Will of a Prince

Squabee ran away from Avala as fast as she could. The idea of sparing with such a powerful woman, even with her special power, made her shiver.

"She’s finally after me! I’ve finally pissed her off enough! I just had to run my mouth!"

Squabee ran as far away from the palace as she could. Once she gained a reasonable distance, she slouched on her knees and panted heavily. She studied her surroundings to make sure the coast was clear before raising her head.

The streets of the kingdom were incredibly lively. Hundreds of shop keepers calling to the crowds passing by to ask them for business. The sight was the complete opposite of Chrono kingdom. Squabee’s eyes glittered as she walked forward to see what kinds of things the kingdom had to offer. Her eyes first glanced over at a sweets shop. The aroma was so alluring she couldn’t help but wander through its doors and gaze at their display.

An older lady was behind the counter with a bright red apron and white outfit. There was flour all over the front of herself and she smelled of cinnamon.

"Hi there! Is there something I can help you find?"

Squabee looked toward a dark chocolate pasty that was underneath a small glass shield.

"What is this thing? It smells so... delicious!"

The older woman laughed and walked towards the display and grabbed the pastry underneath and handing it to Squabee.

"It’s called a brownie. It’s a soft, chocolate pastry that is very sweet!"

Squabee smelled the pastry even further. The scent was intoxicating.

"How much?"

"As it just so happens, you are my 100,000th customer! As a thanks to the community, you can have this for free!"

Squabee’s mood slightly dimmed. It was nice of her power to activate here, but she felt bad that the poor woman was not going to get paid for her labor.

"Please, I can give you a little something."

"It’s really okay! Please try it and tell everyone you know about my store!"

Squabee slowly took a bite of the pastry. Her eyes glowed with happiness. It was the warmest, tastiest, and fluffiest thing she had ever put in her mouth. If joy had a flavor, it would be this dessert.

"It’s... amazing! Thank you so much, ma’am."

The woman smiled brightly and waved at her.

"Please tell your friends! I’m always here!"

Squabee finished the brownie and walked out of the store. Leaving a store without paying was always weird for her to do. Even though it has happened to her dozens of times, she had never once gotten used to the feeling of guilt lingering in her gut.

Squabee was never the type to show her low sides, but recent events and occurrences were testing her sanity, including things that had to do with her own power. She walked away from the store trying to keep her hopes up as she searched for another store.

Suddenly, she tripped over a small rock in the road and fell towards the ground. She threw her hands in front of her, but there wasn’t enough time for them to catch herself. She braced for impact. A loud whimpering echoed around the plaza. Squabee opened her eyes to see what had happened.

Instead of falling on the stone, a small animal had broken her fall. The thing looked to be slightly injured from the altercation and limped away from Squabee in fear.

"W-wait. I’m sorry."

It disappeared as fast as she had fell on it. She kept her head down and walked towards a large fountain with a statue of a woman in shining armor standing in the center with a raised shield. She looked at herself in the reflection and touched her face lightly.

"...my best interests, huh?"

Even though Squabee didn’t admit it, there was another flaw to her power that no one else in the group seemed to realize. Even though Squabee’s power always protected her best interests, she is incapable of choosing what her best interest are for herself. Therefore, it is the power itself that scales what Squabee needs the most when a moment of misfortune comes her way. The only reason she assumed that it protected her friends for this long is because she would be devastated to lose any of them.

Not only that, having this power came with one, heart-crushing truth: this world doesn’t want her here and it will do anything in its power to get rid of her when she’s vulnerable. The fact that her existence is a mere fluke weighed on her heavily. It was no wonder that the world pushed her into solitude countless times over the years.

All of these facts weighed heavily on Squabee’s heart every single day. It hurt the most when someone gets affected by her power for her interest when she didn’t necessarily need it to. She splashed the water and messed up her reflection before sitting on the edge of the fountain silently. An exhale slowly escaped her mouth as she kicked her feet.

Suddenly, Enki seemingly appeared out of nowhere and sat next to her.

"You sure look glum today. Did the after-effect of my charm kick in yet?"

"Knowing my luck, it probably found its way to someone else."

"Hmm. Well, isn’t that fortunate."

Squabee hugged her arms.

"Not really."

Enki stayed silent and glared down at her.

"I see."

Out of nowhere, Enki pushed tried pushing Squabee in the fountain but ended up slipping and falling in himself. Squabee looked back at him confused as he sat back up and spit water out of his mouth.

"What was that all about?"

"I’m just trying to mess with you. I haven’t seen you a lot today! Aren’t you supposed to be yelling at me right now?"

Squabee sat up from her spot and began walking away.

"Maybe later. Please stay away from me or you’ll get hurt again. I want to be by myself for a little while today."

Enki watched her walk away slowly and called out to her before she could leave earshot.

"We’ll all be in the palace if you need us!"

Squabee wadded through a bunch of crowds with her head hanging down. Even though she had such supportive friends, she felt so lonely. There wasn’t a single person in all of existence who could understand what she was feeling... except for one, and he left their group after a fight with Slimo.

Squabee found a small ledge to look out over most of the kingdom. It was a breathtaking sight, but she still felt nothing from it.

Suddenly, a hand grasped her shoulder. Squabee turned around to see who it was.

To her utter surprise, it was none other than Lee. His expression was soft and easy, as if he was gauging if it was alright for him to speak.

"Lee? What do you need?"

"You left the palace by yourself. Why?"

Squabee turned around to face him as his hand dropped from her shoulder. She jumped off the small ledge and looked up at his face.

"I just wanted some time to myself. What’s wrong with that?"

"There isn’t anything wrong with that, but you never desire such things. Why are you really out here?"

Squabee refused to look into his eyes.

"I just... feel lonely."

Lee smiled.

"Why didn’t you just say so?"

Suddenly, Lee jumped on the small ledge and dangled his feet off, staring at the same view Suqabee was looking at moments ago. Strangely, he wasn’t talking to her anymore.

"Aren’t you going to ask me why I feel lonely?"

Lee turned his head and looked back at her.

"Do I need to? Everyone needs their alone time every now and then."

Squabee was shocked to hear this response. Normally, she would expect someone to wonder why there such a sudden change in her behavior. However, Lee didn’t seem to care at all.

"Lee, I don’t really know much about you. We hardly talk. Why did you come out here to find me?"

Lee smirked and went back to enjoying the view.

"I didn’t."

Squabee’s pink eyes widened.

"What? Then how did you find me?"

"I just saw you over here alone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you alone, so I was curious why you were here by yourself."

"What are you doing leaving the palace by yourself?"

"Same as you. I want to be alone."

"You’re not the same as me. I don’t want to be alone, I just feel alone."

Lee turned back to Squabee once more and patted the spot next to him on the ledge.

"Sit down and have a chat with me. I bet I can change your perspective a bit on loneliness."

Squabee was slightly hesitant to agree, but her curiosity won the better of her. She threw herself next to Lee and listened eagerly.

"What about it?"

"Well, let me ask you this: Do you think anyone deserves to be alone?"

Squabee thought to herself a moment.

"Not really. Maybe it depends on what they do. Some people would be better alone whereas others would flourish with other people. Why do you ask?"

"Because I want nothing more than to be by myself, and yet I always find myself surrounded by friends. I seek solitude, yet I’m cursed with company. This world is quite cruel, wouldn’t you say?"

"You seek the loneliness that I have? But, why? Why would you be envious of someone that lives in a world that doesn’t want them here? Every single time my power activates, I am painfully reminded that this world I live in doesn’t belong to me."

"Simple. It’s because living the way you do is freedom in its purest form."

"Freedom? What does my power have to do with freedom?"

"You are not bound by the shackles of fate, misfortune, or destiny. The world despises what it can’t control, and you Squabee, are incapable of being controlled."

"I still don’t understand why you would be jealous of something like that."

"There’s a reason I haven’t spoken with many of you, Squabee. And it is not because I dislike you all."

"Does this reason have to do with why you want my power?"

"Indeed."

"Then what is it?"

"I crave only one existence in this world of chaos. I crave an existence of peace."