The Unknown Princess

Sibling concern, nighttime adventure

Meanwhile, outside the castle doors, Bartos could be seen waiting for Prince Kiyan along with his little sister Elena. Elena tapped her foot impatiently and had a scowl on her face. "Where the heck did my brother go at this hour!? Where do you think he went, Bartos?" She asked the bodyguard, pointing her fan of knives at him.

Bartos sighs softly with his bored face. He just keeps standing still by the gate to wait for the prince to come home. He knew that little boy would have to go out again because of his curiosity to find the magical beasts they had just seen today "I'm sorry princess but I don't babysit him for 24 hours a day because I have other duties as well.. fear not that your brother will be fine. He is old enough to take care of himself.."

"Of course, I know that! But whatever piqued his interest this time, it's taken him out of the city! Doesn't he know there are bandits and mercenaries loitering about?" Elena rolled her eyes and furled her fan of knives. "He better have a good explanation when he gets back.."

Bartos roll his eyes as well. This is how he will handle the picky princess but he can't blame her because she is being genuinely worried so it's a good thing at least "Why don't you go to bed first princess? I will let you know in the morning whether he is arriving home late or not...it's not good for your beauty sleep I suppose?"

Elena suddenly gave a laugh. "Beauty sleep? Whether I sleep or not matters little to me. I will always be beautiful!" She declared while hiding her laughter behind her fan.

Kiyan appeared at the castle steps and raised his eyebrow as he heard his sister laugh. "And this is why you still have no suitors." He groaned.

"Brother!" Elena exclaimed.

Bartos sighed in relief with a smile once he saw the prince come back home in one piece and no injuries. Looks like he is safe after all "Your Majesty, I'm sorry but the young princess is worried about you. Well, it worries me too so what exactly are you doing out there?" Bartos was already prepared with a warm cloak that he was holding. It's cold out here at night so he prepared it just in case the prince needs it

Kiyan nodded gratefully and accepted the cloak. "Thanks, Bartos. I just followed up on our initial investigation of the rumors. I thought that something would have changed if I came at night."

Elena raised her eyebrow suspiciously. "You mean the talk of the town of some beast or person or whatever?"

Kiyan nodded. "Yes, and it did have a lot of value. It really was a woman. A half-elf. She can turn into an animal at will too!" He exclaimed.

Elena just blinked at him and then shook her head. "My brother has finally lost it."

Bartos only chuckles with awkwardness. Not that the prince has gone mad or the princess didn't believe it, but he was there when things happened so of course he believes the prince "I think you might want to discuss this with your ministry of magic. Maybe then we can do some research about her, but sire. I think it's best if we keep these issues to the minimum contacts. People with only a heart for money wouldn't think twice about catching the beast themselves. Right?"

Kiyan suddenly looked serious. "It's good you mentioned that. I have another report to make. A serious one this time. It's illegal hunters trespassing on our forests."

"Tsk. More of them?" Elena scowled and fanned herself. "It's hard enough for our guards to be deployed in our forests. But if they attack at night, it's incredibly annoying!"

"I agree. Finding out where they came from should be a good start. I did fend them off, and one of their leaders was using dark magic." Kiyan added.

Elena looked at him up and down. "And you didn't get hit once? As expected of my big brother!" She laughed once again.

Barton was getting his optimum patience against the princess but what can he do and only listen to what they said. He bowed his head to the princess and prince, understanding his task "Don't worry. I'll get on to it..for now you need to rest sir. If you need anything just tell me..for the trespassing I will make sure our guards search the forest every night and day"

Kiyan nodded and started to head back inside the castle. "Speaking of searching the forest, apparently the deeper parts of the forest are guarded by some magical beasts. Tell our guards not to trespass too deeply or it will complicate things." He informed before walking back inside.

"Okay! Have a good night!" Elena called out before smirking and then throwing her fan of knives at him. All Kiyan did was duck down without even looking back then resumed walking.

"If you're gonna try to kill me, dear sister, at least don't make it too obvious." He smirked and walked away.

"Grrr.." Elena pouted childishly before turning to Barton. "What's so special about that forest anyway?"