Finley Cai Aies Hall May 3rd, 20XX

“What was it, Esmeralda?”

She looked at me with an odd expression that bordered on resentment even though this was the first time she was seeing me since the attack the other day. For someone that was supposed to be a substitute for my mother she sure didn’t seem to like me very much, if at all.

After glaring me down enough to satisfy whatever goal she wished to achieve by doing so, she opened her mouth and released a voice that was only matched in unpleasantness by the words she spoke.

“After the attack last night, a lot of things had to be reconsidered, Cai. Your life was seriously in danger and you spent an unclear amount of time with the General, presumably alone. Although she insists that the Linus boy was with the two of you it's far from enough to stop the gossiping. It also doesn't help that the three of you were already out of the ballroom during the explosion."

She sent me yet another disparaging look as she seemed to discipline and mock me at the same time.

"In an attempt to try and salvage whatever of your dignity that is left, It was decided that the Linus boy would become your Aide, even if temporarily so we can clear out whatever anyone has to say about that. The official story is that you were out for a breath of air when the attack happened. The General found the two of you soon after and protected you against the late Duchess Ruan. Unfortunately due to how difficult an opponent she was, Linus pushed the general to prioritize your life over his. this would explain why both of you were separated when the search party arrived. As a 'reward' for his heroic actions, he will be awarded the position of your aide.”

I couldn’t or rather didn’t suppress a scowl at the thought of being accompanied by that useless fairy while I was in this world, but I didn't bother fighting it since I could always escape to the human world if he got too annoying.

Although I did have to wonder why this was only being brought up now considering how many times just Mei and I had gone out before.

Maybe things were stricter under the condition of an attack on royal grounds.

“That’s reasonable enough.”

Although I was agreeing with what she said her expression only got more bitter as if I had jumped up and slapped her across the face or something.

“Another thing that was decided was your full-time stay in the castle. That includes your trips from the earth and here. It's just too risky while we are unclear as to what triggered the attack.”

I closed my eyes for a moment to gather my thoughts, not wanting to start a fight but also needing to make it clear that me staying full time here just wasn’t an option.

“Esmeralda, we had a deal. If you choose not to honour your end, then I see no need to honour mine.”

Of course, I was well aware that if I chose to run away it would only result in me being hunted down and dragged back here on less pleasant terms, not that the first time had been all that fun. However, I needed to make her believe that I was serious.

“I’ve lived in the human world much longer than any of you guys have even visited. If I genuinely chose to hide out do you think that you could locate me? And even if you did, I’m sure it wouldn’t look good that I ran away from the queendom after only three months of being under your care.”

I wasn’t an idiot, nor was I completely clueless about this world. The longer I stayed here and the more I learned, the more difficult it became to believe that my being lost in another world for so long could be purely due to carelessness or an accident.

It was even harder to understand why the general public seemed to believe that I had just been locked up within the palace for the past 17 years and that they were okay with not having seen the last remnant of the royal line for that long.

Even for immortal begins like they were, 17 years wasn’t exactly 17 days.

Esmeralda’s face crumpled up like a crushed ribbon and her scowl widened. She tried to smoothen it out and tried to push out what she felt was a calm voice but there was nothing that she could say to convince me of otherwise.

I had just as many obligations on the human world as I did here, and while there were few things that I liked about this place it wasn’t enough to make me want to come and play fairy here for the rest of my life.

Esmeralda suddenly gave a mocking smile and her repulsively coloured eyes began to glimmer as she thought of what next to say and I got a bad feeling about it.

It didn’t make sense for someone who was bound to protect me to be so hostile towards me. And even if she was then she shouldn’t be able to express it so openly.

I sent a small probe towards her to feel around for the bond that my mother should have left. While researching the one that I had put on the General I had used Corin and Cambridge’s to get a feel of how they worked and had also gotten a good idea of what my mother’s magic had looked like.

After less than a second of searching however, I could tell something was wrong. There was a bond in Esmeralda, and it was very similar in shape to those of Cambridge and Corin’s, there was even a trace of my mother’s magic on it, but it was like an empty husk. Like a snake’s skin.

The thought suddenly occurred to me that perhaps…. Esmeralda wasn’t under a bond?

I decided to question her on it, thinking that even if I didn’t have solid proof her reaction would be telling enough.

“Esmeralda-“

I was cut off by a harsh chuckle.

“Your Highness. I don’t think you understand what you are threatening me with. Even if I were to let you go to the human world full time and play around with whatever you picked up in your time there how long do you think that will last? Your playmates are already in and around their middle ages, their lives are almost over! Sure, for now, you may think it's worth it to choose them over the Queendom, the land that your mother and many others before her have curated and protected for centuries, but how long do you think they’ll be able to accompany you? 30 years? 50? What happens after?”