The first thing Kouen noticed when he woke up this morning was that he wasn't in bed. He used to be able to notice this and shrug it off as it happened often or, at least, it used to. Ever since you had noticed his peculiar sleeping habits you made it a mission to change them. It seemed like you were starting to give up.

Kouen tried to not let it bother him as he got up from his chair. The second he stood up, he felt a crick in his neck and winced. He was starting to understand why you didn't like it when he slept. He could practically hear you scolding him now. He sighed and rubbed at his neck as he rolled it from side to side.

He chuckled to himself as he imagined your lecture while walking out of his study. What Kouen didn't realize at the time was that it would be the least of his worries.

When he stepped out of his study he watched as what seemed like every servant in the Palace was running in a feared hurry. There was never a single moment in his life until now that he'd seen them in such disarray. Well, actually, there was one. He felt a healthy dose of fear grip his chest as he began to think of what might've happened.

At that, he roughly grabbed a servant's arm, forcing them to stop. They were about to give him the stink eye until they realized who stopped them. "O-Oh, my Prince!" They exclaimed in surprise, "what can I do for you?" They tried not to let the fear show once they realized they almost glared at the Prince.

"What is going on?" Questioned Kouen, "why is the Palace in such disarray?" He unintentionally squeezed the servant's arm tighter. His grip softened a bit when he noticed them wince.

The server didn't seem to want to answer the question as they slowly began to avoid Kouen's gaze. However, they still knew the Prince wouldn't let go until he got an answer. They sighed and finally spoke. 

"Princess Y/N is missing."

*~*~*

When Gyokuen had awoken this morning she wasn't expecting such disarray in the Palace. She supposed it was impossible to go one day without anything exciting happening. Was it too much to ask to have just one day to herself to relax? The universe seemed to be saying yes.

Ever since the news had spread around the castle that you were missing everyone had gotten tense and frantic. She couldn't fully understand why as there's no point in worrying now that you weren't even the palace. Gyokuen thought to herself that it might've had something to do with that other magi here yesterday. 

Perhaps, instead of ignoring it, she should've sent guards to where she sensed the presence. She shrugged to herself at the thought, too late now. She smirked to herself, this was definitely going to get interesting now. Her plan was still going in motion, even with this small bump in the road. 

Speaking of bumps...

Gyokuen flinched as she heard the doors to her private room being slammed open. She quickly recomposed herself as if the slam hadn't bothered her and took a sip of her steaming cup of tea. "Kouen," she said, "to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing my beloved son so early in the morning?" She looked his way and gave him a beaming smile. 

The only thing she got in return is a scowl, "did you do this?" he asked accusatorily, his hands began to clench into fists.

Gyokuen gasped and rested her free hand on her chest. "Do you really think I would do something so despicable?" She asked, "and for no reason?" She tutted and waggled her finger from side to side. 

She delicately placed her cup on its saucer, "now, now, Kouen." She gestured to the empty seat across from her, "calm yourself and have some tea with your mother." Gyokuen gave him a sweet smile. 

Kouen gave no verbal response and walked over to the empty seat. He sat down and watched as his "mother" prepared him a cup of tea. He made no move to stop her from stirring in an obscene amount of sugar, he didn't plan on staying long anyway. He immediately put it down the moment she handed it to him. 

"Now, think about this rationally. The only reason why I had sent her last time was for a proper punishment," she explained, taking a sip of her overly sweetened tea. 

Kouen stared down at his own ruined cup of tea to take a moment to think. He supposed she had a point, what could she gain from having so much suspicion on her? Last time, she had a reason, this time, she had none. He sighed and stood, "I'm going to go find her with a group of guards."

Before he could continue on his way out, she called out to him. "Ah, ah," she had said, "there's no need." He turned back to see her calmly sipping her tea once more. 

His brows furrowed, "what do you mean, no need?" Kouen's voice was riddled with confusion. It was justified confusion, of course. The first princess was gone, nowhere to be found and here was the Empress saying there was nothing to worry about?

Gyokuen cleared her throat and showed a sealed piece of paper, "because, she left a note," she stated nonchalantly. It was as if this was supposed to be obvious to everyone in her eyes, no wonder she wasn't so worried. 

Kouen's eyes widened in shock as he stood frozen for a complete second before quickly stalking to the note. He grabbed it from her nimble fingers once he was close enough and practically ripped it open. With each line he read his eyes grew wider until he finally finished it and just continued to stare at it. 

Gyokuen rose a brow at her son's lack of action. She had definitely never seen this type of stagnant reaction from him before. She hadn't read the letter in fear that he would realize she had opened it, so, she had no idea what was coaxing such a reaction. "Kouen?" She called out him. 

He snapped out of his daze when she heard his voice. Kouen's usual stoic expression came back, "hm, yes?" He asked. 

"Well, what did it say?" She asked, feigning disinterest by taking a sip of tea. 

"She went to conquer another dungeon."

It was at that statement that the fake disinterest faded and she chocked on her tea. Gyokuen then quickly recovered and regained her regal stature as if that had never happened. "Did she say which?" She idly asked. 

Kouen shook his head and left the room without another word, leaving his mother with two cups of tea. One of which was starting to grow cold. The moment her son was out, a scowl crossed her features. She went over her plans in her head once more and took a deep breath. 

"What am I thinking?" Gyokuen thought to herself out loud, "there's no need to worry over her, she's a simple pawn in my plan." She chuckled to herself and gazed down at her cup. 

"Just as everyone else is."

~

Kougyoku continued to breathe as her nerves slowly started to get the best of her. Today she was informed she was going to be conquering her first dungeon and needless to say, she was nervous. She had tried seeking you out until she had heard the news that you were missing. Hopefully, Kouen was doing okay. 

Speaking of, he was currently walking down the hall towards. She stood up to acknowledge him and reached out to him. Maybe she could talk to him about her nerves. Unfortunately, he ended walking right past her, not even sparing her a glance. 

She ignored the tug at her heart and deduced he most likely had better things to do. With another sigh, she sat back down on the bench she had been on for the better part of an hour. 

"Are you alright, Princess Kougyoku?" 

With a surprised squeak, she looked up to see an elderly man with no hair, save for the bushy white mustache. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to place a name to the face as he looked familiar. Then, it hit her. "Ah, you're Kazue!" She exclaimed. 

Kazue nodded with a chuckle. "I apologize for interrupting, but you seemed troubled," he explained, "do you need help with something?" He asked. 

Kougyoku's face dropped as she had just been reminded of what was ailing her. "Yes," she responded with a sigh, "I'm supposed to be taking a dungeon soon, but I'm afraid." 

Kazue nodded and gestured to the empty space next to her, inaudibly asking if he could take a seat. When the princess nodded he took it. "I wouldn't worry about that, after all, you've had an amazing teacher," he said, "but I can understand the nerves."

Kougoyku stayed silent as he continued speaking. "Even, princess Y/N had those same nerves before she went to her very first dungeon," he explained, reminiscing as if it were just yesterday. 

Her eyes widened at that, "really?" She exclaimed. It was very hard to believe, but no one could really blame her anyway, you always seemed so sure of yourself and confident. 

"Yes," he responded with a chuckle. "But there's nothing to worry about, you inherited her sense of confidence. All you have to do is make it your own," he explained, getting up from the bench. 

"Remember, she has full confidence in you and your abilities," he said while walking off to tend to the rest of duties for the day. 

Kougyoku continued to sit as she let his words sink in. A smile came to her lips at the thought of you having confidence in her. It made her chest swell with pride and she soon felt fully prepared to take on the dungeon. She looked to see if Kazue was around to give him her gratitude, but he was gone. 

Before she could gather time to go search for him, Ka Koubun's voice resounded throughout the garden. He calling her over to him to continue preparing for the dungeon. She quickly stood up and went over to him, ready to take on this new challenge.  

~~~~~
A/N: Hello, it's been a while. I am still alive and I'm sorry it takes so long for these updates to come out. 😔