The Uninvited Princess ✔

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Pranee woke up to see Shashi throwing the paper out of the window. The moment the paper left Shashi's foot, it folded itself into a bird with two long tail feathers. Its wings flapped as it struggled to stay in the air for a few moments but it slowly began to fly upwards and flew away. Pranee gently adjusted her hair before quietly standing up to stretch.

Her arms and legs had imprints from the tatami mat. She carefully traced her fingers over the marks and her lips formed a slight frown. Shashi wasn't open to the idea of giving their bed to the uninvited princess and have given her a tatami mat to sleep on instead. They wouldn't even answer her question and had just tossed her the rolled-up mat before heading to bed. Pranee hadn't told them that she was a princess but she figured that it wouldn't make a difference.

"Hey, you're awake right?" Shashi didn't turn to look at her when they asked. A bag was slung over their back which confused Pranee.

"Yes...?"

"Good, I want you to stick your arm out the window."

"Wh–"

"Don't question it."

Pranee quickly approached Shashi and stood beside them. She could see that the tower was surrounded by many fruit trees such as lychee and bananas. There was even a waterfall that was barely visible as the flora was densely packed together. Pranee was so used to the bustling noise of the capital and the man-made structures that she couldn't help but take a moment to appreciate the view.

"I want you to stick your arm out the window." Shashi's voice immediately took Pranee out of her trance and she looked at them quizzically.

"What will happen if I do?"

"We don't know until you try."

She quickly stuck her arm out and pulled it away even faster. Her hand looked normal. No new weird marks and there were definitely no visible signs of wounds. Shashi leaned closer to Pranee to get a good look as well. They pulled away and grabbed their staff that was leaning against the wall.

"We should be good to go then."

"Go?"

"Yes." They threw the staff and it began to hover closely to the ground. "You can get on first."

She stood there speechless as she looked at the staff in front of her. She wasn't sure on how she would get on it much less how she'll stay on it. Shashi nudged her waist with their knee causing her to stare at them with her mouth agape.

"You wanted to learn magic, right? You'll have to learn how to use a staff." They jutted their head towards the floating staff. "This is a good start."

"So, you've decided to teach me?" Surprise filled her expression. They shook their head.

"Look, I'm no teacher. I know a few people but that's all I can do for you. Now get on."

"Do I just sit–"

Shashi jumped onto the staff. Pranee jumped backwards, expecting them to fall off but they were able to stand on it without losing their balance.

"If you're not going to do anything then I will," The wizard sighed.

Before Pranee could ask what exactly they meant, she could no longer feel her feet touching the ground. Shashi had moved the staff to make her sit on it before zipping out the window and flying towards their destination. Pranee would have screamed if the wind wasn't violently throwing her hair into her face and she held one hand on top of her head while the other clung to Shashi's leg.

"Where are we even going?" Pranee yelled.

"Somewhere that can give you magic lessons."

After what felt like many hours of clinging onto Shashi, the duo slowly descended to the ground.

The moment the staff was within jumping distance from the ground, Pranee hastily got off. Her body instantly relaxed the moment she could feel her feet standing on solid ground, causing her to let out a long exhale.

The staff slipped out from Shashi's feet and flew to their back where it nestled itself into their bag.

"Stick close to me. It's easy to get lost here."

That was when Pranee became aware of her surroundings. It was a market on the riverside.

There were more people flying to and from the area but instead of riding on the staff, they held them with one hand. There were sellers who sat in their boats while offering flower garlands claiming that it has protective powers while some just had shops on the wooden docks.

"Where are we?" Pranee couldn't help but observe the area with wide eyes as she had never been to a market where the sellers also operated on boats before.

"A market." Shashi saw Pranee's unamused expression before sighing dramatically. "It's on the border of Alos and Isla like the tower."

"Do many people know about this place?"

"No. It's a place only magic users know," Shashi replied. "Anyways, we'll have to walk here for some time so make sure not to fall into the water."

Pranee followed Shashi but couldn't help but be distracted by the lively market. There were people using magic to crack open multiple mangosteens at once or putting on a show with cooking fried rice, letting it launch in the air to create a variety of patterns before landing back into the wok.

There were two children running on the docks with sticks in their hands before jumping into the river. Pranee gasped in fear and looked to see where the children disappeared to only for water to splash on her face. The children laughed hysterically as they manipulated the water with their sticks.

"Hey! You kids should really be careful. Playing recklessly like that is how I lost my arms." Shashi called out.

The kids looked at each other in fear before quickly climbing onto the docks and running away. Shashi shook their head before turning to a shocked Pranee.

"What?" Shashi raised an eyebrow.

"Did you actually lose your arms that way?"

They stifled their laughter before regaining their composure. "No, I just told them that so they won't do it again."

"O-oh okay." Pranee continued to walk next to them awkwardly. "How often do you come here?"

"Very often."

"Oh wow... sounds... often." Pranee scratched her head, unsure of what to say next. If she was going to study with Shashi, she should at least get along with them.

Shashi abruptly stopped walking causing Pranee to nearly trip over her own feet.

"We're here."