C6 I Wish For Paradise..

I Wish For Paradise..

''Whaaat??? I've received an invitation to the ball?? Whoo sent this? There must be some kind of mistake !! Why was I the only one invited? I've never been to a castle before, how could this happen?''

When Mirai handed this letter to me, she wasn't expecting this reaction. ‘’She must have been happier and jumped around out of excitement, she was the only one invited to such an event and she's not happy..’’

''Naria, why are you so angry?''

Mirai asked me nicely, but what came next even she didn't expect.. ''

Mirai.. Are you that stupid?'' I asked her in a mad tone.

''You can't understand that this is so suspicious? I have the black Dragon's sword, and yet no one else came to claim it again, and all of a sudden I receive this stupid invitation to the ball.. !! Can you open your eyes, a little bit?''

I really wanted to surrender, all these emotions were for nothing.. I couldn't understand why I was feeling so emotional again. ‘’It's not Mirai's fault, she is so nice and naive, but yet I was getting upset with her.’’.

''Come closer.''

I looked at Mirai..

''Come closer and give me a hug.'' I said it calmly.

Mirai approached me and hugged me..

''I'm sorry, I even forgot about that stupid sword..''

Mirai was sulking.. Then someone gently knocked on the door and opened it, we both turned around and saw a pink head coming out of it.

''Oh.. It's July.''

When July entered the room she saw both of us hugging each other and.

''Ehh? Why don't you two start dating each other?''

July asked and put her palm on her lips..

''We will, once we are out of here.'' I answered confidently.

July started giggling and put two golden coins on my bed.

''Verna told me to give you two your earnings for the last month.''

While still looking at them two, she pursed her lips as if she was about to give someone a nasty kiss and.

''Kiss , kiss..'' She said while making a weird sharp noise.

I released Mirai's arms and while looking at two golden coins I looked back at July.

''Only two golden coins? Just three days ago, I know I earned at least three in one night.''

I angrily looked at July one more time.

''No, it's two golden coins for both of you, Verna said that taxes went up this month, so she will be reducing our earnings.''

July answered and sighed, she looked like she had no hope in her face.. When July left the room, I was staring at the money July left on my bed and a very angry feeling was on my mind.. ''How can she only pay us this little, when me and July are basically the only ones who earn the most? How can she do that?’’

I was biting my nails and walking in circles, when Mirai asked me in a calm tone.

''Do you know what this means? That means that she gave a pay rise to Veronica and Ahorno, then obviously she's going to give some money to Axel as well.. So at the end of the day, it's only three of us who don't get what we deserve.''

Mirai finished talking and sat down on a dark purple chair that was next to my bed..

''I know, but this is so unfair.. Axel lives for free in the castle, Veronica barely works and Ahorno doesn't even bother to do his job right.. It's so annoying..''

I answered with a teary look on my face.. I felt really betrayed by Verna.

'' I know.'' Mirai spoke.

''But at least we can go and get you a dress for the ball.'' She excitedly said to me.

I was really too tired to argue with Mirai and just agreed with her.

''Then let's go do some shopping !!''

********

''Woow.. Look at this dress !!''

''Noo !!! Look at this !!!''

''Look at the fabric of this one, noo look at the colour !! The shopping is so amazing !!''

While both of us were feeling excited and picking the most beautiful fabrics for our dresses, some higher ranking ladies walked into the shop where both of them were staying.. Two ladies were surrounded by their servants.

''It's so obvious that this shop has lost its value, since they let every commoner in.''

She said proudly while looking at my and Mirai's face.

''Obviously, sister, they're here just to look, do you really think they could afford anything in this shop? ''

Another one added proudly in a very arrogant manner.

We obviously heard what the two were talking about, as if they made sure everyone could hear them, but instead of answering anything back we just ignored them and continued on looking around.

''Mirai, look at this one, don't you think that light pink would look the best on me?''

NariaI asked Mirai, while giving the two of them a side eye. Two ladies were fuming for not getting any reaction out of them and continued on bullying them.

''Nothing would look good on a commoner.'' One of them said, and another one added. ''Sister, don't be so mean, they obviously know that rubbish is the only thing that looks good on them.''

They both started to giggle, meanwhile I decided to approach them and in an aggressive tone I asked.

''What's your problem? You're really not happy that other people can shop here too? Do you own this shop, for you to cause a ruckus and bother other customers?''

I was feeling angry, but I had to show a confident face. ‘’Who do they think they are to talk about people this way? What does the rank have to do with fashion? ‘’ I thought.

''Pppfff, do you think commoners could show their faces, where does the future royalty go?'' She asked.

''Future royalty?''

I was confused and surprised, like what?? ‘’ How can every noble lady think they're royalty?’’

''Yes, you heard me right, commoner, my sister is going to marry the Black Dragon, she's going to become the crown princess and then later on, she'll be the empress of this country, so you can bow your head now.'' Another added again.

''Bow my head? You mean get low to your level? No, thank you. ''

I answered back and laughed, then added again.

''What makes you think the crown prince will want to marry someone like you?''

I was curious, but at the same time I didn't want to show any fragile emotions on my face, but to put them down was the only thing on my mind right now. ‘’How can they think anyone will do as they say?’’

Two ladies looked at each other and with an angry tone one answered.

''Because he's going to propose to me during the ball. ''She said and proudly looked down on Naria.

While Mirai was trying to drag me away from this situation, I really didn't want to give up and added.

''Right, I've heard that the black dragon is crazy, also he's the crown prince, so obviously he's not going to give you a lot of attention.. Since your engagement was probably decided by your parents and not from love, seeing your ugly dark blue hair and ugly nose, he's obviously not going to fall in love with you.''

I spoke confidently, while adding a little ironic comment, when the two were just standing there and fuming in silence, I continued.

''You will be feeling lonely in the castle, maybe out of duty he will visit your chambers once in a year, to make sure they have the heir and leave your desperate face the next morning alone.. Everyone will love your child, but not you.. It also depends if he's not going to kill you first, as everyone knows he's crazy enough to do so, meanwhile we commoners will be living freely in our houses enjoying the freedom and peace.''

Two ladies' faces turned red and one of them quickly raised her hand to slap me, when all of a sudden someone from behind grabbed her hand.

''Don't you think that's enough?''

A calm male voice appeared from behind. When I leaned my head to see who it was, I saw the same guy from a week ago. ''How can this crazy guy be here right now?

Before he finished talking to this arrogant noble lady, I grabbed Mirai's arm and ran out of the shop as quickly as possible.

''Naria, wait !! Why are we running?''

Mirai asked me in a weary tone, Mirai was not a good runner, so she quickly ran out of breath.

''Please, don't ask any questions, just follow me!''

I shouted and kept on running, until I saw a dark black corner where we could hide.

When we finally stopped running and I was looking around to see if he followed us, I turned back at Mirai and in an exhausted voice spoke.

''We forgot our dresses.. ''

When Mirai was about to say something back, she saw a big black shadow behind me. Mirai's eyes looked like they were about to explode, she put her hands on her mouth and looked at me. A tall muscular man, with short black hair, wearing a black robe, and with red eyes, was looking at me.

I felt like someone was behind my back, when I slowly turned around I saw the same guy standing there and smiling.

''Hello, again.'' He said and smiled.

''Whaat, wwhaat aare youu ddoinng here?''

I asked him in a stuttering voice, at that moment I finally realised how Mirai feels, when she's scared or panicking.

River really was happy to see Naria, but seeing her this scared, he didn't want to make her angry again, so to avoid any kind of confrontation right in front of Naria's friend, he decided to let Naria calm down first.

''Oh my Dragon God, what is he doing here? Did he chase us all the way down here? Is he that fast?’’ I was thinking to myself. ‘’Why is he not saying anything? Is he a stalker?’’ So many questions were circling around my head, when I saw him again.

It was an awkward silence for a while, until River started to speak.

''I'm sorry my ladies, I didn't mean to scare you, but seeing Naria run out of the store and leaving these fabrics behind, I felt guilty and wanted to return them to you.''

''Return them to us??''

I was surprised, we didn't even pay for them.

''You see, they don't belong to us, since we didn't pay for them, so if you brought them to us, this means you stole them, am I correct?'' She asked him.

River looked a little bit confused for a moment, but then replied.

''You probably got me wrong, my lady, I paid for them..''

He answered and gave a shy smile, his eyes were looking somewhere else.

''You did what????'' I gasped.

''Do you even know how much all of this costs? It was around six golden coins !!! We didn't have that much money !'' I shouted at him.

River looked gloomy, as he only wanted to do a good deed, he slowly came closer to Naria and handed her this dark brown paper bag full of clothes.

''I know, and that's okay, I think light pink will really suit you.''

He answered and turned back. My face started blushing. I looked inside this bag, when River was about to leave, he heard a calm voice speaking up.

''Mister, can you stay with us a little bit? We want to thank you for your kind gesture.''

Mirai spoke and looked at me. ''Whaat??’’ I was fuming. ‘’Why would Mirai ask him to stay with us?? We are already busy.. ‘’

River stopped walking and turned around, while seeing Naria's red face and her friend talking from behind, he gently smiled and said.

‘’Is it okay if I will lead both of you home?’’

''Nooo !!!!'' I shouted.

''Yes, that would be our pleasure.'' Mirai answered.

When the three of us were walking back home through small dirty streets, full of weirdos and rats.

The streets were tight and looked dark and gloomy. Mirai became curious why Naria is acting so weird in front of this gorgeous guy, so she began to question him.

''Would you mind telling us your name?'' She calmly asked.

''River, my name is River.'' He answered confidently.

''I'm Mirai and you obviously already know Naria.''

She smiled. ''What do you do? '' She asked him again.

River started scratching his cheek with one of his fingers and doing his little thinking he had to come up with something really quickly, he didn't want to say that he's the Black Dragon or that he's second in line of the throne, since he heard Naria bashing him and his brother out. ‘’Do we really look that bad in front of others?’’ He thought.

''I'm a soldier, I work in the castle.'' He answered.

I looked up to see his face. ‘’A soldier? He looks way too handsome to be a soldier.’’

''Why did you help us back then?'' I asked him curiously.

River started to scratch his cheek again and in a shy manner spoke.

''Because I saw you two, and I wanted to come and say hi, but then these two noble ladies were picking on you, so I decided to interrupt them.''

''Oh shi*, I thought, I was bashing the crown prince right in front of the royal soldier.’’ The only thing I hoped that he didn't hear me say anything bad about the royalty, because speaking ill of the royals can leave you with no head. Even though what I said was true, the law is law.

''Perhaps, you didn't hear our whole conversation?'' I asked him.

I wanted to know if he heard me talking trash about the crown prince.

''Oh you mean, when your friend was saying weird things about the crown prince and the Black Dragon?''

He asked in an ironic voice.

I squeezed the bag I was holding in my arms and started blushing, I felt embarrassed and uncomfortable, meanwhile Mirai caught on pretty quick.

''Wait, the crown prince and the black dragon are not the same person?'' She asked him.

I felt a little bit shocked too, then both of us looked at the guy who was walking in the middle..

''Of course not, the crown prince and the Black Dragon are two separate human beings.''

He giggled, meanwhile Mirai and I were both confused as hell..

''So wait, you are trying to tell me there's two princes in the castle right now??? ''

River looked down to see my reaction. ''Pppfff.. her face is still red, he thought and answered my question.

''There's actually three princes and one princess.''

I was lost as f88k. ‘’How can there be three royal princes and one princess?’’

''So wait, can all of them turn into dragons?’’

''No, only one can.’’ River answered and sighed.

I looked at him with a suspicious look on my face, but said nothing else, meanwhile Mirai was counting something with her fingers..

''Why would there be so many siblings in one family? Mirai was curious.

River looked up in the sky, put his one hand on his forehead and answered.

''Who knows what the emperor was thinking?''

While answering Mirai's question, River put his hand down and seeing their house coming closer, he decided to ask a question himself.

''How long do you know each other?''

I looked at Mirai and shook my head, as if giving her a signal not to say anything to him, but Mirai was curious and she wanted to know more about this guy.

''I have known her since I was four.''

She answered him and a little smile appeared on River's face.

''Oh look !! It's our house, haha !! We're finally here, haha.. '' I spoke nervously.

I grabbed Mirai's arm and tried to drag her inside.

''Naria, wait !! Can I talk to you?'' River asked me in a shy tone.

I looked around and sighed. ''Make it quick.'' I said and started to search for something in my pocket.

''I know I might have said something rude to you back then, but I just want you to know that I didn't mean it, I was only joking around when I was talking about women back then.''

River looked down, as he didn't want to face her, he looked more like a dog than a soldier.

''You joke when you talk about women?''

I was offended and no longer tried to hide this displeased look on my face. When I took out two golden coins from my pocket I gave it to him and told him to wait, until next time I get paid to return the rest. I quickly turned around and went inside.. ''

''Gosh, why can't I do anything right?’’ River was punching the wall next to her house.. While feeling disappointed in himself, he then walked towards the market place.

''Seriously, what's wrong with this guy? Why every time we meet, he must say something offensive to me?’’ I was standing behind the door, until I saw Veronica coming this way. I grabbed my back and ran upstairs..

Once I entered her room, I threw the bag full of fabrics on the floor and jumped onto my bed.

There was a fluffy purple pillow, I grabbed that and put it in my arms. I lay down on my bed and started thinking.. ''How can there be so many princes and even one more princess? Great, now four of them can come for this stupid sword.. I'm dead meat already *cries* , if all of them come at once, there will be no escaping death, I must get rid of this sword before the ball starts.. Matter of fact, when is it?’’

I got up from my bed and started looking for her invitation, when I finally found it underneath my bed, I read it and saw that the day is exactly three weeks from today.

I sighed and checked under the clothes one more time to see if that stupid sword was still there?

''Oh, it's still here.’’ *cries* ‘’I really hoped that it would disappear by itself one day.. I'm really going to die soon..’’ I was making gloomy faces and sulking, I didn't want to die, nor running away seemed logical right now.

All I ever wanted was a peaceful life. I never got to meet my mother or father, I didn't know why they gave me away? I never had access to a proper education, nor my talents could go above that.. I wanted to travel and meet the legendary four dragons, but the thought that I would be killed by the fifth one didn't leave my mind..

Also this mysterious good looking soldier appeared out of nowhere, he keeps giving me a weird feeling, something is suspicious about that soldier, ‘’but I can't figure out what?’’

'Why does he keep saving me and how much do they get paid to allow himself to pay for the dresses?’’ Everything about him is weird and suspicious, but his face is the only exception though.. No one could beat that.. If the royal soldiers are this handsome, I was wondering, ‘’what the princes look like?’’

''Ughh, so many questions yet zero answers ..'' I went back to my bed and started feeling very uncomfortable, shivers went through my skin, my hair became fuzzy, it felt like someone was staring at me through the window.