"They must have noticed by now…"

"Hush, Aymeric!"

The royal siblings snuck back into the palace and hurried silently through the long open halls, the blue skies acting as live paintings on the side.

"Had they noticed, they wouldn't have been this calm about it." Tilla reassured her brother, gently pushing him to keep walking. "Let's just get back to our rooms before Keerla-"

"Princess, prince!"

"Eek!"

"?!"

The two suddenly jumped in fright at the lady-in-waiting's call. They looked at each other's faces, and for an instance, hesitated to look her way, fearing the worst. However…

"Allow me a moment of your time."

Keerla's low tone made them sigh in relief before turning her way. Except, there were two other figures beside her, kneeling on the ground.

"Please come meet these two." Keerla gestured to the guests next to her for a moment, then adjusted the silver, gemless circlet around her forehead. "They shall be your guardians from now on! They skillfully kept watch over you on your reckless outing earlier, and have more than qualified for their roles. These too are determined to their new purpose."

The two figures next to her listened in silence, keeping their heads low as they bowed with one hand over their hearts. They both didn't look much taller than the royal siblings and were likely around the same age. They even had the same hair color and long ears.

However, what set them clearly apart from the royal siblings was the fact their skin was much darker and they wore tight black clothing that covered half of their bodies, even up to their mouths.

The female of the two glanced up as their introduction ended, setting her grey eyes on the princess she was supposed to protect from then on.

"This is Lucine and Reianard. Do be sure to remember their names." Keerla added, taking a step back while studying the children carefully with her blue eyes.

For her part, the lady-in-waiting was in a humble dress that wasn't too dissimilar to the royal siblings. It was simply dominated by a teal color instead of the royal green. The slight wrinkles showing on her face made any light elf tap their circlet in respect.

"!"

As soon as Tilla's eyes met her supposed new protector and guardian, Lucine lowered hers back to the ground. The princess didn't attempt to hide the smile forming on her face.

"Nice to meet you, you two!" She called out with a wide grin. "I hope we can be good friends!"

"Is it really safe…?" The prince hid behind his sister and meekly peeked out over her shoulder.

"Princess!" Keerla stomped her foot. "They are not here to be your friends! Remember that they are dark elves!"

"Teehee!" Below a mischievous wink, a tongue stuck out of the princess' thin lips.

The short silence that followed turned the prince as white as the lady-in-waiting's hair.

"No princess should use such expressions! Where did you learn that?!"

Tilla took her brother's hand and ran down the hall, ignoring Keerla's shouts of anger. Glancing back, however, she could see the two dark elves following them at a distance she wasn't comfortable with.

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And so, she made a plan to change that.

**👑**

Two days quickly passed, and in that time, the princess had succeeded somewhat in her plans. Instead of always staying at a distance, she had forced her guardian to be beside her at all possible times.

And Lucine's shift started as early as…

"Who's there…?" Feeling the moonlight hit her skin, the princess dragged her body to sit up on the bed, yawning between words. "It's so early…"

"Good morning, princess." Lucine pulled the blinds away and opened the door to the balcony before addressing the royalty. "I am to relay a message. You have been summoned by the royal family. They would like you to meet someone tomorrow."

"Ugh, this again!" Tilla hopped off the bed and sauntered over to the balcony, neither bothering to change out of her sleeping gown or to even put on any slippers to cover her feet. "They just had to push you on me too. I told them I ain't interested already!"

"..."

For a moment, Lucine watched the princess huff and puff until she came to rest her elbows on the railing while supporting her chin.

"Should a royal, a member of the crown family no less, really use such expressions?" Standing with the usual black mask covering her mouth, Lucine dared to point out after two days of being around this princess.

"Oh, don't you start with that too! Let me be myself!"

"As you wish, princess."

Despite giving in, the princess stomped towards her guardian and pulled down her mask in one fell swoop.

"!"

"Call me by my name already! Tilla! Say it!"

"Yes, princess."

"Hmph!"

The more the princess pulled on Lucine's cheeks, the blanker the dark elf's eyes got. Only her arm seemed to hesitantly rise up before she pulled it back down.

In that state, the guardian's eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of the shining moon, still doing its duty beyond the night.

"Princess…"

"What now?" Tilla asked, letting go and turning around to look in the same direction.

"Does the moon look exceptionally beautiful this morning, or is it just me?"

Smiling at her new friend finally speaking her mind more, Tilla noticed just a hint of the dark elf's mouth curling up.

"Heh, silly Luci! Of course it does!" The princess blushed slightly, a smile accompanying her lips. "It's because you're seeing it with me now!"

"Sure thing, princess." Lucine let out bluntly, her grey eyes growing blank.

"Are you making fun of me?" Tilla furrowed her brows above her puffed up cheeks.

"I would not dare."

"Ah! I know!" Suddenly shifting her mood, the princess took a back inside. "Let's go see Jurgen!"

"..." Lucine stood in place for a moment, then said bluntly again. "Princess, you have been summoned by-"

"You've been training all night again, right?" The princess cut her off by grabbing her calloused hand. "Let's go blow off some steam!"

"..."

The dark elf had planned to keep resisting, but upon meeting the radiant blue eyes, slightly pink cheeks and wide lips, she turned her head away in resignation.

**👑**

Soon, the princess and her guardian were sauntering into the shipyard, which doubled as the fish market. The intense reeking smell mixed with the salty taste in the air immediately greeted them both.

They passed quite a few fishermen and boatbuilders, which Lucine made sure to scan carefully while trying to keep up with the royal lady.

Suddenly, Tilla stopped close to a much bigger boat that was still in the process of being built. She looked around and just a moment later, she grew impatient.

"Jurgen! Come on out! I'm here!"

"Who is this person, princess?" Scanning the area around them, the guardian made sure to cover all grounds.

"He's a cool and gallant guy! I'm sure you'll like him too, Luci!"

"So, your boyfriend, then?"

"Whaaaat?!" Tilla immediately flushed red before covering her face. "We're not like that… Heehee!"

"Oh?"

"?!"

The unfamiliar voice made Lucine reach for the dagger on her lower back. However, the sudden glow in the princess' face made her reconsider.

"That's a surprise, alright!"

The boy adjusted the long hammer resting on his shoulder as he stood on the boat overlooking the docks where the two girls waited. He couldn't have been much taller than the princess, but his well-tuned forearms hinted at a slightly muscular figure beneath his attire. His simple clothes consisted mainly of a tattered gray shirt, a cloth around the waist and blue pants. The brown gloves and boots matched the side bag hanging to his right hip. The few nails sticking out of it spoiled its purpose.

Just below his loose white-ish hair, he raised the pattern-filled headband covering his forehead and collected the sweat before anything reached his dark blue eyes.

"The princess came back?"

"You call me by my name too! Go on! Tilla! Ti…lla!" The princess shouted, then crossed her arms and turned her head away as she grumbled. "Honestly, the two of you…!"

"Anyway, what brings you here today?" Jurgen hopped off his boat and landed easily on the docks. For a moment, he glanced at an unfinished part of the boat behind him, then turned back to the princess and the one accompanying her. "I can't believe you brought a dark elf with you too. I've never even seen one before." Pausing for a second, he turned to the dark elf and addressed her directly. "You guys aren't really known to openly hang out with others, right? What's the deal?"

"I am the princess' guardian." Lucine, with the usual mask over her mouth, held a hand to her chest and said in her usual apathetic tone. "I ensure no harm will come to her."

"... I see." Jurgen narrowed his eyes slightly. "So, she's just a mission to you?"

"..." Lucine stole a glance at the side of the boy's head, seeing the shorter pointy ear with two grey earrings on it. "Princess, I do not think that it is wise for you to be close with a half-elf, especially one of this conduct."

"What did you call me?!"

"Ah!"

Tilla, who had hoped her silence wouldn't interfere with their bonding, now watched as sparks flew and collided between the two of them.

One tightened his grip on his long nail hammer, while the other unsheathed the dagger from behind her.

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