8
2037 Words
Senere no longer wanted to be a burden to anyone.
She thought as much as she thought and that was it. If they hadn't let her stay here, she wouldn't have come back into her world. They would only have killed her because she wouldn't have left here voluntarily. She had grown tired of depending on someone, on anyone. All she wanted was to learn to live on her own, to make the mistakes she would have made, and to learn from them on her own. She just wanted to be independent and for that, she needed to learn how to survive on her own.
She was happy and seemed to be happy for the first time in her life.
The queen-that is, the king of the shadows here-had granted her asylum only because the princess and the prince had guaranteed that they would instruct her.
The first thing she decided to learn was to swim. She wanted so badly to learn to swim because she had the impression that when she really knew what to do when she fell into the water again, nothing would bring her down. She set out to learn and do here everything she could not do at home.
Prince Silver spent a whole day with her in the river water. The water was a bit cold, but it was worth the effort. He did not let her enter the water naked, and he did not undress in front of her. Like a real gentleman, unlike the boys of her home ministers, who only wanted to introduce themselves and impress the girls with their physique.
Silver gave them class by far. And not that he didn't look as good as they did, because the wet clothes didn't really hide the squares on his abdomen and his strong chest.
The day she learned to float on the water was the coolest! She succeeded and, for the first time in her life, she was proud of what she had managed to do. She swallowed some water during the process, but she learned to pay for the water!! That was the most important thing! At least she won't be so helpless from now on if she ever falls into the water again.
The prince helped her and kept her in the water, first in the shallow water, on the shore, then in the deeper water, and encouraged her all day long, for as long as they were in the water. They laughed together at whatever made her imperfect, and she appreciated that he made things look funny. He didn't laugh at her because she couldn't do anything, but they laughed together at the way he presented things.
In the evening, she watched him fish with Moon's sister, and was pleasantly impressed by the way the two of them worked together, complementing each other and having fun. They seemed very close to each other. And happy. They both looked very happy. They cooked fish together and ate dinner outside in the open, by the river, and slept together at the roots of a tall, old tree.
Because Moon liked the stars, it was a perfect night for stargazing.
The starry sky was so amazing! She did not even know the names of the stars, but here Moon and Silver seemed to know them all! They just stood there, doing nothing but watching the sky and the fallen stars. With this image in her head, Senere fell asleep free like a bird in the nature, for the first time in her life.
Senere could not remember the last time she looked at the sky and the stars were so bright that they filled her whole heart with a feeling of fullness she had never felt before. She was ... complete. That was what she wanted to do with her life, to live it simply. And now she had a chance to do it.
She was simply so impressed by the impact of the power that women had in this world, as if they were allowed to live to their heart's content. Yes, they also had responsibilities, but they were not stopped at every step to do the simplest things that kept you alive! Unlike the women in her world, here any woman could work and support herself!
Walking through the town and exploring the area, she was able to observe women in different poses: at the bakery, behind the stalls at the greens, at products from domestic or wild animals, at fabrics, at the tavern, at the restaurant, at school, at the hospital, and in the kitchen. Here, any woman would have chosen to live alone, on her own. She would have managed with just a little ingenuity to support herself and any children.
They were treated with a little more respect than how women in her world were treated. Here at least they sat at the same table as the men and ate at the same time as them, not just served them. And their lives did not revolve around their men.
Here the women did not dress like colorful birds to attract the attention of men. On the contrary, not even men looked for what did not belong to them. The laws were strictly observed in this world and made sense for everybody. The women usually wore a long linen shirt - in the capital area it was quite warm, of course, but there were also areas where the climate was colder and then they also wore a kimono with or without sleeves on top.
Although in the market the stalls were adorned with silks of all colors, most women preferred linen or silk in a single color, from which they made their shirts long, up to the pulp, and others made them long from about to the knees. They all wore boots made of suede, soft and generally dark in color. The skin seems to have been of great value, especially the deerskin from which the shadows made their moccasins, or the skins of bears after which they measured their bravery.
Everything was so colorful and wonderful here!
Ever since she was granted asylum, Senere began to spend more time with Princess Moon and Prince Silver Tiger, and she learned something new from each of them every day, and that made her happy. Finally, it seemed to her that she had value and that she was good at something.
It was morning and she washed her face and eyes, got dressed, and wondered what else she would learn today. She didn't see her brother very often. Kaion was mad at her and felt betrayed. But she really needed to do that and he really didn't understand why she needed to do that. She hadn't seen him in days, and when she saw him, it was by chance and he barely uttered a word.
She had learned from Princess Moon that he had spent a lot of time in the Sun House learning about portals. She was sorry for him. He wanted to go home. They did not miss their world. She didn't want to go back to a shadow where it was just a shadow glued to the wall so as not to disturb anyone.
Knock! Knock! resounds from the massive wooden door.
-Yes?
She headed for the door, and before she could open it, she heard Prince Silver's voice:
-It's a beautiful morning, come on! Senere opens the door and looks at him, smiling broadly, greeting him. -I'm ready!
-Perfect!
-What are we doing today?
-You'll see.
-Where are we going?
-You'll see!
-Will we learn something new? How to fight or... how to hunt!!
-Slowly slowly... we take things slow, like with baby steps... alright?
He smiled at her. His eyes were, anyway. The actual smile she could not see because it was covered by that mask that was hiding his features. She was sure that smile was perfect, must be gorgeous! She did not know why was he hiding behind that mask all the time. There was no need, really.
-We're going to the forest today.
-Are we going to the forest? she imitates him cheerfully and enthusiastically as a child receiving a new toy.
-Come on!
The prince takes her hand and pulls her after him to the forest.
The house where she lived with the two maids was close to the castle, but not right inside the castle. It was a shelter, a house attached to other houses, which were part of the suite of houses specially prepared for guests. It seems that here in this world, the guests were not kept in the castle because the security measures taken for the protection of the royal family were maximum.
-We're going to the forest today.
-Are we going to the forest?
She imitates him cheerfully and enthusiastically, as a child receiving a new toy.
-Come on! The prince takes her hand and pulls her after him to the forest. The house where she lived with the two maids was close to the castle, but not right inside the castle. It was a shelter, a house attached to other houses, which were part of the suite of houses specially prepared for guests. It seems that here in this world, the guests were not kept in the castle because the security measures taken for the protection of the royal family were maximum.
He was dressed as always in the black uniform of the royal house but wore the united insignia of Warchild and Shadows' Assassins on his chest. His knee-length black suede boots completed his outfit, and light armor shone on his chest. Why did he always wear armor? Were they at war with anyone?
As they came out of the castle and took a path along the defensive walls, the path led to the right side.
-Attention to the foot, he shows him with his hand the path that begins to become steep, where Senere was about to collapse.
His words were so calm and he was so attentive and caring towards her. Just like his sister, Moon. As if they were her brother and sister, not Kaion. Yes, she would have loved to have them in her family. He thought how lucky they both were that they had each other and got along so well.
Why could they be so nice to her? He had been told very clearly that he did not have the royal rights he had at home and could even understand that. It was her choice to leave her world and if she cared so much about having those rights, she wouldn't have left for the first time.
It had also been explained to her that she would not be considered royal blood here, nor would she be treated like a princess, neither she nor her brother. She did not understand why her rank had been revoked, but she was happy that at least she had been allowed to live here and she was not in danger, who knows where in the wild.
-Silver?
-You will address me as Your Highness, because at the royal court it will be much harder for you to do this and it is considered a lack of respect for the royal house.
-Your Highness?
-Yes?
-What are we doing today?
-I told you, we're going to the forest.
-Yes, I understand that, but what do we do in the forest?
-I'm exploring.
- Are we going to explore? What to explore???
Senere frowned in confusion. What was to be explored in the forest? She already knew what the forest meant. That is, some trees and leaves and moss... and some wild animals, of course.
Silver's sister, Moon, joined them on the trail and looked a little sullen.
-Your brother is a pain, she told her, and Senere smiled.
-It's true, I have to admit.
-I left him in the Sun house to look at the notes, and I introduced him to Suon, the young Lord of the house, to update him with the latest information about the portals. I couldn't wait to get away from him! It's so serious and sullen! Only to go home he has in mind!
- Writer
