Flower Prince - Corpsekkuno

- Chapter 27 -

The following morning, Thomas was pleased to see Cadáver resting by his side, although he did have to wake the other up. He gently shook his shoulder. Cadáver awakened and yawned groggily. "Good morning," he greeted. "Good morning. I have to leave today."

"Hm, alright then. I'll get going." Cadáver gets out of bed and walks to the window. He grabs onto the slides and pushes the frames outward, breathing in the clean air. "I forgot to ask," he begins. "How are your iron levels doing? Surely by now, they've gotten better."

"Yeah, I've been eating a lot more greens like spinach and making sure to stay hydrated and what-not."

"That's good to hear, soon enough, we'll be able to dine together, and you can eat all the greens you want, even though they taste horrible."

It was a lie, and both of the boys knew it. Cadáver's father has put him on a strict watch, and it's becoming more and more difficult to sneak out. The prince could not fathom the amount of rage his father would have if he got caught hanging out with Thomas. There's a lot of risk within their relationship.

"I'll see you in two days then," Cadáver declares before hopping out of the window.

"How does he do that without getting hurt?"

Thomas changed into his uniform and grabbed his bags. He tripped over his feet a couple of times while struggling to put on his shoes, but he managed and sped to the commons.

Bimbus was eating his food as usual, and Bingus was on the carpet sleeping. Sykkuno bent down to Bimbus. "Let's go buddy. We have a long trip." Bimbus finished up his food, and Sykkuno leads him out towards the medical wing.

He bursts in through the doors and rushes to see The Chief. "I'll all ready to go!"

The Chief smiles as she looks up from her papers. "I'm glad. This trip will be a splendid learning opportunity for you. The carriage will be here soon, so wait in front of the castle until its arrival."

Sykkuno nods frantically then rushes out of The Chief's office to find Ludwig. Just as expected, Ludwig was with Asher. But they weren't organizing documents but, instead, Asher was shoving clothes into a bag. "Morning, Thomas!" Ludwig calls out.

"Morning, what's going on here?"

"Once Asher heard about your trip to Ambrose, he wanted to come along. The little man already got permission from both his father and The Chief to accompany you."

"Oh, I hadn't heard of this."

"Neither have I until yesterday. But Asher could be a huge help with your studies on Danshen, I'm sure." Ludwig winks.

Sykkuno raises an eyebrow but brushes it off anyway. "I don't see any issue. Asher is welcome to come!"

"Good," Asher says, budging in. "Even if you said you didn't want me to come, I still would have anyway."

Sykkuno nods awkwardly. "What about the places for Asher to sleep? Will he be monitored?"

"Yeah, The Chief worked all that out. No need to baby me." Asher hissed.

"Right, sorry." Sykkuno apologized, biting at his nail.

"You're all set!" Ludwig announces to Asher. "I got to get back to work, and Sykkuno, I wish you luck."

Sykkuno watches Ludwig walk away before beginning to walk away himself. However, Asher stops him. "I'll be at the front of the castle," he says. "I'll be there soon. There's just something I have to do first."

◈◈◈

Emma sat peacefully outside. When she woke up, she went to the library to finish reading one of her favourite fantasy series. She can't help but relate to the protagonist. The book is about a girl who was, in the beginning, a villain. But now, she's fighting evil alongside her friends.

However, as Emma thinks more about it, the less she feels related to the heroine. She has no one to fight alongside with, not a friend or a family member. It just made her realize just how lonely of a person she is.

She closes her book after reading the ending. It was a happy ending, with the villains defected and heroes reunited with one another at last.

In Emma's case, the way she sees her life ending is as a queen who married a man and had children to be in line for the throne. She'll die peacefully after living a long and happy life in the palace.

It wasn't the life she wanted at all.

Emma wanted to live a life of adventure and exploration. She wanted to fall in love with a woman she would meet in the forest, then start up a small shop, where she and her lover would create clothes to sell.

She would make sure it would be close to where her brother lived. So she could visit him constantly.

But knowing her position, that would be impossible.

"Emma!" she heard a voice call. It undoubtedly belonged to Thomas.

"Yes, dear brother?" Emma responds, turning her head to Thomas, who stood beside her.

"I need to talk real quick."

"Alright then, go on."

"Right so, I'm leaving for a trip to Ambrose today."

"Oh really?! Why so?"

"Just for some studying on a specific herb, and another reason."

Emma holds a face of confusion as her eyebrows furrow. "Do you know? About what The King does here?" Thomas queried.

"What are you talking about?"

Thomas sighs in frustration. "I'm just going to lay it to you flat. The royal family conducts raids against other towns."

"Oh."

Oh.

Now, this is the adventure like the ones in the books.

"Right, so what do we do?" she asks.

"You have to help me convince mom and dad about it. They will believe you!"

"I'm not so sure I believe you myself, Thomas." Emma teases. "This is quite abrupt."

"We found a map, or more of a hit-list, of all the past raids and future ones to come. Please Emma," Thomas pleads. "Believe me."

The princess stays silent. She could choose to get herself into this by simply saying yes. Or, she could walk away like nothing ever happened.

But her story will come to an unsatisfying end if she refuses to take this chance.

"Alright then. I'll help you."

◈◈◈

AYOOO EVERYBODY, HOW ARE YOU

Question time: Where do you think you would be if covid never happened?

Have a good morning, afternoon or night!

-fai