3: Tales of the nine tailed fox

"Rise and Shine, Sleepyhead".

Who's voice was that? It seemed to be disturbing Sistine's beauty sleep. She gingerly opened her left eye to scout the area, and saw something which made her spring out of the bed.

"KYLA?!". She screamed.

"How dare you mistake Her Highness for someone else?". A maid voiced out.

"Her Highness?...".

"Relax, Maeve. It's alright ". She smiled at Sistine. "I'm Princess Shuri, first daughter of the King, and this is Maeve, my personal court maid. But she's also my best friend in the world. It's nice to finally meet the young lady who saved my mother's life".

'Princess Shuri?.....How come she has a striking resemblance to Kyla? It doesn't make any sense, ..... except... she's probably the past self of Kyla. Well, she's always been like a goddess, makes sense for her to have been a princess..... I'm so jealous. I wonder if I'll get to see my own past self'.

"Ahh! Forgive me. I seem to have mistaken you for someone else who means a lot to me".

"You don't need to be so formal with me, we can all be friends here. Since I look like someone dear to you, then maybe I can be the same to you". The princess smiled. "What do you think?".

' I was really sad about leaving Kyla alone, and a little bit scared she wasn't with me. But this makes up for everything '.

"I think so too. Let's be good friends". Sistine returned the smile.

"Splendid! Also, you may address me by my name. If that's all settled, then come on,...I want to show you round the palace. Hurry and get dressed, we shall assist".

" I can't believe she's getting favoured by the princess. I've been with her all my life but still don't call her by her birth name. Tsk!". Maeve scoffed as she complained to herself.

After a few hours of 'Girl Time's together, Sistine was finally ready for her first day at the palace.....and also for Shuri to show her around. Who knew it would actually take hours.

Well, they definitely went places,...so many that Sistine was barely keeping up. It was a huge palace. She started to imagine how big the whole kingdom was. They finally arrived at the Royal Villa where the princes were entertaining themselves with board games.

"Oh! I didn't know you would all be here. I was just showing Royal Doctor Sistine around". Shuri walked up to them.

"Ah! Elder sister," One of the princes, Liam, said. "How was your -".

"Wait a minute, weren't you the ones who arrested me? You're all princes?". Sistine interrupted.

"Guess I'll be the one to do the introductions". Shuri said. " This is Prince Liam, elder brother to Princess Zuri, Son of Noble Consort Erin. This is Prince Eren, the Crown Prince's younger brother, son of Royal Noble Consort Luz. And finally, this is Crown Prince, Ezra. As it is, there are seven royal children of the royal family ".

"I can't say I'm sorry for holding a sword against your neck, but considering the fact that you saved the Queen's life, I'll see it as a stepping stone towards our friendship. Nice to meet you, Sistine ". Ezra smirked.

"This is all so confusing but I'm sure I'll get used to it". Sistine replied, being a little confused. "By the way, you said SEVEN royal children....where and who are the remaining two?".

"Right, I'll take it from here, Your Highness". Eren explained. "The other two are also princes. One being the youngest, and Princess Shuri's brother, Adrien. And the other being the only child of Royal Concubine Faith, Gael. As of now, Gael isn't at the palace, he's gone out to settle things at the Sienna District. He'll be back soon enough. Adrien....well we never really know his whereabouts".

' Right, I almost forgot my mission here....what IS my mission here? She didn't tell me anything except to change the past. It seems like a peaceful palace, I doubt there could ever be chaos. But then again, I guess I'll have to start somewhere....or I won't be going back home. Good grief!'.

"Say, do spirit foxes exist?". Sistine blurted out, awakening the silence among them. She was sort of confused as to why they all suddenly went quiet upon hearing what she said. The thing was,.... conversations about fox spirits were prohibited.

"We'll just pretend you didn't say that. It is forbidden, talking about it is just asking for death". Ezra advised. "But I'm sure any second from now, a very stupid person will still tell you".

"Huh? Who could that be-".

"Spirit foxes do exist,....well they existed but not anymore ". Liam spoke out with confidence, somewhat feeling like a scholar.

'Ohhh! It's Liam'.

"LIAM!!" They all exclaimed, rolling their eyeballs and sighing.

"Spirit foxes, most especially nine tailed foxes, were said to bring about starvation, famine, disorder, and so many more disasters to the kingdom. The kingdom suffered a huge loss during the time of war, so the late king gave an order to wipe out the entire spirit foxes and made a law never to be spoken of. Ever since then, children born are checked thoroughly to see if they are foxes, seeing how they always appear in a human form". He continued.

"If they take a human form, how can you tell them apart?"Sistine had to ask.

"People who are born as a nine tailed fox usually have a blue glowing mark somewhere around their body. That's the only way to tell them apart,... except if you see them in their true form". Eren answered. "Besides, how come you don't know about it? It's been several years?".

"Oh,...I.... I'm not told any of it before ".

'Blue mark, huh? That could be of help, I guess. I just need to find the one from the painting,... shouldn't be that hard '.

"Ooh! I could tell you another story about -".

"LIAM!!!!!".

' Guess he's the clever one in the group. He! He!'.