Fate didn't reply; instead, she stared at me with quiet amusement, her mouth twitching as if she was trying her hardest to resist. She failed.
After fighting with herself, her mouth widened into a trembling smile before a stifled giggle, then she burst out laughing, that high, tinkling sound echoing around the void. I couldn't tell if it was the space, her powers, or just how annoying she was being.
"Fate..."
She wiped a nonexistent tear from her eye, still shaking with laughter. "Oh—oh Sora… oh this is—pffft—this is perfect."
Then she leaned forward, pupils shining like she had just found the funniest scene in the universe. Which, apparently, was me.
"You're naked," she said cheerfully.
I immediately slapped my hands downward, scrambling to cover myself. "I KNOW! Where are my clothes?!"
I'm so going to jail for this.
Her smile sharpened, dangerous in the most childish way.
"Oh, so now you're shy? Really?"
"YES!"
She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Funny. You weren't shy a moment ago when you were thinking all those dramatic thoughts."
"I wasn't thinking about being naked!"
She agreed sweetly. "No, you were thinking about being my slave."
"SERVANT!"
She burst into giggles again. "Why are you even covering yourself? There's nothing to hide."
Yup, I'm officially horrified.
"Th-that's not true! A lot of women would disagree and tell you that I'm great!"
She blinked. Then she grinned. Then she pounced.
"Oh? A lot of women now, really? Name one."
I pouted.
"I don't have to."
"You don't have to... or you can't? I am a Princeptus, you know, you can't lie to me!" She sang, pointing at me triumphantly.
"Because you're a virgin. A very loud, very obvious, very prideful virgin. Honestly, it radiates off you, and we all know it."
"WE?! WHO'S WE?!"
She finally said, voice still trembling with leftover giggles, "Oh, relax, I'm not letting you commit public indecency."
She snapped her fingers, and a soft golden ripple of energy flowed over me, tingling against my skin until suddenly the cold... air? It wasn't hitting every inch of me anymore.
I stood up and looked down. A dark, loose-fitted Henley with sleeves that fell to the middle of my hands, with some fitted pants of the matching color, with a length that dropped below the mist that covered what I would assume to be my bare feet.
"I'm clothed," I whispered in a mix of relief and shock.
Fate flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Of course you are. Honestly, Sora… you panic so dramatically. It's kind of adorable. Now... where were we?"
"I became the first Servant of Fate in return for valuable information."
Fate clapped her hands together and bounced on her flat heels. "Oh! Right, right, right!"
She snapped her fingers again, and a cushioned red chair with golden jewels stitched around the trims appeared behind both of us. I sat down on mine, arms crossed. She sat down on hers, legs crossed, as she tapped her chin while squinting her eyes as if calculating some sacred equation.
"Five questions!"
I blinked. "Five?"
"Five, a whole five questions! Now rejoice, my fellow slave."
—Servant.
She lifted her hand and shoved it in my direction whilst spreading her fingers proudly, like she was presenting some magic trick.
"So what, I only get five questions for the rest of my life?"
She gasped, clutching her chest. "What?! No! Don't be ridiculous. Five for this session. The next time you visit, I'll offer you more."
"And how exactly do I come back to whatever this place is? Realm of Princeps or whatever you called it earlier."
"Oh, I have no clue."
Not so omniscient then, are you?
"Hey! I heard that!"
I don't care!
"STOP THINKING!"
NO! Bitch.
Her eyes widened, and her mouth gaped as she let out a theatrical gasp.
"Oh, now you've gone and done it. You get four questions now. Hmph!"
I groaned, dragging my hand down my face. "Great."
A glowing green sigil spun beneath her, bright and definitely more dramatic than it should be, but I wasn't surprised anymore.
"Servant of Fate, ask your first question," she sing-songed with glittering eyes that were filled to the brim with such eager hunger. Like literal hunger to the point she smacked then licked her lips.
"Alright..."
My voice trailed as I placed a prominent hand beneath my chin, pondering the questions I should be asking.
So many questions... limited options, what do I ask? What do I... ask? Hmmm.
"First question... what did you mean when you said earlier by the form you're taking right now was you, but also someone I'll meet in the future? You said it was complicated."
Fate blinked once, twice, then deadpanned at me so hard I felt judged on a cosmic level.
"I remember telling you to just roll with it, Sora."
"I tried, I really did," I muttered.
She sighed before she stood back up, looming above me as her tiny feet sank in the cushioning of her couch, then she placed a hand on her tiny hip and lifted the other to draw shapes in the misty air.
"Fine. Listen closely. A Princeps's true form is beyond mortal comprehension. If you were to see me as I truly am, your feeble little brain would only perceive a blinding white light."
I snapped my fingers.
"Ohhhh, so that's what that blinding light was earlier!"
"Precisely!"
Then she gestured to herself and continued,
"Now, each Princeptus has a mortal or physical form. Something you mortal beings can actually look at and see. This"—she tapped her own nose—"is mine."
I frowned and nodded. "Okay, but then… what about the 'someone I'll meet' part?"
Fate brightened, clasping her hands together.
"A princess—Diana from the DraconiHeart Kingdom—the human kingdom in the northern mountains that tamed dragons. Very impressive, mortals, by the way."
"Diana… that name sounds familiar?"
"Of course it is, you royals seem to know every other royal in the world... it's kinda eerie..."
She paused momentarily, trying to remember what she was talking about.
"Ah, yes! She's little, adorable—but not as cute as me—a twelve-year-old girl, who was gifted my Divine ability of short foresight, which allows her to see a few seconds into the future whenever she desires."
I blinked. She added,
"And UGH! She copied my whole flow. Identical to me down to my hair, my eyes, even my fashion sense. My fashion sense, Sora. Do you understand how annoying that is? I didn't even give her that part. The Divine ability somehow imprinted my aesthetic onto her."
"That sounds… weird."
Fate grumbled, "Oh, it is. The only real difference between us is personality. She's timid. Very timid. Sweet, but painfully shy. Not like me at all... kinda."
I arched a brow... kinda?
And she read my mind.... "You'll see next year."
Next year?!
She puffed out her cheeks, arms crossing.
I raised my hand.
"Does that mean I'm—"
"No. You're not becoming a princess."
"…I wasn't going to ask that."
"You were thinking it."
I groaned. "Can you stop reading my mind for like five minutes?"
"No. Next question."