Dream (part 2)

Mom was… pretty angry.

I think dad complained to her because he was forced to talk to everyone when this party was actually for me. And yet, I'm not even there to be with him.

Once I returned to the throne room with mom, dad lifted his arms to me, as if wanting to hug me.

"There she is, my girl! Where have you been??"

"I had terrible stomach issues, not blaming the desserts from this morning, though."

That was obviously an excuse, but dad took it nicely.

He turned his gaze back to the two nobles in front of him as I arrived next to him, and he continued the conversation by introducing them to me.

"This is Duke Sylphon. Do you remember him?"

"Yes, sorry for taking a while, uncle Sylphon."

I bowed slightly at the Earl old man, which surprised him by how polite I am.

"P-Princess!! Don't lower your head casually like that, it's fine! Me and your dad were just talking about my son's adventure, so it's fine!"

I lifted my head and turned my gaze towards the guy next to him. As expected, he is around twenty, a bit older than me but still old enough to be acceptable as my partner.

First requirement, is he kind and soft?

"Greetings, princess! I'm Tyland, an adventurer. I travelled to various places in the world outside of the kingdom!"

Second requirement, is he strong?

"What do you do on the outside, Sir Tyland?"

"Well, you know. The usual adventurer's business! Hunting monsters and such, nothing too surprising!"

Third requirement, is he weak mentally?

"I see. Isn't hunting monsters dangerous?"

"Well, sorry to say, but it has always been a hobby of mine! I fear no monster, your highness."

Yep.

He failed every single one of them.

I simply smiled softly at his lies while turning my gaze to my dad. The old man understood what that cold smile means, but he still isn't giving up.

"Ah! Sir Tyland, why don't you tell her about your adventures to the Ardjestyn Kingdom?"

"A-Ardjestyn, sir…?"

Oooo, now that's interesting. Good one, dad.

"You've been to Ardjestyn, Sir Tyland?"

I asked him this time, and the young guy couldn't look more panicking.

"I-It's just a reconnaissance mission, your majesty! It wasn't anything too impressive…"

"Really? I heard the Ardjestyn Kingdom is very dangerous, though."

"I-I…"

Heheh, this is quite fun. The guy is completely startled by this topic. This Tyland guy is pretty funny.

He turned to his dad with a really uncomfortable expression, and this time his father had to step in.

"Sorry, my lady. But Tyland hasn't been to Ardjestyn just yet. That mission was actually scheduled for tomorrow."

"Oh, I see…"

I purposely looked disappointed, when really I didn't really care. I just want to toy around with them, and it looks like it's working.

My dad probably noticed what I'm doing, so he took over the conversation.

"Anyway, how is that mission going, by the way?"

The two old men began talking about the whole mission to Ardjestyn, which was in fact a very important mission since Ardjestyn is such a dangerous threat. For that Tyland guy to be a part of it, could mean that he is pretty capable if he was hired for it.

But, I cared for none of them.

I turned my gaze and found mom talking with a female noble, and so I began my walk there. 

The rest of the party, I didn't meet anyone, anymore. There can only be so many young nobles at my age, and I have met all of them long before I went to the bathroom.

After meeting them all, I can deduct that none of them fits my criteria. They all sucked.

The party ended not long after, and the nobles left the royal palace. My dad confronted me about my behaviour during the party, but he needed to know the very reason why I even agreed to come.

It was all for mom. She requested me to come, so I came. That's it.

She didn't ask me to marry any of them, just to at least see if there's maybe one that is surprisingly fitting the criteria.

There were not, my dad has lost the game.

Afterwards, the day continued. My birthday ended during the evening, with my dumb brothers trolling me in the bathroom by flicking the lights on and off multiple times, despite all the shouting I did from being super pissed off.

While being under the flickering light and the shower, I closed my eyes from all the tiredness and the overwhelming emotions inside of me…

And everything turned empty.

.

.

.

The moment I opened my eyes, was when I arrived back into reality.

The flickering lights that were in the bathroom from before have now turned into the torches placed on the carriages that passed by the dark glimmering road, back and forth. The water was in fact sourced from the raining dark skies, as well as the thunderous storm going crazy up there.

As I opened my eyes, I studied the environment even more.

Ah… damn. It's still midnight.

It was such a good dream, too…

And so, I placed my head back down on the wet muddy ground again. My hands are covering my chin and cheeks, so that my face doesn't touch the mud. My body is being covered by a not-so-waterproof robe, so it makes sense why I dreamt of being showered when really I was being showered by the rain.

Reality… is often painful.

Sometimes, you just can't differentiate it with hell.

My body is lying down on the mud at the dark deep parts of the alley of the street, right between two buildings. My clothes are covered by the muddy robe that is continuously getting wet from the rain. The bandages covering my hands are wet again, but I didn't really care since the wounds were already infected.

It is… very cold…

My body is very weak…

The wounds hurt…

I'm hungry… I'm very hungry…

But my only choice for survival is for me to stay hidden. I can't ask for help from anyone, or they will announce my whereabouts.

I can only… endure this.

Tears fell heavily from my eyes as I remembered that dream. But when you are crying while being heavily showered by rain, one can't really tell which one is the tears and which one is the rain water. But, the incredible pain on my chest is very much real.

The dream, was a memory.

My birthday. My seventeenth birthday.

That was only five days ago.

It was the most beautiful moment of my life. Until, everything came to an end.

I lost everything… 

I lost everything, completely…

Mom… What should I do…?

The rainy night was very painful for anyone to ever want to endure. But, the night before this was multiple fold more painful.

How the explosion appeared so suddenly. How the flames began to rise so quickly. How the kingdom fell within a single night.

How the silent screams go louder… inside the royal palace.

After I escaped, I wandered around by myself to the closest human town. With only a black cloak with me and barely anything to be traded with food, I survived for the entire day.

I stole food, and got beaten up by people. They didn't open my hood since they only care of beating me up, so my identity is safe. 

In the morning, I failed in stealing a single bread and got beaten up. I was covered in pain and bruises, crying non-stop for what reality has given me.

At noon, I failed again and received a rock to my shoulder. But I also received information that every single one of my kind has been eradicated. My cries stopped, because my heart is simply incapable of feeling emotions anymore.

In the evening, I got chased at by multiple people for stealing a piece of bread. I was able to escape, thankfully. So not much bruises for the dark.

And finally, midnight.

I was able to close my eyes again, but the sound of footsteps was heard. It was a pair of heavy boots slapping the watery wet mud ground, so hearing it in this tight small alley was never a problem.

Panicking, I opened my eyes and lifted my body, but the other party was much faster.

BAKKK!!!!

"Ghahakkkkk!!!!!"

It was strong, and my body was very weak from malnourishment. I coughed blood instantly, and I curled my body up from being punched in the gut that heavy.

"Whooo-wew, look at that!! Horns!!"

The guy who punched me lifted his hand towards my hood, and lifted it up. My identity was exposed, showing my long ears and two small horns on my forehead, showing the world that I am not a human.

My face, despite all the nasty conditions shown by how tired I am, is still showing a fearsome glare.

"Oooo, she is a scary one!"

It was pretty dark, and the light was more or less shining straight towards me from behind this guy. But seeing just the glimmering reflections from his hands, I can already tell.

He is a knight.

A human knight.

"Come with us peacefully, darling. We won't harm you if you don't--Khhh!!!"

One last attempt.

I took the sharp glass from my pocket in silence while he lifted my robe, and I quickly aimed for his neck.

Unfortunately, it was all for nothing.

He dodged… so easily.

"Why you little…"

BAKKK!!!!

This time, an even stronger punch arrived on my left cheek.

How tired I am, plus the amount of pain I received from the first punch, plus my mental state from all the horrors I have experienced. I simply lost all energy and fell to the wet floor, not being able to stand back up at all.

As my consciousness slowly fades away, I can hear the people conversing on the alley. Aside from the knight, there was one other person holding the lantern.

"So I was right… She's an Ethelen."

"Yeah. Thank you for reporting it, bread man. You are a hero for that."

"Y-Your welcome, sir!"

Ah… looks like stealing that bread was a bad idea after all. The shop owner must've seen me, and he stopped chasing not because it's not worth chasing after a single piece of bread…

But to tell the authorities about my existence.

"Sorry… mom…"

I mumbled very silently, and I lost consciousness.

This time, there is no dream.

There is only… rainy tears.