Life was hard in the country side but contrary to what others would find as unbearable, it was a peaceful and quiet life of the families in their tiny village. It was a land free from nobles, not under any lord or any powerful house. Plowing the fields and eating a day's work, things have always been like that. After a hard day of labour, the people would give food to neighbors and sometimes, the families in the village would eat together gathered around a huge bon fire, singing songs, dancing, and eating happily. Everyone is kind-hearted and albeit cold during the majority of the 12 moons cycle, the villagers were warm to each other. This was the life Uriel and her family had left behind. No matter how peaceful this life is, seeing the children learn from a wandering traveller about the things they had never had the chance to set their eyes on, the father could only hope that he could give so much more to his children, but alas, the fate of their lives as had already decided what they would become.
As moons passed, the traveller hasn't left the village, she continued to teach the children and that made the villagers happy for their offsprings can have education. Time grew and Uriel grew more and more attached to the teacher, her ambition was clear to her parents though she never said anything to them. One day, the teacher had a meal with Uriel's upon her parents' invitation. The father and his wife had made a decision to ask her for help to give their Uriel a chance to become like the teacher. They offered to let her go with the teacher if she were to leave as they trust her with all their heart. The lady, touched by this kind parents' love offered to lend them a hand so that they can stay with Uriel in the capital. She is not wealthy but she was once a professor at the well-known school and she can write a recommendation for the girl. If Uriel were to get lucky, she can get a scholarship to support her studies based on an exam. And so, the family moved to the capital.
With the help and opportunity given to them, they were thankful of everything; of the old gutted house, the jobs that wage just enough for them to get by the week, the pieces of bread and soup that they eat three times for every meal everyday. They know that this house can become anything. It is where they'll start a new life, "Everything came from a very small beginning" and "Earn with pride what you've worked for" were two of many things the family lived by. Poverty is but a small obstacle that everybody had to face before becoming something, but no matter how you see it, in a place where the lights are shining and streets are bustling, poverty is a nightmare, something everyone would want to escape from.
******
The new house she lives in is quite far from where she ran off too. In hopes of not having her family worried, Uriel hurried on her way home. As the sun start to set, the lights began to flicker and the streets became busier, with the children clothed with clean clothes, holding foods and running after each other, the lights looked like stars that had gently fallen down from the heavens. It was the same scene she would see in her village but something about the other buildings, brick houses, fragrant smell from cafés and bake shops, the sound of instruments other than tiny drums, and carts selling things she'd never seen before, everything was lively, unlike the peaceful countryside. There were performers on the street and they dragged her along with other young maidens and they danced in a circle. After all the laughter, she walked to a stall and asked for a kebab. She was about to leave when the old lady in the stall asked her for her payment, surprised she has to pay for the things found in nature, she asked why does she have to pay, the old lady looked at her with eyes of confusion.
The old lady then opened her mouth, "If you aren't going to pay for that, might as well just forget about eating that and put it back down"
"But lady, in the countryside where I came from, we never had to pay for anything, we cooked the eggs from the chickens we raised, drink the milk from the cows in the farm and eat the potatoes we planted...." Uriel answered. However, she noticed that the lady has been silent and that she's been rambling too much but she must explain herself for others can have very different view on things but that doesn't mean she can't explain hers.
" .... It's just that, none of us made the soil we plant on or made the chicken that we cook.... why should we pay others for the things they didn't create?" she continued.
The old lady just bursted out laughing and said, " Lass, you sure said so much just to eat a kebab for free." As she wiped the small tears from the corners of her eyes, the lady finally showed a smile to the nervous Uriel. " You sure are one insightful kebab eater child, fine, you can have that but if you don't have money, you must come back here tomorrow night and help me with the stall ... come have one more. "
Uriel heaved a sigh of relief. She finally managed to look at the old lady in front of her, she is a head taller than herself and despite the old age, she tied her gray hair in braided twin pigtails. She had strong-looking arms and a strong face with traces of time on her forehead and sort of sagging cheeks. Her eyes were the most remarkable of all for the other is gray and the other is of a beautiful amber.
Noticing that Uriel is looking at her, the old lady introduced herself by the name Clarence and told that her other eye is blind from an accident and not a disease so she doesn't have to worry about her.
With this day's meeting with the prince and the old lady, the story begins to unfold.
*******
Yesterday was an adventure and life wasn't as eventful in the countryside. She pondered if she could ever get used to it. She walked out of the room that she and her siblings share and went to the kitchen. Breakfast was ready and everyone was at the table waiting for Uriel.
Usually, they would have soup and bread from breakfast but today, they have something new in the table; there were kebabs but unlike the ones she ate last night, these aren't pierced by sticks. The kitchen also looks different from when she went home last night. There's are more furniture now, and the huge holes are fixed.
" How long would you be standing there for? Have a sit, you'll have to prepare for Miss Clarence's teachings today. " Her father said
' How could he have known about miss Clarence?, I'd just met her last night ' Uriel thought.
" Why do you look so confused? You must prepare for your entrance exam, that's tomorrow, weren't you excited for that? " her mother said
' But isn't that next week? ' She kept thinking as she walked towards her place in the table.
" Sis has been preparing for that for more than a week, I hope you get in " her sister Lily said while stuffing her face with food.
" A-and then you'll become a professor and teach me, right sister? " Noah shyly added.
' More than a week? I have been studying with Miss Clarence for more than a week? Was there something on that kebab last night? ' Uriel wondered.
She finally opened her mouth and said " Um- mother, where do I usually meet miss Clarence? "
" Silly girl, you must've been tired, why don't you take a walk after eating and cleaning up " her mother said while holding her hand.
*****
Not knowing what to do for tomorrow's exam, Uriel wandered and wandered, there's also the fact that suddenly, it's been over a week and she's apparently studying with the help of the old lady selling kebab at night. As she continued walking, she raised her head and she found herself standing in front of a house with miss Clarence name carved unto the pane of the wooden door.