Chapter Text
Today was a special day. The anniversary of the alliance made between the kingdom of Kikuro and our kingdom. However, there was nothing that I really took pride in. Fortunately, I didn't need to attend the festival. Therefore, I snuck out of the palace in order to get to the forest.
As I started to walk through the multi-layered town, filled with all sorts of ornaments and decorations plastered around, I slid through the crowd. Fortunately, none of them were aware that I was the next heir to the throne. As I weaved through the crowd in my ragged clothes, I was followed by a person. I panicked at the sight, the ornaments shine through my face like a blade and I instantly fell into worry.
‘Was my cover blown? Why is she following me?’ These thoughts all wormed their way into my head and I started to speed up. As I did though, she also sped up her pace to keep up with me. As I got to the nearby forest, I was expecting her to go back to the festival being held at the town, but she kept on following me.
At one point, I started to wonder about her occupation. The canvas that she was holding was half finished and it looked like she was scribbling over it for a long time. At least, that was from my observation as I ran from her. After I hesitated for a moment thinking about her, she caught up to me and I felt a jolt of pain coming down my left arm. I started flailing aimlessly, trying to get away from her grasp. But it was all no use. Her grip strength was stronger than mine, as expected. My sheltered life didn't train me for physical labor.
As I gave up on resisting, I asked her, ‘Who are you? Why were you following me?’ As she started to loosen up her grip, she clarified, ‘I'm so sorry for the scare. I was a bit desperate for someone.’ Those words piqued my interest and my mind started to wander to her pencil and canvas. ‘Yeah, right. You scared the hell out of me!’ ‘Oh, yeah, my bad.’ Her tone was marked with sincere embarrassment and peppered with slight guilt.
As her cheeks started to go red, she said, ‘ Wait… Are you Prince Akiyama? I am so sorry, your highness.’ Her shameful remarks seemed to have made her even more flustered. However, while she was apologizing, I started to feel a bit of unease. ‘What does she mean… Prince…’ I didn't let that show on my face and I immediately responded affirmatively. ‘Oh my god, I'm so sorry, your highness. I was enamored by your toned face. I just… thought that you were an ordinary girl all this time…’
As I heard her say those lines, I started to feel a tingly feeling in my chest.
‘I'm sorry, I even misgendered you…’
‘Don't say that, it's alright. I am perfectly okay with you thinking that I was a girl…’I reassured her. Really, I was reassuring myself.
As I continued to go down the forest path, she asked me, ‘If you don't mind, can you help me with inspiration for my art?’ I was a bit taken aback by what she had said. ‘Art?’ I remember once when I was still a child, my parents hired a professional artist to draw a portrait of me with my family. However, I never really had the time to actually appreciate art since I had to learn the basics of ruling the kingdom. I rarely had any time to appreciate anything.
‘Oh, you saw my canvas, right? I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Ena Shinonome.’ As she finished her sentence, I was shocked that I was able to personally meet a member of the Shinonome family outside of the palace. She seemed to also catch my confusion and diverted the conversation to her art. ‘I was lacking in any direction for what I wanted to make and before I knew you were a prince, I saw your face and thought it was a perfect look for my heroine. But…’
‘Wow, how flattering. I guess my aura was really that strong.’ I retorted with feigned ignorance, showing a playful disregard for my presentation as a prince. She looks a bit annoyed by my sudden playfulness but she keeps her composure and says, ‘Anyways, I never expected you to be the one I was chasing. Sometimes, I wish that I could just… just…’
As she started to slow down, she fell on her knees and she started bashing herself with her fists and crying on the ground. I noticed that she seemed oddly silent during the ordeal, but I was too preoccupied with her hurting herself to notice anything about it. ‘Why are you crying?’ I ask while I conceal my feelings of shock and confusion, trying to comfort the girl as much as possible.
‘I… I just… I wish that I could be able to be a professional artist.’ The girl, no, Ena shakingly said those words with bated breath.
My head was swarming with a sense of empathy. I still remember those little memories of times when I would still be able to frolic around, to draw and to make art. I didn't want someone like her, who is trying to make professional art, lose her purpose to draw.
As I sat next to her, I lifted her soft head and put it on my shoulder. I then started to tell her a story. ‘Hey, I remember a story. Do you want to listen to it? Maybe this could give you some inspiration for your art. It's a story that my parents used to tell me before I went to sleep. It's the story of a nymph who strove to some high ideal. They had something to prove to others. That they aren't actually worthless. However, the stress killed them inside. It ultimately made them feel desperate, lonely. Even when they actually achieved success, they weren't fulfilled.’
As I told this fake story to try to comfort Ena, although I could see that she still felt somewhat helpless, there was a tinge of hope in her eyes, something worth protecting. I then said to her, ‘If you want to, I can come to visit you and you can use me as a model whenever I am available.’ As I started to tell her that, she was visibly shaken. Her bewilderment was mixed with a flurry of gratitude and happiness.
‘But…’
'Its alright. I can sneak out of the palace no problem when everyone is busy.’
Within her eyes was something that I could not overlook, something more than just endless platitudes.