I heard a pair of light footsteps enter from Ventuswill's hall and pause beside my bed, but there was no greeting, just a soft breathing that slowed after a moment. I yawned and took the covers from over my face, where they'd ended up after I'd rolled up burrito-style in the middle of the night. Disentangling myself from the sheets, I stared at the purple-haired woman napping on her feet in front of my bedside table. She wore her hair in two braids that brushed against her black and gold coat as her head bobbed drowsily. Watching her, I remembered who I was pretending to be, and quickly threw my own long hair into its loose braid, tying the end with the first thing I could find. Clearing my throat and putting on my most princely expression, I stood and tapped the girl on the shoulder, hoping my voice would sound masculine as I asked, "Did you need something, Miss?" The slumbering woman continued to breathe slowly, but blinked her brown eyes open and looked up at me sleepily. "Are you awake?" she inquired. Uh, yeah...
"Yes, thank you," I answered politely, wondering if she'd been sent to wake me. "I'm Frey," I added after a moment. The woman frowned, replying, "I was told it was Arthur... but Frey's good too. It's a sleepy sounding name." She nodded, and I smiled back. Thanks, Arthur... "My name is Clorica," she yawned, taking something from her bag, "I'm a butler-to-be studying under Volkanon." Clorica offered me a plate with a piece of apple pie on it, and I took it with a thankful smile. "Eat up," she instructed, "You should eat something every day if you want to get stronger." Then she stood there, facing me and dozing off a bit. Did she want me to eat the whole piece right now, in front of her?
Feeling self-conscious, I took a bite, chewing thoroughly as I looked anywhere but at the butler. The pie was delicious, but trying to eat while standing in front of the cook was really awkward. It took me five minutes to finish the food, and I set the plate down next to my diary, tapping Clorica on the shoulder. With a sleepy smile, she asked, "How was it?" I smiled back and replied, "Delicious, thank you, Miss Clorica." She shook her head and muttered, "It's just Clorica, sir." Smiling again, I nodded. "Then you should just call me Frey. No titles between friends, okay?" Clorica studied me for a moment, then nodded. "Okay... When you're awake, you should go out to the field. Then you can learn about tilling and planting."
"Tilling... you mean, farm work? Is that what I do as representative?" I asked, a bit confused. With a laugh she explained that it was a duty that could prove profitable for the town, and that I'd hear later of my other tasks. She also suggested that I till elegantly, but that didn't make much sense, so as we parted ways, I scribbled an entry in my diary. "Day one of Princehood. I'll be working the field and learning about my duties. If I'm lucky, it should jog my memory."
With that done, I headed out to the field through the back door, scanning the ground littered with stone and wood. It didn't look like it would be of much use, but I gave a sigh and decided I could weed the grounds and try planting something. A voice called, "Good morning, Prince!" and I tried not to jump, coughing, "Uh, morning..." I looked up from the cluttered field to see a man with blue hair and kind violet eyes waving to me. He bowed, saying, "I'm Vishnal, apprentice butler. I'll be serving you, Prince." I gave a nod, trying to look used to the title. "The fields have been like this since the last storm, but I'm sure you'll have it clear soon," he added with an expectant smile. Great, so not only do I have to act like a man, but now I need to run a garden when I have no clue how. Add it to the list of things I can't do. Next I'll be given a sword and shield and told to fight for Selphia... "Now, Prince Frey, the first thing you'll need to do is make room to plant. please pick up any weeds or grasses to clear a space."
Determined to be good at this, I circled the field, pulling up everything in my path. A bamboo sprout, two large rocks, scattered debris, and a stump remained. Once I'd finished, I smiled and reported my work as done. Vishnal bowed and handed me a chipped hoe, and I found myself wondering where he'd gotten it, as he didn't wear a backpack and there was no tool shed nearby. With a thankful smile I took the tool and followed the butler's instructions to till the open soil, coming up with maybe twenty squares ripe for planting. Ha, take that, field! Starting to sweat a bit from the work and heat, I stuck the tool in my backpack and noticed that it collapsed into a small square that fit one of a number of slots in the bag. Rune magic? I wondered, staring at the phenomenon while Vishnal tried to get my attention. I'd replaced the hoe in my backpack about five times before I was convinced of the storage solution, and I frowned. I don't even know what Rune Magic is... Do I? Maybe memories would start returning if I kept up this weird ruse.
I reached out a hand for the turnip seeds Vishnal was offering, but there was only one pouch. "Um, Vishnal? Aren't I supposed to plant the whole field?" His face turned dark, and he began shaking his head vigorously, shouting, "I'm so sorry, Prince! I've failed you as a butler! I couldn't do it! So many turnip seeds, it was impossible to bear!" The flailing butler fell to his knees and begged my forgiveness for his 'atrocious shortcoming,' and not knowing what else to do, I burst out laughing. "You look ridiculous," I panted, unable to stop laughing at his overly serious demeanor as he teared up. Vishnal's lip began to quiver, and I froze as he started sobbing. "I'm sorry I've dishonored you!" he wailed, kneeling and bowing. As his tear-stained face struck the ground, I sighed. This was far too much... I grabbed the butler's sleeve mid- meltdown and yanked him out of the dirt, grumbling, "That's no way to behave, Vishnal. What would Volkanon do if he were here?"
"He'd probably shout at me and say I should perservere," Vishnal sniffed, looking at me like a puppy. "But I've failed you, Prince..." I chuckled again, and he cringed like he'd been struck. "You didn't fail anything. I guess you don't like turnips?" He shook his head quickly, and I grinned. "Well, then I guess we've got to plant something else here, right?" He blinked and wiped the dirt from his cheek, no longer crying. "Yes, sir," Vishnal replied, the fire returning in his eyes. "I shall bring different seeds!" Then he added, "After I teach you to plant..." Once he'd told me about watering, soil quality, and planting seasons, Vishnal ran off, shouting something about 'The road to becoming the world's greatest butler!' With a sigh I shook my head, looking at the lone square that bore a turnip seed. After watering it and fooling around with my backpack's storage system, I headed into Ventuswill's room, where she explained about the request box.
When I went out, I didn't exactly see a box, but I did hear a voice. "Hey, you're Frey, right?" I blinked. "Yes..." Looking around, I asked, "Where are you?" A laugh was followed by the words, "Up here," and I followed the voice to see something that looked little like a request box and was speaking to me... I wasn't out in the heat that long... "Well, I'm Eliza, your request box. Nice to meet you. Now, you've got your first request, so don't just stand there and gape." I walked up to the 'box' called Eliza and figured out how to copy down details from a request into a notebook. Once I had, I read over it and found that it asked me to return to Venti's room.
As I studied the sign beside Ventuswill's seemingly permanent perch, Arthur appeared from the door to my room. What was he doing in there...? "Hello, Prince Frey," the real Prince chirped casually. "Are you ready to learn about Prince Points?" What?
An hour later, confused as ever about how completing requests was going to help me run Selphia, I waved off Arthur's speech and headed outside, only to run into a girl with long blonde hair. "Sorry," I said quickly, noting her armor and large blade. She shook her head, replying, "That was my fault, Sir. I'm Forte, this town's Knight, Sir. You're Prince Frey, correct?"
"Yes," I lied for a third time, giving a sigh. Forte nodded and tossed me a claymore. "Let's be off to train, then." The knight started heading into the forest, where I knew there were monsters, waving for me to follow. Don't gt me wrong, I'm not totally against fighting, but I don't remember how to use a kitchen knife, let alone a sword. Oh dear... Maybe I should just stay behind Forte. But what if I accidentally hit her instead of the monsters? Am I supposed to kill them? "Forte, wait up!" I called, sounding more feminine than I'd hoped.
[[Hey guys, just a couple more notes~ Sorry for taking up your time, but I figure I'll warn ya ahead of time. I'm around day 20 and into finding the rune spheres, and I decided I really wanted to make an OC Guardian. I submitted a profile to another author, but I'll be making edits and using her for this. From chapter 3 and on, all odd chapters will be from the point of view of Garnet, 'The First Guardian.' I'll likely skip 2 weeks after Garnet's introduction as a Guardian in chapter 3 and have Frey meet Dylas then. (having already defeated/met Amber) After that she'll fight Garnet, and then the two will narrate the serious parts of the story together. Warning, Garnet is a much more serious character than I'm making Frey, so her narrations will get solemn.
[ Also, on a pairing note, as I play the game I've decided on three bachelors to be involved in some way as friends/love interests. Those are Dylas, Arthur, and Vishnal. I'm leaning toward Vishnal or Dylas x Frey, and whomever is left will be with Arthur in the running to be paired with Bachelorettes or Garnet. Anybody who wants to see a specific one, just mention it. Once you meet Garnet, I'm sure you'll be as stuck as me on who can handle her xD Frey on the other hand is just cute with most pairings~]
Once again, thanks for checking out my stuff. I'll see ya next chapter.]]