The Guarded Princess

XLII

With the end of the first day's banquet, no one had seen Fairy Tail for the entirety of the following week but no one complained. The news of what they had done had reached the ears of all and the citizens of Fiore were all on the edges of their seats for fear of an impending war. But, there was no news of it and it was unconsciously decided that for the rest of their stay here, there would be no troubles; especially towards the one that Fairy Tail had offended: the Royal Princess of Sindria and Lady of Graceful Beauty of the Kou Empire.

Today marked the third day that they had arrived and with all the official duties taken care of, they were able to relax and go on a break.

"Morning, Lucy, Masrur," Yamraiha yawned as she came into the dining hall where the maids had already set out the food and had left.

"Morning, Yamraiha," Lucy smiled, already eating her plate of breakfast, Masrur sitting next to her.

"Morning," Masrur looked up.

"Did you sleep well?" Lucy asked.

Yamraiha groaned. "I think I slept in a weird position last night. My neck feels stiff."

"That's a sign of your old age," Sharrkan commented with a smirk as he sat at one of the seats, twirling his fork in his hand.

"What did you say?!" she yelled but stopped as she felt her neck stiffen up. Sharrkan stopped teasing her and looked at her worryingly, scratching the back of his head as he walked over to her.

"Come here," he said and made her sit down on the seat next to him. "I'll massage it for you."

"Huh?" Yamraiha widened her eyes, a little moved.

"But don't complain if it starts hurting," his eyes glinted with evil and Yamraiha immediately regretted what she had previously thought. This guy was enjoying this. Sharrkan pressed his hands into the back of her neck and the surrounding area with all his force and Yamraiha let out a yell.

"Yamraiha-chan, you're too loud," Pisti covered her ears as she walked in.

She rubbed her eyes awake and looked at her, noticing that her head was lying on the table. Sharrkan sat next to her eating his breakfast as if nothing had happened. Pisti looked towards Lucy and the latter smiled, explaining to her what had just happened. Pisti nodded her head in understanding and laughed.

"This early in the morning and you two are still so intimate," she remarked.

"I'll kill you," Yamraiha glared at Sharrkan.

Sharrkan paid her no mind. "But at least your neck feels better, no? Be thankful."

Yamraiha sat up and tilted her neck from side to side. She blinked and was surprised that she could actually move it without jolts of pain stiffening up her neck each time. Her eyes widened and sparkled with joy as she looked at Sharrkan in a completely new light.

"I thought you were just an idiot who could only swing around a sword but I guess you have other talents, too! Thank you, Sharrkan!" she exclaimed.

"Can I hit you?" a tick mark appeared on his forehead.

Spartos entered the dining hall in his casual clothes, the armor that he usually wore left behind in his room. He took a seat next to Pisti and reached for the utensils on the table, filling his plate with food from the breakfast buffet set on the table.

"Was it hard waking up?" Pisti asked him.

He blankly nodded his head and compared to the usual Spartos, he seemed out of it and Lucy could guess that he wasn't a morning person.