Chapter 21: Mele

Yelena's POV

"Wait! I didn't do anything wrong - !" a voice cried from the outside.

"Your Highness!" I heard Emil's voice called.

"Enter." I said.

The door opened and they entered.

"Your Highness." Emil said, then knelt. The kid he's pulling also knelt. Then they stood up. "I've apprehended a thief – " he said.

"It's not true! They're lying!" the kid protested.

Emil's eyes narrowed. "Then why do you have that fruit - ?" he asked.

"They passed it to me - !" the kid answered.

"Liar - !" Emil said.

"Enough!" I said. They shut up. I sighed. "Emil. Release him." I told him.

"But Your Highness – " Emil tried to object.

"Release him." I said.

Emil looked like he's about to protest, but obliged. He let go of the kid.

"Your Highness - ! I didn't - !" the kid said and was about to walk to me when I stopped him.

"I'll let go of you if you'll tell me the truth." I said, then looked straight in his eyes. He stepped back. I sighed. "So you're also guilty – "

"But I didn't steal - !" the kid said.

"You just took part, isn't it?" I asked. He looked at me, shocked.

"I knew it - !" Emil said and was about to take the kid when I stopped him.

I looked at the kid. "Tell me everything that happened." I said.

He sighed, then nodded. "I was in their group, but as a lackey." He started. "I grew up, not knowing my parents or if I have any siblings. I had no friends, since I myself don't really know who I am. Then there was this woman. She took me in." he said, then told us his story.

Flashback

The kid's POV

"M – Mom! Dad!" I called. I woke up, one day, and didn't remember anything. It was all too sudden. I think I was eight years old. "Mom? Dad?" I called, walking around the street hoping I could find my parents that I forgot. "Mom – ah!" I cried when I bumped into somebody. I looked up, then saw a bunch of menacing looking kids. "Who…" I said, then wailed. "Waaah!!!" I screamed.

"Uwah! Look at him! Such a crybaby!" they said, then laughed at me while throwing stones to me.

"Oww…! It hurts! Mom!" I cried.

"Hey! Stop that!" a woman said and scolded the kids.

"Boo!" they jeered and ran away.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking at my wounds. I looked at her. She smiled. What a beautiful lady. I thought. "Come. I'll treat your wounds." She said and carried me with her.

…

"You… don't remember anything?" she asked. I nodded. "That's odd. It's so impossible to just forget everything like that – " she said. I sniffed. "Hey!" she said, then rubbed my back when I started to cry. "C – Come on! Don't cry, okay?" she said. "You want to see something amazing?" she asked.

I looked up. "Amazing?" I asked.

She smiled, then nodded. "Yeah!" she said, then waved her hand.

"Woah!" I exclaimed when I saw the furniture moved. "Amazing!" I said.

"Right?" she said, then laughed. "You want to know how to do that?" she asked. I nodded, my eyes wide with excitement. She smiled. "Atta boy." She said and messed my hair. "What's your name?" she asked.

"My… name?" I asked. She nodded. "I… don't know." I answered.

"Huh?" she said, then frowned. "Fine then." She said and sighed. She smiled and looked outside when it started to snow. "I'll name you 'Mele'." She said.

"'Mele'?" I muttered.

She nodded then smiled. "Yes. 'Mele'. It means 'south'." She said.

"'south'…" I muttered.

"Yes. Like this kingdom… it's in the South." She said.

And then she taught me all the things she knows.

I asked her, one day, "Teacher." I called. She told me to just call her 'teacher', though it's not her real name. "Why are you living in the woods, by the way?" I asked.

She looked at me, but she just smiled. I didn't know what her smile meant, until that day…

"You're a witch!" the people said. I was shocked when I woke up that the house was burning.

"Teacher!" I called, then ran to look for her. I saw her standing on the doorway. I smiled, relieved. "Teacher - !" my eyes went wide. She looked back at me, then mouthed something. The next thing I knew, my body was flying away from the house. "Teacher!!!" I screamed. The last word that I heard from her was my name.

…

"This is…" I said, looking at the crest in the flag. "The East Kingdom." I muttered. I was about to enter when the two guards blocked my way. "Err…" I said.

They looked at me, suspicious. I smiled awkwardly, then took off my hat before I bowed down. I walked away and went to the woods.

I sighed. "That sure is frightening." I said, then opened my book.

After that incident, I went back to our house. But everything was burned down. I looked for her, but couldn't find her. Then I remembered my teacher told me one day that if she'll disappear, I'd dig the ground behind the house.

And I did. I was shocked to see plenty of books. I packed up, then traveled away from the South Kingdom.

"And now I got here. To the East." I muttered and went up the hill. "Sure have to see the whole kingdom before anything else." I said. "Whew!" I exclaimed, wiping the sweat off my forehead. "It sure looks splendid than that damn South Kingdom where I from." I said, looking at the majestic castle and the capital. "Whew! Guess it's time to try it now." I said, then jumped off the cliff. "Yeehoo!" I said then moved my body.

Sure enough, I can fly.

"Oops." I said and landed on top of one of the houses. "Good thing I practiced how to land – "

"Did you see that?" I turned and saw a bunch of kids looking at me.

My body froze, as a memory of my past came where I'm thrown by stones. I balled my fist as the clothesline behind them moved. Don't! I thought. My teacher didn't teach me to harm others using what she taught me.

I sighed.