"Others would probably say otherwise... but I know what I’ve seen in that restricted room they preserved." Princess Kira shifted atop the rock, eyes narrowing with the weight of forbidden knowledge.
"But um... don’t tell my father! Because I’m not really supposed to know about the existence of that room. Ahem." She coughed twice and leaned forward conspiratorially.
Everyone instinctively mirrored her movement.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Ollie whispered, eyes big and sparkling with curiosity.
Princess Kira took a deep breath and began explaining the initial aftermath of that scandalous nuptial.
Apparently, the story depended entirely on whose side was telling it.
For the orcs, the tale centered on the deceptive elven princess, the attempted assassination, and the insult she dealt their people, which led to the complete collapse of friendly relations.
But for the elves, while they had been forced to apologize for the attack that the delegation of other races had witnessed, they were adamant that they had acted under threat. They insisted the orcs had taken the Elven Crown Prince in a way that violated their original agreement.
Back then, Princess Kira had learned the origin of the rift through the same curated excerpts used in their education, so her first emotions were the same as everyone else’s: annoyance, indignation, and the belief that if the laws had been followed, nothing would have spiraled out of control.
To the young princess, the Orcish Prince and the Elven Prince were nothing more than historical figures. Symbols. Names attached to the many wars and retaliations she believed were far more important to study.
At least... that was her understanding.
Until the day she stumbled upon a hidden greenhouse and discovered something that changed the entire course of her life.
__
More than just the annoying start of all the bloodshed, she learned about them as individuals and as a couple.
All the excerpts she had read described how, after the nuptials, both sides immediately began preparing for war.
How the orcs demanded punishment for the elven princess every time the elves mentioned the return of their crown prince.
How tension, aggression, and conflicts over the smallest things filled every written account.
So, imagine her shock when she discovered that none of that matched the reality of the actual couple involved.
Because amidst all that political chaos, those two were... blissfully married.
And passionately in love.
Heck, at the time, Princess Kira had not even understood the concept of love. Orcs in general were not big on that. Love was practically taboo after so many associated it with that disastrous wedding.
It was as if the concept never existed at all. And considering her father’s younger sister had also suffered a terrible romantic fate, King Garrick constantly reminded her of how unreliable it was.
But in those preserved letters written in atrocious scrawls, and in those keepsakes and drawings displayed in almost embarrassingly obvious magical preservation, Princess Kira had her first education in romance.
Which was also how she eventually ended up seeking out human literature. Because other than what she found in that greenhouse, the closest ones had to be material made by the puny little humans. Humans may be skin and bones, but they clearly knew a lot about the concept of love that had shaken her to the core.
Princess Kira took a deep breath, bracing herself as she recounted the memories.
"You guys do not understand. I saw things. All of it. The private little gesture those two made." She shuddered violently. "By the ancestors, it was so sweet it almost corroded my bones."
Ollie leaned forward, and Luca blinked with open curiosity as D-29 practically recorded even the rustling of the leaves just to ensure that every little detail would be accounted for.
"So first," Princess Kira said, holding up a finger, "there was this drawing. Like truly indescribable. The Orcish Prince drew the Elven Prince’s face on a tree trunk."
"On a tree?" Ollie whispered.
"Yes. On a tree. And it was so sweet. And sure, it looked questionable, especially considering how the head looked really off, but still, he carved little hearts around it. Hearts. Do you know how many laws were broken alone in orc culture?"
Ada coughed. "Many."
"Yes. Many."

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