Upon arrival to a vacant room, Judar sat me down in an empty seat and propped my deadened leg up on a foot rest. He solemnly explained that the body he'd chosen may be rejecting my soul and attempting to eject it. Anxiety washed over me at this newfound information and I can only imagine how apparent it must have been on my face because Judar was quick to reassure me that he could fix it.

"Just sit tight and let me handle it," he said, kneeling next to the foot rest. I nodded and watched intently as a small swarm of deep purple Rukh formed around Judar. "Life magic," he explained quietly. "The same sort of Rukh I used to get you into this body," he continued. I watched in amazement as the Rukh followed his motions like moths flying towards a fire.

For a brief moment, Judar's eyes met mine and a saw a flicker of mischief in his gaze. "Pardon me, Princess," he grinned devilishly as pulled my skirts up, exposing my leg all the way up to my hip. My hands shot up in an attempt to stop him until I remembered that this body wasn't my own. I could feel my cheeks flush a bit and I simply turned my head away, avoiding meeting his gaze directly. A triumphant chuckle escaped the magi as he continued, his fingers tracing down my thigh to my ankle. Soon after, I could feel the Rukh passing through me and I regained feeling in my leg where they passed.

"Amazing," I thought aloud, watching the birdlike figures dissolving against my skin.

Judar ran his hands against my leg again and I could feel his warmth wherever he touched me.

"You really fixed it," I stated, wriggling my toes in disbelief.

"Well, of course I did," Judar said, sounding almost hurt that I'd doubted him. He ran his finger quickly along the sole of my foot and I squeaked with laughter. "Ohoh, is the princess ticklish?" he teased, grasping my ankle tightly in one hand.

"Judar, w-wait!" I exclaimed when the door opened.

"Mei! Are you feeling better? I just wanted to che- Um," Alibaba started excitedly before catching sight of Judar holding my foot up in the air.

I began to panic slightly when Judar put on the biggest grin I'd seen on him. "Hey, kiddo! Why dontcha come give me a hand! The princess here is a little ticklish," Judar buzzed excitedly.

"Wait, no! Alibaba," I panted before Judar ran his fingers across my foot again. I bit my lip to keep from laughing but squirmed uncomfortably in the chair I was sitting in.

Before I knew it, Alibaba had crossed the room and was wearing a devilish grin similar to Judar's. He snatched up my other ankle and they both went to work torturing me. I writhed helplessly, laughing almost hysterically while also trying to hold my skirts down. At some point, I began kicking at the pair of them but to no avail as they both hummed with teasing laughter.

Just as I thought things couldn't be worse, the door opened yet again and a familiar voice chimed out. "What is going on in here?" Kougyoku asked in an irritated voice, stopping short when she laid eyes on the scene before her.

I was almost in tears, face flushed red, both hands holding my skirts down as Alibaba and Judar held my legs up in the air. Both of them had ceased their attack upon Kougyoku's unexpected arrival. She simply stared in shock and horror at the sight of us before slamming the door behind her and quickly heading down the corridor.

The three of us sat in silence for a moment before Alibaba headed for the door as well. "Better go explain that it was definitely not what it looked like," Alibaba said before giving an awkward laugh. Just as he left the room, a familiar priest in black robes entered.

"If I may have a word, High Priest," the man said, his voice a low rumble. Judar met the man's gaze but showed no sign of leaving my side. The priest sighed before speaking again, "Very well then. It seems your pet knows not its bounds. Even on palace grounds, she must be kept on a tighter leash. She is not to make contact with any of the royal family again, especially Koen." With that, the man left, slamming the door behind him as if to punctuate his words.

Judar's hands clenched into fists as he grumbled under his breath, "Those damn old men need to be dealt with already. They think they're so high and mighty, throwing orders as if they owned you." I glanced up at Judar wondering who exactly he was talking to.

(Does he mean me?)

His eyes suddenly met mine as he spoke again, "You're mine. Not theirs. And I'll use you how I see fit." His eyes seemed to gleam in the shadows of the room as he continued, "I'll use you to take Al Tharmen out completely. And after that's done, I might even have a little fun and spark a civil war right here in the palace... what with the way you and Koen tangled," he said, his voice taking on a teasing tone. "It'd be pretty easy, actually. Kougyoku seems to really dislike you too," he grinned, pointing his nose towards the ceiling.

I felt a pit form in my stomach at the thought of the current Ren family. "I can understand why they would dislike me. I appeared from thin air and posed a high threat in taking the crown of the Kou Empire from them. It's only natural that they would dislike me," I stated calmly, twining my fingers together in my lap.

Judar gave a mocking laugh before asking, "And what makes you think you have such a high chance of taking their crown? Are you that confident in your abilities as a leader?" He continued to tease me and it was beginning to get under my skin.

(Well, I... I just assumed, really... I suppose he's right though... Nothing proves that I will hold the crown once everything is said and done so maybe I...)

"Such a silly princess," Judar continued his mocking, laughing at my flustered expression.

I couldn't handle the heat in my head anymore. "Well, I don't understand why you think I will even help with any of your plans anyway!" the words burst from me like an angry volcano. "It's not like you even bothered to ask what it is I want to do here. Maybe I'll refuse to help you at all and you just summoned me here for nothing," I insisted. "Maybe I have no real interest in the crown at all, so what point would there be in helping you?" I crossed my arms over my chest in an angry pout.

Judar's expression then turned serious as his eyes met mine. He circled my chair, eyeing me over carefully. "No interest in the crown, eh? So I'm guessing that's why you killed yourself in your past life?" he asked, his tone much too confident.

My eyes widened and darted over to him, my heart dropping into the pits of my stomach. "What might you know about that?" I asked quietly, unable to keep my lip from quivering.

"Well, anyone who's bothered picking up historical documents can find out that information," he said icily.

I thought back on the incident, trying hard to not let it show in my expression.
(The night I died... I was to be crowned leader of the Kou Empire that night... Until I was found dead in one of the palace rooms. It was announced the next morning that I'd committed suicide in fear of becoming the nation's leader... What meager lies....)

The sound of Judar's voice in my ear snapped me out of my own thoughts, "Now, what I'd really like to know is if what was recorded in Kou's documents is really what happened."

My gaze quickly met Judar's and I hastily questioned him, "W-what would make you think the records aren't true? Do you mean to tell me you think I didn't really take my own life?" I tried to make my questions sound natural but only ended up sounding desperate for a better explanation of Judar's thoughts.

Judar simply shrugged his shoulders and flashed me a teasing grin. "Why don't you tell me, Princess?" he asked, not giving me a chance to reply before exiting the room himself.

(Not that it really matters now... It was so long ago...)

I remained in the room for a little while longer, simply rehashing old memories from my past.