"Can I dance with you, young lady?"I didn’t even let Prince Arsh linger on his knees in front of me because honestly, I was the one who was ashamed. We also grabbed the attention of the other guests at the other table. I may be even more annoyed when the third Prince stays in front of me for a while.Also, who is the crazy woman who would reject a Prince in the midst of so many people? Shame will go to the Prince when I do not accept his invitation.I put my hand on his palm. "Sure, Prince Arsh."He smiled when he heard my answer. He slowly got up from his knees and slowly helped me to my feet. We walked hand in hand towards the dance floor. The early dancers in the middle left and Prince Arsh let us solo the entire space of the dance floor. Supposedly, the spotlight is on us now which has given me even more disdain.Everyone was sidelined and their attention was focused only on us. This is how it feels that even if you don't want to, if one of the Princes is with you, they will only
I woke up because of the noise I heard. I was still clinging but my spirit was already awake. It looked like someone was shouting outside our Kharim Celia room. I could hear a mixture of shouting and crying. Addition is to the whispers of some people there.I felt the surroundings, still not losing the shout. In fact, it is even stronger. They did not stop exchanging words.What's going on?"How many times can I say that? I'm not at fault! I can't do what you're accusing me of. How can I do that? I'm just a lowly servant!"That voice is familiar. I know whose voice that is. Every day we were together, I memorized her voice. I can't go wrong.That’s Ysabelle!I immediately opened my eyes when I realized what was happening and from whom those cries were coming. Even before I woke up, I got up quickly. I even fell on the bed in a hurry and got up immediately. I saw Kharim Celia peeking out of our open door. I was only able to run to his side."K-Kharim Celia, why are there soldiers?"Kha
"Tata Lucio, where are you?"I've been circling the tree where he lives before but until now it still doesn't show me. Not even a shadow of him I can’t find. I've toured this chief money still nothing.Where is he now?"What do you need, Princess Amity?" his question from behind me.Finally!I immediately turned around and was exposed to Tata Lucio, the unique bird who knows my true identity and the creature that is why I am here today in the Kingdom of Norland. He was sitting on a branch that was not high. I remained standing where I was while still looking up at Tata Lucio. I don’t know where it came from, he just suddenly appeared on that branch."Do you know anything about what happened to King Valor? Do you know who really poisoned him? Tell me it's not Ysabelle. My friend is innocent, isn't she?" My tone was full of hope.Tata Lucio is the only creature that lives here that I can approach for help. I can’t ask the Princes for help because they’re probably already fed up with wha
I thought I was blind after we left the dungeon because I could see no light. I even widened my eyes and rubbed it, just in case I saw something but still. I remained dark-sighted.I knew we were somewhere else because I felt like my two feet were on the ground. But I wonder, why don’t I see anything? Why is my vision so dark? I gripped the arm of the person next to me, Prince Arsh, even tighter. I couldn’t help but be scared of this place, a place deprived of light."We're under the palace, right, Arsh?" that voice of Prince Dern. Ysabelle and I were the only ones with us before we left the dungeon. At once we fled and went to this place.Even though Ysabelle and I can't see them, I feel like they're just the two of us. I could feel their presence and based on how loud Prince Dern's voice was, I determined that they were right next to me.Is what I heard from the fourth Prince correct?My eyes widened and my mouth fell open. Are we under the palace? Does that mean we are underground
"Dern, Arsh? Ravi has been looking for you for a while," Prince Nesh greeted us as we entered the palace. The youngest Prince's face was full of concern. He seems to have been waiting for his brothers for a while.We arrived at the chaotic palace.Many soldiers were scattered outside and even inside the palace. They protected the entire palace with their sharp swords and arrows with fire bullets. The military vehicle we passed at the gate, it looks like it has just arrived as well. Everyone is alert to what might yet happen.I rolled my eyes around. Even inside the palace, especially the one in the quadrangle where the ritual for King Valor would have taken place was damaged. Because of the overflowing gas stoves and the cluttered chairs, it seems that the ritual did not go ahead. This is the most damaged. I can't help but think that the quadrangle is what the opponent wants to blow up. Maybe it was because he knew King Valor would be released for the ritual to be performed. And that
One day has passed after the day I will never forget, the day when my only friend in this world died. I only have one friend, but she was even stolen from me. Will that also be denied during my stay here?The pain provided by the explosion that occurred throughout the Kingdom is still fresh. Everyone mourned, especially those left behind by their loved ones. Still unacceptable to how the man behind it ended the lives of the innocent citizens of Norland. Even others who are silent are affected by the enemy. They did not even feel sorry for the children who had lost their parents, many were orphaned. Many are grieving today because of the explosion that occurred.I still can’t believe Ysabelle is gone. The event was too fast and I can't get over it. I did not expect that when we gave her the opportunity to see her Mother and sister, we also allowed her to disappear from us forever.I feel guilty for what we did. If we had not told her about what had happened to her mother and sister, sh
"I can't. I-I'm thinking wrong," my hand trembled as I lowered the basket I was holding. I unbuttoned the hem of my dress and began to step into the secret tunnel that Prince Cozen had entered.I didn't even think about what Uncle Luisito ordered me to do. The important thing now, is that I can follow Prince Cozen and answer all my questions. I wanted to prove my suspicion wrong. I will gain important information by following him.My gut feeling got stronger but I didn't want to believe that.Prince Cozen was not that man.Impossible!He could not betray the Kingdom of Norland, especially his Father King. He is one of the Princes and his duty is to serve their Kingdom faithfully and guard his Father's throne.When I saw that Prince Cozen had completely eaten up that tunnel, I hurried out of my hiding place.I left the bag of fruits on the edge of the lawn. I made sure no one could see that. I'll just hurry up and go to Lacandia to get back right away. I haven’t wasted every second yet
"I did it because I love you, Zariya."I got up from lying down because what Prince Cozen had said earlier kept haunting my mind. To this day, I still can't believe what he said. I’m not even sure if I heard the last three words he uttered correctly, “I love you, Zariya”. After he said that, he turned his back on me. He left me stunned at the words he uttered.There is a Prince who has confessed his love for me.It's not just one. Even Prince Arsh admitted to me just the other day.I can't measure my nervousness before, which is compounded by fear. Is this really what I'm afraid of?What Tata Lucio says has already happened. Because of the love that the Princes have for me, everything is in turmoil. Things have now become more complicated. Prince Cozen has already been able to merge with my Mother. He was able to oppose his own Father King and his brothers.I wanted to chase him but I chose to just go back to the kitchen because it was about to have lunch earlier. The other Princes mi
We almost toured the entire vicinity of Simala Shrine Church and it was also close to twilight but until now Prince Arsh still doesn’t remember me. Soon we will go home and leave this church.It's a pity because what I expect is that he will remember me while we are still here because this church design helped a lot to remember our memories when we were still in the Kingdom of Norland."Oh, why are you upset about that?"I looked up at Kaith who was still busy taking pictures in the mini garden at the back of the church. I was sitting dejectedly behind her.I didn’t answer her and the expression on my face still remained.There seems to be no real hope that he will remember me.I will have a harder time reminding him when we get back to campus. Only the History subject connects us and that ‘time’ was not enough to remind him who I was in his past life.But what if he was right?Maybe I was wrong. He wasn't really Prince Arsh.That may be because I miss the Princes so much, I'm just lo
“Simala Shrine Church is a religious structure and establishment here at Sibonga Town, Cebu's southernmost province. In the 16th century, European missionaries, who are Spanish, planted the seeds of Catholicism in Cebu Province, and churches were built,” our Philippine History instructor explained. “Simala Shrine Church is now one of the most popular religious destinations in the Philippines. One of the most important aspects of most Filipino Catholics' lives is pilgrimages or visits to religious sites. This feature helps them maintain their confidence and persevere in the face of adversity.”Ma’am just kept talking but my brain didn’t absorb it. My mind was floating and no matter how much I wanted to listen, I couldn’t. I hear what she says about the history of this church but I don't know why I still don't understand anything. My brain is floating in the air so I can't focus now. This is because of the extreme embarrassment that happened earlier. I just gasp every time I think about
"Ouch!"A shout came to me when I opened my eyes."Wait! What's that?""Man, slow down to brake!"I heard loud complaints from various people around. Just a few moments later, I also complained because of the sudden bump on the seat in front of me. The right hand that supported my forehead was withdrawn so I was stunned completely.I slowly lifted my head to see what was happening.I still held my forehead bumped as I rolled my eyes all around. My eyes widened when I saw where I was.I'm on the bus!Am I in the modern world now?I saw our Class Mayor Shane in the middle and checked one by one with my classmates to see if anyone had bumped badly. Isagn and Kaleela, on the other hand, remained standing and seemed to be catching gossip about what happened to the bus we were riding. I want to approach them and hug them because I miss them so much. But even if I wanted to do that, I couldn't get close to my friends because all the students were standing there so that they could occupy the
"Aren't you coming down yet? Do you just want to let Father know?" It was the voice of a familiar person."There's no need because I'll be next after I put this herb on Zariya." My heart softened when I heard his voice. There's something about me that makes me want to wake up but what I'm doing is too painful."In that case, I'll be the first to go downstairs."I heard the conversation of two familiar people. Although I wanted to know if my suspicion that they were the ones talking was correct, I couldn't do it because I still felt pain in my head. I chose to close my eyes but keep my mind awake and continue to listen secretly. It will only take another pain when I insist more.I can't wait for an answer. I just heard the door close, it looks like one of them has come out. Just a few seconds later, I felt something cold land on my forehead.I could feel what the person next to me was doing. I heard him grind on what it was and again, he applied something to my forehead.Is that the he
Where am I?I’m not familiar with where I am. In the few months of staying in the Kingdom of Norland, I have only just been here. To my knowledge, there is no such place inside the palace. I’m not at Norland palace right now so I’m very curious how I got here.I turned around to look all around. I was amazed at what I saw.What a beautiful place!Extensive fields planted with a variety of flowers are here. I was in the middle and surrounded by flowers that were not familiar to me and I wanted to know what kinds of flowers it was because the color was so bright and so fragrant! It is entertaining to watch the whole surroundings, especially the butterflies flying in the air.This is similar to what Prince Arsh and I used to go to when we picked flowers for King Valor’s birthday, the Garden of Fragrance. But the only difference is, the Fragrance Garden is far wider than this place."What am I doing here?" I could no longer stop talking to myself.It really puzzles me how I got here? I lo
"Father, are you really sure you can do it? Maybe your body is still weak, maybe you still need to rest. Same to you, Mother," Prince Ravi said worriedly. "That's why we can even if you don't come anymore."He had asked question earlier after question whether King Valor and Queen Amelia were sure to join us in the raid on Norland which is now led by Queen Emily. He couldn’t help but worry because of what had happened to their parents. King Valor had just recovered from poisoning while Queen Amelia sustained wounds due to the captivity of my ruthless Queen Mother."Don't worry, your Mother is feeling good about us. This time, we will not allow ourselves to not be together in this battle. We will be more confident that we will win because we have joined together and will work together to recover. our home.”When our meeting was over we immediately prepared for the second war. We had enough rest and strength to dive again. It would be better not to prolong our invasion because that might
"How can I face Father with our youngest brother who is no longer alive?" The voice of the first Prince trembled.We are now surrounded by Prince Ravi who is sitting while holding Prince Nesh who has passed away. Of the four, Prince Ravi was the most affected. He blames himself for the death of the youngest Prince. He said he could not save it and let it perish. Earlier the Prince had been crying incessantly and trying to talk to his brother's cold corpse. He could not accept that it had passed away.After what happened to Prince Nesh, we suddenly disappeared from the palace and found ourselves in the basement where the Kingdom of Norland stood. We will all be doomed if we stay in the palace because we have no opponent. It’s as if we’ve even helped the opponent succeed if we insist on fighting back. So it is better to just leave and come back when we are ready to overthrow them.It’s just sad because we didn’t bring the other soldiers. They are constantly fighting and are not afraid t
I immediately ran to the whereabouts of Prince Arsh when I saw the three Lacandia soldiers who had been behind me earlier. If Prince Arsh hadn't seen it, I would probably have been in their position, I'm the one lying on the floor now. Little did I know that my life had been on the brink of death. I would have seen San Pedro soon.I still can't fight them because there are three of them. What am I up against? Three versus one? Also, I don’t have enough fighting knowledge yet. I definitely lose when it happens. It’s good and ‘the Princes still don’t realize that I’m a Princess but I don’t know how to fight."Don't be afraid, I won't let you get hurt." Prince Arsh greeted me with a tight hug and gently stroked my hair. He was trying to erase the fear I had felt before. In those hugs, I could feel that he would never leave me and that he was always there, ready to protect me at any time.It didn't take long for him to hug me because it also came loose immediately. There are so many oppon
"Zariya?"My gaze stopped in emptiness when Prince Arsh waved his hand in front of me. He tried to grab my attention. That's when my trance returned."Are you saying something, Prince Arsh?" I asked.Ever since we escaped the Kingdom of Lacandia my mind has been flying. I couldn’t focus because of what happened. The trauma left me when we were still captives by Queen Emily. I really feel that we are still confined and have no opponent until now.The conscience I feel is really overwhelming. I even hurt Prince Cozen for telling me how I really feel for him. I have no intention of hurting him, I just want to make him aware of his wrongdoings and correct them before it is too late.But I don’t regret directing him. If that act gave me too much conscience, to Prince Cozen it would have been well done. As a result, Prince Cozen opened his eyes that he was spelling in the wrong direction.At first he also could not accept and it was hard to believe him but with the help of their Mother and