Will of a Prince

Slimo spat out blood as he tried moving his arms.

"That... damn grouch..."

Lidia ran over and picked him up carefully in her arms. She frantically moved her hands around his body trying to ensure he was okay.

"Where were you?! What happened to you?! Why were you riding a flying mattress?! I have so many questions!!"

Slimo slouched in her arms.

"Whatever you do, don’t take me back to the infirmary. Just take me back to our room please."

Lidia’s eyes widened hearing such a ridiculous request.

"You just fell from the sky covered in bandages and you want me to take you back to our room?! You’ve lost it!"

He grabbed on to Lidia’s face desperately.

"If you value my life, you won’t take me back!!"

Squabee peaked over Lidia’s shoulder.

"She roughed you up badly. Were you really that outmatched?"

"Take me back to the palace. I will speak on the way."

Lidia hesitantly stood up and carried Slimo in her arms. Squabee stayed by his head so he wouldn’t have to speak up to talk to her.

"My sister has fought with leviathans before. Her strength outclasses me by leaps and bounds. However, she was holding back drastically during our spar. I was able to get a few good clean hits in, but it was nothing compared to what she was able to do to me. She slaughtered me practically."

He hesitated and touched his neck lightly before continuing.

"That being said, the spar was exactly what she needed to help with some personal quarrels she was dealing with. We are on much better terms now."

Lidia stared down at Slimo curiously.

"Then how did you end up flying through the sky on a bed?"

Slimo choked on air.

"Uhh... well about that ’better terms’ thing I just said..."

Slimo explained to them the story of how he didn’t eat the food she brought him, so he was tossed out of a window in retaliation.

"WHAT?! She threw you out a window?! Next time I see her I’m going to-"

"Wait! She also said you were very gorgeous, Lidia. In fact, she admitted to me how she was simply jealous of how good you looked and that’s why she lashed out when you two first met!"

Lidia’s eyes widened with a soft hint of appreciation.

"... give her a hug, because I love her so much already! She’ll be a great sister-in-law someday."

Slimo could have sworn he saw Lidia’s eyes sparkling while she spoke this.

"So, you are just going to ignore how she threw me out of a window that I could have easily plummeted to my death from the fall?"

Lidia lightly smacked Slimo over the head.

"Don’t talk to your sister like that! You probably had it coming. In fact, I’m on her side in this whole ordeal!"

Slimo felt utterly defeated. Without knowing it, he lost Lidia to his sister by trying to prevent a fight from breaking out.

’Why is my life so utterly cruel sometimes? I wish Squabee’s fortune would rub off on me every now and then...’

Slimo looked down at Squabee.

"Hey, what are you doing out here anyway? Shouldn’t everyone be back at the palace resting for their training session coming up tomorrow?"

Squabee crossed her arms as she walked.

"I needed some time to myself, but I do need to talk to you about something. I was actually going to talk to Lidia about it before you... crashed on top of her."

"Sure. What is it about?"

"It’s about my power and how it works. Well, ever since I found out my power bends to my best interests, I thought that meant probabilities will go in my favor in whatever way I want. However, after having lived with this realization long enough, I realized that it isn’t that simple. My power may be protecting my best interests, but I am not the one who decides what my best interests are. That is something my power itself decides, as if it somehow has a mind of its own that can weigh probabilities and consequences. To be honest with you, that knowledge really scared me."

Slimo’s face grew slightly worried.

"That means this whole time, it’s possible that your power wasn’t protecting us? Or rather, there were chances that your power didn’t activate because it felt that it didn’t need to activate?"

"That’s right."

Slimo’s brain began to thump harder in his skull.

"That is... crazy. How do we know if your power truly helped us through something then?"

"You don’t. That’s the scary part."

This revelation was a bit hurtful to Slimo for a few reasons. For one, it meant they couldn’t safely rely on Squabee’s power to keep everyone safe, even when they were close together. And the other thing that bothered him is he was relying heavily on his first assumption of how her power worked for his plan to combat the Epigones.

Slimo sighed deeply and eased up in Lidia’s arms.

"That’s okay. You’re still the same Squabee we’ve always known. We just have to adjust some combat plans is all!"

Squabee played with her fingers lightly.

"But... what if my power turns on one of you for whatever it thinks my best interests are?"

"Then we can deal with that if it ever comes down to it. There’s no point in trying to prevent something we can’t control, right?"

Squabee’s eyes widened. Slimo didn’t know, but these words were exactly what she needed to hear, especially after her conversation with Lee. She smiled widely and looked forward as she readied herself to open the palace doors for both Slimo and Lidia.

"Right."

Lidia carried Slimo back to their room while Squabee walked back to hers. Everyone spent their evening sleeping peacefully without a care or thought in the world. The only one who didn’t sleep peacefully was Gabriel, who had Avala sleeping on his shoulder.

Each time he found himself dozing off, he managed to lift his head up just in time before hers could fall from its place. Every time he did that, his heart would fall into his stomach. Another thing that bothered him as the drool leaving her mouth and her very loud snoring. Gabriel didn’t know such a graceful woman was capable of such sounds in her sleep, but he was regretfully finding out firsthand what it was like to hear up close.

’Come on, Gabriel. It’s almost morning. She’ll wake up any second now. Just... keep... your eyes... open!!’

Gabriel’s eyelids felt as heavy as buildings. His mind felt numb and his muscles begged to be put to rest. Eventually, he simply couldn’t take it anymore. He laid himself down in his bed while managing to keep Avala’s head from moving too much. In little time at all, he passed completely out. However, right as he did, Avala jolted awake and grabbed the chair from underneath her, ready to strike anyone who dared come close.

She panted heavily as the sleep drained from her eyes. Her chin was wet from her mouth being open while she slept. Seeing that the coast was clear, she gently laid the chair back down and wiped her face. She walked over to a long mirror in the room and studied herself.

"How long was I out? Did I seriously fall asleep so easily?! What the hell has gotten into me! I could have been killed!"

She sighed deeply and turned around while rubbing her eyes.

"Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to-"

When she opened them, she realized that Gabriel was asleep too. A large stain, most likely caused from her drool, was resting on top of Gabriels bed sheets by his head. Avala embarrassingly rubbed her face more.

"No... did I fall asleep on him?! He let me stay like that?!"

She began pacing around the room, trying to determine if she should be mad, embarrassed, or thankful for what he did.

"He didn’t wake me up but was it because he knew I would hurt him if I did?! Or was it for another reason. Shit, did he hear me snore?! I think I’m going to cry. No. I think I want to vomit. No! I think... I NEED TO BEAT HIM UP!!"

Avala ran towards Gabriel readying her fist. However, she stopped it just before hitting his nose. He looked so defeated that she knew she would have gotten no satisfaction from hitting him a few times. She sighed heavily and walked back over to her chair.

Her hands found their way on his body, holding it gently as she studied it for how well he was recovering. To her surprise, he was healing at an alarming rate. It was possible he could start training the next day if he wished.

Suddenly, a man walked in with a tray of food.

"Good morning, Miss Avala! I have brought you and this boy a nice warm-"

Before the man could even finish talking, Avala kicked him out of the room with a powerful hit. Before the tray hit the floor, she caught it cautiously and rested it on the floor. The servant held on to his head in a daze as he stared inside the room through the open doors.

"...Miss Avala? Why?"

"No one enters this room until you see me leave it. Understand?!"

The servant gulped and fixed his collar.

"Y-Yes ma’am."

She gave him a glare full of malice before closing the doors shut as hard, but quiet as she could. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Gabriel was still sleeping. Thankfully, he was. She carefully walked back over and sat back in her chair while crossing her arms.

"Well... I guess I have no choice but to watch over him since he looked after me. Not that I care or anything like that. I’m still going to beat him up when he wakes up!"