《Both a little Scared; Neither one Prepared (Complete)》 Chapter 1
¡°What, your country can¡¯t send anyone worthy?¡± ¡°This is just an insult to the country of Commorda!¡± ¡°Why are you here!?¡± Steven looked at the woman being scolded, that had been blocked and forced to come to a secluded part of the capital Rangcew, in Commorda. She was by herself with absolutely no help from anybody and Steven was hunched into a tiny corner of a shop. It had been cold the night before, and he still hadn¡¯t eaten. He felt like his world had already ended¡­ Before he could get into more of his depressed thoughts about how he got to this point in his life, he finally heard the woman, covered with a veil, speak. ¡°Even if you refuse to accept it, I am still the Princess of Melya, therefore I have reason! Now leave me!¡± Steven had heard of her before, she was apparently quite a nasty person¡­ ¡°You have no guards here! What are you going to do to the four of us?¡± ¡°Ah, men, haven¡¯t we done enough? You never said we¡¯d touch her!¡± ¡°Shut up, Freddie!¡± Freddie!? Steven cringed to moving and feeling terrible to stretching his limbs. Freddie was doing something stupid again! For a small moment, Steven stopped, wondering why he should even save his brother when he was no longer part of the family anymore¡­He had been disowned now. He was no longer part of the Otter family¡­ Just as Steven was in thoughts, not really paying attention, he heard noise and looked up to see the Princess using martial arts¡­It was obvious to see though that three of them were trying to detain her, which put her at a disadvantage. Continuing now to get up, still in a bit of shock, he watched as the fight was practically one sided¡­It wasn¡¯t once sided on the men¡¯s side though, it was hers! She was like a professional! Freddie! Steven took a limp step and continued to his lost brother just standing there, while the ¡®Princess¡¯ dealt with the other three. But before Steven could get there, the Princess then swiped her foot and tripped Freddie over. ¡°Wait, stop!¡± Steven yelled. He saw the veiled woman stop and turn to him. ¡°A witness?¡± Steven stopped for a moment, he was, yes. ¡°What are you going to do, being a witness to four men attacking a Princess?¡± ¡­What could he do? He was now a beggar¡­A starving beggar¡­ Steven¡­He used to not care about this stuff. He used to be the one that would¡­ Lowering his head, he remembered all the times that he had had put Cid into this type of problem. ¡°Nothing? Just like everyone else? Nothing?¡± Hearing her words, Steven felt like there was something in them that he just¡­What is it? He wasn¡¯t able to pinpoint what exactly he heard from her voice¡­Probably because Cid hadn¡¯t sounded like that. Cid had been much stronger, even when being beaten¡­ That¡¯s right, this Princess was safe and sound, doesn¡¯t that mean Cid had it worse¡­ The Princess suddenly pulled on Freddie¡¯s hair, making him yell out. Once again, she had Steven¡¯s attention. ¡°Let him go!¡± ¡°Why?¡± Steven stepped forward, ¡°He¡¯s¡­My brother.¡± The Princess looked from one to the other, then Freddie called out to him. ¡°Steven!? Is that you?¡± Steven felt like doing anything for his brother right now would be the biggest thing he¡¯d done in ages. If he could just keep Freddie from danger, perhaps he could find some forgiveness in it, maybe it might make him feel better¡­ Living like this, where he had nowhere to go, where he felt like he deserved this, was like hell. Falling to his knees, wanting to show that he was sincere, Steven bowed his head, ¡°Your highness. If there¡¯s just one thing I can do, it is to help my brother out of this predicament. I¡¯ll do it! I¡¯ll¡­I¡¯ll take his place. Please let him go¡­¡± The silence was overwhelming to both Steven and Freddie. The veil covering her face didn¡¯t give anything away, she didn¡¯t move¡­Until she finally let go of Freddie¡­ ¡°Fine¡­I¡¯ll let him go and not touch him. I won¡¯t come back to finish what I started if¡­You come with me.¡± Steven bowed his head more, in a defeated way. What did it matter? If it saved his brother, what did it matter if he suddenly disappeared from the planet? It didn¡¯t matter¡­ ¡°Then I will come with you.¡± Steven stated easily. He¡¯d already accepted his fate. He was probably going to die soon anyway, whether he leave here or stay. He was on the brink of starvation and felt dizzy with want for water. Why had his father disowned him? ¡°Get up.¡± ¡°Wait no! Steven!¡± Steven started to get up, then looked at Freddie with a small smile. ¡°Make sure to get your cuts looked at.¡± ¡°Steven!¡± Steven woke up, whether it was because of the dream or because of his head hitting the side of the cage, he didn¡¯t know. He¡¯d already forgotten what he dreamed about while he sat there. He¡¯d been in the cage now for¡­Well, he wasn¡¯t sure¡­ The wedding had happened two days before he was captured by the Princess, and on that very day she was true to her word and left Rangcew. The Princess had not spoken a word to him¡­In fact, after getting back to her entourage, if you could call it that, she had disappeared, and he had not seen her since. After a while of aimlessly looking out of a crack in the wall around him, he finally heard someone talking, ¡°We are far enough from the border now, time to change transportation.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Without further delay, more sun came into his part of the carriage and Steven closed his eyes to how bright it was. ¡°What is she going to do with him?¡± ¡°Shh, it¡¯s best not to ask!¡± Steven was quiet, watching the cage open and bringing him out forcefully, only letting him go after they hit the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Steven watched as it seemed all of them left in haste, leaving him and another there, right in the middle of the dirt road. What change of transportation? Where was the other carriage then? What was going on? Seeing the other person, who seemed like a maid, just in slightly worse attire then his own maids at his old residence, look at him, he looked back. She had been the one to give him food and water on this trip¡­In fact, he was sure he was no longer in Commorda now, they were probably now in the country that the Princess was from. This maid was nice though, just looking at her made him feel slightly better from when he was alone. Especially since she was so pretty¡­Her auburn hair was put into a bun, having a few strands lose, she had lovely green eyes and she was quiet. He already thought that she¡¯d be snatched up pretty quick by a man simply because she was so pretty. Steven, on the other hand, his long hair that he used to look after was all matted¡­His hair needed to chopped off now, it was that bad. He had put so much effort into looking after his hair all this time, only for this to happen. What was the point of it all!? Just another thing that he had wasted his life away with. So much wasted life¡­ Otherwise, he used to think he was handsome, but now, dirty and smelly¡­Standing next to someone so pretty, Steven lost a part of his soul. There was no point on ever trying to coax this girl, since she¡¯s seen him at his worst! ¡°Your name?¡± She asked suddenly. ¡°Steven.¡± That was easy, he can do this! ¡°You may call me Celeste.¡± Steven nodded his acknowledgement as she walked towards him with a small knife, startling him slightly. He was let out of his binds, just some rope around his hand, and then she said, ¡°Come with me.¡± Steven slowly got up, thinking with complex questions, but did as he was told. He didn¡¯t want Freddie to get into any trouble, and he already didn¡¯t really care much about his problems so¡­What was wrong with just doing as he was told? So, he followed after the pretty maid, who seemed to be walking on quite secluded narrow path. The path had seen better days, that was for sure, but¡­He wasn¡¯t very observant right now¡­Who cares¡­ Following silently after the maid, who spoke as much as he did, Steven pushed himself so that he wouldn¡¯t collapse. He had not been hurt while in that cage, but he was mistreated in other ways. He was dirty, extremely dirty and they had not let him out of the cage, instead a bucket had been there for him to do his deeds. He had also not eaten enough, so he continued to lose weight, starting from before meeting the Princess. ¡°Have you been to Melya before?¡± Looking up at the unexpected question, Steven paused briefly at her very pretty face, ¡°¡­No¡­¡± The maid sighed. ¡°Being here won¡¯t be easy, many servants have left. You¡¯ll have to do things that you¡¯ve probably never done before¡­¡± Steven sighed, it must be his karma for doing what he did to Cid, who had become their maid, even though Cid was in fact married into the family to become his stepbrother? It¡¯s fate¡­ He¡¯ll probably have to slave away, without pay, to make up for what he had done. It was almost like the Princess saw through his misdeeds and had become his executioner or something. Where was she anyway? It was just him and the maid here¡­ ¡°Where did she go?¡± Steven asked, thinking that she had been on the carriage still, that had left them some time ago now. Maybe she¡¯s going elsewhere to talk to someone else? ¡°She¡¯s already here.¡± Was all the maid said. Steven saw that no more conversation was to be had and continued on, to finally see the smallest castle he¡¯d ever seen¡­ It looked old and broken, but it was indeed a castle. It was made of stone and had two very small high towers. ¡°It was the first castle in Melya.¡± The maid stated. ¡°Actually, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if this was the first idea of a castle. I believe this was made this small simply because they wanted to see if it would work¡­¡± Steven nodded, continuing to follow her. ¡°You aren¡¯t to enter the stair way, ever¡­Whatever you may need or want, it¡¯s all downstairs! I will take you to your room.¡± ¡°What¡¯s upstairs?¡± Steven asked. ¡°Probably a broken bone for you if you ever go there¡­¡± The maid openly stated. ¡°Is there traps?¡± Steven asked. Wouldn¡¯t that be interesting!? A castle full of traps! ¡°Did they leave traps there too, when they first did the castle?¡± The maid frowned at him, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then how do I get¡­Oh.¡± That¡¯s right! The Princess had known martial arts or something! She would be the one giving him the broken bones. Wanting to slap himself, Steven felt embarrassed¡­But it wasn¡¯t the first time. He also thought that it probably wouldn¡¯t be the last¡­ ¡°Where do you sleep?¡± Steven asked her suddenly, making her turn to him in question. ¡°Where else would I sleep?¡± So, it was another obvious question¡­ Steven felt like he¡¯d made two silly mistakes very quickly. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m not the brightest gem on the bracelet.¡± The maid, once again, stared at Steven, ¡°¡­What are you talking about?¡± His father told him often that he didn¡¯t think enough. He made mistakes often¡­ He had been brought up to be a businessman, so that he could take over the family jewellery crafting business, but no matter how much he tried, he always lacked something¡­ Steven shook his head, not wanting to admit his faults further. It really was like he woke up after being put into that dungeon in the palace. He woke up to so much that he felt like his life was meaningless¡­Nothing¡­ The woman beside him watched the man become defeated and didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡°Again, everything you will need is downstairs. You can help me with the laundry, help with making the food. We will have to go pick the vegetables and fruit ourselves¡­¡± ¡°How many servants are left then¡­¡± Steven asked, thinking this was a lot of work. The maid once again looked at him, ¡°¡­There¡¯s nobody.¡± ¡°Nobody else!? Just us!?¡± Steven was a bit speechless, ¡°She¡¯s a Princess!¡± Sighing and shaking her head, the maid just kept walking, ¡°Everyone knows that the Princess of Melya is a nobody, it¡¯s common knowledge.¡± Steven walked with her, stumbling slightly but still really confused, ¡°A Princess living like this! That¡¯s not normal!¡± Looking up at the maid, Steven then asked her, ¡°Is she that bad?¡± ¡°That bad?¡± The maid asked. ¡°At what?¡± Steven shrugged, ¡°Well, I heard she was cruel.¡± The maid went quiet for a moment, ¡°Are you asking if living alone here is because of cruelty?¡± That didn¡¯t make sense, nothing did! A Princess was someone living in a castle and had people to tend to her every need¡­If she was cruel, how can people walk out on her but not have someone else take their place? What was going on here!? ¡°Why do you care of the treatment of another countries princess?¡± The maid asked curiously. Steven bowed his head in defeat. She was right, why did anything matter? Why had he suddenly felt like he was more active since coming here? Asking questions and being curious¡­ Weird¡­ Maybe seeing the Princess treated so poorly¡­ Steven couldn¡¯t deny it, the fact that another was treated as such made his life almost bearable. There was someone probably worse off than him, so what right did he have to feel like life was meaningless? But it was¡­He had worked to become an heir, to only be dispelled from the family. He¡¯d worked hard to help bring up his little brother, probably to never to see him again¡­Cid¡­That was probably his biggest downfall¡­How he had treated Cid and for so long¡­ ¡°Feeling sympathetic?¡± Steven looked at the maid and boldly stated, ¡°Yes, she¡¯s probably a better person then I am, and she¡¯s a Princess. She should be looked after properly!¡± He stared at the pretty face as it swallowed and looked away. She looked¡­What the! Why did she look like she was going to cry!? Oh no, what did he do!? What did he say again? ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± He said. Actually, his voice sounded different, it sounded¡­Normal. Had he been talking different lately? Suddenly his lungs were filling up with air, and he was talking louder¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry yourself. I am of no worry, it is just weird to find someone who¡­¡± Steven put his hands up, ¡°It¡¯s selfish reasons. It¡¯s because I¡¯ve¡­¡± Stopping and dropping his hands, Steven went quiet. What was he doing!? ¡°Because you?¡± Steven shook his head, he didn¡¯t want to say anymore. He was so sick and tired of only thinking of himself. Look where that brought him! He no longer even had a family! He wasn¡¯t even in his own country now! Why the hell was he bringing up himself for!? Talking to the maid like they¡¯d been friends! Wasn¡¯t he a servant now? Wasn¡¯t he going to be working like¡­Like a slave!? He really should learn his place and accept this type of fate that he deserved! ¡°Why are you like this?¡± Looking up at the maid, Steven looked back down, ¡°Just tell me what I need to do.¡± The woman frowned but went ahead and showed him her normal routine¡­ *** The routine consisted of jobs that Steven had never really done before. He¡¯d been quite lucky, he thought often while doing all the things that he had gotten servants to do prior to being put into a dungeon. He knew nothing about these jobs, nothing! He never knew how hard it was to just wash something clean. He never understood the reason why food had tasted how it tasted, it just tasted like it did! Some food has herbs and spices, some salt and pepper some all of them, but¡­He didn¡¯t understand how they were all put together. Cleaning, mopping¡­Shining the brass, cutting wood¡­Cooking, laundry, cleaning¡­Mopping¡­Picking and cleaning vegetables¡­ For a week, a routine started but not once did he see the Princess. He thought he would be tortured or something but¡­ There seemed to be no room that was full of blood and smelt like died bodies. His imagination had truly run wild with what he may have found here¡­Only to find nothing at all¡­ It was confusing that there seemed no evidence to state the monster that the Princess apparently was. He had been sure that he¡¯d find chains hanging from the ceiling and a blooded whip¡­If nothing else, he¡¯d been sure to find at least those two things but¡­No¡­Nothing¡­It was instead, quite boring¡­ They had cooked for her, the princess, and the plate would disappear, but most of the time he would eat on his own. The maid was allowed upstairs, so she was the one that took the plate to the princess. She was also the one to bring down any clothes or any left-over dishes. She did everything upstairs all by herself, with no complaints, so Steven could only do without her sometimes¡­ She scampered off every now and again but would return to help him do other chores¡­ They rarely talked, having gotten used to the quiet, and Steven was often left to his thoughts. He¡¯d gotten used to feeling down in the dumps, like he deserved all this and much more. He¡¯d left Cid in an abandoned blacksmith, with no way of escape once. He¡¯d hurt Cid more times than he can count on his fingers! He just accepted this, all of it, like he was supposed to be there! Not once had he even tried to run away¡­There was something he was grateful for though¡­As the days had gone by, he was feeling better and finally gaining more weight¡­He wasn¡¯t just skin and bones anymore¡­He also had more strength and more stamina, which only meant that he was on the path of getting better from those days of hardly a bite to eat in days¡­ Chapter 2
The Princess did not know how to deal with this man, who had taken his brother¡¯s ¡®place¡¯. She had just left him to his own thoughts, his own way, thinking it wouldn¡¯t be long before yet another would just leave¡­But he hadn¡¯t¡­ She didn¡¯t understand. There were few that didn¡¯t leave, but she had forced them out, one reason was simply because she didn¡¯t want people to care. If they weren¡¯t here making a fuss over her, then she felt like it would be better¡­That over time she will be forgotten and she should just leave¡­Quietly, like she never existed in the first place. But this man, it had nothing to do with her. He was just¡­ She knew exactly how he felt! Nothing! Worthless! Meaningless! Undeserving! Having taken him in, she was just being reminded upon what she felt all the time! Why!? Why is he still here!? Why doesn¡¯t he run away like everyone else!? And¡­Why can¡¯t she then push him away like the rest of them!? It was scary. Both of them were scared. If they thought for one second that life could change to be something other than meaningless, they¡¯d have something to lose. If they felt like perhaps, they could just want just one thing¡­Just one thing¡­ A constant battle had been going on in the Princess head, since taking this man in. A battle to stay, just that little bit longer¡­ ¡°Eat dinner with me tonight.¡± She had the veil over her face and make up on, just in case it fell off. Steven looked at the Princess, that he had not seen since he had been taken away from Commorda. ¡°Your Highness?¡± Don¡¯t call me that! How am I royalty!? How is this place¡­ ¡°¡­Eat with me tonight.¡± Steven looked at the Princess¡¯s attire, seeing an old but still somewhat pretty noble type of dress for a lady and bowed his head. ¡°I¡¯m just a servant here, Your Highness. How can someone such as I¡­¡± The Princess clenched her hand and interrupted him, ¡°You will eat with me tonight!¡± Steven shook his head, ¡°It isn¡¯t proper.¡± ¡°What is proper!¡± The Princess was getting angry. She hadn¡¯t felt angry¡­ ¡°Please, will you eat with me tonight.¡± The Princess stated, now with manners. Steven stopped and looked at her in confusion, ¡°It wasn¡¯t your manners that I was implying to, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Then what is it!¡± She yelled at him. What does she need to do or say to just get him to have dinner with her! She didn¡¯t understand! Steven bowed his head and said, ¡°This lowly servant shouldn¡¯t sit at the same table as¡­¡± ¡°As me?¡± The Princess stopped. Was she really such a terrible person? ¡°Fine, if you don¡¯t eat with me¡­Don¡¯t bother eating at all!¡± With that, she angry stormed away. Steven suddenly felt like things went completely in the wrong direction. The Princess really thought she¡­ It seemed so stupid that she completely misunderstood that Steven could only let it go. She was a Princess, how could she think that it was her all the time? Did she not know that it wasn¡¯t normal for a servant to sit with a royal? Steven finished sweeping the floor and went to the kitchen. Going through the kitchen, grabbing a basket, he went out the back door and walked towards the trees. Just doing his normal chores, accepting his life the way it was, it took some time to see that there was something amiss. Upon time to cook dinner, where he¡¯d normally walk into the kitchen to find the food already started to get cooked, the kitchen was dark and empty, void of anything. ¡°Celeste?¡± The maid that would hang around was nowhere to be seen. ¡°¡­Celeste!¡± Could she be in trouble? Where would she be? Sometimes she would go do some other jobs, mostly to do upstairs. So, she would be on her own¡­ Was she ok? The Princess, perhaps¡­What if she was in a bad mood and caught Celeste getting her laundry and maybe wanted to hurt her? Steven paced the kitchen floor and got more and more worried¡­ Going towards the stairs, Steven didn¡¯t hear any type of movement. He didn¡¯t know whether to take the chance to go look for Celeste or not¡­ Maybe it was a test¡­For him? Perhaps it was just his turn today to do the entirety of the cooking¡­ Turning, Steven went back to the kitchen and cooked. He wasn¡¯t very good at it, previously only having to put ingredients into bowls, putting them back away and stirring. He was cutting some of them up but was slow, so by the time he¡¯d done one potato, Celeste had normally done three¡­ Making dinner took twice as long as usual and when Steven tried it, it didn¡¯t taste very nice. Was he forgetting something? Steven wasn¡¯t sure what to do. He had vegetables, he had¡­Oh, maybe some herbs? But which ones? Why were there so many of them? The rack was full of stuff that he didn¡¯t know the names off. Celeste had tried to teach him but now that he was looking at them, they were all foreign substances! What if the Princess wouldn¡¯t like this! Wouldn¡¯t she do something!? Perhaps hang him up somewhere and whip him? Steven went still suddenly and just thought of what he¡¯d done in the past to Cid, any of those¡­Perhaps more¡­ Well, if the Princess doesn¡¯t like it and decides to do something, it doesn¡¯t matter¡­ It almost felt like he was going out of his way to hurt himself, but he couldn¡¯t help himself. Putting a plate of his bland, self-made¡­Dish¡­Steven put a lid over it and hoped he¡¯d see Celeste come to pick it up to take it to the Princess. But¡­He never did¡­ He had eaten his share, thinking the dish to be terrible, but Celeste had still yet to come. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Maybe she really did get into trouble! The Princess had been mad when she had left him and¡­ Steven couldn¡¯t wait much longer, he left the kitchen area and went towards the stairs. ¡°Celeste?¡± There could be so many reasons why she couldn¡¯t respond¡­The one that Steven couldn¡¯t help but believe was that Celeste could be hanging there with whip marks¡­ Shaking his head, Steven had to remind himself that for one, he needed to get over this strange thought of hanging and being whipped and two, he¡¯d never found proof that that was ever being done here! Calm down, he told himself! Taking a deep breath, Steven took that first step, then the next. He just had to go save her! Walking with more and more determination as he got up the stairs, he picked up a torch, and lit it. It was becoming dark now and it just felt like upstairs seemed¡­Really, excessively dark¡­ Walking into one of two doors, one on each side of the stairs, Steven poked his head into the room, to see darkness until he put the torch into the room. With small movements, he looked around to find a mess. A broken table here, a broken chair there. Even the windows were broken. Curtains were ripped¡­ There was also dust everywhere, like no one lived there. Holding onto her legs, the Princess glared at the uninvited guest. Why would he come here, knowing he would get into tro¡­ ¡°Celeste? Are you alright?¡± Holding back tears, the Princess couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard! ¡°Celeste!¡± He was here to help Celeste¡­ Braving a ¡®broken bone¡¯ he still came here¡­ Seeing the man stop, then mumble, ¡°She¡¯s not here.¡± The Princess saw him walk normally towards another door in the room¡­Closer to her. Before he could catch her with the torch, she walked away from him in the dark and said, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Steven let out a loud yelp to the finding another person there. ¡°Scared? So, you should be!¡± In the next second he was flipped over, on his back on the floor. ¡°Wait! I was just¡­¡± The Princess stopped him, ¡°You were told never to come here!¡± Steven went to get up but as his feet were flat one the floor he was once again tripped. Dammit, he nearly dropped the torch twice! What is she doing! Does she want to burn up her own room!? If he could see, Steven might have felt better but no, he couldn¡¯t see much at all, and it really was a tad bit scary! ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± The Princess wiped at her face and then threw the torch through the window. The shattering glass feel down, and she stepped on the glass accidentally. Steven got up and, this time not getting tripped over and quickly left. Oh, that was scary! He hadn¡¯t had time to do anything! He went down the stairs and then stopped. Really, why was he still here? He didn¡¯t have anything like chains on¡­He had just been doing chores like he¡­ Why was he still here!? What about Celeste? He asked himself. Celeste came across as someone that knew how to look after herself. She seemed to be tough. She was probably just going for a swim or something. She¡¯ll be fine¡­ With that thought, Steven ran out of the house! *** Getting hit by another branch, Steven couldn¡¯t help but think that he was lost! He had been sure that he was traveling down that narrow path but¡­Was he really? It didn¡¯t look like it! He¡¯d been walking now for what felt like hours, but it was only about fifteen minutes or so. What stopped him next though was a growl¡­ It stopped Steven so drastically that he could hardly breath. Hearing something in the distance, Steven turned towards it, but it was dark¡­He was getting over how dark it was! Stepping backwards, he heard another growl and really started to panic¡­ Breathing heavily, Steven tried to slowly get away from the growl but hit a tree, only making him more scared. ¡°Oh, please¡­I¡¯m not¡­I don¡¯t have anything to offer you. I¡¯m not an heir anymore¡­¡± With random mumbling, Steven tried to control himself, as he continued to pass the tree and backed up, to finally see the wolf coming at him. ¡°I¡¯m not plump. You won¡¯t like me¡­¡± Seeing a stick, Steven picked it up, to see his shivering hands. ¡°I¡¯m not plump. I¡¯m skinny¡­¡± The wolf came closer, and Steven moved his hands around randomly, trying to stop the wolf from coming closer. ¡°I¡¯m skinny!¡± He yelled at the wolf, who then charged at him. ¡°Stop it!¡± Steven swung his hands around, surprised to have hit the thing. ¡°See! Don¡¯t mess with me!¡± Steven stopped though when he heard another growl behind him. Shaking like a leave, he turned to see exactly what he thought it would be, telling himself he got something right for a change¡­ It was another wolf. He was so scared that his mouth just kept going and going, ¡°Two, two is better than one. If there were only one, ah!¡± Steven went to the other side of the tree and swung his hands randomly. ¡°It¡¯s just like having Christmas and birthday, that¡¯s two¡­Two at a time¡­Stop!¡± The wolf took his stick, to which Steven stated him as a thief but then both wolves were in front of him, as he slid down the tree in pure terror. Finally, Steven was quiet¡­ The wolves however had indeed not just gone ahead and taken their meal because something else took their attention. With what felt like magic, Steven watched as a rock hit one of the wolves and a person came to hit the other. ¡°You speak a lot of nonsense.¡± Steven looked up and saw, ¡°Celeste.¡± ¡°Get up!¡± He noticed that she couldn¡¯t help him get up because¡­She was fighting off the two wolves¡­ How¡­ Dammit! He didn¡¯t want her to die for his sack! ¡°Get out of here!¡± ¡°You first!¡± Why was she here! Was she planting trees in the forest at night-time or something!? Now on his feet, Steven got another stick and waved it around before the wolves. Celeste looked at Steven briefly and pushed him out of the way, before he was going to get bitten. ¡°Dammit!¡± Steven got up and then pulled her over, to have finally done something right with a stick by impaling a small part of it into the wolf. In the next instant, he saw Celeste do some weird kick at the other wolf¡¯s head and it fell to the floor. ¡°Come on!¡± She stated, quickly taking his hand and leading him in a direction. Steven suddenly heard her yell out as her leg got bitten by the other wolf, he then stepped on the wolf¡¯s head. ¡°Dammit!¡± He heard her say through clenched teeth. The wolf hadn¡¯t been cleared of her leg and it seemed he had made things worse. ¡°Sorry!¡± The woman started to fall, but still pushed him, ¡°Go! It¡¯s that way!¡± Shaking his head, he picked her up without a second thought and ran in the pointed direction. He ran right back inside of the castle and then put her down to close the doors. Breathing heavily, he saw her still on the floor looking at her wound. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Hang on, that was the Princess¡­ But when she looked up at him, no¡­It was Celeste¡­ He must be confused¡­ ¡°There¡¯s bandages in the kitchen, go get them for me.¡± Steven nodded to Celeste¡¯s familiar voice. ¡­But it was¡­Also¡­ Stopping, he turned towards the woman on the floor and blinked. ¡°Go and get it!¡± She yelled at the silly man! Steven left and returned, having known where the bandages were through him having been in the kitchen before. Leaving the bandages, he then left to get some water and wanted to ask for some liquor. But there was none¡­Well none where he could see¡­So, he settled for some salt instead. Tending to the wound, worse than any others he had tended to before now, it took a while to stop the bleeding. Every now and again, he would curiously look at the quiet woman that had this wound, only to find her gritting her teeth¡­ So, she was most definitely in pain¡­And it was because of him. ¡°What were you doing out there at this time of night?¡± Steven asked. ¡°You are one to talk! Dammit! I¡­My foot hurts too! Stop touching it!¡± Steven looked at her and then down at her feet, taking off the shoe and sock. It was a small piece of glass¡­ When did she step in glass? Actually, it was because of this small piece of glass that she found that he was gone¡­In the middle of the night. She had gone downstairs to get bandages, to treat her small wound on her foot, only to find the plate in the kitchen. ¡­He had cooked for her! Perhaps the dangerous black of night gave her enough reason to go out and try to find him, and she glad she had. If he was going to leave, why do it at the worst possible time? What an idiot! He went to take the glass out of her foot, in turn she put her hand onto his arm and held it tight. Since she was hurting him with her hand, he could only guess how much pain she was in right now. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have run away!¡± ¡°I¡­You scared the hell out of me!¡± ¡°Good! I told you not to go up there!¡± ¡°Celeste told me, not you!¡± ¡°I am Celeste you idiot!¡± ¡°¡­Celeste¡­Can¡¯t wear that dress. She¡¯s a maid.¡± ¡°Idiot!¡± ¡°I thought she was in trouble.¡± Steven said, mumbling while he was finally putting fabric around her bite wound. ¡°I was mad!¡± The Princess muttered back. ¡°Celeste doesn¡¯t get mad.¡± Steven simply said. The Princess took a deep breath and put her hands over her chest, ¡°Oh, she gets mad! She¡¯s mad, all the time!¡± Steven laughed at her, ¡°She¡¯s sweet.¡± Seeing the Princess loss her anger and laxed her arms, Steven frowned. ¡°Liar!¡± Steven tied the knot to the bandage and looked directly at her, ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± The Princess shook her head, ¡°Celeste is me, so what you are saying is that I¡¯m sweet¡­That¡­It doesn¡¯t¡­¡± Steven frowned again and suddenly it made sense, ¡°So¡­That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t see you sometimes? You were the¡­Princess?¡± The Princess, looked away and then nodded. ¡°It never became much of an issue, when I¡¯m alone I dress that way and act that way simply because it¡¯s¡­Easier¡­¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you tell me that!?¡± Steven asked, his voice rising. The Princess frowned, ¡°Why should I!?¡± Steven stood then, angrily, ¡°I asked about the Princess, so you could have told me then!¡± Picking her up, she let out a yelp, ¡°You¡¯re light as a feather.¡± ¡°What are you doing!?¡± Celeste yelled. Steven looked at her quickly, before continuing to walk up the stairs. ¡°What? You want to sleep on the floor?¡± ¡°No!¡± He went up the stairs, both of them still grumbling. ¡°A Princess cooking her own dinners, whoever heard of such a thing!¡± ¡°It¡¯s easier to just do everything myself!¡± ¡°Excuses!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not an excuse!¡± Holding onto her tighter, with one hand, Steven opened the door with the other. ¡°Where is it? I can¡¯t see a thing.¡± Steven was talking about the bed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡­¡± The Princess sighed¡­Suddenly, for the first time, she wished her room was cleaner¡­ Steven tripped, nearly losing the Princess! Holding her closer to him, he sighed, ¡°Uh¡­¡± The Princess finally spoke, ¡°Let me down, I¡¯m ok¡­¡± Honestly, she wasn¡¯t broken, she would have been able to walk¡­Why hadn¡¯t she thought of that until now!? Steven put her down gently, staring at her. Feeling self-conscious, Celeste slowly limped to her bed and put the cover over herself, wanting to disappear. ¡°Are you going to be ok until morning?¡± ¡°Go away¡­¡± She said through the cover. Steven stood still for a moment, knowing now that the voice of both the Princess and Celeste was exactly the same. Almost like someone who lost their soul, Steven walked away and wondered what stupid things he must have said to her. *** Chapter 3
Celeste opened her eyes to the noise and lazily looked to the side. ¡°Sorry, I was trying to be quiet.¡± What is going on? Celeste stared at the man and suddenly went to sit up, feeling pain. ¡°Are you ok?¡± Steven hovered over her and went to take the bottom of the quilt away. ¡°Hey!¡± Steven looked at her, ¡°What?¡± Celeste moved her head back, away from him, ¡°I¡¯m a girl.¡± Frowning, Steven looked at her in confusion, ¡°And I¡¯m a man.¡± What a weird girl¡­ Taking the bottom of the quilt off, he looked at her wound and frowned. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t have woken up soon, I would have just looked. Do you even know it¡¯s past midday? I was getting worried!¡± Getting up, he went to the where he placed down the bandages from earlier and brought them closer to the bed. ¡°What¡­What¡¯s wrong?¡± Steven looked up at her and said, ¡°It¡¯s probably fine, it¡¯s just you bled a lot¡­Probably why you slept so¡­Much.¡± Celeste rubbed her tired eyes and then finally understood what he meant, her room was cleaner¡­And brighter¡­ ¡°I told you not to¡­Hey!¡± Grabbing onto his shirt, Celeste gritted her teeth to the cloth being taken off her wound. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness¡­¡± ¡°Celeste! There is no royalty here!¡± Steven looked up at her, not saying anything. Going back to her leg, which seemed to be easier to worry about, he then got to work. He had found something earlier that could help disinfect it, so he tried to clean it as well as he could, then made sure it wasn¡¯t bleeding anymore, before he placed over it some old liquor. Feeling his shirt once again be held onto, Steven grabbed her hand. ¡°It¡¯s ok to yell out your pain.¡± ¡°No one cares for my pain.¡± That¡¯s it, Steven thought. It¡¯s the same as that other time. Her voice held an emotion that was almost like it had its own vortex¡­ ¡°I do.¡± Steven blurted out. That emotion worried him. It scared him. It reminded him of someone from so long ago¡­ ¡°So?¡± The Princess didn¡¯t know what else to say. If people had said that earlier, they were probably paid to say it. This man always got to her though, he got to her because he wasn¡¯t like the others¡­He was like¡­Her¡­ Steven didn¡¯t know how to deal with her. She seemed uncertain about everything! ¡°Pain in general, whether it for a good or bad person, still feels the same.¡± Steven uttered. He dried the area around the wound lightly, then started to bandage it back up again. ¡°Pain is inflicted!¡± The Princess uttered. Steven looked at her, ¡°Yes but, pain can also be brought on in a nonphysical way as well. Sometimes the person might not even know that they¡¯ve caused pain to another.¡± Celeste looked away from him, she knew way to well about the nonphysical type of pain! ¡°Are you trying to be a prophet or something?¡± The Princess asked in vexation. ¡°A philosopher?¡± Steven sighed, ¡°I have nothing to state¡­I¡¯ve not only brought pain physically to someone, but I have done so not physically as well. I just think that people can feel other people¡¯s pains, it¡¯s more of if they care about the person or not, not the pain¡­¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t understand.¡± Steven sighed, ¡°For instance, for me, I feel your pain of being¡­Outcasted¡­Because I am myself, outcasted. And so, I want to be nice to you, give you a chance, because perhaps I would like that for myself too¡­But for someone who may not like you but know the feeling of being outcasted, they might not care that you are in pain or not. It¡¯s like, an individual choice to care or not, even if they know what it feels like¡­¡± Steven sat back, remembering something that he¡¯d forgotten. ¡°My mother, she used to¡­¡± He¡¯d forgotten about her¡­Her teachings, her ways¡­ It was because she went the way she did¡­He had been angry with her! Celeste watched as he went into his own world. What was he thinking about now? ¡°When she left, she didn¡¯t think of the pain she¡¯d leave behind. It changes people.¡± Steven then stopped again¡­ His mother had been like that for a reason. To have so much pain to have wanted to kill herself, she¡­ Putting a hand to his head, he sat there hiding his face. His father¡­Of course his father would have been the one to have caused his mother so much pain! ¡­Standing up, he walked away, without a word. He felt like such an idiot! He had hated his mother for leaving him like that. He¡¯d tried to be the best son to his father, only now to realize that his father not only would cast him out so easily but was probably the one to have made his mother kill herself! All this time he¡¯d just been mad at her for leaving like that, never questioning why she had felt like that to begin with! He was so stupid! He felt like he betrayed not only himself but his mother! Now, he just added one more thing to his list of how he was living worthlessly! Why is it that now he felt like he¡¯d done everything wrong in his life? The years after his mother¡¯s death and trying to win his father¡¯s love and pride, it¡¯s all shattered into smithereens! Why, why had he done that!? He¡¯d given so much to the man that is probably the reason why his mother died and¡­ He¡­He had also helped his father try to get at Cid. Because his father had wanted the blacksmithing shop, he had wanted it too! Cid, he was like this big wall that Steven couldn¡¯t seem to climb over! He had done so much wrong to him! The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Steven slumped down on his bed, even though it was still too early to retire, and just realized something even worse. He didn¡¯t think. Even if his father was who he was, he himself could have still chosen not to do it¡­He remembered asking himself sometimes if it was the right thing to do and he still did it¡­So, even if his father was a nasty man and gave him instinctive, Steven knew¡­He knew that ultimately, he was to blame. He had been the one that gave orders, he had been the one that made the choice! Putting his head in his hands, Steven felt broken. He was sure that getting forgiveness wouldn¡¯t be easy. It would probably be hard work! It was to a point in his negative thoughts that he didn¡¯t really care for it anyway¡­And that, perhaps it was better that he had just disappeared from his country. Perhaps he shouldn¡¯t ever return¡­ Maybe, he should just leave entirely. Would that be enough revenge for them? *** Celeste wanted to get mad at Steven but couldn¡¯t bring herself to. It almost felt like they were at a competition on who¡¯s life was worse. Hers or his¡­ She was curious. She wanted to know more about him and why he felt the way he did. But, for the moment, she was sort of stuck in bed. Things had changed though¡­Steven, although being quiet, brought her bland meal up to her, not once complaining about having to do all the work by himself. She knew how much work it was! Picking the vegetables, chopping them all up, cooking¡­All of it¡­This man took up all the work and didn¡¯t say a word about it. The only thing that she found even more troubling was that she didn¡¯t want to be left alone anymore¡­She wanted him more by her side for some reason. At the same time though, she knew that all the work took a lot of time. It was good when there was two of them, she was actually able to enjoy a sunset. She was actually able to cook better, since she could just show her techniques and teach. Everything was just getting out of control! What was wrong with her! She¡¯d already made a choice! She¡­Actually, she needed to get her head on straight and find her people. Make sure things were still on track, that the time for the big plans to happen for her country were happening as planned¡­ She¡¯s forgotten¡­ That¡¯s right, she was here alone for a reason¡­Yet she still couldn¡¯t bring herself to force Steven away¡­Not yet¡­Just a little bit longer¡­ Celeste walked out to the small veranda and sat down next to Steven, who seemed to be lost in his own little world. ¡°Talk to me.¡± She said. Unable to take his silence anymore. She let out a small wish that he¡¯d talk to her on his own accord, but he hadn¡¯t. Steven looked at her, ¡°I¡¯m selfish, Your Highness, if I talk to you, it¡¯ll mostly be about myself.¡± Celeste swallowed and looked out, ¡°Just talk to me.¡± After all, she was curious¡­ ¡°Since coming here, I¡¯ve¡­Learnt a few things¡­I really should thank you.¡± Steven started, ¡°I¡¯ve learnt how to cook¡­¡± Celeste interrupted him, ¡°Not quite.¡± Steven let out a small laugh, ¡°You are right! Not quite!¡± Looking at her he added, ¡°Picking vegetables?¡± Celeste smiled and said nothing. Steven then added, ¡°Doing laundry?¡± The Princess moved her head from side to side but said nothing. Steven laughed. ¡°What about finding out that when I¡¯m really scared, I start talking nonstop!¡± Celeste laughed too, ¡°You were talking utter nonsense!¡± Steven shook his head, ¡°I can¡¯t even remember what I said!¡± Celeste put her head up in thought, ¡°I think you were saying something about two being better than one.¡± Steven stared at her, ¡°¡­Thank you for saving my life.¡± Losing her smile, Celeste looked at him. His eyes seemed to burn into her soul, almost like they could learn all of her secrets¡­ Looking away from him, the Princess, didn¡¯t know what to say. Oh, except, ¡°Thank you too, my wound is getting better.¡± Steven sighed, ¡°You know I used to look after my brother. He was so clumsy and would fall on his knees nearly every day!¡± Celeste vaguely remembered that brother of his and looked down. It¡¯s almost come to a point that she felt bad over any bad feeling she¡¯d ever given this man¡­ ¡°My mother taught me a bit of being a doctor, or physician. She was a daughter of one, but she couldn¡¯t become one herself. When¡­When she died, I looked after my brother¡­¡± Steven stopped and frowned. Why was he constantly finding faults now!? Now, just at this moment, he even saw that his brother really needed his father¡¯s help! Why had their father not really brought them up? We tried to be well behaved for a while but¡­ Where had his father been!? It was a mirror¡­ Celeste just felt like he was a mirror to her. Why were they both here when they had been brought so much pain? What was the point!? ¡°Do you like medicine?¡± Celeste asked, clearing her throat. Steven looked at her blankly, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just¡­I don¡¯t know.¡± It wasn¡¯t a big deal really. ¡°Try it out, you never know.¡± Celeste stated, ¡°I have a couple of medicine books here. Not many though, but we can go get some.¡± Steven raised his eyebrows¡­Was he interested though? He didn¡¯t hate it¡­ ¡°I¡¯m not asking the world, Steven.¡± Celeste said, feeling his silence. Steven looked at the Princess and smiled¡­ She called me Steven¡­Was his thoughts. ¡°Why are you so good at martial arts?¡± Steven asked. Actually, he¡¯d already wanted to ask her this several times! How great would it be! Just imagine if they were being chased by bad men, after¡­After taking something important from the enemy and bang, the Princess does her little kick and flip and¡­And¡­ ¡°Steven!¡± ¡°Uh?¡± ¡°You ask a question, then stop listening. That is rude!¡± Steven widened his eyes and bowed his head, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness! I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Should he get on the floor and kneel or something? Hearing the Princess let out a loud sigh, Steven looked at her, seeing her shaking her head. ¡°Are you truly interested?¡± The Princess asked, showing her doubt. Steven nodded, ¡°I was just thinking how great it would be to be running away and you beat up a whole heap of people.¡± Celeste just stared at the idiotic man, he was almost like a little boy! Sighing again, Celeste asked, ¡°Are you listening now then? I¡¯m not going to repeat myself!¡± Steven obediently nodded his head. Smiling at him, she lowered her head, feeling satisfied, ¡°When I was cast out to here, this small castle, I did have maids. I was taught here and that included martial arts.¡± Remembering back, Celeste tried not to think too deeply upon something that doesn¡¯t matter anymore. ¡°I was a bit mean to some servants, so they were removed. But there was one that I did not play any tricks with¡­It was my martial arts trainer.¡± Steven waited patiently for her to continue. ¡°I was diligent in learning martial arts, simply because it was the only thing I could do.¡± Celeste frowned at nothing, ¡°I don¡¯t know what normal children filled their time in with.¡± Steven sat back properly, more comfortably, ¡°When I wasn¡¯t learning, I was playing with my brother, or even other children¡­Or trying to follow my father around¡­¡± Ah, so that was it, Steven looked at the Princess. Finally understanding. The Princess never had her mother, nor her father¡­Did she even have any other children? Or had it really only been her this entire time? She smiled at him and nodded, ¡°I think that is what I missed¡­And to fill that, I used martial arts. He ended up leaving because he had nothing more to teach me.¡± Steven nodded, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°Were you learning anything specifically?¡± Celeste asked Steven, looking at him. Steven shrugged, ¡°I was the heir, so I was to take over from my father. The business was quite popular, back then, so I needed to learn several things.¡± Waiting for him to continue, Celeste found herself liking this rare chance to have a normal conversation. ¡°I had to learn how to do finance, I had to learn how to fill in the books. I had to learn how to treat customers, to talk to providers. I had to learn how to think ahead, so that I could order in the next months¡­Stuff. It was exhausting.¡± Steven let out a huff, thinking of all that! Perhaps it would have been easier if Freddie had been the heir¡­ ¡°You didn¡¯t like it?¡± Celeste asked. Steven looked at her, smiling, ¡°No! I felt like it was hard to think all the time! Do people do it all the time!? Isn¡¯t it exhausting!?¡± Celeste smirked, ¡°Some do, yes.¡± Steven put a hand through his hair, ¡°I don¡¯t know, perhaps I could do better¡­Not that it matters anymore¡­¡± That¡¯s right, it doesn¡¯t matter, so why bother worrying about it¡­ He¡¯d much prefer to think about something else¡­Anything else¡­ Looking at Celeste, he let himself become distracted. It wasn¡¯t hard, she really was such a beautiful woman¡­ Under his gaze, for the first time ever in her life, Celeste felt heat go to into her cheeks¡­ ¡°You know, I don¡¯t know why they call you Medusa. Your beautiful!¡± Steven hardly remembered when he had so much courage but, it was the truth. Celeste frowned at him, ¡°Beauty isn¡¯t why they call me Medusa.¡± Steven sighed, ¡°It¡¯s all been confusing since coming here!¡± Celeste let out a small laugh, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You have no servants, even I had servants! You do work! Work! Even Princess Bethany didn¡¯t do work half as much as you!¡± Steven just let it flow out of him. Celeste frowned though, she knew all this! ¡°You don¡¯t understand.¡± Hang on, did he personally know Princess Bethany or was that just hearsay? Steven huffed out, ¡°Clearly! It must be because this country is broken!¡± Wanting to laugh at his strange wording, Celeste got up, ¡°There are indeed some things in this country that are¡­Broken¡­But that is still not the reason why I am called Medusa. I will be going in now, I expect to see you at lunch.¡± In an instant, Steven went to pick her up and she yelped to the sudden sway of her body. ¡°Medusa is some ugly girl with snakes or something. I don¡¯t see the resemblance at all¡­Unless I¡¯m dreaming or blind.¡± Steven muttered, on his way to her room. Celeste half smiled, ¡°She is a legend, mythical¡­Magical.¡± ¡°Is that what everyone is trying to say then? You know, this conversation makes me feel stupid!¡± Putting her down Steven looked directly at her, almost like the conversation was one of the most stupidest things in the world! ¡°It¡¯s not my fault! That¡¯s just what the country calls me.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not because you¡­Aren¡¯t ugly. Then why?¡± Steven asked, sitting down next to her. The Princess frowned, ¡°I¡¯m a nasty person.¡± Steven rolled his eyes, ¡°So am I! I don¡¯t get called Medusa. What¡¯s wrong with people of today?¡± By now he had gotten up again and started to walk out. ¡°You¡¯re not a bad person¡­¡± Celeste called out to him. ¡°If you were, I doubt we¡¯d be in the situation.¡± Steven turned to her, serious all of a sudden, ¡°You have misunderstood then.¡± With that he left, leaving Celeste to wonder why he felt so strongly that he was a bad person. Chapter 4
It was now about two weeks after they had arrived back from Commorda, and Celeste couldn¡¯t wait any longer to go into town. She still couldn¡¯t walk properly, because of her wound, but she needed to get updated upon what was going on with the country. But it wasn¡¯t like she couldn¡¯t handle walking! Who cared if it hurt a bit and that she¡¯d be limping!? ¡°No.¡± Steven said, tying up the bandage to her leg. Her glass wound was also getting better, probably because she¡¯d been off her feet a lot since. ¡°I¡¯m¡­I¡¯m not asking your permission!¡± The Princess stated, a bit distracted to hearing the word ¡®no¡¯. Steven shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m the doctor, you¡¯re not well enough to just go walking around!¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t a doctor¡­¡± Celeste said frowning. He reads a book and it¡¯s self declared? Steven smiled, ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll hold you down if I have to, Your Highness!¡± Laying firmly back onto the bed, the Princess shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll just wait a little longer then.¡± Steven got up from his knees and then sat on the bed, ¡°Do I need to watch over you?¡± Celeste just stared at him, he was so¡­Bold¡­ ¡°Promise me you won¡¯t go anywhere.¡± Steven said. The Princess shook her head, why should she make a promise!? She was supposed to be the one in charge here! ¡°No!¡± Steven sighed. ¡°I want to fix my hair¡­And you aren¡¯t going out without me!¡± He had wanted to fix his hair prior to now but then asked himself why every single time. But going out and making sure that she¡¯d be safe and not get into more trouble, he¡¯d have to do something about it now! ¡°Oh, right¡­¡± Celeste at least saw that Steven wasn¡¯t completely against it, but¡­Why does it matter!? She could just go on her own! Did she¡­Had she originally thought that they would go together before asking? Looking down, Celeste shook her head. She was becoming too attached. There was something big coming and she had a part to play, she couldn¡¯t get attached like this! By now Steven had left to finally tend to his hair¡­But he didn¡¯t have much time, he then would have chores to do before he was to make some lunch. Roughly cutting away most of his hair, shaking his head to the terrible way it had become, Steven roughly continued to cut his hair with a small knife, so that he looked¡­Well, so that he looked presentable! Nothing was working though! He¡¯d never cut his own hair before! One side looked shorter than the other, then suddenly his hair was getting so extremely short that he was wanting to give up! Putting down the knife and sighing, Steven looked into the dull mirror and shook his head. He didn¡¯t know what the back of his head looked like, but the front looked, well, it looked better than it did before he cut away the matted hair¡­ That was something¡­ Does it really matter though? His hair, it wasn¡¯t going to help him survive, was it? It wasn¡¯t going to pay for anything or do chores for him¡­ Leave it¡­But he did shave his light beard that had grown all this time¡­ Walking into the room, where Celeste was, Steven stopped just inside the room. Wait¡­ He had come here to literally ask her if his hair was ok but, now it just felt so stupid to do that! ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Your hair¡­¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Steven busied himself with a simple book on the bed and put it on the broken side table. Celeste smiled at his obvious actions. ¡°It looks ok to me.¡± Actually, the Princess was impressed. Looking less like the homeless person that she had met, she found herself nodding. He had a certain charm, that was for sure, and it sparkled more through his natural actions. Steven stopped and looked at her, ¡°I¡¯ve never cut my own hair before.¡± ¡°¡­Me either.¡± She said back, silently once again admitting that he did have his charms. Turning around, Steven said, ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s ok?¡± Celeste could see some things that she could possibly help with, but generally, it looked good. It was better than before! Much better! ¡°How long did you grow your hair for?¡± She asked. Steven finally turned back around, ¡°Most of my life.¡± He had liked combing hair¡­For some stupid reason. ¡°Was it always like that?¡± ¡°No! I looked after my hair!¡± Steven stated openly, raising his voice slightly. Actually, he already felt weird, having cut his hair off! Not only had his hair been heavier but there had been a certain part of it that had been in his way. It¡¯s weird to do an action but have nothing happen now, when before it moved a dread lock out of his way. Celeste held up a hand, she didn¡¯t want to fight with him, ¡°So, how did it get like that then?¡± Steven frowned at her, ¡°You forget how you first met me?¡± Except, it had started before he was on the streets¡­It had started when he was in the palace dungeon¡­He was sure that he had gotten some head lice or something because he had scratched his head a lot, which was the start of his hair becoming like that¡­ ¡°You looked like you hadn¡¯t eaten in days.¡± Celeste said, remembering. ¡°Well¡­I hadn¡¯t¡­My father disowned me and so I was homeless. That¡¯s one reason how my hair got like that.¡± Why was I telling her that! How embarrassing! Steven thought. ¡°Disowned? Sounds familiar¡­¡± Celeste looked away, knowing what that felt like. ¡°Why?¡± Steven stopped and gave it some thought. He had been disowned after he had been put into a dungeon. So, he guessed that was the reason¡­ ¡°I guess it¡¯s because¡­I was¡­¡± Was what? An embarrassment? I had embarrassed him before though. But it¡¯s different if a son goes to prison, especially in the palace. Celeste waited but could see Steven struggling with the question. ¡°I guess it was because I was officially noted as a bad person. I wasn¡¯t in just any type of prison, I was in the palace prison¡­I guess that¡¯s enough to get disowned.¡± Steven shrugged, that¡¯s probably the right answer anyway. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You were in the palace? That probably means you were in there because of royalty. I guess that would be enough.¡± Celeste agreed with Steven, even though she felt like something was amiss. She even wanted to ask what he had done to get in there¡­ It just felt strange that she saw no murderous thing about him. He was not someone that went after women and forcing them either¡­Why did he think he was so terribly bad then? Yet¡­He had stated that he wasn¡¯t a good person¡­Perhaps he had done something else to the palace then? Damaged the palace? Stole? ¡°Yeah,¡± Steven put a hand through his newly cut hair and turned to look out the window, ¡°The Prince Consort, I mistreated him¡­It wasn¡¯t just once or twice¡­I¡­¡± Steven slumped. He figured that he still felt pretty undeserving to believe that he could obtain any type of forgiveness for what he¡¯d done to Cid¡­ ¡°The Prince Consort? I went to his wedding.¡± Celeste tried to remember that person but never had cared so the memory of him isn¡¯t very descriptive. ¡°He should be ok now. Married to the Princess¡­They were always good to each other.¡± Steven once again looked out the window but remembered the relationship Princess Bethany had with Cid. It was so obvious that they had been made for each other but he, he had wrecked that too by happily accepting his father making him the Princess¡¯s fianc¨¦. Why had he accepted it so openly and even used that knowledge to taunt Cid after!? He hadn¡¯t even cared much for the Princess¡­And Cid had been family, so Cid could have taken his spot first! Why!? Why had his father been so nasty!? ¡°You saw them together before they were married?¡± Celeste asked. ¡°They met each other?¡± Steven let out a laugh and turned to her, ¡°They were often around each other. Her highness came to our business often and just sat next to him. My father hated it!¡± That¡¯s right, his father¡­His father wanted her directly related to him, because he had not thought of Cid as his son at all. That was way he had become the fianc¨¦. ¡°A Princess was¡­¡± Celeste finally understood why Steven might know a little bit about royalty. ¡°And that¡¯s why you are surprised with how I live?¡± Steven sat on the window seal, close by the bed. ¡°Princess Bethany might not have had servants with her all the time, but she was still very well looked after¡­¡± Steven stopped himself¡­Was she though? There was just so many things he was waking up to and just questioning this was what he never used to do¡­ He was changing, he knew it¡­He could feel it too¡­ ¡°You always stop talking in the middle of sentences, it irritates me¡­¡± Celeste sighed. Steven looked at her briefly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Celeste!¡± Steven raised his eyebrows at her, ¡°¡­Celeste¡­¡± ¡°Better!¡± Celeste smoothed out her top blanket, just giving herself something easy to do. ¡°I feel like my world changed and I¡¯m seeing things that I¡¯ve never seen before. I keep getting¡­¡± Once again Steven stopped talking but he had no idea how to bring across the emotion that he was feeling. ¡°Surprised?¡± Steven nodded and shook his head, ¡°Not just surprised but more¡­I just wished I had been smarter in my choices! I wish I just could go back and tell myself to open my eyes and think more about the choices that I had made!¡± Celeste frowned, even if she could go back, it wouldn¡¯t stop them from out casting her. They all knew that she was the next royal in line, yet they still treat her terribly. Did they still think that everything would be the same when she was to take over? Did they think that she¡¯d happily be a puppet? The only thing that she has, is that she is indeed the heir¡­It was the only card she had to play¡­ There was no other¡­So, if they had power over the people or something¡­Well, it doesn¡¯t matter¡­ Thinking of that, Celeste was once again reminded of going out. ¡°You cut your hair, so let¡¯s go out tomorrow!¡± Steven stopped thinking and looked at her, ¡°Oh, that wasn¡¯t the only thing¡­¡± Celeste was starting to get angry, ¡°Then what!? What are you going to do to make a Princess wait longer for next!?¡± Steven was taken a back, ¡°I told you, you need to rest!¡± Celeste moved the quilt away and moved her legs to the floor. ¡°I will show you that I¡¯m fine!¡± Steven went to push her back into bed, only to have Celeste determined to get out of bed. So, there was indeed a shuffle of a quilt and legs and arms! ¡°Get back into bed!¡± Steven demanded, into a leg that was kneeing him in his shoulder. ¡°I said that I am fine, and I will be going out tomorrow!¡± Celeste said through her teeth. ¡°Let me go!¡± Steven roughly pushed her and then got on top of her, ¡°You do realize that I¡¯m a man!¡± Stating this, was only to remind her that he was stronger than her, not only that but he didn¡¯t have a sore leg like she did! Clearly, he would be able to stop her! But Celeste was immediately reminded of the fact that Steven was indeed a man¡­On her bed! Stopping her squirming and staring at the man on top of her, Celeste felt her cheeks once again go hot! Steven nodded to feeling her stop moving and said, ¡°Good! Just because you know some moves, doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t¡­¡± Suddenly, the woman beneath him was looking¡­. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you!?¡± He asked. He watched her look away from him, even show redness in her face¡­ ¡°Get off me!¡± Celeste suddenly said, pushing him off her. He hadn¡¯t been ready and really did fall off the bed. ¡°Hey!¡± Celeste turned in her bed, so that she was face down into her small, old and tattered pillow. It wasn¡¯t fair! She had lived 25 years of her life not having bothered about this type of thing but now¡­It was so embarrassing all of a sudden! ¡°Celeste? Are you alright?¡± Steven got up and tried to turn her around. ¡°Are you in pain?¡± Talking into the pillow, Celeste said for him to go away. Only to be forced to turn to him in the next second. ¡°Are you in pain!?¡± Steven asked, checking her forehead. Being mad at his complete and utter ability to not notice that she was looking at him differently, Celeste was getting more and more angrier! ¡°I told you to go!¡± Steven frowned, ¡°You might have a fever.¡± ¡°Stop it!¡± Celeste insisted, when he went to take away the knot that kept the bandage in place on her leg. Steven looked at her briefly, ¡°What if you are infected? Let me see!¡± Celeste kicked him in the hand and then cringed, ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± Steven shook his head, ¡°If I knew where we were, I should have taken you to some close by doctor as soon as you got bitten! I¡¯m so stupid!¡± By now he had started taking the bandage off¡­ Celeste kicked his shoulder with her good foot and watched as he was pushed back towards the floor. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you!?¡± Steven asked, getting mad himself! Celeste squarely looked at him, ¡°I¡­Am¡­Fine! Leave and go do your chores!¡± Steven shook his head, in anger, ¡°¡­Very well, Your Highness!¡± Hearing him mumble on his way out, Celeste watched, then moved her leg up to fix up the bandage herself. Actually, she was glad that they hadn¡¯t needed to go to a doctor, it would have made things a lot harder. But she was sure that she hadn¡¯t gotten a fever¡­ Just a couple of minutes later, her cheeks were no longer red, only making things more difficult for Celeste. I like him¡­She admitted to herself. At a time that there was no point to have a romantic type of feeling or relationship and here she is¡­ What timing, for someone to come and try to make things harder for her¡­ It was too late though, she had already made plans for her future¡­And that did not include these feelings! Suddenly, it became even more important to keep away from Steven¡­ For next few days, until she knew that she would be fine all by herself in the close by town, she stayed home. She was quiet, and that only made Steven quiet in return, as he still did chores but just as one day had passed, where she had tended to her own foot, the next day he was told that she will get her own dinner. Steven could feel it, that something had changed! She was¡­She was trying to keep away from him, she was being independent and¡­It made Steven feel even worse. What had he done wrong now!? Was it because he had held a Princess down? Well, there was no denying it, it was wrong¡­ In fact, Steven didn¡¯t even bother looking further in an explanation for her acting different, thinking that he should be killed for having done such a thing to her! So¡­Steven accepted Celeste not needing him so much anymore¡­ As the third day came, Celeste tested her injury by doing some chores and even some training¡­And it was looking fine enough for her to go by herself into town¡­Even though her foot did indeed hurt¡­It was enough¡­ ¡°I will be leaving early tomorrow.¡± Celeste stated, walking up the stairs slowly. ¡°I¡­¡± Celeste interrupted him, ¡°You will not accompany me.¡± Steven just nodded, no longer looking at her. She turned to him like this and frowned. What was wrong with him now? But¡­Her future doesn¡¯t have him in it¡­So, she turned back around and continued to her room. Steven left to clean up the kitchen, since they had now finished their dinner. He felt¡­Empty. Lonely. But how could he complain? Did he not except this when he arrived? Accepted that he didn¡¯t deserve anything else but being a slave and not getting paid¡­ It¡¯s fine. Steven felt more and more bitter though, that he had indeed accepted this at first but now felt like he was wanting something more. He had thought they were getting along¡­That they, maybe, were becoming friends¡­ Friends¡­Does he deserve such a thing? Steven sat down on a chair, having cleaned the kitchen but couldn¡¯t remember doing it. He didn¡¯t know what to do¡­He felt aimless. Lost. Should he get someone else to take his place? Was she that angry with him that he shouldn¡¯t stay here anymore? What about how she is even doing more now¡­She might even tell him to go soon. Hadn¡¯t she lived all by herself like this? Right¡­ It would make a lot of sense if she were to just tell him to leave when she was all better. Could he not offer anything? Did he not do anything right? Getting up, turning out the torch, Steven looked out into the dark, that led him to his bed. His heavy heart felt like such a burden that he could barely sleep¡­ *** Celeste didn¡¯t see Steven early the next day, leaving easily through the front door. She had thought that he would get up and help her, but she assumed he was instead still sleeping. What did it matter, she asked herself. It was probably easier that he didn¡¯t follow her anyway! Of course, it was easier, because she was intending to meet up with a certain person, or someone connected to that certain person, and she didn¡¯t want Steven next to her when that happens! Taking the long walk down the narrow path and out the main road, Celeste followed that road towards a village to the left of the main road and found that her leg was already hurting a bit. Not letting herself think of her leg, Celeste continued. Along the way, at some stalls that sold food, she picked up a few things and put them into her basket, but her main objective was to go to the inn. Upon seeing a library, Celeste stopped. Should she get him another book? He had surprising read the first one quite quickly. Celeste had thought that she had to teach him how to read but the man was indeed a lot more knowledgeable than she had first thought. Unable to stop herself, she went into the library and had a look around. ¡°Can we help you, Celeste?¡± She turned towards him, ¡°I was¡­Do you have medicinal books?¡± The people here didn¡¯t think she was the princess, they all thought that she was a maid that only came when her ¡®master¡¯ let her. It was strange how she had not said anything upon who she was and yet she seemed to have come up with a past that even she was surprised about! The people here seemed determined to state that they know her and that she was to be pitied, perhaps even being one of those slaves that were sold, but that was something that wasn¡¯t talked of in front of her¡­ She had indeed come here a few times, getting some attention, but she didn¡¯t think it was long enough to have such a made-up history that these people would think true so fiercely! But¡­It was better that they didn¡¯t know that she was the princess of this ¡®broken¡¯ country, she thought. But still¡­To have them make up her life like that¡­They were strange, funny people indeed! Chapter 5
Just as they got to the books that she wanted to see, another voice interrupted them, making Celeste angry immediately. ¡°Celeste! My dear! You¡¯ve finally returned to me!¡± Celeste was in a maid outfit, her hair in a bun, which was pretty normal for others but¡­For some reason, this man that was coming up to her now found her that appealing that it was hard to tell him to leave her alone! The whole town was weird and a bit funny, but this man was the worst of the lot! She didn¡¯t understand the people at all! They trusted her like she was telling the ultimate truth and thought of her of as a sweet girl! Celeste was sure that it wasn¡¯t normal, that there had to be something wrong with them! Well, with the rise of taxes, she supposed that it wasn¡¯t hard to go a bit funny. She remembered when she first came to this town a few years back and the town had looked a lot better, and had been more popular too¡­But now, it seemed like people had left and that even some nice things in windows had been sold. There were less animals in the close by farms, there were less items to sell and less materials to obtain¡­ These people were probably on their last legs, hardly able to hold it together. There was probably no doubt that after nightfall comes and they were all in each of their homes, that they worry endlessly about how they are going to survive the next week or two. Perhaps, at the start of the rise in taxes, they might have worried over the next year, but after a while, it became a worry for the next month or two¡­Now¡­ Celeste sighed. This place was called Forsuremeet, and even though it wasn¡¯t the closest town to the capital, it was still hit the same as every other town in Melya. This was also the place that she had always met with her friend¡­ ¡°Calvin.¡± Celeste said, through clenched teeth. She was busy! She wanted¡­Right! She had wanted to get a book for Steven! Trying to look at the books, Calvin then stood in front of her with a huge smile! ¡°My dear! It¡¯s been too long! How do you think I have spent my time waiting for you!?¡± Celeste could be so much ruder, she knew that! Instead, she just shrugged and said, ¡°Happily dining other ladies?¡± It had been made obvious to her before that this ¡®Calvin¡¯ was quite the well-known bachelor in this small village town. It probably helped that he was the richest bachelor as well¡­ Hearing a strange laugh, Celeste looked at the man and rolled her eyes to how obvious it was that she was right! ¡°The other ladies still hold nothing over you, my dear! There is only but one that holds my heart and once again, I¡¯d like to¡­¡± Celeste interrupted him happily, ¡°Calvin, as much as your poems, sonnets or whatever you say sometimes amuses me, I have places to go and people to see!¡± Calvin only smiled back, ¡°It touches me so, that my words at least amuse you, my dear!¡± Sighing, Celeste wanted to kick herself for giving him any inclination of giving him a way of using her words in the wrong way! She had meant that in a sarcastic way! She laughed at him in her head many times! ¡°You have misunderstood me, Calvin!¡± For the fifteenth hundred time! ¡°Even misunderstanding you is like a fresh day after rain to me, my dear! Please tell me when will be the day that we will be side by side! I can¡¯t wait!¡± Celeste was getting extremely mad now! She had wanted to get a book for Steven, but Calvin was making it too difficult for her! What was the point anyway!? Leaving the library, Calvin following after her like a lost puppy, Celeste stopped abruptly in front of him, ¡°Go tell your mother she wants you!¡± Calvin frowned, but instantly smiled afterwards, ¡°Uh! You can¡¯t fool this man this time! When I last did that, my mother had said that she hadn¡¯t called upon me!¡± Celeste sighed, it seems that that will no longer work! ¡°I¡¯m very busy, Calvin! I would like to beg to go our separate ways!¡± ¡°Only if it will lead us to be on the same path once again, my dear! Haven¡¯t I always said that we will be together!?¡± Calvin nodded his head, smiling at her¡­Completely believing his own words. He was¡­Completely impossible! Celeste felt like she could tap her foot and put her hands onto her waist to show him that she was getting annoyed¡­But she had a feeling that he¡¯d take that as a compliment somehow! How can she get rid of him this time!? There was no way that she was going to have this man follow her to the inn! No way! ¡°I see that you have not denied what I said last, my dear! How about we skip some of the pleasantries and move onto our wedding! If you come met my mother now, I¡¯m sure we can be ready to be wed¡­¡± Celeste interrupted him again, ¡°I will not marry you, Calvin!¡± Calvin sighed, ¡°How long must I court you for then!¡± ¡°You never had to in the first place!¡± Celeste answered! Dammit, she already gave up getting a book, getting mad at him, now she was getting closer and closer to the inn and Calvin was still here! ¡°My feelings are hurt, my dear!¡± Calvin grabbed her hand and stopped her. Pulling her hand away, she then pointed with it. Not having an idea on what to say, Calvin just followed her pointed finger but found himself on the floor in the next minute. After tripping him, Celeste grabbed his arm and put it behind him, hearing him utter out his grievances. ¡°You will no longer follow me today! I have things to do! If you persist to follow me, I¡¯m sure your mother will not approve!¡± ¡°Ah! My dear! I¡­I have other matters to attend¡­.¡± Calvin finally looked like he relented to her and so, Celeste let him go and left, not looking back. He was a reason why she only came here when she absolutely had too! He was the most annoying thing that she had ever come across in her life! It was an hour of waiting at the inn, but, finally, someone came, and it was someone that Celeste had known for a few years now! ¡°Your Highness.¡± ¡°Little John.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Celeste nodded at the now standing person in front of her. After sitting at the table, the man went to sit too¡­He might be small, but his training was nearly as good as hers! She had been happy to spar with this man a few times, but each time she would win only by a hair, and that only gained her respect from this man known as ¡®Little John¡¯. ¡°Is there any news?¡± Celeste asked. He spoke in a low voice, coming slightly closer to her, even though they were upstairs and alone in a room, ¡°Your Highness, we are growing in numbers, but we are mostly just the countries people. Farmers, maids, servants¡­Runaway slaves¡­¡± Celeste interrupted him, ¡°There is no change then?¡± Little John frowned, ¡°No, we are training them to become better, but we do not have a force to be able to accomplish anything yet¡­We still lack¡­¡± Celeste shook her head, ¡°I cannot lead. I only play one part in this rebellion.¡± ¡°Is there any way that we can talk you out of it, Your Highness?¡± Little John asked. Shaking her head, ¡°It¡¯ll shake the foundation tremendously, you know that, all there will be left to do is make sure that the current queen is taken care of afterwards.¡± Sighing, Little John looked down, ¡°I¡¯m at a loss, Your Highness. We have no strategy and no guidance. We lack courage and an army.¡± Celeste looked at Little John and smiled, ¡°It is alright. I will wait longer, in hope that the people of this country will be ready to fight for their own survival soon.¡± Little John looked at the princess, that was wrongfully known as ¡®Medusa¡¯, and frowned. ¡°I will continue to lead people to Nopecarnot Forest and grow our numbers.¡± Celeste muttered out a short acceptance as Little John got up from his chair and bowed before her, ¡°I still hope you change your mind, Your Highness. I would accept the monarch under your rule!¡± ¡°Rise and leave, I¡¯ll meet back again in another two weeks.¡± Little John took a moment to think, ¡°Well, I will try to make it personally, or I will send another to take a message. It will be the same code.¡± Celeste frowned, ¡°No, we will change the code to something else. Just in case!¡± Their code was simply for others who didn¡¯t know who she was but knew she was a part of the rebellion. It was of course to also make it so their knowledge of what they were doing wasn¡¯t to become known to others. ¡°Get whoever it is to come to state that they are ¡®Looking at becoming a doctor.¡¯.¡± Once again, Celeste was thinking of Steven, even at this important moment¡­ Little John nodded, ¡°¡¯Looking at becoming a Doctor¡¯, very well. If it is not me, Your Highness, this will be the code for whomever comes.¡± Celeste nodded at him and waited for him to leave before picking up a cup to have tea. It was her favorite tea¡­How strange that her favorite tea was so common. You could go anywhere in Melya to obtain the Eatate tea, it was so easily obtained¡­ She didn¡¯t have tea back at her castle¡­Where Steven was¡­ ¡­Another two weeks, minimum¡­ She had been waiting for the perfect time, but it seems that waiting was becoming more and more of something she was doing. She had given a lot of anything that she had to the rebellion. Her garden, obviously so big that Steven had asked about it being so big, was just one thing that she helped with. Steven had asked her once about the ¡®disappearing¡¯ vegetables and fruits every now and again, but she would ignore it, stating that it¡¯s fine as long as they have what they need for themselves. But yes, she helps feed those who were ready to fight the monarch. In a way, she was the leader, but she never wanted it. She didn¡¯t feel up to being a leader when what she wanted from this was selfish. She just wanted it to end, but at the same time, make her death meaningful. She sought out the beginnings of the countries uprising and from there helped them¡­Until that final day when her grandmother would be surprised to find no heir left behind. In that surprise, Celeste had tried to organize an offense measure to try and kill those in charge of the country. She wasn¡¯t stupid, Celeste knew all about the rising of taxes and how there were slaves¡­She wanted to re shape the whole country but¡­It just wasn¡¯t her that was going to do it¡­ It was about two years ago that she had been determined to just end her life. The problem was¡­She was a coward and couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it herself so¡­She found someone to help her with it. The person was indeed ¡®Little John¡¯, whom had been trying to delay her desire to end her life as much as possible. He had agreed to help her on one condition, and that was for her help in the uprising against the monarch. Celeste could only follow through, still unable to achieve what she wanted herself. After so much time had passed and she had helped them already so much, Little John had hoped that it was enough to change her mind, but today he was surprised to see her still strong with her one desire. But that was all there was too it, she agreed to play a part where the ending of her life meant something, at a particular time, and that is why she was still here¡­ Having made a decision long ago that she was finished, Celeste couldn¡¯t bring herself to change her mind since. The biggest falter that her grandmother could have, was having no other heir to the throne. And that was Celeste¡¯s complete revenge upon her grandmother. The one who had made her live the way she had! It was her grandmother who had started everything! She had told her to live elsewhere, she had told the people that she was a nasty person! It didn¡¯t help having that reputation, which Celeste felt she should take advantage of but¡­She had never really cared too much about treating others too badly¡­She had always felt bad about it afterwards¡­ But having done some deeds to help her obtain the name of ¡®Medusa¡¯, Celeste had hated being stuck with that name to this very day. Why had her grandmother been so cruel? Why couldn¡¯t she just stay with her? Celeste clenched her hands and knew full well! Why was she asking these questions again now!? Feeling stupid, Celeste got up and got ready to leave. She knew full well of the greed in her grandmother! She just didn¡¯t understand how her grandmother hadn¡¯t let go yet! How old was she now? Can she take this money with her to the grave!? If someone had been able to get past her guards, who were paid handsomely, Celeste didn¡¯t think she¡¯d have to wait so long but¡­No one got through the guards¡­That is why an uprising needed to happen¡­And that it must succeed! *** Steven came back to the kitchen with a basket, only to find another basket on the kitchen table. Seeing there to be several items in there, some that they didn¡¯t have, but some that they did, Steven just put it all away. It seemed that even if he didn¡¯t know where something was, he tried to find out¡­Almost like he didn¡¯t care about wasting time or that it took longer that way. It was obvious that the Princess had returned back but Steven did not go to her just to ask her ¡®where did the cheese go?¡¯. Beginning to make dinner, even though it was still slightly early, Steven got to work. He had already done laundry, swept, picked fruit and vegetables, fed the animals¡­ He¡¯d done a lot and probably couldn¡¯t tell you what he did¡­Simply because he was hardly there anymore¡­ It was just so much easier to do everything without thinking too much, without caring¡­So, he was doing a lot automatically¡­ ¡°Oh, You¡¯ve started.¡± Celeste put on an apron and ventured into the kitchen. ¡°Where¡¯d you put the milk.¡± In an instant, Steven got the milk and gave it to her. ¡°Thank you.¡± Seeing him go to work with cutting again, Celeste didn¡¯t want to think too much about it¡­But as they continued to work together, she couldn¡¯t help but think more and more¡­And be more and more worried. ¡°If I had come back earlier, I would have been able to stop you from picking vegetables today¡­Because I bought them from the village.¡± No response¡­ ¡°Have you had curry before?¡± She asked. Cooking something different today, wanting something different, she was curious about what he¡¯s tasted before. ¡°Yes.¡± Was all she got. Once again, she turned back around, to see him finish cutting up potatoes, ¡°Is there something else you want me to cut up?¡± Swallowing, Celeste felt like something made her heart stop beating¡­ For a moment, she didn¡¯t reply, ¡°¡­Ah, no¡­That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± She watched as Steven got up and left¡­Leaving her alone. Holding onto her chest, Celeste turned and felt herself breathing somewhat heavier. What was going on? Wanting to go and see Steven, yet at the same time having to keep an eye on the food, Celeste could only put a hand to hold the clothes near her heart¡­Feeling like her heart was having troubles. It took a lot of effort for her to breath properly and to focus that before she knew it, dinner was ready. It was a strange combination of a bit of pasta and meat, with curry. But normally it was quite nice¡­ ¡°Steven?¡± She said, putting the two plates onto the table. Suddenly, she realized, that she wanted to eat here, with him. Steven came to the other side of the kitchen, with a basket of dry clothes. He looked at the food and then briefly looked at her, ¡°Start without me, Your Highness, I¡¯ll put these away.¡± ¡°No, come, eat¡­It¡¯s best to eat while hot!¡± Celeste hadn¡¯t thought he¡¯d directly decline, was it because her plate was there too? Steven nodded, disappearing for a moment where he put down the clothes. Celeste sat down at the table and waited for him. Feeling more and more uncertain about things, Celeste took in a deep breath, just as Steven returned. He sat down and started to eat, almost like she wasn¡¯t even there. ¡°Is it nice?¡± Steven nodded¡­It was nice¡­ Celeste wasn¡¯t tasting her food as she glanced at the man opposite her. ¡°I thought I¡¯d eat with you today.¡± ¡°Why?¡± What¡­ Stopping, Celeste put down the food again¡­ Did he not want her here? ¡°Just do what you want to do, Your Highness.¡± Steven stated, continuing to eat. Celeste looked at him and took a deep breath. She wanted to ask him what was wrong with him, why was he acting this way? But she had pushed him away first¡­So would it be fair to¡­ Trying to eat, Celeste only felt more and more uncomfortable, only for Steven to quietly get up, wash his dish and then leave. What was the point? Why had she suddenly wanted to eat with him? Only for this to happen¡­ She should have just gone upstairs¡­ Was it her table manners? Were they not good? As much as she¡¯d like to know what happened, and what she had done wrong, she didn¡¯t see Steven again that day. Celeste even thought that perhaps she could get him to help with her leg again, but then remembered why she had taken over the responsibility¡­ She felt like she couldn¡¯t win¡­That she lost out¡­That either way that she might want to go, she¡¯d lose¡­ Yet, when she thought ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter, because you¡¯ll be gone soon.¡¯ It felt so horribly wrong! For so long, she had felt like a nuisance, an obstacle! A hindrance! No! She will not change her mind! She had plans! No man will change her mind now! Her thoughts were strong with her original plan but¡­Her heart, she felt like it was dying! Taking deep breaths, Celeste held herself together and couldn¡¯t help but think that perhaps¡­Perhaps¡­Since she was still here anyway¡­Just give herself something else, give her heart less worries¡­.Perhaps she could let Steven in a little bit¡­ Chapter 6
What was out of Celeste¡¯s expectations was that Steven decided to go out of his own way to stay away from her now. If she ate at the kitchen table, he¡¯d either wait until she left or just take his plate elsewhere, stating that he didn¡¯t want to stain her with his presence. She hadn¡¯t known what to say to that, but it felt like she was getting anxious or something because whenever it came to Steven, she seems to be having trouble breathing again. It was getting bad¡­ Looking for Steven, she could find him, yet having him next to her never happened anymore¡­ What was worse, was that even though she found this problem, it wasn¡¯t the biggest¡­It wasn¡¯t what she¡­ Steven seemed to be in a daze, or in a strange type of mood, and that is what seemed to make her hold her own clothes. It was three days after returning from the village that she finally understood why she was so anxious¡­Steven was like¡­He wasn¡¯t even there¡­ He did everything normally, he did talk, just not very much but¡­His eyes were¡­Dead¡­ Nothing¡­ Stop it! Celeste thought over and over again. Often, she had to stopped herself from crying! It got to her so much that she found herself slapping him the next day, ¡°Stop it!¡± Steven looked at Celeste, automatically putting a hand to his cheek, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Stop it!¡± Celeste repeated, a tear falling down her cheek. Steven stared at the Princess in a stunned silence. Stop what? What had he done now? Through her tears, she hit him, ¡°Stupid man!¡± She was crying¡­Why was she crying!? Not sure what to do, Steven took her into his arms, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Celeste stopped hitting him and hugged him back, crying into his chest. It was the first time that she cried for¡­Well, she wasn¡¯t even sure how long it had been. To cry so loudly and so much was embarrassing but she didn¡¯t know how to stop! To have Steven so¡­Closed off¡­He had been unapproachable! Clenching his clothes into her hands, she wiped her face against his dirty clothes, not caring that he smelt. It was just another thing to cry about! Why wasn¡¯t he clean? She mumbled to him that he should bathe! What was wrong with him!? It was wrong! All of it was wrong! Steven put a hand through her hair and put his cheek on the top of her head. He didn¡¯t know what to say, so he stayed quiet. Why was she so emotional all of a sudden? Why was she calling him stupid? Taking a deep breath, Steven didn¡¯t want to let all these questions and thoughts into his head, but he couldn¡¯t stop them¡­ Why did it seem like suddenly things were different? Did he miss something? ¡°Princess?¡± ¡°You¡¯re dirty!¡± Celeste muttered, trying to no longer cry. Steven nodded, ¡°I am. I¡¯m so¡­¡± ¡°Stop it! Stop it! No more sorry¡¯s! I can¡¯t take it!¡± Again, she couldn¡¯t help a sob escaping. ¡°What did I do wrong, Your Highness!¡± Steven asked, somewhat taken aback. He was sure that he had tried to just stay out of her way¡­Did he go wrong? He could barely remember but¡­What happened!? Hitting him lightly, Celeste still didn¡¯t remove her head from his chest. ¡°Celeste!¡± Steven sighed, ¡°I can¡¯t call you Celeste, you are royalty!¡± Celeste looked up at him, with tears falling down her face, ¡°Royalty? Ha, do you know how much I disdain my own family?¡± Steven put a hand to her face and whipped away the tears. She really was too pretty to cry like this! After wiping her cheeks, he then wiped her lips. Stopping, Steven widened his eyes to the sudden want to kiss those lips. They had a natural, slight red tint to them. They were soft¡­They were practically like every other lips he¡¯d ever seen but they, for some reason, had invisible writing over them, or a spell! ¡®Kiss me!¡¯ They screamed at him! Suddenly, he tried to get her away from her, as he stumbled on his words, ¡°Ah, Your¡­Your Highness.¡± ¡°Celeste!¡± Celeste yelled at him. ¡°Celeste! I¡­I have¡­A floor to mob¡­¡± Steven rushed away. Just through the door and closing it, Steven stopped. This wasn¡¯t good¡­ He couldn¡¯t even close his eyes without seeing those lips! Before he knew it, he was pushed to the floor. ¡°Oh¡­I thought you¡¯d left¡­¡± Steven looked at the lips of hers and moved away from her, even though he was still on the floor. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you now!?¡± Celeste asked, frowning. Steven shook his head vigorously, ¡°Nothing!¡± He was a man, having wanted to kiss girls before was nothing knew, but this feeling was a bit too strong for him! Celeste bent down to him and put out a hand, only for him to push himself more away from her. ¡°Am I¡­Do you hate me that much?¡± Celeste asked, dropping her arm. Steven saw that she was sad, and he shook his head again, ¡°No! I don¡¯t hate you!¡± Celeste could feel like his words were sincere¡­So then, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you!?¡± ¡°I wanted to kiss you!¡± Steven said suddenly. It was too much! He wasn¡¯t one for torture, hell, he wasn¡¯t being tortured! Or was he!? Steven pushed himself further away from her, then got up and ran away. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Celeste watched him with widened eyes and then finally stood up. Ah, so he¡¯s finally figured out that he was a man after all! Letting out a small smile, Celeste then let out an even bigger smile. Covering her mouth, her eyes turned slightly into crescent moons as she smiled beneath her hand. Why did it feel so good to hear him say that? He looked so startled to the idea! It really must have been the first time that he¡¯d seen her as a woman! What a fool! Shaking her head, she let down her hand and walked in the same direction¡­She wasn¡¯t sure where her future was at the moment but¡­She knew that if she didn¡¯t experience something with Steven right now, that she will most likely have regrets¡­And that was enough to continue towards that silly man. Steven was excessively worried about his newfound feelings! There was no way that they could be in any kind of relationship! She was a princess! She was more deserving! He was nasty and cruel! But¡­It wasn¡¯t like his wants would just suddenly stop by thinking of all the reasons why they shouldn¡¯t be there! It was so stupid that he could only run towards the stream at the back of vegetables and jump in¡­ It helped that the water was freezing, making him think and feel something else but¡­ ¡°Not good!¡± Steven uttered, putting his head in his hands. He knew it now, he fancied her¡­He had for a while, but never accepted it. He should have continued that way but no, he now knew for sure, and he couldn¡¯t help feeling like he¡¯d now completely lost it! Holding his breath, he went under the water and stayed there, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world! While under water, Steven heard something and quickly put his head back up, to find the woman that was snapping into his mind¡­ Seeing her come into the water, then swim towards him, Steven just watched. ¡°You are really something.¡± Celeste stated, now stopping in front of him. ¡°I¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡± Celeste interrupted him, ¡°Stop it! I told you no more sorry¡¯s!¡± Steven looked down, ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know what else to say¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything at all¡­¡± Celeste stated, pulling him towards her and putting her lips against his. Ah, she really had been wondering¡­ The fact that she was so attached to this man, it was no wonder that she liked kissing him too. Especially when Steven accepted her advance. Taking her into his arms tightly, he put a hand to her face and deepened the kiss. In a moment when their lips detached, Steven uttered her name, before once again placing his lips upon hers. All their worries and fears of them being together withered up like flowers. All they could think of at the time was that the touch of the other person meant so much more than just getting what they wanted. They felt like they were filling in some type of gap, some type of hole, that they were fulfilling a most important role in their life¡­A role that seemed to feel like it had to be ventured into. It was compelling, exciting! Celeste held onto him, just as tight as he held onto her, and they could hardly feel that they were in the cold of the lake for at least a few minutes! But those few minutes, it was all they needed to know on how they both felt about the other. It was not only obvious, in their actions, but it was like their feelings were burnt into their eyes as they looked at the other¡­ For what felt like forever, they finally emerged from the water, shaking to the cold. Steven picked Celeste up, without a second thought, and rushed her back to the castle. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± Celeste said, holding onto him, not making an inch of effort to get out of his hold. It wasn¡¯t the first time that he¡¯d picked her up, but it felt like this was the first time, somehow. Steven briefly looked at her, while he continued to walk towards the small castle. It was a bit of a walk, so he just focused on making sure he didn¡¯t breathe too hard. This woman probably already thought that he wasn¡¯t up to scratch in the man department, so, he had to make up for lost time! It wasn¡¯t an action he could stop though, by the time they got to the castle, he was indeed breathing heavy anyway, and Celeste smiled. She could have walked! She could have but¡­If he picked her up, then she felt like she had the opportunity to take advantage of not having to bother! This was nice! His effort, in this small task, already made her feel so good! ¡°Where do I take you?¡± Steven asked, not sure. Celeste had always worried about her own baths¡­ ¡°Upstairs. I pull up water with a rope and all I have to do is light the fire. Steven frowned, ¡°Every time you bathe, you have to pull up water?¡± ¡°Yes, when all the servants either left or I forced them out, it was hard because of the stairs. I had baths downstairs but ended up finding another way to get water upstairs.¡± By now they went through one of the doors upstairs. ¡°It was the other door.¡± Celeste said, not quite ready to leave his embrace. Steven walked out and then went to the other door to find a bathroom. Seeing the barrel type thing over a fire pit and next to the window, Steven sighed. ¡°Why did you force out all your servants?¡± He asked. Why did she do so much work for herself!? Celeste got down and didn¡¯t say anything. Two years ago, having made her choice to end her life, she didn¡¯t want them here. She didn¡¯t want anyone¡­ ¡°I¡¯m Medusa remember¡­¡± Was all she said, not even looking at him. Steven moved her head to look at him and raised his eyebrows. ¡°Liar¡­¡± Staring at him, Celeste bit her lip, only to have them covered in the next second. Never had he felt so attracted to one person! And that small action of going to bite her lip! Gone¡­He was simply gone! Normally he liked eyes from a certain lady, the chest of another, the backside on another¡­But this one, Celeste, she seemed to have quite a number of things that he liked, and she was so overwhelmingly attractive to him now that he wondered how he was going to keep his hands off of her! Stopping the kiss, Steven pushed her at arm¡¯s length away from him. ¡°Get warm!¡± Celeste looked at him blankly. ¡°Dammit woman!¡± Getting busy at going to the window, making him not thinking of how luscious she looks like at that particular moment, Steven was instantly surprised to the see how the set up was outside. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great!¡± He¡¯d seen a few inventions, and probably would have seen something like this before elsewhere but for some reason, Steven was utterly impressed with seeing the rope and how it was connected to the water downstairs. Not only that but it seems there was some type of cork and sliding thing too, which may very well be to take the water out? He wasn¡¯t sure. Pulling up the water, losing more then what Celeste would loss, Steven found himself quite happy to do this for her, considering that it was still quite hard work! To have just sent them all away, to do everything herself¡­What was she thinking? In no time, before Steven was ready, there was plenty of water in the ¡®tub¡¯ and Celeste had started the fire. He wanted to stay, his body wanted to stay but¡­There were just way too many reasons why he should go! Quickly kissing her, then leaving, he sighed as he walked further and further away from the room that would get to see what he wouldn¡¯t be able too! He was jealous of the walls in that room, of the tub, of water! Perhaps he needed to go back to that lake! Finally seeing the mess that was created from having been wet and walking up the stairs and down the halls, Steven uttered a curse and sighed¡­ He was cold and still a bit dirty, so he cleaned himself quickly and got to work at cleaning the floors. Cleaning kept him occupied, so that he wasn¡¯t only thinking of a woman just upstairs, but that of warming his body back up. He was probably cleaner than before, having also changed his outfit, but he didn¡¯t do a complete bath, like the princess was doing. He felt like he should clean up the mess before worrying about himself but¡­Something else was happening pretty quickly after returning¡­It was at first just sneezing, but then the sniffling started¡­ Just an hour or so after returning to the castle from the freezing lake, Steven felt groggy. Heat flushed around his body and the more he tried to forget how he was feeling and tried to work, the more he felt like he was going to fall over! Having cleaned the downstairs and the stairs, Steven wanted to do the last little bit but found his world tilting. Not wanting the princess to worry about him, yet knowing he couldn¡¯t continue, Steven stopped his cleaning and went to his bed. Within just a couple of minutes sitting and slowly getting under the covers of his bed, Steven was out to the world, deep in sleep. Celeste had not rushed her bathing, making sure that she was clean and warm when she got out. Getting dressed and cleaning up after herself, Celeste smiled. Why, in just a few hours, had everything she felt changed? Was it because Steven had returned her feelings? As she questioned herself, she cleaned the bathroom, that hadn¡¯t been clean for ages until Steven was looking after her with her leg. It felt almost like she had to keep upstairs cleaner now, just because he was here¡­ Maybe she felt so different because she wanted to experience something¡­ Actually, that would make a lot of sense, she thought. For so long, she hadn¡¯t felt much want to live. There was really nothing that held her here. She was using Little John, she didn¡¯t even love the one person left in her family and¡­Well, the people thought of her as Medusa¡­ Celeste told herself that even the townspeople and Forsuremeet didn¡¯t help her want to stay. Having been told to go to Commorda for the wedding by her grandmother, who probably just didn¡¯t want to go herself, Celeste had just done what she was told. The rebellion was still needing time and she had nothing better to do. She had been given one good dress to attend the wedding with but that was it. The carriage that was used was not something of hers, nor the guards¡­ Everything, even the dress, went with the carriage after they had returned back here to Melya. Celeste had not expected anything less. It was all a performance, for her to look ¡®the part¡¯. Yet, really, she was a nobody. An abandoned nobody¡­ They might have even wanted her to play up and make a name for herself in another country, Celeste wasn¡¯t even sure. She wouldn¡¯t put it past her grandmother for using her but¡­What would that do to the country? Perhaps she sent her granddaughter thinking that another country might actually kill her but¡­That wouldn¡¯t make sense either! Why make it easy to kill off the only heir? The only thing that made sense is that her grandmother didn¡¯t want to go, and so sent the next best candidate, and that¡¯s it! ¡®It is no wonder they call you Medusa,¡¯ Her grandmother once said, ¡®With the way you manhandled that maid yesterday.¡¯ ¡®¡­She was stealing.¡¯ Celeste had stated back. ¡®Your¡­Your Majesty¡­¡¯ Her grandmother had raised her eyebrows at her, ¡®With what could she steal from you that would make you turn her so red and purple?¡¯ Celeste looked down, holding her dress, ¡®It was mother and father¡¯s¡­¡¯ ¡®I told you! I don¡¯t want to hear a word about them! Just¡­Just do what you want, hurt people and make them scared of you! I don¡¯t care!¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t hurt people!¡¯ Celeste cried out! ¡®Then what is the maid then? Just some dead meat?¡¯ Her grandmother asked. Celeste remembers how she looked at her grandmother, knowing even at that moment who was the one that had started calling her Medusa! But had never said a word in retaliation¡­ Chapter 7
Celeste¡¯s grandmother, the Queen of Melya, was¡­She was a nasty person that didn¡¯t want people to see her bad side. Celeste was a Princess, she was still able to get away with some things back in the day before too many knew of her as ¡®Medusa¡¯, and she had been still pretty small at the age of ten. Already having lived in her small castle for a couple of years but upon visiting her grandmother she had heard who she really was to grandmother and was so stunned that it took her a long time to accept it. Her grandmother had one specific person that she confides in and that was Advisor Redcliffe. And he was the one that would ¡®control¡¯ her, the next ruler of Melya, after her grandmother was gone. He would be the one that was really in charge! She was just going to be a puppet, someone with no real power! And, she had even heard her grandmother admit it¡­Admit that she had no feelings for her whatsoever. From the moment that her son, the previous King of Melya, had left to search for his son, leaving his mother with Celeste, his grandmother had gotten colder and colder as the years went on. How could a King leave his country like this!? How could her son just leave her!? Celeste had found her grandmother¡¯s anger to her father and mother was so much that she had practically disowned them. Why? Still to this day, Celeste didn¡¯t understand how her grandmother was so keen to cast out her family. Was it the power of what she had now? Was she thinking that she¡¯d live forever? Celeste just doesn¡¯t understand how she was never given any loving treatment from her grandmother. But¡­There was one thing that Celeste could sympathize with, and that is why did both her parents leave? Why couldn¡¯t at least one of them stay and look after her? It was all so¡­Weird¡­ It didn¡¯t make sense! There had to be some sort of secret that split this family so much that the monarchy was ruined completely! So, what could be the secret that forced out the King and Queen, after a lost son, leaving the grandmother as Queen to hate her family so viciously that she disowned everyone!? Over the years of knowing this and already being seen as ¡®Medusa¡¯, Celeste didn¡¯t hold her anger back. She did do some nasty things if people were nasty to her. If someone stole something, she did beat them up, badly! If someone wanted to tease her or complain about their job, considering that they were getting paid for it, she beat them up! It came to a point that no one teased her at the small castle, even behind her back! No one stole anything either. Celeste could hold her own but after a point, maids never got replaced and Celeste had to do more and more work and so, she just ended up getting rid of them all, which helped keep her anger at bay. Since she had decided her fate, her anger had dimmed down, as she was just too busy to care and so, when she gets angry, she¡¯s not as bad as she used to be. It took a while to realize that anger was implied by something, that there was a reason for it. If she could just get to the source of her anger and talk herself through it or somehow try to ignore it if she couldn¡¯t talk herself through it, Celeste felt like anger was something she could get a handle of a lot better. She had been angry over her family abandoning her, she had gone too far in her punishments and had indeed hurt people beyond what they had done, so later, when she realized her anger and what she was mad with, she felt a bit of guilt. She had been angry over being called ¡®Medusa¡¯ and been told to move far away from everyone. Her anger felt like it ran deep but how she dealt with it was¡­That if she cared about it, making her angry, then perhaps she should not care at all. The problem was, with all the anger, then turning that into a feeling of wasteful energy, or something like that, Celeste found a huge gap in her life. And that was when she became depressed¡­ It¡¯s just that, it was really lonely after everyone left. She might not have someone stealing or teasing her anymore but¡­Well, there was nothing left to steal now anyway. All her precious items were already gone¡­ Why was she born into a world like this, when she felt like it was all worthless? If her parents were only going to leave her, then why bother having her!? A depression took over her while alone, one that made her feel like she was constantly falling and maybe at first, she was trying not to fall and hang on to something but, after a while¡­She just let go¡­ Life become so simplistic to her that the castle seemed to slowly become dust and dirt. What was the point of cleaning it when it would only get dirty again? Doing only what she had too and eating a small amount of stuff, she just trained in martial arts on her spare time¡­ Those days¡­She can barely remember them¡­ Upon being in Commorda hadn¡¯t done much to her depression either, even when being cornered by four people¡­ It was when Steven had just placed himself in his brother¡¯s ¡®place¡¯ that Celeste felt something. Something else, other than despair¡­ Back then she had no intention of taking anyone, she would have left the country with nothing¡­ But seeing that hungry and dirty man¡¯s plea for someone else that just came across as an immature idiot, she couldn¡¯t help but want to take him with her¡­So that she could give him something to eat¡­So that she could understand that pain inside of him too. From the first moment she saw Steven, Celeste already felt like some invisible force was pulling her towards him. Even though she got some looks from her guards, when she ordered them around to get a cage and put it in the carriage, she didn¡¯t care. Everyone was either scared of her or kept their distance and so what she asked for was done before she goes on a ¡®rampage¡¯ and so, she brought Steven back with her¡­ For the first time in a long time, she felt glad to be of so much help to someone. Seeing him thank her for just a crust of bread and soup, along with water, made her feel like she was living again¡­It was the first time that she thought that perhaps she was born for another reason, maybe for someone else. A thought like that had never occurred to her before, perhaps it was scary¡­Whatever the reason, Celeste felt more life within her, which she can only thank Steven for. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. By now, having been lost in her thoughts, Celeste had cleaned the floor to the stairs, where it was noticeably cleaned by someone else. Picking up the dirty cloth and the bucket, she emptied and left the bucket in the bathroom, then took the dirty cloth and her wet clothes downstairs. Seeing the floors nice and clean, Celeste started to understand what it was like to feel proud of her home. She liked it nice and clean, simply because it was so easy to find things that she needed and well, it looked better! The windows were see through downstairs now. The brass was shiny¡­ It looked a lot nicer then just a few weeks ago¡­ Smiling, Celeste walked into the kitchen, then put the dirty washing on the other side, where the laundry went, and then turned. Where was Steven? Steven¡¯s room wasn¡¯t that far from the kitchen, so with hearing a cough, Celeste heard where he was. Frowning, she went to him to find him sleeping. It seems he might be getting sick¡­ Silly man¡­ Celeste, over the next few minutes, didn¡¯t find him all that bad at this time. But as she finished making some soup and getting ready to go to bed, Steven did get worse. It seemed that trip on the lake wasn¡¯t the start of things. Steven might have been eating better lately but having been starved not to long ago, Celeste wondered if that could be a reason why he fell so sick so quickly. Steven seemed unable to focus much when she woke him for soup, only eating half of it. But there wasn¡¯t much else she could do without going into town. She¡¯d given him some ginger, also the left-over garlic, which wasn¡¯t much. But what else? Maybe some oranges? It had been about a year since she had gotten sick with the cold, so she took a bit to try to remember what would help! It was a bit of a panic to do whatever she could to help Steven get better! It was almost like the first time that someone else¡¯s life was in her hands, and she couldn¡¯t bare to have anything else go wrong! She didn¡¯t want to see him worse, she didn¡¯t want to see him stuck on the bed where he was somewhat awake and where he could barely notice that he was supposed to swallow. Steven¡¯s health worried Celeste that much that she was at his bedside all night long. Barely able to get much sleep, she changed the cloth on his forehead and even thought of honey in the middle of the night. She had made so much noise when it was dark that if she weren¡¯t by herself, she might have people yell at her from waking them up! But she had forgotten something else that helps a cold! As soon as she remembered honey, she got to work, wanting to get some into Steven as fast as possible! Luckily, she had some on hand, because she had her own bees, so all she had to do was find and chop up a soft vegetable. Not only that, but she also made some warm, honey drink for him to have straight away. But yes, she had little sleep that night¡­ *** Steven woke up to find the princess right beside him. Widening his eyes, he moved away from her and tried to remember what was going on! Seeing and feeling something fall down, he looked at the cloth and narrowed his eyes¡­What was going on? Picking it up, he put it into a dish of water on the other side of the princess. ¡°Are you awake? How are you feeling?¡± Looking at the obviously sleepy woman beside him, Steven nodded, but she still had her eyes closed so she wouldn¡¯t see it, ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± Clearing his throat, he frowned, ¡°I have a sore throat.¡± The princess finally opened her eyes, ¡°There¡¯s a honey drink¡­It¡¯s probably cold by now though.¡± Steven saw a cup and picked it up, it was indeed cold, but he still drank it all, and it did make him feel better. Finally, he started to put two and two together and asked, ¡°I was sick?¡± The princess nodded, her eyes closing again. Getting back down, to lay down completely, Steven felt bad for not wanting to tell her it was ok for her to go. He felt bad for not picking her up and taking her to her own bedroom. Wanting to reach out to touch her, he stopped himself, instead he stared. The princess suddenly smiled, ¡°Are you staring at me?¡± Steven looked away, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Liar¡­¡± The princess turned around, now facing away from him, and Steven was stunned to her hand that came to pick up his hand to put it around her. He went to say ¡®Princess¡¯, only to know that she¡¯d probably would want him to call her ¡®Celeste¡¯, but then if he said ¡®Celeste¡¯, was that too personal? Dam, he wanted to do so much, yet had no idea on what to do! It was¡­Awkward! ¡°Relax!¡± Celeste ordered, feeling Steven all tensed up¡­The awkwardness was hanging in the air, and she didn¡¯t like it. ¡°Relax?¡± Steven asked, his throat making his voice sound slightly different. ¡°Mmm. Relax¡­¡± Celeste stated, holding onto his hand better. Are you¡­Stupid, woman!? How the hell can I relax like this! Steven didn¡¯t know what to do! His hand had been stolen, and so he was stuck! But how could he relax with her body right beside him like this! The bed wasn¡¯t that big! He was already touching her in one place simply because there wasn¡¯t enough room! ¡°Princess¡­There isn¡¯t much room¡­¡± Steven stated. Celeste audibly sighed and moved more into him on purpose. ¡°Hey! Hold it!¡± Steven was on pins and needles here. She was too close! ¡°Go to sleep¡­¡± ¡°Sleep!? How the hell could I sleep with you so close to me!?¡± Steven muttered. Celeste smiled and said nothing. She really liked how he acted like this with her. It made her feel like she had power over him. But¡­She didn¡¯t want to leave¡­ It wasn¡¯t like she was trying to lose her innocence or anything, it was more like she¡¯d worry too much about him if she left. It just felt smarter if she were to stay here and why not use the same bed¡­ They liked each other so¡­Shouldn¡¯t they be able to just sleep like this? But it was nice¡­To have his hand in hers, almost like a security blanket¡­A protection¡­ One that stopped her from feeling that she was nothing and that the world held no joy. His hand was like there was at least one thing that was here for her¡­ Turning her head, to see him staring at her, she smiled at him. ¡°What are you so worried about?¡± ¡°¡­You are bordering a fine line here, Princess.¡± Steven said, somewhat pouting¡­ This wasn¡¯t fair¡­ Never did he feel so tempted¡­He had never gone that far with a woman, but he knew how it all worked and she was just teasing him so much right now! Putting her free hand over to his head, she brought his head down to hers, to kiss him. What line? Is there a line? Should there be a line if she was only going to die soon? But Steven did feel otherwise. Celeste was just too precious to ruin her¡­But he did kiss her back. Holding her hand tighter in his, that was around her waist, he did get more comfortable as they were kissing and he let her go and put his head into her neck, ¡°Why are you doing this to me? You know I can¡¯t be with a Princess¡­¡± Celeste turned her head back around and put her hand back to his, ¡°And if I wasn¡¯t a princess?¡± ¡°But you are.¡± Steven said, ¡°You silly girl.¡± Celeste blushed and closed her eyes, ¡°What if I decline to marry any other but you?¡± Steven sighed in her neck, making her squirm, only making things harder for himself¡­ ¡°I¡¯m not a good person Celeste. I¡¯ve hurt people¡­¡± ¡°So have I.¡± Steven held her closer to him, almost like he wanted to help both of them rid of their bad sides. ¡°I¡¯ve locked someone in a place before without food or water. That same person, I bullied endlessly and even tried to take away his true happiness.¡± Celeste opened her eyes and stayed quiet. Steven continued, maybe wondering if this will stop the princess from liking him, ¡°I took away his business, forcing his own loyal men out of it. I rummaged in his room, wanting to steal, then left without ever cleaning up the mess that I had made. I never helped him when he needed it, I never gave him what he deserved!¡± Celeste held his hand tighter but still stayed silent. Steven sighed, ¡°I was a spoilt, rich child that didn¡¯t care for consequences, that didn¡¯t care for other people and¡­I was stupid¡­I still am stupid! Don¡¯t fall for someone like me, Princess. You deserve so much more.¡± Finally, Celeste opened her mouth to talk, ¡°I¡¯ve become a part of the rebellion to up rise against the monarch of Melya, what have you got over me? Please Steven, I don¡¯t see myself as a Princess, so stop seeing me as one. All I know is that I like you, you have helped me find some sort of meaning¡­So please stop pushing me away¡­¡± Rebellion? What was she talking about? Steven got a bit lost in his thoughts, a bit slower thinking then usual so he was quiet for a short time. It was like Celeste had talked into a completely different language though because Steven couldn¡¯t make heads or tails out of it! The problem was, his mind was groggy, and he was still sleepy, so he could only take words in without thinking more into it before he went back into feeling her beside him. This beautiful woman that made him feel different then any other was right beside him, almost like they were already a married couple. Looking after him, sleeping next to him, living with him¡­Steven yawned to his drowsiness and remembered that he shouldn¡¯t really be this close to her¡­ She was a princess¡­A really pretty princess¡­ ¡°¡­Silly girl¡­¡± Steven muttered, once again into her neck¡­Again making her slightly squirm to how it was ticklish. But no more conversations were made as they slowly dozed back off, embraced in each other¡¯s arms. Steven was glad though that she wasn¡¯t looking at him, because he did have to cough once or twice, but she never let him go, even when he said that he didn¡¯t want her to get sick. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with it better then you would!¡± Was all Celeste stated. It just wasn¡¯t fair¡­ Steven couldn¡¯t let her go but couldn¡¯t hold on to her too tight either. Their last conversation was still in both their heads and both of them wanted to believe that it should be ok to be with the other but¡­There was just one wall that didn¡¯t seem easy to tear down¡­ Steven didn¡¯t know what it was, but Celeste did¡­It was because her death was probably just weeks away¡­ That was probably why the wall won¡¯t get pulled down¡­At least for now¡­ *** Chapter 8
Two days later, Steven was already getting so much better. He did get worse that night but ever since then, he was always improving. Celeste hardly left his side, unless she absolutely had too. It was like a reason for them to be able to be close, even though she might get sick but¡­As they both thought, when Steven got better, that was the end of it. With that strange wall that was up, they didn¡¯t venture any further with intimacy and after Steven was better, they also stopped hugging. It was a bit awkward still, but it was like the world had returned and it wasn¡¯t just them two anymore. They had to catch up on chores for a while but about four days after jumping into that frozen lake, they decided to venture out to Forsuremeet. It was a nice getaway for them both. They got away from everyday life and chores, to be able to be with each other in a different kind of way. Picking up things like garlic, was a good idea while they were there but for a change, Celeste was in a leisure pace in the village. They looked at some stalls, not many were left anymore though, and even walked up to the hill close by to see what you could see from up there. From the hill, you couldn¡¯t see much in two directions, because of the endless look of trees. One lot of trees lead out to somewhere Celeste called ¡®Nopecarnot Forrest¡¯, but in the distance, you could see the road that led out of the country and back into the country of Commorda. It wasn¡¯t the biggest of hills, but it was nice to finally put a picture of Melya in Steven¡¯s mind. It was also obvious in what direction the capital of Melya went in from there¡­As there were villages that led up to there. If he had better eyesight, he¡¯d be able to see the castle walls, but it was just too far away. It was a sight indeed, but a thought got Steven¡¯s attention and he went quiet for a bit while on the mountain. Having seen the road back to his home country, he suddenly realized that he hadn¡¯t thought much about what was left behind. He hadn¡¯t really missed much except maybe his brother. That was it¡­ He didn¡¯t miss any of his friends or teachers. He didn¡¯t miss his old room and servants. Learning to become an heir¡­His father¡­The difference of locations, perhaps being able to take a carriage instead of walking¡­Nothing¡­ Remembering how he came here and thought he¡¯d deserved to be a servant, Steven couldn¡¯t help but think that he had indeed learnt so much by coming here. It was hard to remember that he was probably still a prisoner¡­Wasn¡¯t he? There might not be any chains on him but¡­ No, he wasn¡¯t a prisoner. Not really. He knew it, he could feel it. Was he ever a prisoner? Having looked at her, the pretty Princess at that moment was just looking out into the distance, perhaps he was a prisoner, just in another way. Even if he had the chance to leave her, did he actually want to leave? He could only take a deep breath in to realize that his feelings for her seemed to run quite deep¡­ They found out that they both like the same tea, Celeste liked it more though! They also found out that even if Steven could sit there and read medicinal books for an hour or two, she could sit by his side and do something else. Their relationship was closer, yet at the same time, unable to close that distance to become somewhat real¡­It was like they were holding back from what they both desired yet unable to let go at the same time. And that continued for another week as they laughed and played together, going into town and even swimming. They played games like children, Celeste enjoying it immensely, considering that she¡¯d never played them before, and Steven didn¡¯t care because it was like he was a boy at heart anyway. For the most part they could venture out into a fantasy world where it was just them and they were somewhat full and content but¡­That wall always stopped them from getting too close. *** ¡°You don¡¯t think I have anything to offer?¡± Steven asked. Celeste sighed, giving him a plate to dry, ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. It¡¯s just that¡­¡± Just what? She asked herself. She plans to leave the fighting and any future works into someone else¡¯s hands because she¡¯s not going to be here¡­ Steven rolled his eyes, ¡°Who¡¯s the one that stops talking in the middle of sentences now!¡± Glaring at him, Celeste said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this country!¡± Looking away from her, Steven leaned against the cupboard, ¡°So, in other words, as much as we know how much we like each other, and you tell me that you are looking towards a future where I could possibly be with you because you won¡¯t be a princess anymore¡­It¡¯s not my problem? It¡¯s got nothing to do with me!?¡± Celeste stopped and went to be in front of him, she put her hands on both sides of his face and made him look at her, ¡°What if you were to be hurt? What if I was gone? What would you do!?¡± Going quiet, Steven frowned. What does she mean by that!? Celeste let her hands fall to her sides and felt like it was probably time to let him go. She had never actually thought about those questions herself, but really¡­What would Steven do after he found out that she was dead? She had to get him out of here! If he¡¯s back in his own country, he might not hear about it anymore. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. It was only one more week before she could find new news about the rebellion, what if it was ready and¡­ ¡°What are you hiding, Celeste?¡± Steven asked. He felt it, that there was just something not being said¡­ Celeste took a deep breath and felt what she had when Steven would talk to her¡­Then, her heart hurt with the idea of not being with Steven¡­ Was she just going to not do what she had wanted for years now? To suddenly stay when for so long she had wanted to leave? What about all that pain? All the loneliness! Wasn¡¯t death something that she had longed for!? Why would it just suddenly change!? She forced herself to remember the times when she had not even bothered with torches at night-time, that her night-time vision seemed pretty good because of it. All the time on how she didn¡¯t even bathe¡­Because what was the point!? No one had cared in that time! No one had told her that she had been smelly That¡­That she had nothing! She always asked herself, did it matter? She had always asked, why her? Always asked herself why was she even born!? Did all that time, and even before that when she hadn¡¯t been alone, did it all account for nothing now? Clenching her hands, Celeste felt like she¡¯d be betraying herself if she didn¡¯t follow through with her long-term desire¡­ ¡°Celeste.¡± Steven urged her, unable to ask outright, only stopping at her name. He pulled her into him and for the first time in days they embraced each other warmly. It wasn¡¯t like neither of them hadn¡¯t wanted to, it was that damned wall¡­The somewhat obvious feeling that stopped them¡­Like they knew that the time that they had together would definitely come to an end. It was like they were too scared to love each other¡­ ¡°Are you going to abandon me?¡± Steven asked. He didn¡¯t want her to feel bad about it but, he also wanted to know. He had to prepare himself¡­ Celeste squeezed her eyes closed and felt tears want to come out. With his question unanswered, Steven nodded, but still held her tighter. It seemed that he will probably get abandoned and that the reason for it might have something to do with the rebellion¡­ He hardly remembered what she had said about it but now, now that his head was clearer, he knows that there¡¯s something about that rebellion and their relationship. There was some sort of connection that he couldn¡¯t see¡­ Was she going to be in front of a war or something? Was she thinking that she won¡¯t survive? Then, he finally asked himself, what would it be like if she were gone? Is she¡­Was she afraid of leaving him behind? He wished they¡¯d talk more about this, so that he could wrap his head around it, but everything felt vague with no clear answer, and it was starting to annoy him! ¡°Will that make you happy then?¡± Steven asked. Will it? If it was something that she wanted¡­Would he do it for her? He didn¡¯t deserve her anyway, so¡­If she were to abandon him, it was probably best to have it in the open now. ¡°It¡¯s ok, Celeste. Do what you want to do¡­¡± Steven took a deep breath but remembered how he felt back when he was homeless¡­How could he forget!? Is it going to be like that all over again now? Celeste openly cried after that, holding onto him almost like she¡¯d never see him again. It was so obvious to Steven that he nearly cried himself. But he didn¡¯t want her to see him so low. He really had no where to go. No one to¡­ What was he going to do without her? She had feed him, put a roof over his head. She gave him meaning, life and filled such a hole inside of him. He questioned things now, he even worked and liked it. He¡­He was even thinking of being a real doctor¡­ But if she were to go¡­What does all that mean? What was the point of doing all this when he had no one to share it with, no one¡­ Could he force the situation then? Not leave when she tells him to? Perhaps she wouldn¡¯t hurt him in any way if he refused to go. He could just continue to live here and do stuff for her, it would be better then having to leave and not knowing if she were safe or not. At this point, he remembered how she acted when they had first met. How alone she was. That¡¯s right, he thought, he remembered seeing something in her eyes and voice¡­A feeling that made him remember his mother when she¡­Before she had¡­ Despair¡­ That¡¯s it, despair. Holding the now quiet Celeste harder to himself, Steven nearly let out a mumble to his sudden suspicion of her feelings. ¡°What do you hope for Celeste? What do you want?¡± Steven asked. Please tell me you no longer feel despair and that you are fine, Steven wanted to say. He wanted her to be fine so badly that he was going to insist on staying if she were to state otherwise! ¡°Hope?¡± Celeste closed her eyes tightly for a moment, ¡°Perhaps for you to have a good life.¡± ¡°No! I mean, what do you want for you!?¡± Steven asked. What do I want? Celeste asked herself. It was more of a repeat to what Steven asked, then her asking herself, so it took her a moment to really ask herself that question¡­ Well, I got used to not wanting anything¡­Well, nothing beyond the necessities to survive¡­She started to think. What do I want? Celeste was quiet¡­Too quiet for Steven and he was adamant after hearing this¡­He wasn¡¯t going to leave her! ¡°I¡¯m going to¡­¡± Celeste interrupted him, ¡°My answer is still the same.¡± Steven kissed the top of her head, then sighed. What do I do? Steven asked himself. She makes it out as though I¡¯m important to her, yet at the same time, she¡¯s going to abandon me! ¡°I¡¯m freeing you, Steven. Grab what you need to survive for a couple of days and leave tomorrow morning.¡± With that, Celeste let go, trying to walk as calmly as possible towards the stairs. Steven watched her go, ¡°¡­My answer is also the same¡­¡± Putting her hand on the unstable rail beside the stairs, Celeste squeezed it in her hand and felt like her legs were so heavy that she could hardly move them. I know you care for me, Steven, she thought. That was more of a reason to let him go! ¡­Is this it? Celeste asked herself. Is this how I¡¯m going to say goodbye to him? Is this the last time we met? Celeste tried to stop herself from feeling anything as she reminded herself that Steven had to get used to not being around her anymore. Now or later, he was going to be without her, she was just trying to get him as far away from her as possible before a certain inevitable act became known to him¡­ Steven watched her go, without her looking back, and then took a deep breath in after she shut her door. He let out a small curse to how he felt and got to work, simply because he didn¡¯t want to think about anything else. He didn¡¯t want to feel how much he¡¯d miss her, didn¡¯t want to put her in a position where she¡¯d be mad and unhappy if he were to stay. Well, he was pretty sure she¡¯d probably beat him up, but he could have lived through it¡­She could punch him as much times as she liked if it made her feel better! But¡­ All he could do was¡­ Right! He thought suddenly, he could just stay at Forsuremeet! He still had at least one book he could read there and there was a doctor there too, perhaps he could even learn a few things! And¡­There might be a chance to see Celeste when she was to come into the town! It¡¯ll be fine! ¡­It¡¯ll be fine¡­ Steven hated to borrow a loose type of basket, that he could use to hold things into. There was a total of two in the whole of the castle but¡­He had to use something¡­ He hated to take one of two water pouches too. They were sometimes hard to find¡­Really, he was just making things harder for her by doing this! Perhaps he should take nothing then? Remembering the last time that he was homeless, Steven made a face. Going through bins and stealing, then sometimes there just wasn¡¯t anything around or anything he could do with people there¡­ It really wasn¡¯t a good idea to leave with nothing¡­ Finally, a good idea came to him to make him smile! He will pay it back! That was it, it was fine! He¡¯ll pay it all back! ¡­He just wished that he wasn¡¯t leaving¡­ He forced himself to pack food and drink, but he knew that he was leaving more behind then what he was taking with him! Freeing me? He humphed, no, she wasn¡¯t freeing me. Did saying that make her feel better? There was most definitely something that he was leaving behind! She was a thief! First, she stole him from his country then¡­Stole his very soul from his body! The days ahead were probably going to be a bit lonely¡­ Placing the basket, now full of things to keep him alive for a while outside, Steven sighed. Looking around his bed of this small castle, that did actually provide more then shelter for him, he really didn¡¯t want to leave¡­ The problem was, he was having troubles with is wants, now looking at the close by area. Memories of her were everywhere in his short stay here and¡­ Even if he was meaning to see her in the future, the close future, if he didn¡¯t leave now¡­He might not at all! To uphold what she had told him to do, Steven quickly tidied things up and even picked a couple of things for dinner for her and put them on the kitchen bench¡­ Just one more thing before he walked away¡­ Chapter 9
On the other hand, Celeste had fallen down the door, after closing it, and hid her head so that her crying wouldn¡¯t be heard from anyone else. She wanted to yell out all her sorrow but didn¡¯t want Steven to come up so¡­She held her pain in¡­At least until she got to the bed and put her head into the pillow. How can two years of loneliness and pain be something so easily removed with such new feelings!? It was like the two years before Steven came into her life was nothing now because¡­All she felt was exactly what she had said! She wanted Steven to have a good life, she wanted him to be happy and¡­ Seeing how he was playing games with her, she was sure that he¡¯d make a good father. He was strong too, doing a lot of work the whole time that he had been with her¡­He¡¯d make a good husband¡­ It was so possible! And picturing him doing stuff for his ¡®family¡¯ in a future, only made her feel worse because that woman wouldn¡¯t be her! It was almost too much for her, that she really was, already giving up on that pain that put a scar on her heart! Yes, she wanted him to stay! Yes, she wanted to continue to live with him but¡­At the same time, she did want the country to change too! Until now, she really didn¡¯t know how much she did actually want to play a part in this rebellion! The part she played though, did it have to be death? Well, no it didn¡¯t¡­It just had been what she had selfishly wanted¡­ Little John had been trying to talk her out of it all this time! Celeste¡¯s thoughts came to her in ways she never really thought of before. She needed to confirm what she felt and how she felt about it all. She wanted to make sure that she was sure about changing her mind but still playing a part for her country¡­She also realized that the feeling of living now, it was for another¡­It wasn¡¯t for herself, which had only led her down a path that now made her want to stay¡­No, it was for another that¡­Well, she knew he had feelings for her¡­ Perhaps, should she let him stay then? What would happen if she took back her words? Again, Celeste felt sad over having already told Steven to leave¡­ How embarrassing that she would take back her words but¡­Did it matter? She wanted him to stay! Through some groaning to her idiocy and mumbling through her ideas of changing her mind on how she was wanting to live her life from this day onward, Celeste took quite some time to figure out what was going on. Having gone upstairs after lunch, after doing the dishes, she found that it was night-time by the time she figured out her emotions and decisions. Looking forward to seeing Steven once again, she had a bounce in her step as she rushed down the stairs. Walking into the kitchen, unable to hold back a smile, Celeste picked up the apron and put it on, ¡°Steven? Are you hungry?¡± Getting the torches lit up, considering it was already dark, Celeste realized that she had heard no noise from Steven since coming down the stairs¡­ Stopping, after lighting another torch, Celeste took a deep breath in, having already thought the worst¡­ Has he¡­ He was sick not long ago¡­Or perhaps he has already left? Grabbing at the clothes near her heart, Celeste leaned on the bench and tried to control her breathing. Then, finally, she started towards Steven¡¯s room with a candle in her hand. ¡­It was empty¡­ ¡°Steven?¡± Seeing a note on the bedside table, Celeste put a shaking hand out to it and picked it up, to read, ¡®I left early because there was still plenty of sunlight before dusk. The sun will rise again tomorrow though, and I will see you again soon.¡¯ Swallowing, Celeste closed the parchment and then opened it to read it once again. She had clearly sent him away, so she shouldn¡¯t feel bad about it but¡­ ¡®I will see you again soon.¡¯ Smiling, and a tear falling from her face, Celeste let out a laugh. It seemed that Steven was certain that their paths would cross again. Elated at knowing he still wanted to be in her life, Celeste just stood there, in the room that used to have a man that would sleep here. Really, that man, she thought. Ever since he came into her life, her plans and thoughts have changed! Anticipation ran through her, as she felt like she could trust this feeling! Yet, at the same time, she felt his loss of presence so¡­She didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry! This life of hers was not empty anymore, it was¡­Overfilling and she didn¡¯t know what to do with herself! *** It was a few days later that Celeste walked into the town Forsuremeet, still a day or two earlier then she would have come here normally. She wondered, since she hadn¡¯t seen Steven come back to the small castle, if he would be here. The days had gone by very slowly since he left but as much as she tried not to rely on the future meeting between her and Steven, she couldn¡¯t help it! No chore was the same anymore, no time in the castle was the same anymore¡­It was almost like the castle was no longer her home. Her home¡­ Celeste could only shake her head to the amount of power a person can have! Nonetheless, today wasn¡¯t going to be simple, in her eyes. The idea of today was to tell Little John, or send him a message, to state that she will play another ¡®act¡¯ for the rebellion. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Celeste! My dear!¡± It was the worst time to be annoyed by this man! ¡°Calvin.¡± She stated through clenched teeth. He didn¡¯t hold anything back when he put a hand around her waist. Just as he bowed to whisper into her ear, Celeste pushed him away, ¡°This is not proper etiquette! Now, I must be on my way! I have important matters to attend to!¡± ¡°Important matters indeed! Let¡¯s go to the chapel right now and declare our love for each other!¡± Staring incredulously at the strange man in front of her, Celeste was then interrupted by a scuffle at the front of the village. ¡°Ha! I see a problem, perhaps I should investigate!¡± Stated Calvin, as he puffed out his chest and started to walk in a big manner towards the scuffle. Celeste took that moment to rush away towards the tavern. Hopefully she won¡¯t encounter that man again while being here today! ¡°The top floor please.¡± Celeste asked, a very normal line that she stated, but this time it was taken differently. ¡°I¡¯m sorry me lady, but the top floor is already being used.¡± Really? That hadn¡¯t happened for quite a while! ¡°Very well.¡± Celeste ordered some tea, then just walked to another table and sat down gingerly. Normally she didn¡¯t like the bottom floor because it was a lot more opened. She could easily look outside the opened windows and see the comings and goings of the village¡­It was also louder here, where people could listen on to other people¡¯s conversations¡­Not a good place at all to talk about a rebellion¡­ Having picked a table in the back corner, Celeste still had all intention to change her place to upstairs as soon as she could. To what she thought as luck, it really had only been a minute or two after getting her nice, hot tea that two people walked down the stairs. Smiling, pretty sure that the top floor would now be available to her, Celeste figured she¡¯d wait ten minutes to once again ask for it. She didn¡¯t want to look too keen after all¡­ But¡­ In the next few minutes, too much happened that the thought of going up to the room upstairs was completely forgotten¡­ There was a loud noise coming from outside the tavern, and it seemed to be coming towards Celeste. ¡°You really have no idea on what you¡¯re talking about!¡± It was Steven¡¯s voice! Looking up to Steven holding back another man, she saw him to be familiar¡­ ¡°Are you insane! She stole you away like some prisoner!¡± ¡°I told you already, Freddie, it¡¯s not like that!¡± ¡°And go back to my father!? No!¡± The man being held back by Steven went to leave but Steven brought him closer to the tavern, ¡°Sit down here and let me speak of this properly first!¡± Being dragged into the doorway, stopping the two that had come down from upstairs to get out, Freddie stopped. Celeste finally remembered Freddie¡­But then Freddie raised his eyebrows at her, ¡°Ok, we can stay here for a bit.¡± Seeing an interested gaze at her, she already knew that he found her appealing¡­Well, it wasn¡¯t the first time that she had received that look! Steven was confused at his brother¡¯s strange, sudden difference in behavior and looked to where he was looking, to see Celeste. ¡°Celeste.¡± Oh, he¡¯d been waiting for her! He¡¯d read all the books they had on medicine and had begged the doctor to give him some teachings but¡­For a while, he was bored! Waiting for her to come here! ¡°Celeste? Who¡¯s that?¡± Freddie asked his brother. Steven cleared his throat and tried to stop himself from smiling, ¡°She¡¯s here.¡± She was finally here! Will she force him away? Will she try to run? He hoped she¡¯d let him talk to her at least once before going back! He¡¯d have even come to the decision of being her shadow in the rebellion, simply because he felt like that was the best place he could be! Not only for self desires, but he wanted to keep her safe too! ¡°You mean the Princess is here!? Where!?¡± Freddie asked, looking back at Celeste, ¡°Is that the Princess!? I thought that she was supposed to be ugly!¡± Steven frowned, ¡°She isn¡¯t ugly!¡± But the two boys had already changed everything to everyone that was close by. The Princess was here? Medusa was here!? That cruel and nasty princess¡­Was here? One particular set of eyes searched out the woman that was being pointed at and saw a very pretty being, one that looked a bit like himself. The other beside him instantly took out her bow and arrow and had it pointing at Celeste. ¡°You dare?¡± He said to her, giving her a firm gaze. Robin looked at Amil and swallowed. Putting her hands down, she held both her arrow and bow still, not putting them away. If that was really the princess, how good would it be to¡­ But Amil wasn¡¯t ready to just be ¡®rid¡¯ of the Princess that was known as Medusa, who seemed to be a terrible and nasty person. It wasn¡¯t because he was weak, he just wanted to have a conversation, the first conversation, with his blood sister¡­Just one would be enough. After all, today was the first time that he¡¯d ever seen her! ¡°That¡¯s the Princess?¡± There had only been about six people around when this took place, but one ran off, yelling out at the top of their lungs, while another, known as Calvin, looked at her in disgust. So easily, Celeste seemed to have become ¡®the princess¡¯ even though it had been just words by two people that didn¡¯t even live in the village! Was it really so easy to claim someone as Medusa? Only two people there knew for certain, and that was Steven and Amil. But¡­If it hadn¡¯t been so, if she wasn¡¯t the real princess, how easily might it be for someone else to be claimed as the princess!? Spitting on the floor, Calvin said, ¡°You played me, woman! What a cheap trick!¡± Steven frowned at the man who just said that and then looked back at Celeste. Celeste looked from person to person, quietly, and didn¡¯t know what to say. She had indeed lied to the village, about who she was, but¡­She wasn¡¯t a bad person, well at least that bad of a person. So, they would get over it right? They knew her for years and she¡¯d never hurt anyone here¡­ ¡°Get her!¡± What? ¡°What a chance! You know¡­¡± The person took a moment of silence then continued, ¡°We could change things, we could lower the taxes¡­Imagine what we could do!¡± ¡°You mean to take her hostage?¡± Amil asked, frowning. ¡°Yes, and ransom her off! We could live better, all of us.¡± Steven let go of Freddie and walked firmly towards Celeste, to stand in front of her, ¡°Not while I¡¯m here.¡± It was now Freddie¡¯s turn to frown, ¡°Why are you acting like this, Steven, she stole you away!¡± Shaking his head, Steven grabbed a hand of Celeste¡¯s from behind him, trying to bring her closer to him for protection, and said, ¡°She gave me food and a place to stay.¡± Raising her eyebrows, Celeste looked at Steven¡¯s back. So, he knew? He knew that she hadn¡¯t imprisoned him? Closing her eyes, Celeste smiled. She was sure, at this very moment, that she loved this man¡­With all her heart¡­ ¡°Steven move! More than just me want to get to her¡­¡± Freddie stated, the most serious he¡¯s ever been in his entire life. He had left his father against his father¡¯s will to come here, it wasn¡¯t like he was just going to give up so quickly! ¡°Listen to yourselves! Don¡¯t you know her!? She has come here for years and has she hurt any of you!?¡± Steven yelled. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean anything!¡± One of them said, now the crowd was starting to come, more and more walking or running towards the tavern. Steven scoffed at them, ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean anything!? Do you even know what she¡¯s doing to help you!?¡± Celeste widened her eyes and came out from behind Steven, she just couldn¡¯t get Steven into any kind of trouble! ¡°I am indeed the Princess.¡± Stunned to those words, Steven looked at Celeste and frowned. What was she doing? Steven went to be in front of her again, but she pushed him away, ¡°I won¡¯t run from what I am, Steven.¡± Looking at the people, Celeste remembered her original plan and¡­It saddened her that if things kept going this way, that plan might actually come to pass¡­On this day. ¡°I am the one known as Medusa.¡± She again stated in a firm voice. ¡°Stop it! No!¡± Steven first looked at Celeste and then back to the crowd, ¡°She isn¡¯t Medusa!¡± ¡°Did you say he was imprisoned by the Princess?¡± One asked Freddie. Freddie nodded, ¡°He took my place, so I came here to rescue him!¡± ¡°There we have it, she must have made him her puppet or something!¡± Another said. Celeste watched how everything transpired in front of her and once again remembered a reason why she had wanted to¡­ People¡­They just believe anything¡­ They hadn¡¯t really seen any evidence, they had only just heard rumors¡­They just think whatever they want to think, without actually getting a side of any story! There were more of them now, as she looked at the front door of the tavern. So many of them had eyes full of scrutiny, hate¡­Ah, how could she forget about those eyes¡­ The last time that she saw eyes like this was at Commorda. They didn¡¯t know her, had never met her personally before, but they had chased her with these eyes! ¡­Perhaps it was better if she were to just disappear¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Looking up at Steven, who now was facing her, she stared at him and forgot everything else. Steven didn¡¯t know what to do to shut this woman¡¯s mouth, so he just covered it with his own! The silence that overcame the tavern only helped Steven and Celeste forget that they were even there in the first place, as he lightly held her face in his hands. She was too much of a treasure¡­ Steven stopped, even more determined now to never let her go! Turning, making sure she was behind him once again, Steven fiercely looked at everyone, ¡°I will not let harm come to her while I¡¯m alive! And you¡¯d best know that she¡­¡± A window broke and everyone looked outside towards someone looking towards the princess. Before Steven could even process anything, Celeste started to fall to the floor¡­ ¡°Ce¡­Celeste¡­Celeste¡­¡± Steven muttered, slowly going down to the fallen body now on the floor. Chapter 10
Celeste didn¡¯t think as she pulled out the spear that had gone into the side of her body. Blood came out straight away and Steven put a hand there, ¡°Celeste!¡± Letting out a groan, Celeste looked back at him, ¡°It¡¯s ok.¡± It wasn¡¯t her heart or anything, she should be ok¡­It didn¡¯t even look like it went all that far in either¡­ Steven swallowed and finally started to think properly. ¡°Bandages! Get me some bandages!¡± ¡°Nobody move¡­¡± Steven hurriedly looked up, ¡°Quick, bandages!¡± A man ran in then and somehow made it through the masses of people towards Celeste, ¡°Your Highness!¡± Celeste smiled, ¡°Little John.¡± The man ripped his clothes without a thought and gave them to Steven, ¡°Save her! You must save her!¡± ¡°I said nobody move!¡± It was Calvin, bringing out a sword¡­ Steven tended to Celeste, holding the ripped clothing to her wound and pressing hard. ¡°That woman¡­¡± The man known as ¡®Little John¡¯ stood then and just as he went to speak, someone else said, ¡°Is that you, Little John?¡± Little John looked at the crowd and raised his eyes, ¡°Robin¡­¡± Robin made her way to him and gave him a hug. ¡°I thought, I thought you were dead¡­¡± Little John stated. Shaking her head, Robin looked away. It wasn¡¯t like she was embarrassed to have been a pirate, it was more that she had not written to anyone¡­ Why didn¡¯t she at least let them know that she was alive? ¡°You know each other?¡± Amil asked, now coming slightly more forward too. Robin smiled at Amil, ¡°We have known each other since young! He was the one I told you about.¡± Amil widened his eyes to the man, ¡°You are the one with thoughts of rebellion?¡± ¡°Rebellion?¡± The crowd now said something, but nothing was heard to Steven as he tried to look at the wound on Celeste. The wound wasn¡¯t that bad, wasn¡¯t that deep but¡­There were signs of poison¡­ Who was that person!? Steven looked through the window to see that person still there and now smirking at him. He didn¡¯t look familiar but¡­ ¡°Get that person there, someone, go get him before he gets away!¡± Steven knew that if there was poison involved, it would be so much easier if they could get to the know which poison it is and as quickly as possible! Little John didn¡¯t care for the conversation, as what Steven said seemed to be more important and instantly got up and ran through the half-broken window towards the man¡­ ¡°Then how does Little John know you?¡± Robin asked Celeste. Celeste opened her eyes and blinked to focus, ¡°I¡­I wanted to use him¡­¡± ¡°Big mistake.¡± Robin stated, clutching her bow a bit tighter. Celeste closed her eyes, simply because it seemed easier, and said, ¡°I wanted him to use me in his rebellion.¡± What? First, she¡¯s talking about using the man, now she¡¯s talking about the man using her¡­She was speaking nonsense! ¡°Celeste? Please, just keep your strength.¡± Steven stated, already seeing a slight change to her lips. ¡°It¡¯s ok¡­I¡¯m sure I¡¯m not hurt too badly.¡± Celeste stated, smiling but still had her eyes closed. Steven cursed as he changed the bandages, wrapping them around her. The bleeding wasn¡¯t too bad already, which was good but¡­She was most definitely poisoned! Amil stared at the Princess, not showing much of what he was thinking about. Bending down, he placed a hand over her forehead and stared at her. Steven watched with piercing eyes, making sure he¡¯d stop anything bad from happening to Celeste. ¡°She¡¯s been poisoned.¡± Amil stated. In a bit of shock to how quickly he knew, Steven nodded, ¡°That¡¯s why I wanted the other man¡­¡± ¡°Right.¡± Amil took a moment and brought out a small bottle. ¡°Try this.¡± Steven wasn¡¯t sure if it¡¯ll work, considering some poisons are different to others, but¡­The least you could do is try¡­Right? Was there a chance that it could make her worse though? Steven frowned, should he try it? ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t feel very well¡­¡± Celeste said, squeezing her eyes shut and bringing her legs up to her chest. ¡°It could be venom.¡± Amil said, checking her forehead again, ¡°Show me the weapon.¡± Amil wasn¡¯t all that knowledgeable about poison, but what he did know was that there were so many different ways to get poisoned that it was almost scary! Steven passed the weapon to him and found sweat forming on Celeste¡¯s neck, ¡°She¡¯s burning up.¡± Amil smelt the tip of the weapon, then looked at it. He didn¡¯t really know what else to do, so he showed Robin, who also didn¡¯t know. ¡°Got him.¡± Little John threw the man down before the broken window, just outside of the tavern. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°What poison is it?¡± Steven asked him. The man just laughed, ¡°You might as well just kill me!¡± Little John did some kind of move, that made the man squeal like a pig, and people widened their eyes to such little person making another make such a sound! After the man stopped and was able to breath properly, he once again laughed. ¡°Tell me!¡± Steven uttered. ¡°Poison?¡± Celeste asked, her voice noticeably weaker. Even though they had talked in front of her about it, it was the first time that it made sense to her. Amil frowned, then took the small bottle that he gave to Steven back, took the top off and went to attempt to give it to the Princess. Lifting her head to his leg, he saw her open her eyes and a moment of silence passed over them as they stared at each other with the same-colored eyes¡­The same type of face¡­ A cough stopped their moment, and as Amil put in what he hoped was the antidote to the poison, people were also quiet at the man tending to the princess at that precise moment. If that was indeed the Princess, and she looked exactly like that man¡­ Unable to face the obvious reality, people around the area just stayed quiet, most likely because no one said anything to begin with. Perhaps if they were all to deny it? If that man was indeed the long-lost Prince, and he saw them talking and acting like this to his sister¡­ As Celeste was with Amil, Steven got up and paced, only to stop pacing as he saw the fire. There was yet another way to help with poison! There was one person trying to get information from a person, on what poison Celeste had¡­And that would be the pig squealer and Little John that were outside of the Tavern. There was what looked like a long-lost brother and sister that quietly sat there together. A person was making something else that would help with poison, charcoal at that, and the other people were just standing around¡­It was almost like it was a play of some kind and they were at a theater. It hardly seemed real¡­ Little John came in, puffing and panting, making them believe that time had indeed gone by. ¡°I got it!¡± Stumbling over to them, Little John went to give it to Amil, but Steven took it instead, kneeling on the other side of the Princess. Celeste reached out to him, and Steven took her into his arms. They knew that this was a medical thing, where she had to drink some antidote but¡­It all looked so romantic¡­ Little John came to Robins side then, and said, ¡°Are you here to stay?¡± Robin nodded, ¡°I¡¯m here to shake the foundation of this country!¡± The people that heard that were all stunned. They had already somewhat forgotten what Amil said before about the rebellion, but now it seems that too was indeed real! So openly she had told everyone her intentions! Even though Little John felt like Robin was a bit silly to admit to such a big act so freely, he went along with it too, considering Amil had stated something earlier anyway. ¡°Good! And that¡¯s what the Princess was helping with!¡± Little John stated. Turning to the people around him, Little John smirked. ¡°It seems we just gained a whole heap more people into the rebellion¡­¡± ¡°What nonsense! What rebellion!?¡± Calvin stated, still his sword was out. Little John looked at him, up and down, and frowned, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯d be able to help with your puny strength though, Calvin.¡± Calvin lifted his chin, ¡°I¡¯m strong!¡± Raising his eyebrows, Little John scoffed, ¡°Strong at being annoying¡­Can you even swing that blade of yours!?¡± People moved without a second thought, but Calvin didn¡¯t swing his sword. He still didn¡¯t lower his chin, as he said, ¡°I can swing as well as any other!¡± Narrowing his eyes at Calvin, Little John walked to be the closest person to him. It was an awkward area to have a fight, somewhat still in and out of the tavern but, Little John had to do something! These people now knew things that they were better not knowing, but since they did¡­ It was better that they all join the rebellion, simply because Little John didn¡¯t want to kill anyone¡­Well not civilians¡­If he¡¯d have too, he might have to pay a few of them off to stay quiet but they really can¡¯t afford to do that! He¡¯d much rather give money to those in need of it and pay for food, rather then paying people to be quiet! Calvin walked backwards in a bit of panic, bringing him outside of the tavern and he bowed, ¡°I must apologize because I have more important matters to attend to.¡± Little John watched for a moment and then openly scoffed, ¡°Like I stated, puny strength.¡± Seeing Calvin stop and turn angrily, Little John smirked. It was exactly what he had wanted to see! As a scuffle outside went on, to show that Little John was someone not to be trifled with. An arrow stopped two people elsewhere from trying to discretely leave, as Robin tried to help contain the people. Her skill really was astonishing! The people stopped and stared at her, almost apologetically. But they weren¡¯t fighters! They didn¡¯t even want to hear the word ¡®rebellion¡¯ around them! The Queen had already made life so much harder for them! Nonetheless, no one was allowed to leave! That knowledge though, about the Queen already making them hardly able to survive, was indeed a good thing to already bargain with these people. They had to tell them what the rebellion was for, and it was for the people and change! Of course, though, everyone is different and has different thoughts. They were brought up different as well, and perhaps surrounded by different people so¡­There was going to be one hell of a speech! ¡­Inside the tavern, Steven cuddled Celeste. She was now asleep, but he did not want to move. ¡°I would like to speak with her when she wakes.¡± Amil stated, finally getting up. Steven sighed, ¡°So would I.¡± ¡°I think it would be more important if I were to speak with her first.¡± Amil stated, almost like he wanted to make sure that this man knew where he stood. But, as usual, Steven didn¡¯t really think much and looked at Amil, then frowned, ¡°What could you possibly say?¡± Amil looked at Celeste and wondered himself. He had initially meant speaking with her about the rebellion but now, what could he possibly say to her as her being his sister? Was there something? And how? Amil had absolutely no idea how to talk about what has happened to them, he had no idea on how she felt! *** The small castle was searched a few days later, with rumors of the Princess having joined the rebellion. There was no one there, only just most of the vegetables and fruits missing¡­ Forsuremeet was then left with minimal people, who had not joined the rebellion, but they were taken prisoner and the Queen was looking at getting them tortured to find out more information¡­ They were told by Little John and Robin, that if they were to stay, that it would be dangerous! They were told of the possibilities that they would be harmed in serious measures but¡­The people did not take their words seriously! They had told them that they will forget whatever was included in the ¡®rebellion¡¯, and that there was no way that they could get them to leave! Deaf ears had brought upon them unfavorable circumstances and so, those who stayed, only to be taken, regretted not joining the rebellion¡­They felt so stupid¡­ Getting news upon the rebellion had made things more difficult for the Queen. She had known that there¡¯d be a number of people to go against her but¡­Now it was real, it was becoming something and that is just the start of it all! Since the rebellion now was known, people started to come from other villages to search for this so-called rebellion¡­So that a change to their living and survival could take place¡­ That wasn¡¯t the only change. A change happened to the leadership of the rebellion, and that was Robin and Amil. They came to help Little John, entering into Nopecarnot Forest, and started to spread their own knowledge to help the people fight back! Another small change was that the Princess did not go into the forest, she instead went directly into the capital, since she was being searched for around the whole country. Was it not the safest place? Would it be a place that they were looking? Not far from the palace, where the Queen would be, Celeste moved the curtain down, so that she could no longer see outside. Steven kissed her neck as he put his hands around her. After taking the antidote to the poison, it only took Celeste one day to be almost back to normal. Her wound didn¡¯t hinder her very much, probably because Steven looked after it very well. After talking to her brother, Celeste had practically run away with Steven and they got married under a strange, eccentric man named Brother Tuck, who was also a part of the rebellion. Little John had Brother Tuck here in the capital of Melya for quite some time, not even meeting Amil and Robin yet¡­ On the other hand, Freddie was told to leave by Steven after quite a long chat. Steven told him that he was disowned by father and so that he wasn¡¯t able to ever return home, as much as Freddie thought otherwise. Steven wanted to free Freddie from his father but wasn¡¯t sure how. He was already in another mess as it was and he wasn¡¯t going to leave Celeste, so¡­Freddie¡¯s freedom from his father was going to have to wait. Telling him that he had to look after himself and not hang out with the wrong people, like he had been when Steven ¡®took his place¡¯, Steven sent him away, to not return back. There was going to be a rebellion in this country, fighting, and Steven had no other choice to tell him to just return home and live quietly for now¡­ Nonetheless, Celeste was able to finally put statuses and names behind her. With every reason Steven had said, for them not to marry, she spouted something else back which only made them more destined to be together! That wasn¡¯t the only thing either, Steven had previously muttered that he¡¯d never let her go and she brought that up too! She asked him if he¡¯d regret it, regret leaving her¡­ As much as he fought, she did too and when there were no more ideas on Steve¡¯s department, Celeste had said, ¡°It¡¯s what I want!¡± It just broke down any last effort that he had left. So, in the end, it wasn¡¯t the Princess of Commorda that he had been engaged to first, that he married¡­It was instead the Princess of Melya that he married instead! There was no way he could ever regret taking his brother¡¯s place. Because the woman in his hold now taught him so much, even if she didn¡¯t mean too! And Celeste now wanted to live, taking this time off to be with her new husband but will also become a part of the rebellion¡­And because she was going to be a part of it, then so too was Steven! Thanks and Tidbits
Obviously, the fairy-tale series hasn¡¯t finished yet, but you may have figured out the last book! With a person named Robin, and someone that fits a long-time royal that disappeared, we have a two in one. The next book has it¡¯s plot already somewhat organized, as you read it here. The country of Melya has its long-lost prince, it¡¯s princess and Robin. Help from Commorda, that includes that of thieves and pirates¡­ It¡¯ll be a bit of a mess, I¡¯m sure! I know there¡¯s another country or two out there, like Funmil, but I don¡¯t think there will be a sixth book in the series. The fifth and final book is called: ¡®Robin Bonnet.¡¯ (Because of the reverse, Robin is a girl and so ¡®Hood¡¯ got changed to a more feminine name of ¡®Bonnet¡¯ which actually somewhat means the same thing as ¡®hood¡¯ anyway¡­) Thank you so much for reading! I am proud to have finished the book but even more proud if I have entertained you to come this far! Have a great day! *** Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Tid bits: ¡®Forsuremeet¡¯ was just a made-up name that came from ¡®Not in Ham¡¯ (Robin Hood). I just pretty much stated the opposite¡­ Redcliffe is also used to state ¡®sheriff¡¯ in a unique way to keep the story more to the original (Robin Hood). Also, the same with Nopecarnot (nope cannot) Forrest, it¡¯s the opposite to Sherwood (I took that as ¡®Sure would!¡¯ and once again, it was because of Robin Hood). The reason why I¡¯ve put this ¡®tid bit¡¯ into the beauty and the beast reverse is because you already become aware of the towns in this one. This beauty and the beast were for both of the characters. They were both somewhat beauties and beasts. They both had their inner turmoil and found something beautiful to hold onto. So, it wasn¡¯t based on the outside of a person, which totally defeats the title in a regard lol. You can say that I¡¯m taking a gamble by using ¡®beauty¡¯ and the ¡®beast¡¯ in another type of way. Making it a small castle, I wanted to put in the idea of how a first castle might have been created. I mean they would wanna try something out first, right? To see how the stone works, to see how high it would go. I should have stated some flaws in it, so that they ¡®learnt¡¯ something from building it but¡­Whatever! It¡¯s obvious that Celeste¡¯s ¡®Medusa¡¯ title was underrated, but she never stated otherwise, and she was hidden from public with a veil when she played her part. Celeste was only unveiled when left alone in her castle. It could be said that her being ¡®veiled¡¯ and being called ¡®Medusa¡¯ is being done on purpose from the Queen of Melya. (Perhaps a tiny bit of snow white in there but also because a brother would ¡®look alike¡¯ to his sister, IF he were to be alive. And if he were alive, then the Queen would probably see a problem.) At this stage I haven¡¯t written the last book, but this has already been thought of. It states that Steven didn¡¯t know the attacker, the one that hurt the princess at the end. Steven hadn¡¯t been in the town too long, but he was right, that person wasn¡¯t originally from Forsuremeet.