The Sleepy Princess Loves The Cold Duke

Chapter Five: Farewell

Poppy slapped a talisman on the giant crate holding her outdoor laboratory. The crate was twice her size but when the talisman made contact with the crate it slowly shrunk to the size of a ring box. Poppy pocketed the first lab and began to head inside for her second one.

Because the Ball season was over that meant all the nobles had to go back home. After her birthday party she refused to go to any other balls or to any tea parties. She was afraid another horrifically life changing event would happen.

Her father had come up with the stellar idea to have Poppy move in with Loki. "To further nurture your relationship," as he had worded it. Loki just turned to her and said, "we leave in a week," then left her fathers office without asking for permission. 'He is such a rude person!' Poppy had mentally chastised.

So now with only seven days to pack her life away she used the first two days to create a shrinking talisman. It took so long because she didn't want to buy any so she broke down the chemical components to figure out the recipe of a shrinking talisman she had on hand. She created a bunch of replicas and found that putting everything in one box and shrinking it was the least messy way to transport everything.

Now with a stack of shrinking talismans she began shrinking everything in her room, her labs, the books she had hidden in the Royal library. She took a few statues she thought looked interesting. By the end of the week all she had was her bed. But she hoped he would at least have a bed for her.

•••

"Where are your things Princess?" Steven questioned. Poppy lifted up a brown medicine bag that held all her mini crates. Stevens face went pale. 'She really is the outcast of the family...' Steven hesitantly grabbed the bag and gestured towards the black car. He put the bag in the trunk and closed the door behind Poppy when she slid into the seat.

Poppy took off her witch hat and placed it next to her. Poppy wore witch hats not for any significant reason, just because they looked cool and she felt like a powerful mage when she had it on. Her siblings always made fun of her for it but she didn't care. It made her happy. She glanced across from her at the Duke who was leaning against his arm and staring out the window. His leg was crossed over and his back was lazily leaned against the leather seat. Poppy decided to relax too and leaned back into the leather. He didn't greet her so she wasn't going to greet him.

Steven started up the engine. She realized none of her family had come out to give her a farewell. She looked up to her fathers office window and noticed a small figure standing at the window. She recognized her fathers dirty blonde hair. She waved at him and he waved back to her. 'He is probably really busy.'

Though her family wasn't there to send her off the lawn was filled with maids, chefs, and knights wishing her well and praying for her to have a safe journey. The maids loved Poppy because she was kind and always took care of them. If they were hurt her healing talismans did miracles. If they were sleepy she would give them energy potions and would tell them that sleep is precious so not to take too many. She was polite to the maids unlike the other princesses who were spoiled brats. And she remembered all there names and greeted them in the hallways.

The chefs always loved to experiment their new dishes with the princess. She was a surprisingly good cook but baking and cooking became boring to her since it was pretty straight forward. However her reactions when she ate something she had never tried before always filled the prides of the chefs. They happily snuck her snacks when she was a kid and she repayed their favors ten fold. Same with the maids, she took care of the chefs, and treated them as equals.

The knights were no different. Though Poppy was a horrible fighter she was an amazing magician. She taught herself magic by reading books in the library. She taught the knights how to speedily get stronger and surpass their limits. The knights ranks grew far more powerful than the neighboring countries just because of the young girl's passing interests in human anatomy and body building magic. She too also healed them when they were injured and helped their families in anyway she could.

Poppy hadn't realized the true impression she left on the servants of the palace till all her good deeds filled the yard. She smiled a bright smile that warmed the hearts of the crowd. "Goodbye Princess!" "Safe travels!" "Take care of yourself!" "Don't eat too many sweets!"

She chuckled and waved goodbye as the car finally drove off the Palace property. The Duke had watched the whole interaction and was surprised. The no name princess was truly loved unlike the rumors led everyone to believe.

All of the staff felt sympathy for the princess and felt the King had made a major mistake with his choice for Poppy's fiancé. They prayed she would be able find happiness in her new home.