Princess Without Limits

Chapter Eight

(Gion)

"Hey princess, are you alright?" I didn't know where my words came from. The moment I saw her, clearly in distress and frustration, I just let my instincts take over. There was she, looking up at me with the prettiest emerald green eyes.

A flustered-looking pair of eyes glanced down to where my hands were now resting on her. Her butterscotch blond hair had gotten out of its braid and was now flapping wild against the wind on the balcony we were now on.

"Gion?" God, her voice was enough to make me go into a wild frenzy. I didn't know what I was doing, touching her, even if it was just her hands. A blush crept up her features. Her hair, wild and free, made her look alive. Surprise and shock flashed across her face. As quick as that blush and feelings appeared, they disappeared. We stared at each other, for minutes, maybe hours, I was not sure. Suddenly, her face arranged into a collected expression—the ones that royalty always put up to avoid showing too much emotion. She snatched her hand away at the same time I had the inkling to wrench my hand away from hers.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I..."

Her eyes pierced into mine and for a second, I was lost for words. I immediately made my face reflect hers. You idiot! Stay calm and collected like you always do!

"I came here to find you because trouble will find a princess like you everywhere you go and that you and Leon need to settle whatever it is between you two," I replied, hoping that I delivered the line as cold as my sentences always came out to be.

Around Lena, however, it was hard to keep the frosty demeanor on. Maybe it was the way she always looked towards everyone, maybe it was her smile, but it was hard to ever, ever show any haughty attitude towards her. I wondered how Leon could even bear to be so indifferent to Lena.

"What's the family affair of the German royalty to you, anyway, Prince of Italy?" Everything as long as you are involved.

"It's not your family that matters, Princess of Germany. It's only my concern if my sister feels perturbed by it. You are her close friend, not mine. If my sister wasn't so tangled up in your life, I wouldn't bother." I wished she would know how much effort it took to be so cold-hearted with her. I couldn't raise any suspicion.

"Oh."

That one-syllable word landed on the floor. I wanted her to ask another question, for me to reply, for this moment together alone to last longer. However, I knew that the longer this moment was, the more my self-restraint would be tested. I gestured for her to follow me back. Lena, wisely, chose not to contradict my request.

After dropping Lena with the fretful Gina, I went back to my dorm to retire for the day. When I entered, I found Shintarou sitting on the couch. I heard Pepper fumbling through the cups to get a cup of tea for Shintarou, which I didn't mind. Living with Shintarou made me used to robots wheeling around all the time.

The moment I dropped down on the couch and removed my tie, Livio came hurriedly from his room. "Your Highness, where have you been? I suppose you are tired. I'll get you a drink." Livio rushed to the kitchen. He came back after a while, passing me a glass of negroni. After taking a sip of water, I set the drink down, picked up a newspaper from the coffee table and started reading. A knock sounded from the door. Livio ran to get it immediately.

He appeared with Gina by his side. He bowed to us before retreating into his room to give us privacy. Across me, Shintarou stiffened. I fought back a smile. Shintarou was never comfortable with people, especially females.

"Di-did something happen with Lena?" I nearly scoffed. My sister was worried something happened between me and her good friend? A first, as far as memory serves.

"I found her, I talked her into coming back, she asked me some questions and we got back." I answered. Gina sat down beside me wordlessly, resting her head on my shoulders.

"What?" Gina never did this unless there was something going on.

"Nothing. Lena seemed unfazed when she got back. She refused to talk about Leon, or even acknowledge that incident. It's like she is pretending nothing happened. I'm worried about her," she whispers. I really scoffed this time, trying to concentrate on my newspaper.

"You, Gina Zecchino," I started, "worries about everyone except yourself." She gave me a slight smile. My thoughts drifted to Lena. Girls, I grumbled, are such complicated creatures. I couldn't figure out Gina sometimes too. Unlike me, who is often self-serving, Gina often helped everyone. She never failed to see the good in everyone. I wished I could be like her from time to time.

"But don't you think there's something wrong? It just seems Leon and Lena, they are siblings but aren't close. Even if siblings are not that close, there should be a desire to be together in that sense. Unless something happened between them, but I would have sensed it, right? I've been friends with Lena for so long..." I let her go on without stopping her. It would seem that way, like they had a repulsion for each other. Lena was obviously still trying, that was why she bothered to talk to Leon even if it would spark a flame. Leon, on the other end...it looked like he had closed off completely. The wound must have gone deep.

It had always struck me, while Gina and I might be close, other pairs of siblings might not be. Leon and Lena were an example. I didn't know why I even bothered with the German royalty history, but I was determined to find out. I convinced myself it was because I needed the leverage against Leon, because the truth was a different reality I didn't want to face for now.

After ushering Gina out of my dorm unceremoniously, I stood up and hurriedly walked to my room. I grabbed my laptop and sat on my bed, starting my research.

"Your Highness? Are you doing research on another country again? Which is it this time? Is it Spain?" Livio came into my room only to see me absorbed in researching on my special laptop that Nonno gave me. "Germany," I replied. He raised his eyebrows and stepped towards my bed. He flopped down beside me, wordlessly staring at the documents collected in the royal archives about other royalties.

"Is it something about the German princess?" Livio questioned. I chose not to reply, and he accepted it. As my faithful aide, he should know my limits as to the questions I was okay with answering. I continued with my investigation till late in the night, even as Livio fell into a slumber beside me.