Love & Duty

Chapter 6

A few days pass, some filled with exciting new things, such as touring the castle and meeting some friends of Ren's in the palace, mostly fun. Other days were filled with tedious work. Paperwork, document signing, letter writing. The last one wasn't that bad since it was going to Sophia's parents, updating them on everything.

Today, Sophia decided that it was going to be a fun day. She wasn't going to sit another minute on that desk with papers and books in front of her. She didn't care who would stop her!

She dodged Valerie a couple of times, she kept following her to keep an eye on her, but Sophia just wanted to roam freely. Tyler followed her for a few minutes, but he got bored later and stopped.

Back home, Sophia was able to dodge her aides easily. She knew where to hide or what to do to make them stop. In Greenwind, not so much. She can get lost as quickly as they can; even though she toured the castle, it's not like she memorized it. She doesn't even know what she can do to entertain herself; she has no idea what to do for fun here. To make it worse, Ren was busy... again!

They got a new florist, her name was Sarah. Apparently, she is really good at what she does. Arranging flowers and taking care of them, she even knows where to find the rare ones and how to make them survive in a different place. Sophia found it very fascinating that people actually study that stuff. She just thought whoever liked flowers took care of them.

That's where Ren is today, with Sarah. Discussing the castle, work, rules, and stuff.

Sophia turned around to another hallway, still trying to find something. And this time, she did!

She sees Nikki and Rowen walking at the end of the hallway. "Nikki! Rowen!" she calls out to them, running to catch up.

They stop and look back. "Sophia."

"Princess Sophia." they both reply.

"She just called me by my name! No one is around; you can let it pass once, you know. Let those shoulders loosen up a bit Rowen." she shakes her shoulders as an example. But all she got was a little laugh.

"Are you alone, Sophia?" Nikki notices the usual shadows, or at least one usual shadow is not around.

"Yeah! I finally managed to escape from Valerie. I can't stay in one place for too long, or she will find me." she looks around to check.

"Why are you escaping from her?" Rowen wonders.

"I want to feel a sense of freedom; when she walks behind me all professionally, I feel like I'm on duty." she loved Valerie. Sophia knows she can be fun, but she never thought she would get more protective outside of home.

"I'm bored, guys. What do you do here for fun?" she asks the two aides holding stacks of papers.

"Usually run after Ren." Rowen replied while sighing, and Nikki just laughed at its reality.

"Wow... I suddenly don't feel so bad for Tyler and Valerie. There are people like them in the world." she shrugs, and they all laugh. "Well, are you guys busy? Maybe you can keep me company today?" she pleads with her eyes.

Nikki beats Rowen before he gets to answer. "I'm sorry, but I'm a bit busy." she moves swiftly and gets the papers from Rowen, giving him a push on his back toward Sophia. "Rowen is free, though."

"W-What? I'm not!" Rowen was supposed to help Nikki with the paperwork; she never lets him escape that hell.

"Yes, you are. Listen to the Princess and loosen your shoulders a bit." she starts walking away. "Why don't you show her the forest at the back of the castle?"

"But-"

"Go, Rowen. I got this." at the next corner, she was gone.

Nikki might seem like a person who doesn't really look around, but she is very observant. And in these couple of days, she has noticed something very interesting.