In Fortna, Muilam worried about his brother, who had been gone for a while now. The queen did not care, however, and was still questioning why her husband had abdicated to Azure.
Muilam had overheard their conversation, though. He knew that his father had given the role of king to Azure for one year, in which Azure would give his all to Fortna, and then die. Muilam was saddened, and didn't know what to do, and even more than that, he missed his big sister.
Nenah had just caught Mavaria again, who was constantly trying to run away. If he was going to run, she wished he'd at least run to where the messengers were staying — but she remembered that Hikami had told her not to be careless, because she could put the messengers in danger.
She felt some closure, knowing that she had at least got to tell Azure she would always protect him from here. She pointed out how all the guards of the purple wing were women.
Bedau interjected then, explaining that each wing must submit one contestant to the tournament. Only princes and generals were not allowed to enter. Winners gained status, and the champion received whatever he desired as a reward.
Nenah wondered whether she could enter, and Bedau responded that there was no rule against it. However, handing her a sword, he suspected she wouldn't do too well, given her small size and skinny arms.
Bedau then made his advances toward Anne, and Nenah blocked his gesture. He was a greedy prince, though, believing that he could always love more and have more, constantly making out with his servants in front of others. He hadn't given up on Nenah either, and he also suspected that Yor would most likely try to win her in the upcoming tournament. Yor planned to release the imprisoned General Halt to represent the black wing. He wanted to make sure Set wouldn't get the throne, no matter what.
Nenah felt like getting stronger. Still desiring to enter the tournament, she asked around for someone to help her.
Set actually didn't mind teaching her how to use a sword. She thought he seemed like a bad teacher, but it turned out he tended to the soldiers' training regiment. His thought process was simply that if one could see what one's opponent was doing, one only needed to kill them first.
Nenah thought he made it sound too easy. She assumed there'd be basics, protocols, all sorts of complicated things. He picked her up suddenly and told her she was right, that it was complicated. He just didn't care. He'd simply cut down anyone who opposed him. But he found Nenah far more complicated and unpredictable than swordplay.
Nenah was proud of herself, and said she wouldn't let him understand her that easily.
That was when he brought up that she didn't want one of these without love — and then suddenly gave her a kiss, telling her it should be fine now.
Nenah was completely at a loss, falling down into her seat in disbelief that he might really love her now.
Getting whooped during training, though, she wondered how Prince Set was acting so normal after their kiss yesterday. He sounded so put off, too, despite being the one who had offered to teach her. The guards commented that they'd never seen Prince Set hold back while training someone before.
Nenah suddenly threw her wooden sword to get behind him, but Set reminded her that you can't cut someone with a scabbard. Seeing the two of them play around, the guards commented on how Prince Set had changed, and that perhaps Princess Alicia had become someone he needed.
After training, she crashed onto her bed, exhausted, only to be met with her pets clawing at her with love. Anne was certain now that the people of Galatada would love Nenah, just as the staff at Castle Bastia did. Nenah surprised Anne then by saying that she loved her. She loved everyone here, from her pets to the Galatadan people, and even Set.
Thinking about him now made her chest tighten. It squeezed so tight, and made her want to hold him. There were more and more things that she liked. She had lived in Fortna for as long as she could remember, and it was her home, but Galatada was becoming important to her too. She wanted these two nations to get along, and to protect everything that was important to her. She also wanted to tell Set and the others the truth one day.
In the middle of the night, she was woken by Hikami, who led her to Azure, standing outside the window. She sparkled at the sight of him, but he whispered for her not to make a sound. He showed her that he still had the bracelet she had given him. He had only one thing he wanted to tell her: his promise to bring her back to Fortna before her wedding in the spring. He promised to take her away from here.
The two of them placed their hands on the glass to meet, and now she was torn apart. She began to cry, feeling that it wasn't fair. If he kept shaking her like this, she'd love him again.
Nenah discussed her worries about Azure overreaching for her sake with Hikami. Hikami reasoned, however, that Nenah should never have been sent to an enemy nation to be married, especially since she was the blue-eyed astral priestess princess.
Hikami retold the folklore of Fortna's founding. Once upon a time, there was a group of nomads called the star people, who possessed the mysterious ability to speak with spirits. Their eyes were blue. One day a girl of the star people fell in love with a young king. The girl defied the opposition she met and left her people, and the two were married. Under her guidance the lands became fertile, the winds calmed, and the waters became pure. They built a prosperous nation named Fortna, which continued for a thousand years. Because of that, royals were sometimes born with blue eyes.
But why was it that the blue-eyed princesses became priestesses? And why were they raised in the remote astral villa? It was said they possessed some kind of power, so it made sense for Fortna to call off this wedding. Being a symbol of the nation, Alicia was never meant to be taken outside of it.
Nenah was not the real Princess Alicia, though.
Leaving her talk with Hikami, Nenah thought about Azure visiting her the previous night. It had made her unbelievably happy, his gentle voice and his eyes the color of the moon. It made the top of her head feel tight. Still, she didn't know what to do. Her heart felt heavy, as though a fog had settled on it.
Set appeared then and asked whether she was feeling homesick again.
She thought about how he had hinted at loving her before giving her that kiss. She needed to confirm whether that was how he truly felt. She panicked quickly, though, not expecting him to go for another one. She told him she had so much going on in her head that she couldn't handle it emotionally. She didn't want to receive another kiss when her feelings were so unclear.
When she asked him to wait until she'd figured it out, he asked what he could do for now. She wasn't expecting that either, but she told him a hug would be fine. So he held her close. She felt like a big, beautiful animal had taken a liking to her. She wondered why he liked her so much.
She asked him what he would do if she told him not to attack Fortna. He became quizzical, so she pulled away and told him never mind. Her original goals had been to become his queen and get him to like her, so that she could protect Fortna. But now she understood that trying to take advantage of someone's affection was wrong.
Set explained then that the decision to invade Fortna had been made long ago, and that a child born between Galatada and Fortna was useful for control.
Hearing that no one had ever thought about what the princess of Fortna wanted, not even once, Nenah's heart broke. She ran outside to get some fresh air. She knew this wasn't Set's fault, but she wondered how many times she had to experience this feeling of powerlessness. She had always been in the palm of someone's hand, and struggling never helped. She fell over and cried, receiving the comfort of her two animals.
Looking out from the top, the city looked so small from this stupidly huge castle. She knew, however, that the city was certainly bigger.
She screamed. "This sucks! The king sucks! How dare he use me like a tool! At least stop by and say hello. Don't ignore me either!"
Either way, she decided, she would protect everything. The one she should be fighting was the king of Galatada.