Chapter 58: Chapter 58

TESSA

The Throne Room, Kingdom of Howard

"Tessa --"

Tessa cut her off before Vida could even finish her sentence. "I think the prince needs some help out there." She patted Vida on the shoulder. "You got this, girlfriend."

"No!" Vida said in a hushed voice. "Don't leave me with the King here."

"You'll be fine!" Tessa said. She turned to the King who was regarding her with a sour expression on his face. He must be thinking that the fate of the Kingdom relies on this reckless deity. "Your Kingship, I'll be off. Dismissing myself!" She did a weird curtsy, her hands flailing around like a helicopter.

Tessa ran out of the room and out into the courtyard. She got to hand it to the architects of this world because the Palace was built intricately. The pillars are detailed until the last inch. The grounds were huge and one could easily get lost in it. It was like a maze.

If you asked her, Tessa did not know why she had the urge to talk to the troubled prince. It was like something or someone was whispering things to her. It must be the room.

She was beyond surprised when she was assigned to sleep in the Deity's room. To say the least, it was uneventful although the room was filled with interesting trinkets. It reeked of some essence that was neither bad nor good. When the morning came, she was surprisingly well rested. She had not felt that in a long time. She felt like she could run miles.

And that was she did. Tessa ran across the grounds and out the gates. The guards eyed her warily. They must be weirded out by Tessa's clothes or the way she ran like a marathoner.

She ran past the gates and out into the village. She tried approaching a few Ecanus she met along the way.

"Uhm, hi. Excuse me," Tessa smiled at a lady Ecanus who was walking, carrying a parasol with an intricate letter E carved as the handle, in her hand. It was a good thing she was panting because if not, she would have lost it at the sight of the umbrella. "I'm looking for someone."

"Do I look like a directory to you?" The woman said sharply.

Tessa was taken aback. "Whoa, calm down, cupcake. I'm just asking if you'd seen a silver-haired prince heading this way."

The woman clearly did not like Tessa from the moment she barged into her quiet stroll. Her face soured even more and she narrowed her eyes at her when she heard that Tessa was looking for the prince.

"And why, pray tell, are you looking for him?" The woman scoffed.

Tessa sighed. "Listen, lady. I asked nicely and now you're being rude. I'll just find him myself."

Tessa left the woman behind and continued on. "Damn, these Ecanus people need to chill out. They're wound up tighter than my nana's bun."

She decided that she'd just ask the men in uniform that were strewn in the village. That way, she's had less interactions with snobby girls.

Finally, after a lot of walking around and asking J. Crew catalog-looking guards, Tessa found the prince in question. He had just finished talking to two Royal Guards and was about to walk back to the Palace.

"Hey, Gian!"

The prince turned around and saw Tessa bounding in his direction. He stiffened and regarded her with a vacant look.

"Hi," Tessa beamed at him.

Gian just kept staring at her. Tessa suddenly felt self-conscious. She shook her head lightly, trying to get her groove back. "Do you need any help? Or if you need someone to talk to?" She continued. "I can be that someone. I mean, I feel that you need to let out a lot of things. And I just want you to know that I can help you."

Nothing. He's still unresponsive. "Right," Tessa said awkwardly. "So, I'll head back now."

She started walking away and when she got a good distance, she pivoted and yelled at the prince who was still looking at her. "You know what? I spent the entire day looking for you, yet you just ignore me. I could have spent my time taking a tour of this place but no, I looked for you because a voice in my head tells me to do so. Don't ask me who it is because I don't know myself. I think I might be growing crazy, but yeah here we are. Oh, and some chic went all Jude McRude on me when I asked for directions. And let me, tell you, I did not come here just for shits and giggles only to be snubbed. I mean business, pal. Oh, and entering that magic portal? No fun, no fun at all. We flew, you hear that? Flew through the sky. I have never left the ground in my entire life. I may have ridden an airplane but I was inside the aircraft. And I think I may be hallucinating and all of this is just a dream and I'll wake up with a disapproving Peter looking down at me. I'm just trying to help you work out your issues, okay? Because to be honest, being nice can go a long way."

If only Tessa had a mic, she'd drop it. After her monologue was done, she walked away and this time it was for real.

"Will you listen to me? For real?" Gian finally spoke.

Tessa smiled to herself and before she turned to face him, she composed herself, not wanting to show that prick that she knew he'd give in.

"Yeah, I'm willing to listen."

Gian took a deep breath. "Come with me."

Tessa's heart rate sped up. She was getting somewhere with the prince who turned.

---

Gian

Kingdom of Howard

Gian never knew a human could talk so much.

He had intended to focus on doing things right, ensuring the security of the Kingdom, and winning back the trust of his family.

The entire truth about Deity Flora's death was kept under wraps and Gian was grateful for it. He could not bear to see the Ecanus look and treat him differently. If Colter was in his shoes, he'd be ready to face the Ecanus' execution by public trial. But he was not his brother.

Miraculously, the King had been magnanimous towards him.

"You will still await trial, Gian. You have committed treason and it is unacceptable for me, as your King and father, that you would be free from punishment. When our Kingdom's crisis has passed, that's when I'll give my final judgement."

Gian could not have been more grateful for the leeway given to him. Even for a short amount of time, he would be able to atone for his sins and do right just as the Deity had told him.

After the human Tessa had completely broken down his mental shield, he was obliged to give it a chance. He did need someone to talk to. And the fact that she mentioned that there was a voice in her head saying to look for him, he was sure that it may be the Deity Flora trying to reach out to him even in the afterlife.

Gian and Tessa made their way back to the Palace. He explained on the way that he had strict orders to be within the perimeter at all times. He even showed Tessa a bracelet with a tracking spell cast upon it, in order for him to be monitored.

"Cool, sort of like a magic anklet." Tessa said.

He did not know what she meant by that but he assumed it was an equivalent artifact from Earth.

As they reached the Palace walls, he steered Tessa to an off-road path that led to his mother's garden. No one knew of the shortcut. He probably should alert Vergil and the others about breaching it in time for the assault.

Tessa had been talking non-stop on their way back. She was telling her stories back on Earth and was comparing things that were similar back home. Gian learned later on that Tessa did not care if he listened or not as long as he gave out appropriate neutral responses. So, he managed to drone out her voice out of his head for the majority of the time.

"Oooh, is this some sort of secret passage? Where does it lead to?" Tessa said as she stepped over a large tree trunk.

Once they reached a small clearing near the Palace's wall, Gian commanded the branch and brambles to move to reveal the crack, small enough for someone to bend and slip through.

"Whoa," Tessa's mouth was open in amazement.

"You better keep that close, else a bumblefly would wander in." Gian said.

Tessa looked at him incredulously. "A bumblefly? What is that like a hybrid bee and fly?"

Gian smirked down at her and said, "It's just a fly."

She wagged her finger at him. "Oh no, mister! You don't shut me out like that then make jokes like that."

He smiled at her and said, "After you."

Tessa rolled her eyes at him and slipped through the crack. Gian shortly followed her through just in time to see Tessa gasped in amazement.

"Wow, this is," she slowly walked further in the vast expanse of the garden. "Amazing."

Gian straightened up and dusted his hands on his pants. "Yeah, pretty amazing. You have the Queen to thank for this. She's the one tending to this garden."

Tessa turned to face him. "Really? The Queen did not come off as a green thumb to me."

"I can perfectly assure you that her thumbs are not green."

"No, no, what I meant was -- Nevermind." Tessa said.

The pair had walked further in the garden, and came across the pond. There he gestured for Tessa to take a seat on the cobblestone bench beside a statue of a garden elf.

"So," Tessa said encouragingly. "As promised, I would listen."

Gian looked at her and wondered if the Deity was somewhere inside her. His eyes met hers and he saw understanding and patience, something the Deity had in her eyes when she passed on in his arms.

He began to tell Tessa about everything: the jealousy he felt towards Colter, how selfish he was, the bad things he did, and how he regretted everything. He shared his hatred toward his father, how he would pitch him against Colter. He admitted that at the beginning, he was challenged and that encouraged him to train harder and be better. But when he felt that the King was favoring Colter more, by always reminding him that Colter's talent is powerful, he began to resent his brother.

He also shared how he wanted to change for the better, and to prove to everyone that he wasn't as cruel and as heartless as they perceived him to be; that just like his brother, they can come to like him and treat him with respect, one that is not rooted in fear.

While he was spilling his heart out, Tessa just listened. She remained quiet and nodded, her gaze never wavering. When he was done, she patted him on the back, a gesture so foreign to Gian as he was not used to people touching him in a non-sexual way.

"You know, we have a saying on Earth that 'nobody's perfect.' And even though you're not human, I think it can be applied to you too. Everyone could feel jealousy, hatred, and all other emotions. We have a range of emotions that we can control and acknowledge. Boy, you should try being a woman, and that makes it even more complicated, hormones and all that other shit."

"Anyway, that's okay. All those feelings you felt before are valid. All the mistakes you've made can be corrected. That's what makes a person unique from all the other species that exist, whether it be on Earth or here. We can choose to do good. Those mistakes may not be reversed, but the important thing is you know you've done wrong and you're doing something to change the situation. As long as you are willing to change, and be accountable for all the wrongdoings you have done, that's okay in my book. Everyone is a work in progress, even for a prince who rarely smiles."

Gian was astounded. The limits of this tiny human are unbelievable. He could not fathom how a small human woman could say a lot of sensible things in such a small time.

"Thank you, Tessa." Gian said. "I never would have imagined that I'll find this kind of comfort from a human. I guess my brother trusted the right humans, and maybe, humans really weren't that bad like how we believed in."

"You remembered my name." Tessa said.

"I know all the species of plants in this entire Kingdom, of course I'll remember your name."

Tessa gave him a smile and replied, "Just because we're from a different race does not mean we're bad. Like, yeah, there are criminals and all that. But like Ecanus, humans can love and care too. We're just basic. We just don't have all that razzle dazzle powers you guys have."

"You mean this?" Gian conjured a yellow daisy from his hand. Tessa's eyes widened with wonder. He tucked the flower behind her ear and said. "You do have powers. You made this prince smile again."