I’m struggling muffled shouts into the gloved palm against my mouth, condensing my divinity through my restrained arm and swirling it until it takes shape between my fingertips. Loosening my jaw, I clench and bite hard into my assailant’s palm to find the hesitation that’ll allow me to—

There’s a hiss of pain and the hold on my body and wrist is loosened.

“Tssk, god, Surya, calm down, please! It’s me!”

My divinity infused right arm that’s been made free is arched at my assailant’s head behind me, but I hesitate. It’s a familiar voice.

“Your Highness?” I turn, pushing away from his grip against the opposite wall where I can see him clearly. My eyes narrow as the hood lowers, revealing the golden cascade of hair neatly falling into a long braid that curves and hangs from his shoulder. Few strands of golden locks frame the man’s well kept face, green eyes like the lush shadows of a forest. He was like a painting, even in unassuming and plain clothes. Royal genetics are scary. Even the king back then, while old, was considered beautifully in his prime—though I do not remember him that well since I had only met him once. Father was jealous of that, too. From outside of his own dark cloak, he massages the part of his palm I had bitten into. His eyes narrow in a wince flinching as he presses into it.

“Normally, dealing any kind of injury to the crown prince would be a crime, but…” The young man trails off, smiling sheepishly as I glare. He then laughs awkwardly, “... this wound is excusable, seeing that I did deserve it.”

Deserving it is an understatement. Had he been anyone else, his head would have been engulfed in water until he drowned.

“What was that, Your Highness? What is Your Highness even doing here?” My blood is still pumping with adrenaline, my fingertips gripping onto my cloak’s fabric stiffly.

“I thought I recognized you in the crowd,” he reasons. 

“And that is enough justification to drag me into an alleyway?”

“Well, no, but you see,” The Prince trails off, trying to find his words. He averts his eyes, before suddenly meeting mine. “You looked disheartened. I thought you were being suffocated at being escorted by a paladin on your first outing, especially in a bustling place like the market.”

You were seconds away from suffocating yourself.

I pause for a moment. It felt like there was something else in those words, hidden in his softened expression. His eyes looked similar to a puppy left in the rain. It was as if there was a silent, ‘like me’, at the end of that sentence.

“Your Highness, that still is no reason to drag anyone into an alleyway.” He wasn’t lying. I was disheartened, though not because of my escort. It was because…

I blink, whipping my head back to the main street of townsfolk and vendors. The sudden encounter made me forget what happened.

“Is something wrong, Your Holiness?”

“... No, it’s nothing, Your Highness,” I sigh, leaning against the stone wall behind me. By now, the trace most definitely would have moved by now. Even if I focused my divinity again, catching up to them may be a different matter entirely. Opening my eyes, the Prince stares back with a worried expression plain as day plastered onto his face. I attempt to smile back. “Truly, nothing’s wrong. Your Highness has no reason to worry.”

Come to think of it, something of sorts happened before too, didn’t it? Yes, that’s right. It was for a very short, fleeting moment, but back at the palace… I had felt that familiar, sun-like warmth then as well, didn’t I?

“Your Highness,” I breathe, stilling myself. My eyes flicker up to him again, and he seems to flinch in surprise. “Are you aware of any people… who were at the palace that day, and may be venturing near the market now?”

The golden haired royal furrows his eyebrows as he ponders away. 

“Well,” he begins. “There’s a lot of people.”

“My ears are open.”

“Um,” the Prince seems to flush at the sudden attention. He averts his eyes quickly. “I can assume by ‘that day’, you mean the day you awoke, correct?”

I nod.

“That day was an event, not explicitly hosted by the palace but still somewhat hosted. It was an eclipse,” he explains. That was news to me. No one had mentioned that. Then again, I hadn’t talked to many people over the course of this week. The Prince continues, “The bridge of that lake is one of the most open places on palace grounds, and thus the land the lake was located at, that is normally restricted, was open for viewing.”

“I see…” I murmur. If a restricted area had suddenly become open for an event, there would be a lot of people. “Even to commoners?”

The Prince shakes his head.

“No, at least not the average commoner. It’s still palace grounds after all.” He begins to hold up his hand, raising fingers one by one. “There are quite a few large groups that attended that day that could be wandering leisurely now.”

I watch carefully as he explains. 

“First,” the Prince begins. “Are the palace employees. While not often, they are offered days off. I do not memorize their schedules myself, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few around today. Second, would be palace knights who are in a similar situation.”

“Why would there be palace knights out right now…?” I question, meeting his gaze. He averts mine, however with a nervous smile. At his silence, I narrow my eyes. “Your Highness… would you not have escorts of your own accompanying you today?”

“Third,” he changes the subject, quickly. With a sigh, he concludes, “would be the various nobles and their close personal attendants.”

Those are a lot of people. Moreso most, if not all, are people I would practically never interact with if I continue to spend my days at the temple. That is, if Shivani’s reincarnation is among those three groups of people. One thing’s for sure, if what I felt both times really was Shivani’s divinity, then…

“Are you trying to find someone? If it helps, I could collect a list of the knights and servants who were allowed out today,” the Prince offers.

“Thank you, but it’s a bit more complicated than that,” I smile. Rather than a list of names, it’d be easier if I could just see them all at once. If I did that, I could at the very least confirm that Shivani is among them.

“Oh, if you need to meet them instead,” the Prince suddenly speaks. He’s looking down and digging underneath the cloak.

“Did I say that out loud?” I wonder. He looks up with a small smile.

“No, it was just written on your face,” he grins warmly, reaching a hand from underneath. In his gloved hand is an envelope with a red wax seal of the royal family. “In three days, there is a ball being hosted in one of the palace halls. Most, if not all, of the nobles who attended the eclipse should be attending, as well as the same servants.”

My mouth hangs agape for a moment as he hands the stamped invitation towards me.

“That’s enough to provide an opportunity to find your ‘Unknown’, right?”

“I, that’s…” My eyes waver between the invitation and the prince. He seems genuine, and there’s only an honest clarity in his eyes. This is the perfect, if not the only chance I’ll get at least for god knows how long. As I reach my fingers out, I hesitate though. It is perfect, but the only thing left would be…

I can’t help but shake my head and let my fingers fall.

“I don’t think I can go, though,” I reply with a bitter smile. His eyebrows furrow.

“Why not?” I can’t help but laugh halfheartedly.

“I’ve left my escort for too long.” Though half of it was his fault, the other lies with me. I had gotten mixed up in the crowd before the Prince took me away. Seeing as the paladin already didn’t seem too fond of me, I have no doubts that any outings from now on would be much more strict—that is, if I am ever allowed out again.

There’s a strange expression on the prince’s face this time. “Why would that matter?”

“Your Highness,” I humor slightly. “Perhaps you have the luxury of being able to abandon your escorts at will, but I… do not have that.”

“But why?” He asks again. “Your rank is higher than theirs. No one rivals your authority other than the Emperor and Pope themselves, and even then you are of equal standing.”

Perhaps that’s true. It was true in the past, yet that didn’t stop Father and everyone else in the temple from walking over me. Something like that only deterred the other children, but the adults in power quickly realized nothing had changed about me. Even if god themself revealed to all that I was their promised daughter, I was still but a child. A small, powerless child with a title whose weight I could hardly comprehend.

“Even if I did exert my authority as Saintess,” I start. It’s a foolish, yet equally plausible thought. “Do you really think this temple garment is suitable for a ball?”

I pull aside a flap of the cloak’s wings. Divine garments, other than ceremonial clothing bearing embroidered sashes, are much more plain and modest. It makes traveling into the town and outside the capital easier, but for something as grandiose as balls hosted for nobility, it greatly falls flat. I’ve grown accustomed to these kinds of clothing when in battle so it doesn’t bother me, but even I know basic higher etiquette. I was taught so just in case before setting off to my kingdom-saving journey. Even if I didn’t, the memory of the ladies in the distance covered in bright colors, ruffles, and jewels when I awoke vividly set an example.

“So as you see, Your Highness,” I conclude solemnly with a defeated smile. “No matter how much I want to, the matter has become complicated enough. As I am now, going to this occasion just won’t be possible.”

The Crown Prince is silent. I wonder what is going on in that head of his. The golden haired man’s eyes are so focused, deep in thought. It’s somewhat familiar, though I do not know why.

“Is the Saintess one to give up so easily?”

His mouth turns up into a smile. Placing the invitation into my hand, he grasps the wrist of my other and begins to drag me through the opposite side of the alleyway.

“Uh, Your Highness?”

“It’s simple, really. If the situation is as complicated as that,” he says. There’s an almost confident cheeriness in his voice. Perhaps its arrogance, or is it assurance? Maybe it’s both. “If the problem all comes down to the fact that if you return you cannot attend at all, you simply just won’t return.”

We exit the alleyway, and down a separate and less crowded road where in the distance, it seems a trio of knights wait nervously in an anxious manner. It’s only then when his words finally dawn upon me.

“Wait, what? Your Highness?!”