Dumb Princesses
dark heroAkane followed Segu to her bedroom to get some new clothes, while Nezu went to his own room.
Nezu undressed and stepped into the shower, washing away the remaining blood and dirt from his wounds. As he carefully cleaned them, he noticed something strange.
The cuts were already healing.
Not just normally, either. If he stared closely enough, he could almost swear the wounds were closing before his eyes. At this rate, there probably wouldn’t even be a mark left by tomorrow.
Weird… Maybe my metabolism is stronger than normal?
“Meow.”
Nezu stopped.
“Meow.”
While he had been absorbed in his thoughts, a cat had started meowing somewhere nearby. A quick search led him to the window, where a small black cat was staring inside and meowing insistently.
There was no mistaking him.
It was Kuro.
“How did you even get here?”
Nezu opened the window, and Kuro immediately launched himself at him.
Nezu dodged.
“Whoa!”
He knew better than to underestimate a kitten. Those tiny claws were practically needles, and considering he was still completely naked, getting scratched again was the last thing he wanted.
Cleaning his current wounds had been enough pain for one day.
Unfortunately, Kuro was relentless.
The kitten chased him around the room as if Nezu were honey and he were a starving bear.
“Stop! What is wrong with you?!”
Kuro jumped again.
Nezu dodged again.
After another attack, Nezu grabbed the nearest thing he could find a small metal wastebasket and, in one quick movement, trapped Kuro underneath it.
The basket was full of holes, and Nezu made sure the kitten was fine. He would never actually hurt Kuro, especially after going through so much trouble to save him.
Still…
“Hisssss!”
“Yeah, yeah. Complain all you want.”
Nezu dressed as quickly as he could while Kuro hissed from inside his temporary prison.
The poor kitten couldn’t understand why he had been jailed when all he wanted was to thank his savior.
Once Nezu was finally dressed, he lifted the basket and released him.
This time, Kuro didn’t jump at him.
In fact, the kitten simply sat there and stared at him.
“…What?”
Kuro turned his head away.
“Fine, crazy cat. Do what you want. Now that you can jump, you get mad at me. I’m out of here!”
Nezu turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
For some reason, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
He turned toward the open window.
Nothing.
There was only the garden outside, moving gently with the wind.
Nezu stared for another few seconds.
Strange…
For just a moment, he had been certain someone was watching him.
He closed the window before leaving.
Nezu headed toward the siblings’ playroom. From the noise coming from inside, he could already tell that Segu and Akane were there.
When he entered, he found a room filled with board games and plushies, with a large television occupying most of one wall. Beneath it sat what appeared to be a last-generation gaming console.
The girls were sitting on the carpet playing checkers.
The game was almost over, and from the board, it looked like Segu was winning.
“I win!” Segu declared triumphantly.
“I almost won against you. Why are you so happy about beating a beginner?” Akane asked, pouting.
“Because I can’t win against a certain someone even once.”
Nezu pretended he hadn’t heard that.
Segu got to her feet.
“Nezu is here. Let’s play on the console so all three of us can play.”
Akane looked toward the television with immediate curiosity.
She had seen videogames before, mostly in advertisements and through other children, but she had never actually played one herself.
Segu turned on the console and began going through their collection.
“Oh! Let’s play this one first.”
She selected a colorful game called Legend of Super Mariano.
The game followed the adventures of Mariano, a mustached hero who travelled across a strange kingdom filled with monsters, castles and oversized mushrooms in an endless quest to rescue a princess who seemed remarkably talented at getting herself kidnapped.
Segu quickly explained the controls to Akane.
“So this moves you.”
Akane carefully pushed the stick.
Mariano walked forward.
Her eyes lit up.
“Oh!”
“This makes you jump.”
Akane pressed the button.
Mariano jumped.
“Oh!”
Nezu sat down beside them.
“You don’t need to react every time he moves.”
“But I’m controlling him!”
“That’s generally how games work.”
Akane ignored him and continued experimenting with the controller.
At first, she was terrible.
She walked into walls.
She jumped into holes.
She somehow managed to die against an enemy Segu claimed was practically impossible to die against.
But little by little, she began understanding the controls.
Then the story began.
The princess had decided to leave the safety of her castle to attend a festival.
Along the way, the villain appeared and kidnapped her.
Akane blinked.
“Wait.”
Segu looked at her.
“What?”
“Where were her guards?”
Segu paused.
“Her guards?”
“Yes. She’s a princess.”
“She didn’t have any.”
Akane looked back at the screen.
Then at Segu.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“She left the castle alone?”
“Apparently.”
“While knowing that man has tried to kidnap her before?”
Segu shrugged.
“Otherwise there wouldn’t be a game.”
Akane stared silently at the television for several seconds.
“That’s stupid.”
Nezu glanced at her but said nothing.
They continued playing.
Despite her complaints about the princess’s complete disregard for basic security, Akane quickly became invested in rescuing her.
Whenever she failed, she demanded another attempt.
Whenever Segu suggested changing games, Akane insisted they were not abandoning the princess halfway through a kidnapping.
Eventually, after many failures, arguments and Segu occasionally taking the controller to get them through particularly difficult sections, they rescued her.
Akane smiled proudly.
“There. Now she should stay inside the castle.”
Segu looked toward Nezu.
Nezu simply stared back at her.
Neither said anything.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Segu answered.
Segu returned to the game collection.
“Let’s try something different.”
She selected another game.
The Legend of Hilda.
This one immediately caught Akane’s attention. Instead of the colorful worlds of Super Mariano, it took place in a vast fantasy kingdom filled with ancient ruins, monsters, magic and knights.
Akane leaned closer to the television.
“This one looks interesting.”
The opening story introduced the kingdom’s princess, who had discovered that an ancient evil was returning.
Fortunately, she was surrounded by royal knights tasked with protecting her.
Akane nodded approvingly.
“See? This princess has common sense.”
Segu looked at Nezu.
Nezu looked back at Segu.
Once again, neither said anything.
The princess soon discovered an ancient temple that might contain information about the returning evil.
Her guards refused to allow her to enter because it was too dangerous.
So the princess waited until nightfall…
…and secretly escaped from the castle.
Akane’s smile disappeared.
“Why is she doing that?”
“She wants to investigate the temple,” Segu explained.
“I know. Why is she doing it alone?”
“Her guards wouldn’t let her go.”
“Because it’s dangerous!”
The game continued.
The princess reached the temple.
The ancient evil was waiting for her.
Akane slowly lowered her controller.
“No.”
The villain appeared.
“No, no, no.”
The princess tried to fight.
She lost.
“No!”
And she was kidnapped.
Akane stared at the screen in disbelief.
Segu burst out laughing.
Akane immediately pointed accusingly at the screen.
“Don’t laugh! People like her give princesses a bad reputation!”
That only made Segu laugh harder.
Nezu remained quiet, watching Akane’s increasingly offended expression. The corner of his mouth moved ever so slightly, but no laugh followed.
Akane looked from Segu to Nezu, then back at the kidnapped princess being carried away on the screen.
Her expression became deadly serious.
“These are dumb…”
She paused, apparently searching for the right words.
“Dumb princesses.”
Segu collapsed backward onto the carpet, laughing.
Akane crossed her arms.
“I’m serious!”
“Sure you are,” Segu managed between laughs.
“If someone is assigned to protect you, you don’t sneak away from them! And you especially don’t do it when you already know an ancient evil is trying to capture you!”
Nezu tilted his head.
“Maybe princesses just don’t like guards.”
“Then they should learn to like being kidnapped!”
Segu laughed even harder.
Akane looked between the two siblings, increasingly offended that neither of them seemed to understand the seriousness of the matter.
Then she pointed at the television again.
“And we’re rescuing her.”
Nezu raised an eyebrow.
“You just called her dumb.”
“She is dumb.”
“So leave her there.”
Akane looked genuinely appalled.
“We can’t leave her there!”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s still a princess!”
Nezu and Segu looked at each other.
Akane grabbed her controller again.
“Now stop laughing and help me rescue this idiot.”
They continued playing.
Some time later, while Segu and Akane argued over which direction they were supposed to go, Nezu’s attention drifted away from the television.
That feeling had returned.
Someone was watching him.
His eyes moved toward the window.
Nothing.
The curtains were open, but beyond the glass there was only the garden and the fading afternoon light.
“Nezu?”
He looked back.
Segu was holding out a controller.
“Your turn.”
Nezu took it.
“Yeah.”
He glanced toward the window one last time.
Nothing was there.
Still, the feeling refused to disappear completely.
By the time they finally rescued Princess Hilda, the afternoon had disappeared with them.
Akane raised both arms victoriously.
“Yes!”
Segu dropped onto her back.
“Finally!”
Nezu placed his controller on the floor.
Akane looked at the princess celebrating on the screen.
Her eyes narrowed.
“You better keep your guards this time.”
Segu immediately started laughing again.
A knock came from the door.
One of the servants entered and informed Akane that it was time for her to leave.
“Oh…”
For the first time since she had started playing, Akane looked disappointed.
Segu stood up.
“You can come play again.”
Akane immediately brightened.
“Really?”
“Of course.”
The three left the playroom and made their way toward the entrance.
Akane’s clothes from earlier had been cleaned as much as possible, but she was still wearing the clothes Segu had lent her. Arrangements could be made to return them later.
Near the entrance, Akane stopped and turned toward the siblings.
“Thank you.”
Segu tilted her head.
“For what?”
“For today. And for letting me stay here.”
Akane looked down briefly, then back at them.
“And for the clothes. And the games. And… everything.”
Segu smiled.
“You don’t have to thank us.”
“I do.”
Akane turned toward Nezu.
“And thank you for saving Kuro.”
Nezu put his hands in his pockets.
“I already told you. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“It was to me.”
Nezu didn’t answer.
Akane then looked between the two of them and gave a small, proper bow.
“Thank you for your hospitality.”
Segu blinked.
“You suddenly sound like an old lady.”
Akane immediately straightened.
“It’s called manners!”
Segu giggled.
“Sure, Princess.”
Akane froze.
For a moment, Segu seemed confused by her reaction.
Then Akane relaxed again.
“Anyway… goodbye, Segu.”
“Bye!”
Akane looked at Nezu.
“Goodbye, Nezu.”
“Bye.”
She took a few steps toward the waiting car before suddenly stopping.
Akane turned around.
“And next time, we’re playing a game where the princess isn’t an idiot!”
Segu burst into laughter again.
“We’ll try to find one!”
Akane seemed satisfied with that answer and finally climbed into the car.
Segu waved enthusiastically as it began moving away.
Nezu stood beside her, watching silently.
Then the feeling came again.
Sharper this time.
His eyes immediately moved away from the departing car.
Across the garden.
Toward the trees beyond the property.
For a fraction of a second, he thought he saw something move between them.
Nezu narrowed his eyes.
“Brother?”
Segu had stopped waving.
“What are you looking at?”
Nezu continued staring at the trees.
Whatever had been there if anything had been there at all was gone.
“Nothing.”
Segu followed his gaze but apparently saw nothing unusual.
Nezu turned back toward the house.
Still…
That was the third time today.
And Nezu was beginning to think it wasn’t his imagination.
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