Pretending To Be Gilead's Prince and Master Wizard

The moment I heard her question I felt like all my surroundings went silent; everyone became hazy, and I was unable to speak any further.

How on Earth would I answer her question?

"Prince Arthur,"

A tap on my right shoulder was the one who saved me from being too absorbed in my own thoughts. It was then when I remembered to breathe once again.

Upon turning my head to see who it was that had literally saved my life, I felt relief slowly flow through my veins as soon as I saw the captain of the magic army. Looking into his eyes, I sensed the worry I had seen in it that intrigued me.

Does he have any idea what the princess and I are talking about just now?

"Come. There is something urgent that we need to talk about." he said then turned his head to look at my company. "In private."

"B-but my prince and I aren't finished yet with what we are talking about," the princess tried to reason out with him, but Alex was quite determined to save my ass from further humiliation.

"There was an urgent errand that came up just now. If you do not mind, I will obtain the prince for only a few minutes," At this time Alex looked like he was about to lose his patience. He might even explode if ever the princess turned his request down.

Later on, the princess forced a smile on her face before saying, "Very well. But only for a few minutes as what you've said." 

"Don't worry. I don't break promises."

That was Alex's last statement before he motioned for me to follow him right at their table to where Lucas and Lancelot are also seated.

"I am so busted," I said as soon as I took my seat across from Alex. The lad in return gave me a sharp look as a warning that I shouldn't have spoken that out too loud.

"What?" I arched one eyebrow at him, believing that I wasn't too loud earlier like what he believed in.

"You know, now is not the right time or place for us to discuss matters such as this, am I right?" Lucas added. "In case you forgot, we are still at the party where other people may hear us converse without us knowing."

"Lucas is right," Lancelot agreed, looking serious at the moment. That was quite a surprise for me, actually.

"Now what do we do? Do we have to leave this party as soon as possible? This might raise confusion among other people, especially to the king. Not to mention it would raise suspicion on the princess' part too." I asked, looking at each one of them intently.

"You are absolutely wasting your time discussing things here."

All four of us almost flinched from our seats as soon as Princess Marionette teleported her way towards our seat and was able to occupy the fifth empty seat next to mine.

"Bloody hell! You almost gave me a heart attack," Alex cursed and sent a dagger look at the princess' direction.

Yet the latter ignored him and went on to what she is about to say in her tiniest voice possible.

"I shall not share your secret with anyone even if you had betrayed me. You were very good at acting. There are even prestigious drama clubs that would appreciate your extraordinary talent." she added quickly, her voice sarcastic.

Then she made a face full of disgust. "I can't believe I almost kissed a gir---"

"You really don't know when to stop, don't you?" Alex immediately interrupted her before she could utter nonsense words at her part.

"As a consequence of your betrayal," The princess ignored the lad once again. " I intend to punish all of you. Especially for humiliating me. You must have enjoyed seeing me making a fool out of myself, didn't you?"

I did not miss the chance to see her eyes giving me a sharp look at my direction before she carried on.

"But since I know this girl in front of me is only your servant, I suppose she doesn't really know what she is doing since she is only bound to whatever you command her. Also, punishing all of you won't gain me anything."

I was somehow relieved for the mercy that the kind hearted princess bestowed upon a commoner like me. Truly, she is such a beauty… inside and out.

"So as a compensation for your betrayal, I just want to know what really happened with my prince. I want the exact details of it, if you must." she said her last statement with all seriousness.

All three of my mentors looked at each other, as if they were having a conversation with their minds alone. It took them less than a minute to come up with a good decision for such a situation.

"I guess we have a deal then," It was Lancelot who sealed the deal between us and the princess.

That evening, we continued on with the little charade as if nothing happened. The princess agreed to be our accomplice for the evening so that we will not have to retreat for the evening and cause confusion to her guests for our sudden departure.

Even if we were able to convince her to keep our secret, I still felt as if someone lurking in the shadows had already broken the seal, and that it was only a matter of time before the word spread and the secret became public.

If that happens, who knows what would happen to the whole country of Gilead then…

The following day, Princess Marionette went to the prince's castle according to Lancelot's plea to her if she really wants to know what became of their endless search for the missing prince.

"You have found nothing?" The princess almost bellowed while we are all currently inside the princess' office. "One year has passed since my prince went missing and you still haven't found clues to his whereabouts?"

The room went silent after her last statement. No one has the idea how to answer her question.

"You must be kidding me." 

"If I recall, the last quest that the prince went to is on a remote mountain village of Valen to hunt for the witch who is responsible for the deaths of the young ones to keep herself alive and young." Lancelot was the one who explained this.

"I was with him when he did that quest." he added. "So I can reassure you that after that quest, the prince was still able to return here."

I suddenly remembered the prince's diary Alex and I found in their secret hideout. That last entry found there… could be the key in order for us to find him.

Alex, on the other hand, looked as if he does not want to share this information, so he cannot reveal their secret hideout to anyone, so I must do the same, even if I do not wish to.

"Maybe I should reconsider and give you a punishment after all," The Princess said coldly. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed this girl to be such a cruel person. And somehow I felt like I was to blame even if I was only told to do those things.

"Just kidding," she quickly added and barked a humorless laugh.

"Anyway, I suppose you are doing everything you can to find my prince. If you happen to have certain clues that could pinpoint where he is, do let me know this time. Is that clear?" she asked in full authority.

"Crystal," My three mentors said at once.

The princess did not extend her visit and left after her brief chat with us. As soon as we made sure she was gone, Lucas made his statement.

"You do not really intend to let her know of the prince's whereabouts, do you?" 

"Of course not!' Alex objected. "We are not yet so sure if she is really on our side."

"Well, she didn't punish us, right?" I chimed in. "That should be a good reason to trust her words." 

"Whatever," 

Alex leaves the scene to go to his office. I could not help but blame myself for the situation we are in right now.

---

-THIRD PERSON-

"So, is it confirmed?"

The man stated his opinion in his dark corner of the dimly-lit room in a very heavy voice. His right hand was raised now to rub his chin.

"Indeed, it is true that the prince we are seeing isn't real. As was suspected." A figure with a slight grin emerges from a seat across the man's.

"Those fools. They think they can fool me?" He grinned loudly before continuing. "When the time is right, I would have my best assassin eliminate the individual impersonating him. In this way, our problems would be solved."

The petite figure looks as if he was about to oppose this idea, but chose to refrain from talking instead.

"Patience is what we need right now in order to outsmart our enemies..." The man's gaze then shifted to the person in front of him.

"Good work, by the way…" 

The afternoon sun illuminated the window next to the person he was conversing with, showing the smirking face of the princess of Cordova.

"Anything for you… father."