Hanging off of the ledge of the window, Grizz pulled himself up and peered inside of the room. His hand trembled for a second as he almost fell off of the ledge, but he pulled himself together and with a deep breath, he climbed into the window. Orou followed him inside of the window, it was a simple matter of using his tail as a support for the rest of his body and lifting himself up. He saw a dull room, a floor checkered with black and white and the walls of dull gold, worn out by time. The room was divided into two sections, on one side, fancy jewelry, dresses and tiaras were simply lying on the floor, never having been used before. The other side featured a set of plain metal armor and multiple steel swords, worn out by time and use. The wall had countless slash marks on it, the wall having been repainted several times only for the pain to get scratched off each time.

Both Grizz and Orou were staring one particular spot, that is, a huge bed with a beastman sitting on top of it. “The princess’ room,” whispered Grizz as he stared at the princess, who would most likely tower over him if she stood up. She had short golden fur and a lithe body, her back was perfectly straight as she sat cross-legged on the bed, a longsword on her knees. Both of them were observing her as they tried their best to not make any noise, but while they could make themselves unseen and unheard, it was exceptionally hard to mask one’s scent. The princess stirred from whatever she was doing and started sniffing the air, a frown on her face. She slowly turned her head towards the foreign smell and Grizz got ready for confrontation.

Instead of yelling or jumping back in surprise, she took the sword on her knees and pointed it towards Grizz. She slowly retreated as her fierce eyes stared down Grizz. “What are you doing in my room? Explain yourself before I call the guards and pierce you on this sword myself,” she had the look of determination as if she was truly going to enact her threat if she didn’t receive a satisfactory answer. Grizz put up his hands and straightened his back, looking directly into the princess’ eyes, carrying himself with confidence.

“It is I, your prince in shining armor who has come to save you from your dreary life of boredom,” Grizz bowed down to the princess and remained bowed for a few seconds until he saw that the princess had lowered her sword, her eyes a mixture of confusion and anger. “I don’t need anyone to save me, I have practically everything I could want in here and if I ever wanted something more, with a simple snap of my father’s fingers, the entire kingdom would be on their knees in order to curry his favour.

“You’re right, you have everything you could ever need. Gold and riches beyond the wildest imagination, prettiest dresses and jewelry the kingdom has to offer, countless suitors that would drop to their knees if only you gave them a chance. You have the world in your hands, but there’s one thing that you lack and I can offer to you, that is, freedom.” Although Grizz had no shining armor nor a sharp sword, he had something better than that, a tongue made out of gold and confidence in himself. His blue suit was practically glistening as he brought out all the charisma he could muster, continuing his grand speech.

“Who doesn’t know the tragic story of Solum’s princess, a tale of a princess seeking the life of a soldier and a father who cruelly imprisons his own daughter, deciding her fate and future all by himself. Ever since you were young, you’ve been interested in the palace’s knights. Their swords danced and their bodies ducked and weaved, but all that you could do was watch from a distance. The king had forbidden you to pick up a sword lest you hurt yourself, or even worse, decide to follow the path of your sister. Of course, as years passed, you’ve become more interested in swords, up until the point where you convinced a poor servant to smuggle a few wooden swords into the palace in order to taste the thrill of battle for yourself.”

The princess was silently staring at Grizz in shock, his voice was loud but convincing and surely, hearing your own memories being told by someone else is bound to be shocking. Grizz had the princess’ complete attention as she had completely lowered the sword up, enraptured in Grizz’s vivid storytelling. Similar to the princess before him, Orou was staring at Grizz with curious eyes, wanting to hear more of the story being told.

“Day after day, you sparred with the servant, completely soaked in sweat after each sparring session. Of course, those days couldn’t continue for long. One day you came to the usual meeting location, expecting another day of training, but all that you saw was the severed head of the servant with several of the king’s men waiting there for you. You cried cursed your father and his men for hours, but ever since that day, he has prohibited you from leaving the palace and he keeps careful watch over people that you interact with. The only place safe from the chaos of the palace was your own room, so you locked yourself up, refusing to see anyone and everyone. Each time you tried to escape, the guards would carry you back to your room and after dozens of tries, you simply gave up.”

Grizz let out a deep sigh as he continued staring at the lioness before him, she had a sad smile on her face as she sat down on her bed, talking to Grizz: “Yes, but am I at fault for giving up? No matter what I did, they would always catch me and return me back to the palace. Throughout all these years, the best I’ve managed is to get actual swords in order to practice with. I’ve pleaded for my father to let me out, but he simply doesn’t listen to what I say. His advisors call him a wise and protective father, but the way I see it, he’s keeping me locked in a cage.”

Grizz had a slight grin on his face, though he didn’t let the princess catch on to it. He slowly approached the princess and in a soft and gentle voice, he said to her: “I can get you out of here, free to live a life however you want to live it, free from the influence of the palace and your father.” The princess looked up at Grizz with sparkling eyes, rekindled of hope. Her voice slightly trembled as she asked Grizz: “But how? There are guards surrounding the palace on all sides and as soon as they catch wind of me, they’ll capture both you and me. While I will be safe, my father will have your head for that.”

“The secret lies within the shaman’s room. He has discovered the secret of invisibility and once we discover it, you can turn yourself invisible and simply walk out of the palace, your father none the wiser to where you’ve gone. I need your help with distracting the guards while we make our way to the shaman’s room and quickly snatch the secrets he is hiding.” Grizz motioned to the closed door in front of him and looked at the princess with determination, having no doubts about himself or the task that he was about to perform.

The princess stood up and took the sword that was lying on her bed. She approached the door and as she placed her hand on the door, she turned to Grizz and said to him: “The shaman has terrible magic hidden in his study, terrible things have happened to all those that have tried to trespass into his room. I could cause enough chaos to give you a few minutes, but you have to promise me that you won’t endanger yourself for me, I don’t want anyone else dying in my stead.”

“Have no fear, I promise to you that I will return back safe and sound, the secret of invisibility in my hands and I shall free you from this prison of yours.”