Scarlet Requiem

“Princess Yzarai!” maidservant Wanda screamed as her voice reached all four walls of the palace. She hurried to the front door, pulling other maids with her. “We’ve got to find her… before—”

“What?” Ian’s voice chimed through. Wanda held her breath, lowering her head and squinting her eyes. “Did my sister sneak out again?”

“Your Highness, she… she stepped out for a walk.”

“Find her… before my brother finds out,” Ian said sternly.

Wanda clenched her fists and bit her lower lip, sweat flowing down her face. Princess Yzarai… where did you go? If His Majesty hears that you snuck out and got hurt without us, we will all be executed on the spot. Just as she took a step forward—

Yzarai’s head peeked out from behind the stone pillar. Her moss-green eyes swept left, then right, checking the corridor was clear. A white handkerchief hid the burgundy hair that would’ve given her away instantly, and beneath it, her dress—deliberately smudged and plain—looked nothing like a princess’s. She smirked.

“I’ll just sneak into the kitchen!” she whispered. She tiptoed her way into the kitchen. She grabbed a cookie and hid behind the wall, nibbling it. She giggled as the sweet chocolatey flavor lingered on her tongue. “This is so yummy…”

The door slammed open. She gasped, hiding the cookie with a napkin. Her eyes widened as she held her breath. Footsteps silently faded before the door closed. Once it was silent and still for a few minutes, she sighed in relief and pulled her cookie out again.

“I’ll—”

“Yzarai!”

“AH!” Yzarai yelled, throwing her cookie in the air.

Ian caught the cookie and frowned.

“You snuck away… leaving everyone with a heart attack. How will you repay them all for this?”

She huffed in exasperation.

“I was going to return… it’s not like I was planning to sneak out of the palace…” she muttered.

Ian groaned, pinching the center of his forehead.

“Why would you even think about sneaking out of the palace? Just stay here where Felipe and I can protect you,” he claimed.

Yzarai’s face darkened as she shoved him, walking to the door.

“You caught me… let’s go back before he finds out—”

She opened the door. She jolted and clutched onto Ian’s shirt.

“Who will find out?” Felipe’s cold voice asked.

Ian and Yzarai gulped and flushed.

“Brother… I mean, Your Majesty—”

“Follow me… and you,” Felipe commanded. Ian straightened his back. “Give that cookie back to her. Go greet the guests.”

“Yes, Your Majesty…” Ian replied. His straight arms dropped the cookie onto Yzarai’s palms.

Yzarai frowned and glanced at Felipe. His gaze softened as he patted her head. Her hands raised an inch before she froze.

“Let’s go back to your residence and talk…” he ordered.

“Okay…” she mumbled, following him back to her residence.

As soon as Felipe stood in the middle of her room, he raised his hand, dismissing everyone else. The butler closed the door after the last person. Yzarai sighed in frustration as she placed the cookie on her dressmaker’s table.

“What is it?” she complained.

Felipe stared at her sternly before grabbing her shoulders. He pushed her to sit down as she looked at the mirror reflection. Their eyes locked.

“Are you upset that I locked you inside this room for weeks?”

Her gaze fell to the cookie.

“You’re only doing it to prevent harm from coming my way… it gets boring in here…”

“Yzarai… I only meant to protect you—”

“I know… you just want to find the person who has been trying to assassinate me all these years. But, brother, what if you will never find the culprit?”

“I will. I will die until I find the culprit and know you’re safe forever. So no what if—?”

“But what if… when the truth comes out, you’ll have to make the hardest decision in your life?”

Felipe’s fingers twitched as they slowly curved in.

“Yzarai…” he called softly. She turned over her shoulder and looked at him. “I already made one of the hardest decisions in my life… and I don’t regret it. For someone as young as you to get hurt every second of your life for existing, I will not sleep in peace.”

Yzarai sulked as her eyes averted. Her shoulders lowered.

“Everyone who tried to protect me got hurt… I don’t want anyone else getting hurt because of me anymore…”

Felipe said nothing for a moment: their father, her mother, and the name he refused to let himself think, even now. He straightened and stood behind her, taking a deep breath. He looked at her through the mirror reflection and smiled. He glanced down at her head and kissed it, comforting her.

“Don’t think about it in that way… for all I know, they all cherished you enough to do that for you. Now for tonight…”

Yzarai’s face turned sour as she turned around hastily and grabbed his hands.

“Can I please not go? I promise I won’t get hurt and have a bodyguard nearby!” she complained.

He chuckled and caressed her cheek. She blushed with a pout.

“One dance… go have one dance for tonight, and you can return to rest. Okay?” he asked, nearly begging.

She frowned and lowered her head. Her silence lingered as Felipe stared at her, withholding his laugh. Her eyes shifted to his face with defeat.

“Fine… Just one dance with you—”

“Another man.”

“No!”

“A dance with me is royal etiquette for my only baby sister. However, you understand the meaning of this debutante. You will have to dance with one other man.”

Yzarai squinted her eyes and creased her brows.

“But… no man is a catch like you and brother Ian!”

Felipe burst out laughing and gently patted her head. He nudged a kiss on the side of her forehead.

“My baby sister is a rarity. I will make sure the man who dances with you will be flawless.”

She shook her head, closing her eyes.

“No one is flawless… but, can I… at least step outside before the ball starts?” she asked.

Felipe looked at her, changing from seriousness to adoration in a split second.

“Promise me… you won’t cause any trouble.”

“I won’t!” she beamed, raising a V-shaped finger in the air. Then she hurried to the door and held the handles. She paused and held her breath. She turned to look at Felipe, who watched her every step. He smiled at her before she ran to his arm and hugged him.

“Yzarai—”

“Thank you… for being the best older brother in the world…” she complimented. Felipe froze and slowly slid his arms around her, hugging her tightly with a warm grin. “I love you and Ian.”

“We love you, too, my baby sister,” Felipe chuckled.

Yzarai smiled and stood on her toes to land a kiss on his cheek. She pulled away and tilted her head.

“I’ll see you at the ball!” she yelled as she disappeared into the hallway.

Felipe stood next to her dressmaker’s table, and then he slowly sat down, flushing. He covered his face and cackled.

“She sure knows how to throw people off with her charms…” he muttered.

Yzarai sprinted through the corridors and hid from Wanda. Wanda gasped as she tried to follow Yzarai, who snickered and hid behind a pillar.

“Princess! Please… where are you?!” Wanda exclaimed, pulling her hair out. She pointed around the area, commanding the maids to search for Yzarai.

“I’ll just head over there with some of the guests…” Yzarai chuckled as she entered the garden. She gathered her dress in one hand and stepped onto the marble floor. A man standing near the entrance suddenly stopped. The strands of burgundy hair flowing behind her had caught his attention. He watched her walk toward the fountain without realizing she had no idea he was there. Yzarai stared at the water and smiled. “Mother…”

“Did you hear that this ball is to present the hidden princess of Guan’in?” a noble lady’s voice asked on the other side of the water fountain. A few gasps rippled after.

“No way… is she beautiful?’ another lady’s voice chimed.

“If she were beautiful, then I could ask for her hand…” a nobleman’s voice added. Then there was chuckling over the statement. Yzarai peeked from the side of the fountain. “Maybe… her mother’s a commoner and has given birth to a scarred child.”

“Since no one knows who she is and what she’s capable of, just pass her around with us, too!” another man stated.

Yzarai’s eyes darkened as she straightened her back. She stomped her way around casually before glancing over her shoulder at them. They were talking until… one man with a white tuxedo and golden hair caught a glimpse of her green eyes and dark red hair. He smirked and shoved everyone apart.

“Well, hello, M’lady. What could be your name?” he asked kindly, reaching for her hand.

Yzarai slapped his hand away, shocking everyone. She tilted her head and smiled.

“How dare an ugly pig touch my hand without permission?” she questioned, glaring at him.