The Uninvited Princess ✔

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

The atmosphere that morning was suffocatingly grim.

Kiet and Chann seemed to have been talking amongst themselves and fanned themselves with some banana leaves. The conversation looked serious but she couldn't understand a word. They even turned to Shashi a few times for an answer and would glance at Pranee before answering in the foreign language. She would be able to catch a few familiar words such as "princess" or "elephant" but she couldn't completely understand what would make them talk so seriously.

Whatever it was that they were talking about, they didn't want Pranee to know.

"Um, what are you guys talking about?" Pranee asked hesitantly.

She had only arrived ten minutes earlier but she didn't want to interrupt.

"Kiet and Chann are talking about going back to their fish shop." Shashi's eyebrows were furrowed and she could tell that they were worried. "I told them it wasn't safe since the king knows that they're involved with the fight."

"Princess, do you still have your elephant?" Chann asked.

She shook her head. "When we arrived here, it disappeared. Even the bracelet that the monk gave me had disappeared. It might have been a one-time miracle."

"Not any person can just summon the holy elephant though. Only recognized royalty can do that," Kiet pointed out.

"I don't think she summoned it because she wanted to. It was probably a blessing from the heavens." Shashi shook their head. "Plus, have you seen how huge it was? No way would people not notice us travelling around on it. Anyways, it's risky to use any magic now. We can be tracked if we even send a message."

"I actually got a bracelet from Shashi's father so..." Pranee muttered.

"How will we protect the shop then?!" Kiet exclaimed.

Shashi grunted. "It's either you live and the shop gets destroyed or the shop is saved and you're dead. I am not letting you die like an idiot. You're not going back to the shop until all this... madness is done."

Kiet grumbled under their breath and Chann gently patted his back. "Hey, they care about you. They don't want you to get hurt."

"There's just as much risk dying with these... soldier people," Shashi explained.

"The king probably wouldn't care that much but I know he wants P'Tanet gone."

"He probably will want you dead too," Shashi interjected. "You challenged his status as king. You even said his reaction to the Airavata was priceless."

"Well... yeah..."

"It isn't safe to offend royalty. Not only is it against the law but the king seems to be insecure about his position."

"He always will be if the true heir is running around and being reckless." Kiet made a face and Pranee remembered the small spat that Kiet and her brother had at the palace.

"I remember that the king had mentioned being unable to track magic from a foreign country." Shashi tapped their foot. "I'm betting that if I were to take you, you would probably be able to go home safely without issue. But you would probably have to not use magic for a long time and also keep low profiles."

Chann kept quiet and had a solemn expression on their face. Pranee mirrored their expression as she could tell they were upset about not being about to go home. She could feel herself feel uneasy as Shashi travelling with two other people may be difficult for them knowing how little space there was on the staff.

"I don't have anything against your brother, princess, but fighting on the front lines is something we're not built for. I don't even know how we'll survive with your group here." Kiet waved a hand towards the group behind him and she nodded slowly.

"I honestly don't know how I ended up here myself. I certainly didn't imagine being here either," Pranee muttered.

"Where did you imagine yourself being?" Shashi looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she shrugged.

"I... don't know. I suppose I miss my life at the palace but things have changed too much to feel comfortable there."

"If you don't know what to do, maybe you can help out with what I need now that I lost my feet."

Tanet appeared with a wizard carrying him. His legs were covered in bandages and there were dark bags under his eyes. He had been resting all this time yet he looked like he barely got any sleep. The wizard carefully set him down on a seat and he gave a dismissive wave. He walked away, joining another group to chat with.

"Your highness, what are you doing out here?" Shashi asked stiffly.

"I was getting lonely being by myself in that tent. I wanted to see how everyone else was doing." Tanet smiled weakly. "Pranee, we can actually split up groups next week."

"What? Where would we even go?"

"Haha, you'll see."

The four of them stared at the prince in confusion. Pranee tilted her head and she swore her eyes nearly popped out of her head. His smile faded a little and became visibly confused.

"What?" Tanet asked.

"What exactly are you expecting us to do?" Shashi asked.

"I hope he wants us to go home," Kiet muttered. Chann promptly nudged him with their elbow and Kiet pouted.

"No one told you what we were doing?" Tanet asked.

They all gave a version of no and head shakes, unsure of what the prince was expecting. Tanet attempted to clear his throat but it came out as a cough. The cough became more violent as he hunched over with his hand covering his mouth. Pranee reached out her hand towards him to help but he lifted a hand to indicate he was fine. The coughing died down and he straightened his back to talk again.

"I must've dreamed this then. We're actually travelling to other kingdoms to form alliances. Pranee, since you're my beautiful little sister, it would be good for you to represent us. It would be better if the other kingdoms met another royal so they feel more inclined to support us."

Pranee was speechless. She never was good with politics and their father would never let her even look at a book about politics. That was when Shashi spoke up.

"Hey, no one here agreed to help you out. At least not long term."

"Why not?" Tanet seemed taken back from Shashi's words.

"Not to offend you, your highness, but if you haven't noticed we are not the most fitting to perform not only royal duties but as well as defend ourselves."

"What are you insinuating?"

"Kiet and Chann want to go back to their lives with peace... and I sort of want that as well."

Silence fell over the group and none of them spoke. Pranee couldn't help get lost in thought, unsure of what Shashi was thinking. They technically didn't have a home anymore. Where would they go?

"I want to go back to my mother's homeland and if you allow me, I want to take Pranee with me."