The fifth child, the youngest child of the royal family of Henrill, was Princess Rellenora Analisa Nograith.
One day, she had been summoned to her mother's office. It was there that she was told she would go to Zenthia for the ruler there judge her. "You aren't going to win his favor," the queen told her, "but you can't remain here. He'll be insulted if we don't send you off. Try not to embarrass your country while you're there. Your head might end up rolling on the ground."
The environment was foreign in many, many ways. The complex was basically a maze. Strangers who didn't even try to understand her were always walking about. The bed she slept in smelled funny. The pillows weren't firm or long enough. The mattress was weak. All the food she had been served was disgusting.
At first, the only comfort she had was Naeva's motherly presence. Then came Booboo.
Booboo was so cute. Rellenora could never stop enjoying a good pork dish, but that didn't matter. Booboo was a good piggy.
She wanted to play with the piggy again.
This morning was a free day. Nobody told her anything about doing something. So, she got up early. She was so early, in fact, that all of the servants and Naeva were still sleeping. This was even better because that meant Naeva wouldn't help her dress herself. Rellenora could dress how she wanted.
The neckline of her chemise had an adjustable size via a drawstring. It often felt too tight. So, she loosened the circle of fabric once the chemise was on her body. She did the same thing for her dress. Then she tied her skirts up over her knees. It was the same dress from the last time she had played with Booboo. It was very stained, but that was fine.
Her shoulders and a bit of her bosom was exposed to the world, but Rellenora thought that was fine. It was hot out anyway, and it wasn't as if she needed to worry about getting sunburn. The mud would be a natural sunscreen, and it would help keep her cool. That's why pigs liked mud so much. Besides, Rellenora knew she wouldn't win the contest. There was no point in trying to be pretty.
Funny ... there was a piece of freedom in this place she hated so much. Back home, she wouldn't have been allowed to play this way. Back home, not only would she be told to avoid the mud, but she'd also have to wear a hooded cloak or carry a paper parasol to keep her skin white.
At the Imperial Palace, she silently requested another play session with the Royal Sow. One of the guards made a smooth gesture below his belt with a relaxed hand. "Lady Francheska is inside. His Majesty has said that you may visit her whenever you like." It took a moment for her brain to recognize the words, as it often did.
Rellenora was escorted inside the palace. The Emperor lived there. He slept there, ate breakfast there, bathed there, and did whatever else he wanted. For a moment, as she passed walls of stone, then walls of paper, then wood, and then stained glass, she wondered about the family here.
According to what she knew, the previous emperor had taken the throne by force. He had launched a surprise attack with a frightening, mysterious army of Majustans.
And ... well ... the new emperor, despite being human and having a human wife ... his only son was visibly Majustan. It was so obvious that it hurt. Even Rellenora could see it ... the odd skin tone, the tail ... it was ... demonic.
Sometimes, her eyes would point up, naturally avoiding the face of the Emperor, and she'd notice the horns on his head.
Absolutely profane!!
And this Majustan Emperor ... this horned Emperor ... he didn't wait for his turn at the throne. He actually, literally ...
Killed ...
Rellenora couldn't fathom it. She had a certain emotional and physical distance from her parents, but still ... they were her parents. After her father died, Rellenora had felt oddly broken for a few days. Her father was always existing in her mind, and suddenly he wasn't.
The voice of a guard yanked her out of her painful thoughts.
Her lips pursed as she decoded the statement.
"This is Lady Francheska's room."
A wooden door was slid away. Rellenora stepped into the room. The door was closed behind her.
Booboo was turning all sorts of things over, rugs, toys, empty boxes and buckets, etc. Some of the boxes and buckets had little treats for Booboo to find, such as beets, carrots, and kale. More food and plenty of water were stored in dishes in all corners of the room except one. The exception had a litter box lined with paper. In the center of the room, there was a charming pet's mattress with several pillows and a blanket.
As Rellenora's feet moved against the bamboo flooring, she looked at the pig's feet, and she cooed out, "Piggy, piiiiigy, piiiiiiiigy!"
Soon, they started a game of fetch with a knotted ball of cloth. Rellenora briefly wondered why the Emperor wasn't here to play with the sow. Maybe he was usually too busy? But why keep the sow in the first place? People could be so odd, really.
The door opened. She heard it. Her eyes moved from Booboo's excited snout, down the bamboo floor, and to the doorway.
Cochineal red slippers, two layers of robes' hems above those slippers, the lower hem black and the upper hem a strong pine green.
A low, nearly purring voice.
What did he say? What was it?
A few slow blinks, and she got it.
"Booboo, come here Pretty Princess."
A white hand, great and powerful, reached out as the man knelt down.
Booboo huffed and sniffed. Then she trotted over to the man, her toes clicking on the floor. When she was close enough, a set of silver fingernails grazed and petted the sow's head. Then a floppy black ear was rubbed between white fingertips.
Rellenora's stomach felt like it was curdling. She knelt down anyway.
There was his voice. It took her a few seconds to understand.
"You may rise."
Rellenora rose. Then she thought she should leave the room. Her legs were quick, but the man's voice was quicker.
If only her brain was quick.
She was fairly certain that he was asking her a question. Her legs turned to stalagmites of ice as she struggled to solve the puzzle.
Then it was solved.
"Your Highness, has the Royal Pig been rough with you?"
She fished out a stick of chalk and gripped her writing slate, wanting to be as clear as possible. When she was holding up the slate, it had these words written on it, "Booboo was not rough with me." She wasn't certain why he was asking such a thing, but she wasn't about to question him.
A rough, wet cough from below had Rellenora jumping in place. Her palm slapped her heart. She looked down at Booboo's body. The pig's ribs seemed to be expanding and contracting in a battling, critical manner. Her breath sounded thick. Then, right from the sow's mouth, an odd blob of red and green was driven out, splattering onto the floor.
Concern weakened Rellenora's hands. They trembled as they replaced the chalk and wiped the slate clean. She heard the Emperor say something; panic was there.
After a a handful of seconds, Rellenora understood.
"What's wrong? Have you swallowed something you shouldn't have?"
Rellenora's fingers rubbed and scratched each other as she watched the white hands attempt to pry the sow's mouth open.
