May 31, 1730

Third Floor Parlor, Airdrethian Castle

 

            If there was a person who had despised the royals’ treatments of the youngest princess more than Yuna herself, it was Madame Blott.

            The old woman openly glared at Queen Amethyst if she so much as appeared before her.  She secretly mixed up some of the plans of the servants involved with the Queen.  Most of all, she enjoyed venturing to the kitchen and spitting on the Queen’s lunch (Madame Jane, the castle’s head cook of thirty years, welcomed this action with a grin).

            Above all, Madame Blott pitied young Princess Yuna.  She saw the horrid effects of isolation on the girl firsthand, and it made her sick to her stomach.  She heartily encouraged her to eat more during lunch when over half of her meal remained.  She had to hold back her own tears when Yuna would lose herself, staring into family portraits.

            However, unlike Yuna, she saw the royals leaving her at home while they travelled as a rare opportunity.

            An opportunity to engage in fun.

            Yuna wantonly looked out the window she had gazed out for hours the previous day.  It had a perfect view of the harbor miles and miles away.  She had watched the ship her family was aboard slowly descend into the nothingness of the horizon and setting sun.

            The loud clearing of a throat broke Yuna from her haze.  She turned and all six feet of Madame Blott stood behind her.  The woman was massive, in both senses.  She was tall, incredibly so, even more so than King Ephraim.  A large busty woman with the appetite of a cow, her silver, grey, and lavender hued hair always sat in a large pile atop her head.  Her glare was more ferocious than that of a tiger’s, and depending on the moment, her grin resembled that of a grizzly bear upon discovery of a salmon abundant stream.

            When the princesses were young, they referred to her as the “Angered Polar Bear.”

            But now, as Yuna gazed up at her, she only felt relief and a dull thud of happiness.  Whether she would admit it aloud or not, Madame Blott had been a major anchor to her sanity over the past few years.

            “Hello, Madame Blott,” Yuna’s frail glassy voice whispered.

            “It’s time for class, Yuna.  Follow me,” the loudness of the woman’s deep voice seemed to boom through the hall.

            Yuna nodded and followed the large woman, eyes slowly furrowing as they walked passed her school room.  Her brows continued to crease as Madame Blott led her out into the garden.

            A man somehow even larger than Madame Blott stood before them, a large and long bag at his side.

            Yuna felt her eyes trailing higher and higher to find the top of the man.  He had a sweet gummy smile, surrounded by layers and layers of red beard and mustache.  His cheeks were a soft pink and aglow.  The blue eyes sitting in his skull were clearer than water.

            Madame Blott stopped and Yuna looked around in fear for a potential escape.

            “Thank you for inviting me, Rosa,” a jolly crashing voice sounded out with a chuckle.

            Yuna went into further disbelief.

            Nobody ever called Madame Blott by her first name.

            Nobody.

            “Thank you for coming, Stan.  Yuna,” the girl looked up at the wolfish grin.  “Rather than teaching the usual lessons, after today, your learning will be…different.”

            Different? What?

            Yuna did not speak her thoughts, but instead nodded with a perplexed gaze.

            “Today you will be learning a new skill.  The man in front of you – you will call him Monsieur Blott.  He and myself will be teaching you the art of sword fighting.”

            “What?” the girl’s tone and loudness level had not been this high in months.

            Madame Blott’s grin merrily stretched as Monsieur Blott opened up his bag to reveal an assortment of swords.  There were long swords and short swords, curved swords and straight swords, swords with gem-encrusted handles and swords that looked beaten enough to have been through a war – which they probably had.

            Never in her life had Yuna seen so many swords.

            “Why – why are we doing this?” the princess asked quietly as she continued to look from sword to sword.

            “Every teenager should learn some form of self-defense as they grow older and prepare to be on their own.  The world is dangerous.  You’re a royal Yuna, and a normal one at that.  If you’re sisters can run around wielding magic, you should be allowed to keep a dangerous skill of your own on the ready as well.”

            Yuna’s eyes gleamed in wonder.  She understood the words Madame Blott did not say out right.

            She was giving Yuna her own power.

            “I also thought you might enjoy learning something fun.  And it will most likely bother your mother – bonus points.”

            Yuna excitedly agreed to the sword fighting lessons.  Monsieur Blott handed her an older sword that still gleamed.  It was a little larger than the 12 year-old’s wing span and was a comfortable weight in her hand.  The hilt was covered in a forest green leathery cloth.

            Yuna enjoyed the tool’s feel in her fist.

            “Alright, Princess, we shall begin with the basics,” Monsieur Blott declared with his jolly smile.

            The girl was a natural.

            Monsieur and Madame Blott were both happily surprised at how quickly she was able to pick up the different stances and techniques all beginners were taught.  Madame Blott was especially astounded at the appearance of the little giggle-encased grin that had been long gone for years.

            Yuna felt like she was in her element.  The outside air coursed through her veins as she learned and practiced.  She did not notice the slowly rising and setting sun, nor the growing crowd of servants that had accumulated over the course of the day.

            Not one thought of her family had made its way through her head.

            The sun was sinking, when Madame Blott clapped her hands, and announced lessons were over.

            As Yuna went to hand in her sword to Monsieur Blott, the giant of a man halted her.

            “That’s your sword, now, you keep it.”

            “B-but it’s yours-”

            “Not after the work you’ve done with it today.” he chuckled before pulling out his own personal sword.

            “Princess, take a lookie at my hilt here for a second.”

            Yuna cautiously took the sword and looked down at the handle.  An assortment of different colored strings was wound around it.  Two beads were interwoven among the strings.

            “Do you know what that means?”

            “No, sir…”

            “The strings are every year I’ve spent with Rosa.  And the two beads represent our two sons who are both swordsmiths.”

            “It’s beautiful.” Yuna smiled and handed back the weapon.  The old man gently clasped her shoulder before looking down at her vibrant emerald eyes.

            “Sword-wielders put their souls in the hilt.  Your sword is a piece of you.  Decorate it however you see fit.”

            The old man and woman made their way into the castle with the rest of the servants.  Yuna was the only one remaining in the garden.  She slowly walked over to the bed of flowers that she used to adore and now dreamed about.

            One small yellow tulip seemed to stand apart from the rest of the plants.  It stood tall though it was small, and its color vibrantly lit up the dirt surrounding it.

            Perfect.

            Yuna carefully pulled the tulip from the ground.  Without damaging a petal, she wrapped the flower around the hilt of her sword.  She carefully tied the stem, and stared at her creation.

            A new era of Princess Yuna’s life was ready to unravel.

 

August 15, 1730

Palace Courtyard, Exotopia

 

            Lee Donghae looked down at 15 year-old Prince Kris, who was staring up at him with a steadfast determination in his eyes.

            Kris had returned from the Mingle Ball – no maiden had interested him – a week ago.  On the day of his return, he had immediately demanded battle and sword-fighting lessons from Lord Donghae, to everyone’s surprise, and his father’s joy.

            Maybe this will take his mind off of Princess Yuna.

            The King had hoped falsely.

            This was all spurred by Princess Yuna.

            After his encounter with Queen Amethyst, Kris had fallen under the pretense that he needed to save Yuna.

            Even if it called for physical force.

            He had set out a new mental plan for rescuing and marrying Yuna.

            And, Step One was learning how to fight.

            Lord Donghae was the perfect teacher.  Not only was he a master with a sword, he too possessed the power of flight.

            Kris continued to stare, eager to learn.

            “Why exactly do you want to learn how to fight?”

            “I’m going to be King,” Kris began, his pre-made story ready, “If I cannot protect myself, how can the Exotopian people expect me to protect them?”

            Donghae raised his eyebrows.  He saw through the lie, but still could not figure the teen out.

            As long as he has some form of drive…

            Donghae slowly allowed himself to rise into the air, tossing Kris a long and curved sword as he went.

            “Well kid, even though you’re full of bull, you’re determined.”

            Kris rose, so he was level with his new teacher, intensely gripping the sword, ready.

            “Let’s begin.”

 

August 15, 1730

Second Floor Window Overlooking the Courtyard, Airdrethian Castle

 

            The two and a half months that Yuna’s family had been absent, went far better than the young princess had anticipated.

            Madame Blott had completely changed Yuna’s lessons.  She told Yuna that she was no longer going to teach math or science, the two subjects that Yuna hated.  Yuna was going to learn whatever she wanted to learn.  She could choose.

            The choice was easy.

            Yuna wanted to learn about the world.

            Madame Blott now not only employed sword fighting lessons, but now extensive geography and cultural lessons were also in play.  She allowed Yuna one language of her choice to take on.  The girl had already been forced to learn French by her mother, but now she was at free will to connect to new cultures and literatures of her own choosing.  After much deliberation, the pair decided to take on Mandarin because Exotopia and Gaula, Airdrethia’s two closest allies and trading partners, both shared Mandarin as an official language.

            Even further to Yuna’s joy, lessons were not every day.

            The days she was not learning, Yuna was exploring the garden, making the flower crowns she missed, and walking through the woods that touched the edge of the garden.

            She had missed nature so much.

            The feel of the grass between her toes.  The sound of the creek in the distance mixed with the chirping birds.  The vibrant colors of the flowers dancing in the wind.  They were all sensations she had missed.

            Though so much of her time was good, not everything was perfect.

            Sleeping at night was a challenge.  In the moonlit dark, as she laid alone in the barren silent royal quarters of the castle, all she could think of was abandonment.  She would shake and cry as she pictured her family before they had isolated her.  She would question why she was normal and why that was so wrong.

            Most of all, she wondered if her mother would ever love her again.

            Loneliness would hit her randomly during some days.  The servants would frown as the young Princess stared into space, her eyes glossy with tears and mouth void of a smile.

            By no means was anything perfect.

            But, it was all far better than it had been before the family trip.

            Her family had ree week prior.

            Lessons were still of the new teaching Madame Blott had begun to implement, however the sword fighting she had said, “would need to wait until your stick in the mud of a mother is gone.”

            Despite her happiness from seeing her father and sisters again, two things were missing from Yuna’s heart.

            The first was her mother.  She had not said a word to her youngest daughter.  No “hello,” “I missed you,” or “thank goodness you didn’t die.”

            Amethyst had huffed at the sight of her daughter welcoming them into the castle, and walked away, dragging Galleria with her to discuss her feelings for Adrian, the Prince of Camano.

            The second thing that had been pining at Yuna’s heart was the garden.  After her family returned, they took back to magical lessons in Yuna’s favorite place.  During the afternoons, she would stare out in longing at being with her family and frolicking among the flowers.

            The 12 year old’s gaze out the window saddened all who passed by.

            Until, this day.

            Jung Eunji was a lovely 16 year-old Exotopian maid who had only been working in the castle for a year.  She was the youngest maid on staff, and was immediately shocked by the treatment of her youngest mistress.

            Eunji like many of the other maids and butlers of the castle pitied her.

            Eunji did not understand why Queen Amethyst was so mean to Yuna.  She was the only member of the staff who had not witnessed the Queen’s breakdown after Yuna’s power check-up five years before.

            On that day Eunji had been dusting a low table near the window that overlooked the garden.  Yuna had only been looking out of it a couple of moments.

            The sigh that escaped from her lips was long and defeated.

            Eunji could no longer stand it.

            She straightened her maid’s dress before walking to the young princess and tapping her shoulder.

            Oh God this was a stupid idea.

            Yuna slowly turned to see Eunji, the youngest and liveliest maid looking at her with concerned yet bright eyes.

            “My lady, I noticed that you look like you want to go outside,” the young maid began, playing with the duster in her fingers.

            “I have an idea.”

 

            Eunji had led Princess Yuna through the servants’ quarters by the wrist, carefully looking around each corner, so as not to get caught by Queen Amethyst.  Winding through halls and rooms, Eunji stopped in front of an old brown door.

            “Your highness, you’re welcome to go outside here whenever you like,” the maid whispered, slowly creaking open the door to the forest.  She helped Yuna down the large step.  The girls were standing in the first row of trees that surrounded the garden.

            “I know you won’t be able to go to the flowers like you like, but I hope this pleases you, my lady-”

            Eunji cut herself off.

            Small, frail arms wrapped around her mid-section in an embrace.

            “I can never thank you enough, Eunji,”

            The maid hugged back.

            Risking her job and possibly her life were completely worth it.

            After bidding her goodbye, Eunji left and Yuna grinned to herself.

            She was outside.

            Outside.

            Yuna realized she could not go to the garden, but this did not seem to inhibit the girl.  She glanced at her right, acres and acres of forest in front of her.

            She took off running into it.

            Yuna was free.

            She spent the early afternoon running around, making a flower crown of wild tulips, and skipping through the creek.  She laughed and spun, and ran.

            She ran more than she had ever run in her life, going wherever he feet carried her.

            After a couple of hours of running, Yuna leaned against a tree to catch her breath and laugh some more.

            “That was too easy, Noona!” a voice shouted to her right.

            Yuna jumped in fright.

            Is my adventure over so soon?

            Yuna looked around the small circular clearing of trees she had stopped to rest in, hoping no one would catch her and force her back to the castle.

            Her peace was disturbed.

            A group of five kids – four boys and one girl – burst from a couple of trees, cackling and pushing each other as they went, stopped immediately when they saw her.

            A slim, small girlish looking boy stood in front of the group before he turned to glare at her.

            “What are you doing in our woods?” he snottily asked.

            “Oh, be nice, Baekhyun,” the girl next to him laughed and punched his side.  “Hello!” she excitedly greeted and approached Yuna, firmly shaking her hand.

            “I’m Kim Hyoyeon! Do you want to play with us?” the tan girl’s blonde curls shook as she animatedly spoke.

            “I-”

            “I’m her brother, Kai!” a tan boy with dark hair pushed himself in front of his sister, cutting off the royal stranger.  “And this, is Sehun!” he said gesturing to the frail boy who was locked in place under an abnormally strong 11 year-old arm.

            “And I’m Chanyeol,” the final boy of the group introduced, smiling and towering over her.  “You should play with us!”

            “Uh…okay,” Yuna said, trying not to sound too excited.

            She had never played with other kids apart from her sisters and the occasional royal at the occasional festival.

            “I love your flower crown!” Hyoyeon gasped and pointed at it, as the other pre-teens surrounded Yuna.

            “Thanks, I made it myself.” she whispered with a giggle.

            “You’re the Queen of the Tulips!” Baekhyun proclaimed with a smile and laugh, no longer hostilely glaring at her.

            “That doesn’t fit her…” Kai mused.  “She doesn’t look like a Queen, she looks like a fairy or something…”

            “Pixie,” Chanyeol decided.  “She’s thin, and earthy, and frail, just like a Pixie.”

            “It fits.” Baekhyun agreed.  “Pixie.”

            And so it did.

---

Hello everyone!

Long time no update...haha sorry bad joke.

I'm sorry I have not updated for a while - I've been deciding on which college to attend next year (decision is officially made!), and studying for my third quarter exams, so lots and lots of yucky stuff.

I hope you like this update - it is long.

Within the next few chapters, things will begin to skew.

Don't forget to subscribe, upvote, and comment!  Thank you so much if you've done any of these in the past!

Have a lovely day :)