Emelyn never thought she’d be the one searching for a kid someday. Her feet moved by themselves as she kept her speed, breathing heavily as she watched towards the sound. She didn’t think. She did. She didn’t have another idea with this; Emelyn couldn’t leave that poor child alone. The princess moved robotically, dodged a few citadians and ran the fastest she could. 

Emelyn stopped in dark alleys next to a nearby soap shop, hearing the scream stop. She rested a hand on her heart and listened to her surroundings, feeling a bit nervous. That’s when she saw her. A small little girl with long brown hair and purple eyes, wearing a small brown dress. Her features were tense, and she kept on frowning and pouting. Emelyn walked closer and leaned to the girl’s level, tilting her head to the side. 

“Hey, everything's okay, I’m here...” The soon-to-be-queen said with a frown as she ruffled the girl’s hair with one hand. 

The girl gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, before pushing Emelyn’s hand away. She stepped back and glared at her, her bottom lip quivering a bit as she looked away from her savior. Visibly, the young girl didn’t want to be helped. 

“Don’t touch me. And no, nothing’s okay, and it hasn’t changed since you came. Just go away and never speak to me ever again!” The kid spoke in a slangy voice, trembling a bit. Her gaze shifted to the side, and she suddenly became serious. She clenched her fists and hardened her gaze, her expression slowly becoming a scowl. 

Emelyn didn’t really know what to say. If this little girl was screaming, she probably needed help- she wouldn’t be screaming for fun. And with that facial expression of hers, the princess would doubt she was fine. Nobody would casually scream like that and tell others not to care about them. Instead of losing her tempter, Emelyn did the thing she could do best-follow along. 

“May I know your name, at least? We could become great friends. Ah, you might not trust a random girl, I get it. My name is Sarah and I’m the princess. I can help you; I can make some knights come over...” Emelyn told the girl, not even flinching a bit. She kept a poker face, as if she was used to it. Well, maybe she was-throughout her eleven years of loneliness. 

The girl’s face lightened a bit, and her expression grew guilty. She looked down and joined her hands behind her back, balancing her weight from one foot to the other. Emelyn wondered if she said something bad because the kid’s reaction was priceless. Surprising, and suspicious to her. 

“My name’s May. I-I... if you’re well the princess of Kordania and the soon-to-be-queen, watch to your left, there is a random maid and a dude in a knight costume right there...” May admitted as she bit her lip, her brown hair swinging to the side. 

The princess’ eyes widened and she immediately responded to May’s suggestion. She shifted her head’s direction to the left, and her heart nearly fell down her stomach. There was Anatasia and Jack, speaking together in a small corner, seemingly gossiping as they looked at her. Noticing Emelyn’s gaze at them, they didn’t even flinch-instead, they smiled simultaneously and started applauding her. For an unknown reason, she felt embarrassed, even though she didn’t do anything and that probably wasn’t even related. Was all of this in her head? She wished. Her eyes narrowed, and she didn’t care say anything. 

Jack walked closer and grinned slyly, his hair lifting with the wind as he kept on clapping his hands. Anastasia remained behind him in her maid outfit, a serious expression growing on her face. 

“Great job, Your Grace. You passed the first test-kindness of heart. You proved to us you would help anyone in danger, even though May wasn’t even in danger. I'll be warning you; you won’t be told whether you’re tested or now from now on, the test can take up to a month or to a year.” Jack warned as his eyebrows arched, resting a hand on his heart for respect to his Queen. 

Emelyn eyes widened and her breath catched in her throat, feeling like a dagger pierced through her heart. They were testing her all along and May wasn’t in danger... Feeling a bit irritated, the princess pursed her lips and rubbed the back of her head, sighing softly. 

“Thank you for telling me, Jack. I appreciate your support even though I’m quite new to this lifestyle. I’m sorry if I’m causing you any problems.” Emelyn responded with a small bow as she shifted away and walked to the castle, frowning a bit. 

The soon-to-be-queen walked to her new palace, clenching her fists. She was a bit mad that they were testing her like this and checking her out-yet she knew it was part of the deal. She knew she shouldn’t be feeling this way, yet her pride was taking over. Her auburn hair fluttered with the wind, the bottom of her dress lifting a bit, giving her ankles a slight breeze. Emelyn didn’t feel like going back to the garden-she was too angry for this. 

It was beginning to be time for supper for the royal family, and she didn’t know how to feel about it. Obviously, she kept her royal manners throughout the years, but eating with her worst enemies hidden as someone else didn’t really make her so happy. The young princess always hated Edward from the bottom of her heart, yet she seeked something different from him, pity. Was it positive or negative? She couldn’t tell. 

*** 

The supper with Edward and The King itself was quite memorable, but not enough to gossip about it. To be honest, the-soon-to-be-queen couldn’t help herself from stealing death stares at the King and the Prince, hoping they wouldn’t notice. None of them did, happily for her. Emelyn knew she wasn’t getting recognized by either of the guys, so this sounded quite positive to her. 

The princess wandered in the halls, heading to her chambers as she tried to keep her poker face. Rather than trying to speak with anyone, she’d step through the palace and try to catch a breeze of fresh air, getting alone time. Her thoughts were running even farther than before, since she was stuck in a poor situation-that she chose to be a part of, obviously. Emelyn didn’t know whether to feel bad or not to join this for revenge since they all looked truly kind. 

Way too kind, though. It was too good to be true, just like everything in Kordania. Even their saying made her beat around the bush “We create happiness, and it’s way too good for you!” Emelyn wanted to bury her face in her hands and never see this again. Kordania, create happiness, when they broke all Mayain’s happiness? That just added to Emelyn’s hate towards Edward. She walked in the halls, greeting the maids that passed by. She wasn’t angry towards them; they were stuck in that job and didn’t do anything to her country. 

The soon-to-be-queen noticed Edward steeping in with his personal guard, not even throwing her a glance. She shoved herself out of the way and kept her expression, trying to express respect. Yet she couldn’t. She couldn’t respect the man who tore her kingdom in two.  

“Good afternoon, Sarah.” Edward greeted her with a small nod and a forced smile as he walked past her. 

“Good afternoon, Your Majesty.” Emelyn responded in return as she faked her act as well, trying to keep her composure in the face of the prince. 

His Majesty turned to face her and stared at her for a second, thoughtfully. He scrunched his nose and scowled, before walking off, leaving Emelyn confused and speechless. Prince Edward always was emotionless, but with the way he looked at her, she didn't know if she could consider that look a good thing or a sad thing. 

Truly, she wondered even more about why she cared about his opinion. No, I don’t care about his opinion, she tried convincing herself. But it was hard not to care about the prince’s opinion if you casually live with him from now on... She wanted to tell him how much she hated him. I hate you, that’s what she wanted to say.