Natalya laid on a wooden lounge chair, relaxing in the evening sun and warmth as she looked out at the sea.
She was quite surprised that the Royal Family of Solyra would possibly allow the girls to stay as guests in the castle, but the generous offer could not be refused. She still respectfully kept her distance today and ventured into the city to explore, where she had a delightful day among the people exploring the markets. The Princes even had the servants give her a small pouch of coin, which she gladly used to buy lunch, as well as a new dark purple ribbon to tie her hair with.
"Natalya, may I join you?"
Natalya looked over to see that Prince Lovino had joined her on the veranda, and was inspecting the lounge chair next to hers.
"Of course, Your Highness," Natalya allowed, "It's a beautiful evening for it."
"It certainly is," Lovino agreed as he sat down, "The breeze is nice too, perfect for relaxing after that exciting dinner."
"That was quite the story from your brother, wasn't it?" Natalya recalled, "Her name is Erika, she was the mermaid who rescued him in a storm, and she turned human to find him again."
"I am still astounded by the story," Lovino mulled over, "Granted, I didn't get a good look at her when we were pulling Feliciano back onto the boat during the rescue. But when the two of you arrived yesterday, Feliciano insisted she looked exactly like the mermaid. Since the shipwreck, he had spent all his spare time staring at the sea, pining and hoping he'd find that mermaid again. That's why I offered to have the two of you stay with us, I wanted to see if having the two of you as guests would distract Feliciano."
"It appears to have been a good choice so far," Natalya supported, "What a whim of fate that Erika turned out to be the one he was looking for."
Lovino did not immediately reply to that, so Natalya leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and took several deep breaths of the sea air. After a few silent minutes, she finally heard Lovino shuffle in his seat.
"So, what's your story then?"
"My story?" Natalya asked.
"Yes, your story," Lovino reiterated, "We know how Erika came to arrive in Niba now, but all you've said is that you're a humble weary traveller. So, where are you coming from, and what brought you to Niba?"
Natalya took another deep breath and relaxed herself, she knew she'd have to answer that question at some point while she was here.
"I'm running away," Natalya confessed, "I escaped my guardian and fled south, and ended up here in Niba."
"You escaped?" Lovino grilled, "Were they harming you?"
"No, Francis never physically hurt me," Natalya clarified, "He just locked me in a tower for 13 years, with no interaction with the rest of the world."
"That sounds rather extreme," Lovino remarked, "Who is this Francis?"
"He is my adoptive brother," Natalya identified, "Francis is the only family I know of that's still alive. His mother Marianne adopted me when I was a baby, he was already 13 years old then. She was a witch who travelled the realm, and she was teaching Francis magic as well. Marianne was gentle and sweet to me, like a mother, she showed me and taught me many things. She died when I was 11 years old, and Francis had to raise me from there."
"And that was his method of raising you through your teenage years and into adulthood?" Lovino critiqued, "Locking you in a tower for 13 years?"
"He convinced me it was for my safety," Natalya justified, "He did this shortly after Marianne's death, telling me that the world was a dangerous place, and that this was the best way to protect me. Not that he let me suffer too badly in that tower, it was furnished well and he brought me food every few days. At first, he used the stairs inside the tower all the time, before he eventually created this."
As she mentioned it, she leaned forward and used her left hand to untie the white ribbon from her right wrist, and held it out for Lovino to look at.
"A ribbon?" Lovino observed as he reached out to touch the ribbon with his fingers.
"A magical ribbon for my hair," Natalya described, "When I use it to tie my hair, it makes my hair grow supernaturally long. It took longer to grow when I was young, but it reached the point about seven years ago that my hair was as long as the tower was high. Soon enough Francis barred the entrances and stairs, and he would use my long hair as a rope to scale the tower and come through the balcony."
"How long would that hair have been then?" Lovino asked as he leaned back in his chair, finished inspecting the ribbon.
"About seventy feet, I believe," Natalya continued as she rewound the ribbon around her wrist, "He would occasionally bring me new books to read, and crafting materials so I could make my own dresses, in an attempt to keep me busy. It took me until a few years ago to realize that he might never release me from the tower, no matter how many times I begged to join him on an adventure. Ever since I finally got him to confess he intended to not let me ever leave, it's been a bit tense between us."
"So you plotted an escape?" Lovino determined.
"It took me so long to realize how easy it could be," Natalya elaborated, "I was recently re-reading one of those books, and it had a fable where someone used rope to climb a wall. I suddenly realized that Francis was using my hair as rope to climb the tower wall, and there's no reason I couldn't do the same. I took my time cutting off my hair, only removing a few feet at a time and braiding it. I would use the ribbon to grow it longer, and hide the severed hair whenever Francis came for a visit."
"That sounds quite clever," Lovino recognized, "And you found your opportunity to run for it?"
"I finally escaped a few days after his last visit," Natalya spelled out, "He brought me enough food provisions to last two weeks, there was somewhere he needed to travel for his magical endeavours. Once he left, I cut off the rest of my hair, braided it and tied it onto what I had already cut off. I packed a handmade bag with a few provisions, tied my hair to the balcony, climbed down and ran."
"And you made it all the way to Niba," Lovino figured out, "Without being found?"
"I'm here now, aren't I?" Natalya contemplated, "Francis has probably returned to the tower now, and will have discovered that I'm gone. I was lucky to only cross one other person in my travels, he told me I was only a couple days away from Niba at that point. He even suggested I travel onwards to Aegaimore after this, it's supposed to be nice."
"And will you do that?" Lovino quizzed.
"I haven't decided yet," Natalya considered, "Obviously I can't stay here as your guest forever, I'll have to leave eventually. That could mean that I live in the city with the rest of the people, and learn how to fend for myself and make a home, or I leave Solyra entirely to go figure that all out in Aegaimore."
"That's a big decision to make," Lovino acknowledged, "In the meantime, you're welcome to stay here longer, until you determine what your path should be."
"That is very kind of you," Natalya accepted.
They fell silent after that, and Natalya looked out to the ocean again. Niba did seem like a nice place, and was ruled by nice people. Surely they'd be able to find her a place to work, so that she can earn herself a home of her own making. On the other hand, the idea of travel still appealed to her as well, perhaps she would find a more suitable fate elsewhere.
Maybe somewhere like Aegaimore. If she were to run into him again, Alfred might be able to help her out. Who knows what the fates have in store, anyways?