Hime

Chapter 2





A few days had passed since the incident in town, and thankfully for Ritz, Shara hadn’t said a thing about what had happened to anyone.



“I’m glad to see that you’ve decided to start taking your studies more seriously, Princess,” the teacher said, setting down an incredibly thick and old tome.



Ritz let out a sigh. It wasn’t so much that she wanted to spend her days stuck in a small room reading books that were older than her great grandparents, but every time she tried to escape, Shara was there standing in her way.



After a few hours, Ritz was finally given some free time. As soon as she got out of the study, she went up to her room and changed into some plain clothes that were far more practical than the dress that she had to wear most of the time. As soon as she was done, she grabbed her rapier and went down to the training field where all the knights were.



“Hey guys, who wants to have a sparring match with me?” she asked. She was answered with a few groans.



“Come on Princess, you know none of us stand a chance against you. Every battle just rubs it in more!” one of them complained.



Ritz grinned to herself. Not a single soldier in the whole kingdom was a match for her in a one-on-one duel.



“Really, how do you think this makes our army look when not one of you can take on a littlie girl?” she said teasingly. She didn't really mind; she knew that they were all highly competent and skilled soldiers by any kingdom's standards, but she couldn't help enjoying the fact that she had worked her way to being even better while still just a young girl.



“How about I act as your partner?” Shara suggested, seeming to appear from thin air like always. She had a sword in hand already.



“Fine. After all, what’s the point in having you around if I’m a better fighter?” Ritz said, taking a fighting stance. Shara took a similar stance.



Ritz made the first move with a quick jab aimed at her opponent’s chest, but Shara easily avoided it and countered with a slash of her own. Ritz moved in just the nick of time, only narrowly avoiding it. She swung her sword in a high arc. Shara moved out of the way and thrust her own weapon right at Ritz’s abdomen, but her attack was parried.



“You're good. That’s the first time in a long time anyone's come close to landing a hit. I guess I’m going to have to start trying!”



Ritz opened up with a flurry of jabs at lightning speed. Shara was able to dodge most of them, but a few of them had to be blocked.



“You are very good, Princess. Not even any of my tribe have ever been able to force me into going on the defensive,” Shara said as she began to counter. Neither one of them were leaving an opening large enough for the other to get a clean hit. After nearly twenty minutes of being stalemated, Shara decided to put an end to the fight. Dropping down slightly, she performed a swipe kick, knocking Ritz off balance. As soon as she was on her back, Shara stepped on her sword, pinning it down, while the tip of her sword was pointed at Ritz’s throat.



“Looks like you win,” Ritz said, admitting defeat.



Shara put her sword away and helped Ritz to her feet. “That was a good fight. I can see why you are so confident,” Shara said, genuinely impressed.



“Well, this is a lot more fun than most of the stuff I have to do,” Ritz said, brushing some dirt off.





Later that night, Ritz lay awake in bed. (I can’t believe she actually beat me. I mean, I haven’t lost in almost two years...but I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that she’s good), Ritz thought, looking at the door that lead into Shara’s room.



Quietly getting out of bed, she walked over to the door and pressed her ear against it. She could hear the faint rustle of sheets and heavy breathing that assured her Shara was asleep. Ritz quickly changed out of her nightgown into the same clothes that she had used during her sparring match. She opened up a small, secret passage that was made in case the castle was ever under attack, sliding through the small opening. She crawled along the narrow passage until she came out at the other end in the courtyard. Making her way past all of the guards making their nightly rounds, and after getting out of the place grounds, Ritz headed toward the nearby woods. There were a few monsters out there, but nothing dangerous. Carefully making her way through some hidden paths, she came to a small clearing at the edge of a cliff. It was her secret spot she’d found several years ago, and was one of her favorite places to just come and think. She sat down on a small patch of soft grass and looked around. There were beautiful pale white flowers growing all over the place that only bloomed at night. Ritz had looked through several books on botany, but she’d never found out the name of these flowers...but it didn’t matter. All she knew about them was that lovely.



“This is quite a lovely view. I can see why you like it here,” Shara said, walking out of the darkness like a ghost. Ritz was a bit surprised, but not unhappy.



“Yeah. I’ve always loved coming here. I’ve never let anyone else see this place because I don’t think most people could appreciate its beauty,” she said, thinking about how most people would only be interested in harvesting the flowers and selling them.



“Tell me, do you know anything about these flowers?” Shara asked. Ritz shook her head. “They're called Moon Tears. I’m surprised to see them here. To we Viera, they have a very special meaning: if you love someone, then you give them one of these on the night of a full moon, like tonight.”



Ritz looked up at Shara. Her graceful figure was silhouetted by the moon...she looked so stunningly gorgeous that Ritz couldn’t help but blush slightly.



“Why don’t you have seat?” Ritz offered, patting a spot next to herself. Shara lowered herself to the ground.



“It’s really too bad that you were born a princess,” Sahara said, looking up at the full moon in the perfectly clear sky.



“What makes you say that?” Ritz asked as she lay back looking at all the stars that dotted the infinite blackness.



“If you had been born as someone who could be trained as a warrior for their livelihood, then I can assure you that you’d be able to travel anywhere you wanted without the slightest fear of anything,” Shara said, lying back as well. Ritz thought about what it would be like to have the freedom to go anywhere she wanted, to not have the duties of a princess.



“So what’s it like in your home? I mean, next to nothing is known about the Viera,” Ritz asked.



“Well, it’s not that much different. We go about doing our daily tasks, hunting, cooking...the only real difference is that we are completely in synch with nature.”



But that answer wasn’t good enough for Ritz, so she asked more questions, which Shara gladly answered. After a while, Ritz couldn’t think of anything more to ask, so she just enjoyed looking up at the sky, listening to the wind rustle through the leaves of the trees.



Then, she could hear an ethereal sound. She looked over and could tell that Shara was humming. The tune that she was humming was amazing. Just listening to it made Ritz start to feel incredibly relaxed, and without realizing it, she fell asleep, enjoying the coolness of the grass beneath her and the gentle blend of the wind and Shara’s humming.







Ritz woke up in her bed. She looked down and saw that she had been changed into her nightgown.



(I can’t believe that she changed me!), Ritz thought, slightly embarrassed at the thought of having been undressed without waking up. But she decided that she’d let it slide. After she went through a few of her morning routines, she went down to breakfast. As always, Shara was nowhere to be seen, but Ritz could tell that she was close by.



(I think I’ll go out for some fun later...after all, Viera are good trackers, but I know this castle better than the guys who built it), Ritz thought to herself as she ate her breakfast. After all, she wanted to have some fun with her beautiful new caretaker.