"Are you ready for your Enlightennt?"
The Princess' words echoed inside Hecate's head, making her feel as if the gears inside of her head were starting to turn.
"Wait, I don't understand," Hecate said. "Why are you doing this? Why are you making feel confused?"
Princess Ramona smiled faintly before looking at the sea.
"When you were born, the one who took care of you for the first year of your life was Queen Helewynn of the Mangrave Forest. She was the ruler of the Griffin Court," Princess Ramona said softly. "She taught you how to read and write, but all her teachings all ca natural to you as if you already knew how to do them.
"Arts, sciences, manners, etiquettes-you mastered them all in a span of a year, surprising everyone else except her. After all, she believed that it was only a natural thing to happen because you... were special."
Princess Ramona raised her finger and tapped the stars in the sky as if rearranging them to suit her needs.
The stars obeyed and moved, forming an Aurora Borealis made from starlight, and it showed Hecate's past.
"In your second year, the Fish appeared to look at your current condition," Princess Ramona giggled as if finding her storytelling quite funny. "She taught you how to wield the magic that you could wield, and forbade you to use any other Magic aside from strengthening magic. "Perhaps feeling that she was your rival over sothing, you decided to defy her and used other magic spells. This resulted in the appearance of Elder Elentals, which almost destroyed the Elven Forest.
"Fortunately, the Fish was there to deal with it, so the damage was minimal. Since then, you have paid more attention to controlling your powers and learning Martial Arts."
The projection in the sky showed Hecate fighting against the Fish in close combat, which ended with her being defeated countless tis.
Because of that, her sense of rivalry against the Fish grew by the day.
"In your third year, the Fish gave you five books to read," Princess Ramona continued. "It didn't take long before you realized that the books that you were reading were Diaries. They weren't diaries of different people. No. They were diaries of the first Saintess of the Order of the Tidebringer."
Princess Ramona smiled faintly.
"They were mine," Princess Ramona said softly. "You've read them and learned about my love, happiness, sadness, worries, and heartaches. You often think, this princess sure is
pitiful.
"As you read the stories over and over again, you start to feel sothing that you've never felt before."
Princess Ramona turned around to look at Hecate's beautiful face, which was still turned to watch the Aurora in the sky.
"I want to see you," Princess Ramona said. "I want to be with you.'
"Those thoughts once again returned to your head. Because you felt pity for the Princess, because you felt that you wanted to continue her story, you decided to beco the Saintess of the Order of the Tidebringer."
Princess Ramona waved, and the scene on the sky changed to show Ramona's official ceremony to beco the Saintess of the Tidebringer.
"As the years passed, the desire inside your heart to travel to distant shores strengthened," Princess Ramona stated. "However, the Fish always told you that the ti wasn't right. There were tis when you tried to go to the Shire Continent on your own, but every ti you tried, the Shadow Rats would stop you and bring you back to the Temple.
They were your most annoying but extrely loyal supporters. In the end, they pleaded for you to wait for the right ti, so you no longer tried to escape on your own. The Fish even threatened you that if you escaped one more ti, she would take you under the sea and imprison you by force.
"Knowing that the Fish didn't make jokes lightly, you decided to obey and spent your days pining for the young man whom Princess Ramona loved so much. There were tis when you said to yourself that you would complete her story. Seventeen years later... here we are."
Princess Ramona closed her eyes as she continued to speak.
"I will stand by the Tidebringer and remind him of the Princess who loved him across ti and space'. You thought that perhaps, by doing so, he would also co to love you and treat you the sa way as the Princess, right?"
Hecate stared at the Princess, who still had a sad expression on her face.
"Then, are you saying that what I'm doing is wrong?" Hecate asked. "Are you saying that I don't deserve to be by his side? Is it bad that I fell in love with him through soone else's love? Is it bad because I loved him after reading Princess Ramona's diaries?!"
Hecate, who was always calm, was starting to feel strong emotions rising inside her chest.
Yes.
She fell in love with Ethan even before she t him.
All because of the strong emotions written in Princess Ramona's diaries, including her plan to et with the Progenitor of Magic to find a way for her to realize her wish.
She could still rember the last entry in the Princess Diary.
"Today is the day I fight against destiny. The Progenitor agreed, but there was a condition. If Ethan doesn't manage to guess my true identity when my new self reaches the age of eighteen, I will turn into Sea-"
The words were blurred as if a teardrop had fallen onto the ink, making it scatter across the
page.
Even so, Hecate felt the raw emotion that the Princess had put into her writing.
Hope, fear, desperation, and resignation.
She didn't know what happened after that because there were no more entries written in the
diary.
"Maybe she failed."
That was what Hecate thought at that ti.
She was paying close attention to news about Brynhildr Academy and the teenage boy nad
Ethan.
And yet, there was no sign that Princess Ramona managed to et with him.
That was when she decided.
She would see him in her place.
She would love him in her place.
And once he returned her love, she believed that it would put the Princess' soul to rest,
wherever she may be.
"This is a once in a lifeti opportunity," Princess Ramona said. "Switch places with and realize the wish that brought you to this place. Once again, I ask you, are you ready for your
enlightennt?"
Princess Ramona extended her hand and waited for Hecate to take it.
Hecate bit her lip before raising her hand and placing it on the Princess' palm.
The Princess smiled and drew her close to her, whispering sothing in her ear.
"Tomorrow at midnight, things will return to how they were," Princess Ramona whispered. "Whether you reach him or not will all be up to you."
After whispering those words, Princess Ramona cupped Hecate's face and kissed her lips.
A mont later, she took a step back and opened her eyes slowly.
The first thing she saw was Hecate, who was standing in front of her with a smile.
"You... how?" Princess Ramona asked in a daze, but soon her world spun making her lose
consciousness.
Hecate hurriedly caught her and held her gently.
"Fate is not an easy opponent to play against," Hecate said softly. "So use this chance, and
use it well. This is all I can do for you."
Without another word, Hecate lifted Princess Ramona in a princess carry before taking her
back to the Temple.
And as she walked towards her destination, she couldn't help but mutter the words the Princess once said before taking that leap of faith.
"The tears we cried yesterday will definitely not be wasted," Hecate muttered. "A future
filled with happiness is just beyond that door. I will open it without fail, so wait for . I'm
coming for you, Ethan."
Hecate glanced at the unconscious Princess in her arms before vanishing into the night.
She knew that the mont the princess opened her eyes, her dance with destiny would finally
take place.
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