It Was Silly
By MGL Puffie
"Did you hear what I said, Gusion? Be friends with Odette and Guinevere."
Gusion pouted. He wasn't interested in meeting other children. He felt a strong tug of his collar and the boy was forced to see his father glaring at him. "Yes, I… promise father." After his father let him go, the boy huffed quietly and re-adjusted his crumpled clothing.
"You're already seven years old. You should know that alliances between our families are important. Do you understand, Gusion?"
"Yes, father." The child replied mechanically. In front of them, the servant of the Regina family opened the doors. Gusion heard loud giggling and laughter of girls close to where they were.
"Remember what we talked about." The father squeezed Gusion's shoulder but let go when greeted by a man and a woman. Their clothes show nobility and was introduced as Lord and Lady Regina of the Swan Castle. As usual, his father's stern demeanor changed as he chatted with the other adults. How amusing was it that his father was so nice in front of other people?
"So Gusion was it? Lady Regina took his hand and led the boy inside another room. He tried to remember the lines he practiced back home. "Hello, I'm Gusion. Pleased to meet you." The boy uttered as soon as he saw the two girls, slightly bowing his head. His father instructed him to be nice. The taller one was mostly likely Odette, and the one with a ginger head was definitely Guinevere.
They were left alone in the room filled with all the dolls Gusion had seen in his life. He was told girls liked dolls, but he never expected to have dozens scattered around a soft, carpeted floor. There was a miniature castle filled with toy soldiers and horses. Books with white pages were close to Odette, with crayons of so many colors Gusion didn't know about.
"Hello Gusion. I'm Guinevere of the Baroque family."
"Odette of the Regina family." Both girls curtsied and giggled. "Join us, we're playing Wizard versus Princess." She invited.
"You can be the prince!" Guin said. "We are fighting the evil wizard with magic!" The girl pointed to a large stuffed bear with a pointy hat. She assumed a battle stance and then kicked the bear at its face repeatedly. Odette twirled and danced before pointing her brush, her "wand" and attacking the wizard with imaginary magic.
Gusion stood his ground, unable to say anything. His father told him to "play" with the girls. Be nice. Be respectful. Yet he found his cheeks heating up. How come Odette had a room filled with toys? No magic books around. No table to read them for hours. The boy frowned.
"Let's go Gusion, let's play." Odette said in a sing-song manner. She was running around with Guinevere and blasting the fake wizard with imaginary powers.
"This is so silly," Gusion huffed and the girls stopped playing. "Back in our house, we have real magic." The boy raised his chin. He was made to practice real spells every day, not waste time on stupid things.
Odette and Guin went quiet and didn't say a word. Odette fidgeted as she stood and stared at Gusion with mouth gaped open. "Let's play something else." The girl suggested and beckoned Gusion to follow her to one corner of the room. "We can play building blocks," Odette said as she showed her little creation. Many wooden blocks of different colors were stacked to form a tower, around half the girls' heights. "It's the tallest and most beautiful tower in all Moniyan!"
Gusion tilted his head and used his finger to jab the tower, causing the top half to fall into a wide mess to the floor. "It's so easy to tear it down," the boy snorted. Without warning, Odette screamed and sobbed, stomping her foot on the floor. Gusion glared at the girl. How can she be so annoying and weak? In his house, he wasn't allowed to cry.
"Mama! Mama!" Odette didn't slow down on her outburst.
"Hey!" Guinevere pushed Gusion. "Why did you destroy Odette's tower?" The girl yelled.
"It's not a tower because it's so weak!" Gusion stuck out his tongue. Odette's wails hurt his ears. Why couldn't she keep quiet? "Odette is also so weak because she cries!" The boy began to laugh when he felt a strong force that knocked him on the ground. It was followed by Guinevere's fist that connected to his jaw. It hurt.
"I hate you!" Guinevere screamed at his face. "Odette is my friend!"
Gusion pushed back and released a punch that hit Guinevere's face. The boy expected Guinevere to back out and he laughed at his little victory; instead, the girl just furiously charged at him. Before he can continue fighting, he heard the doors open and felt strong arms pull him away.
Lady Regina arrived at the scene and went to Odette while a maid pulled Guinevere. Gusion smiled a little. He couldn't wait to see Odette being scolded for her crying. Before he could observe, his father arrived and looked at him with displeasure.
Gusion felt sick in his stomach. He failed. Even as his father took him away from the room, Gusion's eyes were only fixated on Odette who was being embraced by her mother and father. They weren't angry. Why?
"I'm sorry…" Gusion said to his father, his voice so little. He wanted to explain but he felt his eyes getting heavy, cheeks heating and his jaw tightly locked. He wasn't allowed to cry and he didn't. At least, he didn't fail that.