"You have been here before and ..." The stranger broke off his sentence and reached into his cloak. Ellie put her hand to her sword to be on the safe side. But a moment later, a lilac silk handkerchief with her initials embroidered on it was held out to her. Firstly, she was shocked to see that she had lost the piece of fine fabric again and secondly, the guy must have watched her here before. Actually, she thought it was nice that he wanted to bring the handkerchief back, but she quickly grabbed it and then moved a few steps away from the other mammoth.
"Does this belong to you?" The question was asked a little cautiously.
"Yes. Um, no. It actually belongs to someone in the royal family." The princess quickly thought of an excuse, because she couldn't just reveal her status to everyone. Especially not when she was standing in the undergrowth all alone. On the other hand, the person she was talking to must be new to the area, because they actually knew her and her family. It could be a merchant or something similar who was passing through and hadn't noticed much of her impending coronation. The clothes also revealed to her that he had a little more gold than ordinary people. Ellie herself wore clothes that were less conspicuous, because she didn't always like to stand out from the crowd. Her grandfather wouldn't like it if he saw her leaving the castle like that again. Admittedly, he would be generally angry that she was leaving the safe walls of the castle without much protection. The guards would of course have to be numerous and male, because the old opossum didn't get on well with Shira either. She had proven more than once that she did a good job.
The stranger now gave her a weird look that she couldn't classify at first. But then it occurred to her what he must be thinking if a simple maid owned such a beautiful cloth. She hadn't really chosen it herself. She had owned it since she was little and started training to be a fine lady.
"Well, I did not steal it, if that is what you are thinking. I wanted to return it, but then I lost it in my carelessness." She tried to say convincingly. If Ellie was honest, she wouldn't punish anyone if they found the cloth somewhere through their carelessness and kept it. Unfortunately, the thing always had to be hidden because not only her initials but also a small crown were embroidered on it. This symbol was only shown on things that belonged to the royal family.
"I should go now." She was just about to turn around to escape from the strange situation when she saw out of the corner of her eye, how the man came closer and stretched out his arm towards her. Now she had to reach for the sword and quickly pulled it out of the sheath so that she could hold it in front of the intrusive mammoth's face. She hasn't been able to practice sword fighting very often recently because no one except her maid was allowed to know that she could defend herself with weapons and because her mother announced at her last birthday that she would one day be queen, she has been left in peace less and less since then. She will probably have to get used to it at some point, whether she wants to or not.
"If you do not want me to trim your trunk, then get away from me as quickly as possible!" She ordered, because it was not appropriate to get too close to a lady like that. For a nobleman, this gentleman had few manners.
"What?! No, I did not mean to... Well, there is just a big spider's web on your arm and, um... women are not so fond of insects after all..." The stranger apparently didn't really know how to justify his actions and even started to stutter a little, embarrassed. She glanced at her arms and could see that she had actually walked into a web with one. The spider already saw her shoulder as a new home. She used her proboscis to place the insect on a nearby branch, always keeping an eye on the other one.
"You have a good sword." They then said to the princess and she had to wonder whether she was dealing with a weapons dealer. After all, such people also had enough gold to buy better clothes.
"Yes, I do and I use it when I have to. I will ask again, what do you want here? You surely did not just come here to bring me the handkerchief." When the male mammoth looked a little caught out by her words, she didn't really know what to make of the situation.
"That was very nice of you, but I think I should still go now." Ellie announced, because this guy could only use this nice trick as a cover to maybe kidnap her and demand immense wealth from her family. That was one of the main reasons why she should never wander around out here alone.
"Wait! Can I... Oh! You turned around again." The stranger stated, a little astonished. The princess herself didn't know what made her stop. Maybe because she was asked to.
"Well, you just said wait. What else can you do on that?" She asked, and when she looked him straight in the eyes for the first time, she felt like she was being too harsh with one of her soon-to-be subjects. No matter who he was, Ellie should never lose her grace and kindness.
"That is true. Do you intend to come here again or have I scared you away from this place?" The other mammoth was a little awkward in his manner, but she found it somehow charming.
"Hm? If I did not know better, you could say that you want to meet me here again." She didn't get an immediate answer to that. Then her counterpart nodded hesitantly and she thought the idea was very bad. What would it look like if a princess like herself met a strange man in the undergrowth? What would happen if they were observed? A little confused, she announced that she might be here overmorrow at the same time, before she said a quick goodbye to the stranger and finally ran off. Of course, she took a detour in case someone followed her. When it seemed certain that this would not happen, she ran back to the castle. But more slowly this time, because she was in no hurry. She was far too busy pondering what reason the stranger could have for wanting to meet her again in the forest. Perhaps they couldn't catch her this time because she was in the clearing unexpectedly. The next time they met, the handsome stranger might have prepared a trap for her. The handsome stranger? Did she find him handsome? Yes, she admitted that to herself with slightly warm cheeks. On the one hand, she really should avoid this place for a while, but on the other hand, she found it exciting and thrilling to experience something like this. It was probably the last adventure before her wedding. When she thought about the upcoming thing again, her mood changed a little. But her mother reassured her that not everything would be decided before a meeting. Nevertheless, she should not make the current queen's life any more difficult than it already was. Ellie should not be too picky about her future husband. Maybe she wouldn't fall in love right away, but she would try to become friends with him. Just like her parents did in the beginning. At least that was what she took away from the story she had heard.
As she got closer to the castle walls, she decided that she should distract herself with work. That is, as soon as she climbed back in through the window. She found the window still open, because sometimes servants would walk through the rooms and simply close it. Understandable, because no one was in the room and birds could fly through open windows or intruders even if they had to climb up a bit of the stone wall first. If it seemed possible for a mammoth and a saber-toothed tiger, it was possible for other animals too.
She swung the rope with the tied strap up twice, because it never worked on the first try. When she carried out the plan to escape through this window for the first time, it felt like an eternity to get back in through the window. Firstly, she had underestimated the rope at the time. But it didn't break until she was almost at the bottom. She still got bruises. Secondly, climbing up and down was not as easy as she had previously imagined. After she finally found a thick rope that could handle a mammoth, she had to practice climbing properly. When she thought about the fact that she could have broken her bones back then, she felt a little uneasy. After all, her brothers had already broken their bones several times and it is a lengthy procedure to fully heal. She personally wanted to avoid that. In addition, sitting around and waiting for bones to grow back together also meant listening to or reading educational but mostly boring reading material in the same amount of time.
Finally, the young woman reached the window ledge and climbed in, only to hastily close the window with a satisfied sigh. For a moment she felt safe until she heard a clearing of the throat behind her. She turned around and found that her brothers were now looking at her with malicious grins.
"Oh, Princess Ellenora. If only the country knew that the soon-to-be queen had secretly slipped away through a back window in the castle." Eddie told her dramatically, shaking his head.
"What are you doing out there alone, my dear princess sister? Are you meeting a lover perhaps?" Her brother Crash added in the same tone and her cheeks warmed again against her will.
"No, that is not the case!" After all, she didn't even know the name of the stranger she met in the forest. It was only a moment later, that she realized that her reaction was playing herself off against the other two.
"That is not appropriate, my dear." Eddie continued to put pressure on her.
"Exactly. What if someone finds out about it and could use it against you?" Crash said with a feigned innocence.
"Stop this childish behavior, boys. Tell me what you want!" The princess tried to put an end to this matter as she took the rope off the hook and wrapped it up, because otherwise her brothers knew no end to such drama.
"Lady Shira's attention." Eddie said a little enthusiastically.
"Of course just to trick her." Crash looked skeptically at his brother at this sentence, whereupon he cleared his throat.
"Yes, of course just to finally trick her." The young prince quickly corrected himself and cleared his throat. Then Ellie remembered that her siblings had already managed to take aim at everyone in the castle. Only her maid remained the only exception, and the two of them tried a lot with her. But most of it fell back on others or on the opossum brothers themselves. If it were up to other castle residents, then the two of them should quickly grow out of the time of mischief. The princess, however, did not believe it, because her brothers' pride was already hurt just because they could not trick one animal.
"Very well, I will help you. If you forget this here." The young woman promised the other two and they agreed. But the princes said that they would think of a brilliant plan and would meet her again later. She nodded and put the rope away properly when they left her in the room alone. Ellie will warn her servant anyway, because after all, it was not part of the agreement.
After she helped some people with their work outside in the courtyard, she washed her hands and face at the well. She should take a bath later. Her thoughts wandered back to the stranger in the forest as she went in through a side door. She wondered when she had lost the handkerchief, because it was not long enough for her to notice. Nevertheless, it must have been a few days since she dropped it. She also thought about why she had taken it into the forest in the first place. Then it occurred to her again that her grandfather was concerned with etiquette and manners. The princess could not understand this with the valuable things. She understood that she and her family had to look presentable at celebrations, but there was no need to slip into gold robes every morning. Gold and precious stones made clothing heavy and impractical. Her maid shared her opinion and preferred to walk around in trousers rather than long skirts and robes. Ellie would have liked to do that too, but she agreed with her mother that she should at least wear a versatile dress so that physical activity would still be possible for her. Admittedly, the queen was probably thinking more of activities like hunting and archery, rather than climbing trees and out of the castle. But she was not particularly good with a bow and arrow. Just like throwing a spear, she just couldn't find the right tactic for not breaking these weapons. However, a sword lay solidly in her hand and over the years, she also learned to defend herself with her tusks.
"What a bungler! A highly educated person? I have never laughed so much." The young woman suddenly heard her grandfather cursing in a corner of the courtyard. If he comes through the door now, she will meet him. She quickly took a few steps back and hid in a niche in the shadow of the corridor, where a vase was still on a table. When the older opossum was angry, she wanted to have even less to do with him than usual, because then the older one always had so many things to say about what she could improve on.
"And how disrespectfully the gentleman spoke to me? Does he not know who I am? I will teach him to treat me like that!" But her grandfather was so engrossed in talking to himself, that he didn't notice her as he walked past her. Perhaps she should get to know the new treasurer better, because it was rare for someone to stand up to her grandfather. And sooner or later she would have to get used to such tasks. Although she didn't want to take anyone's work away, one should always know how everything works and she was very curious. The predecessor, who managed the royal family's fortune, acted in a similar way to her grandfather and said that ladies don't have to rack their beautiful little heads over it. Hopefully the successor doesn't think the same.
She sighed and tackled the first flight of stairs towards the bedrooms. When she thought about everything she still had to learn, she just wanted to fall back into bed. However, now she should go and check on the saber-toothed tiger and apologize. But how could she explain that it wouldn't happen again, even though she was planning to go into the forest once more? She felt a little confused, but maybe her friend understood the situation. So she knocked on the servant's room, which was not far from her own. No answer reached her ears. She knocked again before opening the door a crack to see if the maid was asleep. Even though this would be a very rare sight, it could happen that the saber-toothed tiger gets tired before the sun goes down. She found someone in a blue dress standing with their back to her.
"Excuse me, but what are you doing in the room of my ... Shira?" When the other person turned around, they saw the occupant of the room herself. She looked really beautiful in this azure blue robe.
"Your grandfather insisted that I be appropriately dressed for the ceremony." Her friend told her, and Ellie realized that something was wrong. She would not have forced her maid to wear a certain style of clothing while she was taking care of her needs at the ceremony as a bridesmaid, just because some ancient customs demanded it.
"May I say that you look beautiful in it. But if you do not feel comfortable in this dress, then you do not have to wear it. It will be my wedding and my husband's. That is why we decide what happens and what not." At least the princess hoped very much that her future husband shared her view on this.
"As I did not want to cause any more complications than the festivities already had, I thought a fitting would not hurt. Strangers entered the tailor's shop and saw me. Then I got my first compliment on this garment." While Shira said that, she continued to look at herself somewhat absently in the mirror that was on her table in the room. Ellie knew that the other woman usually didn't care much if someone paid her attention because of her appearance. Perhaps her servant was interested in one of the strangers, as she was a little bit, that the tigress forgot to be angry with her for letting her go to the tailor alone.
"Wait? You said strangers came into the shop. Maybe they were just people passing through again." The mammoth said, waving her off, because these strangers in the village didn't necessarily have anything to do with her nice stranger in the forest. Now Ellie was a little annoyed that she hadn't asked for the man's name. Even if he had given her a made-up one, it was still better than constantly thinking about a stranger. And yet, it also makes the whole thing mysterious and exciting for her.
"That may be possible. But I still have the feeling that these strange animals have some kind of plan. Maybe they are scouts from another kingdom." When her maid mentioned this, the soon-to-be queen wondered how she had not thought of it before. Of course she thought of scouts, but more of the kind sent out by raiders. She must have read too many horror stories, because there had never been a raid in their kingdom. At least that's what she thought. After all, she hadn't been let in on much of what was happening in the country. But she still found it strange that her homeland was only now being scouted out, because the union ceremony was not that far away. Even though she would prefer to wait years. All of this seemed rather strange to her, because her future husband should have been informed long ago that he had to marry her. Or it seemed possible that the chosen candidate had known about it for longer than Ellie and had therefore taken measures to prevent the wedding. The worst case scenario would be if the man had already died and the news had not yet reached her for some unknown reason. She would then be a little relieved, but on the other hand, she would not wish death on anyone.
"You suddenly seem so frozen. Did I say something wrong?" Shira wanted to know and finally turned fully to her. The dress really suited her, you would think the saber-toothed tiger was the princess here. A very strange idea crept into Ellie's head, which she had to banish immediately. She did not yet know exactly what the man who found her handkerchief wanted from her. She leaned briefly against the wall near her and the maid was about to say something, but she beat her to it.
"Do you think it is possible to find out what these strangers want? Not only that. Is it possible to find out what exactly all new people are doing in the village?" The mammoth asked, because the question of whether there were really scouts from outside, was what was bothering her most at the moment.
"It will not be easy, but it is also not impossible. Now I would like to ask you to rest a little." Her servant asked. She nodded and headed to her bedroom. It was not yet evening, but Ellie had a lot on her mind and that made her a little tired at the same time. When she got to her room, she threw her cloak, which had a few leaves hanging from it, over a chair. Shira saw the green stuff and gave her a look, but didn't ask any more about it for now. She took another piece of pastry and drank some more tea. Cold but still delicious. Her maid assured her that she would bring a hot drink immediately, to which she replied that she could take her time. Exhausted, she wanted to collapse into bed, but she noticed the sword and some utensils on her. She quickly took them off before she could finally rest a little.
👑💖(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
The princess hurried happily into the forest, because she could hardly wait to meet the stranger again. As she crept through the bushes, she saw him standing there. She greeted him a little shyly, because at first she didn't really know what to say. It wasn't that common for her to see strange men alone in the undergrowth. It sounded so forbidden and therefore exciting. But he must not have heard her until now, because he didn't move. Admittedly, she was good at sneaking, but even a mammoth could be heard on cracking branches. So she cleared her throat and tried again with a friendly hello. Again, nothing happened. Only the wind rustled in the leaves of the trees and created small waves on the water of the pond. The strange mammoth, however, continued to stare stubbornly into the distance.
"Is everything alright?" Ellie asked cautiously, approaching the other slowly. Little by little, as if something was going to happen at any moment. But it remained quiet. When she was only a step away from him, she gathered all her courage and touched his shoulder. The strange mammoth then tipped to the side and she began to panic, thinking that the man was unconscious or even dead. But when she got a good look at the front, she realized that it was a doll. Made from potato sacks and wood. How could she not have noticed this before? Suddenly she was surrounded by guards who jumped out of the bushes and came from her castle.
"She should prepare for her role as queen. But where can you find the esteemed Princess Ellenora? In the bushes of the forest, meeting criminals." She heard her grandfather talking, who then stepped into the clearing a moment later. She wanted to know what was going on here, but she was not allowed to speak.
"Do you think I'm a stupid and old man who does not notice how you keep running away into the forest?! You are just as unworthy of being queen as your father was king." The older opossum threw in her face and she wanted to explain to him that he couldn't say something like that about her father, but no sound came out of her throat.
"Since your mother is away for a while, I will make the decisions again here. You will marry the person who wins the fighting tournament tomorrow and of course brings the necessary gold. Hopefully you will be a good bride and give birth to an heir soon ..." Her grandfather kept talking about things she didn't want and she should finally say something to him. The mammoth suddenly opened its eyes and sat up in shock. She looked around and realized that she hadn't left the castle at all, but was still lying on her bed in her room. She shivered from what she had seen in the dream.
"More like a nightmare," Ellie said to herself, taking a deep breath and drinking a sip of water that was in a carafe on a small side table near her bed. Perhaps the dream was trying to show her that she should finally stand up to the older opossum. He always demanded that he be respected, but she herself didn't see much of it. For a while she thought it was because she looked like her father and her grandfather didn't like him. But the queen and her brothers didn't get much good feedback either. Her mother was probably right and the loss of a loved one had made him so bitter. Ellie had lost someone too, and yet she still tried to look forward every day. When she thought of her father, she wished he was still here, so she could ask what she should do now.