I looked at the boy looking up at me and raising his hands towards me.
“Baby princess, come here. I won’t hurt you.” He smiled widely at me.
“With all due respect Your highness, but I believe you are still incapable of carrying the princess.” The maid patted the shoulder of the boy.
“But I want to play with her!” The boy raised his voice towards the maid.
“Idiot, how can you even carry a baby?” His twin approached us, still having that composed look on his face.
“Can I not? I’m already three, turning four this year!” The curly-haired boy started to have tears in his eyes.
“I want to hold the baby! I want to play with her!” He’s now raising his voice even more.
“Shhh, calm down your highness.” The maid tried to calm the boy down. It seemed like if this goes on even further, her life depends on it.
The other boy only shook his head as he placed his hands on his hips. He looked too mature for his age.
“You’re going to cause trouble again.” He told his twin.
“But! I want to hold her!” He then pointed at me as he continued to bawl.
“Please, your highness.” The maid looked like she was on the verge of crying too.
She’s now on her knees trying to calm the boy down. Ser Wayne only looked at me as if asking me what he should do.
What would happen to her if this boy will not stop crying?
“Come on Ashwin, stop crying. The maid will be replaced again because of your tantrums.”
Oh, they’ll be replaced, but what would happen to them after being replaced? I looked at the maid’s face again. I guess, nothing good will happen to her.
So, I stretched out my hand towards the boy.
“Princess?” Ser Wayne looked at me with a questioning look on his face.
“Da! Da! –own!” I tried to tell him to put me down but I still can’t speak.
The boy stopped crying and looked at me.
“You want to go down?” Ser Wayne asked me one more time.
I only nodded and looked at the boy.
“As you wish, princess.”
Ser Wayne got on his knees as he held me firmly but gently to help me stand.
Okay, I can do this. Ser Wayne is helping me maintain my balance.
I looked at the boy and stretched out my hands towards him and forced myself to smile at him.
I don’t know how I look as I smiled. It felt weird to my face, it was my first time actually trying to smile. But I need to do this to save that maid. I know I am under no obligation to do so, but her desperate look made me want to do something. Maybe that’s because I’ve seen that kind of desperate look on other people’s faces as they begged me not to kill them. The look of still wanting to live, despite how cruel this world is.
The boy stopped crying and is now looking at me, mouth open. Then he smiled widely at me as he approached me.
He was about to touch my cheeks when someone hit his hands.
“You are really stupid Ashwin. Do you know how dirty your hands are? You were just playing outside a moment ago and now you want to touch the baby’s face?”
His other twin was now kneeling in front of me as he stretched his hands out.
“Come here, little baby. My hands are clean, unlike his.”
“What! You just want the baby for yourself!”
“That’s not true.”
He then hugged me gently as he lifted me up.
“Y-your highness.” Ser Wayne looked at him with uncertainty.
“It’s okay. I’m capable enough.”
“Let me hold her too!”
“No. Wash your hands first!”
The curly-haired boy – Ashwin, only pouted at his brother.
“Take him with you and wash his hands.” He instructed the maid but the maid was reluctant to leave him behind.
“Go, I’ll be fine. I’m with a knight. We’ll be heading first to the garden.”
He then looked up at Ser Wayne.
“That’s where you’re headed, right? I saw servants preparing snacks in the garden. It’s for her, right?”
“Yes, your highness.”
He looked at the maid again.
“Go.”
With that, both Ashwin and the maid left.
“Now where are we.” He looked at me with composure, but then his expression changed.
He smiled widely at me.
“Waaaah, you’re so cute! I want to have you forever!” He said as he caressed my cheek.
His red-colored eyes are almost shining as he looked at me. I can see that he was sincere with what he said, but pain flashed through his face as sweat dripped down his forehead.
“Ugh.”
“Uhm, your highness. I can carry the princess for you and you can continue playing with her in the garden.” Ser Wayne offered his hand to take me away.
He pouted but still gave me to Ser Wayne.
“Thank you, your highness.”
“Your highness, I’m sorry for asking this, but maybe you want to feed the princess yourself?”
“Can I?”
“Of course, you can, just be gentle with her.”
“Yes! I will feed her! Let’s hurry up and go to the garden!” He dragged Ser Wayne’s cape as he ran as fast as he could.
He looked so eager to feed me.
“Princess?”
I looked at Ser Wayne.
“You have a wonderful smile.”
Huh, I’m really smiling. I’m smiling as I looked at how cute this boy is. And for once in my life, I’m not feeling anxious. I can truly say I can trust this boy and his twin brother.
When we arrived at the garden oasis, the boy hurriedly feed me gently with food while smiling the whole time.
Maids were standing two meters from us, waiting to be ordered.
“I am your cousin! My name is Ashnor, and my brother’s name is Ashwin.”
“We live in the same palace. I want to visit your room. Can I?” He looked at Ser Wayne.
“Of course your highness.”
“Yey! I’ll visit your room uh-“
“The princess’ name is Flizeria.”
“Flizeria? Hmmm.” For a moment, he’s thinking hard to himself.
“Can I call you Ria?”
He smiled brightly at me as he asked.
“I want to give you a nickname. So, how about Ria?”
I smiled at him as I reached out to hold his hand.
“Ser! Look! Ria is holding my hand!”
“Ashnor!” We heard someone shout from afar.
Ashwin was running as fast as he could towards us.
“Let me play with her too!”
He then arrived in front of us and sat next to Ashnor then picked up a portion of food as he tried to feed me too.
“My hands are now clean. I want to feed her too!”
The maid that was with him is now panting behind him.
“Y-your highness, y-you must not run like that.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I just want to arrive as fast as I can.”
“So, princess. Wanna play with me?” He smiled brightly at me.
I looked at Ashnor and he went back to his composed self.
“Her name is Flizeria, but I gave her a nickname,” Ashnor told Ashwin.
“Waah, a nickname? Can I also give you one?” Ashwin asked me as he proceeded to think.
“Hmmm, how about Ria?” He smiled proudly at me.
“That’s what I gave her.” Ashnor looked mad. “Think of another one, I came up with that first.”
“Heeeh! Not fair! I want to call her that! Can we not just share that nickname?” He looked pleadingly at his brother.
“No. What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours. That’s what mom said.”
Ashwin only pouted as he proceed to think again.
I looked at them arguing with each other. Ashwin is energetic and really acts like a three-year-old. Ashnor on the other hand, although he forced himself to look mature, his childish side is still showing.
I chuckled as they continued to argue, then they heard me and looked at me. Both of them have that fascinated look on their faces.
“Waaah! So cute!”
“Ria is so cute!”
“Hey! That’s the nickname I gave to her! I told you to think of something else!”
“But I have nothing!”
“That’s not my problem!”
Again, they continued arguing as Ser Wayne feed me with the snacks on the table.
“They look so energetic, right princess?”
I looked at him and smiled.
“Oh! I know! I know! I know!” Ashwin energetically looked at me.
“I know what to call you. How about Fifi?” He smiled proudly again.
“Stupid! You’re not naming a pet! You’re naming our cousin here!” Ashnor scolded him again.
“But that’s what I want to call her!”
Fifi? It does sound like he’s naming a pet but it doesn’t matter. I liked it. I like the nicknames they’ve given me. As a person who grew up not having one, it gave me a warm fuzzy feeling within me.
“Look! She likes it! You like it, right Fifi?”
“Don’t call Ria that! That sounds like a pet’s name!”
This time I laughed as I looked at them.
“Oh my, our princess is laughing.” Ser Wayne spoke as he looked at me with fascination.
“This is a good sign. It’s still your first day here princess, and you’re already laughing. I thought you will continue to have that expressionless face of yours.”
“Heeh! Fifi laughed! She’s got a cute laugh!”
“Of course she has, she’s our cousin,” Ashnor stated in a matter-of-fact kind of tone.
We continued to eat together as they argue every now and then. I’m starting to have a good time here. With them, by my side as we grow up, maybe surviving here, won’t be that bad.