Trapped In Hisstory

His chest pounded, heart beating fast with anticipation. Black hair was common in his time, but none of it could be compared to Teri's hair.

The child in the library has a flowing black hair, dressed in a light, white dress. It would be easy for him to tell whether it is Teri or not because Teri's presence is unique and has an appearance he would not forget easily. Like a little angel sent by the heavens.

He does not know why he was fooling himself, he just saw the child while having breakfast earlier so it was not possible for the child to come back in the Lanstone Manor in an instance. 

But he and his knight, Alec, asked around the palace, no servants or any people saw a little girl at that time. There was not even an announcement of a noble visiting. So he assumed that perhaps it was just his imagination.

Just his mind creating an illusion to remind him about the little girl's words about meeting again.

The Crown Prince saw a glimpse of black hair and he and his knight flinched, remembering how they first met Teri.

It was an interesting meeting for Chance but it was not a good one for Alec. There was still an unpleasant feeling lingering around even though Teri was no longer in front of him.

Teri is not like any other child. She is not that innocent as Charles views him, Alec thought. She was acting like a kid but at the moment his master left, Teri felt like a different person.

That was exactly why he did not want Charles to get near Teri, but the Crown Prince is probably not aware of the danger and just sees Teri as a child. He sighed, but he had no choice but to let them meet because it was what the Crown Prince wanted. He should just stick to him to protect him.

"Your Highness," Sir Albert bowed. "Blessings from the Goddess." he greeted once again.

Chance's eyes shifted down to the child hiding behind Albert, clinging to him. "Forgive her, Your Highness. She is a shy child." he said.

'Shy?' Chance thought with disbelief, and Alec scoffed. It was impossible for such a person to be shy. 'It must be a mistake.'

"That is right, Your Highness. Nyssa was just recently taken in, so she is still uncomfortable with unfamiliar faces." Vanessa said.

"Nyssa, the Crown Prince is here, state your greetings." Albert said, touching her back to gesture to go on.

Nyssa slowly took a few steps forward and curtsied, "Nyssa Lanstone greets the Crown Prince. May the Goddess bless the Star of Antares." the little girl greeted and shyly took a glance to see the Crown Prince's expression.

Nyssa froze when he saw a displeased and disappointed expression of the Crown Prince's face. She has never felt so anxious, what did she do wrong?

She looked up at Albert with worry and Albert just shook his head, telling her not to worry since she did not make a mistake.

She was just recently taken in and she was already requested to see the future king, she felt pressure and scared.

But she cannot help but wonder what the Crown Prince was thinking. He looked so troubled. She approached and placed her hand on him, "Mister, are you okay? Do you have a problem?"

Chance snapped out of his thoughts and stared at the girl dumbfoundedly. Alec was about to approach and take the kid but Albert went ahead of him, grabbing Nyssa by the hand "My lady, you cannot touch the Crown Prince!" he said and it startled Nyssa.

"I-I am sorry!"

"Forgive her, Your Highness. I will have to teach her better." Albert said and was about to pull Nyssa but Chance raised his hand.

"No, no. It is all right." He said and patted the little girl on her head, "It feels good to have such a cute child sincerely worrying about me." he said and smiled at her.

Albert sighed with relief that the Crown Prince was not mad. Vanessa smiled secretly as she watched her sister and the Crown Prince.

Chance stared at the little girl, she was a cute one, one that you cannot be mad at no matter how many mistakes she would have made. But such a shy and adorable girl cannot possibly be the one he met in the library.

It seems the maid was indeed pointing to a different girl.

~~~~~

Chance lit up when one of the servants answered that there is a child that fits his description of Teri, the little girl they saw by the window.

"Really? Who is it?" The Crown Prince asked and held the maid by both arms, "Where will I find that child?"

His continuous questions put pressure on the maid and she panicked, she looked nervous after all it was the Crown Prince right in front of him.

"I... it's..." The maid looked down at both of her feet, hesitating to answer.

"The Crown Prince is the one asking you, you should not hesitate and answer it at once." Alec Valorian said and even though the maid was not looking at his face, he could imagine the frightening look that the knight was giving her.

The maid's hands gripped her clothes, "I apologize, Your Highness. I am just afraid that I might be wrong and waste your time—

"It is all right. If you are wrong then I will look again, you do not have to be scared." Chance said, trying to reassure the maid.

~~~~~

He has no right to be mad because he was the one who said that it was all right. The description indeed matched, and the maid was telling the truth about a little girl having black hair. Unfortunately, it was a different little girl.

He caressed the hair of the girl, the black hair was right but they do not have the same eye color. Teri also has black eyes yet seems to glint so beautifully. While Nyssa had blue eyes just like the Marquess.

"What a beautiful blue eyes." Chance said and it made the child blush.

"Not as much as yours, Your Highness." Nyssa said with a smile.

Chance turned to Vanessa, "It was no wonder that uncle took her into the family. Such an adorable kid with the same blue eyes as the royal family, it would not be mistaken that she is not a Lanstone." Chance said with a smile.

Vanessa was a bit surprised, it has been years since she last saw the Crown Prince smile. Back when he was still young.

Since the celebration and until his visit, he was giving off a cold vibe but now he is smiling again. Vanessa's hand made its way to her chest, flustered by the sudden quickening of her heartbeat.

Alec Valorian, who was just observing from a distance, had his eyes on Vanessa. He saw every action and expression she made, especially when his master smiled.

He felt annoyed that Vanessa is once again appearing in Charles' life. Even from back then, he did not like Vanessa at all, but he did not show it on his face nor even tell the Crown Prince.

Vanessa was a girl that other ladies are focused on, her every movement, every dress, every word, waiting for her to make a mistake. Vanessa was the perfect lady of the Lanstone, that is what people see her.

But Alec has been watching over the Crown Prince for years. And every time Vanessa was in the palace, she would always go to a spot to watch the Crown Prince.

The expression on her face whenever Charles was having fun with another person was displeasing to look at, but Alec has seen it all.

"Obsessed." Alec muttered but it was not loud enough for anyone to hear.

Even the Second Prince, who was once close with the Crown Prince, was hated by Vanessa Lanstone. She did everything she could to push Clayton out of the picture so she could be with Charles instead.

But in the end, Charles was just being nice to her before but would still go find his brother to spend his time with.

And now she appeared again, approaching the Crown Prince in front of many people, it would be the talk of the nobles, seeing how close they were to each other.

Making the people misunderstand even more.

Chance patted Nyssa, "It was nice meeting you, Nyssa. I will come visit you again when I have time."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Chance turned to Vanessa, "I am afraid that the information was wrong. It seems your sister is not the one I am looking for." he said.

"I apologize for the trouble and the sudden visit."

Vanessa stood up and bowed her head, "It is not a problem, Your Highness." she said.

"Well then, I should go now." Chance said and Alec went to his side. 'Caliber is waiting for me.' he thought, wanting to go as soon as possible to be with him.

"May the Goddess bless you as you return." she said and Chance nodded, and they walked towards the door to leave. "Next time you visit," Vanessa said, making them pause and turn to her.

"I will make sure it will be because of me."