A/N: I've written an extra large chapter this time. Well... at least more than usual. There's some development in the romance this time! And also a story within a story...
Joy's Unhappiness
Chapter 8
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"Hurraaaah! Flowers!"
When I heard that, I perked up. The pillywiggin is up and most definitely alive. He was flying around in circles above me again. I smiled in relief.
He flew right in front of my face. "It's living springtime flowers! Who knew you had the smarts to bring me here?"
Too close, too close! I backed away to get some distance. The fairy frowned. "What's wrong with you? You really are weird."
I don't know what to make of that comment so I pretended to not hear it.
"Well, whatever. Can't believe I owe you this much. The least I can do right now is give you my name I suppose. My name is Aeon. Nice to meet you... uh..." Aeon scratched his head.
"Cat-skin..." I muttered.
Aeon held his stomach in laughter. "C-Cat-skin?! Really?! You even have a weird name!" Tears were forming in his eyes.
...Now he's starting to get on my nerves. I kept my frustration to myself but just furrowed my eyebrows.
A buzzing noise took my attention. Aeon noticed it too. I listened carefully. Was that a... bee?
"Could it be..." Aeon looked to see where the noise came from. A bee came flying towards him. "It is!" A large grin spread on his face.
"Retty!" He hugged the bumble bee ecstatically. The bee seemed to be just as happy as him. I watched this touching reunion with interest.
"Have you been looking for me all this time? Thanks buddy!" Aeon rubbed the Retty's head affectionately. Retty let out a low buzz similar to how a cat purrs when it's happy.
When the reunion ended, Aeon turned to me. "It's time for me to go now. Us pillywiggins are busy at this time of year after all. Plus I got delayed because I was... kidnapped."
A look of anger flashed through his face before he calmed down. Then he hopped on top of Retty.
"The next time we meet, it will be my turn to help you! See ya!" he yelled as he and Retty flew out of sight.
I waved goodbye. When I stopped waving, a voice at the back of my mind told me I had a job to do as well.
Oh right, I need to find Julie. At a well. Hmm. At least I'm outside. That's progress.
I walked forward to continue in my search.
Round the next corner, a well was sighted. A lady sat by it. What a lucky coincidence! No need to search any longer!
As I walked closer, I saw that the lady was sleeping with her arm and head resting on top of the well. On a closer look, the lady was really pretty. Kind of like a doll. She looked older than me by a few years and had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. And long eyelashes too. She had on a cotton dress similar to the one I have underneath the cloak.
"Um... Excuse me..."
"...His birthday is soon... I must... prepare..." she mumbled. But she did not wake.
I shook her shoulder lightly. "Excuse me miss."
She opened her eyes sleepily. I didn't fail to notice the dark bags under her brown eyes and regretted waking her up. "...yes?" she asked groggily.
Then her whole body froze and her eyes widened suddenly. "A m-monster!" she shrieked.
I was caught by surprise. "H-huh? Monster?"
The lady blinked and rubbed her eyes. "... Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude." she apologised while standing up. "I mistook your cloak for a monster..."
Oh. I should have seen that coming. It's not the first time this happened. The hunter who took me in back then, first mistook me for a prey for him to hunt.
I nodded to accept her apology.
"So... What did you need from me?"
"...The head cook sent me to find Julie here..."
She smiled. "That would be me. Hmm, I got told by Synal that a new worker would come. That is you I presume?"
I simply nodded. Julie stood up and patted my head. "Then you can my cute little assistant for a while. Just until you learn how to cope all by yourself."
"...Yes." I agreed shyly. Did she just call me cute? It's a little ironic considering she thought I was a monster at first sight.
"Right, your first task from me would be helping me take these buckets of water back to the kitchens. I'll carry one and you'll take the other so we will both have equal weights." She picked up one bucket.
I took the other and followed Julie back to the kitchens. Taking these buckets of water to the kitchen isn't an easy task as it seems, because you'll have to make sure that the water doesn't spill all over the floor. And they were filled to the top too. I used both of my arms to carry it.
As we reached the kitchens, the head cook seemed to be about ready to conjure up a thunderstorm with his temper when he saw us.
"WHAT TOOK YOU TWO SO LONG JUST TO BRING WATER FROM THE WELL!?" he roared.
I got frightened and found myself instinctively hiding behind Julie. It was a bad thing to do, I know. But he resembled a mad bull ready to charge at us at any second.
Julie kept her cool and faced the head cook head on. "It is all my fault so I'll take the blame for it."
I have got to admire her for her bravery.
The head cook glared at Julie harder. He gave me a short glance and then sighed. "No dinner tonight for you Julie."
Julie bowed her head. "Yes, I understand."
The head cook stormed away to shout at other people and I pulled Julie's sleeve to get her attention.
"I'm sorry..." I truly did feel guilty. If only I had found the well sooner...
"It's fine. I was the one who fell asleep anyway. If you didn't wake me up, I would have gotten a much worse punishment. Come. Let's put the water down."
She led me to a row of sinks where other servants were washing dishes. Some were empty. I watched Julie put her bucket in one sink so I copied her.
Turning back to Julie, I saw her picking up another bucket. "We will have to refill some more buckets. I think we will have to keep doing this until dinner..."
I nodded and picked up a bucket as well. We walked to the well again.
After we had water in our buckets, Julie started to talk. "Sorry. This job isn't exactly the most ideal in the world. Even though it's the royal castle, the jobs here aren't any different from working for a noble."
"... I'm perfectly happy." I replied. After all it is better than being pressured to do Father's work...
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It has been a week since I have started working in the Fairadore castle. The work is really repetitive but it was pretty much the same as working in our castle. Being a gopher for the cooks, peeling vegetables, washing dishes, refilling water when it was running out and occasionally washing the aprons.
Julie is now a really good friend. She has more maturity than anyone else that I know and, sometimes, it feels like she's much older than she actually is. Not like an elderly kind of old. She feels more like an older sister that I never had.
Synal came to visit a few times. He is no longer as cautious of me as he was when we first met. Although... I think he treats me like a pet. He laughs whenever he pats me on the head. Which is something he does often. Well... It's not like I dress like a normal human either...
Julie and Synal are childhood friends. They lived in the same village before Synal came to the castle to become a knight. Julia followed when she was old enough. Back when I first met her at the well, she fell asleep because she stayed up late to make his birthday present.
I thought that it would be rude to not give him anything at his birthday, so at this current moment, I'm trying to think of something to give to him. Nothing expensive or big. Something that he will probably use. But I have no ideas...
Julie looks over at me. "After you've done those dishes, I think it's alright for you to take a break. There's no more work left to do. You've worked hard today."
I nodded, finished quickly and dried my hands. I looked around to see other people also taking breaks. Today doesn't seem to be very busy.
Since there wasn't much to do – and I couldn't possibly get my hands on any embroidery tools – I decided to take a walk around the castle.
By now, I have gotten used to the layout of the castle. Getting lost this time would only be possible if I were to wander around in a daze.
Aeon, the fairy I rescued on the same day I met Julia, hasn't been seen since then. He said that he would repay me but I don't really mind. He did nothing to deserve being treated so badly. Sure, he was insulting but he just speaks his mind a lot.
Before I knew it, my feet subconsciously brought me in front of the well. It wasn't a surprise since I hardly left the kitchen unless I was refilling the buckets or going back to my assigned room.
Never having the chance to explore the gardens, I did so in this opportunity. The time with Aeon was quite brief after all.
I was told that the gardens in our kingdom were the best of them all, but I had never seen any proof to back it up because I had always stayed in Deofia. Now I saw why. Not that these weren't bad, I can clearly see that they made a good effort.
Here was a maze of hedges, that wasn't quite a maze, because you could easily see the the entire route as the hedges were at my waist. There was a line of pine trees next to the wall bordering the castle.
I walked through the maze until it ended at the back of the castle.
The thing that stood out the most to me were the blue roses growing on the walls of the castle. It was strange. I'm pretty sure that colour didn't exist in the form of a rose. It was impossible.
Intrigued, I pulled up my hood slightly and moved closer to marvel at them. They were a deep, azure colour. It looked untarnished and... flawless. So serene and beautiful...
However the flowers were blooming too high up for me to reach. I couldn't take a closer look than this.
Click!
Tearing my eyes off the blue roses, I saw a strange flaw. There seemed to be a large empty spot shaped like a perfect square. The stalks grew out of it's way? Was it there before?
Even though I touched nothing, I heard rumbling from within the castle. A large hole opened up from the empty spot. My eyes widened to the size of plates.
From out of the hole came a human! I backed away in surprise as a young man wearing a leather cap, rolled out of it in a crouched position.
He looked up and his curious eyes met with my astonished ones. Steel grey eyes... Why do they look familiar?
An awkward silence ensued between us. Where did this guy come from? Did he use one of the secret chutes like the one I fell into? Is he an intruder...
He gave me a long stare. I stared back.
"Oh, it's Cat-skin!" he said suddenly, getting up. He knew who I was?! Well... not quite...
The mysterious young man covered his mouth, realising he said it much louder than he intended to. I tried to put a name to his face...
"Darwi-" I cut myself off. "I-I mean – Your Highness!"
"Shh!" Darwin covered my mouth and looked around warily. "I don't want to get found out!"
I looked at him, raising a silent question. Found out about what? And why are you dressed like that?
He let go off me and crossed his arms, thinking. Then he grabbed my arm (gently). "I guess now that you saw me, you're going to have to join me." He grinned childishly.
I opened my mouth to speak but took another look at his smile... I couldn't possibly refuse to that. I nodded dumbly.
Darwin led me to a wooden crate behind some trees by the border wall. He pushed it aside to reveal a hole big enough to fit an average human!
He crawled through the hole. "Follow me!"
I reluctantly did so. Just where were we going?
We walked to a clearing in the forest where a lone tree stood in the middle. Darwin reached in the hollow and pulled out a sword.
He did a few practice swings. "This is where I do my secret training." He smiled sadly to himself.
I sat down on the grass and watched him. 'Why would it be a secret?' I wondered.
Darwin answered it for me. "You know, in this kingdom, it's forbidden for royalty to do this kind of stuff." He swung again. "It used to be allowed in the past but one of my ancestors died in the war, so now they are being careful about it."
In Deofia, it's not forbidden. Father used to go out to battle against the rampaging ogres in his younger days... Or so I was told by Clarence.
Darwin sighed. "I really wish that they would change the rules. It was my dream to become a knight fighting for the kingdom, ever since I was a tiny boy. Just when I was getting close to my dream, I had to be crowned prince..." He sighed again.
Is that so... That really is a pity. Darwin is so skilled and yet... He's not allowed to have the freedom to use them...
"But..." Darwin clenched a fist ambitiously. "Even so, I'm going to practice! I'll be better than Synal and Caelan! I'll get strong enough to reassure Fairadore that I can live through tough battles!"
I smiled. It's brilliant that he's still not giving up on his dreams. It's rather inspiring even though I, myself, have no dreams... He really is someone to be admired...
Still smiling, I started clapping for him.
Darwin looked at me and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry about that Cat-skin. I kind of rambled on there didn't I?"
I shook my head to disagree.
He smiled too. "Well... Thank you for listening. It felt great!"
"...No problem."
Out of the blue, we heard loud popping sounds. It didn't sound dangerous but it was strange. Darwin seemed to recognise it.
"Oh! How could I forget?! Today is the festival!" He put away the sword and then took my hand. "Why don't we join them?" he asked.
Although confused, I nodded. Why not? It's good to have a break.
We went through the forest and I saw that we were now on the top of a hill, looking over at a town. Humongous multicoloured bubbles floated above it. One popped - giving out that loud sound from before - and it burst into glittering stars. I stared at it, completely mesmerized. As they fell, they disappeared.
Darwin laughed. "You haven't seen it all yet!"
He took me down the hill where all of the people were celebrating. Some ran stalls, filled with unusual stuff. Performers did their acts on the streets. Both adults and children smiled everywhere we went.
The festival was very interesting and all but what were they celebrating?
"That's right. Cat-skin, you don't know what all this was about did you? You came from Deofia after all. Come over here and I'll show you!" Darwin pulled me towards a crowd of excited people where men were standing on a stage.
One man sits on a chair, on the far end of the stage, with an open book in his hands. He begins to speak and the crowd hushes.
"A long time ago, outsiders were shunned. People would disrespect them, throw vegetables at them and refuse shelter for them." he says in a low but clear voice. "Amazing how things have changed since then. It's never unusual to see them everyday on the streets now."
He continues. "This is a re-enactment of a true story. A story... that happened many years ago, before many of you were even born. A story... that makes Fairadore what it is today..."
Movement catches my eye, elsewhere on the stage. A cloaked man enters taking long strides like he was in a hurry. However, he was intercepted by a group of dark clothed men, jumping onto the stage.
One of the dark clothed men yelled out: "Take his belongings!"
The cloaked man tried to fend for himself but was not succeeding.
Yet another man runs in and joins the fight, this time, taking the cloaked man's side. This one was visibly different as he had very dark skin and black hair.
They all draw their swords and after a long battle, the duo defeat the group of thieves. Panting for breath they looked at each other.
The cloaked man takes off his hood and kneels down. "I was in a spot of trouble there. You have saved my life. How could I ever repay you for your bravery?" he says to the dark skinned man.
"...There is no need. I was in a position to help so I chose to do so... That was all." the man replies before walking away.
The cloaked man is left alone, still kneeling on the floor. The narrator speaks again.
"He may not have chased after him, but he was a man who hated to leave a debt unpaid. From then on, he had always kept an open eye out for that mysterious man. Searching relentlessly..." The cloaked man stands up and leaves.
The scene switches to the dark skinned man trying to find lodging, but without luck...
xxxxx Darwin's POV xxxxx
This play is the same one that I never fail to go watch every year. I know the story off by heart.
The cloaked man and the dark skinned man meet again. But the foreigner was in bad state by this time, due to lack of food and shelter. So the cloaked man helped him out.
They only occasionally met up but somewhere along the way, they become best friends.
One day, the dark skinned man reveals that he came from a very, very faraway place. He admits that he misses his family and plans on going back. With much regrets, the cloaked man bade him farewell.
What the dark skinned man didn't know, was that his dear friend held a secret. For he was the king of Fairadore of that time. Only wearing a disguise to check up on his subjects, personally.
At this point, the king saw no reason to be prejudiced toward outsiders. He convinced the rest of his kingdom to let go of their hostility and welcome these foreigners wholeheartedly with his own power.
And so, many foreigners came pouring in the kingdom to start new lives and businesses. The king expected to see the face of the man who saved his life. But the dark skinned man never came back. The king remained hopeful until the end of his life.
The ending wasn't a happy one but I liked the story. The king here was my role model. His open-mindedness and commitment has inspired me since I was a kid! Not that I really wanted to be a king though...
At the end of the play, the crowd burst into applause. I turned to Cat-skin to see her reaction to it.
xxxxx Cat-skin's POV xxxxx
The play was great! It was the first one I had ever watched and now I'm eager for more.
The actors have certainly got into the correct characters and now I'm having trouble with trying to believe that they were only acting. Sure, they didn't have the right backgrounds seeing that they only have a stage to use, but they had been so convincing.
I too, clapped with the crowd.
Darwin chuckled beside me. "I knew you would enjoy it."
I certainly did!
"These people truly are talented. It's a shame that they don't get recognised more." he commented.
I nodded in agreement.
The actors started to pack up and the crowd scattered to find something else, interesting to do.
Darwin took my hand. "Let's go take a look around!"
He led me to a mobile aquarium, where many colourful fishes were swimming around. They were certainly unusual, I had never seen them before. The fishes I had ever seen were not interesting to look at, certainly compared to these fishes on display.
In centre of the tank was a beautiful statue of a sleeping half woman and fish. It reminded me of the being that Darwin told me about on the carriage. Was it a... mermaid?
The 'statue' opened her eyes, shocking everyone around us. She swam up to the top of the tank to look at us. She looked neither happy or angry to see us.
I stared back at her in child-like wonder. She's partially like us and yet, she lives a totally different life from us. The scales on her tail shimmered in the sunlight as she moved it.
Her eyes stayed on me for a moment before flicking away. Was that sadness I just detected in her eyes?
Darwin lowered his eyes grimly.
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The day was going to end quite soon judging from the orange sky. People were beginning to pack up.
"Say. There are stalls over there. Tell me if anything catches your eye. I'll buy it for you." Darwin said.
I blinked up at him in surprise before shaking my head wildly.
Darwin chuckled. "There's no need to be modest. I'm the one with plenty of money here anyway."
Well... that's not necessarily true. However, at this current moment I suppose so... But still...
"...I couldn't possibly-"
"Really, it's no problem at all! You're new to this kingdom after all. It's important that you enjoy yourself!" he insisted.
… I don't think this getting anywhere...
He took my silence as a yes and proceeded to guide me through the stalls.
Despite my initial reluctance, I glanced around at them. Not one of them were boring at all. It is a festival after all. They want to take advantage of the annual opportunity.
The jewellery stall, no doubt, caught my eye. The items shimmered in the afternoon light.
But despite the shiny precious jewels and metals, a modest little trinket attracted my attention fully. I stopped walking to look at it.
A pair of earrings lay innocently on the stand. Tiny pristine white snowdrop flower earrings. Crystal droplets hung from the inside. It reminded of the message Arryn gave me from Mother...
"Oh. You like that?"
Darwin's voice made me tear my eyes away from it, realising that staring at it would attract his attention. But it was obviously too late.
"Sorry to disappoint you Cat-skin, but you can't possibly use this... I mean your ears aren't-" He brushed back my hood and my hair suddenly.
My eyes widened and so did his.
I instantly panicked. Did he recognise me? I don't want it all to end! Not yet...
"...pierced..." he finished his sentence after a long pause.
"... You have them pierced..." he continued. His face looked severely confused. "...Should be alright then..."
Darwin paid the gawking man the appropriate money and gave me the earrings. "Let's go back now..."
I felt the earrings in my hand. Looking down at them and then at Darwin's outstretched hand, a stream of thoughts ran through my mind:
What just happened? Did he figure it out? Is it all over now? Or am I still safe?
A/N: Tell me your thoughts on this Whether it be bad or good. Feedback is the best present you can give any author. In the end, it's up to you what you put in it though. But don't ignore this plea. Er... I hope that didn't come off as rude...
