Flower of Steel

“I’ll be back again in three days!”

***

Well, well, well.
Always on top of things even while your mind is elsewhere.”

The Crown Prince’s voice woke me from my thoughts.
Oh, I won.
He then continued, “Thinking about something else in front of me… I wouldn’t have let you be if it wasn’t for that.”

I sighed in response to his cold voice.
This man never changes.
He wanted to pick a fight with me when he was the one who wanted me to play chess with him.
I responded, “I wouldn’t call it thinking about something else.
I was just concentrating on my next move.”

I looked at the Crown Prince and noticed he was looking at me with his chin held by his hand and with an unpleasant look on his face.
Then, I looked at the finished chessboard.
My, who is this fool? A fool who would put the king in danger to protect the queen.
If only he had sacrificed his queen because then I would have gotten into trouble.

“Why do you play like this?” I asked with an almost dumbfounded-sounding voice.

“Because I want to,” softly answered the Crown Prince.
His purple eyes were peering at me.

What, so you’re telling me not to care because it’s your choice.
I mean, who plays chess like this? I’ve never seen it played this way.
Come to think of it.
The Crown Prince always ended up getting a checkmate because he was too protective of the queen.
I suppose he wanted to protect it because it’s a valuable piece.
But there are times when you have to boldly sacrifice the queen when there’s a need.
If you need a queen that much, you can promote the pawn by moving it forward.
I can’t understand him.
In fact, I never understood him anyway.

“If we’re done, I’ll be on my way, Your Highness.”

“The Crown Prince went silent, then spoke in a low voice, “The promise… Keep it.”

“Of course, Your Highness.
Well, then…”

So, is it because of the doll that you picked a fight with me? My mind was a mess because of my first love, okay? After I got back home, I lay down on my bed, thinking about the doll.
Ugh, I can’t think of anything.
I then realized the first time I ever made a doll was for that boy.

***

After I heard his love proposal, I went home, dug under my blanket, and kicked it.
I regretted running away.
I should’ve stayed and told him that I liked him too.

I was into you when I first saw you.
That’s why I wanted to know more about you, meet with you, and be kind to you.
The 10-year-old kid who’s always calculating things wasn’t thinking of making any profit only when it was you.
That’s why, I quickly finished making a doll, thinking about you, who seemed lonely when I first saw you.
I held the doll and smiled as I hugged it.
I’ll tell him how I feel and give this to him.

On the day I was visiting the palace, I insisted on bringing the doll.
Eventually, Father gave up, so I managed to bring it to the palace.
Deeming I was being weird, Father asked, “Rina why do you insist on bringing such a thing all of a sudden?”

“No reason.”

Father looked at me suspiciously but went on his way as he said, “I’ll go do my job, so play nice around here.”

“Yes, father,” I answered.

He left me by the quiet gazebo and left.
After I was left alone, I played some chess.

“Rina.”

I was surprised by the voice calling my name and turned around.
It’s him! I couldn’t suppress my mouth from forming a smile because of happiness.
And like that, a huge smile appeared on my face.

“Here! It’s a present!”

In response to my gift, he took it with a weird look on his face.
Then, his expression looked distorted, and he said, “You… This…”

Hearing his words, I smiled and hugged him.
Because of my sudden actions, he froze, probably because he didn’t know what to do.