Chapter 19: Memories (1)

The carriage bumbled along the dirt road, hopping into the air as it ran over a pebble. Wynaveyve was nine at the time. She peered out the windows, simply fascinated by the endless expanse of grass that stretched out to the horizons, so foreign to her compared to the smooth paved-stone streets of the capital. Her sister, Roselwyn, was just four years older. By all accounts, the two should be basking in the gaze of green fields together. Yet, instead, Roselwyn had her nose buried in her fathers papers. Wynaveyve couldn’t exactly remember what exactly they were about. Something about tributes or taxes. Their carriage passed by a ranch, where a herd of massive cows grazed. Wynaveyve gasped, she had never seen a cow in person before. She never imagined that they could be so large.

“Rosie, look at that!” She turned to her sister excitedly.

“That’s really interesting.” Roselwyn replied dryly. Her eyes never left her papers. At that, Wynaveyve slouched into her seat. For as long as she could remember, Roselwyn had always spent her time staring at any book or paper their father placed in front of her. Father would never stop saying stop mentioning the throne and its responsibilities. It was all he ever spoke of, the duties of a monarch. And Father was sure to prepare her for the role. In all the time Wynaveyve could remember, the two had never once played together like siblings should. Any time they spent together was solely assisting Roselwyn in her studies, or vice versa, and that quickly disappeared soon after she enrolled within Emijilucan’s Institute.

Wynaveyve hadn’t understood why Roselwyn would put herself through that. After all, studies were quite boring, and she constantly tried to escape her lectures. She couldn’t wrap her head around any of the complicated topics. Each time she asked, though, her sister always answered the same. “It is my duty.”

The journey they were taking that day too was about one of those topics. Father had to visit one of the few lords who lived outside of Emijilucan’s walls, and Roselwyn insisted that she join the excursion. Upon hearing that, Wynaveyve couldn’t bear to be left out, and so what was meant to be a business trip turned into an impromptu family vacation to the countryside.

The carriage rolled to a stop outside a massive manor. Wynaveyve let out a small gasp. She didn’t know such large buildings could exist outside the cities. Though, as they stepped through the front door, she couldn’t help but feel that the castle was just a little bit nicer. It only made sense, though. She was a princess. Father always emphasized how important that was, even when compared to the other nobles who she lived alongside.

Wynaveyve wasn’t really listening as the noble they were visiting offered their greetings. There hadn’t been many formalities. At Roselwyn’s insistence, they got straight to business. Their words went in one ear, and out another. Luckily for Wynaveyve, or perhaps unlucky, considering what was to transpire, they paid her no attention. For an undisciplined nine year old girl, that meant that she was free to do what she wished, and so she vanished. The manor was like anything she had seen, so she didn’t stay for long. No, what really called her attention was the forest hiding just behind it.

Slinking past yawning guards and slacking maids, she slipped out the front door and ran straight for the forest.

She gazed around as she walked. The sunlight filtering through the canopy, filtered green through the leaves. The sounds of bird song echoing all around her. She squatted down as she watched a millipede crawl across a rock. Many considered her lazy. It was an easy mistake to make, after all, slacking on her studies and her training to explore. Not that there was much to explore in Emijilucan. The pave stoned walls and ornate streets all looked the same to her. But nothing really called to her like the wilderness did.

An untread forest path was completely unlike the paved roads of home. There was no rhyme nor reason to why something was the way it was. There weren’t any rules to follow, no rigid protocol. No need to maintain decorum or dignity. Besides, it’s not like she really mattered too much. Her sister was the important one, after all.

Constantly, she found herself slipping and tripping over a loose root or slick rock. It didn’t take long before her dress was stained in leaves and mud, her nails dirtied and hands covered in tiny scratches.. While she herself didn’t mind, she couldn’t have imagined Father would be pleased.

“A noble must always maintain appearance! You must never show weakness nor crudeness.” She repeated, doing her best imitation of his voice, before falling into a small fit of laughter. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time she was scolded, nor would it be the last.

She ventured deeper. Wherever she went, there was a small treasure hiding just out of view. A bunch of rolled up bugs under one rock, a glistening spiders’ web in the nook of a tree. Eventually, she stopped before the largest tree she had seen until that point. Its bark was old, craggled. To her, it was a pathway begging to be climbed. And so she did. She didn’t make it very far up. Glancing down at her were two gleaming eyes. Its mouth clacked together, as the two stared at each other. She screamed. Big mistake. The massive bug screeched in kind, rushing down towards her. In a panic, she flailed a desperate retreat.

“I-ignite— and…!” Her chants had vanished from her mind. A small flicker of red died in her palm. The beetle had chased her from the forest all the way to the manor. She could hear the terrible clacks of its mouth gaining on her. She glanced backward. The sharp horn brushed against her hair. She stumbled, then. A sharp pain across her chest. Her chest felt warm and wet, and her vision went blurry.

“Wyn!” She thought she heard Roselwyn’s voice then. Before her vision went dark, she could’ve sworn she saw Roselwyn leap over her, a sword much too large for her in her hand.