(Nine decades and a half of the Past)
"On a secret place I stumbled upon by accident when I was young, is a land where the time turns was slower- much slower than ours. A month in here was just a half day on that place... So, when you were on that place you will never get age because the time is much more slower than here."
As the afternoon regale reached it peak, the Children's laughter could be heard while playing around the garden, outside the main palace.
" The people living on that place loves music and dancing that every now and then its like a festivities was being held, and their skin was like a shining silver or gold when they were incontact with the sunlight and their clothes were of similar to a leaf..."
At garden where there's a big magnolia tree, some childrens were gathered underneath it shade while listening to a story told by the woman of her early fifties appearance.
Her faded emerald eyes stared at the young children whose listening to her story eagerly. And her loose blonde hair swayed in the wind as she continues telling the gathered children her stories.
"When I went on that land they would welcome me with great kindness and smiling faces. We would play under the sun, sing and dance with the music under the stary sky of the night and-"
A young girl aged five with red eyes and bronette hair color ran towards the woman and sat on her laps to listen to her favourite story, which the woman welcome her with open arms and let her settled on.
"And when I was on that land, new adventures always welcome me, new knowledge and experience I've yet to discover was being revealed on that place...", she said while smiling as if remembering her youth time.
A young eight years old girl ask as she listen keenly and got curious. "What else did you found out and saw there?"
"Oh! I found a huge willow tree in a middle of the forest and it bares gems in a shape of a flower with different colours. It was my first time seeing such beautiful tree. The only place in their land the King's forbid except if you have a permission... that I had by the Prince then..."
The childrens who are listening to the story couldn't help but to imagine it and be mesmerised by how the woman narrates it.
Mainwhile, on the back of the tree where the woman was telling a story to the young ones, a young man was leaning on the tree trunk with his eyes close whist listening to the woman's story which he already knew and memorized since it was told to him and his siblings many times when they were young; therefore he wondered if there're a truth in the entire stories, however, his youngest sibling is obsessed with it and believes that their grandparents stories were genuine and not some kind of made up.
He sighs listening to it and heard a gentle giggle from his side which he open his dark red eyes and look at the young lady leaning with him on the tree trunk.
"Your grandmother is telling a story about how beautiful the land are and its wonderful mysteries, and yet you're like this. Don't you believes what your grandparents stories?"
"Those were just stories, Celika. They are part of imagination of some people.", answered the young man.
"Sometimes imagination are more believable than the actual reality itself, Crist.", said the young lady named Celika while looking at him and stood up. "My younger sister would always agree with me on that aspect. I just really don't know why you have some mindset like that but for me I think it's true though."
The young man just kept silent whist watching Celika walk away and enter the palace where the regale were. It was a celebration of their ruler's birth, his grandfather's birthday. He just ignored it and just listened to the story as he close his eyes again.
"And then again, I went there for the second time to get some rest, and since I never go near it the first time because there was a huge white beast like winter wolf... so I didn't saw what's in there, but when I got nearer the second time, I saw a beautiful lady lying in the bed of flowers on the ground while leaning under the huge trunk of a willow tree who was peacefully asleep there. The Prince of that place told me that the young lady was injured, and thus she would probably never to wake up again. Her beauty was beyond what I saw in my long life that through these decades I've still never able to compare her uniqueness with anyone else, and her long-like-silk golden hair was spread almost across the forest... And maybe vampires are beautiful and unique in some ways but I couldn't make a comparison because even vampires cannot compared...", said the woman in a dramatic way.
"Really?", murmured the young man while listening. "Is there such being more beautiful than the night creatures? Yeah, right... Imagination, indeed."
The other young girl on the side back asks, "Where's the young lady now, Your Majesty? Is she still fast asleep? Is she still alive?"
"What's the place called? I want to see it.", asked the young boy on the back.
The woman smiled while looking at the young children who was listening to her story with excitement visible in their eyes and wants to know about the lady in her story and even about the place. She chuckled lightly and put her index finger on her lips, "Who knows. It's a trade secret."
"Grandma!", exclaimed the young girl on her laps while pouting that made her grandmother to laugh because she too wants to know the place.
"But I called that place, 'Tìriuventae'."
The young girl turn her head up and ask, "What it means, grandmother?"
"It means 'Land of Youth'."
* * * * * * * * * *
(Six decades of the present-past.)
There's a distinct mansion far away from the main town at the mountain edge of Questillia Kingdom, and infront of it was a garden of herbs which could poison or heal, verities of flowers that couldn't be found elsewhere in the south as it is extinct or it exist on other lands.
The mansion were made of white bricks stone while the lining frame of the windows and doors were black, and on the middle front of the mansion there stood a glass lady fountain as its blowing water through both it hand as if giving a flying kiss while sitting on the side edge. The ceiling and walls inside were pure white while the floor was black tiles, there are fifteen rooms whilst six of it was below as for the remaining were on above floor and three of the rooms below were bedrooms while the rest were used as a study chamber and library which on the second floor, while the dinning room, drawing room and the glass cage room were on the ground floor.
At one of the corridor on the second floor, a woman is cleaning as she continued weeping the portraits glass that was hanging on the wall, and a smile was formed on her pink lips which put a brighter look on her face, listening to her three companions who's cleaning the windows and the floor as per the instruction of the butler while talking about silly things.
"Clairry..."
A woman of her middle twenties or early thirties appearance with white skin that complement her light red lips and rossy cheek walked near them while calling the woman's name.
"Clair. Clairry..."
The woman continued cleaning the portraits of a young lady who has fair skin, wearing a white and light blue dress like flowing streams with her long wavy natured black hair whist leaning on a huge deer with a horns like branches of a tree, then she heard her name being calls, and she turn on her left side as she bowed slightly when she saw the lady of the house.
"Hey, Clairry...", the woman has below waist light curl black hair while wearing a combination of red, white and black dress, "Did you see her or know where she is?", she asked while trying to fix her already fixed dress, "I tried finding her on the room that she occupied but she wasn't there, even in this floor, still none. Even the butler is trying to find her around the mansion but to no avail." She could only sigh.
"No, M'lady. I didn't saw her.", the woman named Clairry answered politely whist remembering something, she took a deep breath and spoke, "I don't know where she is but I might have an idea of her whereabouts...", she trailed at the last word and when she saw the lady gestured her to continue what she says, "Miss Lathy, I think the Young Lady is on the back, there at the big tree... The one that has a swing, near the cliff... Where the spot was overlooking the villages and towns."
The woman just nodded and gestured the other three maids to come closer which they did, "I'll be going out to get some documents in the council, and I'll be gone for about five to nine days to the center town.", she informed the four womens.
"But... What about the foods that will be prepared for her?", says the one who's holding a mop.
" The butler and my brother will be the one to provide it for her...", said the woman, and as if she remembered something, "And besides, she can eat fruits around here, just don't let her go outside the gate.", then they nodded.
"Make sure this place is secured. My brother will be here after two days, and the other were just around the corner.", said the woman named Lathy while she looked outside the glass window of the second floor, and she could see the carriage being prepared outside, at the front for her departure.
'Easy for you to say, hard for us to do!', the four maids thought in unison while having a complicated expression as they look at each other and sighs inwardly.
Miss Lathy could sense their actions and their intake of breath in which she just smiled cause she knew what the four women infront of her was thinking. "I'll be going and look for her at the back and I'll ask her to stay here and not to cost too much trouble.", she said as she knew her younger sister was a handful; nevertheless, she was glad of that now unlike those passing years which her sister was like a living dead.
She turned to leave after giving the three maids and Clairry some instructions and reminders then walked towards the stairs down to the ground where she saw a man in butler uniform which informed her that he found her sister's whereabout in which she nodded and went out to the back of their mansion to talk about her departure for one week and a half.
While going out of the mansion through the back door, she was greeted by children running and playing with gleefulness like they are in paradise with no worries or pains, and she smile while passing by them as the children giving her morning greeting and some were biding her goodbye.
She walk to where the cliff are as per the butler's confirmation, then a gentle strong wind and a sound of a rushing water from the falls below the cliff that's adjoining to the nearby village waterfall was like a soothing tone of lullabies with the sound of the forest animals in her ears.
"I can still recall you once told me when I asked you what I need to do just make you feel less sad, you said that if I ever wanted to lift your spirit, I must lift others. If I wanted to find happiness, I must forget about being happy and discover the joy by giving it to others without selfishness... and yet you were the selfish person yourself by giving all without any consideration of us, the ones you left behind. Therefore, I hope things wouldn't last in pain for everyone and for you as well.... The future may bring forth happiness to everyone...", she said out loud as she watched the vast view of the kingdom on the cliff side with a sad expression, and after sometimes she went to find her sister.
* * * * * * * * * *
Under the tree behind the mansion that was overlooking the villages and towns, where the cliff are facing the views of the Kingdom, sat a young lady while reading a book on her hand whist leaning on the trunk of a big tree that has a swing moving slowly because of the wind.
She wore a simple off shoulder long sleeves dress with two combination color of white at the top while lavender at the bottom half that could complement her white rose skin with her wavy natured black hair like midnight that almost reached her below knees. And she did not wear anything to protect her delicate feets from any possible sharp that could harm her.
She so occupied on her book that she didn't even know everyone inside the mansion were looking for her whereabouts then she lifted her head and look at the view infront of her while she closed the book, and stood up whist still holding the book on her other hand, and her hair swayed in the wind breeze through the cliff where she stood silently while she closed her eyes, and a small smile appeared on her lips then a lone tear came out trailed down her cheek, and as when she opened her eyes that's full of mixed emotions she couldn't understand neither could explain nor could she comprehend of what was happening with herself whist her melancholy smile continued.
"Why do I feel like something is amiss?", she asked herself as she felt there was something missing and she could not remember what is it and herself aside from what her siblings told her which she's trying to recollect but it was blank, "It would be great if all these adventures were true. Just like the story of the lost princess..."
She dropped the book she's been holding on the ground that has a title "The Long Decades Story" as more tears were continuesly falling from her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. She crouched down on the ground, however, not to picked the book up but to embraced herself and cried in silence.
An overflowing emotions which she couldn't control, an overwhelming sensation of pain, satisfaction and grief in her chest which she's trying to understand but unfortunately she wasn't able to cope. Sometimes she could control her feelings but there were times such as these where its too much for her unstable mind to handle as she doesn't remembered anything.
Suddenly, a gentle touched on her shoulder was what she felt, caressing her.
"You're crying, again? You know they've been looking for you, little Lady. Lady Nadia and the others are worried 'bout you, so does the butler too.", said a male voice like echo in the forest.
She looked up to her side and saw a young man who has a blonde straight long hair while a gentle smile on his lips, and his eyes were like an ocean as he sat beside her.
"Didn't you heard them, little Lady?", said the young man as his voice like it echo through the wind and scattered around the forest that carried a soothing tone while he sighs multiple times as he looked at her, "You know... Difficulties will surely increase the nearer you get to the goal of finding who you are and knowing what you truly are, little lady."
He's wearing a green and brown clothes similar to a leaf and his skin were like shining silver as the sun touches them, and a halo crown of golden leaves were on his head. He looked at the lady at his side who has tears on her eyes and face as he could see her eyes that hold so many different kinds of emotions.
"Why are you here, Zaugūstus? Don't tell me you escaped from your father again?", said the young lady in a tired tone while weeping her tears with her hands, and she heard a soothing laughed coming from the young man named Zaugūstus that echoes through the whole area.
Zaugūstus was trying to hold back his laughter while he ask, "What kind of reputation did I let you see for-"
"Well, always fetching troubles in your homeland, always escaped from trainings, always make fun with everyone especially on your own father, and always peeping on the ladies while bathing...", she snapped without stopping and Zaugūstus looked at her with a pale face and a terrified expression, "And... Oh, want me to continue?"
"I think that's enough.", he said as he gulped while waving his hand and laughed nervously whilst looking at the lady. 'He's really in a bad reputation with this girl. Surely, his father would have his life if he'll know about the last part.', he thought and sigh helpless while he sence the butler behind them who went back inside the mansion.
A moment passed of silence between them as the young lady leaned herself on the tree trunk looking at the view infront of them. Zaugūstus was sitting there with her as birds and butterflies were hovering around them as the lady suddenly spoked whist tears fall down from her eyes again and she sobbed, "I don't understand this feelings... My emotions were like a mixed of different poisons that if without any special remedies it could consume me and kill me in the process. A two different puzzles mixed together in one box that if I were to start finding out more and fix the puzzles, it will only lead to another loop of confusions which I cannot comprehend. These mixed emotions, could this be part of my past? And my chest, its hurt so much; the pain which I don't want to feel whenever I had this unwavering in-familiar feelings, and yet... I couldn't feel my heart as it beats, like as if it never exist in my chest."
The young man was listening to her with a sad expression on his angelic face because he knew why she's like this now as based on what his father and her siblings told him about what really happened to her before she'd fell into something like she is now.
Zaugūstus then sence someone behind as it went nearer to them. He looked his back and saw the woman wearing a dress of black, white and red combination under her white cape that has a blue rose and a moon butterfly on its left side of her chest who had a worried expression while looking at them like inquiring him 'What he's doing there?' he turned his head on the young lady beside him while pointing his index finger and the woman run hurriedly to them.
"Little Lady, your big sister are going out to the council for her work, I think.", Zaugūstus said gently but it seems the lady didn't bothered what he said as tears still falling from her eyes.
The woman arrived and asked looking at the young man, "You're here? What happened? Why are you here, Prince Zaugūstus? This is far from your homeland."
"Incase you've forgotten that natures are my friends, M'lady.", he stood up then took the woman's hand and bowed slightly, "In every trees and water outside the gate of our homeland are connected, we can use the source of waters and trees to make a path but that's only possible if we know where exactly to go. And besides, we could sense a little disturbance in the wind while I was at home.", he answered and said the last sentence while turning his head down to his side.
She looked to his side and saw her younger sister who they've been dredging for hours as she just stood up while weeping her tears away, she went closer at once and hugged her without any words. She didn't have to know what happened because she already knew and that's one of the reason she's looking for her sister before departing from there for her work.
The young lady hugged her back and in a tired tone she said while sobbing, "Big sister Lathy, I might go insane... What's happening to me? Every now and then I felt happy and yet sad. I felt grateful and satisfied yet I had this urge emotion to weep over the pain which I have no clues where it came from... It's overwhelming that I wasn't able to comprehend. I didn't understand and know how to be not incontrol with it..."
Miss Lathy was listening as she caressed her younger sister's back whist letting her complaints about what she's feeling. "It's fine... The feeling of overwhelming emotions will be diminishing after you have some rest. I just need to go and fetch something in the council, I'll be out for one and a half week, so you better behave yourself... Don't make any troubles to anyone until I come back, your big brother will be here in two days time to keep you company with the others.", she then pushed her sister gently and put her other hand on her sister's forehead as she whispered, "Envik Lainus do Lembranzas."
After that the young lady fell unconscious as she wobbled and was caught by Zaugūstus who appearate instantly at the lady's back when he noticed what the woman was whispering on.
Prince Zaugūstus carried her into his arms gently and looked at the lady who kept staring on her little sister with a worried expression. "Could you give a warning the next time, she almost fell on the ground.", he said quietly afraid that he might woke the sleeping lady in his arms.
"I knew you would catch her." said the woman quietly while staring down at the young lady.
The young man could only sigh and shook his head as he said, "It been almost decade since your family decided to live here in the main Kingdom of South Empire to help the late Arch-King as well as future one and, and that could also be for the little lady's safety."
"Indeed. that's our purpose since I work in the council while my brother works behind the eyes of everyone to help this empire and for her safety as well; however, there's still cockroaches who's greedy enough to not consider the will, and wants to gain more whom we need to eliminate for the betterment.", said Miss Lathy bitterly and sighs.
Zaugūstus smiled mischievously seeing how the woman who challenged his father just so she could have access to their land and visit the little lady on the past sighs multiple times after she said it bitterly. He then said while smiling, "Well, at least... there's some entertainers that could occupy your brother and not cost any troubles out of the contents since this one here is already a handful to everyone, Lady Nad-"
"It's Miss Lathy for you. You're ain't your father to call me that, and even if it's your father I would prefer him to call me by my third name which is used in the council.", snapped Miss Lathy as she doesn't want to be call other than what her siblings called of her.
The young man hold back his laughter and just smiled mischievously while carrying the unconscious lady on his arms because he knew why she doesn't want to be called by any names other than what her siblings prefer to call her, and it was her younger brother who told him about it. He then said, "I'm going to laid her in bed now, and went my way back home before my father demand me to do some training which I already well-trained by your brother.", as a portal appearate through the trunk of a big tree that was behind him where the lady was leaning awhile ago.
"Yes, indeed. Well-trained by my brother in making troubles.", said Miss Lathy sarcastically while looking at Prince Zaugūstus who chuckled as he turned around and about to enter the portal but he halt that made the woman raise her brow, "What is it? Got something to say?"
"Yeah. In less than ten years or more, Lord Zalq will return from his journey with his wife and their third child who's five years old. I'm sure the little lady would want to see them again.", he said and disappeared through the portal leaving Miss Lathy behind.
The woman sigh and shook her head and thought, 'Can't he just used the same way as anyone else? Why used a portal?'
Miss Lathy stood still there alone for another five minutes whist watching the scenery infront of her before leaving.