Versatile: Alternate World

"When I was still a kid, I am always in the library of the castle. Compared to my younger sister who keeps on interacting with other people, I prefer to stay inside and read books. You can say I am an introverted child but you can say I was raised to be like that. My parents are always busy and I barely see them unless I actively seek them out. I thought that my parents are kind and will help their children in any way they can. But only when I was older did I realize that mistake.

When I turned 10, I realized that my parents were more loving and caring to my younger sister and brother. Not only that, whenever some kind of festival happened, my sister and brother would be the first people to get the invitation and my parents would automatically bring them along. As for me, I rarely got any of those things my parents do. Whenever I tried to ask them for my invitation, they would say the same alibi, "There are only two invitations and they are named to your siblings. You don't have one sent by them."

During that time, I thought it was just a one-time event that happened. However, it repeated not once, twice, or thrice, but many times that I lost count of it already. Tea parties, gatherings, birthday celebrations, or even a normal festival that would allow royalty to show themselves to the people, now that I am retelling it, I barely have any experiences on them.  I barely got invited and if I ever get an invitation, I would always meet with something unfortunate which results in me not being able to attend. It's not just a coincidence, it's might be an intentional thing. However, I decided to ignore it.

"Yes, perhaps, they have a reason they just can't tell that is why they are doing this. Yes, that might be it."

I keep myself in denial. I lived like that in denial every time. Now that I think about it, my siblings are also showing contempt for me. I might have noticed but I guess I also ignored it and believed in their goodness," Tina explained and although I know she is not yet done explaining, I can tell one thing.

Blind Devotion.

As a kid, you will surely trust what an adult is going to say to you, no matter if it was a lie or the truth. For a child, an adult's word is the absolute truth and nothing but the truth. But as we grow older, that truth will surely reveal its true color. In Tina's case, her parents are more in favor of her two siblings, while she is just ignored.

Listening to her childhood story, isn't this a bit cruel? Not only that, this isn't something a royalty should do. Her experiences are more like she is being ignored than being loved. Her parents barely did anything for her to be exposed to the others and not only that, it seems like the only people who ever get to know her are those who directly interacted with her and I doubt she has that many people.

"I see. But then, I don't understand why your parents would just ignore you. Even if you have multiple siblings, I doubt there are parents who would deliberately do that kind of thing," Lucia looks troubled after listening to Tina.

"Nah, there are people like that, Lucia. You are just blessed that your parents are good to you and care for you. There are indeed some unfortunate individuals like Tina who experienced it. I can say they are assholes at times but this isn't something I will judge by myself since there is always a reason. As for Tina's case, I can tell there is some sort of reason for that."

Tina looked at me with a confused stare.

"You want to confront them right? Then prove to them that you are not an insignificant figure that is only good at doing nothing but being a princess. After all, a princess is not a word that describes someone who has an easy life, but a  candidate for the throne to rule as a queen in the future. You are not just there to occupy the seat and sit there looking pretty. Prove that they have poorly chosen to dispose of you. Show them how wrong they are."

Tina looked at me with shocked eyes. She was speechless but her eyes are telling me everything. It looks like she understood a little bit.

"Alright. Enough with the pep talk. Time to continue the training."

...

Halfway through the training, Tina slowly developed what she is lacking. It is subtle but she is slowly hanging there. I explained to her how to utilize this while keeping her mind stable and seeing what is happening before her while doing the visualization too. In the end, she managed to grasp what it but she needed practice and mastery. We still have enough time to do it and we will take advantage of it.

"Good work Tina. You are finally getting the grasp of it. You are progressing smoothly. Once you managed to master it, I will let you spar with Lucia and Lina once more."

"Thank you for the help!"

"No worries. I already have gotten casual anyways and I am no longer treating you like royalty anyways. In fact, I should be apologizing for being so harsh."

"Are you sure you are not possessed, Master? Don't you think it is a bit too much for you to apologize?" Lina poked fun at me for becoming casual.

"Look here, Lina..." I wanted to reason to her but then, Tina laughed.

"No, don't worry about it. I prefer to be treated as an equal instead of being treated like royalty. I hate the feeling of it like I am not even worth becoming part of the group due to my status."

"I get you, girl! Don't worry! Everyone is pretty chill. Master tends to ignore our origins and just casually talk to us. It's okay to be like that."

As we are chatting, I suddenly felt a presence. It isn't just someone passing by, I can feel the hostile intent. I closed my eyes and tried to pinpoint the source and visualize everything around me. I opened my eyes and with a heavy breath, I pulled out my Versatile Weapon, and without uttering a word, I changed its form into a hook and chain and throw it to a random tree that I have a bad feeling about since earlier. I was not surprised when I managed to hook the one responsible for the odd feeling I keep on feeling since earlier.

"GAH!"

When I pulled the responsible for that, I quickly grabbed his collar and quickly change the form of my weapon into a dagger before I firmly aimed it on his neck.

"Who sent you, Motherf*cker?!"