"My daughter, forgive your father... After all this war is over, we will return to our happy tis."
Again and again, whenever father was in a bad mood like this, mother always tried to cheer up by reminding of our past where father was the kindest and gentlest person I had ever t.
A war... I didn’t know what a war looked like, but that word was really heartbreaking considering war took many victims and many of my friends. I hoped one day I could stop whatever this war was. I wanted my father and mother to be happy again as they were before knowing about the war. I also wanted my friends to stay by my side to help .
I was afraid that one day if everyone left the castle, then I would just beco an abandoned doll that waited for the ti to return to the ground.
"Yes, Mother. I believe in you," I replied to ease the burden on my mother’s mind.
A lady-in-waiting approached to help get up. I knew the way to my room well. Even so, since my room was located on the top floor of the castle and had to pass through a circular stone staircase, I would still be followed by two ladies-in-waiting and two guards, so there was no chance of falling down the steps because I didn’t see the parts I was walking on.
In the room, the ladies-in-waiting ca back to help change clothes. They asked if there was anything else I needed or not. I chose to be alone in the room. I needed peace to learn to sharpen my other senses.
With the window open, I sat alone while contemplating many things. It beca my routine. It was really calm. Only the voices of a few people could be heard from a distance. I could hear the crickets, the wind blowing, and the leaves moving that made a rustling sound.
Strange... my body had goosebumps. I drew closer to the window, and sure enough my heart was beating really fast. It felt like there was that mysterious man around again, but I couldn’t find him.
That feeling made uncomfortable, and I decided to rest. It didn’t just happen once or twice. Now, almost every day, I always felt the feeling of being watched every night.
At first I thought that it was just my feeling, but every afternoon I played outside the castle or visited the village settlent, I didn’t feel any particularly strange feeling. That strange feeling only ca at night when I was alone by the window.
And every ti I closed my window to rest, I heard the sound of wolves howling in the distance.
I couldn’t hold back my curiosity any longer. When my father and mother went out of the castle, I waited for the castle to be quiet and the ladies-in-waiting voices to fade away. Usually, in the morning towards noon, they would leave alone in the garden because it was my ti to study music.
With my flute, I went to the forest in the usual way. I took the exact sa steps and also the sa turn. I wasn’t sure where I t that mysterious man. Until I arrived at the forest where I often played, and I still couldn’t feel anything.
Did I need to lose my way again? But, the possibility of eting that mysterious man again must be very small. It would be stupid if I had to put myself in danger just to et a mysterious man that I didn’t even know.
Now what? Nothing happened. It seed that this was just my feeling. Maybe the man was just a person who happened to be passing by?
Feeling bored, I started playing the flute. The long object made of slender bamboo was the only instrunt I could use. The harmony of the tone beca my sedative when I was restless or anxious.
I didn’t know how many hours I had been sitting in the middle of the forest alone. Even the music I played only lasted a few minutes. I didn’t know if it was still day or night. The ladies-in-waiting would definitely look for if I were out too long. They knew this place, so I needed not worry. They would be looking for .
Yeah... they would be looking for . Even though the air slowly started to feel cold and my feet felt numb, I still hoped that my ladies-in-waiting would look for as usual, scolding for leaving without permission and giving a series of warnings.
I started to give up when I heard the sounds of night animals. The cold air that enveloped my body right now was not just the wind during the day. The day had really changed into night, but why didn’t I hear my ladies-in-waiting looking for ?
Because I felt tired of waiting, I stood up and looked for the marked tree to start counting the steps back to the castle.
GRAB!
"Hello, beautiful."
Ah, that voice!
I held the man’s hand that was gripping my palm. His kind voice that was always right near my ear surprised . However, instead of feeling afraid, I actually felt calm. Then, I took a deep breath.
"Are you looking for ?" The man asked. He sounded satisfied. I didn’t know what amused him.
"No." Maybe that one word had beco my first lie after seventeen years of my life.
My ears caught a chuckle and strangely my face felt hot again. I let go of my hand from his grip and started looking for a tree with a cloth mark coiled around the trunk. After I touched it, I stood up to adjust to the pile of stones, which was also used as a benchmark for to start counting my steps.
"You need help to get ho?"
"No. One..."
I began to count.
"Two... three.. four..."
"I can get you back in a blink of an eye. You don’t need to bother counting the steps to the castle."
"Forty-three... forty-four... forty-five..."
Even though I rejected and ignored him, I could still hear his footsteps not far from behind . Maybe he wanted to make sure that I could get back to my ho safely? Ah, I almost forgot the number I counted earlier.
"Forty-eight ...."
"Forty-six, pretty girl."
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