Red Princess

During the snowy winter days, the streets within the Imperial capital were rather sparsely occupied, since no one who could afford it would willingly prefer to stay outside in the frosty air. 

 

However, that was the problem. Not everyone could afford a small building or even a hut just outside of town. And thus, there were those who were forced to linger upon the streets, begging for whatever mercy or goodwill from other people who were more fortunate than them. 

 

Which led to the current commotion within the marketplace. Guards were rushing through the main street, one of them shouting ahead. 

 

"Hold those criminals!" regardless, anyone who could clearly hear the guard's order merely pretended not to be aware of the situation. Further up ahead, two cloaked figures were carrying a large sack, albeit instead of gold, it contained something entirely different. 

 

"Here, take this." a light female voice sounded through the mask she was wearing, her cloak doing the rest to hide her identity. The poor and elderly woman in ragged clothing shakily looked up from the large load of bread the masked person was handing to her, hesitation and disbelief clearly written all over her face. 

 

But even if she could not see it, a kind smile was resting beneath that mask. 

 

"I'm sorry I can't do more… but it's yours. Keep it." her partner, wearing an equally concealing mask, was hastily looking down the street, the guards approaching with each second that they lingered. 

 

"We have to go!" heeding his voice with a nod, she quickly knotted the now empty sack, throwing it behind her shoulder before they both rushed away from the vicinity. A quick glance behind revealed that the guards were still on their trail, trying to push through anyone who was in their way. 

 

Facing her partner without once stopping in her tracks, she subtly pointed towards a small alleyway. 

 

"Come on, I know a shortcut!" wordlessly trusting in her judgement, he didn't need to say a word before they both headed off track and into the alley. He followed her close behind as she took the lead, seemingly navigating through each alleyway as though she possessed a mental map in her head. 

 

He could hear the metallic steps of their pursuers growing more and more faint, until slowly but surely, he was certain that they had finally lost them. Thus, with a long and relieved breath, he allowed himself to go just a little bit slower to catch his breath. 

 

It wasn't long until they reached an end to the maze that was the alley, and much to his surprise, they had emerged almost directly behind the palace grounds. 

 

"I'd say this was a success, and we can finally discard all of these things." without further ado, his partner removed the mask from her face before pulling down her hood as well, revealing her long and crimson hair. 

 

"Do you do this often? Despite all the risks?" Maren followed her example as he removed his mask and cloak, feeling the cold air gracing against his skin. 

 

"It is as I said, it's one of the few subtle tools I have to aid the people on the streets… you can store all of your things inside the sack, my sister is going to hide it away." 

 

"Your siblings know about it as well?" Amaragi shot him a small grin as she handed him the sack. 

 

"They sure do. Albeit for Kiel, we made it sound a bit more… adventurous than it really is." Maren merely hummed slightly while discarding the cloak and mask, raising both his eyebrows as he did so. 

 

"That was certainly more eventful than I would have expected. Did you never get caught, ever? This looked pretty close back there." all of a sudden, Amaragi's form seemed to stiffen slightly, her previous grin forming into a nervous smile that almost seemed forced. 

 

"Well…" the way she was stretching that single word slowly but surely caused Maren to look back up at her with a near enough blank expression. 

 

"... even if that happened, Namagi would always have my back. Not that it ever happened, mind you…" Maren didn't cease to stare at her, not doing much to take the pressure away from her. 

 

"Why am I suddenly feeling a little bit more hesitant around you?" Amaragi almost gasped at that if it weren't for the certain amount of playfulness in his eyes, however, she didn't get the chance to retaliate the moment a few voices suddenly cut through the air. 

 

"They must be around somewhere, cut them off and bring them here!" once again, the metallic steps of the guards drew near, and it quickly dawned upon them that they hadn't so much shaken them off as they had previously thought. 

 

Acting on instinct, Amaragi eyed the sack in Maren's hand before she spotted a small cart nearby that was filled to the brim with hay. 

 

"Quick! Get inside there!" Maren almost didn't even get the chance to move before she all but pushed him into the cart along with the sack, covering him with as much hay as possible until the guards arrived at the scene. 

 

Albeit as soon as they spotted the crown princess, who had just been training with one of the dummies, they straightened slightly. Seemingly turning around with no small amount of confusion and calm irritation in her eyes, the captain of the guard was quick to explain themselves. 

 

"Your majesty, forgive our intrusion. We believe that two thieves might have escaped from the marketplace and into this vicinity-" 

 

"I assure you that the palace grounds are the most secure place within the capital, I have not increased the amount of guards for nothing. If I had noticed anything, I would have notified you. Now move along." her voice was as calm and stern as was her posture and expression, her blade still held at her side with utmost grace and elegance while she regarded the soldiers with dismay. 

 

And they, in turn, were quick to disassemble and to heed her order, the captain mumbling another apology before they strived off. Thus, she sheathed her blade again before facing the small cart beside her. 

 

"Alright, I think that was it now." a single hand popped out from beneath the mountain of hay, and Amaragi helped Maren along to get out of it, carefully grasping his hand to pull him out. With a small cough, he nearly spit out a few loose strands of hay from his mouth while he dusted himself off. Albeit there were still enough strands burrowed and tangled in his hair. 

 

"So much for that." another sigh escaped him, especially when Amaragi couldn't suppress a small chuckle at his appearance. 

 

Albeit it wasn't long until her expression grew more serious, a solemn glint reflecting in her eyes when she turned her head to look at the marketplace down below. 

 

"What I do is merely trickling a single drop of water upon a searing hot stone…" Maren's expression immediately filled with concern when he noticed her change in demeanor. 

 

"... sometimes… I'm wondering if I am not simply prolonging all of their unfathomable suffering by doing this…" her voice almost broke, but before she could utter another word, she was suddenly engulfed by a certain warmth the moment Maren wordlessly hugged her, expressing what words could never do alone. 

 

"... it's not your fault…" her eyes sharply clenched together as he whispered this into her ear, refusing to shed any tears. 

 

"How can it not be my fault…? I… I'm-" 

 

"-you are doing all that you possibly can to help them. You are not the Emperor, and you are certainly not the kind of person to do something like this to make yourself feel better, I know you are not." any words that Amaragi might have said were silenced in her throat, and in the end, the warmth within her only began to spread before she silently hugged him back in gratitude. 

 

She didn't know how much time had passed while they remained like this, but the only thing she knew was that, even now, she couldn't feel the cold grasp of the freezing air around them at all…

 

"Maren…?" a small but questioning hum signalled to her that she had his full attention, prompting her to embrace him a little bit tighter. 

 

"... thanks for helping me out…" his response was the same as her own, deeping the hug ever so slightly. 

 

And thus, for now, she didn't really care how much time had passed. 

 

She simply wanted to enjoy it for just a little bit longer...

 

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AN:

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A like, a comment, a favorite
Each of them; I know how to savor it
To keep me writing for days~