The Story of Hanna/Memoirs of Princess Hanna - Page Eight
Two hours fly by. Sun is starting to set, but the party still goes on. In fact, it's not going to slow down any time soon. You find yourself taking a role of a tiny little wallflower. You are feeling exhausted and hot, and you don't want to just drink it all away. It's cool outside, so you're heading towards the balcony.
"Your highness", you head a soft whisper next to you. You stop and turn towards a young guard, standing close to the window. You're quite familiar with the faces in the castle, but this one doesn't strike your memory. He must be an extra hired for today only. He's quite tall, a blonde in his early twenties, probably a local, and quite a looker too, with a steady jawline and broad body. You just blink twice at him, waiting for him to state his business. He smiles happily and raises his index and middle fingers on one hand, pressing them together and pointing them upward. Then, he closes his fist and lays down his hand. Your heart skips a beat. It's a secret sign. You've taught them to your partners who you know and who you're supposed to trust. It's a signal that they want to talk to you. "What do you want…?" you ask with a clearly nervous tone.
"That's not what you're supposed to do, now isn't it…?"
He's right. When you are shown secret sign, you're supposed to nod silently, get to a safe place and wait quietly for them to come to you. You stare him with very heavy eyelids and wonder, who is he anyway? How does he know about your secret sign? And most importantly, is there someone amongst your partners who could've shared your closely guarded secret to this man? You don't nod at him immediately, and it makes the devil on your back weigh down on you slightly because of the contract you've made. If you don't nod, there will be a temporary curse cast on you, and if you do nod, you promise to meet him, and risk an even greater curse in the process, one that won't be just temporary. It's a special bargain you've made with the devil, and you can't risk it weaken you now and take away so much of your powers. Finally, you nod, promise to meet him, and you feel the weight be lifted from your shoulders. But before you leave, you ask him one very simple question: "Who are you…?"
"No-one special", he says, acting all innocent.
"State your business immediately."
He leans a little bit towards you and whispers: "I gave you the signal because I want to talk to you in private."
"Yeah, Hanna figured that out. But Hanna doesn't know who you are." You start to become nervous. If he knows about your secret signals, what else does he know?
"You seem a little nervous."
"Do you even know what that signal REALLY means…?" you ask, blushing and looking visibly irritated.
"Of course. And I'm sure you do too."
"O-oh, okay then…" you say and force a very uncomfortable smile. "You and Hanna… Somewhere private, immediately…"
"If you don't mind, I would like to request a special location."
"No, no, you don't get it…! Hanna needs to talk to you right now…! In private…!"
"It's not a good idea for us to be seen together for too long", he says, and offers you a note. "Please follow these instructions."
You read them. He wants to meet you at eleven o'clock in library, near the section meant for children's books. It is not in your best interest to refuse anymore.
"I don't want to force you to come, but at least think about it."
"You forced Hanna from the moment you gave her the signal." With that said, you walk away, heading towards the balcony. Doors are opened for you and you get a moment to think about all of it. You should've probably just dealt with the temporary curse. It would've not affected your mana, but it would've affected your wellbeing. The worst-case scenario would've been going to your room to rest, but you don't want that either. You've made a hasty decision, but that's okay. What's the worst that can happen?
…
The time has come. You head to the library straight from the party. On the way there you spot a patrol. Area is closed for public, but you can move there freely. He doesn't see you enter library, as he probably thinks you're heading to your room. Library is on the way there anyway. You sneak inside, and then, you head towards where children's books are located. And there, the man is already waiting for you, this time wearing more casual clothing.
As soon as he see's you, he waves at you and speaks. "Thank you for coming, Hanna."
Your heart is beating fast, since you're a little scared. You try to act regal like a princess should and try not to show your fear to him. "Hanna has held her end of a bargain now…"
"I see you came alone."
"So, who are you and what do you want from Hanna?"
"My name is Chad Mason and I'm here to bargain with you."
"Bargain?"
"Yes", he says, and nods deeply, almost as if bowing. "There is something I want from you."
"Just so you know, you're not going to be able to blackmail Hanna into anything. There is a patrol outside. One scream and you're dead."
"Please, don't say depressing things like that…" he says and laughs. "You wouldn't want me dead, right?"
"Depends on your intentions."
"So, it's an insurance, in case I do something to you", he says and nods to himself. He doesn't show any signs of worry or fear though. "Don't worry, princess. I don't want to harm you. I pledge to you, I won't hurt you."
You cross your arms and grin. "Oh, really? Hanna knows a thing or two about pledges…"
"What could you mean by that?" he asks, acting surprised and curious.
"Oh, nothing. In any case, how do you know about the signal? Did someone tell you?"
"Don't you want to know why I wanted to talk to you first?" Chad asks. You're not sure if it's because he sincerely wants to "bargain" with you - in his own words - or if it's because he's just impatient to have sex.
"Let's talk about that later. This is more important to Hanna."
He nods twice. "Alright then. Can you guess who told me?"
You think for a moment, and you have a very good guess. "Probably Trevor."
"You're absolutely right."
You sigh deeply and facepalm. You can't believe him. How could he spread the secret and tell the signal to people who don't deserve to know it? People you don't personally approve of? Trevor is a man who you've always had mixed feelings about. He's not like your other partners. He's much more hands-on and violent, even rapey. You've overlooked his bad qualities and the fact that he's had some connections to pedophile rings because you like him on the personal level, and love getting roughed up once in a while, but this is a last straw for you. Luckily, your promise is not a pledge, so you can cancel the deal to only deal with a temporary curse, but you can't cancel it while in the middle of making sure you keep your promise. Or, technically you've already kept your promise, since you've made no promises to this man outside meeting him in private. "Are you part of some child sex ring too?"
"Well, yes, we're part of the same ring. Oh, and don't worry. He hasn't told anyone else."
"Hanna hopes that's true."
"I understand if you're cross with him or me, or even scared, but you need to understand. I had to get your contact. I absolutely had to. I approached Trevor because I knew of his sexual relationship to you."
"How long have you known?"
"About two years."
You open your eyes round as plates and cross your arms. Two years he's known about your sexual exploits? "And you didn't approach Hanna all that time?"
"Yeah, I couldn't. It was hard for me, considering how cute you are."
You crack a smile and touch your hair. "C-cute, you say…?" He nods, twice. "Hahaha, you're such a hopeless pervert." You giggle softly. "What made you chicken out?"
"I didn't think I would be worthy. Besides, I don't even know how I would've gained your trust. Trevor hasn't told me the identities of everyone involved with you, but I bet they are all be nobles."
"That is correct."
"Yeah, that is why. I'm not a noble myself, you see."
You don't have any rules regarding the status of your partners. They just happen to all be nobles, because that's the people you usually associate yourself with. You don't want to tell him this though, as you don't want to give him leeway over you. "Well you're right about the trust part at least. Hanna doesn't trust you."
"I hope I can gain your trust."
"Oh, try your best then. In any case, let's get to why you wanted to talk to Hanna. Is it sex?"
"I would love that, but it isn't my primary motivation."
You suspected there was something else. If that was the only thing he wanted, he could've just approached you a year or two before. "Spit it out."
"You have more than just one secret to yourself, don't you?"
"Doesn't everyone?"
"Yes, but I don't mean just normal secrets. I'm talking about a closely guarded secret you have, something you can't tell anyone." You're naturally bad at lying and keeping secrets, so you recoil at his words a little bit. He can tell there's something up. "I think I know one of those secrets. It's perfectly obvious to anyone who knows anything about this subject. I'm sure your teacher knows too. You've got something in your hands that helps you stay young."
"Y-you know..." You begin to speak but you instantly stutter, which just makes you seem even less convincing. "You're making Hanna feel super uncomfortable right now. So just drop the subject please."
"At least hear me out." You wait for him to continue and watch as he picks up something from his pocket. It's a dark red colored transparent crystal stone, with a golden center. "Do you know what this is?"
"No."
He stares at you for a little bit, as if trying to read your facial expressions. "I don't think you're lying…"
"Tell Hanna what that crystal is."
"It's a philosopher's stone." You can't hide your surprise from him. All the books you've read are clear about the fact that nobody in the recorded history, no man, elf or any other race has managed to create the legendary philosopher's stone. With your knowledge about the potion of youth, or the elixir of life, whatever you want to call, you thought you were the one person in the world who was closest to creating this artifact. But if what he says is true, you could not be the only one. "This is an ancient one, one of only a few in the world. Most of them have already been depleted and unfortunately, this one's not eternal either. I believe it's just about at the midway point of its lifespan, with maybe couple of dozen uses left to it. It, like every other stone, was created by the legendary Merlin, the greatest alchemist to ever live. I'm sure you've heard of him." You nod. Just as every philosopher knows of the works of philosophers of ancient Greece, every alchemist knows of the great Merlin. "But he took his knowledge about this stone to the grave with him. There are no records of this recipe or his research into it, which makes me believe it was all in his head."
"Well this is news to Hanna. She didn't know of any past successes regarding philosopher's stone."
"It is the most well-kept secret in all of alchemy, unknown to even some kings. Only a handful of people know, and even fewer have held one of these treasures in their hands. I think you know why. This stone is extremely desirable, and perhaps the most researched subject in all of Alchemy. You have researched it too, haven't you?"
"Well, that is partially true."
"I see you've had relative success as well. I mean, the fact that you don't grow up ever is a proof of that."
There is no use lying anymore. Not only is it obvious to him that this is the case, but he also could hold some information about the subject that could be useful to you. "You're right. Hanna created a prototype of her version few years ago. It's a very imperfect elixir and it will take years to perfect it, but it has the ability to stop, slow down and even reverse human growth."
Chad's eyes light up with visible excitement and awe. "So, it's a potion and not a power crystal, huh? It seems that we have taken an entirely different route in your respective researches."
"Well, it's just what Hanna thought could be easiest, since Hanna is more adept with mixtures and potions. And Hanna can't use her mana to draw power from crystals very well either. Hanna is talentless mage, you see."
"That's a real shame."
You feel like you've taken a real liking to this man. Chad Mason, huh? He's relatively good looking, he seems trustworthy, he is interested in alchemy just like you, and he's presumably a pedophile as well. You've never met a man whose interest align this much with you. You're glad taking a risk and meeting him is paying off.
"But do you think that using that power carelessly is a good idea?" Chad suddenly asks, interrupting your train of thought.
As you're about to ask him what he means, it suddenly hits you. You've honestly never thought about it. He said it himself: knowledge into this subject is sought after. "Maybe it is not a good idea…" you utter silently. There are a lot of people who want a piece of it, and some of who could even do anything to get their hands on it. Chad, in your eyes, could very well be one of those people as well, as is your teacher. And then another thing hits you. How does Chad even know you never grow up? Not only do you not know him, but you wouldn't expect a stranger to approach you regarding this suspect. You kind of expected it from your teacher, considering he knows you on a personal level. They both approached you about the same topic on the same day. Are they connected, or is this all just a coincidence? "Your turn to be honest now. Do you know Hanna's teacher?"
"By name only. I've never talked to him."
"Really? Because he asked Hanna about the same thing earlier today."
"That's a funny coincidence", he says and laughs. "Did you tell him?" You shake your head. "Or do you plan on telling him?"
"Hanna thinks he knows, but Hanna won't tell him, for now at least."
"Anyway, now that you've shared your secret with me, I believe it's time for me to get to my business. Like I said, I want to bargain with you."
"Hanna doesn't like the idea of sharing her research…"
"Would you at least hear me out first? You might change your mind."
"Yes, of course", you say, with a kind and welcoming smile. "Hanna needs to know about your motivations too."
"Do you have time to talk this evening?"
"Of course! As much as you like! Would you like to go to Hanna's tower with her?"
"Unfortunately, I can't walk around castle like I own the place. I shouldn't even be here."
"Well, that's a problem then, especially since you're wearing such casual clothes. But Hanna can't really leave the castle either."
"There is a secure place for us", he says and walks to third shelf from the wall and moves few books on the second highest shelf to the side. He places his palm against the wood behind and reveals a hidden magical conduit. Spell circle instantly reacts to the touch of mana, and you hear a soft crack, a sound resembling some kind of locking mechanism. After readjusting the books he just moved, he places both his hands on top of the shelf, and pushes the shelf down to a hole inside the floor, revealing a secret corridor beneath. You know of many hidden passages inside the castle, but not this one. This one is news to you and you have no idea where it leads. He summons a fire spirit, which serves as a light for you to walk in this pitch-black corridor, and the spirit reveals stairs to the depths of the castle. You look at him, confused and tilt your head. "Right here is a secure place for us to talk."
"What is this place?" you ask. You're not sure yet if you want to enter.
"It's just an ancient, unused road that leads to noble's district. Home of Trevor, to be exact. I may not be a natural born noble or even a local, but I rent some property here due to my connections to him. There's a little playroom full of fun ahead as well. We can use it today."
You finally nod. It sounds like a good place to talk in private, after all. You enter the corridor with Chad Mason, and the secret door closes behind you.