"I saw what happened." Aldric said softly.
"Well I and most of the first year student body but are you alright?" Aldric asked as he peaked at her.
"As I'll ever be." Princess Marina said with a sad smile as she took the bundle Aldric presented to her.
"I know you're worried about me but I think I have cried enough in your presence." Princess Marina said with a smile and Aldric laughed.
"So what's the deal with this?" Princess Marina said as she lifted the bundle of food.
"What's the deal with what?" Aldric asked in confusion and Princess Marina looked at him with a sigh.
"I mean how did you manage to sneak these out?" Princess Marina said as she dug into a bread made out of dragon fruit.
"It's a secret." Aldric said with a grin and Princess Marina gave him an unimpressed look.
"You are no fun." Aldric said with a huff.
"I get that a lot." Princess Marina said with a genuine smile.
"As a young boy living in the Earl's house the first thing you learn how to do as a wind user is to cancel out the smell of food." Aldric said and Princess Marina instantly brought the food close to her nose to smell it.
Smelling nothing, Princess Marina looked at Aldric in shock and Aldric laughed.
"This skill of mine is especially useful when the attendants of the Earl mansion would try to starve I, my mom and brother so naturally I am a professional at it." Aldric said with a smile and Princess Marina looked at him sadly.
"I should have stopped at its a secret." Aldric said with a sigh but Princess Marina shook her head quickly.
"I didn't mean to pity you, I just," Princess Marina said before pausing.
"I just wanted to ask how how you survived in a house like that." Princess Marina said softly.
"It's not as bad as you think." Aldric said with a smile.
"They gave us shelter and food occasionally and it was fine as long as we weren't noticed." Aldric said with a laugh.
"You're strong." Princess Marina commented and Aldric laughed as he turned to her.
"And you're not?" Aldric asked, throwing Princess Marina's statement back to her and Princess Marina froze.
Sighing, Aldric said "I don't know what you have been through or why you always look so sad sometimes but I have never seen you back out of anything."
"You might fall and get some scraped knees at times but you have always pushed yourself even when you didn't need to." said Aldric.
"When I was kidnapped, you could have left me to your guards but you ran after me. Even when I brought you danger, you wouldn't let me be and used your body to shield me. In the hunt, you took care of so many winged and black birds to prove to the world that those blessed by the spirit of fire are not weak and this whole conspiracy might not even concern you but you're going out of your way to solve it." Aldric said with a soft smile.
"Apart from my twin brother, I am yet to see someone as strong as you." Aldric said and Princess Marina found herself trapped in his gaze.
"I am not that strong," Princess Marina said as she tried to look away.
"I struggle to do the right things at times so when I have the chance I always go out of my way to clear my own conscience." Princess Marina said guiltily.
"That's fine too." Aldric said with a smile.
"Being strong is not about being courageous all the time. You are only one person yet you take it upon yourself to shoulder the burdens of others." Aldric said in a soft tone.
"Please be kinder to yourself Princess Marina." Aldric said sadly.
"You're wrong." Princess Marina thought as she smiled sadly.
"If I really took on the burden of others, my first life wouldn't have ended like that." Princess Marina thought as she stared at Aldric sadly.
The next day
"I am sorry for what I did last night." Rassera said shamefully as she gripped her skirt.
"I was going through something and I didn't stop to consider what you might also be going through and for that I am sorry." Rassera said as she bowed her head.
"We are sorry for leaving, we shouldn't have picked sides unintentionally and for that we are sorry." Esmira said as she and Maria bowed their head in apology also.
"It's fine." Princess Marina said with a smile.
"I made a mistake too, I shouldn't have made you feel that you can't be trusted and for that I am sorry." Princess Marina said as she bowed her head in apology also.
After that the tension in the atmosphere between them dissolved but Princess Marina felt like she owed them a little explanation.
Gesturing for her friend to get closer, Princess Marina formed a tight circle with her friends and told Lorraine to keep watching since she already knew what was going on.
Lowering her voice to make sure she wouldn't be overheard, Princess Marina whispered "What I am keeping from you is very sensitive and the reason I can't tell you right now it's because I am being watched."
"What?!" Maria whisper yelled and everyone shushed her.
"Who dares to keep the third star of the empire under watch?" Rassera asked with a frown and Esmira looked at Princess Marina with a grin look.
"I can't tell you that right now until their suspicion of me lessens, but just know," Princess Marina said as she looked at each of her friends eyes.
"Something big is happening three months from now." Princess Marina said and her friends nodded.