Noble Family

Another morning arrived, and Nodo was finishing breakfast with his mother and brother.

— I came home late yesterday, how was your day, boys? — The mother asked while eating a piece of bread.

— Yesterday I was dismissed from the gate earlier, so I returned home, talked to Nodo, and went out again to go to a fair, but a man stopped me in the middle of the way, asking for help to look for his daughter. — Hese answers the mother.

— Hmmm, looks like you had a full day.

— And did you manage to find the girl? — Nodo asked.

— Ah, she was in an abandoned house down the street. From what I heard from her conversation with her father, she was looking for that girl you went to find in the river yesterday.

— Eva!? What is the name of this girl who was looking for her?

— Erh… I don't remember well… and I don't even need to, I told her to meet you there in front of the jeweler's tent today, you're going to take her to Eva.

— Well, you got a date with two girls for your brother? How generous of you, Hese. Hala lets out a laugh.

— Mom!

— You won't deny a favor to a person looking for a friend, right?

— Of course I won't, but you could have said this to me earlier.

After they finished eating, Hese went to his job as a guard at the city gate, Hala went to her restaurant, and Nodo went to the jewel tent. Once there, he sees the girl that his brother said, to his surprise, was the same girl who bumped into him the day before, and not even apologized.

— Hey! You! — Nodo goes towards Safi screaming, who notices, but pretends not to see. — You dropped me to the ground yesterday! and didn't even apologize! Are you the one looking for Ev—

— Eva? Do you know her? Where is she? — Quickly changing his expression, Safi approached Nodo, holding his hand. — Take me to her, please!

— Calm down, first I want you to apologize, and after that, I want to know your name and then when you’re do—

— Safi, my name is Safi, I'm sorry for knocking you down yesterday, take me to Eva, please . — Once again she cuts him off.

— Okay, okay, come with me.

— Thank you. — Safi says cheerfully.

Nodo and Safi then start walking together to the river where Eva always stays.

— So… why are you walking around with these expensive clothes? — Nodo asks Safi.

— What do you mean?

— These clothes are very expensive, aren't you afraid to wear them in public like that?

— I should?

— Of course, there are a lot of bad people out there, someone can-

— Can what? — Nodo is interrupted, again.

— Nothing, forget it.

— That necklace you were carrying yesterday, did you buy it for someone?

— Ah, I bought it for my mom…

— Hmm, have you already given it to her?

— No no, I'll just deliver it next week, when it's her birthday.

— How nice, I also want to buy some jewelry for my mother one day, maybe at Miss Helia's store... — Safi puts a finger to her chin to think, while Nodo stops walking and stays behind, she notices and looks back. — Hey, why did you stop walking?

— The store... of the Landlady Helia? — Nodo asked nervously.

— Yeah, what's wrong?

— Isn't this the most expensive store in the entire city?

— It is?

— Hey, Safi, what's your second name?

— Annzi, why?

— Are you a noblewoman!? — Amazed, Nodo gasped when he heard Safi's second name.

— I don't know if I can be called noble, my father is only the representative of the secondary family, in the line of succession of the family leader, currently I would be the last, that's why I'm not forbidden to go out whenever I want, I don't have that much relevance to the rest of the family.

— Don't you feel bad about it?

— Why should I? According to what I heard from my cousins ​​in the main family, they can't go out on the street unaccompanied, can't run, can't play with boys, can't do anything but study and take unnecessary classes, hell itself.

— Really? I always thought a nobleman's life would be paradise.

— It may be when you grow up, but the path to reach there must be unbearable.

— Are you sur-

— What about your second name? Which is? — Again, interrupted.

— My second name? We don't use it much, my family is not that well known. Could you stop interrupting me everytime?

— No problem. I want to know if it's a pretty name or not.

Nodo looks at Safi in amazement, not expecting this speech.

— Monti.

— It's beautiful, mooo—unnn—tii, I like it, you have a good name.

Nodo shrugs, embarrassed, but keeps walking until they can finally see the river where Eva is standing.

— Look at her, there, sitting by the river, again.

At that moment, Safi's eyes shone like the sun, she ran towards Eva, screaming her name.

— Eva! I found you! How many weeks have passed? You moved, you didn't tell me, what happened? I miss you!

Eva looked at Safi, with her usual neutral expression, until she caught sight of Nodo, and got excited:

— Hey, Nodo! Is Eosaph not coming today? — Eva gets up and goes to Nodo, asking about Eosaph.

— No, he didn't go out today, he must be playing a board game with his brother and father.

— Oh, too bad… I thought he would take me somewhere else like yesterday. — She goes back to sit in the same place she was before.

— Eva, don't you recognize me? — In a saddened tone, Safi asks.

— I admit I do, but my father said I can't talk to you, and after my mother died, I have to listen to everything he says.

— Why would your father tell you that? What did I do?

— I don't know, but I have to obey.

— But I looked for you for days, I had to run out of sight of my parents sometimes!

— Your parents didn't like me, you should do as I do and obey them when they tell you to stay away from someone. — Eva responds

— But I do not want to go on without talking to you, you are my friend. — Safi takes Eva's right hand, and lifts it. — Come here, I'll take you in the garden of my house again, like I did before.

— But Safi, we can't see each other, our parents don't like—

— Who cares? Let's go anyway! Nodo, you come too. — Safi grabs Nodo's left hand, and runs with Eva and him to the west of the town, where the Annzi Family mansion was.

— Where did you meet Eva, Nodo?

— About two or three days ago, I went to the temple of Amieo with my family, and I saw her sitting in front of that river, so I decided to talk to her.

— Why?

— Because I felt like it.

— Simplistic, aren’t you?

— You two like to say that right?

— There it is! My house! — Safi pointed to a very large mansion, with a beautiful garden on the side.

— Is this the Annzi secondary family mansion? — Nodo asks

— Yes, it's pretty, right? — Safi responds, while Nodo nods his head.

Eva whispers to himself something the two of them couldn't hear.

— What did you say Eva? — Safi says, approaching Eva.

— I said I missed it.

— And to think that you didn't want to come, only with a loooot of bad luck that my parents will pass by the garden at the same time as us. — Safi gets close to the bars, climbing them.

— Will you break into your own house? — Nodo asked.

— Do you think it's a good idea to enter the main gate with two strangers?

— Well, now that you said.

Eva shows a small smile seeing the interaction between Nodo and Safi.

Thum — Safi jumps over the bars and lands on the other side.

— Okay, now it's your turn, come!

Nodo helps Eva to climb the bars, and then ascends in sequence.

— Very well, the garden is in this direction, if we go quietly, no one will see us.

After sneaking into the garden, they finally arrived.

— There it is Eva, don't you miss this place?

— I do… it’s beautiful, I had forgotten, it's almost as beautiful as yesterday's place. — While drying her eyes, which were watering, Eva admired the beautiful garden that Safi's house had, with several birds singing, and the smell of the dozens of flowers mixed in the garden almost hypnotizing the three, who were enchanted by the beauty they saw.

— Eva. — Safi takes Eva's hands.

— Yes?

— I don't know what happened to your mother, how is your relationship with your father, or why you stay in that river every day like Nodo said, but I know I want to be your friend, so, from of tomorrow, I'll go every day with the Nodo to that river to spend the day with you, I'll do it for you to tell me what's going on in your life! — Eva is speechless as she sees Safi smiling at her for a few seconds, until Safi again breaks the silence:

— And Nodo too! — She points her finger at Nodo.

— Yeah! — Nodo nods, raising his fist up.

— Now, you better get out of here, I just remembered that today is the day the gardener comes.

Hearing this, Eva and Nodo face each other, and run off to jump over the bars again.

— Bye to you twooo! See you tomorrow! — Safi yells.

— Don’t scream! Goodbye! — Nodo complains, while Eva just waves goodbye with her hand.

— Hey, Nodo.

— Yes Eva?

— Tomorrow, will Eosaph come too?

— Hmmm, I don't know, if he's on the street when I go out, I'll tell him to come, but why?

— Oh, it's nothing, well, it's the second time you've given me a good day without me deserving it, thank you, now I need to go back, my father is probably irritated that I'm not home yet.

— Okay, see you tomorrow. — Nodo waves, and leaves.

— Yeah.