The Princess and The Mage (Tenmiko)

Chapter Fourteen - Days Away II

Tenko was distancing herself. Instead of spending time out with Nagito, she said she was busy studying in her room. The princess felt such despair at the thought of marrying a man, she didn't want Nagito to have to marry a woman. While Tenko's father had made it clear there would be no escape, her degenerate companion was not being rushed the same way she was. He may still have time to get out of the expectations brought onto him.

Anyways, for Tenko's claims of "studying", it was half true. She sat on the large bed in her room with books spread out on the sheets. Tenko had spent all day reading copies of the classic romance novels of her kingdom--the greatest literature from her people--and using her pen and ink to retell the story. Over the words in the books, Tenko would add s' before each "he" and replace "his" with "hers" and overall, flipping every story to be one more like what she wished her life looked like.

It had been two weeks since parting from the mage's house and Tenko hadn't gotten any happier.

Her father knocked on the door, and the princess inside was quick to close each book's cover. The king waltzed in and observed the room. "Ah, Tenko! I am glad you are now taking your studies seriously. But, uh... I have bad news," He sat down on her bed and Tenko's mind started to race. So much was already going downhill. What more could happen. "It's about Nagito." Uh, oh. With the princess knowing how the boy was with his lack of care for his own life, Tenko immediately believed he was dead. She started crying.

"H-he's... dead?"

"Oh, no! No, no, no!" The king said, "But it seems the boy claims to be a homosexual and his parents are allowing the behavior. They plan to allow him to marry a man."

"Oh, good for him!" Tenko smiled, not caring about her father, before dropping the smile, "Wait, does he not have to have a child of royal blood?"

"No. In our kingdom, we have dignity and follow the rules of royal blood. And though we play nice with the neighboring kingdom, they do not quite have the same philosophy. They go by noble honor instead of royal blood. Instead of having to marry other royals, they can marry royal officials, noble knights, anything like that. Also as a result, they do not have to have their children have royal blood. Just noble honor. It quite pisses me off."

"No, no," Tenko became angry, "That makes much more sense than our shitty system! Fuck this!"

"Silent! Anyways, because you have lost your number one suitor, we have brought in a new one. Byakuya Togami."

"Huh?! The one in my class? He's not royal! He's becoming the royal financial manager! You can't go back on your own rules-"

"Silence, girl! God, you speak much too often and much too loud. Learn to listen," Tenko gritted her teeth at his words. If the man wasn't her father, she sure would have knocked him out, "While him being in line to become the overseer of the kingdom's spending is true, he also comes from a kingdom some ways far from this one. He has four older brothers and is quite far down the line for the throne so he decided to study here. Still, he is royal nonetheless!"

Tenko couldn't believe it. She hated it there. If she could be anyone else, she would. "Leave." She ordered her dad who surprisingly, got up and let her be. Tenko fell down on her bed in tears. This caused the ink bottle to spill, soaking through the sheets and trickling down Tenko's shoulder like a teardrop. It spread down her body and continued on to her gown. She didn't care. She just continued crying. Her face was hot from crying and the ink was starting to irate her skin. Tenko's whole body felt damp from tears, sweat, and the black writing liquid. Her hair, which was once elegantly down was spiking out from the ribbons in strands.

She wanted the mage by her more than ever. She wondered what Himiko was doing.

---

Himiko made her way to the magical lake. She had not left the house in a week. After all the pain she felt, there was a new concern to her mind: What was Tenko doing? If she told the kingdom she willingly left, Tenko could be in trouble. Himiko just wished the princess was happy and had forgotten about the mage. But she had to make sure.

As the girl approached the bushes, she whispered the magic words that allowed the lake to become visible to the speaker of the words. She did so because the girls living there had reported having some close encounters with humans to the mage and asked if Himiko could use her magic to help. She did. The mermaids and fairies had no way to pay back the girl so instead they promised a favor down the line for Himiko. It was time that she would ask that favor.

"Everyone! Himiko's here!" Sonia was the first to note her presence, as always. She was like the leader among them and Himiko thinks she would've made a fine princess.

"Hey, everyone..." Himiko yawned as she sat down in front of the lake and everyone gathered around, "I want to use that favor you guys owe me. So I know this won't be possible for Miu, Sonia, and Aoi, but could the rest of you go undercover to Tenko's village and watch over her for a while—bringing me reports every now and then to see if she's doing okay?"