The Crown Prince Thinks I'm a Guy

The Nature of the Test (Part 2)

For a timeless period, I felt like I was cocooned in a shell, surrounded by nothing but darkness. And then, cracks of light got in through the cracks as the cover started to unravel.

Then, before I knew it, the root-like creatures had released us and dumped us down on our behinds with a loud thump.

"Argh!" Albert shouted out, immediately kneeling up to look around in a panic. "Where are we?"

"Not a very intelligible question from such an intelligent boy," I said, surprised at the harshness of my tone. But... I was angry, that's for sure.

The boy with black hair stiffly turned towards me. "... It might just be my muddled senses, and do tell me if I'm wrong. But, are you, perhaps, picking a fight with me, Sir Eleftherion?"

His sudden show of hostility shocked me. He had stared at me with belligerent eyes. Even the way he had said my name had made me flinch out of my control.

But, my surprise soon turned into annoyance, and my anger came straight back up again. I stood up hastily and spat out at him, "So what if I'm picking a fight with you? You may be older than me but I'm quite sure I'm stronger than you."

He furrowed his brows, although he too snapped back at me angrily, "You've clearly shown you're the tougher one of us, but seeing you deciding that this very time would be a ripe one to have petty arguments such as this only proves you sadly aren't the brains in this pair."

"Right," I snarled. "Well then, I'm not! But if you're so smart, then why don't you just go ahead and bring us back to that clearing!"

Albert glared at me, which easily made me angrier. He asked, "Why are you so angry anyway? Pray tell, what have I done?"

"You!" I screamed, although, in my fury, I hadn't had an inkling about what even came out of my mouth. "Why'd you grab onto me? Did you really think you could be of much help if you came with me?! Do you think you're some sort of hero?!"

His eyes widened. "What are you even saying? I was just trying to help!"

"Bah!" I blubbered out, my fury bubbling so much inside my chest that I didn't know what to do with it. I settled with punching bare-fisted at a nearby tree trunk.

"Eleftherion..." I heard his voice call out to me. I cursed him. 'Right as I was just about to break that tree in half...'

Nevertheless, I looked back at him impatiently. Albert was coming up to me with both hands held up, almost in a gesture of peace... or surrender. His eyes were no longer glaring, but was instead covered with worry. I hated those black eyes, beady like a bird's.

I felt the need to tackle him down.

"RaaAAAA!!!" I screamed out loud, abandoned my tree, and hit him squarely at his abdomen with the top of my head. "Die, you stupid prince!"

I heard him gasp out in pain, and we landed hard on the forest floor. We rolled around for a while like two little boys in a play fight. But I was seriously angry.

'... Why was I angry again?' My mind tugged at me, but I paid in no heed.

"Eleftherion!" the princeling kept calling out, but I could only think of it as stupid. 'I'm Eleftheria, dolt, not Eleftherion.'

"Wake up!" He pushed hard against my chest, keeping my claws at bay. "Wake up! You're not acting like yourself!"

'What?' I thought. But then, looking down, I realized where he had placed his hands at.

I growled in womanly disbelief. Now, even his longer arms could not keep me at bay. I had enough of this.

"I've had enough of stupid boys touching me wherever they want!" I screamed shrilly and, covering up my torso with my one hand, I slapped him hard across the cheek with the other.