Your Highness

Let It Out

The newly princess decided to leave. The words swirled in her minds. She just brushed the hurt feeling away and put on her usual poker-face. She didn’t really know where to go. She just let her feet brought her. And she found herself ended up in the archery field. Some kids were practicing there.

“Oh, You Highness,” the captain of the team bowed. “Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked kindly.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Skylar replied with a small laugh.

“Everyone!” the captain called.

The call made the others stopped their practice. They turned their attention towards him. Their eyes widened. “Your Highness,” they said and bowed in unison.

“Well, thank you,” Skylar replied, unsure. She was truly uncomfortable with the ‘You Highness’ thing. She wanted them to call her by her name, just like usual. But she knew she can’t do that. After becoming a royalty, Rio taught her many things. One of them is to not wanting people to call her by her name, expect her closest friends. Rio said, it’s not royalty manners.

“Your Highness, do you want to try to shoot some arrows?” the captain asked.

Skylar thought for a few seconds. It would be bad if I say ‘no’, he asked so politely, she said to herself. “Sure, that sound great,” she smiled.

The captain smiled back. “Please follow me,” he said. He led her to the field and handed her a bow and some arrows. Skylar was about to receive them but her phone rang.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Hello, good afternoon. Is this Skylar Allenloper, the daughter of Mr. Jason Allenloper and Mrs. Teresa Allenloper?” a voice of a woman was heard from the other side. Skylar could feel that there’s something bad from the woman’s voice.

“Yes, this is Skylar. Who is it?”

“I am from Sonzai city rescue team, I have a news about your parents, Skylar.”

“What is it? They told me that they were on their way home, their plane took off this morning, they should be arriving tonight.”

“I’m sorry, but some accident happened. The plane crashed.”

“W-what?”

“I’m really sorry. Your parents’ body was already found, now the medical team-“
Skylar just hang up. She stared blankly to the ground. She couldn’t hear any other. Suddenly, she felt like she lost her strength. The world around her seemed like crashing down.

“Your Highness?”

The voice pulled Skylar back from her thoughts. Skylar blinked her eyes. She looked around and saw the whole field are looking at her. She turned to the captain guy. He had a worried look on his face. Skylar just shoot her head and smiled. She received the arrows and a bow from him. As she walked, everybody followed her.

She never really does archery. She can do it, but just can. Don’t know where the skill came. Maybe it’s because her otaku-ness. She’s a lot better with swords.

Skylar put an arrow on its bow. She slipped its tail to the string carefully. Deep breath, as she got in a position. The string being pulled back. Skylar stared at the round target a few meters from her. She couldn’t help but think about everything that just happened. Her classmates hate her. And her parents passed away.

She accepted Vechter’s request because she wants to protect people. She wanted to be worth enough for them. People said she helped them a lot, apart from her cold personality. But she never felt it. No matter how many words of gratefulness she heard, she never felt it. Is it because the loneliness? It left a huge space in her heart, wanting to be filled. Is it why she always felt so empty? Is it why she always felt unwanted? Because being lonely? Used to go back home and nobody there, left to school without morning greets. Deep down, she knew that she was being an ungrateful human. She had friends, that willingly to stay with her, but she couldn’t feel the space in her heart being filled.