The Princess and the Human

Kiyrtin was bored.

Not that it was anything new. Boredom had been accompanying him for as long as he could remember. His parents loved him, but they were always busy with governing. His sister somehow had even less time than they did and also had moved to the other side of the planet.

There also wasn’t much to say in terms of friends. He had close to no chance of ever becoming king, not that he wanted to. However, that also meant that he wasn’t interesting to the noble families and never got invited to anything. The few noble children he did meet never contacted him again.

“They stated that their schedule is full at the moment, and will give notice once they have a better overview of when they will be available,” was what the servants would always say when he ordered them to make contact again. It took a few attempts until he understood what that really meant.

And since he, despite everything, was still a prince, playing with commoners wasn’t allowed. In other words, he was used to being bored. The difference? Right now, he couldn’t do anything about it. Back in the palace he could go and explore, sneak into places he wasn’t supposed to go, or play pranks. The latter was the reason why he picked up tinkering as a hobby.

It had started a bit under a cycle ago, with him simply wanting some variation in the contraptions he built for his pranks, since always using the same tricks got old after a while. Plus, the servants began seeing through them and they no longer worked. Alas, there was no work to do for a noble with it. Mechanical work was seen as something for commoners, and whenever they found his tools, they would take them away.

Okay, granted, that was primarily because he would “borrow them without asking” from the royal workshops. But he only did that because he wasn’t allowed to have tools of his own. Though to be fair, trying to secretly sneak out with all the stuff could also be pretty fun.

Therefore, the main issue right now was not that he was bored. The main issue was that, unlike before, he had no way to deal with his boredom, because he wasn’t allowed to do anything. With his shell weakened, he was at risk of a sudden injury with every movement, which was why the doctors didn’t allow him to move at all. And the worst part? He could actually understand why they were doing that. He had felt with his own body what could happen, and he definitely didn’t want to repeat that. Still, he hated it. He hated that they didn’t allow him to do anything, and he hated even more that he knew that they were right.

It hadn’t been so bad at first. His parents would visit frequently, he would remotely talk with his sister daily, and after she had finally pulled herself together - with his help, he’d add - Nadine would also talk with him a lot. When he was transported to another hospital on the other side of the planet, he had feared they wouldn’t be able to talk as much due to the time difference, but that didn’t seem to faze her. She told him that she didn’t need as much sleep since she was used to shorter days.

He had also overheard some stories from the doctors. Apparently, she had saved his sister's life and even caught the culprit. When he heard that, he recalled how she told him that there was no getting away from a human. Heh, served that assassin right!

But then, almost thirty days ago, he suddenly hadn’t been able to reach her anymore. He had tried to contact his sister, but it was the same for her. He didn’t know how to reach the Star Palace through the “official” channel, so he ended up calling the Sun Palace and ordering a servant there to make the call in his stead. The answer he got back was simply that both Nadine and his sister were unavailable at the moment, and that he didn’t have the clearance level for any further information.

It had almost been like… no, this was different. It had to be. Nadine wasn’t like that. She always had time for him, and the days since he had met her had been the most fun he ever had. Even if none of his pranks worked on her. Also, whatever she was currently tied up with, his sister was involved as well. So, yeah, it obviously wasn’t like that! It made no sense, why would he even think that?

Still, what by the First Ones were they doing that he wasn’t even allowed to know what it was generally about? Whatever it was, he didn’t like it. Because no matter how used he was to boredom, the last thirty days had easily been the most boring of his life. Sure, his parents still called daily and visited on occasion, but that was more to see if he was fine; there wasn’t much he could talk about with them. Things had begun to be so boring he even had done what he would have never thought he’d do: he, on his own, went through his study material.

It would soon be time for him to choose what job he wanted to get educated for. But government officials, advisors, managers, doctors, and so on… none of these professions seemed interesting. Alternatively, he could hire some commoners and form his own company, but what would that be about? He had no idea what he would want to make, plus it meant getting a boring business education. And even if there was something he would like to do, he would need to learn from his hospital room. It was so annoying.

“Your Highness, are you awake?” he heard a nurse ask from outside.

“Yes, you can come in.”

“You have a visitor,” the nurse announced after opening the door.

“Is it mother or father?”

“Neither, it’s a foreign noble called… um… one moment please.”

Seemingly having forgotten the name, the nurse pulled out a datapad, leaving Kiyrtin confused. Wasn’t this the most prestigious hospital on the planet? How would- wait.

“Does the visitor have a weirdly long name starting with Nadine?” he asked.

“Yes,” the nurse affirmed. “Here, got it. Yes, your visitor is Lady Nadine Val-”

“Who cares, what the hell are you waiting for?” he interrupted. Nadine was visiting him! In person no less! He hadn’t seen her in person ever since the incident in the forest!

“Apologies, Your Highness, but “what the…” what?”

Ah, I used one of Nadine’s phrases again.

“Just bring her up already!”

“Ah, yes, at once.”

The nurse left. Shortly after the door opened again. She looked just like the last time he had seen her in person.

“Hey,” her soft voice greeted him.

“Where were you?!” he quickly asked in an accusing tone.

“Yeah, sorry. Something came up, we had to scramble and didn’t have time to notify you.”

“Scramble? Wait, did you go off-world?” That explained why he couldn’t contact her.

“Yeah, it was really urgent. Again I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you.”

“That’s not the point,” he mumbled and looked up at the ceiling. “You missed my first melt-molting.”

Nadine went quiet for a few tiggs before answering.

“Oh, um… sorry.”

Kiyrtin sighed. It apparently wasn’t really her fault, and it wasn’t like she could do more than say sorry now. Still, he had really wanted her to be there when it happened, at least on the call.

“By the way, how come you’re here?”

“Oh, we had something to do in the capital, and I thought you would like it if I showed up.”

“Um… w-well, I do,” he quietly admitted. “Thanks for dropping by.”

He then turned his head to face her again.

“But you’ll still have to make up for the time you were gone!”

Now that he got a closer look, he saw something he hadn’t noticed yet. Under her usual clothes, she wore another set of clothes that fit tightly and seemed to cover everything from the neck. Were Humans really that obsessed with covering their bodies? Actually, on a second glance, it looked more like protective gear.

But what would she of all people need protection from? Wouldn’t it rather be the other way round? he jokingly thought. Then, it clicked. …oh.

“I think I can do that,” she answered his previous statements, pulling the prince out of his thoughts. “I got something for you. Took a while, but it got finished while I was gone! Where is your datapad?”

“Um, here, on the nightstand,” he said, pointing to the other side of the bed. What was she planning now? Not that he was someone who would say no to gifts, but why would she need his datapad for it?

“So, you remember how I told you that other than your language, I was learning something else I didn’t want to tell you about?” she said with a smile as she connected a small device to the datapad. “I’m learning the Vanaery way to code. I originally wanted to do this all by myself, but that might have been a bit ambitious. That I barely knew your alphabet and language didn’t help. So, yeah, the tutor did a lot of the heavy lifting here, and also the final touch as I mentioned. Didn’t want me to do anything on it at first, “work of a commoner”, yada yada yada. Seriously, I had to pull the “my culture is different, don’t insult it”-card. Anyway, I hope I’ll be able to make the next one myself.”

The next what?

“Okay, I’m done. Um… can you hold the pad or…wait!”

Suddenly, Nadine’s gemstone-like eyes lit up.

“If you molted… does that mean you’re better now?”

“Well, the new shell also got damaged, but not as badly as they feared, so I don’t have to be as careful as before. I’m still not allowed to move a lot unless under supervision from a doctor though, so leaving the bed on my own isn’t going to happen anytime soon. But it’s at least an improvement. When I molt again things should be fine.”

Nadine’s gaze fell.

“That’s not going to happen for another four to five cycles though, right?”

“Stop.”

“But I-”

“I know what you want to say, and we’ve been through this.”

The silence then hung in the air for a moment, so Kiyrtin decided to go back to the original topic. He pressed a button and from the nightstand extended a simple contraption made to hold the datapad.

“You can put it in here. Using it like that is no problem.”

Nadine took a deep breath and nodded.

“Okay, what I was about to say: I can’t believe you guys don’t have video games! I started with something retro, for the aforementioned reasons, but even by that metric, it’s very bare-bones since I didn’t have any assets I could use. Anyway, it's made as a plug-in to the program used for video calls, that way we can start it during a call and play online with each other. That actually was the part that took the longest to make function.”

Kiyrtin just stared at his friend.

“I have no idea what you just said.”

A faint smile appeared on Nadine’s face.

“Then let’s let it speak for itself.”

And so Nadine showed him. It was indeed very simple, merely making a grid appear in which each of the boxes could be filled out either bright or dark, and through the call, they both could do so. Each of them would choose bright or dark and then try to get four of the same in a row.

After a demonstration game, Kiyrtin told Nadine to not hold back. The result was nine losses in a row.

“Aaand that’s four.”

Ten losses.

“Sorry,” Nadine said with a smile. “But it’s fun, right?”

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed. The losses were a bit frustrating, but it definitely beat lying around. “And we can play that even if you’re in the Star Palace?”

“Whenever we can make a call we can play it. In theory, at least. I couldn’t exactly test that. We’ll just have to see.”

“But couldn’t you have just painted the grid on a board and made some way to mark the boxes? I don’t know, different colored trinkets or something. Then you could place the datapad so it transmits the boards, I could just tell you where you should place my trinkets.”

Nadine said nothing in response. She looked straight ahead, then blinked, still said nothing, then blinked again.

“W-well, you have to think beyond that! I have laid a foundation here! F-for example, um… ah, we can use the exact same program to play Othello! A bit of tweaking and we got checkers! If I get my hands on some assets, we can play chess!”

There were more games they could play like this? Well, it seemed like he wouldn’t be bored for the rest of his stay. Still…

“Are those also ones we could play with a board through the camera?”

“Well, yes, but… board games are just the start! Single player! If we can make the program able to play, you could also do it on your own when nobody else has time! There are games that are even specifically designed for single-player. And just wait for what happens when this spreads and the first video game company gets founded!”

“Company… wait, it’s possible to found a company with this?”

One of the hair tufts over Nadine’s eyes rose.

“Possible? Kiyrtin, video games are one of the biggest industries on my planet. It is much more than just “possible”.”

Kiyrtin didn’t answer. If his mouth could move the way Nadine’s could, he would probably wear a “grin” right now. Maybe he had an idea of what to do with himself after all.

Nadine’s datapad beeped.

“Sorry, I have to go. Oh, before I forget: Sil had something else to do, but once we’re done, she’ll visit as well.”

“Okay. Wait, since when do you call her Sil?” As far as he knew, only their relatives called her that.

“Oh, well, that just kinda happened.”

“Why don’t I get a nickname?”

Nadine cocked her head.

“I mean, your name is shorter to begin with. Plus, it’s not like I'm the one who came up with hers.”

“I still want one!”

“Okay, I’ll think of something.”

After she had left, Kiyrtin thought a bit. This “video game” had indeed been quite fun. Making more of these… well, he wouldn’t be the one making it, but to make sure more would be made… maybe studying something boring would be worth it.

I wonder what Nadine is learning.

She knew a lot about different things, which was strange. Now that he thought about it, how old was she? He had never asked that. It felt like she was older than him, but she herself had said that she was still a child. Seven cycles maybe? Eight at most.

Just as Silgvani exited her shuttle and entered the Sky Palace’s forecourt, she could see another shuttle approach. That had to be Nadine. And indeed, after its landing the small alien exited, flanked by a couple of guards. Once under the open sky again, Nadine gazed at the huge building in front of her.

“Big, isn’t it?” Silgvani asked.

“Yeah, but not just that. It looks very different from the other one.”

“Well, it’s a lot older. The Sky Palace precedes the Unification war.”

“So this is where you grew up?”

The princess shook her head.

“No, the Sky Palace is for Government work. Kiyrtin and I live - or, well, lived - in the Sun Palace, a bit further in that direction. So, how did your visit go? Did you have any issues?”

“Well, being small has its advantages,” Nadine answered with a shrug.

What does being small have to do with anything? the princess wondered. Oh, I get it. She could hide between her guards so no one could recognize or bother her. That almost makes me envious of her height.

“Kiyrtin seems to get better. By the way, is the first molting important?”

“Hm? Why do you ask- oh, did Kiyrtin have his? Did we miss it?”

“Yeah.”

“I see,” Silgvani sighed, slightly disappointed. “Well, at least that means he is no longer so vulnerable. But yes, the first melt-molting is seen as the beginning of adolescence and the first step towards adulthood, the latter beginning with the second one. It is considered a special day for us.”

“Oh, so that’s why he was so down about it.”

“Yes, the timing was unfortunate.”

Silgvani turned and began walking towards the palace, Nadine following her.

“So, how do you feel?” the princess asked.

“Better. Talking with Kiyrtin helped. It always does.”

“Then, are you ready to meet the King and Queen of Hohmiy?”

“Would saying no change anything?”

“It wouldn’t.”

“Then no.”

That got a chuckle out of Silgvani.

“Although,” Nadine continued, “going by what you told me, I’m surprised they didn’t cancel everything else and insisted on meeting us immediately.”

“They are not that bad,” Silgvani rectified. "Unless Kiyrtin or myself are threatened, they are reasonable and competent rulers. As long as they don’t try to hold a conversation with someone. So… I should probably apologize in advance for whatever they are going to say.”

“Mh, don’t worry. I’m basically a commoner, I’m not going to throw a tantrum over hurt honor or something like that.”

“That will certainly be to your advantage here.” I still hope they can at least make it through the greeting before getting inappropriate. Now then, let's get this over with so we can return to more pressing matters!

The gate was opened and they entered. Silgvani’s parents were already awaiting them in the entrance hall. The herald announced both sides, then they closed the distance between them.

“Mother, Father, my greetings.”

“I, as well, offer my greetings to His and Her Majesty,” Nadine said, and Silgvani was surprised at how much the air around her had suddenly changed. “I, Nadine Valentina Esmeralda Anastasia von Klot of House Heydenfeldt, daughter of Karl-Heinz and Sarina von Klot of House Heydenfeldt, am honored to make your acquaintance.”

“Welcome, Sil,” the king responded.

“And you as well, Lady Nadine,” the queen continued. “I must say, the length of your name was quite surprising to me when I heard it the first time, is that a human tradition meant to compensate for your kind’s short height?”

Silgvani suppressed the urge to groan.

Not even ONE First-Ones-dammed sentence!