The dawn was breaking in the horizon and the cackling of the morning rooster can be heard from afar. The morning mists were gently fading... leaving the earth moist, as the scent of fresh moss lingers in the air... Rays of sunlight were slowly permeating in between shades of trees, making the surroundings glimmer from the dancing lights... but not enough to totally brighten the forest she’s walking on. And as she approaches the borderline, she felt chills down her spine... she looked back from where she came from but saw nothing... Must be the still cold air... she thought and adjusted her coat.

A young lady emerges from the thick bushes that separate the river from the wilderness and beyond. Raven black hair, fair skin, full red lips and deep-set blue eyes. She can be mistaken as someone who came from a noble family... but looking at her shabby dress and the weary look on her face, you would think otherwise. And she’s holding a basket full of fruits, vegetables & other root crops on her slender arms. Obviously tired, the girl puts down her things and leans on the nearest tree to rest. Just for a while... she catches her breath and wipes the beads of sweat on her forehead.

Leijing or Jingjing, as her parents fondly calls her... she’s the poor orphan girl living in the border of the town and the wild, but a beauty, nonetheless. Her family was once been living in the central town of Teal, a country in the East Blue. They had lived a modest life... her father was a craftsman... her mother was a weaver... and being an only child, she was pampered and loved by her parents. People from the village eyed her with interest for as a kid, she’s lovely and intelligent... characteristics that can “only” be seen in the noble kind. But attention fades when people learned what clan she came from... the curiosity that’s evident in their faces were immediately replaced with disgust.

An island of the riches, the estate of Teal was one of the many countries in East Blue and the smallest. One could tour it in a day or two. The palace stood on the highest point of the land on the north... The bay on the east, where seafarers flocks to trade their goods... the marketplace & the public square at the center... the villages, from shantytowns to grand villas where Tealeans lives, is on the west side... and the dark wilderness & mountain ranges, where no one dared to go, sprawled on the south. 

Tealeans were mostly of noble clan. The others were divided by middleclass family, generally of merchants, and low-class family where workers & slaves came from. Leijing’s family came from the clan of workers, the apparent reason why nobles from the village looked down upon her. But not to her innocent beauty... the very sole reason why she’s alone in this cold, cruel world for months now. If only you’re both still here...

A sob caught in remembering that dreadful day her parents died... The very same day she learned that people who possess fame & money holds all the power in their hands... The very same day she found out how evil the noble kinds were... The very same day she realized that her life was so precious that even her own parents were willing to sacrifice their own just to keep her safe and untainted... And the very same day she discovered about the cabin near the woods... “Go to the woods Jingjing! Run!” “The woods will keep you safe, Jingjing... don’t be afraid of it.” “Be brave my child... and be safe.”

Those were the last words her parents have said to her before they draw their last breath. She run out of their house praying that the men who killed her father & mother won’t see her and take her to the nobleman who wanted her. The nobleman who ruined their lives... who took away their livelihood... their home... their everything. It was him who ordered the huntsmen to kill anyone who gets in the way of getting her to his place.

“We won’t give you to him... we’ll protect you if that’s the last thing we’d do.” Her father’s words when they turned down the Baron’s offer of marriage one morning. She was willing to go with the Baron if only for the safety of her family but the words of her mother stop her. “You’re too naive and precious for that kind of man, our child. You’re too good... too smart... to enslave your life forever. And you have big dreams... for yourself... for us. And we want you to have the freedom to do what makes you happy.” Her mother’s words as she wipes her tears away. “We may not be rich as them but we have our dignity and we won’t let you suffer like slaves do... We’ll leave this place as soon as possible.” Her father promised her that day but it never happened.

That night... she found herself inside the cabin near the woods. Picturing in her mind the wretch and blood soaked bodies of her beloved parents as she looked back on their house for one last time... Grieving for their dead bodies that she would never lay to a proper resting place... “Be brave, my child... be brave...” She had slept through the night crying her heart out for the miserable life she’ll have to endure in the following days.

That next morning, when she woke up... she finally got to examine the cabin. Seeing that it has all the necessities she needs as if her parents have known that it will happen, she vowed to herself that she’ll never set foot in town anymore. But as the day goes by and remembering the promise her father made, she realized that she needed money to get out of this country. She decided to take the risk of going into town to sell goods from the forest, where fruits, vegetables and other crops were abundant. And if only necessary... like this day...

The cabin was running out of supplies she needed. And she also needs to buy feeds for her chickens so she could trade them next time... Few more silver and golds and she’ll be out of this country. She got up and carried the large basket once more... I have to sell this fast. So, threading through the river bank with the heavy basket in her hands, she finally caught sight of the bridge that paved the way to town. Finally... She heaved a sigh, ensured the hood of her coat then continued her journey towards the center of Teal.