Day 5
Marry the Princess, they Said
Day 5.
I do not understand this. Were my instincts wrong?
I am back at the place where the crystal ball first flashed. However, despite searching for the Princess until nightfall yesterday and for a good part of today, I still have not found her.
Could I have been wrong about my instincts? This will be disrespectful for me to say, but I trust my own instincts better than I trust the Royal Sage Dongwan's. He has been wrong every single time, and he keeps forgetting to tell me necessary information that will help me complete this mission. I have figured that I would find the Princess faster without his help.
However, I am at a loss. The crystal ball has not flashed once, not even here, at the 'café' where it first did. I sit in utter remorse as I stare out the window, completely overwhelmed by the strangeness and vastness of this bustling land.
Would there be hope of finding the Princess in this seemingly endless maze of a city? I was well aware that this was not going to be an easy mission; but I did not expect it to be this hard.
I do not know what to do. However, as I muse upon this journal, the stranger that I had first met, the one that had so kindly help me get around this strange place, suddenly arrived. I was not aware of it until he waved his hand in front of my face, upon which I looked up and sighed in relief at meeting someone I actually know.
He took the liberty of sitting across me, which I do not mind for I quite enjoy his company. We exchanged small talk that would not really be worth mentioning in this journal, but overall, he seems quite a pleasant person. Quite friendly and easy to talk to, and I would like to think we had become fast friends at that moment. Which is good, because I need someone who actually knows this world (unlike the Royal Sage Dongwan) to guide me in my endeavors.
However!!! The crystal ball suddenly started flashing! I looked around frantically, searching for a woman who could actually be the Princess. I waved the crystal ball near every woman's incredulous face, but for some reason, the flashing faded whenever I did so. It was obviously none of them! I felt quite embarrassed for causing such a ruckus, but the Princess must be found! The crystal ball was still flashing, so I called upon the Royal Sage to help me; I am quite sure he knows the answer.
He told me to wave the crystal ball around so that he may see the faces of the women surrounding us, but he confirmed what I had already known: it was not any of them. None of them even remotely resemble the Princess, and the crystal ball was not responding to anyone. At this point people were throwing glances at me, but I care not. I need to find her!
I put the crystal ball in front of me, still flashing faintly, albeit a little stronger now. The Princess is somewhere here; could she have invisibility powers that I know not of? But the Royal Sage Dongwan assured me that she does not have any abilities of that sort.
I forgot about the kind stranger; he was still sitting in front of me, though he was regarding me with careful observation rather than throwing me a judgmental look like all the others in the 'café' are doing at the moment. I apologize to him profusely, which he took in a kind fashion, for which I am grateful. Though the mystery of the flashing crystal ball still has not been solved; it continues to flash relentlessly, as if it was mocking me. Could it be broken, after all?
The kind stranger took it upon himself to ask what is going on with my silly contraption, and I tell him of the story. He blinked, then remarked having seen the Royal Crest somewhere before, but he could not remember. I tell him that I am not of this world, and he looked at me in question. I do not know a better way to explain it though, but if he had seen the Royal Crest before, then surely he must know of our world? I offer to introduce him to the Royal Sage Dongwan, to which he obliged (albeit a bit unsurely).
I contacted the Royal Sage Dongwan once more, with the intent of introducing the kind stranger to him, as he might know of our world. As I hand over the crystal ball to him, though, a blinding light filled the room which rendered everyone temporarily blind, including me, and when I have my eyesight back once more a compartment that I had not seen before under the crystal ball had opened; the kind stranger handed it back to me, thinking that he had broken it and apologized profusely, but as I stare at what is inside I knew that he has done nothing of the sort.
With a shaky voice, I ask him what his name is, and he replied the one thing I did not want to hear:
Andy.
It seemed strange that it was so close to the name of the Princess. He is not her... is he?
I gingerly take out the item that was inside the crystal ball's compartment: a somewhat large, gold locket that belonged to the Princess, an item that I had only seen once when I saw her back then in our world. The King has told me that she is the only one who can open the locket, and the only one who knows what is inside. I do not know why, but I hand the locket to a confused Andy, commanding him to open it.
To my horror, he opened it easily, revealing a small key inside.
What is this.
Did I miss a note somewhere? Was I actually supposed to look for a Prince? Maybe my memories were messed up by the contraption and they came back wrong. Maybe I mixed up the wrong memories and mistook the Prince for a Princess. If so, the Royal Sage Dongwan would have told me, right?
I contact him again frantically, wanting confirmation on everything that has happened. He said that he did not know either! I hand the crystal ball once more to Andy, who I saw was already starting to get exasperated (I can tell by the way he looked confused and frustrated with everything at the same time; but I cannot explain to him what is happening until I am 200%, even 300% sure), but thankfully went along willingly. I heard a gasp from the Royal Sage Dongwan, and I heard the one thing I did not want to hear:
"The Princess!"
How could this be?! I snatch the crystal ball once more, demanding an explanation. He said that he did not know either.
I stare across at Andy, who quickly demanded what is going on.
Quite frankly, I told him, I do not know either.
Comments