Ch2 The Broken Princess

Book 5/Chapter 2
The Broken Princess
Year 03, Month 05, Day 13

Zeil stood alongside Reiner and a number of old veterans as the princess stood only a few feet in front of them as she gave a speech to her subjects. As Zeil stood in place, he felt a little awkward, so far the princess’s errands were all ceremonies. The first was an orphanage dedicated to the foals orphaned by the former queen. The second was a hospital meant for ponies suffering from post-traumatic stress from both the queen’s torture and the Eden’s Kiss catastrophe. And now Zeil was taking part in a statue reveal ceremony honoring veterans of the war that the previous king had perished in.

As he stood in line, he held his position as the princess continued announcing to her subjects, “Though the war claimed the life of my father, and led to the loss of land for our kingdom. We will still honor him and those who stood at his side. Their dedication, loyalty, and sacrifice wasn’t for the respect of our kingdom, but for the safety of our subjects and of the crown. Therefore, I dedicate this statue, to all soldiers. Past, Present, and future. For it is their dedication to this kingdom, that ensure a bright and prosperous future for us, our foals, and later our foals’ foals. And to honor the reveal of this statue, I present my father’s generals who fought at his side, in that bloody war all those years ago.”
Princess Blossom turned around and spoke to the soldiers standing beside Zeil, “Generals, you have sacrificed much for this kingdom, but please follow this last order. Reveal the monument!”

The soldiers saluted in return, before turning around and pulling the large sheet from over the statue as the white sheet fell revealing a large statue of three soldiers standing in specific poses, one was a pegasus with one front hoof raised inward and a determined look on his face, the second was an earth pony with all four hooves planted on the pedestal as if he were ready to charge, and the last standing between the two was a unicorn rearing up with both front hooves in the air as if to call the charge. Thought the statues didn’t resemble anypony specifically, their pose along with their meaning was known as the audience applauded the reveal.

With everypony applauding, Princess Blossom Looked back over her subjects as she spoke, “Thank you all for your attendance in honoring this great monument. This concludes this ceremony, you are free to stay for the reception that will take place here. However, I must take my leave. Thank you.”
With that the princess turned to leave the stage as the subjects bowed to her departure. As the princess started trotting by the ex-generals, each soldier bowed in respect to their ruler as Zeil too bowed to keep appearances before following Reiner in stepping out of the rank to escort Princess Blossom to her carriage. As the princess stepped onto the carriage, she looked over her subjects and waved. Zeil too stepped onto the carriage and sat beside the princess leaving Reiner to stand beside the carriage in his usual position as the two stallions pulling the regale transportation slowly started trotting as the carriage rolled out of the area and down the road.

As the carriage rolled slowly, Princess Blossom continued waving to her subjects until she could no longer see the large herd as she stopped and sighed, “Another ceremony down… Captain? What’s next on the agenda?”
Reiner smiled as he trotted alongside the carriage, “Actually your majesty, that’s the last on the list. It would seem that you are free for the rest of the afternoon.”
Princess Blossom looked into the distance as she saw a large clock tower over the surrounding buildings, “It’s barely passed one… Perhaps… We can go se-”
As Princess Blossom looked towards Reiner, she had to look over Zeil as she realized, “Oh… apologies Mr Zeil… I would suppose you would want to go gather your supplies at this time would you not?”
Noticing that she changed whatever was on her mind when she saw him, Zeil replied, “Don’t mind me your majesty, I can get my supplies whenever I have free time on my own. If there is something else you wish to do, then by all means do it.”

As the Princess smiled at his statement, Zeil could only think about what he had been doing since they left the castle this morning. Despite all the ceremonies, Zeil has been keeping his senses heightened as he tried to find out who had placed the curse on the princess. So far, she hasn’t shown signs of the curse through her own emotions, nor has anypony that they’ve encountered shown signs of casting any spell to increase or extend its effects on her. In fact, the only ponies that have had continuous contact with her were the two earth ponies pulling the carriage, the five guards that have been escorting her, and Reiner who has been with her every moment throughout the day. Either way, Zeil felt that if there was somepony pulling the strings that he or she would reveal themselves at least once, but so far there hasn’t been a single sign from her escorts or her subjects. With hope that he would soon find out who the spell caster was, Zeil smiled as the Princess returned his smile before replying, “Well, if it’s alright with you, then I suppose it’s alright to suggest it.”
Reiner asked, “Suggest what your majesty?”

Princess Blossom smiled as she spoke, “Reiner, would it be possible to see the cherry blossoms today. Since we have time, and we are already halfway towards the farmlands. Perhaps this is the best time?”
Reiner gave a fake smile that fooled everypony except Zeil as he replied, “I assumed you would suggest that, so I took the liberty of informing Miss Grove that we would visit today. She says the gates will be open and ready for your arrival.”
Princess Blossom smiled with glee as she replied, “Perfect, I look forward to it.” She looked at the carriage drivers, “Drivers, onward to Golden Cherry Ranch, please.”
The higher ranking driver smiled, “Of course your majesty, at once.”
Reiner looked at the escorting guards, “You five are relieved to return to the castle. The princess will be safe with myself and Mr Zeil.”
As the relived soldiers broke away from the caravan, Zeil could only give Reiner a curious look. His smile before seemed that he was pleased that the princess wanted to see the orchards, but his emotions seemed to hold a large amount of worry. However since the captain didn’t say anything on the subject, Zeil decided to keep a closer eye on him in hoped of finding something incriminating about his actions.

As they traveled, Reiner noticed Zeil’s silence as he decided to make small talk, “So, Mr. Zeil… How do you like our kingdom thus far? I hope your opinion has changed since yesterday’s misunderstanding.”
Zeil nodded, “Well my opinion is much better now. To see a princess that cares so much for her subjects is inspiring to say the least. It’s completely different from any royal I would know.”
The princess spoke with an overenthusiastic tone, “Your talking about your hive queen right?”
Surprised by her excitement, both Zeil and Reiner gave Princess Blossom a funny look as she realized the volume of her voice as she spoke with an embarrassed tone, “Oh… my apologies. I got excited for a second. When I was little, I took advantage of my free time by reading about other races and species. What I learned about changelings were that you’re a hive based species ruled by a queen, a lot like bees or ants.”
Zeil nodded, “That’s right, Similar, but there are many differences between bees, ants, and us.”

Proud of her knowledge, the princess continued, “True, you have the ability to change into any creature you choose and some of you feed on love, but I’m guessing you’re a reformed changeling correct?”
Zeil was confused, “What?... but… how did you kn…”
The princess smiled, “News has been traveling around that many reformed changelings are coming out of the shadows and forming alliances with other kingdoms.”
Zeil thought to himself as he mumbled, “I guess… there are more of us then I thought. I assumed that Shangri-La and I were the only ones.”
Reiner asked, “What was that?”
Zeil shook his head, “Nothing… it’s not important.” He looked at Princess Blossom as he replied to her previous statement, “Yes I am a reformed changeling, though we were in too few to be noticed.”

Princess Blossom smiled as she replied, “On the contrary, I’ve heard that there are two whole kingdoms of reformed changelings. I don’t recall where they are from, but that is the news I’ve heard on the subject. I also understand that aside from the queen there are two other types of changelings, so may I ask, which changeling type you are Mr. Zeil? A worker or a drone?”
Zeil replied with a modest tone, “I’m a drone.”
“Oohh like a prince?”
After hearing Princess Blossom refer to Zeil as a prince, Reiner gave Zeil a curious look as Zeil shook his head, “Not really, a hive can have a queen, a princess, and on occasion a king, but we don’t really acknowledge the term prince, since any drone in the hive can be chosen by the princess to become her king.”
Zeil could only smile when he heard Reiner sigh in relief, as the princess replied, “Oh… I see now. So who is your king and queen?”

Zeil’s smile faded as he replied, “I don’t have one… I guess you could call me an outcast. A changeling without a hive.”
Princess Blossom gave him a disappointed look, “Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t know that was even possible.”
Zeil shook his head, “Don’t be… it was my choice to make. And I’m happy I made it.” He looked at the surroundings as he noticed they were leaving the city, “So… where are we going again? You said something about cherry blossoms?”
Princess Blossom smiled, “Yes I did, you see the kingdom of Spring Haven prided itself on its main export.”
Reiner nodded as he continued, “Cherries, and cherry based products. Spring Haven grows every living type of cherry and thanks to our skilled farmers, you won’t find any better tasting cherries then those grown right here.”

Zeil soon realized that they were entering a large cherry farm with trees of pink as far as the eye could see. As he looked over the vast orchard, he smiled, “I see, strange I didn’t quite notice them when I arrived in Spring Haven, I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”
As the carriage pulled up to the only building visible through the pink surroundings, the driver stopped as a mare exited the farm house as she bowed before speaking, “It’s a pleasure to see you again your majesty. To have you return to my little farm is always a treat.”
The princess exited the carriage as she smiled and replied to the welcome, “It’s nice to see you too Miss Grove, I hope I’m not intruding?”
The farmer smiled, “Not at all your majesty, Reiner was kind enough to let me know ahead of time so whenever ya’ll are ready, the orchards are yours to wonder freely.”
Princess Blossom smiled as she replied, “Thank you, if you have other matters to attend to, then feel free to do so. I only wish to observe the blossoms.”
The kind farmer bowed slightly, “I understand your majesty, if ya’ll need anythin’ then just holler and I’ll be here doin’ some chores.”

Princess Blossom nodded as she, Reiner, and Zeil left the carriage and started towards the main trail that lead through the orchard. Though they stayed a number of paces behind, Reiner and Zeil followed as the princess looked through the grove with joyful eyes. After a few minutes of trotting deeper into the cherry grove, a large gust of wind blew through the trees causing a rain of cherry blossom pedals to fall into their path as the princess saw the dancing pedals and started to spin around as if she were dancing with them. As the playful princess danced through the pedals, both Zeil and Reiner paused as they watched the beautiful princess dance amongst the breathtaking scenery. As they watched Zeil looked over at Reiner to see a somewhat captivated glance as if he were hypnotized by her beauty. As Zeil saw this expression, he was quickly reminded of his own expression a few years ago, when he saw Zecora standing amongst the dancing fireflies. Remembering this only made the disguised changeling long for completing his journy all the more. Trying to not think about it, Zeil looked back to the dancing princess as the cyan mare realized she was dancing alone as she looked to Reiner and smiled, “Captain? Why not come dance with me? If anything it may help you forget why you dislike the spring.”

Acting somewhat bashful, Reiner waved his hoof dismissively, “Far be it for me to ruin your beautiful dancing with my four left hooves.”
The princess smiled, “Nonsense, even if your dancing is poor, what princess dances without her prin-“
As the princess started to say the last word of her sentence, something strange happened. Her expression of playful joy faded, and her actions ceased as she stopped talking and slowly started leaning to her side as Reiner rushed to her while calling, “BLOSSOM!”
Moving fast enough, Reiner was able to catch the falling princess before she hit the ground as he mumbled in irritation, “Not again… MEDIC!!!”
Hearing the call from the carriage, one of the drivers detached himself from the transport as he rushed towards the site as fast as he could. As soon as Zeil realized what was happening, he immediately started using his changeling senses to scan around him for the aura of everypony in the area. However as far as he could scan, Zeil was only able to sense the aura of Princess Blossom, Reiner, the two earthpony guards pulling the carriage and the unicorn cherry farmer who was back at the farm house.

After sensing that there were no others in the area, Zeil rushed to the princess’s side as the carriage drivers arrived and started looking over the princess. As soon as the driver saw her, he spoke, “Again… I was hoping she’d be over this by now.”
Reiner nodded, “Same here, but that’s why I assigned you as driver since you are medically trained… So… what’s her condition?”
The medic checked the princess’s vitals as he replied, “She’s stable… just like the last time, she’s only lost consciousness, but she doesn’t seem to be in any critical condition or pain. No wounds, no sign of spastic movement. Best we can do is get her back to the castle and into bed. If it’s anything like last time, she will wake up in a few hours.”
“Last Time?”
At that moment the two soldiers remembered Zeil was there as Reiner replied, “I’ll explain later, for now let’s just get here back to the castle.”

Reiner laid the princess gently on the ground as he used his magic to carefully pick her back up as he took Princess Blossom back to the carriage. As soon as the three returned to the carriage, both the driver and cherry farmer were waiting as the driver spoke, “Is she alright?”
The medic nodded as he approached the carriage and connected himself beside the driver, “She’s fine, just a repeat of last time.”
Reiner spoke next as he laid the princess on the carriage, “We will return to the castle and get her in bed, that’s all we can do for her now.”
As Zeil climbed onto the carriage with the unconscious princess, the cherry farmer approached Reiner as she spoke, “Did something happen?”
Reiner replied, “Its fine, the princess had another episode. We will return to the castle and hopefully she will be alright in a few hours.”
The farmer nodded, “Alright… just… stay with her Reiner, she needs you now more then ever.”
Reiner nodded as he smiled, “I understand… I won’t let anything happen to her.”

With that said Reiner climbed onto the carriage and held the princess steady as he spoke, “Back to the castle, double time!”
The drivers nodded as they turned the carriage around and pulled the carriage as quickly and as carefully as they could back to the castle. Nothing was really said on the ride back more or less, because Zeil was trying to peace together what happened. He did feel a slight spike in the princess’s emotions before she passed out, but he couldn’t tell if it was the curse that caused it, or something else. And considering that the only ponies that were present was Reiner, the two earthpony guards, and a unicorn mare who was too far from the scene for any spell to reach, made it impossible to predict exactly where the spell, if any actually came from. All Zeil could do was guess, and with everypony present seeming so calm about the whole situation, It was impossible to choose who was responsible. Although there was one thing out of place, though the other guards had a slight aura of worry in their emotions, Reiner felt guilt instead.

As soon as they arrived back at the castle, Zeil and the two drivers helped open doors as Reiner used his magic to carefully bring the princess into her bedchambers. As Reiner laid the motionless princess in her bed, he covered her up as he pulled up a chair and sat beside her as a civilian doctor entered the room and started examining the patient. A few minutes later the doctor stopped examining as he spoke, “Looks like her condition is the same as last time. If memory serves correctly, she should wake within a few hours or so.”
Reiner nodded, “Thanks doc… as always it’s appreciated.”
The doctor nodded as he left the room and passed Zeil who was standing at the doorway. When Reiner noticed Zeil was still there he spoke, “Oh Mr. Zeil… if you need to get the supplies for your journey you can do so now. I’m… going to stay here with the princess.”
Zeil nodded but replied, with a serious tone, “Sure… I’ll do that… but if I do… you’re coming with me.”

Confused by Zeil’s serious tone, Reiner replied, “Excuse me?”
Zeil replied, “You owe me an explanation after all. And I don’t intend on going anywhere till I hear the full story on what happened out there.”
At first, Reiner was going to just brush him off and say no, but as Reiner looked at Zeil’s serious expression, he started to feel something telling him that it was a good idea for him to know the truth. So instead of dismissing Zeil, he replied, “Sure… I guess I do owe you for behaving yourself today. I’ll tell you the full story, but not in the castle… let’s wait till we are in the city first, There are some things best discussed without any of my guards around.”
Zeil nodded as he stepped to the side allowing Reiner to pass him as the royal guard captain led the way out of the castle, with not a single word said.

As the duo trotted through the city, it was a while before Zeil finally broke the silence as he pointed to a potions store and spoke, “There, I need to stop here first for some ingredients.”
Nodding at his request, Reiner followed as he and Zeil trotted into the shop. As they looked through the shelves and shelves of exotic herbs, powders, and ingredients from the furthest reaches of the world, Reiner was curious, “So… what is it you need here?”
Zeil picked up a few items from a shelf as he replied, oh just a few things for my journey… let’s see… Zap apple sap, living moss… and… ah here it is.” He pulled one last jar from the shelf, “Moon weed… and it still alive too.”
Reiner was curious, “What exactly would a changeling use potions for?”
Zeil smiled, “You’d be surprised… sometimes it’s for defense and other time to ward away darkness.”
That said, Zeil proceeded to purchase the collected ingredients before leaving the store.

Once the two were back in the streets and traveling further into the market, Zeil decided to get to the point, “So… The princess in unconscious, Care to explain why?”
Reiner sighed in disappointment as he replied, “It’s PTSD… and… it’s my fault.”
Zeil was confused, “Post traumatic stress disorder? Exactly what happened to her?”
Reiner sighed as he replied, “I failed her… She relied on my protection and I let her down.”
Zeil gave him an annoyed look, “Care to tell me or are you just going to speak in code all day.”
Reiner gave a bracing sigh before continuing, “You see… when the king died, the princess wasn’t even born yet, so a month later when she finally arrived, she was despised by the queen. The queen blamed her for her husband’s death because it was her pregnancy that prevented her from fighting alongside the king in the war. That’s why the princess was mistreated and shut away from the rest of the kingdom. Because of that, many believed that the princess’s very existence was either a hoax or just some rumor spread by bored scullery maids. As for myself, I didn’t even know she existed.”

Reiner saw a bench and sat down as he continued, “My father… owned the largest cherry grove in the kingdom. So one spring, the queen decided to see how her main export was progressing in person, and for the first time she decided to bring the princess with her… unannounced. Since the kingdom knew about how merciless the queen had become since the king’s death, my father told me to avoid the queen during her visit, so I decided to go into the orchards and play. Sometime during the queen’s visit, the princess managed to sneak away from her guards and venture into the cherry grove alone. And that’s where I met her.”
Feeling Reiner’s emotions, Zeil smiled, “Love at first sight?”
Reiner nodded, “I never met a filly so innocent and beautiful. She was dancing through the groves exactly as she did earlier today. Seeing her dance amongst those falling pink petals… I just had to speak to her. Naturally I introduced myself as Reiner Grove, Farmer Grove’s son. But when she introduced herself as Princess Blossom, I simply played along. I didn’t know there was a princess, so I assumed she just called herself a princess since… well… what father hasn’t called their little filly princess at least once.”

Zeil chuckled at the irony, “So, you didn’t even know who she was?”
Reiner nodded with a smile, “Would it have made a difference? I was in love, and that’s all that mattered to me. Anyways, because she called herself princess, I told her to call me Prince Reiner. She giggled at that… but didn’t bother explaining that she was a real princess, she just played along. From there we just started playing in the cherry orchards. Everything from, Hide and seek, tag, we played out there for hours, then… I decided to show her my favorite place in the entire grove. In the very back corner of the property was a very tall tart cherry tree. These trees can grow to be amazingly tall, and this one towered over all the trees in our orchard. So when you climb into this particular tree you can look out over the entire Grove, and at this time of day, with the sun now nearing dusk, the view was always beautiful to behold. So… I decided to take her there and to tell her that I wanted to see her again… granted this was still before I knew who she was. Well, when we got to the tree and started climbing, we got about half way up which was easily seven to ten feet, when she stopped. She said she was afraid to go any higher so I offered my hoof. I told her, as long as she was by my side, I would never let my princess fall.”

Zeil smiled at the line, “You really were in love. Weren’t you?”
Reiner nodded his head, “I truly was. And I was serious about that too, not just about then and there, but now. When she heard that, she smiled, took my hoof, and together we climbed till we reached the top of the tree side by side. And there, with her hoof in mine, we watched the beautiful twilight reflect off the countless cherry trees that emitted a glow of pink and red as if we were watching a beautiful flame stretch over the landscape.
Zeil have Reiner a funny look, “A beautiful flame?”
Reiner smiled, “You know what I mean, a sight that was just… too mesmerizing for words.”

Reiner tried to hold a pleasant expression, but it didn’t stay as he continued, “But then… I got too caught up in the moment, I felt her hoof slip out of mine, and… realized the branch she was standing in gave way. Out of reflex I dove from the tree to try and catch her, but it was no use. She had fallen too far, and now, we both were falling. From twenty feet in the air, I landed in my side breaking a few ribs, but she landed on her shoulder leaving her head to hit a small stone in the ground. I was dazed from the fall, but when I realized what happened, I picked myself up and staggered to her to see if she was alright. When I saw she wasn’t moving and the blood tricking down from the wound left by the stone, I panicked. I picked her up and tried everything I could think to wake her, shaking, yelling, I screamed as loud as I could trying to wake her up but… nothing worked. I was so scared and so guilty by letting her fall that… all I could do was cry as loud as I could. Too focused on her, I didn’t notice that the royal guard had heard my screams. As he rushed up, he thought I was the one that hurt the princess so when he approached he punched me in my face so hard that it threw me off her and across the area. The punch caught me off guard, and it hurt, but I was too worried about Blossom to care. I picked myself up to get back to her, but by this time, more guards arrived in the site as one tackled me and held me to the ground leaving another to point a spear at me.”

Feeling a tear roll down his cheek, Reiner wiped it away as he continued, “From the ground I watched as the guards surrounded the princess to check her. One said she was unconscious but severally concussed. That made me feel a little relieved but it didn’t help calm me down one bit. Then the queen stepped into the site followed closely but my parents. As soon as the queen saw the princess she demanded an explanation. The guard that punched me said that he followed the screams and found me holding her, he said I must have hurt her in some way. Immediately I denied it, I told her we were playing in the tree and the branch broke causing us to fall. I was only worried for her life. The queen took one look at me and replied with only two words. Execute him.”

Reiner sighed at the painful memory as he continued, “They picked me up and held me in place so that the guard with the spear could carry out his order, but my father stepped in. He said that I wasn’t a bad foal and I would never deliberately harm anypony for any reason, so killing me was unessisary. I’ll never forget what happened next. The queen smiled as she approached my father and said word for word, the foal used peer pressure to lure the ignorant princess into a situation which threatened her life. There for, his actions are no different from a cleaver assassin luring an ignorant royal to her death. Or do you deny this fact. My father nodded as he replied, he was just a foal playing with a friend, his actions were in no way sinister, nor do they deserve death as punishment. The queen continued, so you justify his actions? My father nodded and the queen replied, then you are to blame. At that moment, the queen with her own hoof, drew a dagger that was hidden in her royal robes as she plunged it into my father’s chest. Then, she pulled the blade back and spoke, the punishment has been served, release the foal to his mother. The guard then let me go as I immediately ran to my mother and hid behind her in fear. The queen gave her now blood soaked dagger to her guard as she spoke, take the princess back to the castle and have a doctor see to her wounds. We are done here. As for the body, he belongs to us now.”

Reiner rubbed his head to calm himself down as he continued, “When the guards picked up the princess I had to ask, would she be alright, but the queen paused and gave me a suspicious look as if she believed for a few seconds that I actually was trying to hurt her. But after the brief pause she told me that a peasant like myself has no business to be concerned with any of royal blood, and that I should stay in the ditch where I belong. From there, the queen left our farm and took my father’s body as a prize. They strung him up in the plaza as a warning to any who would threaten the crown, all to continue holding the kingdom in fear like she wanted. He… never had a burial, or at least not one that my family knew of. They marked him as a traitor to the kingdom and forever disgraced my family name.”
Zeil could feel the sadness in Reiner’s emotions as he replied, “Sorry… I didn’t mean to stir up bad memories.”

Reiner shook his head, “Its fine… afterwards, the accident left the princess in a deep coma that lasted about three months. When she finally woke up, the queen decided to open the castle doors so that her subjects could see that she was fine. But when I went with my mother to see her, she… She completely forgot about me, in fact she didn’t remember anything from that day. No trip, no farm… no friend.”
Zeil nodded as he thought to himself, “Amnesia probably… an accident resulting in a head wound would cause memory loss. Although I hear often that it’s only temporary.”
Reiner nodded, “It’s supposed to be but I’ve only seen a few glimpses of her memories returning. For example, she loves spring and cherry blossoms, and on occasion I’ve caught her as she started calling me prince, but she's always stopped herself before she did. In fact her episode today was one of those times. Come to think of it every time she's passed out was the same situation. She was in the cherry grove… that’s why… I don’t like the spring anymore. It reminds me of… how I failed her.”

Zeil thought to himself, “So that cherry farmer… she was?”
Reiner nodded, “That’s my mother, yes… she went through hard times after dad died, and we lost quite a bit of our land as a result, but we managed to stay afloat. Further more she knows of my feelings and supports me… even if she still blames the crown for father’s death, she is willing to look passed it in hopes that I can help her save this kingdom from its past.”
Zeil nodded, “I see.”
After that, nothing more was said as Zeil tried to piece together the information he just received. Realizing the silence, Reiner stood up from the bench as he spoke, “Well enough about that… it was good to talk about it, but it’s all in the past… what’s done is done, the queen is gone and now both of us will have time to heal, the princess and myself.”
Zeil asked, “So how did you become her personal guard so quickly? Given your family’s reputation, I bet it was difficult to get where you are now.”

Reiner smiled as he shook his head, “Not quite, I joined the guard as soon as I could and climbed up the ranks just like any other soldier. Funny, the queen executed so many, that none of my superiors recognized my name, even the queen forgot about me when I was assigned to the castle guard. I was already on station there when the Eden's Kiss catastrophe happened, but all higher ranks above me were taken by the queen to guard her during her escape. So, I took command of the guards and stayed by the princess’s side during the attack. Naturally I died standing between the dark alicorn and the princess, and for that I gained her trust, so when the queen returned and was bed ridden by illness, the princess as acting name to the crown, gave me a royal promotion and assigned me as her personal guard and captain of the castle guards. So… here I am. Doing whatever I can to protect the princess. Even when… her biggest threat is within her.”

Although Zeil knew what he meant, he still felt that there might have been some hidden message in his phrase as Zeil replied with a supportive tone, “I guess… we two are alike in that sense.”
Reiner was confused, “What do you mean?”
Zeil stood up from the bench as he replied, “We are in love with ponies from another world as our own. You a guard and a princess, and me… a changeling and a zebra. Then again, you’re a lot more like another unicorn I know. He was a royal guard captain too, far off in Equestria.”
“Really? How did it go for him?”
Zeil smiled as he started trotting on the way to their next destination. With Reiner following Zeil replied, “Oh not so bad, he married the princess, we invaded his wedding. I got my wing ripped off, he hunted me down and tried to kill me then his little sister banished me to the furthest corner of the world. All in all I think he lived happily ever after.”

Reiner gave him a surprised look as he replied, “Oh… um… wow… you get around don’t you?”
Zeil chuckled at Reiner’s reaction as he replied, “Well, let’s just say we weren’t necessarily friends. It was back when I was the type of changeling who only followed what his queen said. But once I learned to think for myself, I changed. Both figurative, and literally.”
Reiner nodded, “So… are you two friends now?”
Zeil’s pace slowed for a second then picked back up as he replied, “Not in the least.”
Hearing a lot of anger in Zeil’s voice, Reiner decided to drop the subject as the two arrived at the next store.

As they entered, Zeil looked through the supplies for sale as he noticed a small bookshelf with a number of books on the side. Looking through the shelf, Zeil picked up one particular book that was titled, Spring Haven Royalty: Royal Lineage and law. As Zeil started flipping through the pages, Reiner saw the book and asked, “Interested in our royal history?”
Zeil nodded, “It may give me a good idea as to what this kingdom has been through.”
Reiner shook his head, “If you wanted to know more about the Queen, your pressing your luck. The queen ordered her reign to not be recorded in history books due to her… controversial methods. In fact she ordered that the only thing about her lineage was that she ruled with grace and dignity even after becoming a widow.”
Zeil gave Reiner a curious look, “And this was carried out?”
Reiner shrugged his shoulders, “Till her death most likely, History may be written by the victors, but after they perish, its fair game.”
Zeil smiled as he closed the book and carried it with him, “How did she perish again… pneumonia?”
Reiner replied, “No tuberculosis.”
Not-surprised he passed his test, Zeil nodded, “Ah that’s right… And… this was confirmed by the doctor?”
Reiner felt suspicious as he nodded, “Yea… why?”
Zeil picked up a few other items as he replied, “Well… For one as hated by so many… it’s surprising that she wasn’t assassinated.”

Zeil could feel Reiner’s emotions becoming uneasy as the royal guard replied, “No, many tried to assassinate her, but she always made an example of them by hanging their body out on display… she did it to my father… and countless others.”
Knowing he went too far, Zeil replied, “Sorry… I would just thought, many would at least try to dethrone her by force.”
Reiner replied with a serious tone, “They did, and they suffered for it. If it wasn’t brutal torture then it was public beheading. Not to mention any guard living near the assassin’s home was also punished for not seeing the suspicious activity. It only filled her fear driven soldiers to put down all attempts before they could be made. Further spreading her grip of fear on her subjects.”
Zeil nodded, “So a doctor did confirm it? Tuberculosis?”
Reiner became irritated as he replied, “Yes it was confirmed… The queen died in her sleep by her illness.”

Reiner’s building anger wasn’t convincing, but Zeil decided to drop the subject as he replied, “Alright, I just wanted to make sure, that way if there was foul play I could feel content knowing that the princess was safe.”
Reiner asked, “Why would there be foul play?”
Zeil replied, “I just find it hard to think that going to a cherry grove is enough to cause anypony to pass out.”
Reiner felt skeptic as the two approached the checkout counter with the supplies, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Zeil smiled convincingly, “Don’t worry about it… as a changeling I’m just a little jumpy that’s all. Not everypony welcomes my kind with arms wide open. I suppose you’d have to know what I’ve been through to understand.”
Reiner smiled in curious manner, “I have time.”
Zeil smiled as he replied, “Well, then I’ll start from where I started. The day I attacked Canterlot under the direct order of Queen Chrysalis.”
With that, Zeil started explaining his journey while leaving out certain points, as he and his new companion continued through purchasing the supplies that he needed to finish the story he was currently telling.

Hours later after dark, Reiner was sitting in Princess Blossom’s bedchambers as the princess finally woke from her unconscious state as she rubbed her head and spoke, “Wha… What happened?”
Seeing that she was awake, Reiner stood up and approached as he spoke, “Princess Blossom? Take it easy? Are you alright?”
The exhausted princess sat up as she continued, “I am… Where?...”
Reiner answered before she could finish, “We are back in the castle your majesty. Mr. Zeil and I brought you here after you passed out in the cherry groves.”
Princes Blossom looked down as she tried to remember, “The cherry groves… I passed out there? But… how?”
Reiner replied, “I know this seems off, but this isn’t the first time. And every time you usually have a slight bit of memory loss, but it will come back to you in a few minutes. In the meantime, you should get your rest. And if you have any questions feel free to ask.”

Princess Blossom rubbed her head, “I don’t… I’m fine… You say… Mr. Zeil?”
Reiner nodded, “Yes, the changeling we’ve been entertaining. He helped me bring you back.”
Princess Blossom nodded, “Yes… I’m starting to remember him now… I didn’t burden him… did I?”
Reiner shook his head, “Not at all your majesty, I explained what happened and the reasoning behind it shortly after.”
Unsure Princess Blossom asked, “What… exactly did you tell him?”
Reiner carefully replied, “I told him about your accident when you were young, just as it was explained to me.”
Princess Blossom gave him a curious look, “And that is?”
Knowing she was trying to dig deeper into the subject, Reiner replied, “When you were a filly, you and your mother traveled to a cherry orchard where you fell out of a tree.”
Princess Blossom asked, “And is that all?”

Reiner felt a little depressed that he was covering most of the truth, but since this was how the queen had always told it to her, he continued, “Yes… that’s what I was told at least..”
Princess Blossom felt disappointed as she replied, “I see… My mother explained it to me the same way… but… I often feel as if she was hiding something from me. But… I suppose if she was, it’s lost to time now. Even now, after all these years, I cannot remember anything of that day. I can’t even remember arriving at the cherry grove, let alone the accident that nearly claimed my life.”
Seeing the unhappy look on Princess Blossom’s face, Reiner decided to change the subject, “Either way, your condition was the same as last, so after we returned you to the castle, I decided to escort Mr. Zeil through the city while he proceeded to purchase the supplies for his journey.”
Princess Blossom nodded as she gave him a serious look, “Do you know the total cost of his supplies? I would like to reimburse him for this afternoon’s accident. He is our guest, he shouldn’t have had to be burdened by my weakness.”

Reiner gave her a sympathetic look, “Princess Blossom… what happened today is no weakness. Nopony could have predicted your accident, let alone the long term effects from such a tragedy. If anything… it’s my fault for allowing such a situation to take place.”
Hearing his words made her feel better as Princess Blossom replied, “Do not be so hard on yourself, both you and I assumed I was over this already. Otherwise I would have waited for a better time than today to go to the orchards. Then that would have spared us the burden of today.”
Reiner nodded in disappointment, “Yes… today…” He sighed, “I’ll be sure to pay back Mr Zeil for his supplies. Other than the potion ingredients he purchased, most of them were rather cheap.”
Princess Blossom was curious, “Potions?”
Reiner smiled, “Yes, In fact while we were in the city, Mr. Zeil told me quite a bit about himself. He is actually an enchanter of sorts. He learned to do so while training under a zebra that he is in love with.”

Princess Blossom thought to herself as she replied, “An enchanting changeling… such an interesting world we live in. I’ve always wanted to learn potion making. But mother had those books removed from the royal library when I was little. She claimed potions to be a lower form of magic. Far beneath the likes of a royal unicorn. What sort of ingredients did he purchase?”
Reiner replied, “Not sure what they do, but they were simple things that we see all the time, moss, tree sap, the most expensive thing he bought was a segment of a moon weed.”
As soon as that was heard, Princess Blossom gave him a concerned look, “M-moon weed?”

Surprised by her reaction, Reiner nodded, “Yes… he purchased a small piece of moon weed.”
The nervous princess spoke, “Why?... Why did he buy that particular pois- I mean… item?”
Reiner replied in confusion, “He… said he needed it for a repel potion. Something about repelling darkness.”
Princess Blossom thought to herself as she asked, “Reiner… did he ask questions about mother… did the subject even arise?”
Reiner nodded, “Actually, yes. He had a question about her death.”
Princess Blossom asked with worry, “And? What did you tell him?”
Reiner replied, “She died of tuberculosis.”
Princess Blossom continued, “Is that all you told him? How did he react? Did he question it any further?”
Reiner became suspicious, “No… your majesty? Are you… aright?”

Thinking her actions were somewhat suspicious, Princess Blossom quickly looked away as she replied, “N-no… I-I mean yes I… I’m fine… just a little… light headed from today.”
Although he knew she was hiding something Reiner knew it was her business as he replied, “Then I will take my leave so you can rest.” He stood up, “I will go inform Mr. Zeil tha-“
“NO!”
Reiner paused at the princess’s outburst as Princess Blossom sighed to calm herself before replying, “We shall speak with him in the morning… its late and I don’t want to disturb him. However…” The princess looked down as she replied with an unsure tone, “Have… a guard posted outside his room. If he decides to wonder the castle grounds, he must do so under close escort. He may be a guest… but he is still a stranger to this kingdom.”
Reiner felt confused, though he was completely loyal to the princess, he felt a strange presence in her tone that he had never felt in her before. In fact her tone seemed more hostile then careful. But since he was loyal to a fault, Reiner replied, “I understand your majesty, I’ll have a guard posted at once.”

Still standing, Reiner trotted to the door as he poked his head out to relay the order to a guard standing watch in the corridor. As Reiner gave his order, Princess Blossom mumbled to herself, “Could Zeil know the truth, and in this short time? How?... I must be careful, If he knows then he could tell the kingdom, and destroy the trust I’ve built with my subjects. Or worse… he could use it in the same way he warned me about earlier… he could use me as a puppet royal. I must deal with him carefully, for the second time in my life, I may have to act like… my mother.”
Finishing his instruction to the guard in the hall, Reiner turned back to Princess Blossom as he spoke, “Well since I see that you are well enough to sit up, I will take my leave and allow you to get rest. In the meantime a guard is on the way to watch Mr. Zeil, so is there anything else you need before I leave you for the night?

Princess Blossom hesitated as she spoke, “No… I believe I’m now content… but… Captain? Could…” She hesitated, and gave a bracing sigh before replying, “Could you… stay with me… at least… at least till I fall asleep. I… I don’t want to be alone right now.”
Although it seemed to be an odd request, Reiner had heard it before as he smiled before closing the door to the room and standing guard on the inside of the room, “I understand your majesty… I’ll stay as long as you need.”
Princess Blossom smiled sincerely at her loyal guard as she replied, “Thank you Reiner, I know I can always count on you.”
Reiner bowed his head slightly as he replied, “As long as I’m by your side, I will never let you fall.” He continued under his breath. “Not again…”
Not hearing the last part, Princess blossom nodded, “Well… Goodnight captain.”
With that, the tired princess used her magic to turn out the lights as she rolled over and tried to go to sleep as Reiner replied, “Good Night… Blossom.”

Down the hall in Zeil’s room, Zeil sat reading the royal law book that he purchased earlier as he occasionally looked away to the boiling cauldron that sat over the bedroom fireplace. As he read, he mumbled, “Royal line of succession, usurp laws, and coronations. Hmm… interesting.”
As Zeil read further into the page, he felt the aura of the royal guard that approached the outside of his door and took post there. Although the guards didn’t do or say anything to make himself known, Zeil knew why he was there as he looked to the door and mumbled, “I guess I may have hit a nerve with our discussion today. Funny, Reiner doesn’t seem the sort to be this careful. Then again, this could be the princess’s doing.”
Zeil looked back down at the book as he finished the sentence he was reading, “Then, by law of decree, the new heir will usurp the throne and take place as King or Queen despite the ruling of the reining monarch.”

Seeing all he needed to figure it out, Zeil closed the book as he mumbled, “So… that’s our puppeteer. I wasn’t expecting this… but that doesn’t change what I must do.” He looked at the boiling potion, “It should be finished in about two hours, but with the guard outside, I can’t do anything tonight. I’ll have to wait till morning. But even then, it’s going to be hard to do since the princess’s emotions are more unstable then I originally assumed. Especially if she has been under the spell for this long, there is no telling how she will react when I confront her. Either way, I have to do this… I have to cure her of this curse and save this kingdom before it becomes another Marble Oasis. I just hope I can do it, without becoming enemy of the state.”

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