Jade wasn't particularly tall for her age, hence she had to run faster than the norm.
However, her mind didn't stop for that reason.

Lumurus thrived with money and lands, at the South of the bottle sea.
Their royal family wasn't bad either, from the rumors.
Why would they have needed an alliance with Menless?
And marrying Calista?
Why in the world her when siblings like Benjamin would have made a better symbol by his sociable personality?

One of her family members was yapping practically in her ear.
She couldn't just run linearly in the corridors.
She needed to find an escape.

"STOP NOW!"
Her sister yelled.

But she wasn't going to do that.

Jade flew by a bay into a garden, the minty air instantly caressing her skin, and hid in a bush when footsteps got past her in the corridor.

"That small person... vanished."
Her sister muttered, baffled.

"Don't be worried, Calista."
The empress reassured, slowly walking to join her, totally tranquil.
"If it is a servant, this conversation will stay unknown."

"And if it was someone else..." The troubled girl theorized.

"A spy?"
Ania asked, beaming as the importance of the situation wasn't that big.
"No chance."

She grabbed Calista by the arm and walked back the alley, a terrifyingly smiling expression on the face.
"There isn't any spy in my castle, Calis."

Her husband, appearing at the start of the corridor with Xander, offered an inquiring look at the border of offense when he heard her affirmation.

"Our castle, if you prefer."
She added for him, approaching with a grin teasing when she saw his look.

"I do so."
He concluded.

Then they turned on their heels.
The quartet, Xander included, chuckled as they were back in their footsteps, wearing all the same mischievous grin.
Genes were scary and beautiful at the same time in this family.

Before they were gone back too far, Jade heard one last sentence.

"Please give me more details about this matter, Mother."

Those details would have been better in her knowledge, she thought, frustration creeping in her heart.

●●●

"Did we survive your frightening family?" Spirot came out right after the footsteps vanished.

"I-I think so."
 Jade stammered, dazed and recovering from the breath she forgot to take.
"Let's run back to the bedroom."

"Yup!"

The moonlight saw Jade and the bunny trotting all the way back.

"Why would Sir Dad and Mother want to marry Calista?" She marveled.

"You shouldn't be asking this to me."
Spirot affirmed, sighing with exasperation.
"You're the only one I know in this family."

Jade knew that. But she still wanted to talk about it.
"And Lumurus? Wasn't it all peaceful, unthreatened?"

"Not really."

Oh, Dahlia didn't wrote that.
Lumurus was a land of wealth and invention; never mentioned as chaotic and threatened.

"What? When did it get bad?"
Her wide opened eyes would have been enough of a question for the spirit to answer.

"Lately, Yka and Von have been oppressing Lumurus on the market. It could be normal for Lumurus' rulers to want to contract with the only Empire. For the advertising."

That was quite logical, and also too easy.

Lumurus' royal family—ruled by Yilin the Matriarch and Zhào Wú the Patriarch—wasn't the kind to do it for publicity.
Yilin had been their mother's best friend from their entrance ceremony, at fifteen in other kingdoms. And that woman was a boss.
She had been the CEO of the textile, makeup, and beauty market for years.
Every attempt at getting her out of it had been vain for other kingdoms.
Her bellicose personality wouldn't have let her kneel with a marriage at the first obstacle.

One thing was really off... and Jade was so frustrated not to grasp what.

"Something's wrong..." she mumbled.

"Yeah, as anything in the political world."
Spirot tossed back at her.

"No," she refuted. "I'll need to check by myself."

It rolled its eyes like upset people did when they shared their annoyance around. "And how will you do that?"

A break stood still before she resolved.
"By going to Lumurus."

She was maybe getting ahead of herself (and, readers, This Narrator doesn't often comment, but, yes, she is getting ahead of herself), but it was the only right idea that came to her mind.

"...Eh?"
Spirot shortly snorted.
"I don't doubt in your capacities of completing that crazy purpose, but that's just..."

It hesitated, so she proposed.
"Mad?"

"YES! YOU ARE TEN, FRIEND!"
The rabbit reminded her.

As if she didn't know that she was stuck in a body of one!
She puffed her chest out.
"Hmph, as if it will stop me."
That already stops me from openly stalking the heroine of the sequel, so it won't stop me from helping my brother.

Spirot's sigh was so noisy it would have woken up the dead.
"You'll draw the attention of all Telin by engaging politics like that. At your age, especially!"
It outbid again.

The girl interrupted her casual walk.
"...You are possibly right."

In this life, she didn't vow for attention.
Quiet and enjoyable was way better than fame; she resolved after the newspaper and the reviews on failed books.

But... "It doesn't matter."
She huffed.
"Family's involved."

The bunny whiffed loudly, in such a cute manner that deads could have decided to lay back to eternal sleep after its sight.
"So there isn't any way for me to convince you it's the worst idea ever?"

"No. Not a chance."

It puffed, clearly holding back a laugh.
"Guess I'm doomed to go into problems with you."

They exchanged a playful glance as the rabbit questioned.
"What's the plan?"

Oh, Jade already had everything in mind.
"First, I'll beg Mom and Sir Dad not to make any announcement about my magical potential, neither tomorrow nor never."

"Why?"
It queried, really piqued by her decision, and a little saddened.
"Am I a shame?"

"NO! Of course not!"
Jade instantly countered.
"It'll just be a bother by the gossip it will do to have the first known magician in the imperial family, since Mom didn't even publicly declare herself as one, and also by the attention it will draw to me, as I plan on staying behind Ian for the full ceremony."

The bunny nodded promptly, so she continued.

"Secondly, as you cannot go further than fifty feet away from me, we'll announce you as my pet, whose name will be Round since Spirot is, let's say, too obvious."

"Hmph," it huffed, "I'll even be reduced to a simple 'pet'. Is it really what humans call friendship?"

She immediately chuckled at this dramatic plain.
"If you feel this bad about it, I'll just always hide you in my skirts."

Spirot blushed, or its flur did.
Wait, how was it possible?

"Uhm, I definitely prefer to do invisibility."

"Great, then..."
She paused, observing the flur curiously before completing. "Third, when the ceremony tomorrow will be over, I'll get the most possible information on that issue to see if there's a chance of me getting into the travel and when it will happen."

Spirot wondered, "And if there's none?" with a petite voice.

"Then, fourthly, I'll hide and travel with them incognito."

The rabbit only considered her with a bland expression. "You're a lunatic."

●●●

The man was serenely walking in the corridors of Menless imperial castle.
Everyone was asleep now, although that girl before had caused him a heart attack.

From the reports and files he had had before the mission, this girl was the youngest princess of the Empire, thus she should have been in her bed, sleeping soundly next to her brother and preparing for tomorrow. Yet, she was there, in the middle of the night, staring at him like a scaredy cat, another furball in the hands.

At first he wanted to explode in laughter and just tell her to go away since that princess had no idea of his plans. However, when the furball mentally pushed him away and she dissappeared, the magician he was knew the spell had worked. After all those years, he had finally found the King of Spirits, the Honorable Ẹmi in the castle of Menless.

'All thanks to who? Mister Pretencious?'
The voice in his head asked.

"Thank you." He answered aloud with a chuckle and a majestic roll of the eyes in the quiet hallway of the castle. "You did the biggest part, Cicek."

'I know.' The high voice scowled. 'Now, come back to the store, we have to talk.'

When Cicek spoke like that, it meant something was going on.
But that princess... had seen his face.
And she could yap on every roof she saw a strange man at night in the castle.
The worst was that people would believe her and the mission could fail.

'I know she's seen your face.' Cicek said in his head. 'But you'll follow her later. We have a positive report for the moment.' You could hear it smile clearly.

"Right. Movere." The man grinned and vanished with a teleportation spell.

Managing a small girl could wait, but receiving flowers from the Chancelier of Yka for finding a King and God?
That was to good be postponed in Serhan's taste.

●●●

24h later.

At this hour of the day, Jade should have been sleeping (or officially, at least...), but she was having fun meeting new people.
Not all, of course; the species of asshole transcended dimensions.
But Jade truly enjoyed the entrance ceremony, although she was stressed at every word she pronounced since Ian had gone where the food was.

The imperial hall was ornamented with the Empire colors.
The thrones of her parents were the center of the room, elevated from the ground, dragging all the regards to it as soon as you entered.
On every side of the hall were installed wide buffets where guests could enjoy loads of appetizers from different origins.
The dance floor twirled as all the magnificent dresses displayed there did too.
This reception at candlelight was magical and even enjoyable for the smallest children in the room, with the third garden, being open for them.

Jade's troubles had gone away for the earlier hour.

Until her father's voice rose in the hall. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MAY I CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION FOR THE SECOND?"

Every head turned, hers included, to watch their charismatic emperor.

Jade, who welcomed the warm and unique weather of the season on a balcony, observing the capital illuminated for the occasion, stepped back in the hall at her father's voice.

"I'll first wish for a toast to the sweetest pair of twins in our family." He claimed as Flanagan already prepared his fist; he added for him. "Don't take that personally, gremlin," under the audience chuckle.

"And we also want to announce another event occurring soon." His wife added. "A marriage!"

Silence fell in an instant.
Either the audience's shock was in her mind, or the hall was really just too stunned to speak.

Thankfully, Lord Ulv, first general of the imperial chivalry—who seemed to share as many brain cells as he could with any fish—spoke in the loudest voice ever heard. "WHICH OF YOUR BABIES IS MARRYING, YOUR MAJESTIES?"

Her mother threw an excited smirk at the general. "THE FIRST, DISŜIRI!" She immediately replied, "XANDER IS GETTING MARRIED!"

Wait, the contract with Lumurus had evolved? Like a fucking P*kemon?

As her mother flew across the room to join her best friend and happily giggle together, Jade had an existential crisis.
When did it change from yesterday's plan? And why?

A marriage of convenience for her oldest brother.
Xander was a ten and he'll have to marry without any love.
Perhaps to a five or three?

Oh, she wasn't going to let that happen so easily.
Jade decided to do one thing, no matter what.

Find a solution.

"XANDER, I'LL BE YOUR BRIDESMAID!"

When all the eyes spun in her direction, she realized she had screamed.
It was an intense staring session began by all the nobles.
It was bad.

"Wow, didn't knew the youngest star is such an attention seeker."

"She's just a kid."

"A whiny one it seems."

"A big announcement and someone intervenes. I guess we have another Eight Princess."

"Xander is way better than her."

The only thing she could do is focus on gripping the tule of her skirt really hard. Jade would have threw her stomach out if her white dress wasn't expensive and new.