A Transmigrated Princess's Guide To A Fluffy Royal Life!-Chapter 44: Royal Graceful Avoidance

Fluffy floated lower, landing beside her on the moss. "I know."

"I just wanted to live." Her voice cracked. "I just... wanted to be normal. Play with Snugglewuff. Learn how to braid my own hair. Figure out how to walk in those ridiculous cute shoes. Not fight fate with glowing runes and soul-linked seashells!"

Fluffy’s ears flattened. "You’re allowed to be angry, princess." freewebnoveℓ.com

"I’m seven, Fluffy. I’m seven and I’m carrying a prophecy like it’s a lunchbox."

"That... might be the best metaphor for trauma I’ve ever heard," he murmured.

She let out a bitter laugh. It didn’t last.

The silence crept in again.

"You’re not alone," Fluffy said, very quietly. "I don’t say this often... like, ever... but I’ve seen how others handle situations. None of them—none—have handled it like you."

"I’m not handling anything," she mumbled. "I’m spiraling."

"Sure. Spiraling with style. But still. You’re not broken. You’re figuring it out. And whatever that mirror-ghost-double of yours said? Doesn’t change that you’re still Evelisse."

She wiped her cheeks with the back of her sleeve. "Even if I’m just a kid again?"

"Especially because you’re a kid again," Fluffy said. "It means the world didn’t get to kill your joy. It just gave you a chance to rewrite the ending."

Evelisse looked back toward the crumbled mirror dust on the dais. Her reflection—older, warning, terrified—lingered in her thoughts like a shadow that refused to fade.

"I don’t want to end up like her," she said softly.

"Then don’t," Fluffy said simply. "Write your own story."

The room had gone strangely quiet. The glow from the ceiling moss dimmed to a gentle twilight hue, like the chamber itself sensed her exhaustion.

She glanced around once more. "What do you think happens if I stay too long?"

"Considering the ominous whispering murals, probably spontaneous soul-binding," Fluffy muttered.

That drew a small laugh from her, watery and tired.

She took a final look at the dais, now dark. The mirror gone. The crown no longer hovering.

No more cryptic reflections.

No more eerie riddles.

Just the soft hush of something waiting.

Not demanding.

Just... waiting.

Evelisse stepped back.

The floor didn’t tremble.

No dramatic flare of magic surged through her.

But something shifted.

Not in the room.

In her.

A tiny pull at her wrist.

She looked down.

The seashell in her palm had stopped glowing—but left behind a faint shimmer, like stardust.

A tiny spiral formed in her skin. She blinked.

No—not a spiral.

A crescent moon.

"Fluffy..." she whispered.

"I see it," he said, breath hitching. "That’s not just a mark."

"It’s a... seal, isn’t it?"

"Yup."

"A magical seal."

"Yup."

"On my body."

"Yup, but at least only you can see it."

She stared at Fluffy in dead silence.

"I am so throwing that seashell into the sea," she declared.

"After it clearly bonded to you like a clingy magical pet? Good luck, princess."

She groaned, head falling into her hands. "Why does everything in this world either sing, glow, or try to assign me a destiny?"

Fluffy floated closer, tapping her head gently with a paw. "Because you’re you. Evelisse Aimie Ashthorne. The Fluffy-Bonded, Snugglewuff-Loved, Mirror-Chosen, Kingdom-And-Family-Adored, Fish-Chaser of Prophecy."

"That’s not even a thing."

"It is now."

She shook her head and turned toward the chamber entrance.

Just as her hand brushed the cool coral walls, a deep *hum* vibrated through the floor.

The tunnel ahead—once a dead end—shimmered faintly.

Runes lit up along the curve.

And then...

The tunnel behind her reopened.

Fluffy floated beside her in stunned silence.

"Did... that just happen?" he asked.

"Apparently," Evelisse said breathlessly.

They left the chamber, the path strangely quiet now. The murals no longer moved. The air felt heavier.

By the time she reached the exit, the pearl had dimmed.

The shell no longer hummed.

But in her palm—where the orb had glowed—was a mark.

A small crescent moon etched into her skin.

"Oh no," she whispered. "Oh no no. I’m a chosen one, aren’t I?"

Fluffy was quiet for a beat.

Then: "Would you prefer ’magical destiny magnet’ instead?"

She groaned.

They stepped back into the night air. The cliffs were quiet. The sky had begun to lighten with approaching dawn.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

Evelisse pulled the covers over her head and sighed so deeply it seemed like she might melt straight through the mattress.

The last trace of her magical body double vanished in a puff of glittering mist—no footsteps, no alarms, no family member shouting "missing princess!" Just a still room, a warm bed, and a smug little shell gleaming on her pillow.

’That was too close,’ she thought, heart still thudding from the chase down the cliff path and the whispering chamber beneath it.

The shell gleamed faintly, like it had done something brilliant.

She glared at it. "Don’t look so proud," she whispered. "You’re going swimming with the seaweed tomorrow."

Its glow dimmed, almost sulking.

Rolling over, she hugged her pillow. "Please... just let me have one normal day."

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

The next morning arrived with a hazy sun bleeding softly through the cloudy blue sky. Sea-salt clung to the windows of the cliffside home like gentle glitter, and birds chirped like they had not just spent the week serenading a prophecy magnet.

Evelisse sat up slowly, blinking blearily as the weight of her night adventures returned. The seashell—still smug—rested by her pillow like a taunting souvenir.

’Nope. Not today. Instead of throwing you, I’ll keep you here.’

She nudged it into the drawer beside her bed, shut it tight, and slid her tiny feet into her bunny slippers with the force of a girl determined to act completely normal.

Fluffy stirred from his cotton cloud in the corner.

"Princess," Fluffy said cautiously, "you’re not going to do something reckless this morning, right?"

"I’m going to eat pancakes," she replied with regal calm. "Then I will pack my things like a good little royal child. Then I will pet my dog. Then I will pretend that magical mirrors don’t crumble into glitter in my presence."

"...So, avoidance?"

She stood up, brushing her curls behind her ears. "Royal graceful avoidance, thank you."

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