The Princess and The Mage (Tenmiko)

Chapter Nine - Picking Flowers

"B-bullshit!" Tenko screamed, "Leave Himiko be! Now if you excuse me... I'll go help her gather plants." She ran before the others could see her tears. Tenko knew what they said about Himiko being resistant to emotions was true, but she was sure she could change it. And if she couldn't, Tenko would just live with it.

The fairies and mermaids watched Tenko run over to Himiko. Sonia sighed;

"Poor girl..."

(^that part was supposed to be in the last chapter but for some reason it didn't save or something)

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"Hey, Himiko!" Tenko had hidden the signs of her previous tears and was now accompanying the mage she so much admired at the plant-filled ground. However, she simply ignored Himiko and continued on gathering plants. "So... uh Himiko, how may I assist? I'll gather hundreds of these for you! Just say the word, your wish is my command!" (oh lover boy~~)

"Nyeh, I need a few of those purple flowers over there," Himiko pointed a finger at a field at a flower bush relatively far from the place where they were currently standing, "Get as much as you can. I need them for my magic~" She didn't. In fact, Himiko wasn't sure what those flowers were even called, but she was pretty sure it wasn't magical. In all honesty, Himiko just wanted Tenko to get the hell away from her. She deeply wished she was able to just kick Tenko out of her house and never see her again. However, when Himiko was presented with the choice to do so, she ignored it.

"Ohhh! Magic? What kind?" Tenko brought her hands up to her own face and stared at Himiko, admiring her.

"Ehhh... just some common spell I use all the time. B-but it's important!" Himiko though that would satisfy the princess but she still stood in awe, expecting more, so she made up another quick lie, "I put the spell on almost all my dinners to make it extra tastier..."

"Wow..." Tenko said, giving Himiko a bit of surprise that she was admiring such a lousy spell, "That's amazing, Himiko! You're amazing, your magic is amazing..."

Himiko perked up on these last words. Huh... Tenko was definitely not what she used to think when she heard the word "princess". Everyone else just got annoyed by her magic, or thought it was stupid. Himiko never got the praise she deserved for her abilities. People would mock her magic or underestimate it. Or, even worse, they would think her magic wasn't real. That's what really got to Himiko. She took so much pride in her work that when someone deemed it as untrue, her blood boiled. Or, even worse than even worse, is when people would dismiss her magic once they found out she's the one casting the spells and not some old, wrinkly, sorcerer.

"You think so?"

"Oh, Himiko, I know so!"

"I..." Just then, Himiko had realized she had Tenko's hand in her own. She was unsure of who was the one to deliver this action, but the fact she was too distracted to do so was enough, "I still need those flowers."

"Oh, right! The flowers! On it!" Tenko slowly walked over to the bushes where the purple flowers were. And honestly, she was disappointed. When Himiko grabbed her hand, she really thought she had broken through the wall Himiko had put up around her emotions. But that was fine. It was just the first day, the princess still had a lot to do in order to unlock the red head's affections. She was determined.