10Prologue part 2- The Chance Meeting
There was nothing she could do. Whatever her parents ordered her, she had to follow. It wasn't an official rule but an unspoken one in the castle… one that is linked to an incident which happen when she was small and… an incident which will lead to the fall of the kingdom of Nepharia.
It was autumn in the land of Nepharia and the farmers were starting to gather their crops to store for the winter that comes after. Many of the village children were playing and running about as their parents prepare for the cold winter. All of them had happy expressions on their face as they played tag and hopscotch with their friends.
However there was one child that wasn't happy and playing with other kids her age. Instead her unhappy face was seen lying on the window pane of her room.
"Aliessa…" A soft lingering voice came behind her.
Aliessa looked up weakly and saw her mother standing at her door. She ignored her and went on staring out of the window.
"Aliessa darling… Why aren't you with your sisters playing dolls in the playroom?"
"I want to go out…"
The queen sighed and walked towards the moody princess before sitting down next to her daughter on her bed.
"Darling, I know you do. It was not our intention to imprison you in your room. It is for your safety. Your father and I were afraid you would wander off to the Forbidden Forest near the castle. Who knows what may be lurking there?" the queen said as she stroked her favorite daughter's head.
Aliessa turned and glared at her mother with her angry green eyes.
"Then why… WHY is it that Fenrisse and Marie are allowed to go out and play in the castle grounds? Why do you let them roam about freely but lock me up in this… this dungeon?" she started to yell.
How did Aliessa knew about this?' thought the queen as her eyes grew cold. She removed her hand from her daughter's yellowish-whitish hair… the same hair color as her own.
"That is because you are different from your sisters" and with that the queen left without saying another word except to the maid who was guarding her to not let her out at any cost… not even to see her sisters. The door slammed behind Aliessa. She started to cry as she hugged her ball. Teardrops fell down on the golden ball and a faint glow was seen shimmering on its surface. The glow brightened and suddenly a golden bird appeared replacing the ball. The girl stared at it in tears and opened her mouth to say something…
"Why am I different?"
The queen once outside Aliessa's room placed her hand on her chest as tears fall freely. She had hoped her daughter would try to understand her feelings… her hope to keep her daughter with her for as long as possible.
A black figure could be seen walking out of the castle under the light of the full moon. Secrets were looming in the air that night and it was cold. Yes… the girl was all alone as she fled to the castle grounds to the Forbidden Forest knowing fully well the risks she took just to get the attention of her parents… just to let her parents know that she existed… as a person… and that is why she had to escape.
Unknown to her, several shadows, lurking at the mouth of the forest, were watching her. A white wolf with silver eyes and a black crescent-like symbol on its forehead stood out in the pack… obviously the leader.
"We have to bring that thing back?" He muttered in disgust though the other wolves around him were restless to start the hunt. "I'm sorry little girl but you have something we want… we'll try to make your death as painless as possible for you" the wolf grinned as the black figure he was staring at grew smaller.
Aliessa kept looking behind her to see if her parents were chasing after her as she ran further away from the castle. No one was there. She sighed in relief as she slowed down. Perhaps it was a mistake to run away… she could always turn back now, it wasn't too late. NO! She shook her head… she had come this far not to give up now. Her parents were kind… everyone loved them… that's what everyone said. Then why is she running away from them? Then why was her mother always so reluctant to let her out? It was too late to be thinking about all this things… she was alone now.
She clutched her ball tightly in her hands as she walked bravely deeper into the forest. The eerie howling of wolves suddenly echoed throughout the forest. She suddenly noticed shadows following her from the corner of her eye. Perhaps it was because she was afraid, perhaps she imagined those shadows but whatever the reasons were she started running.
The shadows were following her. They ran after her, gaining on her. Their laughter were taunting and scornful as she ran through the forest, trees blocking her way and tearing her expansive dress. Getting more frightened as she took every step, she suddenly tripped on a rock sending her face towards the mud that had stained her dress and shoes and her ball flying away from her grasp. She tried to stifle a cry as she slowly got up ignoring the pain shooting from her leg. Limping, she tried to find her ball, feeling uncomfortable without it in her arms. The shadows were now starting to surround her like a predator surrounding its prey. As if predicting the little girl's fate, the sky turned cloudy and dark. The shadows closed in on her and the girl started to cry from fear. Suddenly, the shadows vanished out of sight as if it had all been her imagination. She was alone in the dark forest with only trees surrounding her and silence greeted her.
Aliessa felt a mixture of fear, relief, regret and worst of all… loneliness. She suddenly realized how alone she was… how small she was in this forest and panic rose in her. Where were her parents? Where was her comfortable bed, her warm food? Her eyes, now full of fear, darted to and fro to get a glimpse of the castle. She hadn't traveled far hadn't she? The last time she had turned around, she could still see the castle from afar but now where were the long turrets of the castle? And again she started running… a race to find her home… to be safe under her cozy blankets again. Yet… all she saw were trees, trees and more trees. After an hour or so, she soon gave up and now fully acknowledged the fact that she was lost. She came to a pond and rested her aching body there.
A lonely little figure could be seen sitting near a pond in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. Her eyes were on her surroundings as if waiting for someone… or hoping someone would find her. She dangled her legs in the cold water of the pond. She was all alone… she was lost and perhaps she would die here too. She started to cry bitterly. Rain started to pour heavily. She stared heavenwards, her tears mingling with rain as she felt the heavy drops on her body. As if God was crying with the girl, feeling all the pain she felt… all her thoughts full of regret… she felt comforted though her tears still flow. She closed her eyes listening to the music made by the crickets and the frogs, flowing together… continuing their daily activities without a care. She hugged herself and suddenly remembered her ball. She had lost it and now the tears ran down.
"Why are you crying?"
Aliessa quickly turned around and her eyes met golden ones with a weird looking pupil… like the ones of a frog. A boy around her age was bending down next to her with a gentle smile on his face. His drenched locks half covered his face as he stared at the girl next to him who was crying.
"Why are you crying?" he repeated his question.
"I… I… I lost my ball." She looked down embarrassed. Why hadn't she said she was lost?
The black haired boy laughed amiably. He took out his right hand and faced it in front of her.
"You mean this?" Aliessa stared at the golden ball in his hand. She suddenly realized how she missed the ball snuggling in her arms. How she missed the strange singing of her golden bird when she saw it in his hand. She took out her hand to take it when the boy held it back.
"You can't have it. I found it so it belongs to me shouldn't it?"
"But…"
"But you can have it on one condition. You have to promise to love me and marry me when you reach seventeen. If you can do that, I'll gladly give it back to you."
Aliessa thought about it and she thought loving him won't be so hard. In fact her heart was beating weirdly when she stares into his weird golden eyes, enchanted by it.
"If you give my ball back, I promise I'll love you with all my heart and marry you when I reach seventeen." She said it as if she was forced to, trying to hide the fact that she didn't mind.
Suddenly the boy kissed her in the cheek. She was taken aback. No one apart from her family had ever kissed her before.
"Thank you…" the boy muttered so softly that she barely heard before he stood up. The rain had stopped, leaving dews on the rushes next to her. The boy grinned with his hand that had the ball outstretched.
"It's an eternal promise between you and me."
Aliessa took the ball and took his hand with it. She crossed her little finger with his. She smiled at him… the stranger who had comforted her when she was alone in the forest just by being there. Her blinding sun in the form of that boy warmed her heart and made it fuzzy when she stared into his golden eyes.
"It's a promise." And then he was gone.
Aliessa woke up from what seemed like a long dream to find it was already morning. Loud shouts had awoken her.
"ALIESSA!"
"PRINCESS ALIESSA! WHERE ARE YOU?"
A wave of joy fell on Aliessa as she started screaming.
"I'M HERE!"
The shouts grew louder and soon a few soldiers found her and called their captain to come over. Soon, as if everything that happened last night was a dream, Aliessa found herself back home in the arms of her parents who were crying for joy to see their beloved daughter back again.
And so the strings of fate began to move and shape in Aliessa's life. Aliessa, whose fate was changed by the red string now hanging on the little finger of both Aliessa and the boy, will face many troubles in the future.
Meanwhile, there was a commotion happening in the palace of a hidden country.
"What do you mean he was there and so you couldn't kidnap her? You're one of the Wolfe clan, aren't you? One of the most feared clan in history and yet you were afraid of one boy? Surely the six of you against one mere boy was more than enough?! I don't care if he's cursed or not! That's your problem, not mine!" shouted the bearded almost balding man to a black-dressed person in front of him.
"Please, Yukitaka. Don't shout for goodness sake. Do you want the whole court to know?" said a man with shoulder-length layered hair, whose face was partly hidden in the shadows, sitting down on a throne.
The ninja mumbled something to the man sitting down.
"What? He had the ball you say? Then no wonder the Wolfe ninjas were afraid of him. I fear that we must take an interest in that boy. See to it Yukitaka"
"As you wish, sire. I'll see to it that the boy is watched."
The man smiled as the bald man and the ninja bowed before leaving.
"I see things are becoming more interesting." He fingered a tine portrait he took from his sleeve. "Darling Aliessa, I will see you soon."
To be continued…
(A/N: How was the chapter? Anyway, concerning the red string, I'll tell you what it means in the next chapter… unless you know the story already.)