Chapter 2- First Day
Eva gasped. Nourasia was beautiful! The landscape was similar to that of a rainforest, but without the crowdedness. The trees were spaces out and had a gold-orange color. The buildings resembled the ancient Mayan temples of earth. The countless birds looked a lot like the present-day bluebirds on our planet as well. Everything looked so elegant. Nothing looked out of place, except the palace. Eva could tell it was the place because it put the surrounding buildings to shame. It was absolutely magnificent! If Eva had ever seen perfection, it was in the palace. She stared out the window as the spaceship descended, watching as everything came closer.
When the craft was landed without a jolt, the pilots voice came again, saying that they were now free to grab their items and disembark the spaceship. Eva grabbed her CD player and the picture of her mother, father, and herself that was taken in a park about 13 years ago. As she reached the gates of the airport, a staff member came and handed her all of her suitcases. He directed her to the place where she could wait for someone to pick her up.
While Eva walked over to the crowded area, she realized that she had no idea who was supposed to pick her up. Hopefully, it would be someone she recognized, like Aikka, or his trainer. Preferably Aikka. She looked around. Many Nourasians walked by her, but didn't even look at her. Eva began to feel out of place as she turned in circles to find a familiar face.
Suddenly, it seemed like the crowd cleared, to reveal Aikka, leaning against the wall, smiling. Eva smiled back, walking toward him. As she walked closer, he straightened up, making his height more apparent. He had grown a lot in the years they had spent apart, both in height and maturity.
"Welcome, Eva," Aikka said in the formal tone that hadn't changed at all. He bowed, and then straightened, sweeping her up in a hug. "It is good to see you again."
"You too." Eva returned the embrace.
They released each other after a few moments, and then just looked at each other smiling. Aikka suddenly blushed.
"How rude of me to forget my manners! I apologize. You must be very tired. I will escort you to the palace immediately, and next I can show you your room. Then, if you are not too tired, I could show you my home."
"I'm not tired at all." Eva smiled. Aikka smiled in return and nodded. He picked up all of her suitcases, and there was a lot! Aikka signaled at Eva to follow him and he led the way through the crowd. They walked out the doors into the warm sunny day. G'dar was resting in front. The beetle recognized Eva immediately and started clicking and whistling. Aikka and Eva both laughed at his antics. Eva walked over and began to pet the beetle. G'dar slowly calmed down. Aikka turned to a Nourasian that was standing nearby.
"Please take these bags to Lady Eva's room, we will arrive there shortly." The assistant nodded and loaded the suitcases onto a beetle next to G'dar. Aikka turned back to Eva. "Would you like help up?" Eva nodded and Aikka handed her up onto G'dar. Aikka then mounted in front of her and she wrapped her arms around his waist. They left the airport behind and Aikka guided G'dar toward the palace.
As they flew, Aikka explained what each unknown object was. Eva took it all in with wide eyes. When they pulled up to the front of the palace, a small group of people was standing there, obviously waiting for the prince and his guest. When G'dar landed Aikka jumped down and turned back to help Eva, but she had already jumped down beside him. He just smiled. I didn't realize how much I missed those acts of independence, he thought.
"Welcome, Lady Eva!" A Nourasian dressed in an elaborate gold robe stepped forward, followed by a Nourasian woman that was dressed similarly. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you! I have heard many endearing things about you from my son."
Eva then realized who these people were, the king and queen, Aikka's parents. She started to curtsy, but the queen caught her up in a hug before she could.
"There is no reason for such formalities. After all, we will be spending a year together," the queen stated. "I am Queen Juanissa (Wan-eese-a)."
"And I am King Navole (Na-vole-A)."
"It is a pleasure to meet you both," Eva replied, using her best manners.
"Eva, we are positively delighted to have you here, especially after your magnificent victory over the Crogs. We are extremely grateful to you," Navole said.
Eva blushed, "It was nothing, nothing at all."
"No, no. It was everything, we…." Juanissa was interrupted by her son.
Aikka, noticing Eva's obvious embarrassment, broke in, "Mother, father, I believe Lady Eva is very tired, and I was going to escort her to her room and help her unpack." He winked. Eva looked at him curiously and wondered why he had done that.
His parents both smiled and nodded. They stepped back, telling Eva once more how excited they were that she had come. Aikka guided her up the stairs that led to the palace. As they entered the doors, Eva stopped breathing. This was the most picturesque site she had seen it her life, including Alwas and Oban. The palace was amazing on the outside, but even better on the inside. There were extravagant columns that held up the high arched ceiling. Murals were all over the walls in bright colors and of many different scenes. Flowers were everywhere, and in every shape and color. It was perfect.
Aikka noticed her face and glowed. He had spent the past three months preparing for Eva's visit. Don Wei had contacted him well in advance.
They continued up a glorious staircase that curved slightly with the circular shape of the large room. Aikka led Eva down a hallway and into a beautiful green and blue bedroom. The room was absolutely gigantic! The bed was the same size as three king sized beds put together, with a large canopy over the top and hanging down the sides. There was a window that covered half of the south wall and a window seat right next to it. A large door led to an even larger bathroom. There was a bathtub, shower, sink, toilet, and many cabinets, and a Jacuzzi-like tub as well. The room was fit for a princess.
Aikka interrupted her ogling, "This will be your room for the next year, if you like it, that is." He added the last part hastily.
"Its perfect," Molly breathed.
Aikka smiled with delight. He had personally designed this room for her and was happy she liked it.
Eva turned back to the bed, where her suitcases were already laying. She sighed and began to unpack her clothes, putting them in the large dresser. Aikka insisted on helping and Eva explained every item's use as they unpacked. They both blushed when he pulled out her underwear; he wasn't naïve enough to not know what those were.
When they were finished, which took about two hours because of the amount of clothes Eva had packed, Aikka began to show Eva around the palace. Eva followed him with wide eyes. Countless servants bustled around them as they walked through the wide hallways. The servants carried a variety of things, from brightly colored paper to miniature fountains.
"Is it always so busy around here?" Eva asked.
"Not usually." Aikka offered no further explanation. Eva was still curious, but decided to drop the subject. Instead, she paid attention to the activities and scenery that surrounded her.
Aikka showed Eva around the whole palace, including the hall where his parents' bedroom was located, as well as his own room. When Aikka turned down to a new hallway that led outside, Eva stopped.
"What's going on in there?" She asked, pointing to a large set of elaborate doors. The noises and voices that escaped from the room were very loud.
Aikka froze, his eyes got wide, but then his expressionless mask came on. "It is nothing, don't worry about it." As he said this he saw Eva's eyes look at the floor. She is obviously upset that I am keeping her in the dark, but it is better this way. I can apologize later; it is better to say nothing for now.
Aikka just turned and continued down the hall. Eva followed, but with less enthusiasm than before. At the end of the hallway, a great open door led to a garden. This was not anything like the gardens Eva had seen on earth. This garden was amazing. The flowers were very exotic looking and quite a bit larger than the ones on earth. They also came in a wider variety of colors. There were green flowers, blue flowers, brown flowers, gray flowers, purple flowers, red flowers, orange flowers, pink flowers, yellow flowers, white flowers, black flowers, gold flowers, and every other color you could possibly think of. Eva forgot her previous depression and ran straight to the nearest flower, a yellow one, and smelled it. The smell was intoxicating, but in a good way. The scent was similar to that of a rose, but more concentrated, so it smelt even better.
Aikka showed Eva around the garden, telling her what each type of flower symbolized. When he came to a sweet scented white flower, he stopped.
"This flower symbolizes purity of the heart. It represents the goodness and joy in life and in people. It is the most sacred of all these flowers." Aikka picked one of the flowers and placed it into Eva's hair, causing her to blush. Her blush was quickly followed by his.
Aikka looked away quickly, hoping she hadn't noticed his flush. "I believe it is almost dinner, why don't I escort you to your room, so your maid will help you prepare?"
Eva nodded, not completely sure what prepare was referring to.
They walked up to her room, past fewer servants this time, though. It seemed all of the excitement had died down a bit. Upon reaching her door, Aikka turned toward her.
"I shall return to accompany you downstairs when you are ready." He turned and practically ran back down the hallway, leaving Eva staring after him in confusion.