I couldn't believe my heart's whispers to me all day along, that I was finally, even if temporary, free. It was day one in the big mansion, and I always got this weird dreaming like feeling.
It happened every time, and I never got used to it.
I walked, with the tips of my wide gown sliding over the heads of the grass. I passed through the open garden surrounding the house, taking such a deep and long refreshing breath, filled with the smell and taste of freedom.
I was now dressed in my own nature, a long wide light green gown covered my feminine body, which showed my unique mature parts beautifully. Over my head, I had this new fashion brought from the fate lands, a very large linen made hat, with edges embroidered with golden lines, showing a sophisticated taste of beauty.
I loved it!
My bare shoulders were hit, gently, by the slightly cold night breeze, something that I never enjoyed back at the capital, not the cold breeze, not walking bare shoulders.
If it was up to me, I would have walked all naked, without a single linen of cloth over me, but I couldn't.
Even if I wasn't prince Bill, I was acting as his little sister, Bella. For those servants staying here for the entire year, all they knew was this simple lie, another lie, to make me live away from my other lie.
"Princess Bella, the dinner is ready."
I heard this distant voice coming from the opened window of the second floor. Without looking back, she was my main servant, Entely, the only one here who knew about my true identity.
She was the one who would always meet me midway to the house, where we got into a shack, hidden from any eyes. There I would change my royal, male clothing, dismantle the disguise spell on me, and finally dress my female clothing.
I couldn't tell if others knew about this secret, even if they knew I didn't care. I was here for this one month, enjoy the life that was taken from me the rest of the year.
"Princess, please come inside," She was so worried that she even descended to the ground, came through the opened door of the house, and called on me.
"Coming," I joyfully replied, as I glanced over the beauty of this place before entering the house to eat.
The main dining table was put, neatly, in the middle of the second floor. The whole house was built out of stone, to sustain the change of time, but its interior was all decorated in wood.
I loved it here, not like the cold metal decorations of my palace back at the capital. It felt warm here, very warm, like a home to me. I went to the table, where there were three other girls there, my other main servants, working under Entely.
"The food is going to be cold," the shortest, and youngest of them, said, while running with a hot pot, putting it rapidly on the table. I smiled at her while heading to my chair. "The atmosphere here is really refreshing," I said, while I sat in my place, smelling the good scent of food being served in front of me.
"It's not refreshing, my lady, it's cold," the oldest of the three maids, who were also cousins, said, trying to correct me. I noticed Entely's angry look, and I pictured this young innocent maid getting reprimanded after I went to sleep due to her unintentional trespassing.
But I want her to trespass and speak to me like no one else did back at the palace. I hated the way everyone had to be nice, formal, and think thrice before even saying a single word to me.
One of the reasons that made me take these three cousins under my care here was their glib way of talking to me. it felt like they were my childhood playmates, those who were supposed to be the closest to me, pushing the deepest and wildest self to show up all the time.
"Oly, it's really great here, no matter if it was cold or refreshing, I just love being here," I said, while patting on her hand serving me the hot soup, while looking at Entely with a meaningful smile.
Entely was like my father, my knights, my every single one of my world. I glanced, warningly, at her and I was sure she wouldn't take my warning to heart and would still reprimand the poor Oly.
Well, I couldn't change the world, could I? If I could, then I would rather change the way people looked at me, to be a queen not a false king.
"The bad has passed, Amen," we all said in one voice, as undeclared prayer, before starting to eat.
The table was full of food, so delicious that I didn't know if this was my imagination, or was it that good. I once asked for the chief who made the food here to come to the palace, but eventually I realized the secret wasn't in the making, it was in the place.
"My lady, is the capital really large?" the youngest, the little punny like I loved to call her, asked me with some anticipation in her eyes.
Again, Entely just looked at her, silently, adding her to the punishment list of her own.
"Little punny," I said with a clear laugh, "the capital is way much bigger than here," I added, while pausing to think how could I explain this to a mere twelve years old girl. "Imagine the place as a whole, filled with houses as big as ours, or even bigger, with streets in the middle of them, filled with people," I said, trying to find the closest phrases to her mind.
"Wow, I like this capital," the little punny said, while she was totally unaware, or consciously ignoring, the glaring eyes of Entely.
I just laughed inwardly, as if Entely knew what we four girls intended to do, I was sure she might get carried away to burn the poor girls alive.