Chapter Text
“Once upon a time there was a God named Duma and a Goddess named Mila who fought each other bitterly for an age…”
Never in all her life did she think that she would read this story. Though how could she ever predict that she would get stuck in Valentia?
It all started with that stupid book. That same day she lost her job, heard her aunt died a few hours earlier and being massively aware of how in debt she was from classes she wasn’t even passionate about anymore. It was a lot to say the least. Especially since she could barely read the thing, only to later find out that it was in Valentian script for some reason. Then strange dreams, the feeling of someone always watching her because that was always a fun thing to experience as a barely nineteen year old woman living on her own. Just how long she had to deal with it before something actually went down despite her best efforts to get rid of the damn book was close enough to drive her insane.
She had to be cursed at this point.
“Miss Dria?” A small voice snapped her out of her thoughts for a second. Eyes landing on a little blond girl raising her hand.
“Hm? Oh I’m sorry you all. Did I trail off again?” Some of them shyly nod while others just looked at each other as they seemed kinda bored with things anyway. God, she has got to stop doing this while reading. Sighing to herself, she began to put the book back while racking her mind of some other story she knew. “How about this then, I’ve got plenty of other stories in my head that I’ve heard. Why don’t I tell you kids one of those instead?”
“What kind of stories?”
“Well… What about a story of a hero?” Oh yeah, that got their attention. “Okay, let me tell you all about a man named Heracles…”
At least she went over that one somewhat recently and the movie didn’t hurt in keeping some of it in there. Before she knew it the kids were being called up for supper. Maybe she should get that head start back to the Inn.
“Xandria?” One of the caretakers called out to her. Tatiana, if she remembered right.
“Yes?”
“You sure you want to leave so soon? We’ve got plenty of food for everyone.”
“I’m sorry, but I really should be going. Traveling can get unpredictable at times with this weather and I’d rather not travel in the dark.”
“Oh, alright.” The green-haired saint sighs at her insistence. While food does sound nice, she did have a second job to get to with how calm the weather was at the moment. “Just take some stew with you on your journey. Don’t want you going hungry, just in case, and please don’t do anything too reckless. Rigel could use more people like you.”
“Thank you.” She really didn’t mind working here but the pay was pretty small. And it’s not like she had her own home and those inns could cost a pretty penny. Helping out at the taverns was one of the few things that let her keep a roof over her head. Besides, she still needs to find a way out of this place. Can’t get too attached to anyone here.
And at least she was able to find clothes to keep her warm because, of course, she had to get stuck in the coldest part of the continent. Though the few people she’s interacted with so far were pretty nice at least. Tatiana, Zeke, some shopkeeps that she didn’t bother asking the name of. Not an extensive list but more than she thought would be there.
The Tavern wasn’t too far but the brunette hated overstaying her welcome and was not about to be snowed in while the day was pretty nice. Plus she heard that today was a weird day when a group with a lot of money comes by. The owner making not so subtle hints that she’s expected to help make some extra cash with that.
What she actually was supposed to be doing was not specified. Better not be expecting anything physical from her. She has more self worth than that and she doesn’t exactly have the best track record back home of when people got handsy. May not be physically intimidating but even she surprises herself with some of the bullshit she does.
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“Afternoon sir. Hope I’m not too late.”
“Not at all, lass. Their usual time isn’t till a few hours from now. Just be ready when they get here and try not to fight anyone.”
“I’ll do my best.” This is gonna be rough. Isn’t it?
Before they got there it was fine. Then she saw what he meant by them having money when they just kept ordering drinks left to right. Or at least the dude at the head of the table. Guess they were close to the capitol but Jesus was this guy just gonna get robbed later. Even when he was sober, none of the party made it a secret that he was some sort of nobleman or at least the son of one. Would’ve thought Rigel would be a bit stricter about this sort of thing with the upper classes unless they let them just have their vices. Would not explain how public they were.
Especially with this one dude mean mugging at the party the entire time. Continually looking at the menu and switching his gaze to them. It took her quite a while to consider whether or not to go to him and get a feeling for his vibes. Just to make sure that this wasn’t a mugger or other criminal. Plus, she was just getting a weird feeling considering that she couldn’t see him properly. Like none of his features focused on anything, at some point she saw a few consistent traits like green eyes, fancy clothes. But only for like a split second, almost like she was seeing those AI degenerations in real life and he physically morphed into other people all at once.
Now she was just doing this to see if this man was real and didn’t need to go to a cleric immediately.
But after she grabbed the drink to take to him, Xandria had passed the man at the head of the table, who had suddenly grabbed her wrist as she nearly dropped the tankard on the ground.
“Wha-“
“Oi, I’m right here sweetheart.”
“Sorry, another patron asked for a drink. I’ll get you another in a second.” She speaks in a soft tone, attempting to wring her arm from his grasp. Praying that he doesn’t make this more difficult.
“Don’t you know who I am? Those other bastards can wait, besides they don’t deserve to be served by a subject like yourself.”
It took too much effort to not groan at his attempts. Did he honestly think that this was flattering while holding her hand hostage? “Sir, I’m going to have to ask that you release my hand.” Yanking a little harder to get loose.
“Now there’s no need for that.~” She got very lucky sliding the tray to another table as she gets pulled into this bastard’s lap. “I think that you and I could have a lot of fun tonight. Though I guess you boys would want a taste too, huh?”
Alright, that’s enough. She doesn’t care anymore. Gripping his arms caging her as his buddies laughed it up, he let her go as he winced in pain. Without another word, she slammed his head on the table. The sound echoing through the place, leaving a dead silence and all eyes on her.
She’s probably gonna get kicked out tonight but who cares now? Her mind was filled with rage, she couldn’t stop herself and just needed to step outside for a bit to only feel horrible about it in like five minutes.
“Hey!” One of them called out to her. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Outside. I’m either cooling down or we take it out there. I’m not here for a show.”
His group began to almost snarl at her and barked insults as she turned away again, trying her best to ignore them. That is until someone new jumps in.
“I think that’s quite enough.”
Where that one guy was sitting, now stood a young man with green hair and a fairly fancy getup. People behind her whispering things like the prince or emperor’s son. But that’s not what she realizes. Her eyes widen when she notices how similar he looked to a certain green haired lord from that one game she liked.
But what was he-
Oh, she’s fucked.
“Your highness, we-“
“Oh good, you’re here. Lord Albein, surely you saw-“
“Quiet.” His presence alone was enough to freeze the room in this moment. She cannot tell if him seeing everything was a good or a bad thing. “I have seen enough. And I think it’s time for you all to leave. Now.”
“What? But you saw-“
“What did I say?” A chill ran through her spine from the idea of what he might do to her. She could feel her breath leave her body as her eyes were trained on him.
Xandria was glad that the men left but now that leaves her now. God, he’s probably going to tell her the charges of doing that. God, she’s so fucking stupid.
“Come with me. I need to speak to you.”
Words are unable to slip past her lips. Only nodding as she followed the young prince outside. Her body stiff as stone. She was panicking too much.
Looking around, he chose a small alley for them to speak in. But she could barely breathe, freaking out even harder than before.
“Calm yourself. You aren’t in any trouble.” She quirks her head to the side. What is he talking about? “Look, he wasn’t even supposed to be here and I had been keeping an eye on him for a while. And unfortunately, harassing women has been a common factor with him. But with both the humiliation from your actions and my presence, I just wanted to let you know that you’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“If he values his reputation then yes. Even if he wishes to press charges, I would be one of the key witnesses and I could tell that you felt as though you were in danger. So stop looking like that, your reaction was well warranted.”
“I… I…” She stammered. Not only was she speaking to one of the rulers here, it’s a bit hard to believe she’ll be let off so easily. Ninety percent sure that the idiot had a bloody nose so she’s not so sure.
“Calm down. Look if you’re worried about retribution I can speak to the owner about you keeping your job.”
“No!” Shit, deep breath. Breathe. Just breathe. “No. Sorry, um, that’s not necessary. I do thank you for your kindness, your highness. But I don’t want to trouble you any more than I already have. Just a tad stressed out but I’ll be fine.”
Not knowing how to close this conversation, she does a quick bow and blurts out another “Thank you.” And just leaves the prince in the alleyway, speed walking her way back inside. No doubt leaving the other a bit confused but she was exhausted at this point. Probably looking pitiful enough that the owner lets her retire early with the bar dead quiet as she comes back in, small little whispers trailing behind her back.
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She was desperate for sleep but her mind was still reeling from every little thing that happened. From what she assumed was Alm and the sexual harassment. Maybe she just needed to eat something and then she could just lay down for a while. Still had that stew and it was preserved using this one trick so it’s not like it was bad or anything. Probably stand outside though to not start any fires.
Exiting through the back entrance, she crouches down to dig a small little hole in the snow. She doesn’t want a big flame but with her emotional state right now, she doesn’t exactly trust herself to control it without something to put it out. Finding a flat stone, she rested the small pot on top of the kindling she had. Now she just needed a spark.
A snap of her fingers. Get enough friction to spread the heat. Just a small spark.
Taking a deep breath, closing her eyes, the young woman snaps her fingers. A small point of heat starts at her fingertips, nearly burning her till it seems to move from her body.
Opening her eyes reveals a small flame that covered the pot from underneath. It was a nice flame too, nice and warm. Gave a decent amount of light till she noticed this strange figure staring at her. Then she realized it was too much light and it was the same dude from before with the strange shifting. Quickly tossing more and more snow on top to put out her rapidly growing flame as she panicked.
Calm down, just breathe. Just breathe…
Thankfully it got put out before anything got too bad but the guy was here now and it was even more surreal than before. Honestly, it kinda hurt her eyes trying to focus.
“Your highness, it’s rather late. Would’ve thought you'd gone home by now.”
He looked shocked, or at least when the strange vision went away. Again, she could not see a damn feature properly.
“How did you-“ He pauses, saying under his breath, “Damn thing must be broken.”
“I tend to take late patrols and I saw light so I went to investigate.”
“You do patrols? I didn’t expect that honestly, kinda thought it was just the guard that does that.”
“Well, not that I don’t trust them, but I prefer to make sure things are running smoothly while I can still see this level.”
“Right, you’re next in line for the Imperial throne if I’m not mistaken.”
“Not entirely, I still have my cousin who is just as eligible as I am. But even after that, no matter who takes the throne, I can’t do this forever so I try when I have free time.”
“Or you need to check in on a rogue nobleman?” She half joked. Honestly just needed to get her mind off of the fact that this is probably Alm. And also that he was clearly raised in Rigel while having a fairly lax conversation with her.
“Suppose that’s true too.” He smiled at that. Good to know he was still pretty nice despite whatever he’s gone through here. But that begs the question of why he’s still here. “I have been meaning to ask, was that you who made the fire?”
“Um… yes…”
“With magic I assume?”
“…” Was this a trap? Or maybe he could tell since she didn’t exactly bring a fire starter. “…yes…”
“Interesting. Surprised you didn’t use any of that on him.”
“Oh, well, I’m not that good at it yet. I mean I can start small fires at the moment and sort of do a few other tricks. However, they can quickly get out of hand causing much more harm than intended so I find it more reliable to use my own strength in those situations.”
“Seemed like you were willing to fight his friends back there too. Have a lot of experience then?”
“I did get into a lot of fights when I was younger and one of my uncles taught me how to. Ended up fighting the bigger kids more often than not so I’m not unfamiliar with being outnumbered.” God, why is she telling him all of this? Is she really that lonely? Or is it that main character vibe that forces people to talk about personal stuff way sooner than they would’ve?
“Huh, would not have been able to tell that. You know, would’ve thought someone like you would get recommended to the guard by now. If what you say is true, of course.”
There it is. “Ah, well… I’m honestly not the type to join something like that. And besides, I’m not sure how your rules against foreigners go.”
“Where are you from?”
“Not from this continent, I can tell you that. Ended up getting dropped here and couldn’t find my way back. Now I just try my best not to starve or die of exposure so I can make it back. But I suppose this is gonna be when you’re tell me that I’m kinda fucked somehow by not having any citizenship here or whatever.”
“Not at all. I had a feeling you weren’t if our previous interaction was anything to go by. I am truly sorry you've had to go through that. However I hope you don’t mind but I would like to ask some questions about your homeland until you're able to return. I don’t exactly have time to travel like that so I am a bit curious.”
Huh. Well, it might not get her mind off of things but it might be nice to reminisce a bit. Though how much she can say about her world is up for debate.
“I don’t mind at all but it is getting pretty late now and I was about to eat.”
“Right.” He seemed a little sad at that? Why? “I apologize for taking up so much of your time. Perhaps we’ll meet again.”
“Uh…” God, she feels guilty now. “We could meet tomorrow.” The prince immediately perks up at that, like he’s some kind of puppy. Weirdly cute for some reason but what is actually happening right now?
“I could do that. Meet here as well then?”
“Unless you can find some place inside where we could talk. It does get pretty fu-" She's talking to a prince. She's gotta remember she's talking to a prince. "...pretty cold …you know at night.”
“I might have a place in mind. But alright, I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He pauses for a second, when they both realize something.
They never said their names to each other.
“I’m Xandria by the way. Xandria Tauranos.”
“Prince Albein Rudolf II. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Tauranos.”
“It’s a pleasure to make yours. And you can just call me Xandria since I see this being a bit more private. Plus that’s a title that feels like it fits my mother more than me.”
“Alright then, Xandria. If you wish to keep this a private matter as well, then you may call me Albein when we meet like this.”
“Okay,” She picked up her stew, which was surprisingly warm still. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, Albein.”
With a soft smile, he leaves as she heads back inside. Sighing to herself once he was out of sight.
What did she get herself into?