The exterior clamor was none other than an altercation between four people. A drunkard and three tall persons, armed with black coats, yelling at each other.
At least there wasn't anyone in the street to assist the scene.
Nothing close to her; she just walked by.

"I REPEAT, HAVE YOU SEEN A LITTLE GIRL, RED-HEADED AND WITH GREEN EYES."

"I WON'D SHPILL IT TILL YOU PAY ME."

OK, it was maybe a little close to her.
She hid behind a random mountain of barrels and let her ear drag.

"Stop playing, old man. Tell us, HAVE YOU SEEN HER OR NOT?"

The voice was low and dreadful.
She glimpsed at the dispute.
The tallest person had his blade against the drunkard's throat.
It was going down...
Jade instinctively moved.

'Don't do that!'

"Spirot?"

The bunny, which had appeared out of the same thin air as ever, pushed her away from the scene with a microscopic force.
'Friend, it could be dangerous! Just go back to home!'

"But—" she silently breathed.

'GO HOME! YOU'RE NOT ENOUGH EXPERIENCED TO TELEPORT ON COMMAND. IF YOU GO, YOU'LL HAVE TO RUN AND YOU AREN'T FASTER THAN ADULTS.'

As the older man muttered inaudible words, the sword separated his flesh, letting a maroon liquid leak on his skin.

Jade stumbled, shaking the barrels nearby.

The ink-dressed persons' faces weren't visible to her, and she still had interfered naturally.
They were going to cut a drunk person in pieces.
Or that's what she thought until the hoods of the men spun to her.

They had heard her, the barrels shocking each other.

The one a head higher than the others let go of the old man, who mumbled his excuses as he ran out of there.

She was alone in front of unknown adults.

"You..." One of them snarled.

Chills.
Fear invaded.
They were darker, way darker, and scarier.
Frightening.
Those three people were disturbing, dangerous, and her legs didn't answer the pleas of escape from her brain.

How dumb for a death was that?
She could already see the title of the Rush, the journal of Menless.

The tenth princess of the Empire was found dead this morning after wandering in the streets for a day.
A fool, wasn't she?

The Rush, Wednesday 26th of May.

Yup, she affirmatively was.

She didn't want to die now.
Without reading her five-hundredth book offered by a new friend.
Without saying goodbye to her siblings and parents.
And without living a life, for God's sake!
She didn't wanted to go away from everything she knew and loved again.

"I'm s-sorry... please don't kill me." She managed to pronounce.

The only response for a moment was quietude.

"Kill you?" One of the persons behind the tallest, another man totally in awe, asked. "What are you talking about?"

The third man jumped and hugged her.
He hugged her.

Jade didn't know what struck her, apart from surprise, for bringing her breath back in an instant.

"Jade! DON'T DO THAT EVER AGAIN!"

Xander was hugging her.
He had lowered his hood as the other men, Benjamin and her father, imitated behind.

"Small one... Thank Gaila, you're alright..."
Sir Dad muttered, pinching his nose bridge.
"What exactly had crossed your mind to think going out by yourself was a good idea?"

She had the feeling that if she told the true story, she would be overprotected from now on, which she vowed to avoid.
She just told the short version, which was true, in a way.
"I-I didn't want to go to the entrance ceremony."

They froze.

"Jade... oh Gaila, you should have told us sooner.
Benjamin picked her up when Xander let her go of the hug.

"We should stop blaspheming Gaila," The oldest brother muttered.

"It ain't blasphemy if it's for one of you, children."
Sir Dad muttered, the voice hoarse as before, on which Xander partly approved with a head movement and an uncertain expression.

The trio started to walk at a slow pace as she explained frantically.
"It's a nightmare. If I go, I will have all the eyes on me and—"

"Jade, we know."
Cut Benjamin, who carried her lovingly, giving her an understanding grin.
"We had been there too."

"But..."

"We have survived."
Xander joined.
"Jade, their opinion of you doesn't matter. We, your family, will love you no matter what. It's all that matters."

She blurted some weird sounds before closing her mouth to not look like a fish.
Why had she given more importance to unknown than to her own family?
She really forgot to use her brain sometimes.

"I'm sorry. Really."
She admitted as the frown of her siblings flew finally away.

Spirot swiftly appeared to nudge its head on the base of her neck.
"I told you going on an adventure wasn't the best idea."

"Your mouth."
She glared.

"I swear..." Her father mumbled with a glower knitting his face, "I swear to kill this ass— ahem, this president at the Glore."

Jade had forgotten about how terrifying her father was when he was upset.

"It's already been two decades..."
Ben mumbled as their father arched his brow.

"I know, Ben, I know. And I still harass them to make this f— this idiotic tradition fall."

"What are you talking about?"
She asked with both of her eyebrows raised.

"Not any matter you should be worried about, little one."
Xander whispered, pulling up a strand she had in the way of her vision.

"I ain't this little."
A bold smirk appeared on her face.
"What's the problem?"

"Ugh, you see this d— ahem, detestable tradition," her father intoned, "has lasted for too long now. Children should arrive in society later, at fifteen eventually, like in other countries. I tried to make it stop as soon as Xander had come to this world, even if my efforts were vain until now. The Glore still wants to maintain it."

Jade, with all she had made in this world, hadn't created the Glore.
What was that plot hole?

"The Glore?"
She asked like a fish.

Benjamin, who still held her, bonked his head on hers.

"Ouch!"

"You'll learn with time. Be patient."

When she looked at him, he beamed in the brightest manner.
Ugh, adults and their adult matter; even as an adult she hated them. Looks like she couldn't start liking it now.
"Guess so."
She shrugged.

"Good guess."
Her father tousled the long hair on her head.
"Now let's get back home."

The meek carriage stood on the side of the road, blending ordinarily into the sundown enlightened background.
A servant, also hooded, opened the gantry promptly, bending his upper body.

Benjamin settled her on the ground, and he guided her with his hands.
"After you," he said.

She climbed the steps speedily and took the farthest seat from the carriage threshold.

When the four of them had taken steadily place on the bench, Ben said to Jade.
"By the way, Mom will kill you when we'll get home. Be ready."

●●●

"WHAT HAD CROSS YOUR MIND TO DO THAT, JADE?"

"I'm—"

"CRAZY? I KNOW JADE."
Her mother said, scrubbing her head with the foam of the shampoo.
"AND YOU BETTER BE ALSO REGRETFUL ABOUT IT. I WORRIED ALL DAY LONG!"

"I so so sorry... Mom, can you accept my excuses since I don't have enough imagination to find better apologies?"
Jade activated puppy eyes.

Her mother sighed, knowing she couldn't be mean to this cutie pie for long.
"Alright... but don't ever do that again."
Her index shook in the air.
"And no library till Friday."

Wait, wait, wait.
It's a death sentence for Jade!

"But—"

"Don't 'but' me."
Her mother interfered on the instant.
"You'll survive."
Jade was rinsed with freezing water when the empress added.
"We'll have to do other things, believe me..."

Our writer was scorched from head to toe without a chance to place a word, still cold from the icy shower.

What her mother was doing was pure vengeance.
She was carried to her bedroom which was next to the beautiful bathroom, where she had been immediately dragged to after her arrival in the castle by her mother.

As the young princess packed herself in the towel, her mother came back with dozens of dresses displayed on mannequins, with servants hardly carrying them.

"Now, pick quick since you already lost enough time before!"
She excitedly told, her usual over-welcoming smile there again.

Jade only gifted a lost visage.

"Your ceremony, your choice."
Her mother said, grinning determinedly.
"The servants will stay outside and wait for your call. I'll flee for the end of the preparation to Ian."

A small smooch and her mother walked to the door then gave her a side look.
"You may be mature, Jade, but don't forget you'll always be my baby."
Her eyes leaked with concern.
"Please let me protect you more easily."

The maids followed and the clack of the door filled the room, leaving Jade alone.

●●●

A chill breeze wandered across her skin.
She needed to cover up.

But in the sea of dresses, all fluctuating between cream and Chantilly as the entrance ceremony habitually desired, it was hard to choose.

The loose one or the tighter one.
The puffy or the smooth.
To choose or to stay naked, that is the question.

Then, one caught her eye.
With a magnolia tissue and touches of a silver tint, that dress seemed perfect for her.

The gown was puffed on the long sleeves but also on the skirt, filled with soft tule, giving it volume on all of its length. The shiny gray was disseminated on the neckline and end of the skirt.
The folds and ribbons were what made the dress gorgeous.
But, even if the dress was a masterpiece in itself, the clear color only made her Carmin hair stand out more, reminding blood on an immaculate handkerchief.

"I'm ready," she said once to the mirror after sliding in, and once for the servants to enter.

With a high and elegant ponytail, Jade escaped the preparations and marched toward her twin's room.

Bothering him to keep herself entertained?
No, she wouldn't even dream of that.
She would do it.

●●●

"Sister...?" He asked upon her sight, as if he didn't recognize her when she entered the room.

Her sibling couldn't even try to make a move, yet his eyes were flickering with surprise.

"Yes, I finished preparing early, so I came!" Jade skipped from one foot to the other, watching her brother's eyes follow each of her moves.

His tenue, of the same immaculate white as his hair, which was glued to his head with a lot of styling gel, made him look like a miniature adult.
Even when he shook his head to see her better, not one strand of hair unglued itself.

It only teased the chuckle in Jade's throat.

"Sister... is that really you?" Ian whined when one of the servants let go of the collar of his shirt.

"Of course I am." Her brows rose as the corners of her mouth lifted. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you are gorgeous!"
Her mother, who had sat in an adjacent chair until now, rose promptly, her look filled with amazement.
"As you always are, of course, but, right now, it's... MWAH!"
She mimed a kiss.

Her mother's compliment always oscillated between kind and over the top.
Yet, Jade knew her mother didn't lie.

"I think correct would be more exact for my appearance, but thank you, mother." She beamed, her heart lighter than before.

"Never contradict your mother, small one." Her father leaned in the frame door.

"Sir Dad." She bowed gracefully at the view of him.

He had entered the room with a full suit on the shoulders.
Majestic in the clothing, our writer's male lead was going to ravish the poor ladies' heart once again.
"And, for now, she's right."
He said, receiving a glare from his wife on the 'for now'.
"You are gorgeous, small one."
A rare smile bent his lips.
The father then crept up to the mother and kissed her.
"Go prepare yourself, Ann. I'll get it from here."
He sweetly said.

His wife offered a sad look at her children muttering 'alright's or something in the register.

"I love you...!" she cried out, being dragged out the door by Lessie and other maids.

A clack signed the end of her presence.

"Now then, isn't that a little too much for your age?" Her father instantly declared seeing his son's outfit, a mini tailored tuxedo of three layers. "You look like a mini Xander."

Ian puffed out his chest, seemingly proud of his father's allegations.
"Then I'm quite nicely attired, Father."

"That wasn't the point, Ian..."

"I'm a man now, you know?"
He continued to run straight into his delusions.

Dad and daughter only gave a slender smile to him.

"Finally free!" Her brother exclaimed as the servants around him had finished their work.

And as he was so cute, Jade immediately attacked him by a slobbery kiss, which kept this experience from the granny's life of hers.

"L-let's get going!" Ian managed to pronounce, still wobbling from the ravaging attack of his sister.

Their father's head shook.
"No, I have to take you somewhere before."

"Where?" Jade asked, following her dad already marching to the door.

"Where I have to show you something."

Ugh, what a bad habit of him to be mysterious.

●●●

They were on the balcony.

In Menless, her family's newborns were presented to the folks like in this Disney movie with Savannah's animals from a balcony on the Lys flank.
It was there where, for the first time, Jade had seen the capital. The majestic city of Bymen, which had conquered her heart at the instant.
Jade loved that place.

When she looked below, throngs of nobles were already arriving.

"Father," she said, quickly hiding back behind the balustrade, "why are we here?"

Her dad shrugged helplessly. "Because I wanted you to see our reason for our existence, us, the imperial family."

Then he glanced at the horizon as if it was the most beautiful jewel ever seen.
Buildings after buildings, the ethereal style of the houses shone in her eyes.
With the sunset, the only correct word would have been breathtaking.

"This is what your mother and I have built throughout the years."
Her father said.
"A city where everyone has a home, either small or big, but a roof where to sleep under."

Right, Dahlia's story had already ended, but for Jade, the aftermaths still occupied the biggest part of her life.

Her parents' romance was the most significant change the empire ever knew.
Her mother supported economic and political reforms for Menless' system, like taxing the wealthy, guaranteeing habitations for the poor, etcetera, and, as her father totally approved it (love make you do things...).

The couple quickly drew a new outline for the civilization.
And it showed on the city, beautifully shown.

"And how does it relate to us?"
Ian innocently asked.

"Simple," their father leaned towards the horizon, "both of you will need to do all you can to protect it."
His eyes managed to come back to surface, to join the ones of his children.

Ian frowned in incomprehension. "But there's Xander and Ben..."

Sir Dad glanced at him as if he had lost dozens of brain cells on the way here.
"Ian, your order in the siblings list doesn't change the blood you're born with. It is our collective task."

Jade hmphed to show her understanding.

"You can count on us, Sir Dad." 

But Ian seemed startled at her affirmation.
"Sister, please don't talk on my behalf," he said, slumping his figure, vexed.

"You think the same, don't you?"
She asked, giving a puzzled face at that sudden desire of independence.

He glowered cutely at her.
"Yes, but I'm big enough to say it myself!"

"Of course, tall manly man."

"Now, let's join the festivities, my little adults." Sir Dad spoke lovingly clasping their hands.

Yes, Jade was going towards a battle with her social anxiety and was surely going to win.
Surely?