“Ha! You’re saying these miscreants are the ones who took my appointment? How dare you serve those crummy foreigners before me! I’m Safia of the Yekara Clan, daughter of the Clan Leader himself!”

“...And queen of loudmouths?” scoffed Tessa.

The woman did not appreciate Tessa’s snicker. She immediately turned her black eyes to her, furious. It was obvious she came from a very wealthy family, from her luxurious dress, the two servant girls following her, and the many pieces of silver jewelry displayed on her neck, arms, and hair. Her hair was very long, down to her thighs, and styled into dozens of thin braids. She wore simple makeup and was undoubtedly pretty even without that. However, right now, her face was distorted by anger, her lips in an annoyed rictus.

“You should learn to show respect, foreigner girl,” she hissed. “This isn’t your country, you’re nothing here! No one wants you here, either!”

“Seems to me you’re the unwanted one, you tardy bitch.”

Cessilia sighed. She had no intention to get into a fight with any of the candidates, she hated those kinds of catfights and attitudes. Tessa, however, was prone to react to insults, and surely wouldn’t remain quiet about this... Despite her seemingly calm tone, she could tell when her cousin was really pissed. This could get out of hand if she didn’t watch it. Next to her, Nana looked a bit worried, her eyes going back and forth from one woman to the other.

The one most panicked by the situation was undeniably the shop owner; the poor woman almost ran to Safia’s side, looking on the verge of tears.

“My deepest apologies for this situation! It is entirely our fault for assuming my lady wanted to cancel your appointment. Lady Safia, please, we will happily take you now, if you can just wait a few minutes...”

“You want me to wait?” scoffed Safia. “Are you seriously thinking of serving these women while we wait? Are you daft? Have you forgotten who I am? What’s my family’s name?”

Tessa rolled her eyes at her and let out a loud sigh, exasperated.

“No, no, no, of course not, my lady. We will serve you right away. Let us take you to the other room, and...”

“I am not going to any other room,” said Safia, crossing her arms. “I want this one, and those foreigners out. Now!”

Her shrieks echoed in the room like a raven’s squawk. The poor shop owner was visibly doing her best to please both customers but also terrified to anger either. Seeing how calm Safia’s servants were, this wasn’t a rare occurrence either. As she kept screaming, Cessilia sighed and stood up.

“Let’s g-go,” she said calmly.

“B-but...” mumbled Nana, visibly upset about the situation as well.

Cessilia gently helped her up, showing she was resolute in leaving that place. Back on the stool, her arms still crossed, Tessa rolled her eyes, but still followed Cessilia’s lead, and began taking off the fabric she was trying on.

“That’s right,” scoffed Safia. “You scram, and don’t you come into my sight again!”

“Or what?”

Cessilia’s strangely composed tone took the woman by surprise. Not only that, but she had stopped walking on her way out, when they were crossing paths, to stare right at her with those frank, green eyes. In a second, the Yekara woman felt an instinctive surge of fear and stepped back. Something in the foreigner’s eyes had just triggered her most basic survival instincts and made her move away from the Princess. ...However, Cessilia was not showing any sign of aggression, and she immediately regretted stepping back without thinking, wondering where that had come from. She tried to regain her composure, but the Princess was still staring, visibly waiting for an answer. Safia cleared her throat, trying to regain her former arrogant attitude.

“I’ll get rid of you,” scoffed Safia. “I’ll make sure you can never step foot in the Inner Capital again. My family is the Yekara Clan, the most powerful of all. This is not your Empire, a little princess like you has no power here!”

A silent second passed, and Nana stepped forward, getting angry this time.

“You can’t use your family’s power against a foreign princess! How dare you talk to Lady Cessilia like that, Safia! Your family’s only good at bullying people and extorting money!”

“And what is your family good at?” she retorted with a smirk. “Gutting smelly fish? Selling fat beignets? Just shut up and fuck off, Dorosef girl.”

Nana clenched her little fists, and Tessa clicked her tongue, annoyed. However, Cessilia, to their surprise, simply took Nana’s hand and walked out without giving that girl another glance. The three of them left the shop, hearing Safia’s shouting at the shop owner even from outside.

Sabael, who had been waiting outside, walked up to them frowning. He had probably heard the situation but decided not to intervene.

“What in the world was that?!” stormed Tessa, furious. “What an arrogant bitch! Cessi, you should have let me cut that big throat of hers!”

“You really shouldn’t,” sighed Nana. “She was telling the truth, earlier. Her family is so rich, they own a lot of the shops around, and they have so much money, they scare everyone. Safia is always using that power to get everything she wants, and since she’s the family head’s only daughter, they are forever spoiling her. She’s known for throwing tantrums like this wherever she goes…”

“If you managed to ignore her, that’s great,” added her brother. “Several people have already lost their shops because of that girl. She just needs to complain, and the rent will be increased tenfold so the people have no choice but to leave... I’ve seen it happen many times.”

“I hate those types of people the most,” grumbled Tessa. “Abusing her power and money to get her way... She’s just a rich brat with no manners! If this was the Dragon Empire, she’d never get away with that kind of attitude! Who does she think she is, she’s just using her daddy’s money to scare people! And to think we abolished slavery. Looks like some people still hold the whip around here!”

This time, Sabael’s eyes were wide open, the young man visibly impressed by Tessa’s words. Cessilia wondered if he had thought of them as just a duo of willful princesses... Sadly, Tessa did not catch the soldier’s gaze on her, once again. She was glaring at the entrance of the shop, shaking her head as they could still hear Safia mistreating the workers. She kept her hands on her swords as if she was dying to go back inside and teach a violent lesson.

“...Why did we let her get away with it again?” grumbled Tessa, finally turning to Cessilia.

“We d-don’t need t-to fight her. Nothing t-too b-bad happened... Let’s not c-cause issues for the p-people here.”

She slowly walked away from the shop first, and without looking back, headed in the castle’s direction. Behind her, Nana and Tessa exchanged a surprised glance, finally understanding. Cessilia had stepped down because of the shop owner and their workers. It was clear the woman was torn between the customers and trying to treat the foreign Princess decently despite Safia’s tantrum. Cessilia had simply chosen to not risk someone else’s business... Tessa glanced at Nupia, who had been quietly following them all this time, silent as a shadow. It was clear she wouldn’t get involved unless the Princess was in danger, otherwise, she would have said something earlier. Still, the servant probably hadn’t missed anything from the earlier scene, and perhaps she would relay it all to her real master. There was no way Cessilia hadn’t noticed that as well... Seeing her cousin’s lonely figure ahead of them, a smile already back on her lips, Tessa finally let go of her swords, and shook her head.

“Ever your mother’s daughter,” she chuckled to herself.

A bit less unsatisfied now that they both knew Cessilia’s reason for letting Safia get the upper hand, Nana and Tessa joined her, and the three girls made their way back to the castle, Sabael and Nupia behind them. Without realizing it, their little outing to the Outer Capital and all the wandering around the shops had taken almost a full day. The Capital of the Eastern Kingdom was smaller than the one they were used to, but also more packed. They had seen many, many different streets and visited a lot of shops in just a few hours, with less walking needed than if they had done the same amount in the Dragon Empire. It was high time they got home, indeed, since they had promised the Counselors they’d be back by dusk.

However, as they finally reached the gates, Sabael stopped, clearing his voice a bit loudly.

“Uh, well, I have to go now, ladies. Nana, let me know if you want to go outside the Inner Wall again, alright?”

“Got it! Thanks, Sab!” answered his little sister with a big smile.

She was already waving at him, but it was a bit too soon to part for someone else...

“Don’t you want to have dinner with us?” offered Tessa with her brightest smile, the previous ordeal already forgotten.

“No, thanks. My next shift begins soon, actually. But, uh... It was nice meeting you... I mean, accompanying you, ladies. Escorting, you. That’s right, meeting and escorting you, uh...”

Seeing Sabael mumble and struggle to answer Tessa’s disarming smile was unbearably cute. Both Cessilia and Nana kept exchanging glances, the first one amused and the other one a bit confused, although she seemed to finally realize the situation that was going on there. The soldier was making no movement to actually leave and Tessa was still there, visibly hopeful. The two of them were so awkward it was almost painful to watch. Finally, Cessilia faked a little cough to get their attention.

“T-Tessa, d-didn’t you want t-to see their armory?”

“Oh, right!” exclaimed her cousin. “Hey, can I see the soldiers’ armory? Please?”

A bit flustered, Sabael seemed to ponder his answer for a few seconds, but Tessa wasn’t leaving him much room to say no. Even after sweating a bit from their fight earlier and running around all day to shop, Tessa still looked incredibly pretty, with her green dress and captivating smile. Eventually, he nodded.

“I guess it’s fine... if it’s just for a bit...”

“Great!”

Before he could even react, she turned to Cessilia to give her a little wink, mimicking a thanks with her lips, and then grabbed Sabael’s arm to pull him back downtown. For a little while, Nana and Cessilia stayed there, watching the two leave, one a bit more enthusiastic than the other.

“So... is Tessa interested in my brother, by any chance?” finally asked Nana, a frown on.

“I b-believe so,” chuckled Cessilia.