Chapter 001: Preparing for A Guest

Chapter 1: Preparing for a Guest

'Ah, a butterfly.' I whispered to myself. Butterflies, the one creature the young woman had always been jealous of. The beautiful majestic creatures could fly where they wanted, when they wanted. They could go visit a flower field and eat the savory sweet honey in them, and they migrated south each year, with their beloved friends and family. Ironic that her own name meant butterfly, yet nothing in her life represented a butterfly in the slightest bit.

The green creature landed on the book that I was reading.

'Do you like reading books too?' She asked the creature. She was aware that the butterfly could not hear her, but she talked anyway. Besides, today her hand maiden had gone to pick flowers for the upcoming ball. She was the only person the girl could talk to, so talking to a butterfly did not seem like a bad option at this point.

"You're a beautiful butterfly. I could even say that your wings are prettier than the forest's." She whispered

The butterfly fluttered on top of her for a bit, then flew out the window, the same way it had entered.

I slumped in my seat, and sighed. I closed my book, and put it back on the shelf where it belonged. Upon putting it away, I went to the window. I could see the forests from there, but not what was behind the forests. I wanted to know, but I couldn't. My father would not dare to let me leave the manor, let alone go to a forest.

Loud foot steps were heard from the door. The footsteps sounded light, and quick. It was probably one of the servants. Sitting in a room most of the time taught you a lot of things, such as recognising who was coming, just from their footsteps.

The person knocked on the door, and I rushed to open it. As I had guessed, it was one of the servants.

"The master requests your presence at the main room." he quietly said, leaving upon delivering the message.

I straightened out my hair, and walked towards the main room. My father was sitting there, drinking tea as he read the news.

"Ah, my daughter has arrived!" he said, putting down the items in his hand. I sat to face towards him.

"I have some things to discuss with you. I'm sure you remember Prince Nevius? He's coming to visit us tomorrow. He said that he had something to say, which could not possibly be said through a messenger. Nevius is a nice man." he mumbled the last part to himself.

My heart had skipped a beat. Prince Nevius was coming to visit. It was a name I had not heard in a long time.

Prince Nevius. The son of a foreign land that I…couldn't remember. It had been around 5 years or so that I hadn't seen him, yet I remembered every detail about him perfectly. His blonde hair, cold blue eyes, and alarmingly pale skin. I had felt a lot of affection for him, despite the fact that he was older than me by 5 years, and the fact that he probably saw me as a younger sister. It was a fact that hurt me, but I had to face it.

The only person who knew of my affection for him was my hand maiden, whom I shared everything with, and my best friend.

"Yes?" I asked my father.

"He's coming to visit tomorrow, so I recommend that you put on your best dress for our guest. Hah, dress, guest, the two rhyme!" He said.

"Yes, father." I said.

I did not look up from the newspaper he was reading. Another animal attack. A man had been attacked an animal near the forest. There had been numerous of these cases, with the most random explanations for it.

I felt a tap on the shoulder. I looked behind, and saw my handmaiden, Hillary.

"Lady Physche, we should go get your dress ready for tomorrow!" She said in the cheerful tone she was usually in.

I stood up. "I shall get going, father." I said, but not before whispering the words 'dress, guest' and chuckling, loud enough for my father to here so that he would feel his joke be appreciated.

I quickly glanced at him, and he looked proud with his joke, reading the newspaper.

Hillary and I went upstairs. Now that my father was not near, I had told her that she could drop the formalities, and that we were best friends, or rather sister's at this point.

"Physche, I brought you some flowers from the field! I brought you a few white roses, you favourite!"

"Thanks, I'll put them in a vase. Anyway, what dress should I wear tomorrow?" I asked, blushing.

"Oh, I don't know, but is that a little red I see on your face?" She chuckled.

"Stop it…shall I wear the white one? With the extravagant sleeves?" I asked her.

"Yes, and I could do your hair in a braid to match it!" Said Hillary, as she opened the door.

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