CURIOUS LITTLE ONE

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: THE HEART NEEDS ~ THE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF LONDON, KERRY MUZZEY, THE ARCHITECT]

Oriana gripped her gown; she was still young, but the words she heard cut right into her chest. It wasn't the first time she had heard them; it was almost like an anthem she heard every day. She never did anything that was good enough in the eyes of her parents.

"Oriana, I'll appreciate it if you stop disappointing Father and Mother. They care for us, do everything we want, and the best you can do is act like the princess you are!" Sophie harrumphed.

Soon, guards who had heard the king's orders stepped in and dragged the maid away with them. Nobody dared to speak; not even the maid tried to beg for mercy. In Orion, the king's word was final, and nobody ever tried to question it.

Oriana stood pinned to a place; her sister was now scolding her, but she couldn't hear it. All she could think of was the fate the maid would meet in the dungeon. This wasn't her first maid; all of them had been sent away for the same reasons.

Her innocent mind had thought that lying would help her escape this time, but she was wrong; it only worsened the case.

"...that's why you should be a good princess. Did you hear me?" Sophie said, glaring at her sister.

Oriana nodded without saying a word. She bowed to her sister and retired to her room. Her steps on the marble floor were faint, as if she were not even moving. She wished she had not been born into a royal family; she wanted to live like other children.

The girl was young, but she already had the worries of an adult. Without waiting for a maid to attend to her, she pushed open the door that led to her grandmother's room and entered.

In the palace filled with people drunk with power and struggling to meet up to the crown's expectation, her grandmother was her safe haven. Though now too old to walk around, the woman could still talk for a little while before sleeping for the whole day.

Oriana didn't need her grandmother to talk too much; all she did was sit beside the woman and watch the big red sun set beautifully.

"Ana dear, did you get a maid punished again?" The old woman said when she noticed her granddaughter's body touch her own.

Oriana bit her lips. "It wasn't my plan; I just wanted to play with her," she muttered.

Her grandmother opened her eyes tiredly. Though open, they still looked closed, a sign of age taking a toll on the woman.

"Ana, you can't play with your maids. They are beneath you," the woman said in reply.

Oriana sighed. "It means I can't ever play with anyone in the whole wide world. Because sister Sophie keeps saying everyone is beneath us," the girl's small voice echoed in the room. Her tender heart grew heavy at the thought of not having friends of her own.

"Haha..." The woman chuckled at the girl's choice of words, which sounded innocent to her ears. Then she coughed. "As far as Orion is concerned, everyone is really beneath you. But Orion is not the whole wide world; in fact, it's just another small kingdom," the old woman replied.

Oriana's eyes widened with shock; she just couldn't believe that her kingdom wasn't the whole wide world. To her, it was actually the entire world.

"Really? There are other worlds apart from Orion?" She asked, her eyes sparkling with lingering curiosity.

The old woman smiled, the sides of her eyes crinkling. "Mhm, they're called kingdoms. Yes, there are other kingdoms."

Oriana tapped her lips. "When I grow up, I don't want to be above people or be a princess; I'll travel to other kingdoms. I'll be free to have my own friends!" The girl clasped her hands, her eyes sparkling with the new found excitement that she could have friends somewhere in the world and they won't be beneath her.

The old woman tried not to laugh or break the girl's tender heart by telling her it was not possible. She allowed her to dream, because in reality, she would never have a life of her own. In the end, she would get married to a man who would benefit the kingdom.

The girl reminded the old woman of herself when she was younger. She had also been full of life, wishing to escape the reins of being born into a royal family. She wanted to get a taste of freedom. Now her granddaughter was just like her, having dreams that would never become reality.

"Nana," the young princess called her grandmother's attention. "Why do we not treat everyone the same when we are all alike? Can't everyone just be royal too?" Oriana asked, moving her eyes away from the setting sun to look at her grandmother. Her curious brown-gold eyes almost same colour as her hair, watched the older woman.

Her grandmother inhaled deeply. It was the same question every day, but she was never tired of it. When she got bedridden, even her own son, the king, saw her as a bother. Nobody came around to visit her except the youngest princess, who reminded her that she was still alive. But the girl's company came with a price; she would talk until she fell asleep.

"Everyone can't be royal, Ana; only the chosen ones can become royal. That's what makes you special," the woman replied.

And just like on other days, Oriana wasn't impressed. She folded her small hands on her chest. "I don't think I want to be special; I just want to be normal," she huffed.

"You're not just special; you're rare," her grandmother commented. "I hope you find the right person who will preserve your innocence from the harsh world..." The woman said the last words to herself.

Oriana played with the bedcover, which had flowery embroidery on it. "I can't wait to grow up and be free," she muttered.

"Ana, go to the box on my table. Get it for Nana," the old woman said.

Oriana nodded, running to the table. Her tiny hands weren't able to lift the box, causing it to fall on the ground. She gasped before picking it up and going back to sit close to her grandmother.

"I'm sorry, Nana; it fell when I was trying to hold it," the girl reported herself.

Nana nodded. "Like I said, it's okay to fall."

"What is not okay is falling and not getting up," Oriana completed the phrase with her grandmother's words. Then her brows knitted. "But the box is not a human being; if it falls, it can't stand on its own," she said after giving it some thought.

The old woman, short of words, just laughed it off. She didn't know how to reply to the curious, inquisitive girl anymore.

"Yes, but you were there to help the box stand, right?" She finally answered, and Oriana nodded. The woman's hand felt the wooden box before she picked out the pearl necklace, which she handed over to the girl.

"Wow!! This is beautiful, Nana," Oriana reached forward to hold the necklace, which now sparkled in her eyes.

"I'm glad you love it; it's an early birthday gift for my favorite Princess," the woman commented.

Oriana smiled, leaning forward to rest her head on her grandmother's chest. "I knew it! You're my favorite Nana too."

And your only Nana, the old woman completed in her head, receiving the girl's hug.

"Always be yourself, Ana, and remember to rise every time you fall," the woman advised.

After spending time with her grandmother, Oriana made her way to her room. With no maid to attend to her yet, she tucked herself into bed without bathing or having the wound on her hand checked.

But she wasn't bothered by it; she held her new gift close to her chest and prayed that the maid wouldn't be terribly punished because of her. Slowly, the girl drifted to sleep.