Maybe sapience was a bad idea.

  Maybe life would be a lot easier if all people were lobotomized, soulless machines; living their lives without any semblance of awareness. Maybe, just maybe, if that were the case Sophia wouldn’t be dying of embarrassment as Zai leads her onwards towards the docks.

  Imagine asking someone out and they take charge of the date. Sophia’s mind scrambles. Imagine.

  Some part of her imagines her usual repertoire of retainers making fun of her; that each of her family members would be laughing, pointing, remembering this utterly humiliating turn of events as she’s led on this date by her arranged, politically married husband of all people.

  Naomi would probably be the first one to tease her in that cold, distant tone of hers. “If you’re getting flustered, you should take a moment to recover your thoughts.”

  “Ok shush Naomi.” Alice would roll her eyes. “Come on Sophia, you like~ him. Oooohhh, Sophia likes someone.”

  “Treat him better.” Natan would scowl in the strange, overprotectiveness of his. “He’s in this mess because of you.”

  And Beatrice would’ve taken it to the greatest extreme possible. “Tonight, try to get to first base.”

  It’s my first real ‘date’ with him… Sophia decidedly debates the mental projection of the Third Princess of Ensolia. First base? Now? Tonight?!

  And this imaginary piece of Beatrice gives a smile in response to her younger sister. Men are easy. Even when they’re saying no, deep inside they mean something else. In the end, they’re just animals.

  Zai speaks up randomly, noting the intense expression on his partner’s face. “What was that?”

  Sophia, still in the midst of her thoughts, lets the words slip out by complete accident. “You’re not an animal Zai.”

  The smile on his face fades slightly at these words taken utterly out of context, and the Fourth Princess scrambles to recover. “I mean… you are an animal. All humans are animals, but it's just that you are not an animal in that way.”

  “O-oh… ” The Crown Prince of Tianci tries to find the punchline in her joke, with that smile holding more confusion than anything else. “Alright.”

  Sophia glares at the imaginary persona of her older sister, who just giggles playfully at this insane failure.

  The streets narrow as they press forward. The crowd thickens, funneled towards the waterfront like sand through an hourglass. Zai still holds her right arm, guiding her gently but firmly through the shifting mass of people.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Oh Goddess there were so many people.

  Sophia Elise catches the snippets of words spoken in the northern Tianci accent, whispers of rumors and conversations coherent to her tuned ears. A rumor mill from every single corner of the small town coming at her all at once in a cacophony of music, of laughter, of cries of young children, of the couples already in the midst of exchanging soft words; the colors of lanterns, of the colorful clothes, of the bright flashing lights of flickering lamp posts -- it's all too much, too fast, too…

  Sophia Elise feels her stomach lurch, and pulls the scowl on her face to a level deeper than even she thought possible.

  It’s too much.

  Too many things happening, too many things to keep track of, too…

  The world tilts, or maybe it’s just her spinning.

  Lights smear together like paint on water, sounds crashing into her ears with no space to breathe between them. And the words, the voices… it’s just noise, Sophia can’t make sense, no sense. A breath stuck in her throat, shallow, sharp, failing… falling.

  She instinctively grabs the nearest source of stability; settling onto the guiding arm of the Heir to the Tianci Dominion.

  Nails digging into his clothing, his skin and flesh; her body trying its best to even breathe as she just lets out a small, pathetic groan from her diaphragm.

  He notices her.

  Because of course he would notice her; amongst the crowd, amongst the colors and the singing and the laughter and the shoulders brushing by them and by the…

  “... Sophia…” Zai begins gently as he sees her contorted face, feels the pressure on his arm.

  “I’m not ok.” Sophia manages to stutter, throwing out every single shred of royal dignity left within her as she grunts out the words. “Too much… it’s too much…”

  Sophia knows Zai is laughing at her, judging her, already considering leaving this mess to rot here in town; to go by himself to see what was going to be a spectacular sight. She knows—knows—that Zai must be disgusted at her, thinking her pathetic. That he wouldn’t want her to come with him, not in this state—because who would?

  And as they remain static amongst the flow of people moving westward towards the docks, Sophia braces for him to shake her off.

  Because Sophia Elise knows that she’s a failure.

  Amongst all the five, she’s the one.

  And she will be the only one.

  Zai Tianci speaks quietly to her, almost whispering. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

  She can’t even make a cohesive thought. “...where?”

  “Somewhere.” Zai begins to lead, waving to some blurry function in the crowd.

  And that blur responds, two forms pulling themselves out from the mingling bodies.

  Guardsman Fushimi wearing a strange mixture of colorful blue festival robes and lethal hidden blades comes with the Priestess Elodie; whose entire faithful fit is very much so destroyed by the half-drunk can of beer in her left hand.

  “Something wrong?” The Guardsman’s voice sounds distant.

  “Sophia’s a little overwhelmed.” Zai automatically tells her. “We’ll go somewhere with less people.”

  The Guardsman nods, turning to Elodie. “Alright, well what’s around here that’s both quiet and close?”

  “Unudo’s out fully tonight.” Elodie winks, looking out at the presence of that massive, horizon spanning blue orb. “Perfect night for a lil’ beach date.”

  “Alright we’re going.” Zai decides, gripping Sophia slightly tighter now.

  There’s genuine concern on all their faces for her, at her form that was now starting to slip slightly. I’m sorry I’m like this.

  “Don’t be sorry.” Zai speaks, reading her expression perfectly. “Breathe, and let’s go.”