The Princess and The Mage (Tenmiko)

Chapter Fifteen - Days Away III

The mermaids and fairies had to discuss accepting the favor among themselves. Hiyoko opposed it until she heard Mahriu agree. Everyone else was pretty much on board expect for Sonia who worried for all of their safety, especially for Chiaki's.

"Chiaki! I can not have you going out there and getting hurt!" Sonia said.

"Sonia, I'm going to be alright. You don't have to worry so much, okay?" She knelt down by the water and Sonia wrapped her arms around the fairy's neck. "Okay?"

"Okay... I will trust your judgement, dear!" Dear? That sounded odd to Himiko and in fact, Chiaki also blushed slightly at these words.

"Nyeh... listen up everyone! I'll take you back to my caning to get you all prepared for the kingdom. Let's go!"

As the fairies were leaving to go with Himiko, Sonia grabbed Chiaki's ankle, making her fall back just a bit so she was in the mermaid's reach to hug her goodbye. Just as their huh parted and Sonia was about to swim off, Chiaki pulled her back up and kissed her.

"Bye, Sonia!" She said as she left. The mermaid grazed her hand over her lips were Chiaki's once were and muttered:

"B-bye..."

———

The mage lended her fairy friends standard villager clothes, which unlike the clothes they had, was not ripped for their wings in the back and covered the wings up.

Chiaki wore a bare of brown pants and a white poet shirt. She wrapped her hair up in a pink ribbon just to look more feminine. Women wearing pants wasn't very standard but by the time they got around to giving Chiaki clothes, Himiko was out of skirts and dresses.

Mahriu was wearing a red picnic pattern dress and Hiyoko wore a matching orange one.

Sakura wore a white shirt and brown skirt that together, had a similar shape the the dresses worn by Mahiru and Hiyoko. She also had a dark brown corset piece and a red handkerchief holding back her hair.

Mikan wore a short sleeved poet shirt with a long black skirt. She originally had accessory pieces around her waist and in her hair, but they keep falling out and causing hazards so she went without them.

The clothes was enough to conceal their wings and with that, the girls were off.

Himiko watched as her fairy friends left from a circular window in the house.

———

"Remember girls," Sakura said as they approached the castle gates, "We're from the west forest and have lived in the ungoverned building there for a while. We just finished school there and now we're applying for castle jobs."

"What jobs are we applying for?" Chiaki asked, fidgeting with her thumbs in boredom while she entered the castle.

"Any jobs work. Although, if you need a recommendation, I suggest maid. Personally I will apply to become a knight, solider, bodyguard, something like that. I don't think they'd be able to pass me up," Sakura instructed the fairies who were now heading to the castle to apply.

"Great, I'll apply for maid," Chiaki said as she still aimlessly fidgeted her fingers.

"M-me too!" Ibuki said.

"Yeah, right! I have no clue how humans stay inside for so long! Is there an outdoorsy job I can take?" Hiyoko asked.

"Hmm... castle patrol, though you're much too small for that, gardener-"

"Ohh! Gardener sounds fun, Hiyoko! What do you say we take it?" Mahiru asked the short girl as she bumped her shoulder, causing the blonde to laugh.

"Me and Mahiru will be gardeners!"

———
(Time skip cuz narration for them applying for the jobs would just be boring and what not but yay! They're employees)

"Everyone continue on their jobs. Don't go out of your way to find Tenko but definitely try when you can," Sakura said, receiving nods from them all. With that, they all went off the work their jobs.

———

"Welcome to the maid team, ladies!" Kirumi said to Mikan and Chiaki after the girls were in their maid outfits. "You'll have to start out cleaning kitchens, bathrooms, hallways, rooms like such. As of now, I'm the only one who's allowed to clean the royal's rooms. I will start with the king's room and since you two are new, you can work together cleaning the west hallway."

The two girls went down the instructed hall and started scrubbing.

"Ah! I h-hope I don't mess this up!" Mikan said as she got to cleaning the floors.

"Mikan, it'll be fine. Just clean and if we get lucky, we may run into-"

"TENKO!!" It was the king. He was at the end of the hallway yelling into a door, "WHAT IS THIS MESS! YOU HAVE CLASS IN THRITY MINUTES! GET READY THEN IM CALLING KIRUMI TO CLEAN THIS UP!"

The two maids exchanged a look, unsure of what to do. "Continue cleaning, Mikan. We can't just bust into the princess's room."

In a few minutes, Tenko ran out of the room with her hair down and a dress messily thrown on. Even though she was changed out of the clothes the ink spilt on, there was some still on her skin that didn't quite come off. While she was running, Tenko stopped and did a double take at the two girls.

"Ch-Chiaki? Mikan?! What are you guys doing here?" Tenko paused, "Is Himiko here too?"

"No, it's just the fairies, but she was the one to send us here," Chiaki said "How have you been, Tenko?"

"Uh, not great. My dad got pretty pissed after I came back and now I'm in deep shot. Actually, forget not great, god, things have been awful," Tenko showed the maids a sad smiled, "I have to go to classes but uh, do you guys want to go to with me? I can excuse you from work."

"You okay with that, Mikan?" Chiaki asked the purple haired girl who replied with a nod, "Okay, let's go, Tenko."

"Great! Follow me!" The princess said, she was hiding all her despair behind a smile. Well, her spirits were slightly lifted with her friends near. And they were sent by Himiko..? "After my class today, can we talk more about ya know... all this?"

The girls nodded and with that, they were off.