Chapter 1. The Meeting

A light summer breeze bent the heads of the herb inflorescences to the ground, gently touching the top of the girl's head as she half-lounged on the wide edge of the forest. The variegation of cornflowers was pleasing to the eye and soothed the heart, taking the soul into flight, making it drown in the whisper of summer nature.

Alexandra was fifteen years old, her eyes was green and her hair was blond.The light freckles on her face, even by local standards, made her look terribly sweet and innocent. Despite the serenity that surrounded her, her soul was heavy, for she was not far from the age of marriage. The previous year's auditions had brought her much trouble in the form of a widowed older groom, a baron, who was not a bad match, but not her favourite.

Twice married, he had been childless, but despite his obvious problems, he had high hopes for Alexandra, who had a stately figure and was very attractive.

No one was interested in the girl's opinion; firstly, it was not customary in their society; secondly, she was an orphan, and her foster family, though not openly, made it clear that they did not intend to feed her for long, and the baron had special ties with her family.

Alexandra was sincerely grateful to her foster family, but with a strong sense of justice from an early age, she deplored the inequality between men and women. Secretly watching the older sons of the family being trained in the martial arts by her adoptive father, Alexandra could not contain her admiration, and inwardly hated the cooking and sewing that all the women of the family did. (And to be honest, she wasn't very good at it.)

"So that's where you've gone, I've been looking for you everywhere! " came a squeaky little boy's voice.

"Thomas, why did you run away so far from home? Babies are not allowed to run off into the woods, you might get lost and wander into the swamp to the Swamp Princess, she loves sweet little babies like you."

A boy of about six blushed and pursed his lips.

"I'm not a little boy anymore, and I don't believe in a swamp princess! And the swamp is almost dry, according to the old man at the mill. Alexandra, I was in a hurry to find you to tell you the good news, they have just announced that the tea caravan has arrived a month early and preparations for the fair are in full swing! I also caught a glimpse of Li Ming's father, she should be there too!"

Alexandra smiled. Li Ming... A girl the same age as Alexandra, who had been travelling with her merchant father for several years as part of a tea caravan between countries, trading all sorts of things, but the main commodity of course was tea leaves. Despite the differences between their countries, the female gender in Li Ming's country did not have the same freedoms as the male gender too, and since the merchant community was mostly made up of men, Li Ming had to constantly change her clothes and pretend to be a boy in both appearance and behaviour. Considering that the men of her country wore their hair long and tied at the back of their heads and wore floor-length dressing gowns, this was not a problem.

Alexandra and Thomas had met Lee Ming-girl by chance during the last caravan visit, exactly two years ago.

The incident turned out to be extraordinary. Thomas was the youngest of the family and the most naive. His older brothers often liked to tease him and tell him strange stories. One day, the middle brother, who particularly disliked Thomas because he thought he was spoiled, told him about a moon fairy who collected nectar from the lilies that grew in the river at the edge of the forest. According to the legend, if you catch such a fairy, she will grant your every wish.

Of course, the gullible and naive Thomas wanted to see if this was true, so he secretly went to the river at night. This was noticed by Alexandra, who lived in the servants' house, not the main house, and often read by candlelight at the window late into the night. She ran out into the street and called to Thomas, but her voice was drowned by the rising wind.

Thomas was a quick boy and it was not long before he was running to the river. Just then the moon came out from behind the clouds and the soft moonlight illuminated the river valley. The surface of the flowing water glistened, the floating lilies began to glow as if illuminated from within, the rustling of the reeds, driven by the wind, seemed to make the nocturnal insects, in tribute to the mystery of the moment, make more melodious sounds. It was an enchanting sight, and one could truly believe in the existence of mythical creatures.

Alexandra caught up with Tom with a soft shout. As he turned in surprise, Tom slipped on the fresh grass and tumbled down the slope into the rushing river. Alexandra's heart ached with fear - neither of them could swim.

The boy floundered in the water, splashing in all directions, unable to scream in terror, only making squelching noises as the current took him and carried him further from the shore where wasn't something to hold on to.

It was too late to run for anyone, so Alexandra was left standing there, shouting for help. Without realising it, she felt insignificant for the first time. The strength of her naturally stubborn and strong spirit, she thought , had been wasted. Why had she never thought to learn how to swim?

At that moment, the moon disappeared behind the clouds again, and something darted into the river from the opposite bank. Who or what it was was hard to see in this light, but when it headed in Tom's direction, Alexandra's heart skipped a beat. She feared it was a stray wolf from the forests that stretched many miles to the north.

But when she looked closer, she saw that it was a man. He grabbed the boy by the scruff of the neck, who by this time had almost given up and was preparing to bravely face his fate, like the heroes of the legends told by his nanny, when he felt himself being dragged, and he struggled with renewed vigour. Naturally, such a leap caused great discomfort to the person who rescued him.

Alexandra waited for them on the shore, shuffling restlessly from foot to foot. The bank was steep, and to help her rescuer she climbed down, holding on to the branches of a young willow growing nearby, and took the heavily breathing and coughing rescuer by the opposite arm and pulled him up.

Only after lifting the child up, Alexandra could see the man who had saved her favorite brother. Graceful facial features, slightly puffy lips, almond-shaped eyes, black hair as a raven's wing, and low height. Everything about this appearance betrayed a foreign origin. Not knowing if the stranger understood her language, Alexandra thanked him in her own language and made a foreign bow, which she had seen many times at fairs. 

The man bowed softly in return, but then, distorting his face, with a note of irritation and an accent that was grating to the ear said:

"What are you doing by the water at this hour? Don't your ancestors forbid you to go out after sunset? So you're going swimming without knowing how to swim, stupid children."

To say that Alexandra was stunned is to say nothing, she had not expected such a rude speech and a thread of irritation fell across her forehead, but it smoothed itself out immediately when she remembered the situation in which they all found themselves.

"I beg you to forgive us, young lady, for causing her so much trouble. My brother would not have fallen into the river had it not been for my oversight. It was all my fault. If there is anything I can do to thank you, just say so; I have not much money, but if any help is needed in your shop while you are here, I am willing to... "

"Woman?! What kind of woman am I to you?" the man shouted.

Alexandra kept wondering how she could have been mistaken, for now, on closer inspection, the silhouette characteristic of women was clearly visible, especially considering the dampness of the clothes. At the same time, as she looked around, the girl blushed not only with anger, but also with embarrassment. She began to curse through her teeth in a mixture of languages, most of the phrases unintelligible, but what could be made out:

"..... Where's my belt...?"

"Belt? " Alexandra asked.

"Yes, my belt, your brother with his floundering undid the inner clasp and now it and the belt seem to have gone to the bottom. I won't be able to get back to the caravan like this."

Thoughtfully, Alexandra removed the shawl she had thrown over her shoulders.

"Take my shawl, it may not be as long, but it might help with your problem...."

The girl took the shawl from Alexandra's hands and walked into the thicket, and after a while the sound of water squeezing could be heard.

The summer was hot and the night was quite warm, but Tom, who had finally come to his senses, was still shivering a little. The thoughtful girl came out of her stupor and helped him undress, wringing out his clothes and scolding him for his carelessness.

A few moments later, the girl emerged from behind the trees, her delicate feminine features gone.

"How to get to the other side, I left my outer clothes there."

"You have to go downstream, where the river narrows there is a fallen tree, reinforced by a beaver dam, where you can cross the river safely."

Thomas stepped forward:

"Thank you for saving my life!"

As she approached him, the stranger smiled and gave him a light pinch on the cheek. Then she turned sharply to Alexandra, grabbed her wrist in a half-hissing voice and said:

"If you are truly grateful for my rescue, keep my secret to yourself. No one must know. If you tell a single living soul, I will hunt you down." 

The words were spoken in a deafening but harsh tone. The metallic look in his eyes told me that this man was not joking.

Alexandra, tearing her hand from his grip, hastily assured him in all sincerity that the secret would not be revealed, and Thomas frightened by the change, could only nod vigorously. Everyone knew that the foreigners were not easily frightened, they lived in harsh conditions, and for this reason many of them were known as noble thugs who could secretly take the life of someone they didn't want. Of course, that was usually an exaggeration, but they were feared nonetheless, and people tried to deal with them fairly so that neither side lost face.

The girl turned and walked off in the direction she had indicated. And Alexandra, as she led Thomas home, thought about how harsh the world was, that such a beautiful girl had to hide her beautiful appearance behind layers of clothes to be on an equal footing with men.

Meanwhile, the sky had cleared of clouds and lit by billions of stars.

Under the soft glow of the moon, the two: the boy and the girl made their way along the narrow paths to the buildings of their not too fancy estate.

Feeling guilty, Thomas remained silent the whole way, but the girl didn't really like educational conversations too. She was a naughty child at heart, but she tried to keep a straight face in public, but she couldn't help herself and asked:

"What did you forget that night by the river? It was very foolhardy!"

"But my older brother said there are fairies out there. And if I catch one, I can make a wish for her, and since there's a full moon tonight, it's perfect timing. I even brought a little box of wild flowers to tempt her. But it looks like she fell into the river with me."

Pfft, big brother? No need to guess who. There were six other children in her foster family. The youngest was Thomas, followed by the eight-year-old twins Anna and Jeannette, and then the abstruse, nerdy Esmond, who was nine at the time. Although he was already taking part in the martial arts training their father had organised for his sons, he was more interested in books and rare scrolls. Next game Darrel, a young man a year and a half older than Alexandra, and the eldest son, the pride of the family, Irvine, who was about to join the Noble Corps as a soldier in the next year.

Since neither Esmond nor Irvine would stoop to such a thing, that left Darrel. Not that he was mean to the others, more like coldly distant, and sometimes his antics towards the sweetest boy in the house were rather...harsh? Rude? No, probably still teasing.

Sighing, Alexandra said:

"Still, let's not let you go off alone at night without asking, not much can happen, can it? There have been no wild predators in our area for a long time, but that is no guarantee that all is safe. And there are enough people with bad intentions in this world, "- she sighed and continued after a short pause:

"Let's hurry back home, I'll help you change and you try not to make any noise, otherwise we'll both get scolded."

She did not want to be beaten with the governess' cane.

They entered the main building unhindered, hurried through the great hall, trying not to make a fuss, and entered the corridor leading to the ancillary rooms, where there was a duplicate of the main staircase. 

This "cunning" manoeuvre was designed to avoid places near the master bedrooms and the governess's room, where she slept rather sensitively that why Alexandra still had a vague idea of how Thomas had managed to sneak out from under the nose of a rather strict woman.

As they passed the ajar door of Esmond's room, which was closest to the servants' staircase, they heard a loud snoring mixed with some sleepy moaning, so ridiculous that Thomas giggled and the girl had to hold him close with her hand over his mouth.

She almost whispered in his ear:

 "Don't make any noise, they'll hear us!

Having reached his bedroom without incident, Alexandra helped him quickly change into a nightdress, bade him goodnight and, taking his wet clothes with her so as not to leave any evidence, hurried out of the master's house.

When she returned to her room in the servants' house, which was a short distance from the maids' rooms, she closed the door behind her and sighed.

Still, despite all the experiences of the night, it could be called as small adventure.

She hadn't had time to get used to the dimness of the room, with its small window and extinguished candle, before suddenly she felt someone's icy gaze on her back.

"Where have you been at this late hour?" A voice like a winter chill pierced her ears.

"The horse wasn't sleeping well, so I rushed over to calm him down so he wouldn't wake everyone on the estate."

"The horse? No way. " Just then, someone from the darkness grabbed her wrist and turned her violently. " If Miss is so concerned about an animal's sleep, why has she forgotten about her brother? The brother is quite upset."

"Darrell, you're hurting me."

He immediately released his grip.

"I'm sorry, I can't control myself right now. -Believe me, it hurts a lot more than that."

"Is it your head again?"

The answer was silence. After standing there for a minute, Alexandra sighed and said quietly:

"I'm sorry, it's been so long since you've been here, I thought your illness had passed. To be honest, I'm very tired today. If you don't mind, I'd like to stretch out on the bed. Please lie down, I'll be right with you."

After escorting him to his bed, Alexandra quickly changed into a lighter dress behind the screen, washed her face and returned to her older brother.

Darrell had suffered from an ailment since he was a young boy. Sometimes he had headaches. 

It wasn't the kind of pain that adults blamed on the weather or fatigue. It was like a hurricane that seemed to turn his brain from top to bottom, from left to right. Sometimes he felt it was making him lose his mind. His parents tried to find ways to cure him, but the healers were at a loss. 

When Darrell was younger, a priest even came to their home, but all was in vain. Until one day Alexandra found Darrell struggling with another attack of pain at the edge of the stable. Tears streamed down his face, but he made no sound, stubbornly enduring the pain, only squeezing his head tighter with his hands.

Each of his attacks usually brought the whole manor to its feet and the boy, not wanting to alarm his already overly concerned relatives, began to seek shelter as he felt the pain approaching.

On some inexplicable impulse, Alexandra knelt down and hugged her older brother, who had not noticed her before, and sang the first country song that came to mind about how beautiful the countryside was.

At that moment, a subtle pulse passed from her to Darell, soothing his troubled mind like snow on a hot summer's day. Frozen by this inexplicable feeling, he wrapped his arms around his little sister without even noticing, and began to sway to the beat of this simple song.

Alexandra continued to look at the boy with the love and tenderness of a sister who, though not related by blood, could feel another person's state of mind from the depths of her soul. No matter how aloof he was in public, this trait only hid his inner loneliness and his unwillingness to show his weaknesses to everyone.

A few moments later, the boy pulled himself together and, with a few movements, wiped the traces of dried tears from his face.

"You... You healed me. Tell me honestly, is it magic?"

She smiled softly and shook her head.

"No, well... I've noticed before that my songs have some sort of effect on animals, but I've never had to use such a method on humans."

After a moment's silence, he said:

"Since that is the case, may I ask you to continue singing for me if the illness is not completely cured?"

Having said this, he turned away in embarrassment.

Radiant as a ray of sunshine, she nodded.

"Of course I like to sing for my brother!"

Four years have passed since then.

Remembering the, Alexandra lay down in bed, gently wrapped his arms around her brother's head and began to sing. Darrell closed his eyes and his body, taut as the string of a bow, related to follow the call of the voice that seemed to play on the strings of his being. The girl's hands were warm, a slight glow fading. The pain was gone, leaving no trace.

The girl's mind began to spin with various thoughts. After all, the painful attack hadn't really happened for a long time.

It seemed that nothing unreasonable was going on, but from the height of her not-so-great years, she already felt a slight uneasiness about what was happening.

She was a sister rescuing her brother, but if someone caught them in her room at this moment, trouble would be inevitable.

Her mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts, and suddenly she felt a look on her face and opened her eyes in silence.

"You know, I've never noticed how much you've grown. You've become so beautiful, I wonder what will happen when you bloom. It's a pity you'll be promised to the Baron anyway. If it weren't for family duty, I might have taken you as my wife."

The blush of embarrassment that had begun was quickly replaced by the scarlet colour of anger on the girl's face as she leapt from the bed like a scalded woman.

"Out."

Darrell grinned and propped himself up on one elbow.

"You know duty comes first to a father, and his own blood he would never give for this ..."

"GET OUT!" - the girl shouted, pointing at the door.

With sighing, the young man rose and cast a long, unreadable look at Alexandra and bowed low:

"Much obliged to my personal healer. "And he left her room.

She let out a gulp of air and flopped down on the bed. Darell. He can annoy anyone. It seemed to be a natural talent.

She understood cause and effect, but either way, the Baron disgusted her. The very thought of sleeping naked with him loathed her.

Why are all the handsome men in romance novels like a selection? What injustice? Although she often lamented the inequality of the sexes, she was still a maiden and the courtship described in novels often tugged at her heartstrings.

But then again, why were there only men courting? Wouldn't there be a woman who wanted to woo a man, and in such a way that a whole book would be written about it? Having turned her thoughts to the inequality in the books she sometimes secretly took from the governess, Alexandra fell asleep without putting on her nightdress.