26 September 2023

After a moment or two, I stepped up next to the guard. For a while, neither of us spoke; we jest watched Elsenaia as she made plans with the rest of her guard. Then I said, “You know, I wasn’t in her head for very long. I could only get a general feel for things.”

Tairsi turned to me. I continued, “Even then, there was one memory that seemed to be the root of her entire worldview now. One small statement. ‘I guess princesses aren’t allowed to have friends.’”

Tairsi’s face paled. “But… but that was…”

“I know.” There was a bit more steel in my voice than I’d intended. “You were just kids. The situation wasn’t your fault. You were probably just repeating what the adults told you.” I leaned back to look at the treetops above us. “Still. When she needed a friend, someone who saw her for herself instead of her title… you turned away. After that… well, ‘Elsenaia’ has been locked away, in the depths of her mind, ever since. All to make room so she could become 'the Princess'”

By the set of her jaw, I could tell that Tairsi grit her teeth, but I had a hard time reading her beyond that. “Why are you telling me this?”

I paused. That was a good question. Was I trying to help them reconcile? It’d probably been too long for that. Even if it’s possible, there are better ways to go about it. Vindictiveness, maybe? That’s probably it. I wanted Tairsi to understand at least part of the pain she’s heaped on Elsenaia, to feel some of it for herself. “You’re right. I’m sorry; that wasn’t my place to say. I’m just… frustrated, I guess?”

“Yeah.” Tairsi looked down at her hands. “Do you have any ideas what we could do?”

I shrugged. “Not really. Ideally, I’d get her out of that damned castle and away from her family and duties and all that, but… I don’t think that’s possible.”

Tairsi frowned. A moment later, she stepped into the discussion.