Page 60 of The White King's Favorite

“Cessi! What happened? Breathe, girl, breathe...”

Cessilia kept nodding and held on tightly to her cousin’s shoulder. She knew she could control this if she just calmed down, but calming down was hard when she couldn’t get enough air and oxygen. She put her hand on her chest, trying to force herself to calm down, and ignore the numbness in her limbs.

“She’s suffocating,” said Nana. “Perhaps we should get that choker off...”

She reached out her hand, but before she did, Tessa slapped her hand. Nana cried out in pain and surprise, retracting her hand right away, shocked.

“Don’t touch that thing.”

There was something so imperious and serious in Tessandra’s voice, the young woman didn’t even dare complain, and nodded helplessly.

“Nana, where’s the nearest window? She just needs to breathe fresh air.”

“Oh... Th-this way!”

Happy to have something she could help with, Nana jumped on her feet and led them to the closest window she could find, a large one at that. As soon as they were close, the two cousins rushed there, and Cessilia leaned forward, her eyes closed, trying to take a deep breath. Next to her, Tessa was whispering gentle words to help her calm down, rubbing her back and pushing her long curls out of the way. It lasted for a while, and Naptunie could only stand to the side, a bit jealous of the two young women’s bond. If anyone else had seen them, they would have thought they were sisters, even if their appearances were a bit different. Tessa’s dark eyes and shoulder-length hair made her look a bit more intimidating, while Cessilia had the grace of a delicate princess. Both of them were beautiful in their own way, but next to them, Nana felt like an unrefined little girl... She bit her lower lip and walked away to get some water for Cessilia, a bit ashamed of her own thoughts.

“Th-thank you,” Cessilia finally mumbled after a while, slowly taking deep breaths.

“What happened?” frowned Tessa. “He upset you? I thought I heard some shouting, but the door was so thick, and that annoying servant wouldn’t let us in...”

“It’s f-fine,” her cousin shook her head. “It just d-didn’t g-go like I wanted...”

“His Majesty refused to free Counselor Yassim?” asked Nana, bringing back the cup of water. “My uncle went to see if it could be negotiated with the guards, but...”

Cessilia took the cup of water with a faint smile and leaned against the window, almost calmed down by now. Naptunie was a bit worried for the Princess. She was paler than usual, and her eyes seemed very sad too. For a few seconds, Cessilia simply drank the fresh water in silence, as if each drop helped her regain her composure. After a while, though, all traces of panic and sadness had disappeared from her face; she stood back up, brushing her curls back.

“We will f-free Yassim th-the Wise,” she declared.

“What? But the King–”

“Alright,” said Tessa, a bright smile on her face as well. “I was a bit upset after all that crap and those vixens from earlier, but I guess this will be a lot more interesting. Nana, do you know where they put him?”

“My uncle mentioned the dungeons, downstairs but–”

“The dungeons it is, then. Who doesn’t like a good jailbreak?”

“But...!”

It was no use; Tessandra was already walking down the nearest flight of stairs, excited as if they were going to do some fun activity. However, she was going to the dungeons! Naptunie turned to Cessilia, worried, but the Princess looked just as serene as her cousin. She even put a gentle hand on Nana’s shoulder.

“D-don’t worry, we will free the C-Counselor.”

Naptunie was in shock. The Princess didn’t receive permission, so she was going to free the Counselor herself! There were a million reasons she could think of as to why this would be a very bad idea right now, but Cessilia looked so confident, Naptunie didn’t even dare name one. The Princess turned to Nupia, giving her the empty cup of water.

“D-Don’t you t-try and st-stop us,” she coldly told the servant.

“I won’t, Princess.”

Cesslia gave another cold stare to the young servant but didn’t add anything, and instead, she followed her cousin’s path, taking Naptunie with her. Nana was still completely at a loss. One part of her enjoyed the two young women’s company and boldness, but sometimes, she wondered if it was really alright for her to be involved in all of this. She was no princess and she had no dragon... What if the King took his anger out on her or her family instead? What if the Princess was then accused of treason, and war with the Empire was triggered? Naptunie was conflicted internally, and she couldn’t help but let Cessilia know as they reached the lower floors of the castle. She had been holding her hand all this time, feeling like a younger sister following her elder sister, borrowing some of Cessilia and Tessa’s dazzling confidence.

“D-don’t worry,” said Cessilia with a gentle expression. “We will p-protect you t-too. You’re our p-precious friend.”

“You really think I am your friend?” Naptunie exclaimed, surprised. “But... I only just met you yesterday!”

“You’d be surprised,” said Tessa. “We don’t have many friends outside of our family. In fact, I can count them on one hand. But you’re a nice girl, and you welcomed us even though we are foreigners, which I can’t say has been the case for many people here. Plus, Krai likes you, and dragons are pretty good at guessing people’s real nature.”

“Oh... Thank you,” mumbled a blushing Nana.

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