31 Meeting Siv

Siv was six when her father took her to the town of Oulu. After her mother passed away, the duke barely spoke to her, let alone console her.

It had been four months since the late duchess succumbed to her lung disease, and this was the first time he brought his daughter with him on one of his trips.

Siv still mourned her mother and cried almost every day, so the long journey was to help distract her.

They finally arrived at a small house on the outskirt of town. Her father helped her get off the carriage and then took her hand. 

He squeezed a bit too hard, but she didn't complain. One of the maids had told her that she had to be a good girl if she wanted her father to start speaking to her again. She decided she would do her very best.

"Your Grace." A woman came to the entrance to greet them.

Her face was heavily painted with makeup and when she kissed Siv's cheek, the little girl grimaced at the women's overwhelming perfume.

"Welcome," she said, smiling widely.

"Lady, Skau." The duke kissed the woman's bare hand before they all entered the old house.

It smelled of mold and burnt wood. The smell really bothered Siv, but she was determined to behave. They were guided by the woman to a small sitting room, where they were served tea and cookies. 

Siv sat on the settee, looking at her dad every now and then for any hint of attention, but it was all directed toward the woman.

"Tyra, come," Lady Skau called before a little girl peeked from the threshold. "Come greet the duke and his daughter. Don't be shy, we will be one family soon."

'One family?' Siv wondered. 

She didn't understand how people can become family all of a sudden, she thought family was something that already existed, something old and unchangeable.

"Papa, how are we going to be one family when we have never met before?" Siv's curiosity wins over her manners.

The duke clenches his jaw.

'Oh no, I made him mad again.'

"Lady Skau and I will marry tomorrow, she will become the new Duchess of Lohja."

It took the six-year-old girl a moment to register what her father had just said.

"But, mother is the Duchess of Lohja," she commented innocently. 

The duke threw her a glare that made her shiver.

"Lady Skau will be your mother hereafter, and Tyra your sister." His voice was harsh and his words clipped.

"But I already have a mother, how can I have two mothers?"

"Siv," her father hissed.

"But I don't want another mother." She jumped down from the settee with her tears falling. The thought of someone else replacing her mother gave her tremendous pain.

"You will behave yourself, young lady," the duke roared, making his daughter flinch. She didn't back down, though.

"No," she screamed right back at her father, which took him by surprise. "I don't want this," she added before sprinting out of the room and then out of a door she found open.

She ran as fast as she could with eyes blurred with tears. She didn't look back even once. When she finally ran out of air and her tiny legs couldn't carry her anymore, she stopped to catch her breath. 

She hiccupped and cried for a long time before calming down. She wiped her red cheeks and noticed that she was in the middle of the woods.

There were tall trees all around her, causing scary looking shadows everywhere. Her lip quivered in fear. She looked around, but had no idea where she came from.

'No one will find me here and monsters will eat me.' Her eyes started to sting again as new tears formed.

"Help me, Mother," she called while howling in fear.

"Why are you crying?" The voice made her jump. A boy was standing in front of her. He was around her age. "Are you hurt?" he asked, his wide honey eyes made him look even more worried.

Siv shook her head. She had stopped crying when the boy surprised her.

"Then, why are you crying?"

"Because I don't want another mother," she said with a hoarse voice. "You can only have one mother." 

'What is this girl talking about?' The boy raised a brow.

"But father said, that lady will be my new mother," she uttered, looking to the ground. "How did you even find me here?" she asked when he didn't say anything.

"I don't know." Now that she mentioned it, the boy couldn't remember how he got to this forest. The last thing he remembered was that he was in the shop with his master.

"Do you know the way back?" Siv wiped the moisture left on her cheeks.

The boy looked at her puffy eyes and red face and felt a strange and strong urge to protect her.

"Come, we should start walking," he offered her his hand. "It will get dark soon." 

The idea of being in this place when it is dark sent shivers through Siv's body. She quickly took his hand and they started searching for a path to get out of the woods.

They walked hand in hand for a long time. They were both tired and losing hope with every inch the sun went down.

"Are there monsters in the forest?" Siv asked, squeezing the boy's arm unconsciously. The boy who was thinking the same thing gulped.

"I don't think so." He lied. He had no idea, but his words seemed to make the girl relax a bit.

They continued on their path in silence until there was no more light from the sun, or any other source for that matter. It was pitch black, and both children started to get nervous and scared. 

The boy thought that because he was older, he needed to think of something. But he couldn't. His master taught him how to protect himself, but he didn't know what kind of beasts lurked in this forest.

Siv was glued to his right side, making it a little hard for the boy to walk, but he didn't say anything.

They made their way blindly through the trees when they started to hear a commotion close by. They followed the noises until they made it out of the forest. Both of them sighed in relief when the town lights came to view.

"That's the house." Siv pointed to Lady Skau's place. A few people were bustling around while her father was looking toward the forest. "Papa," she screamed. The duke squinted his eyes in their direction.

"Alright, I will be on my way since you found your father," the boy said, ready to head to the inn where his master was probably waiting for him.

"Thank you for your help." Siv smiled at him. She took a few steps then turned back to him. "What's your name?"

"Colby," the boy answered.

"I'm Siv." Colby's eyes widened. "I hope I will see you again, Colby," she added before running toward her father.

"We will, my queen," he whispered as he bowed to her.

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