Page 43 of Royal Lies

As much as I wanted to argue with Eli about missing out on this meeting, I had this sudden epiphany. Maybe he had a point. I needed a breather, some me-time to figure out what's what. Besides, I frankly didn't want Eli playing Mr. Fix-it on my brain right now.

"Yeah, you know what you're right. I'm gonna go explore, do my own thing," I declared with an air of newfound wisdom. Even if it was just me trying to dodge Eli's so-called 'help'.

But then this weird thought hit me out of the blue–

Eli and I do everything together, right? Or do we? I mean, he just benched me from the meeting, which, to be honest, was probably gonna be a rerun of the last one. Boring stuff. Maybe Eli was just looking out for my entertainment. Yeah, that's it.

"No, he's fooling you." That same female voice tried to butt into my thoughts again. I shook my head. I must be imagining it. No one was speaking to me right now. At least no one's mouth moved. The voice certainly didn't sound like Luna's either.

Well, that's a bit alarming.

I winced, clenched my eyes, wishing this headache would just peace out, and wondering if the voices in my head meant I was totally losing it.

Eli reached out to me, and this overwhelming urge to dodge his 'helping hand' hit me like a ton of bricks.

"You know what? You're right. I'll go explore. Catch you later!" I quickly waved goodbye as I scurried off.

Hmm, didn't I already say that?

Can't remember. Oh well, let's go exploring!

Still nursing my throbbing head, I staggered my way toward the illustrious chamber of the prince. Sure, the idea of going into a guy’s room alone as a girl may~ raise a few eyebrows considering where I am at the moment but could you blame me? Curiosity waits for no one. I couldn't help but laugh internally at myself. Ya, that might be a reservation for Eli but not me.

Come on, I just had to know about that red powder thing. Besides, let's be real here, what else was there to occupy my time in this seemingly labyrinthine-styled castle? Sure exploring did sound fun but I can always do that later, so what I said wasn't necessarily a lie. I was going to explore the castle and I was also going to explore what that powder could do. Besides, I could dig out every nook and cranny of this place in my sleep. Cast a ruin, and just like that, I'd have the lay of the land imprinted in my mind. You see there are these super sonar ruins I could place on the ground and it'll give me like this 3D blueprint of the entire castle. In a certain range based on how much magic you feed the ruin. Given how much magic I have, that's not a problem for me. Plus, what better time than now when Eli's distracted, and too busy to stop me from getting that info?

Side note, Ellie doesn't seem to want me to meet this prince, I wonder why? He seems nice enough, a bit odd, and a tad bit awkward for a Wolf Prince. I mean aren't the Wolves known for their cutthroat attitudes? They want it they go and fucking grabthat shit. Haha, shit, I don't need to use the restroom now, do I? Wait, how the fuck do I even go in this thing. I mean dress it way too much poofy fluff to fucking squat like I've been doing in the woods. I would describe to you what the dress looks like but honestly, I couldn't care less. It's just some puffy blue sapphire thingy with some sparkly stuff. I think they're called accessories, but I'm not really sure what they're called. I've heard some people call em' jewelry. I think people just buy them cause they look pretty. Speaking of which, I heard there is a nice shop downtown. I wonder if that's where Ellie has been buying all this crap from.

Speaking of which, that new guy, Ellie told me to pretend I know, Luca-Lucie- Lucario-, Mario- Lucara-, Lucarioso- Lucarious! Ah, yes! That's it, Lucarious. Anyway, he told me he could help us or something but the guy just gives me, hmm, what's the feeling- I don't know some vibe, not creepy but also like not-not creepy, ya know. Or at least I thought so. Really enjoyed the guy in the end though. He's funny. Pfft, Eli as a girl. Now that would be hilarious.

I hummed skipping my way down the halls before finally spotting a door that might be his room.

Rapping my knuckles against the pristine, snow-white door, or at least what I hoped was the Prince's door, I mean the same energy the prince exuded was coming from here.

Eli did explicitly warn me about avoiding solo encounters with royalty, but come on, what's a little rebellion in the grand scheme of things? After all, what Eli doesn't know won't hurt his precious rulebook, right? For magics’ sake, who wouldn't be curious about that magical red powder? It's like a cloak of invisibility for the senses: smell, sound, sight. The whole shebang. It's just simply too alluring to resist. Just thinking about the knowledge I could gain from all of it has me drooling.

I couldn't have come earlier because Ellie's been so up in my face about this whole ‘never go around the castle without me’ thingy, but after what he just said, I mean he totally just gave me free rein, right? Plus, let's be real, tracking down this 'elusive prince' wasn't exactly a walk in the enchanted garden. If I interrogated a bunch of servants about him they’d just look at me funny. So I figured, if I can't find him I'll just go to his room.

So, here I am, standing at the door, armed with determination and a mischievous grin. If the prince wasn't in, well, I had a foolproof backup plan. I'll just break in and make myself at home until he returns. I mean, he had to come back to his room at some point, right?

The intel on his room's location was surprisingly easier to extract. Locked doors, after all, only posed a challenge if you lacked the know-how to skillfully break in. Plus, who said a bit of lock-picking wasn't part of the fun? Especially when secrets were waiting to be unraveled?

"Oh, my bad, wrong room," I chirped, offering an apologetic grin to the white-haired—or was it light blue? It was like a seriously ethereal shade-

A girl.

A girl was what peered out at me through the slit of the door with a hint of confusion. The elegant tilt of her head was practically a work of art; seriously, she looked like a high-class copy of Eli but you know with pale blue hair instead of blond. Come to think of it, I vaguely recalled Eli mentioning a familial connection with this chick.

With a little elegant twist to my voice, I happily introduced myself. After all can't be too informal with a princess, Eli would have a fit if he ever saw me doing that. Wait, how do I know that, duh, of course, it's because she looks so much like Eli. If that king was like his father then this chick must be a princess. See I know my stuff. I'm not an idiot.

"Hi, my name's Everetta, but you can just call me Evie, or Ev, that's what Eli sometimes calls me. But of course, you wouldn't know that, at least I hope not, do you? If you did that'd be really creepy. Then again my nickname’s not really all that hard to figure out, or is it? Anyway, I was looking for Prince umm... Fli- Flen, Flynn" Shit did I just mess up the prince’s name. I mean, I only just met the guy a couple days ago and Eli was playing bodyguard, blocking my view the whole time. Hard to put a name to someone when their face is, like, MIA.

The princess just stared at me. Why do I get the feeling that she doesn't like me? I mean we did just meet, at least I think so- been really hard to remember things these days. Hmm, wonder why.

"He's down the hall," she deadpanned, giving me the full door slam treatment. Right in the face. Literally, I swear the door glazed the tips of my nose.

Well, talk about a swift and efficient dismissal.

"Thanks!" I chimed back, half-hoping my gratitude reached her through the closed door. So, that was a bust. But hey, now I know where to find the elusive Prince Flynn.

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