Before I finally go insane.

Please don"t say, we"ll never find a way

And tell me all my love"s in vain.

Layla,

You"ve got me on my knees, Layla.

I"m begging, darling please, Layla.

Darling won"t you ease my worried mind."

Allen isn"t the best singer in the world. Men stayed away from musical arts for a reason and focused on political matters and military. However, Lyn had to admit that he had a pleasant voice.

...

After the singing, the two remained quiet for a while, and Lyn looked ahead. The distance between their horse and Rhys was a lot. Her sweat fell, "He"s mad, isn"t he?" Lyn could recognize by now when Rhys is angry. But it"s not like she had much to say on the matter. Or rather, whenever Allen asks her of anything, she just naturally agrees.

"I"m slightly surprised," Allen suddenly said.

Lyn blinked, "Surprised?"

Allen nodded, "You told me just now that you"ve never ridden with Kazuya before," he trailed off, "Considering how you two are always going off somewhere, I thought.."

Her sweat fell at those words. Don"t tell her that Allen knows all about her adventures with Kazuya? Then again, it"s not like she bothers hiding herself when she leaves the grounds anymore. For those people who don"t know her. They see her as a palace servant or guest who the Sound Kingdom amba.s.sador is fooling around with. It feels awkward that people have been reporting it back to Allen.

"I thought I didn"t deserve freedom before," Lyn murmured, "While I wanted to see what was beyond the castle walls. I didn"t think I deserve freedom."

She wants to change the Empire as Lyn and not Princess Lyn. For the longest time and even now that"s the thing she wants the most. However, unlike before, something has certainly changed now.

"Even now, I"ve only seen a small portion of the Empire. I still don"t know everything. There is more to see, more to learn, however, from what I have seen. There is one thing that stands out to me," Lyn closed her eyes, "This Empire needs an empress or an emperor. It needs somebody to unite it. A powerful and charismatic leader. No," she shook her head as Mother"s image came to mind, "Somebody with kindness, and compa.s.sion for the people."

Brunette hair appears in her head, and Lyn"s eyes widened. Ah, isn"t there -- isn"t there already a candidate for that? Kazuya. Kazuya isn"t interested in power, Lyn knew that better than anybody. However, if need be, would Kazuya protect everybody? It was a far-fetched idea, but Lyn wanted to bet on it. For the longest time, whenever she looked at Kazuya, she had this thought. But it was only now where she was saying it.

"Whatever you decide, I shall stay by your side."

"Allen?"

"I am not good with words, I"m sure you of all people understand that better than anybody. Even then I select those who I talk too, I categorize them. There is no need to spend any extra effort on an unworthy person."

"I remember," Lyn nodded, "You told me on the first day we met. You also said that us royals are the very opposite of free, that we shouldn"t wish for more than what we have."

What Allen told her that day was cruel, but they were the words she had to hear. Back then, n.o.body told her anything about the world. She had to find out things for herself. Lyn didn"t know life beyond that small garden, and even then certain information is concealed from her. General Adrien and even Pupillam wouldn"t tell her anything. They"d continue teaching her, but other than that they evaded most topics. Back then, Lyn thought it was stifling to talk to the two. It was clear that while they cared for her, they would abide by my Mother"s instructions.

Lyn expected that from General Adrien, but even Pupillam? Later on, Lyn understood why they reacted that way. The world is not as pretty as one would think. The darkness grows as each day pa.s.ses by. It was stupid of them to hide that from her. Did they think she didn"t know that already? Did they really think that she saw the world as beautiful? After what happened when she was younger, Lyn knew better than to think of the world as a beautiful place.

In fact, the trauma and scar left from that incidence were far too great. When she first met General Adrien, she thought he was a monster and hid from him whenever she saw him. Things got better after she got to know him, and later on, she met Pupillam. By that point, while she was still traumatized, the effects weren"t as visible as before.

"And then, to my surprise, you already knew."

Lyn laughed, "Did you think of me as ignorant?"

"At the very least, I simply thought of you as foolish. Back then, I said those words because I wished to frighten you away. I wanted to maintain a distance between the two of us."

Why is he talking in past tense? Isn"t it still the same now in the future? Nothings changed between them. Things are still the same as they were before. Lyn kept trying to convince herself, but then she recalled Allen"s unusual behavior - and how he kissed her too. Maybe Allen is trying to close the distance between them now? Lyn still isn"t sure. However, something is changing, and she can no longer deny that.

Allen spoke slowly, "But, that"s exactly why I want to tell you this now because I may not get the chance to do so in the future."

Before Lyn could respond, she caught a glimpse of a small girl playing in the river. Allen was riding quickly, so the distance grew in seconds. But Lyn immediately felt something was wrong and then realized how unusually crowded it was.

Lyn acted out of instinct and loosened Allen"s hold on her as she jumped off the horse.

...

- River Bank -

It was an act of bravery, or more like natural instinct for her. When she saw that girl standing dangerously close to the river, and those pa.s.sing individuals increasing by the minute. Lyn knew what would happen. Naturally, the pa.s.sing individuals didn"t see the child and knocked her over. The river here connects with a much larger one, if the girl got washed away, then n.o.body would find her for days.

"Wahh, I"m sorry miss," the girl cried.

Lyn softly laughed, "It"s okay, I"m all right," she gently brushed her hand across the little girl"s cheek, "Your soaking cold. Wait for a bit, my companion will come here with my stuff. I"ll lend you something to wear."

"Okay."

After a few minutes, she hears the sound of a galloping horse. It belonged to Allen. Ah, he got here first. Then again, she jumped off his horse, and Rhys was already ahead of them. Allen wore an angry look on his face, and her sweat fell. He will definitely scold her.

"Allen, my bag?" Lyn called.

Allen looked very mad, but he got off the horse and walked over. Each footstep felt like an eternity to her. Maybe it was because she felt the weight and intensity behind his solemn look on his face. She is in so much trouble. Perhaps she ought to stall and personally take the girl home as Lyn thought that, Allen appeared in front of her.

"All-," her sentence fell short when he pulled her into his arms. Her gaze softened when she felt him trembling. He was afraid, of course, he was. She did jump out randomly like that, "I"m sorry for frightening you."

"Big sister, big brother, are you two a cou..couple?" The little girl suddenly said. Lyn immediately froze, and she pulled herself away from Allen with flushed cheeks.

Goodness! What is she doing? Even if things like hugging are normal for her. Most people would see it as an act of affection. Even a young child like this can recognize something is different here.

Allen broke the silence, he reached over and patted the girl"s hair, "That is wrong, but big sister here and I are very good friends, and she"s important to me."

Lyn"s eyes widened at Allen"s words. Is she important to him?