I stood in the garden full of roses withering little by little, holding a scissor innocently when I suddenly heard maids whispering to each other about me snipping all the roses in the garden.
"Huh...? But I wasn't the one who cut the roses." I said while holding the scissor with bits of petal stuck to it.
Their glares worsened as I dropped scissors while telling them that it really wasn't me who did it.
"The evidence is all here, wide and clear. There's no need to explain." Father responded as he stood.
"From now on, you're banned from going to the garden" He declared as he walked away with Felix and Lucius with a face full of disappointment.
I stood in the garden without a word as it dawned. The anguish I felt that day, imprinted like a permanent tattoo on my mind. The butler instructed the maids to get back to work as I walked back to my room with all my energy drained while the butler walked from behind me.
I didn't leave my room for the whole day, I ate, studied, played and slept in my room. By the time I knew it, days, weeks, and months passed in a blink of an eye.
One night, as I was staring into the black heavens through the panes of the window, A feeling that felt so familiar, yet foreign struck me like a symphony.
I wanted to get a better glimpse of it so I snuck outside my room in the middle of the night. It was cold, dark and scary, I was thinking if I should return or continue my journey. I felt hesitant but I still continued my journey not knowing what might be at the end.
As I was walking in the hallway engulfed in the darkness, I got a glimpse of light coming from one of the rooms. I went towards it to see if there was a lantern, but as I got closer and closer to the room, I heard Felix and Lucius's voices.
"I DON'T CARE! THAT GARBAGE ASTRID IS JUST A REPLACEMENT!" Felix shouted as he left the room and ran to the opposite side of where I am.
"Stop shouting someone might hear you." Lucius told Felix as he followed his tracks.
As I stood in the pitch-black hallway where the light couldn't reach I continued to wander in the seemingly endless hallway without a source of light. I fell deeper and deeper into the abyss as I attempted to ignore Felix's words. I reached the attic with a silent voice. I have fulfilled the main goal of my journey, yet happiness didn't subjugate my heart.
With dreary eyes, I walked closer to the pane of glass where the full moon's shine was as graceful as the white swan. I closed my eyes.
I woke up in a pitch-black area where my sight was blinded, I was lost. I stood there blankly not knowing where to go.
I was abruptly greeted by a familiar melody, I followed the direction where the melody was coming from.
"Who are you...?" I said to the blurred image in front of me as a familiar scene appeared before me.
A sudden harsh light blinded me and when I opened my eyes I saw myself in a forest greeted by a familiar cold breeze. My body ran automatically even though I wasn't trying to. I ran deeper and deeper into the woods, it was a scary feeling. As I was running I fell into a deep void.
"Help!!" I shouted as I unconsciously sat up from suddenly waking up from the dream.
"What was that..." I said to myself as I breathed heavily, letting air go in and out quickly as my heart pounded like a running cheetah while a river formed from all the sweat I produced.
"Huh...? When did I return...?" I said to myself as I found myself sitting on my bed, back in my room.
Years passed by in a blink of an eye as I lived alone in my room filled with sadness. I ignored the duke and never called him "Father" again the same goes for Felix and Lucius
As I was gazing at the moon through my window just like last time when the moon is at its fullest, the boredom and loneliness that pilled up inside of me exploded when suddenly a crazy idea struck me.
At that time a new year was about to bloom. I snuck out at 9:00 pm so that I could still get to the capital before the fireworks display started.
I knew I couldn't pass the guard's vision easily so I bribed them with money. I easily after that I looked for a carriage so that I could get to the capital easily. I applied the knowledge I learned from the books I read in the past 10 years into action.
The road was actually pretty neat, unlike the ones it said in the books. As I was riding the carriage a got a small glimpse of the lights in the capital from an extremely far angle.
It took about an hour before I got to the capital. I wore my hood as I walked around in the capital that is filled with smiles as I inhaled an extraordinary scent that I have never smelled in the duchy before.
"Barbeque!!" I shouted in my mind as I drooled a bit in excitement. I bought 3 barbeques as I felt my heart throb from joy. It felt like an empty part of my heart has been filled.
The street food, circus magic, coloured lights, the sound of people talking, chuckling and smiling. All of it made me want to never go back to the duchy. Tears of joy escaped my eyes as I sat on a bench while eating my barbeques.
I walked with the crowd and entered the massive circus after buying a ticket. I was stunned at the performance of the amazing animals inside the circus and the masked entertainer.
"Amazing!" I thought as I clapped along with the crowd when the circus show ended.
I don't really eat a lot, but hunger dominated my stomach once again. I sought out for food and drinks that I haven't tried yet as I found a stall selling corndogs, skewers, kebab and coconut juice.
"Oh, my~" I mumbled when my stomach suddenly grumbled.
I bought two of each and one cup of coconut juice. Just as I was eating my freshly cooked food knights came bursting out of nowhere. It seemed like they were looking for someone.