Freedom comes at a price and a young Earthal princess must live the life of somebody else, even if it means facing evil threats and impossible odds.
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As someone who craves freedom, Princess Clarabelle cannot just stand by and let her life be take...
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"HAVEN'T you taken a bath before coming here? And of all places—" the prince waved his hand at the soft streaming water "—the lake. Really?"
Emir and Willow searched for Clara around the campus but they didn't see her emerge from the portal. They were about to send a report to the court when they heard a loud splash at the lake behind them.
The prince was back from being grumpy and hot-headed. No sign of the gentle and caring prince who went after Clara at Rovenshire. Being an air prince really suited him—unpredictable and inconsistent.
He stared back at Clara with the same intense amount of her glare. His face showed how bored he was, but she didn't miss the sly smirk he failed to conceal. Clara removed her eyes from him to stare at her wet clothes.
"What am I going to do? I can't go in there all soaked."
Clara felt a change in the air around the prince as he brought his clasped fists up to his mouth and blew through them. A gust of wind blew past her, its warmth the same as the summer heat.
"There. You might still want to change at some point. It tends to get chilly in the evening." He turned the air current to himself, shaking water off his shoes as he dried them.
"Hey, I'm completely dry!" Clara ran her hand over the dry fabric, amused.
"Is it really something you should be surprised about?" He raised an eyebrow, making her still.
Emir turned and walked towards the front of the school, so Clara stumbled after him.
"Uh, thank you," she muttered shyly as the heat rose to her cheeks. Even with that simple gesture of helping her dry up, she knew Emir wasn't entirely bad. Maybe she could try to get to know him more if only he would let her.
"Next time you should follow the arrival protocol. That's the rule, Anneliese, and you must set an example to these students."
Clara looked at Willow who was resting above her shoulder. "What about the protocol? I wasn't briefed about it," she whispered so Emir wouldn't hear.
Willow sighed and explained in the same hushed voice, "Where you get in is where you get out. It only means that if you entered a portal through the gates, then out the gate you must. There are other portals that kingdoms forbid to use. Each varies with its policies. Here, permission from the palace must be granted. The bronze gate is of free use while the gold and silver aren't for public use. Gold is for transporting between empires while the silver one works between kingdoms.
"Which leads me to think..." She paused; her faceless head swiveled in Clara's direction. "You're not from Eirinia, are you? Which part of Hiestora are you from?"
Clara's steps faltered then stopped once. Even if she hid her identity, Willow could find ways to discover it without forcing her to tell.
"Just my observation," Willow said at once, then gestured to her to keep walking. Clara caught up with Emir who didn't even bother to check if she was following. "You lack sufficient knowledge of our policies. So? Where did you come from?"
