A Tale from The Wind Kingdom

Welcome to my secret story lab! I call it a lab because it’s very experimental, and it’s secret because I don’t really hope anyone to read what I write here… It’s just that in a moment of boredom while in medical rest I started imagine stories I would like to read about.

English is not my mother language but I think it’s more anonymous writing this way (and deep down I wish someone would read my stories…)

No matter how fun it had began, the following days and nights were intense. Feeding, changing diapers, bathing and entertaining a baby was no light job. While Adrian was handling most of outdoors tasks, washing and cooking, like they planned before, Lilly watched the baby. To make things more complicated Prince Damian was a very clingy baby and would cry any moment noticing to be alone. Lilly’s moments of peace would come when it was time to change turns with Alden, that came to happen just in time. Lilly’s arms were almost dormant from rocking the now sleeping baby when Alden arrived with their meal and a basket of wet laundry he had just washed.

“Finally some food!!” - Lilly almost jumped to the smell of fresh bread and chicken soup. If it wasn’t for Damian sleeping on her arms, she probably would have her face full of it already.

“You may have your lunch, Lilly. I take care of Prince Damian now. Although it looks Ike you already made the hard part, he seems to be sleeping deeply.”

Lilly smiled widely, happy to be complimented by Alden. She handed the baby to the butler and rushed to table. She got her mouth full of bread and drank the soup straight from the bowl.

“Hey, hey, take it slowly. You don’t want to chuckle with the food.” - Alden adverted in a parental tone.

“I can’t help myself. Your cooking is just tooooo good! I hope I can cook delicious food for you like that one day” - she said stuffing more bread in her mouth.

“You don’t need to worry about me, instead you should focus in learning how to prepare meals for the prince. He won’t be fed goat milk forever. And watch your manners at the table!” - Alden shouted after Lilly burped. That woke up the baby that immediately started crying when realizing he wasn’t in Lilly’s arms anymore.

“Oh no, Mr. Alden. You woke him up!” - Lilly said after swallowing the rest of her food.

Alden just sighted and pointed to the basket full of laundry to be hanged.

“Don’t mind it, I will make him sleep again. While that, you could help by hanging the laundry. It is very sunny outside and those need to get dry or mold could grow on it. Can you do it for me? Remember, we are is this mission together.”

Lilly’s eyes fired up by the word mission. She grabbed the basket and ran outside, leaving the kind butler and the crying baby behind.

She had memorized the paths of the palace during the weeks of training, and she figured out ways to accomplish her tasks more easily. Hanging the laundry, for example, she found an old wooden stool she could use to reach the hanging lines. She was humming a nursery rhyme while working when she heard the maids gossiping.

“So that’s the girl they dared to send?!”

“Shhh, she will hear you.”

“Like I cared! She’s just a useless brat that can’t even reach a cabinet shelf by herself . I feel sorry for Mr. Alden.. he deserved better.”

“I know but we can’t get caught questioning the king’s decision!”

“Everyone is already questioning it! She is barely nine years older than the prince. Didn’t they learn after what happened to the last maid that served the king?”

The gossip was interrupted by an intentional sound of a throat. It was lady Amelie, that have been there Godness only know since when.

“I see you girls have a lot of free time to spare. So I find it appropriate that as soon as you finish here, you two start cleaning the stables. And after that, you can clean the barns. Since you too really enjoy smelly talk, you will find a lot of them there.” - Amelie said in her regular tone.

“Yes, ma’am” - the two maids said and hurried back to their jobs.

Lilly noticed she had been caught by Amelie overhearing everything. The girl had a sad face and embarrassed face. Amelie approached her, changing her professional posture.

“How are things going with your responsibilities, Ms. Lillian? Are you and Mr. Alden in need of anything?”

“Not really, Lady Amelie… it’s just…” - Lilly thought for a moment before putting out her feelings - “I think the other girls are not lying. I am really not of that much help to Mr. Alden… it has been months since I moved to the palace and I can’t do anything that impressive. Anything I manage to do, Mr. Alden can do it ten… no... a hundred times better, and faster! I am really a useless brat…” - Lilly said with watery eyes.

“Feeling sorry for yourself won’t be of any help either” - Amelie said sharply, what made Lilly gasp. - “If your are done with your laundry and have time to spare instead of grumbling about your lack of skills, follow me.”

Lilly was very confused about Lady Amelie’s behavior towards her. She never understood if the experienced maid hated her or not, but Lilly could tell she was not a bad person. Something in Amelie reminded her of Mr. Alden, she just couldn’t figure out what.

Lilly followed Amelie to the storage. The experienced maid seemed to be looking for something in the shelf of books. After some minutes, she pulled out what looked like an old booklet.

“Here, you may have it.” - she handed the booklet to Lilly. The cover was a little faded, but she could tell it was a recipe book.

“I am a little bit lost, Lady Amelie. What is it for?” - Lilly asked with a puzzled face.

“As you said, no matter how much practice you get, Mr. Alden you certainly be better than you at any task.” - Lilly could tell Amelie didn’t mean to offend her, but she got offended anyway. Didn’t something like that happened before? - “However, Mr. Alden is still a human. Just like any human being, he might need to comforted sometimes. This book contains instructions of how to make some Sole Mountain’s traditional desserts. A taste from home could be good for him. Besides, the royal family are know. To be sweet tooth themselves, so the prince might enjoy it as well.” - Amelie said and turned around, planning to go back to her own responsibilities with no time to lose.

Lilly took a moment to absorb everything Amelie said. She almost didn’t manage to thank Amelie for her help. The old maid wouldn’t have stopped to listen anyway.

Lilly’s uniforms got ready just one day before the arrival of the prince. She looked very silly in those clothes, because they actually didn’t fit perfectly. Due to Lilly’s young age, they knew she would still grow a lot, so the maids let her uniforms a littler bit larger than er current size. It wasn’t very comfortable because the sleeves kept covering her hands during work. But at least the skirt wasn’t too long, that would avoid Lilly stepping on it. The maids ware certainly thinking on the little prince’s sake, not Lilly’s. Although it was better for her this way. If was ever hurt the prince, even by mistake, things would get really bad for her. And for Alden. But Lilly thought she would practice sewing by adjusting at least one of her uniforms for her current size in her free time.

The very young maid had gotten better in many tasks. Now she could make a bed, fold sheets and clean the baby’s nursery. She even learned how to warm a milk bottle properly, after many attempts and getting her skin burnt from testing the milks temperature on her own arm. No pain no gain, Alden would say.

Lilly observed the Alden by the side of her eye. The perfect butler was elegant and serious as always. They both were standing in front of the prince’s new room main door, that was placed on the left side of their own living quarters. The very young maid couldn’t stop thinking how much Alden has helped her to get ready for this. She gave him a lot to be troubled and now she had to prove her worth. No mistakes allowed. Doing a perfect job was the only way to thank her hero, she thought while breathing very deep.

Her hero. She blushed by her own silliness of thinking of Mr. Alden as a hero. She could see he was in fact tall, strong, skilled, smart, kind, handsome….

She shook her head to get rid of those inappropriate thoughts. The prince would be there soon and she needed to concentrate.

Alden checked on the little girl without moving. It was visible she was nervous. And how could she not be? The reason of their fate was coming and there was no running away from it. He revised everything they have done together, trying to make sure nothing that essential would be missing. No matter how many times he thought about it, he was still worried for the so young maid.

The duo thoughts was interrupted by the sound of steps approaching. Lilly’s breath stopped, while Alden just stared up front.

A group of maids and butlers carrying lots of packages, that seemed to be the prince’s presents received from other countries, walked towards them. Lady Amelie was in front of them carrying a blanket made of sheep yarn. On the blanket they could a baby boy sucking his thumb. With golden blonde hair and stunning blue eyes, he was finally here: Prince Damian, the precious heir to Lyrevent throne.

The group stopped a few steps away from Lilly and Alden. The maid and the butlers greeted them with a synchronized short bow. Alden had his right hand on his chest and Lilly hold the sides of her skirt, just like they had practiced before. The little girl almost couldn’t contain her joy of doing in properly.

Lady Amelie stepped forward and signed to a butler on her right side. The elegant man had a roll in his hand, which he opened and proceeded to read. It was the royal message.

The message included the king and the queen’s best wishes for their son and gratitude to the Wind Godness for the provided tributes that would raise their son. It also reviewed the rules and dynamics of their role.

The maid and the butler must raise the prince like he was their real son. They must provide food, protection, education and affectionate to the heir. The maid and the butler are the only ones allowed to hold and interact with the heir, any other being caught doing so must be heavily punished. The maid and the butler must watch for the prince’s heathy and well being with all their strength. If the prince was harmed in any way, they must be punished the same day.

That was the summary of it. Lilly’s head was almost spinning with so much information, but Alden would make share to review the rules with her. Despite each generation announcement being written by the current monarchs, they were pretty much the same every time, and Alden had studied every single of them written so far. The original files were kept in the castles library, but each village would receive a copy. The Sole Mountain village collection was as rich as the royal registers itself.

“And no less important...” - the butler continued. It seemed there was something else in the announcement - “None of the attendants should have romantic feelings for the prince. With the blessing of the Wind Godness, we trust you our most precious treasure.”

That was new. And very unexpected. Alden could understand where it was coming from, tho. The king and the queen must have heard about the situation. A much younger than expected maid would be attending to their son, and to make things even more complicated, she was unmarried. There was a lot to consider here. Alden had a similar worry about that, as for Lilly… she understood it as much as the previous rules. Alden would make sure she sticked to the idea of little brother.

Amelie looked to Alden and he nodded. So the old maid approached Lilly and handed her the prince with care. Lilly hold the little baby as carefully as she could. When she looked at him, her eyes sparkled. The baby boy was health, while sucking his thumb he tried to reach Lilly’s ginger bangs.

“He’s so cute…!” - Lilly let it out. Alden coughed warning her, what made the little girl blush in embarrassment.

After delivering all the gifts inside the room, the group gave the duo their farewell and left. Alden and Lilly were alone again. Except, now they had a little company. Lilly starred at the baby with a big smile. He was so tiny but still chubby. His skin was so white that it got red easily. The baby was energetic and wouldn’t stop trying to reach any toy Lilly brought to the cradle. Every time she left and came back with a toy, the baby would laugh cheerfully, what made Lilly’s heart melt with so much cuteness.

“I am gonna die! I want to squeeze him much!” - Lilly shouted while showing the baby a stuffed frog.

Alden chucked to the little girl’s excitement.

“Don’t forget to do the rest of your job. Having fun with toys is not the only thing a baby needs.” - Alden kindly reminded her while organizing all the presents the prince had received.

“Yes, Mr. Alden!” - Lilly said rushing to the table, where there was goat milk and baby bottles. She proceeded to warm it up the hot water the others maid had brought.

Lilly’s suddenly absence made the baby prince start crying, but he would have to bear it for some minutes. Alden was to busy with so many present to sort out. There were blankets, furniture, rolls of fancy clothes, even rare jewels. Not much a three months old baby could make use now, but in the future that could be handy.

Alden was really a genius. Somehow, he turned his own shirt in a presentable button up long sleeves white dress. Since Alden was over 1.8 meters tall while Lillian was a little bit higher than one meter, the shirt, now a dress, made it to her knees and fit her perfectly. He had spent the night before adjusting it with a sewing kit. Lillian just found about that when she woke up. No, they were outside, in the laundry area. They had few weeks before the arrival of the baby prince. Lillian must learn everything she can as fast as possible.

“After washed, we must lay it out to dry, this way” - instructed Alden, while hanging the Lillian’s dress on the clothesline.

Lillian tried to copy him, but she couldn’t reach the line. Alden sight and turned one of the baskets upside down. He helped her step on it, so she could make it to de line. She managed to hang the pillow sheet, but it soon was taken away by the wind. She had forgotten to pin it.

After that, Alden took her to the fountain. There they could practice brushing the clothes with the very pillow sheet that had landed on a mud pod. Somehow, Lillian brushed it so hard that hole opened on it. She sure had a lot of energy for such a tiny body.

The same morning, they went to the kitchen to prepare a meal. Scrambled eggs and ham, not that hard. Except that Lillian lost the ham somewhere the way from the storage to the kitchen and added soap to the pan instead of goat butter.

Alden started to worry, not only for Lillian’s sake but for the own prince’s life.

“Alright, Lilly.” - Alden started, he decided to give her a cute nickname. He knew Lillian wasn’t her real name, but at least she could own a nickname - “I think we should try to work on you already know. Tell me, what kind of activities you had when you were in the village?”

“W-well, Mr. Alden…” - Lilly stuttered, too ashamed to look at the so perfect skilled butler. - “I spent most of my days playing around with other kids. Gathering berries in the woods, swimming in the river, attending to schoool…”

The last information clicked Alden.

“So I suppose you know how to read. And must be able to teach about wild stuff, like plants and animals.”

“Yes, Mr. Alden! I loved reading about our village surrounding flora! Since Airwood is close to a river, there were a great variety of frogs, and bugs, and birds, and…” - Lilly’s voice lowered while her eyes started to water. Alden promptly took a scarf from his pocket and dried Lilly’s eyes.

“I know you must miss your home” - he said after finished cleaning her face and handing her the scarf - “But now, you need to be strong. In few days, a baby much more vulnerable than you will be under our care, and by this time you have to be ready to take care of herself and him. You don’t need hurry to learn everything, I can take care of most of it. However, I will need your help too.”

Lilly’s face got full of worry. How could she be of any help? They would be lucky if she didn’t make it more difficult, or even worse, caused trouble for Alden, who have been so kind to her.

“How could I be of any help, Mr. Alden? I can’t even perform simple tasks like washing and cooking…”

“But you are a loving smart girl, Lilly” - Alden said with a kind smile. Looking at his green eyes made her heart pound a little bit.

Alden took Lilly to the farm, where some new born animals were. Alden observed Lilly handle chicks, piglets and calf. If she was capable of being that gentle to small animals, that most of people don’t value that much, handling a baby should be ok. But he would make sure to watch them closely in the beginning, Alden thought after Lilly had tripped on a chicken and dropped all the ration on the barn’s floor. They would have to wash that dress, now covered with chicken waste.

Lilly changed to her own dress, the one she had been wearing the moment she arrived to the palace. It was possible to see it was light blue with small white flowers all over it. As for the improvised dress Alden had turned his shirt into, Lilly managed to wash and hang it without major damages. There was a button that got lost, but Alden took it as opportunity to teach her how to sew it back.

Back to their living quarters, Lilly was practicing her sewing on the dress-shirt button when Alden approached her with a pile of paper sheet. They seemed to be schedules and instructions. Things like “change diapers”, “baby bottles”, “nap and story time”.

“Alright, Lilly.” - Alden said visibly tired. He put a lot of effort on what he was about to explain her. - “Here is our mission planning.”

Lilly couldn’t hide her excitement every time Alden mentioned “mission”. That made everything look important but really fun as well.

“I am all ears, Mr. Alden” - Lilly straightened herself up on the chair, showing he was more than ready for that. Alden found that silly behavior very cute.

“The plan follows this way. I will be in charge of heavy work in the beginning. One of us must watch the prince while the other takes care of laundry, cooking and provisions. If I let you handle this, the prince won’t have enough clean clothes or food in time for his meals.” - He had said it with no intention to offend her, but she got a little offended. Even though he was right about it. - “You be responsible for things like feeding, bathing and sleeping. As well as the organization of the insides. You must keep the room tidy. If one of the maids find it out of order, we could be in trouble.”

“I have a question, Mr. Alden.” - Lilly said raising her hand.

“Yes, you may ask anything”

“With so many maids and butlers around, while we have to do all of it by ourselves?”

“That’s what demands the Wind Godness will.” - Alden forgot that Lilly didn’t receive the full education and context of this role. So he thought it would be better to explain their kingdom’s rules in details. - “The Wind Godness wishes every ruler of our kingdom grows humanly. When princes and princess are raised only by nobles or people that have grown in the palace, a lot of issues can show up. Jealousy, greed, corruption, sense of superiority… all these dishonored things can grow when sheltered between the walls of the palace. It’s hard to bring the sense of the real world in an environment like that. There’s also the fact that our monarch’s partner must come from another country, so it would make the heir’s education even more unpredictable. Being raised by our own country’s commoner is a way to make sure the hair will grow as humanly as possible. I short, we are kind of overprotective mom and dad.” - Alden finished with a playful smile. Lilly shivered and Alden laughed.

“Haha… I am just joking about the mom and dad thing.” - He patted her head. - “In fact… I could never see you like that. And you shouldn’t either. Between us, you can be like a big sister.” - he said softly. “So see yourself like that, okay? A loving sister to our little price. Make the best of it.”

A sister… Lilly wasn’t sure she could see herself that way.

They spent the rest of the following weeks revising their planning while Lilly got some practice. Everything Alden noticed Lilly was capable of doing herself, he would adjust their planning. At some point, they manage to divide their job in a ratio of 65 and 35, being the bigger part Alden’s responsibility. Alden was pretty comfortable with what they got, Lilly was not tho. She tried to convince him to share the burden equally, but she lacked any argument (and skills) that could make it possible.

Alden ensured her it was not that much. In fact, he was such a capable butler he could possibly get 85 per cent of the tasks and still perform them very well. However, it would be no good for Lilly, and he knew it. Lilly was still too young to notice Alden’s intentions. He organized everything thinking about the baby prince and Lilly as well. The girl would go through lots of unpleasant experiences, not only from their hard job but her own development as well. She would go through puberty in an environment not suitable for that.

Mr. Alden’s shirt smelled good. Since he Alden was a well built man, his shirt would look more like an awkward dress. At least it would cover more than necessary of her body. She looked at herself on the water in the bathtubs. Pale-red hair, messy curly hair, pinkish cheeks and freckles that made her look even younger. Not to mention the skinny face and body. She must have lost her mind when she thought she could replace her sister. The girl sank herself in the water. It was cold. Luckily it was the beginning of summer, so it was almost enjoyable. The water smelled nice too. Alden had given her some sort of oil to add the bath, by the moment she handed her dirty dress. Only the dress. Alden asked for the underwear but she refused. She energetically said she would take of it. How? She had no idea. She spent most of her so short life running around the village, climbing trees and chasing frogs. Her village wasn’t a rich one, but she was happy. However, unlikely her older sister, she was never taught how to do certain things.

Lilian… where could she have gone to?

Lillian was smart. Way too smart. Maybe that’s why she thought she could be more than that. More than a mere maid. Married to a stranger. If she knew that stranger was Alden, would it have changed her mind? It doesn’t matter. She was Lillian now. She volunteered for that. She chose it, right? To leave her father behind. To leave her beloved village. To save them. Maybe she should be mad at her older sister? She was the one trained for that her whole life and never said anything about not wanting to. The Airwood village could have trained somebody else. But perhaps no one would be as good as the chief’s older daughter… the younger daughter must be second best choice.

The girl left the tube and started drying herself. She looked to the now clouded water in the bathtubs. She couldn’t see herself anymore. And that was it.

The mood couldn’t be more awkward. They were both alone in the living quarters planned for a recently married couple. Except the two individuals present there were not even close of that.

Alden checked again on the girl holding the skirt of her dress. It was the same from earlier. They didn’t even have the decency of sending her extra clothes. The girl was still shaking to her bones. He sighed and walked to wardrobes and drawers looking for something that could help. Then, he kindly got the girl by her waist and sat her down on the bench by the window. He had a pot of water and clean towels, he kneeled and proceeded to clean her feet. He didn’t notice she was barefoot til this point. The girl observed attentively to the gentleman’s work.

“Watch it close. That will be part of your job when attending the prince. Except you will have to make sure the temperature of the water is the prince’s liking.” - he explained in an instructive way.

Alden was a fair man. He was born and raised in Sole Mountain village. As the name suggests, it is a village by mountain. One mountain to be exact. The blessed mountain believed to be the cradle of the Wind Godness. Their people are known to be the best tributes, and it’s no surprise that almost every generation a son or daughter would come from the Sole Mountain village. And their well reputation were no rumor. Every child in the village was raised in love, respect and knowledge. They would always be proud when one of their children were selected as a Messenger and find a way to be better next in case any child was chosen. In fact, they didn’t consider themselves tributes. They were more than honored to serve the purpose of the Wind Godness. If Alden had made it to the palace, he was no less than a good man. And for a good man he is, he couldn’t accept a kid to be his bride. He was convicted the Wind Godness would not consider it acceptable. However, he couldn’t turn his back and run away from his responsibilities. At this very moment, this girl was one of those.

“I am sorry for the position you were forced to. You parents had no right to send you like…”

“They didn’t send me.” - the girl finally said something. Alden stopped the cleaning for a second and turned his eyes to the girl. The hazelnut eyes looked firmly at him. “I volunteered. They didn’t send me.”

Alden couldn’t hide his confusion. But thinking back about what Amelie said, this girl’s village did avoid being considered traitors. Maybe, by the blessing of the Wind Godness, this girl was fit for the job.

“Well, that makes a brave one of you.” - Alden said, smiling softly while standing up - “Now, it’s time to take your clothes off.”

The girl flinched and her face got redder than her pale-red hair. She was about to say something in protest, but Alden soon clarified.

“We need to get your dress washed. You don’t have a spare dress, do you?”

The girl nodded in agreement. She looked to the sides trying to figure out how to proceed. Her view was blocked by a white shirt. It was one of Alden’s spare clothes.

“Go to the wash room and clean yourself up. After, you can cover yourself with that. Unfortunately, the maid’s uniform set won’t be ready soon. Due to your size, the ladies from the palace have to make many adjustments. It’s very kind of them in fact, the coming so called tributes are responsible for adjusting their own uniform. I arrived earlier than you and finished adjusting my wearing. But I suppose your sewing skills are not the best, right?”

The girl nodded again, this time very ashamed of her lack of skills. Alden kneeled again and comforted her with a smile.

“Don’t worry. I will teach you most of what you need to know. Unfortunately, we have less than six weeks before the prince comes to our care, so I will be teaching the basics of how to take care of a baby. Sewing can come later. You were already very brave coming here to save your family. However, from now on you need more than that. Do you understand?”

The girl could just nod one more time to the gentle question. The green eyes that stared at her were undoubtedly kind.

“Oh, and I must apologize. I didn’t have the opportunity to properly introduce myself. As you may heard, my name Alden, Sole Mountain Alden. According to the registers, if I am not mistaken, the girl coming from the Airwood village was named…”

“Lillian!” - she interrupted. This girl had the habit of saying things out of the blue. But that surprised Alden even more than the first statement. Lillian was the name of the girl that was supposed to come.

“Please, call me Lillian…” - the girl asked, a little bit ashamed of her request.

“Lillian will that be so.” - Alden got up and forwarded to his wardrobe, where his belongs were placed. - “Now hurry up and wash yourself. The water is cold so for today you will have to bear it. Tomorrow I will teach you how to prepare a proper bath, that also will be part of your job. Our job. We are on this mission together, right?”

Lillian cheered up to Alden’s encouragement and rushed to the wash room. Alden saddened his face as soon as the girl made her way. She was a well behaved girl, just like was said. But he couldn’t stop thinking how unfair all of it was. No one’s childhood should be robbed this way. He looked to the moon from the window. The sky was clear and the moon was full. A gentle wind blowed. It was a warm night of summer, and at least a cold bath wouldn’t be so bad for Lillian.

She could feel the anger and disappointment in their speech. The whole staff present was loudly discussing what to do with that. What to do with her.

“They were fully aware of the date and what was expected from them! It’s the same every generation!” - said a male staff, trying to make a point, as it would magically change the reality.

“I am pretty sure the chief had another daughter. According to the registers of the regular inspection, she should on the right age. Are you sure this was the only there?” - asked another male staff, pondering.

“Yes, sir. The older sister was nowhere to be found.” - stated the guard, firmly.

“What is this? Some kind of treason?” - asked a female staff, almost to herself, while clenching her fists tightly.

The older sister, the one supposed to be in this position. According to the registers, she was a healthy well developed lady. The beauty of the village, and no less smart. With such an expressive tribute, the inspections got it lightly on the village, since their “ perfect crop” was already being raised well. The officers weren’t expecting it to disappear. Nor that the chief of the village would send this as a replacement.

“We have no time for this, she will have to do it.” - said another older female staff, calmly and firmly, as her age has taught her to deal with any kind of upcoming disaster.

The other staff members wanted to protest, however they knew they had little choice but to accept it. The prince was already born, and he needed a maid to take care of him.

“Ask Alden to come in.” - said the same middle age female staff, that was a maid herself. A very experienced one, must be noted. She ordered it i the same calm and firmly voice from before. It’s hard to picture if she even had any other voice tone than that.

A young gentleman in butler wearing entered the room. He had his long pale hair meticulously tied up. On his dress coat, a royal badge and a lily from his coat chest pocket, indicating he had been selected for an important role. He had completed 15 long years of studies and training for that, which had began at age of 12.

“Alden, meet your bride, the chief’s younger daughter from the Airwood village.” - she announced.

Alden’s eyes widened in displeasured surprise. He knew the girl coming would be young, but not that young. The girl in front of his eyes seemed to barely had reached puberty, which was informed soon that she had not.

“She hasn’t come to bloom yet. She’s nine, but fairly tall, very skinny, tough. Her parents said she’s smart and well behaved, you have to teach her the ways of a proper maid, since they sent her without completing her education.” - the old maid said, never changing her tone.

“You must be kidding, Amelie! She’s just a kid.” - Alden protested. Although it seemed he had just stated the obvious, and everybody in the room noticed. A not so young maid clicked her tongue in frustration.

Amelie looked from the side of her eye to check who had been that disrespectful, to make sure to reprehend the younger maid later. Soon, her eyes went back to Alden.

I unquestionably am not. That is the girl we were sent. The prince has been born six weeks ago and you know what means. More than anyone in this room.

Yes, he definitely knew what that meant. According to the tradition of the Kingdom of Lyrevent, the lily garden of the Wind Godness, the heir to the throne must be raised by commoners. A boy and a girl must be trained in their hometown from very young age to fulfill the honored role. Each village is informed of the training the moment the royal engagement is decided. Then, is expected the designed village provides a proper tribute by the time a heir is born. By tribute, it means the best of their sons and daughters. This tradition had been built on the belief that the Wind Godness loves all flowers of her garden, and to ensure the Kingdom grows prosper with the Wind Godness blessing, the common people should be part of their rulers education. It’s uncertain when such ideal fell on a couple formed by commoners from two different villages should be formed as a parental view for the heir, but it had been the ways for longer than ten generations of heirs. Although this moment seemed to be the right moment for some change, they had no time for that. The monarchs current in position were the inflexible ones. The prince was born, he is to become 12 weeks soon, and then he will leave his birth mother’ s embrace to be raised by the well educated recently married couple. Except that…

Alden’s eyes turned to the little girl. She was dressed in moderate quality dirty clothes, like the ones a kid that just came back from playing in the woods or climbed some trees. She had pale red hair with curls that fell on her shoulders and hazelnut eyes of someone who had been crying. And could she be blamed for that? It was painfully obvious she was not the one raised for this role. She was just a scared girl whose life changed from dolls and snacks to the most heavy responsibility of the kingdom. He starred at the poor creature with sadness.

“The wedding will take place tomorrow…”

“I will not marry her.” - Alden interrupted Amelie’s instructions. The old maid looked back at him.

“Are you aware of the meaning of this decision? Your whole village would be blamed of treason and suffer the consequences. That one’s hometown barely escaped this tragedy…” - Amelie said look to the scared girl.

“Our role is to raise the prince, right? We don’t need to be married for that.” - the gentleman kneeled in front of the girl and took her hand. His green eyes met her hazelnut eyes with kindness - “We can be partners on this mission. Will you join me?”

The girl looked in his eyes with surprise. She could finally breathe with some reassurance she was not alone. Again, how could she be blamed? Besides the lack of responsible ones, she was just a kid, and any sign of support was enough for her to swallow her tears. - Yes!

“Fair enough” - Amelie turned her back to the new pair - “I take that you understand the means of the path you are choosing. The preparations will start tomorrow.”

Today is the day…

——-

The day I will be finally free - said a young pale red haired lady in neat maid wearing, surrounded by baskets of dried sheets and towels, while starring at that beautiful clear blue sky, holding the last piece to be folded in her hands, so the wind wave wouldn’t take it away. It was a windy sunny day, warming and refreshing, just like the feeling she had been waiting for til this day.

——-

The day I will be able to do something for her! - said the young blonde boy in excitement, while smiling to the same very clear blue sky, from his room window, as widely opened as his smile. The view from this floor of the castle was beautiful, with miles of green fields that followed right after the end of the royal west garden. He rested his cheek on his hand, that rested on the windowsill, still smiling so naively as a 17 year old sheltered prince would be.

——-

They both have waited for this day for such a long time. Both for the same reason, but different purposes.