Fie’s realization struck her as she sat in a relatively small back pavilion of an otherwise needlessly large palace, spooning cold soup into her mouth. She sat alone, with only the company of the head chef, who was known as such due to the fact that he was the only one who worked here. The head chef, in turn, had been struggling with his request of asking to resign.
Outside, the sound of fireworks filled the air, intermingling with the sounds of celebration rising from the gathered crowds, to the point where it was even audible where Fie sat.
(Seems like it’s quite the celebration.)
It was an accurate observation. After all, today was the wedding day of King Roy, of one of the world’s Great Kingdoms — and Princess Fielle, from the Daeman kingdom.
His Highness was good at what he did — namely situational analysis and decision-making. He was deeply involved and passionate in his political duties within the kingdom, often solving problems and engaging in foreign diplomatic affairs, even at his young age. King Roy’s actions led the already great kingdom of Orstoll into an age of greater prosperity, and he was a well-loved and respected king of the people.
To top it all off, his dashing appearance reduced the princesses of surrounding kingdoms to slobbering fools. However, there was nary even a rumor of King Roy showing interest in romance — and this was a constant worry in the hearts of the people of Orstoll.
Due to his cold indifference towards women, King Roy suitably earned the moniker “Ice King.”
With that being said, it was this very same Ice King’s marriage to the princess of the rural Kingdom of Daeman that had led to the celebrations outside today. The interesting thing, however, was that this wasn’t a political marriage arranged by worried advisors, nor was it a marriage of convenience out of loyalty to the duties of the throne.
“I would like to take Princess Fielle of Daeman as my bride,” were the very words that came from his lips.
And that is why such massive fireworks displays filled the air tonight.
Fie looked at the star-filled sky through the window, marveling at how ridiculously large said displays were. The resulting explosions resonated through the night sky like peals of thunder.
(This is more than just a typical celebration...)
It is perhaps worth mentioning that Fielle being the princess of a rural kingdom was her only imperfection. She had a good head on her shoulders, a great personality, and was beautiful to a fault. Looking at her alone, no one would think that she hailed from a rural backwater kingdom. Furthermore, Fielle seemed to be blessed with a strange power since her birth, and was also known as
“The Priestess of Healing.”
If one takes all those factors into consideration, it could be said that this marriage was quite the jewel in the crown for the Kingdom of Orstoll.
And that was why a portrait of the embraced, smiling couple was flying through the air, hung from the gondola of a hot-air balloon. It was certainly a large-scale, uproarious day of happiness and celebration.
On the other hand, today was also the day of Fie and King Roy’s marriage, although no one was interested in that at all. It was worth mentioning that Fie was, like Fielle, a princess of Daeman. To be precise, they were twins.
In contrast to the wildly celebrating crowds in the direction of the main palace was the tiny back pavilion built next to said palace, which currently housed Fie and her cold soup, in addition to the head cook, who was currently feigning embarrassment and regret as he asked for permission to resign.
Would she actually say “Yes, go ahead?”
And that was almost like an afterthought, not even much of a consideration — as insignificant as one’s pinky finger. Such was the relative significance of Fie’s circumstances, compared to her twin.
To be perfectly frank, King Roy of Orstoll’s marriage proposal was completely out of left field, and was joltingly surprising.
Fielle’s popularity was warranted, however. With a cute face, great personality, and smarts, there was no way she would not be treated as such, enough to attract suitor princes from all around Daeman.
However, she was after all a princess from a small rural kingdom. Put nicely, it was a somewhat large kingdom — but still backwater. The people of Daeman thought of it as nothing more than a land acquisition, or just a means to expand Orstoll’s already vast territory.
Orstoll was, in more ways than one, the center of the world. To have it in one’s pocket, in turn, was unthinkable for the rural Kingdom of Daeman.
“I would like Fielle’s hand in marriage, come what may.”
Upon receiving this letter, the King of Daeman, who was naturally the father of Fie and Fielle, wasted no time in fully exploiting the situation. Oh, and exploit it he did.
As such, a list of demands was presented to the king of one of the Great Kingdoms of the land.
“It would be a great honor for you to take Fielle as your Queen. However... Fielle is in much demand, and her popularity knows no bounds. And as such... many suitor princes from many, no, allcountries... are all competing for her hand. So... as I’m sure you understand. There must be some... merits, to this arrangement, yes?”
In the stereotypical crude manner of a peasant, the King of Daeman produced demand after demand, mostly for gold, silver, or other precious metals, in addition to gemstones and valuable works of art. Although he had thought they would be turned down with a curt refusal, for reasons unknown, all these demands were quickly accepted.
And the one who was ironically flustered about all this, was, of course, Fie and Fielle’s father, the King of Daeman.
(Are we supposed to make even bigger demands?) he wondered. The King of Daeman was truly a scoundrel — at least, he thought like one.
But since an extensive list of demands had already been met once, there was no reason to want more. Such was the mettle, or lack thereof, of the King of Daeman, who would have been blown away by a single stare from the monarchs of the Great Kingdoms.
It was then that a thought struck him.
“If you are to take Fielle as your queen, then you would have to take Fie as your bride as well.”
Of course, it was a well-known tradition for marriages between royalty to bind two kingdoms together, and a single kingdom providing two brides was not unheard of in the least. To phrase it bluntly, it was a preparation for the inevitable “what if” scenario.
To actually see such a practice implemented was a rarity, however. One would question why such a practice would be dragged out at such a time, but certain questions have no answers.
Perhaps, it could be said that one reason was that Fie was hopelessly unpopular.
She was the princess of a rural kingdom, with no benefits whatsoever. To even speak of marriage was foolish. Fie had no charm to speak of, much less the required amount to land a suitor prince.
(Well, that basically means I don’t have any value as a queen at all...) And that was where the King of Daeman focused his intents and efforts.
“Our kingdom shall provide two brides. If it is possible, could you please provide the dowry for both of them?”
All of the King of Daeman’s unreasonable demands, including that of the extra bride, were accepted without much fuss.
One wonders exactly how much King Roy had fallen for Fielle.
Having obtained a dowry ten times of the value for two people, and an unspecified variable of riches and resources otherwise, the King of Daeman was very satisfied — almost to a point where he became full of himself.
So much so that, the very next day, a very fed up Fie drove her knee into the face of the King of Daeman, breaking his nose in a fittingly crooked manner.
And that is how Fie was caught by a bunch of peasant “knights,” captured, restricted, and brought to Orstoll as she was.
And just as if their cargo were contraband, it was treated like a hazardous substance, and then summarily deposited in a small pavilion constructed by the side of the main palace.
For the people who would confuse Fie and Fielle’s names, that is a story of another time, a story of when Fie and Fielle were still in the womb.
When the King of Daeman knew that the Queen was pregnant with twins, two names were prepared. And eventually came the moment when the twins were born.
The first child was born in a fit of cries and tears — a terribly normal and healthy child. When presented to the King of Daeman, he had claimed that she had a face most fitting.
“Although we are a small, rural kingdom, you are a most fitting heir — the first princess of Daeman. And for you, this name has been prepared. Your name is Fie—”
And right at that moment, the second child was born.
In contrast to the first child, she was far more quiet, and had a strange ability to draw in the eyes of all those around her.
“Oh... Oh! This is...”
Upon seeing this, the King of Daeman said thus, in an emotional voice:
“A child of unparalleled beauty! A child wrapped in a most mysterious light! This has to be a special child. We have to grant such a child a fitting name. Yes, we have decided! Your name is Fielle. The most honored and regal name passed down in our royal family!”
And after that, that child, who was beautiful beyond means, exuded wisdom beyond her years, who was surrounded by a regal air, had enchanted the King of Daeman so much that he forgot about his firstborn for approximately six months. Although she was cared for appropriately by the nursemaids, and as such, never really had any dangers to her life, she had long missed the period where names would be given to heirs.
So the records officer, who really just wanted to get this over with, ended up formally writing down her name as “Fie.” And of course, as a result of the second princess Fielle’s absolute beauty, the King of Daeman had all but forgotten about Fie’s existence.
As if they were a set — one desired, and the other not, the pair of princesses were sold off.
To say that it was a devilish practice was not too far from the truth.
And this was how Fie, who had finally reached the capital, ended up in an antiquated pavilion of the main palace, trapped and destined not to meet a single person on her supposed wedding day
.
Fie’s relative mistreatment, in turn, would proceed to intensify as the days passed.
Although this pavilion and its courtyard were in the main castle grounds and surrounded by four walls, all the guards avoided the single entrance to it, as if wanting to avoid a particularly foul smell. Eventually the guards posted there started viewing it as a nuisance, so during the day both of them were nowhere to be seen. They were usually gone before the changing of the guard even took place. When the shift changes did happen, the timings were always off, and not a single guard would show up for the lookout shift.
To top it all off, any present guards would just leave their post empty even if no one was there to take over — which basically meant that at this time of the night, there was literally no one left standing watch.
(They’re sleeping, aren’t they? They eat as much as they want during the day, rest as much as they want when they feel like it, and then happily go to sleep at night. Some guards they are.)
In fact, Fie probably did a better job of keeping watch, considering that she had been looking out of the window quite intently the past few days.
Oh, of course, Fie had no servants or personal maids of any sort assigned to her, either. All of the servants and maids from Daeman had chosen to stick to Fielle instead, with the knowledge that she would become the future queen of Orstoll. It was advantageous to be a queen’s personal servants — one might even be able to break into society with such a position. As such, none of them wanted to be seen with, let alone serve the “bonus” princess that had just tagged along for the ride.
And finally, even the “head chef” who had worked in the lower rungs of Daeman’s kitchens seemed to have other plans for himself.
Orstoll’s capital, Wienne, could be said to be center of the world in more ways than one. Culture, music, food — the capital had it all.
And with that comes the legions of those who want to better their skills and work in said capital. The chef was no different. He had just followed Fie to hitch a ride for free. After which, all he had to do was get fired, and then he’d be free to pursue his own interests.
Indeed, to get fired by a selfish princess while he was stuck in a foreign land was the perfect plan to drum up sympathy points, and maybe even let him easily land a job.
With that aim in mind, he had been preparing nothing but cold soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Fie ever since they had arrived at Orstoll, hoping that she would catch a hint.
“Um... well... uh... I’d like to... um... resign...”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
To think that he couldn’t even say such a thing properly despite having wanted to for a while — Fie could not help but wonder how he would fare in the clutches of the capital city. In spite of herself, Fie found a modicum of concern for the chef.
With this, the charade finally ended, and the only one left inside the back pavilion was Fie.
Finishing off her cold soup, Fie looked up and out of the window, all alone in the quiet courtyard.
“Ahh. Seems like I’m just going to have to accept my father’s foolish whims and fancies. Not like he really cared about my life anyway, since he ruined it without a second thought... So then, I’ll die alone in this courtyard after some decades or so, huh...?”
The guards were clearly not outside the pavilion. In other words, Fie was the guard.
(So basically... They’re telling me to stay put in this place and never leave. Not like the Ice King would let me out of here anyway... What a wasted, empty life...)
Fie gazed at a portrait of her supposed husband, whom she had only seen in said portrait. For a moment, Fie considered angrily setting fire to the canvas, but instead was filled with an overwhelming emptiness as she burrowed into her bed.
(I wish I could throw this life away...)
Although Fie just wanted to go to bed, the celebrations outside made it impossible for her to fall asleep.
(Look, I get that they’re happy and all, but isn’t this a bit too much for this time of the night?)
It was as if, on this day, in this kingdom, the only one who felt this depressed was Fie, and Fie alone.
It was then that Fie had the idea to go for a walk. Not like there were any guards present to stop her anyway. Even if the King had wanted to keep her cooped up in this place forever, it was his responsibility to at least assign guards that were actually up to the task. She had no reason to hold back, with everything said and done.
However, it would be inconvenient if she were found wandering outside, to say the least, and as such Fie made the decision to walk around the pavilion’s perimeter walls instead.
And this was how Fie finally stepped out of the back pavilion for the first time.
“It’s so vast... It’s... completely different than the castle in Daeman.”
Outside the walls, in the open, sprawling garden of the royal palace, were plants and trees that Fie had never seen in her homeland — deep viridians and vibrant flowers, visible even through the dark of night. The dewdrops, catching the light of the moon and faraway fireworks, glittered in a silent display of beauty.
At last, it sunk in that Fie had come to a faraway, foreign land.
In the shadows of the perimeter walls, Fie walked along silently, not wanting to be discovered by the denizens of the palace. Then she noticed that she had stepped on something, a paper of some kind.
“Hmm? What’s this?”
Holding up the piece of paper to the light of the moon, Fie squinted at it, trying to make out the words on its surface.
Seeking apprentice knights! The Orstoll Royal Knights are seeking squires! Commoners! Nobles! Travelers! Wanderers! Those of no formal identification! There will be no discrimination, come one, come all! We seek only those young and talented! Admission tests will be held soon!
Upon reading the words on this sheet of crumpled paper, a series of thoughts flashed across Fie’s mind.
“This is it!” Fie raised the paper high up into the light of the moon. “If I get accepted, I’ll—”
Walk my second path in life.
Even if they were foreigners or those of questionable identity, if one becomes a Knight of Orstoll,
they would, of course, obtain a new corresponding nationality. In Fie’s particular case, she had been shut away, unneeded and unwanted by this kingdom. But no more. Fie would obtain a new identity, a new name, in the Kingdom of Orstoll.
(Well, no one comes to the back pavilion anyway. And no one really knows my face.)
Honestly speaking, Fie and Fielle did not look similar in any way, shape, or form.
(So even if I disappear, it’s totally fine! If only I could get out of here, and live my new life as a knight. If I do that... I’ll be able to say goodbye to this empty, pointless life with no future.)
Flustered, Fie searched for the date of the test, finally settling her eyes on a number.
“Two weeks from now... That’s kinda short, isn’t it?”
There wasn’t much time until the day of the test. It was worth noting, however, that Fie did have some degree of swordsmanship ingrained in her being. When she was younger, she had trained in the ways of knights out of admiration, and both her parents were far too enthralled by Fielle to pay any attention to her activities.
But when she came of age, her parents came to the realization that even the painfully inferior Fie had to one day be wed away, and as such finally put an end to her practice sessions. As a result, Fie remembered nothing more than the basics.
(I have to get my feel for the sword back in two weeks, somehow!)
And so, with that thought in mind and hurried feet, Fie made her way back to the pavilion.
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