𝐍𝐚𝐢𝐯𝐞 [𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝]

第2章

"YOUR HIGHNESS, if may I ask, why do you sleep here at this hour?" the library was empty, well semi-empty. the girl's blonde hair delicately falling over her sides as she lazily glanced to the voice.

"ah riddle, I was simply working on a new painting of mine." the boy glanced at the piece of parchment to see himself. he was by the table near the window. the sun's light slightly covering him, giving his figure more depth.

he was so engrossed in his reading that he didn't notice the girl drawing him. "however the sleepiness overtook my whole being. making me succumb to slumber." he sweat-dropped at her choice of words. she lifted up the soft parchment and observed her previous strokes.

"I could have captured your beauty more efficiently if I used a small brush..." despite mumbling riddle heard everything making his cheeks shine crimson.

"I-I do not deserve such praise your highness!" he yelled, frantically waving his arms around the place. miraculously, none of his swings impacted the girl. even when embarrassment he still cares about her well-being. she slightly smirked, well that is to be expected. she made sure to establish close connections to all possible allies to her brother's reign.

"oh but it is true. it seems as if you are not aware of how adorable you look." she got up from her chair and slowly walked towards the boy. luckily, no one was present in the library. just the two figures who were standing beneath the sunset's glow.

she gently graced her hands to his cheek, and the boy made no attempt to move. as if he was used to it. he relaxed underneath her touch, and released a sigh. his eyes staring back at her beautiful emeralds. "you... really are not aware of the power you hold against me?"

she smiled back at him, "no, I do. and I'm taking advantage of it, does that not make you mad?" gaining a bit of confidence, the boy grabbed her palm and kissed it. "to be taken advantage of means I am useful, I would rather be useful than utterly useless to you."

she smiled at his words. "then does that guarantee your support for my brother?" his eyes became serious, and he looked back at her. without stuttering a word, "I assure you, the rosehearts will remain loyal to the lombardys."

her smile widened, "now that makes me happy, thank you riddle." she was about to pick up her belongings when the redhead suddenly hugged her from behind. "I want you... to finish that painting of me... please?"

she giggled and quickly pecked his cheek. "of course, now go sit there and look pretty darling. well, I don't think that's much of a problem for you." he blushed again and whined about her teasing.

"okay okay, sorry." she picked up her parchment and sat back down on her chair. turning to face him, it was evident that the boy was nervous. visibly shaking, eyes refusing to look back at hers, and his face was a blushing mess as well.

"dear you need to relax. I mean you are very cute at the moment, but I would rather focus on the more serious parts of your features." his head furiously looked up, "that's because of you! Stop teasing me!"

she flung her head back, laughter echoing across the bookshelves. "Hahaha, okay maybe I could sing you a song? that always helps me relax." he moved his head to the side in a very swift manner mumbling a "whatever."

"flower gleam and glow." as her petite hand glossed over the slightly rough paper. she sung the song her maid used to sing to her. despite ending on a rather depressing note, the two were inseparable.

"let your power shine." though that all soon changed when the maid inevitably decided to strain their relationship. by cutting her hair. the cutting the hair of a royal family member without their permission was already considered a terrible offense. however cutting the hair of amelia was on another scale.

"make the clock reverse"

amelia was one of the rare lombarys to inherit the trait of having blonde hair. despite majority of her relatives, including her own parents, having brown. to the point her sick father accused her mother of having an affair before she died. that whole issue soon died down when he realized just how special her blonde hair really was.

she was blessed by the sun flower. a flower that had the same effect on another princess long ago named rapunzel. they knew the power could be harnessed through a melody, but didn't know which one exactly. until a maid from the said princess's kingdom started to work as the girl's personal attendant.

"bring back what once was mine"

she knew the song by heart and taught it to the young girl. from then on she could heal wounds, reduce a person's aging, and cure any sickness, just by singing a song. until one day when the princess decided to cut her hair using her own pair of scissors, it did not end well.

"heal what has been hurt"

a part of her strand turned brown and whoever touched the discarded piece of hair would experience accelerated aging. so mention their surprise when they saw the once youthful attendant of the princess change into a very haggard looking old woman. she was then quickly banished from the castle, never to step foot on royal grounds again.

"change the faiths design"

her father took advantage of her powers. making her spend endless nights beside her father's bed side, singing a song to help him recover from his illness. to the point his body became too dependent on her power, following the next day in which she departed on an expedition and therefore could not take care of her father.

she thought one day without the song wouldn't hurt. he won't die from just one day without healing. he has his medication, doctors and nurses alike are on stand by as well if he needs anything. however that was proven false during her arrival, when she was greeted with her brother's furious face.

he was wearing all black... the king has died. and it was her fault.

"take what has been lost"

"bring back what once was mine"

looking back one last time at her finished painting of riddle, she smiled in contentment. she gave the boy the painted parchment and told him it was a gift. he went on about how it was too much of a sacred piece of art for him to simply take but she insisted. quickly pecking him on the cheek she ran out the library door, her messenger bag on her shoulders with her acrylic paint containers and brushes clanging as they collide to each other.

"what once was mine..."