Souma walked along the river's edge on his way back to the inn, still humming the tune of the blond bard, Takumi, who had spent hours lecturing him on the principles of chivalry and heroism.

King Senzaemon's offer had been tempting. The amount of gold he promised for his quest would be enough to build a ship and hire a crew, sail to lands beyond the cartographers' knowledge. It would be the adventure of a lifetime. But he was not one to get involved with the politics of king and country, and would never put himself in the service of some pompous royals.

Souma could still see the look of contempt on the crown princess' face as she spoke of him at court as though he weren't there. Yeah, he was definitely going to avoid getting involved with the Kingdom of Totsuki or the affairs of the Nakiri family. In the morning he would deliver his bushel of phoenix quills to Master Marui at the university and be on his way.

Satisfied with his plan, Souma knelt by the river to refill his canteen, but the unnatural murk and corruption in the water stopped him. There was no way the water should have been so dirty in a kingdom with a university, grand library, and renowned school of medicine, but he supposed that was what the king had meant by 'blighted land.' Apparently this Lord Azami's curse was no joke.

He had almost made it back to the castle town when he noticed a figure standing by the edge of the water, casting an incantation in hushed tones. The breeze blew back blue hood and golden hair, and he saw that it was Princess Erina. Unaware of his presence, the princess rested her palms on the surface of the water and began to chant in ancient tongues, her voice enthralling as a siren's song.

After a moment—an hour? a year?—the river began to glow white, and by the time the Erina finished her song, the water was clear and glistening, completely free of corruption. Souma had been caught between the impulses to approach and stay hidden when the princess stood and swayed and pitched forward into the river.

Souma blinked once, twice, sure that his eyes were playing tricks on him. But still, he removed his shoes and cloak in preparation. Half a minute passed and she didn't come up. Then, before he could think better of it or question the level of panic that overcame him, he dove in after her.

It took about a minute for him to find the princess underwater, and a minute more to carry her back onto land. But by the time he had her back on the riverbank, head resting in his lap, the Nakiri princess wasn't breathing.

"Come on, princess," he said, shaking her gently. "Get up. If I have to put my lips on you to get you breathing, you'll have your guards strike my head off my shoulders."

As though the thought of decapitating him sparked something in her, the princess' lavender eyes blinked open. Upon seeing his face she gasped and choked up about a lung full of river water.

"Easy, princess." Souma sat her up and leaned her forward, rubbing her back absently. "Relax."

"W-what on earth...is a...peasant like you—" Erina's voice faltered and she broke off coughing again, bent nearly double.

"Maybe save the insults for when you can breathe again?" he suggested, only half sarcastic.

She shot him an assassin's glare for that one, but stayed quiet until she'd calmed down some. "Now, explain yourself, Yukihira. What are you doing here?"

"You mean besides fishing you out of the river?"

A look of panic flashed in her eyes. "The river. Is it—"

"It's clean," he told her, noting how her posture relaxed upon hearing it. "Whatever you did worked."

"That's a relief," she said, pressing a hand against her chest and grimacing slightly.

"Are you alright?"

Erina quickly righted herself and scoffed at him. "Not close enough to death's door for some yokel tradesman to be worried for me." She stood slowly, somewhat shakily, and flipped her golden hair. "I suppose I do owe you some small thanks, Mr. Yukihira, but now I must be on my way."

"Yeah, I don't think so," Souma said, rising as well. "You look like you're gonna pass out again any minute now. I'll take you back to the palace. Just give me a second."

"That is completely uncalled for!" she snapped before another dizzy spell made her knees give way.

Sighing, Souma took her by the shoulders to steady her, and guided the princess to sit on a nearby rock. "Just wait here for a minute."

He returned with the supplies he'd abandoned when he'd gone after her, and quickly wrapped his cloak around the princess' shoulders. He pulled out his wineskin and held it to her lips. "Here, drink a little. It'll warm you up."

Erina drank wordlessly and then pulled a face. "What type of cheap swill is that?"

"My god, you are something else," he said, laughing despite himself. He would definitely have to tell his father about this brat in his next letter. "Just put your arms around my neck and we'll get you back home and to bed."

"I don't need you to carry me," she said with a petulant hair flip, even as she made no move to stand.

Souma picked her up without effort and started towards the castle town. "Yeah, this is fine," he said, mostly to himself. "You're like a medium sack of barley."

"One does not compare the crown princess of Totsuki to barley! Do you have no manners to speak of?"

"Do you always have to yell?" Souma asked, grinning at her. "So what kind of magic was that, anyway? I've been all over and I've never seen something like that before."

The princess sighed. "No one knows, really," she said. "Since I was little, people have said that I was touched by the gods. But sometimes." She paused, shaking her head. "Never mind. Someone like you would never understand."

"Probably not, but I can listen," he said. "Try me."

Erina uncrossed her arms, finally, and allowed her head to rest against his chest. She was exhausted, clearly, and her cheeks were starting to flush a hectic red. "Sometimes it just feels like another curse."

And Souma knew before her eyes fell closed that he would end up going on her grandfather's goddamn quest. The stupid bard had been right after all.

Author's Notes: Hey, y'all! Thanks for reading! I started writing bits and pieces of this fantasy au on Tumblr last year and was recently asked to compile the chapters here to make it easier to read. This is going to have more of a chronological structure than a collection of oneshots, but it isn't exactly a cohesive multi-chapter fic either (I honestly don't have the emotional bandwidth for that kind of commitment right now). Hopefully the plot makes sense, but if it ever doesn't just let me know and I'll try to provide more context in the chapter notes.