Sorry for the slow update… Life kind of sucks right now, but hey, at least this helps me distract myself.
Also, I changed my redaction style a bit, if you noticed, I’d be happy for any feedback you have, technically my Mother tongue its Spanish, but I use it like 20% of the time I’m awake communicating with someone, so I’d say I’m more on the English camp at this point. I still suck though, so, YAY.
After succeeding in her daily escaping act, Selene managed to clear her head and think more clearly, in great part thanks to the peacefulness of the forest she was wandering; thanks to this she reached to the conclusion that her beloved elder sister falling to the Saint Prince's advances was near impossible.
From the countless picture books that Arue brought to Selene, who was unable to get proper education, the amount that had simple maps and information about the country was the majority. Of course, the amount of information one could attain from books meant for children was limited but nevertheless it was possible, to a certain degree, to discern the current situation of this continent.
Selene could figure out from the books that, in contrast to the country of the prince in question, apparently called the "Herifalt Kingdom", which is flaunting its power through the use of its expansive territories, the Aquila Kingdom is at the southernmost tip of the continent barely in the maps out of politeness so, put in simpler terms, her country was basically in the middle of nowhere.
For her, Arue was essentially the Archangel of Kindness, but for the Debauchery Prince who is going around the continent picking and choosing from the most beautiful of them all, the “Simple Princess” of a small country like hers was unthinkable to be chosen. It's as unthinkable as a young entrepreneur who owns any number of super cars that decides to go into the middle of the countryside to buy a Super Cub [1]. So thinking like this Selene was relieved and started taking a leisurely stroll towards her destination.
One would think that a lone girl walking on a forest in the middle of the night with nothing but moonlight to illuminate her path would be a bad idea, but Selene wasn't afraid, after all besides her was an army of mice following her orders. Since the one bringing the mice together—Butler—had to remain behind to make sure the mice taking Selene's place were doing their job, he couldn't follow her outside. Instead the mice of the forest, who follow his orders and knew extremely well the layout of the forest, were to be Selene's bodyguards and guides during her escapades. Using their impressive numbers they spread throughout the surroundings making sure that any dangerous creature or poisonous plants in her vicinity were signaled immediately to Selene to keep her away from harm and so, because of this, Selene was confident she could walk around with her eyes closed through this dense forest and never even trip once.
"Made it"
After walking for some time, Selene stopped in the middle of the forest which is rarely visited even by those that live in the palace. In a densely packed forest only this place lacked trees, instead a small clearing covered in vivid green grass and an assortment of colorful flowers stood there; in its center a small pond silently stood, reflecting the shape of the moon on its calm surface. This small garden right here is what Selene has been referring to as "Paradise".
"Uhm, seeds, seeds"
Looking around herself, Selene put her hand in the breast pocket of her dingy dress and took out a brownish and round small thing—a seed—from it. While eating, Selene would always make sure to hide any seeds she found from the fruits and other foodstuff and then she always made sure to plant them in whatever patch of dirt that caught her fancy. Since Selene was never someone to have many friends in her previous world she always had an affinity for raising plants and animals, but in her past life's apartment she didn't even have a balcony. The best she could muster was barely being able to take care of a potted plant now though she can do anything she wants with the earth in the forest, even if its limited to nighttime only; in that way her current situation and this place is indeed a "Paradise" for her.
Even so, for a single girl to cover and care for this many plants was impossible. In reality Selene was just planting the seeds and not caring for them, not much better than a hoarding squirrel, and thanks to the southern climate and the quality of the earth, the plants were growing at a steady pace but if you looked closely you could see that even though there were multiple plants of the same type some were clearly more developed and bigger than the others.
"Doping, start!"
After getting fired up, Selene put her hands to the place she buried the seed and started pushing like a cardiac massage, from there a small light started pouring out of her hands signaling the use of magic and the sharing of her magic power with the seeds.
When one day Butler suddenly started talking, Selene finally realized that she had magic power and also that she was able to share it with others. If she was able to share it with mice then she could also do it with plants, or so she thought, and now she was finally started getting the hang of it and just like she envisioned those plants that she shared her power with started growing at a faster pace and also with bigger and better qualities, but since using her power tired her she only did it when she felt like it. This way, after years of being imprisoned and after spending months with preparations, she finally managed to build her own flower garden.
"Done, training, start"
After she spread around all the seeds she brought with her, she then proceeded to the next daily task. Approaching the edge of the pond, closing her eyes and kneeling in a praying position she started focusing. This is what Selene came up in her own way for magic training; since she's able to use something like magic she figured she might as well learn how to properly wield it, but since there was no one that would teach her how to do so she started thinking on a way to do it on her own.
"Ramen, Somen, Copenhagen…"
Saying the most magic-like words she knew, Selene started weaving a half-assed spell. It's like when focusing on praying she can sense the power of the earth, or Spiritual power, or something like that which would awaken her powers and maybe allow her to shoot fireballs or something, at least that's what she was hoping for and so she made sure to focus on her “Spirit”.
When her sister, Arue, undoes the seal on the door she's clearly using magic power, but when she does it at best the door slightly shines but doesn't budge at all. Considering the seal is to keep her inside it should be obvious, but there's also probably the fact that Arue has much more magic power in comparison.
It's not like there's any problem for Selene if the door doesn't open at all, but if practicing in secret allows her to get much more magic power, maybe her sister will praise her for it saying "As expected from Selene" and so, she once more focuses on practicing, probably in vain, in order to impress her beloved Elder Sister.
Thing is, after years of repeating the same chant over and over again and not getting any results, she gets tired of it pretty quickly which means she usually does it for about three minutes and then stops. After finishing her routine like always, she thought about catching a lively grasshopper from around here as a present for Butler and decided to go back.
"What are you praying so much to? Or is that a song you're singing? Tell me, beautiful moon spirit."
Until she got spoken to by someone from behind, which startled her making her turn and just stare dumbfounded at this individual. While she was focused in her self-made prayer a man had approached her without her noticing. This man, or young man from the looks of it, was dressed in a pure white suit that was clearly made from expensive materials and had embroidery of a golden eagle, which complimented his slender figure and platinum blonde hair that shined under the moonlight but, compared to his pretty face, his clothes paled in comparison. That's how handsome he was. Trying to look amicable and not scare Selene, the young man approached her with a kind smile on his face.
"I'll apologize for suddenly talking to you, I was so enthralled in my desire to see you up close, you see."
With a voice like those of poets the young man said those words while relaxing his smile. If a woman were to face that kind of approach, no matter whom it may be, they would most likely fall for his charms right then and there—only a woman would, that is.
"Annoying!"
Selene took off on a mad dash while spewing words of rejection towards the man. Since the girl's actions were so unexpected, the young man stood there dumbfounded for a second, but seeing that the girl in front of him showed her back and started running, he quickly got his senses back and tried reaching for her. He was a bit late in his reaction, missing the girl by a hair's breadth and so Selene jumped into the tall grass of the forest.
"Please wait!"
Selene heard the man's voice from her back, in clear pursuit, but she didn't care to look back; she just focused on running away into the tall grass to shake her pursuer as soon as possible. If this were the plains and in broad daylight then Selene's stamina would've run out already and she would've been caught, but this is the forest, one which is almost like Selene's backyard, and it's the middle of the night so it shouldn't be a surprise that she managed to lose the man without much trouble at all. But she wouldn't stop, she kept running as if her life depended on it as fast as she could back to the warehouse and with the same momentum she climbed up the vine.
[Oh, Princess! You are back rather soon…]
While waiting for the return of its master beside the window, Butler was astounded by the sight of Selene. Usually she comes back while humming to herself in a pretty good mood, bearing gifts for Butler and the other mice that took her place and always kindly thanking them for their work. But today was different. Panting in a pretty exhausted manner, with her hair and clothes in complete disarray she just walked to the bed and fell tired on top of it, making the mice taking her place scramble out of the way before she fell on the bed in a panicked way.
[Princess! What in the world happened!?]
"Everything, has, ended!"
[What in the…!? Really, what has occurred!?]
The startled forest mice ran away through the window, but Butler made sure to dash to the side of its owner who was now lying face down on the bed. Since Butler had never seen its master this distressed, he couldn't help but be restless and make rounds around her, but Selene was so tired she couldn't even try to ease its worries, and the reason for that was none other than the young man she met inside the forest. Even for Selene, who had only heard the rumors about him but never met him, she knew immediately that was the Saint Prince, as for why was he in that kind of place she didn't know and couldn't care less.
"Ugh! Cheats! Unfair! Favoritism!"
While burying her face into her pillow she kept repeating maledictions at him. What was that? Isn't that a straight up prince right there? Well, he is indeed a prince, but why did it have to be one that's cut straight out of an Otome Game[2]? Is that even allowed? Nay, it must not be allowed.
With rumors there are always misleading statements that accompany them, and in the case of the Saint Prince it probably was an overblown title given to him, or Selene thought so at least, but when faced with the real person she figured out that he was a man worthy of the title that he was given. Even for someone like Arue, who is an angel of virtue, when faced with someone like that prince even the statues of goddesses would fall for him with no trouble.
[Princess, please calm down. What happened in the forest? If you don't mind, can this Butler lend an ear to your troubles?]
The worried words of Butler didn't even register for Selene; her mind was too focused on the past, specifically on a story of one of the games that she used to play so much.
Below the beautiful full moon, a calm and quiet night, a prince and a princess of age stood beside each other—to be completely honest a too good to be true story. Then, the two would get closer, their faces meeting in a kiss, and then they would go into a rated R situation—
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
[P-Princess! Get a hold of yourself!]
Writhing while thinking of the worst situation possible in her mind, Selene grabbed at her hair in desperation while thinking that, if only she could've grown older, she intended to fall in a forbidden relationship with her lovely elder sister. Now though, something had appeared and stolen that future away from her.
"Selene! What's wrong Selene!?"
When she heard that voice Selene came back to reality. Glowing faintly, the emblem on the door signaled the opening of the seal and quickly after it the door itself flew open. Why was Arue—Selene's first love—here right now when the party is right at its peak? She couldn't understand what was going on, so she was left there speechless as Butler panicked by the sudden intrusion and quickly hid itself below her bed.
"Sister, why…?"
"Well, about that… More importantly though, what's wrong with that appearance of yours Selene!?"
"… Nothing"
"There's no way it's nothing!"
With her hair in complete disarray and her clothes in a complete mess, it was clear that Selene was in a pretty unusual state, which is why Arue quickly rushed to her side and, softly putting her hands in her sister's cheeks, she stared closely into her eyes. For the first time in her life, Arue witnessed the wet cheeks of her sister after crying; from the girl that didn't shed even one tear once her own mother threw her away.
"You were crying, weren't you?"
"… mm-hm"
Selene reluctantly nodded at this question, but this wasn't the situation to tell her she was crying because of her foolishness, nor was it possible to try and feign at this point either, so she instead chose to chance the topic before Arue could ask her for the reason.
"Ehm, well, what, happened, with prince?"
Since her brain was full of nothing but spite towards the prince, that was the best topic she could think of, to this, Arue grimaced and made an incredibly dejected expression as she spoke again.
"It was no good… The prince wouldn't even turn my way…"
"Eh?"
"I'm sorry… after saying that I was gonna do my best, Big sis screwed up…"
Almost like a child before getting a scolding, Arue spoke softly with her head down. During that evening she put her utmost effort and those natural charms of hers into the task of getting the prince's attention, but she failed miserably at picking his interest. She knew this meant that her little sister's salvation was out the window at the same time, so she was devastated thinking on how much those news would shatter that small girl's hopes.
Selene told her not to sacrifice herself in her stead, but Arue deducted those were simply words in order to put an act in front of her. As proof, isn't she crying in the middle of the night alone in this very room right now? When she usually treated her cheerfully and with love, she was probably crying in the alone in her room every day, but she couldn't do anything to ease her own sister's pain. Arue was trapped in her own feelings of helplessness, sadness and empathy towards Selene's situation as well as shame towards her own lack of power.
How would Selene think of such a pathetic Elder Sister? There was no way she wouldn't reproach her for acting so high and mighty and then failing to keep her promises, that's what she was waiting for. But Selene did not do that, instead, for some reason, she looked extremely pleased and proud while she readjusted herself and sat properly on the bed once more.
"Sister, crouch"
"Eh…? I-Is this fine?"
Following Selene's instructions Arue lowered her stance until she and Selene's ayes were leveled, then Selene spread her arms around her neck and gave her a big hug.
"Wh-What's wrong, Selene?"
"Stay still"
With a tone that didn't allow for any talk back, Selene clung to Arue's neck as hard as she could. They stayed in that position for some time as, slowly but surely, Selene's warmth spread throughout Arue calming her and easing her nervousness silently, until Selene started patting her head.
"There, there…"
The moment she heard those words her feelings broke the dam that was her heart. Those words, as if easing the worries of a small child, were the only way that Selene who didn't have the conversational skills to communicate properly with others had to ease her pain and express her feelings. For Arue, who was waiting for her sister to start bashing her for her own powerlessness, Selene's kind words and actions were what saved her and what let her cry her heart out.
"Selene, ah, Selene…! I've yet to give up… I will do my utmost best for you, no matter what!"
"Please, don't"
"You don't have to hold back, you know? You're my lone sister, and I'm yours, is okay to cry when you want to cry."
The uptight parties, annoying social customs, dealing with men she's not used to deal with, for Arue who was tired of all this and more, the way her sister calmly and kindly made sure to treat her eased her better than anything else. It's as if she wasn't the older sister, like she was the younger of the two, the fact that in front of Selene she could stop being a Princess made her as happy as one could get.
Whereas Selene also felt relieved for a different reason, she was worried that her sister, being an adult, would hide her feelings and her motivations from the child, Selene. In order to check this, Selene hugged her sister's neck and while enjoying the feel of her smooth skin she made extra sure to carefully check her neck and nape and so, having made sure that there were no traces—kiss marks—of the Prince on her, with a soft breath she said those words satisfied: "There, there…".
In a room illuminated by the dim moonlight the two Princesses—Arue and Selene—who were so close to each other, held each other on an even closer hug while from the bottom of the bed Butler looked fondly at the scene in front of its eyes.
[Hmm, but really, what in the world happened?]
Putting one hand to its chin and holding that arm with his other hand, in such a humanlike fashion, Butler wondered what had happened like a detective would, but the situation that night surpassed its deductive powers. Nevertheless its master had recovered her peace of mind and that was what mattered, convincing itself like so he dropped the subject. For a steward such as itself, learning when to not pry too much on its master's feelings was also a skill it needed to have.
Now, to learn why the prince, who was supposed to be at the party, appeared in the middle of the forest at such a time, and what had occurred to Arue during said party, we will need to rewind time back a little bit——.
[1] – A Honda Super Cub You’d be surprised at the amount of these that go around the Japanese countryside, like, Geez.
[2] – 乙女ゲーム (Romaji. Otome Game) or Maiden Game in English are the female oriented counterpart to Galge (Contraction of Girls Game) in which a female heroine (You) go around your business and get caught in a situation where 2 or more Hot dudes start trying to gain your affection. Have you seen Hakuouki? No? SHAME on you.