green eyes, but her curly hair was chestnut instead of silver. A grinning fair-haired little girl with coral shoes was sitting on her lap. 

Ash chuckled at the sight of younger Elnys. She hasn’t changed much, obviously. 

Next to them sat a tall broad-shouldered man with sandy blond hair. He had a chiseled face with cobalt blue eyes that seemed to look right at her with a confident and kind smile. To his right stood a teenager that was his spitting image, only younger and with long golden hair. She was clothed in a sophisticated azure dress lined with silver.  

Myra definitely takes after her father. They have the same shine in their eyes. 

Ash found that painting oddly touching, far from the stiff, pompous depictions of other royal families she had seen in the past. However, now that she had learned about the tragic end of King Abgal, seeing the Bluevales’ happy smiles felt bitter—even to her, a foreigner who barely knew them. 

She was roused from thought when she heard the sound of heels clicking on the marble floor. 

Princess Myra was coming from the hallway and approached her quietly with a lion-like gait. She was wearing light plate armor on top of an ivory tunic and a brown leather corset that matched her riding boots. Her cerulean cloak had light gray fur on its collar, giving her an even more striking guise. 

Ash gulped slowly and gave her a nod, hoping that the flushing of her cheeks was just in her head. 

The pair exited the palace through the eastern gate and walked in silence through the Scots pine trees that surrounded the yard. They could see the sky turning from dark blue to light yellow up ahead above the mountains. 

As soon as they were beyond the earshot of the guards, Ash broke the silence. “No wonder you wouldn’t reveal anything about yourself that night.” Her gaze was fixed on the horizon, unwilling to let her fluster show. “So, what was that whole shadowy hitman act for?”

Myra looked at Ash and tilted her head. “Pardon?” A small cloud formed as she spoke. 

“I mean, the mysterious intruder prank you pulled.” Ash mimicked pulling a hood on her head. 

The princess frowned slightly, then raised her brows and parted her lips. “Oh. Forgive me for concealing my identity up until now. I… didn’t want you to know I was the queen’s daughter prior to our first meeting.”

“Why?”

They passed by a group of a dozen townsfolk making offerings at the altar of a roofless rectangular shrine on their left. Inside was the statue of a god in his youth, wearing a long tunic and holding a staff. The Joyians bowed with deference as they saw Myra, who dipped back with a small smile. 

“I didn’t wish for our first encounter to be influenced by my title. I wanted us to have a frank conversation.” She lowered her voice. “Sadly, it’s something that happens too rarely.”

Ash squinted as the morning light crested the horizon and spilled onto the river ahead. “So when you learned that I wasn’t from here—” 

“I seized the opportunity, yes.”

They reached a large bridge made of smooth light gray stones. It was empty. Myra stopped at its highest point and leaned forward against the intricate bronze railing. She breathed out and lowered her shoulders. Ash walked past her and stood a couple of steps further. 

“On a few occasions, people don’t recognize me immediately. But as soon as they do, our interactions become… constrained and inauthentic.” She paused. Her gaze was fixed on the tall statues on each side of the mouth of the Osmet River below. She eventually turned to face Ash. Her blue eyes flickered as they reflected the shimmering water. “I just wanted to feel like anybody else. I’m sorry to have misled you.”

Ash stood there in silence, her eyes wider than usual. After a moment, she realized she had been staring at her lips. She glanced aside, hoping that her companion wouldn’t notice. 

“I don’t care about people’s titles. Whether you’re a king or a beggar, if you’re an ass, then you should be treated like an ass.” 

Myra let out a silvery laugh. Although it was the second time Ash heard it, she couldn’t help but feel warmth filling up her chest. 

Her cheeks turned pink. “What?”

The princess tucked a lock of golden hair behind her ear. “The way you speak. It’s… truly refreshing.”

They walked off the bridge and through a large cobblestone square. Merchants were busy stocking up their stalls with fresh produce. 

The smell of melted butter and sugar lingered in the air. Ash’s stomach growled noisily, causing her face to turn red. Myra chuckled and led her further inside the market. 

They stopped in front of a stand where a slow-moving man was arranging pastries on a clothed table. He rubbed the sleep off his eyes. As soon as he recognized the princess, the baker bowed low and apologized for his modest assortment. Myra spoke kind words to him and placed a couple of silver coins in his hand, thanking him for delighting the town with his delicacies. 

The two women walked out of the market with a bag filled with piping hot pastries and resumed their walk.

“What’s this place?” Ash pointed at a large U-shaped group of three beige and red buildings up ahead. She took a bite of a plump yellow puff and let out a sigh of delight when she realized it was filled with creamy goodness. 

Myra bit her lips to keep from smiling. “This is the Academy. The institute that Master Skarlag founded after the war. This is where we train our future soldiers.”

They could hear loud clangs and grunts from a distance. As they walked closer, they saw young women and men practicing in pairs in a large courtyard. Some of them looked barely in their teens. 

Ash watched in awe as a woman jumped aside to dodge a fireball, stretched her hand, and threw a bolt of lightning at the caster.  

She scanned the area and recognized the tattooed woman with the undercut from the day before. She was showing a combination of kicks and punches to a group of female students who looked like they had a hard time focusing. 

She’s like their local rockstar, Ash thought. I think her name was Rhyder.

Her eyes got caught by wings flapping nearby. A majestic eagle had just landed on the forearm of a slender woman with long rose hair. She was surrounded by several young wolves who were being petted by a dozen enthusiastic students. 

That’s the beast tamer. Those Valiant Six gals sure are popular. 

She felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked down to see a small girl with pigtails who was staring at her bag of pastries. She couldn't figure out if it was drool or snot—or both—that was spread across the kid’s face. Two younger boys were bouncing excitedly behind her. Ash drew back. 

“What are you eating?” the girl asked with a squeaky voice. 

She eyed the child up and down with unease. “Cream puffs,” she replied stiffly. “… Want some?” 

Ash stretched her arm as far as she could and handed down the open bag. The girl clapped her hands and snatched it. She turned to the boys who yipped and grabbed the pastries with their tiny hands. 

One of them hugged Ash’s leg and thanked her with a toothy grin. The woman froze, shoulders up and arms held close. The girl with the pigtails asked if she wanted to play with them. The boys joined her and pleaded with big round kitten eyes. 

Myra approached, lips curled up. She tenderly patted the children on the head. “Unfortunately, we have somewhere to go. Perhaps another day?” 

They pouted for a few seconds, then joyfully ran away. Once they left, Ash let out a sigh of relief, letting her muscles relax. 

“Are you all right?” the princess asked with an amused grin spread across her face. 

“Thanks for the help.” She dusted off the sugar left by the boy who hugged her leg. “Kids always cling on to me, for some reason.”

“I surmise it’s because you’re so much alike.”

“Hey!”

As Myra giggled, they didn't notice Rhyder glaring at them from the courtyard of the nearby Academy, jaw clenched.