Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 55

‘The way he kissed me…It was way too hot,’ she thought, biting her lips.

She slowly moved her fingers over her mouth, tracing her lips. The taste of his kiss still lingered on her lips. He pulled his head away from her neck, and she froze, staring at his face. He ran his finger along her lips and smiled in satisfaction. His hands entwined hers.

“Um..” Astoria was too stunned to think of anything to say.

After experiencing such a hot and breathtaking kiss for the first time, what does one say? She stared at their entwined hands and then into his gray eyes.

“Shall we get back to the festival, my princess?” he asked her.

“Uh, y-yeah,” she stammered, “L-let’s do that.”

He nodded and entwined his hand with her free one. Her other hand was tightly holding the necklace she had won. They stepped out of the dark alley, blending into the crowd as if they did not just have a hot make-out session a minute ago.

She tilted her head up to look at the prince. He was elated and clearly in a good mood because he hummed a happy tune as they walked. She quickly glanced away when he turned to return her gaze. He held back a laugh upon seeing her avoid eye contact with him.

‘She is so cute,’ he thought with an enigmatic smile.

“What do you want to do now?” she heard him ask her.

She then remembered the little fox she had met the other day, little miss Lara Marbita. She had promised to find her and buy her flowers. The question was, how was she going to find this little fox?

“There is this little girl that I met the other day with Ai,” she told him, “and I promised to buy her flowers, so I want to find her.”

Prince Yashiro nodded. “Do you know where she is right now?”

Astoria shook her head ‘no’ and wondered how she would find this child among all these creatures and tourists. After a minute of thinking, an idea crossed her mind.

‘Surely, this could work, right?’ she thought, letting go of the fox prince’s hand.

Prince Yashiro stared at her in confusion, wondering why she let go of his hand. To say he was not disappointed at her sudden withdrawal would be an understatement. He watched as she walked to an empty spot and signaled him to follow her. He obediently followed her, curious as to what she was planning. When they stood still, he watched as she furrowed her brows.

“Vexati,” she uttered.

Prince Yashiro’s eyes widened as he saw a leather book, glowing in a silver colour, with a magic seal appear in the princess’ hands. She turned to face him and smiled.

“My father recently gave me this book,” she began to explain, “He told me that it is a book containing magic spells. That if I find myself in trouble, I should summon it.”

“What? Then why did you not use it to fight Saxhish or at least defend yourself and get out of her boundary?”

‘I knew he was going to bring that up,’ she thought, ‘That is easier said than done.’

She sighed and stared at the book in her hands. “He gave me this book before coming here. I have only had it for a day or so, and I’m not used to it yet.”

Prince Yashiro crossed his arms and nodded in understanding.

“Besides,” he heard her continue, “even if I knew how to effectively use it, I am not very good at close combat with such creatures. My combat training is still in progress.”

She lied about her combat training being in progress. Although she was a great fighter in her world, this world was different. This world had creatures and people with magical powers. She had never fought against magic, so even if she knew how to use the spells in this book to fight Saxhish, the chance of her actually defeating the spider woman was slim.

“Anyway,” she said, flipping the pages of the magic book, “I am sure there is a location spell or something similar somewhere in this book. Maybe I can use that?”

He watched as she found a magic locator spell after a minute.

“Yes,” she cheered, “What a relief.”

The spell stated that one had to picture the person they wanted to locate. The spell also only worked if the person was in close proximity, about 30 meters from her.

“Reduno Findus,” she carefully uttered the locator magic spell.

The leather book floated in front of them, and a dim, red rush of spikes appeared. The spikes were only visible to Astoria, and they began to move. They spun around in a circular motion in front of her and started taking the form of an arrow.

“Wow,” she breathed out, fixing her gaze in the arrow that was forming.

“What?” Prince Yashiro asked, tilting his head.

She pointed at the red arrow that was forming in front of them. Prince Yashiro stared at what she was pointing at but saw nothing.

“What are you pointing at?” he asked, narrowing his eyes in the direction of her pointed finger.

“Huh? You cannot see the red arrow forming in front of us?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Prince Yashiro shook his head ‘no.’

“Oh. I guess only I can see it then,” she muttered.

The red arrow was now fully formed, and she wondered how it would work. Did she have to wait for it to point in the direction of Lara? Would she need to move for it to start working? She tilted her head downwards, staring at the page that contained this locator spell.

“Imagine who you want to locate for the arrow to start moving,” she read, “and follow it to their location.”

She nodded and closed her eyes. She pictured the little fox she had met.

“Show me the way to Lara Marbita,” she ordered, opening her eyes.

With that, the red arrow began to move away from her. She smiled and turned to the fox prince.

“It does not matter if you can see the arrow or not. Just follow me,” she told him and began to walk away.

Prince Yashiro followed her, and she followed the red arrow. They walked for a good six minutes, and while they were reaching their destination, she realized something.

‘So, prince Yashiro and everyone else cannot see this red arrow? Only I can? That is fascinating.’

The red arrow then stopped moving. It pointed to a clothing stall, and next to the stall was the little fox Astoria had wanted to see. She immediately smiled and rushed to her side.

It was a sad sight for Astoria to see. Lara was trying her best to sell the roses she had brought from home, but no one was buying them. The creatures just walked past her, ignoring her as if she was a ghost and non-existent.

“Lara!” Astoria exclaimed, waving her hand in the air.

The fox’s ears perked up at the sound of someone calling her name. She looked up from the ground and found that it was the woman she had met the other day.

‘What was her name again?’ Lara thought, tilting her head and pressing her lips together.

Lara watched as the woman approached her. To her surprise, the woman was with prince Yashiro. She immediately blushed upon seeing him. To every little girl in Chesropis, they imagined they would be married to a handsome prince like him one day.

‘Her name was…Her name was…’ the little fox bit her lip, and then her eyes widened.

She finally remembered. ‘Oh right! This woman introduced herself as princess Nexi the last time!’

“Lara,” the little fox heard the princess say, “I finally found you.”

The little fox stared up at the princess, who was looking so beautiful in her goldenrod-colored dress. She also looked at the prince, who looked even more handsome than the last time she saw him. She had seen prince Yashiro return from a mission two weeks ago. She bowed her tiny head at them.

“Hello, princess Nexi and prince Yashiro,” her tiny voice greeted them.

Astoria’s heart jumped at the sight of Lara. She loved children and had always had a soft spot for them. She stared at the little fox’s attire. What was once a dress was now nothing more than pieces of fabric held barely together. It hung from her shoulders like a discarded old towel. A big chunk of material had been torn from the left side.

There were holes and tears all over, leaving much of her body exposed to the elements. She was wearing a rugged jacket over her dress. It smelled a little and was full of stains. At least it helped her stay protected, even if it was only for a little. Her pants had seen better times as well.. Wear and tear had turned what were once small tears into medium-sized gaping holes.