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With her hair tied up in a ponytail and her soft hood adjusted on her head, Mumei takes one more look at herself in the mirror, gaze glancing herself up and down in her usual attire. She was fortunate enough that Fauna was willing to stitch a cloak for her so that she could truly disguise herself as one with the city, to blend into the people and the crowds.
Leaving the door to her ventures locked and the window slightly ajar, Mumei fixed her gloves and descended down the rope— which had been carefully tied into place by her window for weeks (she’d been surprised when no one had noticed)— intrepidly, in the manner of those old-fashioned action tales. Rapunzel, Robin Hood, Baron Munchausen’s acclaimed adventures. Going unnoticed, she descended into the night.
The staff was considerate enough of her, especially the older ones since they'd known Mumei for so long. None of the maids really wanted to snitch on Mumei: they liked her to the extent that they wouldn't rat her out, knowing all the girl really wanted was to explore and wander around.
With Mumei's boots meeting the ground once more with a click at the heels, she slowly travelled through the greenery surrounding her. Normally, she'd pass through the guard's training area, most of them way too busy to care about the small, owlish figure out and about. However, recently, she had gotten a new bodyguard.
A talented one, at that.
Ouro Kronii was… funny to mess with. That's one of Mumei's impressions of her, other than the fact that she's quite bothersome with catching her and returning her to her quarters. Mumei didn't mind her or pay attention to her originally, in fact she thought Kronii wouldn't want anything to do with her and would've just continued training all the time, yet unfortunately all the stories of Kronii being overly diligent and true to her task were no lie.
“Not a lie,” Mumei thought, because Kronii was the most inconvenient thing that had happened to her. Running away became harder: her cloak felt more like a hindrance when Kronii started recognising it, and the guard would catch her unexpectedly with a stoic face. But due to Mumei's own stubbornness, she would never let Kronii take her without a chase. Their little games of tag improved Mumei's agility and stamina greatly as if it were her personal workout routine, and she's pretty sure Kronii didn’t mind the Tom-and-Jerry exercise too.
Mumei finds her relationship with Kronii to be an interesting one. She had been neutral, leaning towards dislike at the beginning but as of recently, Kronii seemed to be doing more than just 'guard who just chased her for the sake of the rules’ and offered a genuine sincerity to her protection. Mumei will never forget the day Kronii had saved her from the drunkard encounter, seeing a step up from a firmly stiff expression on her rather striking, midnight-hued face. It made Mumei feel more things than simple gratitude, that's for sure.
From that day onward, Mumei had a bit more fun with Kronii: instead of running for the sake of running, Mumei started running for the sake of seeing a different expression on her bodyguard; whether it'd be an upset grimace, an enraged scowl, or a faint smirk.
It gave Mumei a range of emotions.
She bumps into someone, breaking her out of her scrambled brain which only seemed to think about the blue-haired guard nowadays. From being on autopilot for so long, Mumei wondered if Kronii had already been tipped off about today's getaway.
Taking a look around her and getting aware of her surroundings, she realises she's reached town square and not too far from the tavern— she'd probably be able to get a few songs out before she was found. She moved through the crowds swiftly, and with her rather suspicious hood, cloak and sharp movements, Mumei wouldn't have been surprised if anybody mistook her for a thief. Some of the citizens have gotten used to the idea of the princess being anywhere, everywhere and anytime, since her runaways had evolved into an open story for anyone with ears to hear.
With the tavern not being so far, she was able to get there just in time as someone hopped off the stage. Mumei made eye contact with the bartender: someone who she'd gotten to know as a friend for a while now, and she's given the thumbs up to proceed.
Getting up on stage, she surveyed the audience she'd be having, recognising a few faces vaguely but not to the point where alarm bells started ringing for evacuation.
After determining her safety not being on the line, she starts singing. Her voice rang out in a sweet melody, one alikened to a songbird fleeting in the skies, which got an appreciative smile out of all the patrons, enjoying the performance which came out of the hooded girl. The usual frequenters have adjusted to it, finding her voice too melodic and smooth to bother with the anonymous identity onstage. That didn't mean she didn't get the occasional raise of an eyebrow or side-stare, though.
The first song ends and it gets her a round of applause and cheers. She bows, and gestures for another song that stirred up another few chatters of excitement.
The warmth that the tavern would often show her gave Mumei a sense of joy, a nice feeling in her stomach. It was different from being a princess, as people cherished her for the talents and joy she offered over the money and title she held.
The second song was no different from the first: she sang to her heart's content and was cheered for. Getting off the stage, a few people offered to get her a drink, but she kindly declined, having more than enough in her pocket to suffice for her own. On her way to the counter, she gets several compliments, all of which she appreciates but none dodge her slight bashfulness, a feeling of embarrassment bubbling up that causes her to mumble out several weak 'thanks’s.
Reaching the counter, she takes a glance at the entrance. No Kronii yet.
With that confirmed, she took a seat, looking towards the bartender and calling her out in a quiet voice. "Hey Bae, can I get the usual?"
"'Course Mooms!" Bae always greeted Mumei and gave her a bright smile, which Mumei was grateful for. Although Bae's voice was a bit louder than what Mumei would’ve preferred, the nickname allowed it to pass off easier.
Bae goes to start on a berry mixed drink and shoots Mumei her own thankful smile. "Thanks for always doing performances here, by the way. You've been helping out the tavern big time… so today, drink’s on me!"
Mumei, being aware of Bae's less than fortunate situation, gave her a guilty look, especially knowing how she could give much more. “Oh Bae… you know I can't allow that."
"Oh c'mon~! It's the least I can do, y'know?"
"I mean, you give me a place to unwind, away from being a princess so…" Mumei trailed off, as her eyes darted towards the tavern's entrance and saw an all too familiar face.
Kronii.
Panic rushes down the tubes of her veins, entirely unprepared for her sudden appearance.
"Oh shoot- uh… Bae, scratch that. I've gotta go,” she hissed in a quiet whisper, pulling her hood down tightly.
A puzzled concerned look appeared on Bae's face as she watched Mumei move with a bit of quiver whilst standing from her seat. “Wait huh? I just finished making your drink!"
"Give it to someone else!" Guilt pricks at Mumei's insides, but there really wasn’t much she could do. After slapping down a dozen of brazen gold coins on the cedar wood counter, she sprinted down to leave through the backdoor Bae had given her private access to.
Movement and sense blended together in a spiral: running out of the tavern quickly, passing through murkier and darker streets, heart chambers pounding at the blood-filled walls in her chest and the mind-racing marathon of pacing and skipping and jumping through the high-hurdles and reaching and breathing and— where was Kronii again?
Whipping her head back around, Mumei saw no figure in sight, certainly none with that midnight-streaked hair flying out.
Even if their cat and mouse chase had become a little sillier, it still raised Mumei's heart rate to dangerous levels. From the running, a bit of anxiety and a third secret thing. What was it? Her body replied by sending a flow of blood to her head, forcing her to wipe the beads of sweat away. Confused and all-suspecting, she stepped through the cracked, dark alleyways once more to reach the backdoor of the tavern.
Luckily it doesn't bring her straight to the main room, so she enters casually. This brought her to the door which would give her view to whether Kronii was actually around or not. Mumei could've been hallucinating, for all she knew. But rather than opening the door and taking a proper peek, she released a dagger out of its sheath and carved out a hole from a weak spot of timber.
A hint of light seeped through the crack so she pressed herself against the door to look through, but of course, it wasn’t enough. So, she continued to carefully carve out a wider, open hole, with just a little bit of struggle.
Maybe Kronii left, or wasn't here in the first place.
Her gaze was left wandering till she saw a familiar blue by the counter, talking to the bartender. By the looks of it, they're surprisingly friendly. Mumei was glad she hadn't gotten to the point of imagining Kronii completely, but for some reason, she didn’t, or couldn’t run yet. She stood still.
A part of Mumei wanted to watch, see her bodyguard in a more vulnerable situation, where rather than serving as the distant, dangerous kingdom’s weapon, she could be a human.
So that's what she does: she watches.
She can't really hear their voices, but Kronii smiles in her conversation with Bae. She could form a proper, genuine smile. For Kronii to make such an expression, Mumei wonders how long they must've known each other.
It makes her wonder, if she got closer to Kronii, would she make a similar expression with her?
She's not sure how long she stood there for— it felt like hours even though it was likely only minutes. Several, long, minutes; watching her bodyguard, or more specifically, her face.
Kronii made all sorts of faces in those minutes.
Her smile stayed persistent, barely ever leaving her face. She makes a few grimaces, but they were never serious: she'd just laugh it off. Laugh. Kronii laughed.
Mumei knew Kronii was human. That’s why she stood there, watching… and yet, that build up of air from the guard’s throat felt like a foreign sound. It made Mumei feel weird, and undeniably, her stomach turned like it was filled with a swarm of roaming, excited butterflies.
A feeling which first aroused only after she had met Kronii.
A part of her subconscious, rational mind guessed what the emotion was called, but she pushed it back. Mumei moved away from the peeking hole, a tinge of fatigue biting at her muscles.
Mumei couldn’t believe how strained her body felt: she'd barely gotten any sort of rush and yet she was so tired. It left her with a sigh and a swift exit from the backdoor as she slowly made her way back to the castle. Normally, she wouldn't make it back on her own, but today felt different. She felt different.
Her mind was a bit muddled, not thinking of anything with a clear edge as she made her way through the streets, avoiding any extra attention. The darker, murkier alleys turned into more open, brighter streets as the sun set.
The town centre was a bit emptier; most people headed towards the markets and taverns instead which left Mumei with the melancholic scene of the sun falling and shadows starting to loom on stone buildings, in sync with the street lamps slowly flickering on. She slowed down, the sounds of her boots and distant chattering surrounding her ears as she looked around, admiring how prettily the city slowly lit up with the night slowly approaching.
It's a view she's grown quite used to, yet it doesn't seem any less beautiful. She believes the older architects did a phenomenal job with the city, and the new ones knew how to make it grow without tainting what was the original view.
She spotted the faint colour of navy blue arriving in the sky and remembered that she ought to move faster: who knew how long Bae and Kronii could chat?
Her footsteps quickened, rushing to the edge of the castle walls, making the decisive decision to pass through the training grounds knowing Kronii wouldn't be there to reach her room quicker. She didn't get stopped (thankfully) and reached the dangling rope. She's not as familiar with climbing up as climbing down, but she slowly brought herself up with careful steps against the brick wall and a firmer climber's grip. She fumbled as she tried to get up and over the window, unfortunately falling headfirst into familiar wooden panels.
Her lips released a whine as she felt the pain of the tumble and exhaustion pricking at her bones and muscles. After a bit of strain, she gets up and pulls the rope up, collecting everything and coiling it to the hook on the wall, with a small wrap around to secure the rope. Satisfied, she promptly crumbled down onto the floor.
With her much more than weary body, her eyes started to fall, and it's only then that the door to her room slammed open.
"Mumei!" With an upwards tilt of her head, she saw Kronii holding her door open with her palm.
As always, Mumei subtly studied Kronii's face. Right now, she wore a more exasperated expression, which was one Mumei had already seen, but surprising nevertheless to be in the open over any stoicism.
Kronii made her way to where Mumei laid, expression consistent and unwavering as she stared down at the brunette whose grin grew as they held eye contact.
"Kronii."
"Where have you been?"
Mumei made a thinking gesture against her chin, gaze looking towards the ceiling as if she were considering it carefully. Though, of course, she wasn't. "I've been here all day."
Kronii gives Mumei a look, eyebrow raised: one that tells her she wouldn't be falling for it. "Not with that outfit,” she said flatly, pointing out the fallen hood and cloak that sat on Mumei’s shoulders.
Mumei stuck her tongue out childishly, wishing Kronii would've played along with her. "You're no fun."
Kronii glared, but Mumei felt indifferent to it, or rather than threatened, that strange feeling was back. Despite being close enough to Kronii’s regular neutrality, she mentally noted it as an expression worth remembering.
The once-opened door slowly creaked shut itself, leaving a click to sound out through the room, reminding Mumei of her earlier, hazy memories.
"You know, I vaguely remember leaving the door locked,” she blinked owlishly.
Kronii sighed, digging through her pocket to hold a particular metal piece out. “I have a key."
Mumei's eyes drifted towards Kronii's hands before pouting. "That's not fair..."
"Too bad." Though Kronii's face stayed blank as ever, there was a hint of amusement seeping through the cracks of her stern voice. Something still felt different about Kronii today— maybe Mumei wasn’t the only one feeling weird.
After a short period of staring a bit stupidly, Mumei sat up and kicked off her boots with her hands moving to remove her cloak. Both items fell to the floor gently and lightly whilst Mumei paused, swung her head around and turned back to Kronii.
"What?"
"Nothing. Could you get my nightwear?"
Kronii was not a people pleaser of most sorts, and she begrudgingly sighed as she obliged to the demand. It's not long before she comes out with a silk nightgown, placing it on Mumei's bed before returning to where she sat on the floor. Now, Mumei's facing her with a slight plea in her eyes.
"Pull me up?"
Kronii looked at Mumei in disbelief, a look that scowled at Mumei with the message of ‘Are you serious?' However, Mumei didn't move and continued to stare up at Kronii.
There really didn’t seem to be much way out for her. Even if she wished for some magical being to appear and save her from the predicament, Fairy godmothers didn’t really help bodyguards. So, with the faintest red appearing on her cheeks, Kronii grabbed Mumei's hands and pulled her up. Unfortunately, she overestimated her strength, pulling Mumei so much so that she landed right in between Kronii's arms and was pressed against her chest.
“…Oh.”
The internal alarm bells screamed out immediately, and Kronii broke off first, like she was burnt by the touch. While doing so she accidentally pushed Mumei ever so slightly, who stumbled back with a startled look. Luckily, she doesn't fall, but she could feel the aforementioned butterflies flooding and rushing in as worker bees would, just to dance around in her insides.
Kronii coughs and Mumei clutches her chest. Both were trying to process those few, minimal seconds. Kronii wonders why Mumei hasn't made a teasing remark yet. Mumei wonders why Kronii hasn't left yet.
Not sure what to do other than awkwardly stand, Mumei's brain tried to drift her back to her original goal of resting. She pulled out her high ponytail, allowing light brown locks of hair to fall on her back, and walked towards her personal bathroom, all while Kronii watched.
"What are you doing now?"
Mumei glanced back to Kronii, hand lingering on the doorknob. "I'm going to bathe."
With a dumb intuition and logistical common sense flying away from her, she proceeded to make the worst two words of her entire life.
"Wanna join?"
Kronii, entirely unexpecting, finds her jaw dropping, leaving a shocked expression on her face with her mouth agape and cheeks fading into a tone of darker red. That, was certainly an expression Mumei wanted to take note of.
"Just joking with you." Although it felt way too late to say it, she felt like she had to get it out there, just as damage control, even if it was pointless and semi-untrue.
Mumei watched as Kronii continued to stay unmoving and the redness of her face blooming. That was entertaining, that was fun. But Mumei is aware that she isn't any better.
Her entire body felt incredibly warm, her face especially; not only that but her heart was beating and racing against her chest so loudly that she could hear it hitting against her ears.
Mumei cleared her throat nervously. "Okay, okay… but I was serious about the bathing part, so shoo!" Attempting to make light of the situation, Mumei flicked her wrist at her guard impatiently.
It seemed like their reactions had switched, with how Kronii blinked before trying to contort her face into a more decent expression and nodded, walking out quickly without saying another word.
Mumei exhaled with relief, warmth still running throughout her entire body. She leant back on the bathroom door and slid down to the floor, the mortification over her own joke growing. Why did she say that? Why did she feel the need to say that?
Even with a multitude of made-up, illusory reasons, Mumei could only really find one true, proper answer.
She's in love with her bodyguard, the war weapon of the country: Ouro Kronii.