Der Prinz and Prinzessin adventure team

Der Prinz's Tale

"It's good to see someone with her." The deaconess said while she was healing the unconscious Fischl. "Same with you, I'm really happy about you both."

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Bennett was sitting in a chair right next to the bed.

"You don't know? Even if she's one of the top investigators in the adventurer's guild, no one really wants to talk to her due to her.. unique way of talking, so to get info they normally refer to Oz instead of her.. Poor Fischl.." Barbara looked kind of sad.

Bennett didn't know about this. He thought, and hoped, that he was the only one that was shunned away and casted out, but it seems that that wasn't the case... Damn it. His guilt became heavier after knowing that.

"Will... Will she be alright?"

"Yes, don't worry.. I can handle this, she'll maybe need to take some time though."

Bennett nodded, maybe it was better that way, after all, with his bad luck, who knows what'll happen?

"I have to do some urgent things for the church right now, I healed her the best I could, she should be up in an hour or so.. You're gonna stay?"

Again, he nodded.

"Ok.. I'll leave you two alone then, see you!"

Barbara hurried off to another room.

Bennett sighed, what should he say when she wakes up? Maybe apologizing would be the best option, even though he assumed that she wouldn't take it.

He got up from his chair and started walking around the room, thinking about what he would do next. Maybe he'll stop for a while while he waits for her to recover, or maybe he won't let her join the team..

What to do?

After 10 solid minutes of thinking and walking around, he stopped dead on his tracks after Fischl moved a little.

"Fischl?!" He hurried to her. "A-are you alright?"... No response.

Bennett sighed, why was he so worried? Barbara told him she would be alright already...

"Hn-ngh.." The girl started to groan while a pained look started to form on her face.

His heart sank. It wasn't because he thought she wouldn't be alright like the deaconess told him, it's because for him, this was all his fault. The fact that she was in bed right now, after being beaten unconscious by a Mitachurl, whimpering in pain.

"I'm sorry.. I'm so, so sorry.."

He started to whisper those words over and over again, and grabbed the Prinzzesin's hands, holding them tight while he cursed himself over guilt, cursing his bad luck, cursing the fact that if he arrived just some seconds earlier this wouldn't have happened, cursing himself.

After some minutes, he stopped, letting go of her hands not after gripping them tightly a last time. He came to the same realization that Fischl was going to get in some time, he needed to get stronger, so he could protect her, so he could protect her smile and her characteristic smug attitude.

He didn't know exactly why he had such a strong feeling about protecting her, even though they had been friends for quite a while, she only accompanied him once or twice before she decided to join his team. Even so, he thought that it was because he didn't want other people to suffer being isolated from others like he was.. No one needs to experience that.

He looked at her face, it seemed more calm now, was it because he held her hand? No, that was too childish for him to think.

Even so, he didn't have a chance to get a good look at her until now.. She was.. Really pretty-