Jacob and Maria started walking down together through the halls of the palace.
"If you're going to travel with me, you cannot be wearing those gross servant clothes. I can't have my image uprooted by such preposterous style."
"I'm sorry my lord, but these are the only clothes I have. Well... more like I have multiple of the same kind of clothes."
"Well, it's a good thing you got a promotion recently! You aren't just any servant anymore. You are the prince's servant!"
'The prince's meat shield'
Jacob silently giggled at his own unfunny thought.
Maria clapped her hands together lightly.
"Very exciting my lord! Thank you!"
He sensed a bit of sarcasm in her voice but decided to ignore it.
"Anyways, follow me. I'll get you something much nicer to wear."
Jacob led her to a door that stood in the middle of a hallway. The room had three floors, all containing marvelous outfits that hung on wooden figures. There were gowns for fancy events, casual dresses for leisurely wear, simple shirts with vibrant colors, and much more. Maria was frozen staring at all her options.
"You're free to choose from any clothes you like."
"...any of them?"
"Any of them... now hurry up before I change my mind."
In a flash, Maria ran right down an aisle of dresses, gave them less than a second of attention, then darted for the exotic armor sets hidden in the back.
Jacob slapped himself in the face.
'Of course... and how did she even find those? What is she a magnet?'
A few moments later, Maria was carrying a pile of breastplates, leggings and gauntlets to try on. Her green eyes were shimmering with a sparkle illuminating from the polished steel of the armor and her face was full of anticipation. Jacob visibly looked a little creeped out at how tight she was holding the garments and took a small step back.
"Hurry up and put them on. We don't have all day. There should be a place for you to change back there as well."
Maria ran towards the dressing room, letting her treasures bounce around in her arms as she trotted away. Jacob decided to wait patiently outside in the hallway to give her as much privacy as possible. Shortly after, Maria had already left the room donned in her new attire.
The armor was thin and silver, the rays of sun reflected off its surface like a mirror. It fit Marias shape perfectly, as if she was always meant to wear it. Standing in front of the prince, Maria held her hands at her hips, puffed out her chest and raised her chin, as if waiting for a compliment from him.
Jacob obliviously moved toward her and lightly punched her on the shoulder.
"Don't waste any more of my time today please."
Maria deflated her posture feeling bitter and defeated. Then she looked at her fist, then at the prince's shoulder. And throwing her arm forward, she playfully tried to reenact what the prince had done to her.
However, Maria moved her strength to her arm out of pure habit and sent the prince flying backward. Luckily, she held back enough to not hurt him in any serious way, but her gauntlet was shattered into pieces. Immediately, she ran over to aid him.
"My lord! I'm... I'm so sorry! I still need to work on controlling my curse better."
She picked the prince up off the ground effortlessly and dusted off his now dirtied attire. Jacob looked utterly defeated and too tired to argue.
"Why am I always the one getting hurt? My life isn't fair..."
"I can carry you, my lord."
"No thank you. That would be incredibly embarrassing for both of us, I think."
Jacob noticed the missing gauntlet on Maria's hand.
'You have to be joking... it's been less than a minute. Maybe my uncle was right about her being a ball of destruction... but is that a bad thing I wonder?'
The pair continued to walk down the hall together. By now, they were both comfortable enough with each other to almost walk shoulder to shoulder. However, Jacob would always be a bit ahead, so he led them to where they need to go.
"Hey."
"What is it my lord?"
"I never got say thank you... for saving me the other day. I have a feeling that I wouldn't still be here if you weren't there to have my back. It means a lot to me, and I never got the chance to thank you properly."
Maria smiled faintly hearing his words.
"Anything for you, my lord. I'm glad that I was able to be of good use to you."
" 'Good use' is the understatement of the year. You saved my life. I'll make sure I'll pay you back some day."
They continued walking in silence for a few moments.
"Do you really think I can create a legacy that outshines my father someday? Even after everything you saw?"
Maria didn't hesitate with her response.
"Of course I do. In fact, it strengthened my belief in you even more."
"But why? I was hardly capable of anything. I was weak."
"It is exactly because you are weak that I believe you will create a better legacy. You know what it's like to be weak, what it's like to struggle. The king doesn't. All he has ever known is overwhelming strength and he fears nothing more than being weak. Is it really such a sin to be born weak in this cruel world?"
Jacob looked at her with surprise.
'Such wise words coming from a mere servant. What has she exactly gone through in her past?'
"But being weak is what gets you killed in the end. There is no life without strength. Well... it's one thing to be alive and it's another thing to live. You can be weak and still be alive, but nobody can live unless they are strong."
Maria looked at him with curiosity.
"And why is that?"
"It's just the way the world is."
"Interesting. Then it seems like we must change the world then."
Jacob laughed.
"I'll add it to the list of impossible things I need to do already."
Jacob also realized there was something specific about the way she phrased her sentence.
'We are going to change the world... not I.'
It seemed to Jacob like he and Maria were going to be stuck together for a long time. For better or for worse.