Bow, Your Highness

Chapter 13: First Love/Late Spring

Scaramouche spent the night researching visionaries. Well, what he could. His mother censored so many books at the beginning of the dictatorship that one had difficulty finding information. What he knew was only general knowledge. It was also how he perfected mind control – with technique and practice, not theory. Anyway, the conclusion was the same: He found the answer. He did, so Mona had to marry him.

The roots of the visionaries were rooted in Fontaine, specifically in the nation's ancestral and aquatic creatures, such as hydro dragons.

Royalty earned the title of blue blood from their scaly ancestors. Their descendants occupied the vast majority of thrones. However, the most prominent were in that nation; therefore, visionaries were more likely to be born there. Moreover, their successors inherited the gift.

Despite his inner rage at what he saw in her mind, the imperial prince could sleep for a few hours. On the futon he placed next to Mona to keep an eye on her. He didn't want to resort to doctors, for he knew the exhaustion was entirely mental – the resurgence of blocked memories. Bad flashbacks, even past visions. Anything was possible.

And he was a light sleeper, he recognised; the mere sound of a fly hovering in his ear was enough to wake him. So, that door sliding wide open, coupled with rapid footsteps and heavy breathing, was no exception. Scaramouche opened his eyes and sighed when he didn't see Mona on the futon. He got up as quickly and hurried out into the hallway.

"Fuck." He mumbled, approaching one of the guards. "Where did Mona...?"

That was when he realised the guard was staring statically ahead as if something was usurping his mind. Scaramouche snapped his fingers but saw no physical response.

He brought a hand to the bridge of his nose and decided to use his vision to find her. At least anemo wasn't entirely useless; it was perfect for speed. Besides, she shouldn't be too far away. He found a watery trail on the floor... One which took him back to a childhood déjà vu.

"Become water all you want. At some point, you'll have to come out."

He followed the trail and watched as drops soaked the ground in a specific direction: towards the exit doors. With the wind powers flowing gracefully through his legs, he floated towards that direction. Fine, Mona had to become human again to open the door. As far as he knew, she wasn't invisible; she just transformed into water.

Just as he predicted, her form changed back. That was when he grabbed Mona's wrist as soon as he brought her close to the main gate. Using one last impulse, he pulled her close to the wood. His indigo gaze glared defiantly at her as he closed the distance. The princess's face looked disoriented, and he could still hear her gasping for breath.

"You can't leave the palace without my permission. I thought I made that clear on the first day."

"I can't be in a palace right now, Scaramouche. Let me go right now!" That caused him to tighten his grip further, cornering her over the door.

"You stun my guards and try to escape, and you think you have the nerve to give me orders?" He arched his eyebrows, narrowing his eyes. Seeing her breathing even more raggedly, he pushed her close enough to open the door. "I'm not letting you go." He added, grinning. Then, he covered her mouth and took her into his arms. He was going to carry her out.