The realization that the king was behind the hate and that the prince was using us hit me like cold water, reawakening me from my grand delusions a few moments ago.
I always wondered what an anime protagonist felt like when facing hardships. I was very wrong to dream of that. I had only been in this world for six and a half months, yet it felt like I'd lived seventy years.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" was clearly a lie. Words hurt in invisible ways. Why else would I be feeling stupid for letting my guard down?
There was nothing to do but keep moving forward. I didn't bother listening to the details. I just went straight to my room to take a nap and hopefully give my brain a clean reset.
When I woke up, it was already late. The sun was setting, so I decided to get comfortable and sleep the rest of the day—until Emily suddenly flew in and started poking my poor forehead with enough force to wake the dead.
"Hey, that hurts a lot. My poor forehead," I said, rubbing it to ease the soreness.
"My apologies, but it was incredibly urgent, you see…"
AN HOUR LATER
"Care to explain?" I asked, glaring at Emily.
"Ummm… maybe," she said.
My piercing gaze sharpened.
"Fine! But explaining in this situation is… uncomfortable."
"Does it look like we have a choice?" I raised a brow.
Sigh. "I guess you really wanna know, huh? Don't worry, this big sis will explain everything," she said, proudly puffing out her chest.
"Hard to think of you that way when you're tiny," I replied with a smirk.
From where I was sitting, I swear I saw an invisible arrow hit her. She actually struggled to stay afloat.
"LUMINOUS!" she yelled with a fierce glare.
Seeing her face, I felt like the underworld would freeze over if she walked in looking like that. I prepared myself for the earful I'd get when our mortal danger situation was over.
---
HOURS BEFORE
"Sigh. I'm bored and Luminous is asleep. What do I do now? … Might as well," Emily said, flying out the window.
"You know there's gonna be a party soon. What do you think the king is organizing it for?" Villager A asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine, mate. But if I had to guess based on my years of wisdom, it's probably to get rid of those half-bloods. They're a thorn in our side. What makes them think they have the audacity to breathe without our permission?" Villager B said, his voice growing louder and fiercer.
"You're probably right. They're disgusting. Now I can't wait for the first official party of the year," Villager A said with an evil smirk. B grinned, pleased his hatred had been appreciated.
"Ughhh… these people. Must they always persecute us?" Emily thought, frustrated. After Luminous saved her life, she'd learned to appreciate it more than anything, so their conversation irritated her deeply. It felt like they were saying Luminous was wrong—something that, for some reason, made her burn inside. She assumed it was gratitude and pushed the feeling down.
"I'll just go somewhere else. Everywhere can't be like this."
But she was wrong. As she flew through the city, fairies shunned her.
Emily never felt bad about being half-elf, half-fairy, but the stares made her feel small and insignificant. It dragged back old memories—her parents being persecuted for loving each other. She already knew the world was messed up, but this was too much negativity for her to handle. Her wings lost strength and she started falling… landing by sheer coincidence in the prince's extended palm.
"Well, hello there, little one. Where did you come from?" the prince asked.
"I'm not little," Emily pouted before realizing who she was talking to.
"Ahhh! My apologies, Your Highness. This subordinate has committed a grave sin! I offer to clip my wings if it'll serve as atonement!"
The prince started laughing, which made Emily shiver. She thought she'd actually have to clip her wings.
"No, no. I wasn't laughing because of that. I was wondering why half-bloods are never scared of me. Makes me wonder if it's because… I'm that way." His voice dropped at the last part.
"That way?" Emily asked.
"Never mind. Convenient that you're here. I have a task for Luminous."
"L-Luminous? Why him, Your Highness?"
"He's my personal guard. And for some reason… I've taken an unusual liking to him."
Far away in his room, Luminous tossed in his sleep.
The prince smiled—so brightly Emily had to avert her gaze, feeling unworthy.
After regaining her composure, she asked, "What task do you wish for him to carry out, Your Highness?"
"I need him to go to the Weeping Willows to get me a special artifact."
Emily froze. The Weeping Willows was sacred—the hiding place of royal artifacts, protected by trusted guardians. A dangerous maze to outsiders. She was about to protest when a guard beat her to it.
"Your Highness, forgive me for speaking out of turn—"
"You may speak," the prince said, offering Emily fruit, which she accepted because… fruit.
"Your Highness, the Willows are important. We cannot allow half-blood thieves to touch our treasures!"
"Our treasures?" the prince said quietly. "I don't recall you being part of the royal family."
The guard panicked. "I meant the nation's treasures—"
"So you're the nation's mouthpiece now? I don't remember giving someone of your low status that position."
The guard trembled.
"Your Highness, please forgive me—"
"I forgive you, mongrel."
"Thank you, Your Hi—"
His head hit the floor before he could finish.
People screamed and fainted. Emily shuddered. She wondered if she would be next.
The prince's killing intent crushed everyone in the vicinity.
If Luminous had been here, he'd have recognized something familiar in the prince's eyes. But he was sleeping peacefully.
The prince gestured for Emily to follow, and she obeyed at top speed.
---
A LITTLE LATER
When the prince stopped walking suddenly to turn around and see if Emily was following.
She couldn't get the timing to stop right, so Emily crash-landed into a teacup, breaking it.
"You little insect! You better pay for that or you'll be licking my shoes—" the shopkeeper began
"Ahem" the prince cleared his throat while holding a pouch in front of him.
Turning around the shop keeper saw the money, collected it and shut up his mouth.
"Good," the prince said, picking Emily up.
He took her to his private residence and sat down. Emily stayed on his shoulder, terrified to touch anything.
"You can sit," he offered.
"I'm fine here."
"But I want to see your face."
She wondered who had activated her death flag.
"…Fine. Then… may I sit on your lap instead?" she whispered.
He heard. Of course he did.
"You may" he said.
"Thank you, Your Highness" she replied.
She landed in his lap and, despite everything, felt a tiny spark of pride.
"At least I can brag if I survive," she thought.
The prince continued, "You will accompany Luminous. With your fairy blood, you can navigate the terrain. Be back before the party tomorrow."
"It will be my pleasure, Your Highness," Emily said, and flew off.
---
THE PRESENT
"Whatttttttt?!" Luminous screamed after hearing her story and receiving her full rant.
"He said explain properly! And you gave me a half-baked summary and dragged me out of bed!"
"That was payback. You had it coming," Emily said.
Luminous wanted to argue but knew better. Emily was petty, and her grudges were legendary. He sighed and wondered why his new life had zero silver linings. Between a tyrant prince and a chaotic best friend, he felt like a toy.
"I guess I really wasn't born to be happy," he thought as he stabbed the bear that had been tormenting them since entering the maze.