This is the story of my sentence. I’ve been here for more than 4 months now, in between these cold, grey brick walls. The only thing that cheers me up are my memories and my hope that my knight will come and save me one day, unless it is already too late or him…
Ever since I was a little girl, I used to like all the creatures that were living among us and I always wanted to get closer to all of them and help them when they got injured. I unfortunately, couldn’t go to school, my parents couldn’t afford it but they had plenty of books in the library and I could read with them all the time. My father thought me how to protect myself and my mother thought me about the magic in me. She helped me learn how to heal and whenever I had the time to roam in the forest to gather supplies for the fire or plants for medicine and there was a hurt creature, I would have helped it.
When I was a teenager, I managed to get closer to one of the velorses. They were these huge creatures that would walk on all four but when I was the time to run, they would get up on the back legs and run as fast as the wind!
They were gracious ferocious animals, hard to tame or get closer to. They were always in packs of 5 at least. They were not particularly aggressive animals, unless provoked, of course! Sometimes I would walk past them while going to the village, through the wide field. I would watch them and they would watch me. I used to look at them, smile and wave before continuing my journey. Some people used to say that there still exist creature whisperers, that can talk with all of these animals, and I wish I was one of them.
Going to the village was a pretty unpleasant trip for me. I was always bullied and made fun of because my family wasn’t rich and my parents never tamed others to use them. From my point of view, that always sounded cruel. My mother always told me stories about how the creatures were always protecting us but my father usually would come with a piece of cruel reality and tell me how this taming system affected the balance and there have been cruel consequences.
Today was one of those days when I was supposed to go to the village and gather some supplies to help mom built up a basket and put inside it, clothes for my father that will soon become a soldier for the king. We didn’t always have money, but we had the perks of knowing the best people that would ask for our handmade clothes or utensils. Some even ask my mother to make them medicine for the ill times. We exchange a lot because the money problem, but we are happy and I can afford to make others just as happy. I entered the first shop and exchanged a pair of shoes on some materials for the basket before going to the wood workers to exchange food for some unused wood that might help me and my mother craft.
On my way back, while walking on the field, I heard noise coming from afar. There were the velorses running away from a tamer. I had to get out of the way before they would come and step on me but I also knew I had to stop teamers so I stood my ground and looked straight ahead, watching as the creatures run towards me and past me but the five men stopped on their tracks. “Move along young lady! And no harm shall come upon you!” I got mad and looked the first one dead in the eyes. “You shall leave the poor creatures alone!” Once I took a better look at them, I noticed that they were also teenagers and in fact, the one I was yelling at was the Second Prince! “And who are you to tell a prince what to do?” He looked down at me with superiority. I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath. “A prince should not run after innocent creatures that once protected us!” I noticed surprise in his features along with interest once a smile appeared on his lips. “Fare well! In that case I shall take another prize that I can bring back to the castle and be admired with!” He got off the velorse and grabbed my arm. “A pretty girl as a prize! I think I overdone my brothers!” I stepped back pulling myself away from him. “I am not a prize!” I turned around to walk away but he grabbed onto my shoulders and turned me around to face him as his taller body was shadowing mine. “You should listen to your prince!” I looked straight into his eyes and got even closer to him. “A boy that chases innocent souls to make them slaves is no prince to me!” He grinned and stepped back. “Until next time my lady! I will show you who I am and what I can do!” He got back on the velorse and run off with his friends besides one that stood behind. “Thank you! For stopping him!” I looked at the boy and smiled softly. “Is okay, I did it for the-” He looked at me making me freeze on spot. His eyes turned green and his magic surrounded me. “I am a whisperer! And I was requested to thank you for them!” He bowed his head before taking off in a hurry.
I walked home reflecting over what happened. And I cannot believe it! The whisperers aren’t dead! They live hidden from others so their powers will not be used against the creatures! I hurried home and prepared everything for my father’s journey. We spent the last hours in family, before he left in the evening, going straight to the palace. We were always uncertain if he is ever going to return or we will never see him ever again. Even though my mother was supporting me, telling me that everything is going to be alright sounded like a daydream. But deep inside, she was just as frightened as I was.
My father sacrificed himself because he knew we needed the money to keep on living. The guards were always taken care of so, most of the time, almost all the money that he made were sent back to us. Me and my mother never spent them all. We crafted a small bag and we saved as much as we could, just in case something happens.
During the winters, we would usually leave outside a patch of dried grass that we have collected over the summer time for the animals that couldn’t get their own food and leave to the village to gather around the main fire, but instead of staying outside with the young people, me and my mother would go to the elderly people and help them. I learned how to sew and knit. They even gave us some balls of yarn in different colors. I usually was put to prepare the tea and the hot baths. I couldn’t say it was the most pleasant thing to do. Some elderly men were always making mean comments over our bodies and would touch us disrespectfully. But we had to do all of that and say nothing because, like that, we didn’t have to use firewood. We could sleep in the helper’s room that was off for the winter period to go back to her family. I guess they were nicer to her than to us.
One day when we were working for the old people, the three princes came to visit and make sure everything was in order. My mother told me that, no matter what will happen, what they will say, we are doing a honorabe work for the ones that no longer can. Helping people is for the soul, earning money is for the body! I never knew what she meant with that until later. We were forced to stand next to the door with our hands clasped in front of us, looking straight ahead or down. I decided to look down instead of straight ahead when the princes walked into our room. ”Look, this one is looking down!” Someone grabbed my chin and forced me to look up and I met the same selfish pair of eyes that I met in the spring. “Well, well, well, who do we have here? The velorses saver! It appears that she is working as a slave! This is more and more exciting. A slave to talk down a prince!” He laughed and I stood my ground clenching my fists. “I am not a slave! I am here to help the people! The ones that you, regality, forgot about!” I snapped back at him. All three brothers were shocked to see me answer back but the Second Prince was smirking in a strange way. “Be my princess! We could use someone of your character in the palace!” I straightened my back even more and looked straight into his eyes. “I would never be your princess, not now, nor ever! Even if would be a life-or-death situation! I would never be able to stand next to someone so cruel and selfish! Now, if you will excuse us, there are people that need our help, for real!” I turned around and grabbed the basket that I was previously holding to go and wash the dirty clothes. “What if I banish the velorses from our land? Only a fine girl will be able to change my mind!” He said proudly. “You do not deserve a fine girl!” I almost singed my words and walked out of the room. Behind the closed door, laughing was heard, as if I have embarrassed the prince. But it is not like he didn’t deserve it.
Now that I think about it, I always stood against him in most situations. I never accepted to obey him and be a silent loving wife. I was making myself heard by everyone and I didn’t let him play with me in his way.
In the spring, after the snow melted away and me and my mother turned back to our house, we noticed velorses in our yard. That was the first time I have ever pet one.
I slowly walked to one of them and it looked down at me. I held my hand out and felt the nuzzle in my palm. “You really are sweethearts, aren’t you?” My mother was still frightened of them but soon, she warmed up to them. I got attached to all of them and soon we built up a feeder in case they are going hungry and we managed to save some food. The trips to town had been less frequent as we were visited at home by the people that needed our help. Some walked to our home, some came on a velorse and they got the chance to interact. It seems that all f them once knew each other and is sad to see them being apart. But they never seemed mad, not even a second. They all seemed to be understanding each other, understanding the good and the bad parts, like they were communicating.
The following weeks, it was a lot of work for my mother and I. We had to go look for a lot of medicinal supplies, such as plants and fruits and craft plenty of baskets and clothes. Everyone in the village knew about us and asked about our products. I never doubted that there were some people who would resell our products but as long as our incoming materials were still going on strongly, it was good for us.
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