"Mom, I want that," the little girl pointed to the row of skewered meat on the grill.
"Oh, come here, child. If you eat this, you will become more beautiful," said the seller, making the innocent little girl even more enthusiastic about buying them, while the mother looked at the seller with a strange expression.
Seeing that, Odette couldn't help but smile. Back when she was a child, she was also like that little girl, very easily trapped by the sweet talks of the hawkers and toy sellers. Odette often bothered her mother with it.
"Do you want to eat that, Miss Ody?" Anwen asked after seeing Odette staring at the roast beef vendor stall.
"No." Odette said, still smiling. "I was just watching that little girl over there."
Hearing that, Anwen also paid attention to the little girl that Odette noticed. "What's with her?"
"That girl reminds me of me when I was little and the girl's mother reminds me of my mother," said Odette with sad eyes, while Anwen looked surprised for a moment. Her eyes opened wide then the next second those purple eyes narrowed and looked sad.
"Do … Do you miss your mother, Miss Ody?" Anwen asked as she continued to pay attention to the mother and daughter who were standing there.
"Uhum. Very much."
"Be patient, you'll see each other soon."
The mist of sadness became clearer in Odette's eyes.
"My mother… has passed away," she said, surprising Anwen.
Anwen turned to look at Odette for a few seconds then looked down again.
"My mother too," she said.
Odette's blue eyes shifted to the girl next to her and was surprised to see tears running down her cheeks.
"Anwen, is that true?" Odette immediately hugged Anwen as the girl started to sob.
In Odette's arms, Anwen bit her lower lip, trying hard to muffle her sobs as her tears started to fall like rain. Odette asked what was wrong, but Anwen didn't answer. So, Odette just tightened her hug and let Anwen vent her sadness.
Two hours later, Anwen had fallen asleep. Odette, who was next to Anwen, tilted her body and stared at Anwen intently.
'You must miss your mother so much that you cry like that. But is that all that makes you cry?' Odette muttered in her mind.
Meanwhile, Anwen, who was asleep, had a dream about Rion and her mother.
***
"Brother!" A little girl with gray hair and purple eyes ran up to a boy with gray hair, who was standing next to a horse that was chewing on the grass.
If you look at the difference in their age, they must be ten to thirteen years apart.
Anwen ran fast, climbed a boulder and plopped! She jumped without hesitation. Luckily, Rion quickly turned around and caught her.
"Anwen, stop jumping like that! What if you fall?"
"I won't fall, because you always catch me, Brother" Anwen said then smiled broadly, showing her row of teeth.
Seeing that, Rion just let out a loud sigh, then lowered Anwen from his arms.
"Brother, teach me how to ride a horse," Anwen said as soon as she stood up.
"I can't," refused Rion flatly.
"Why can't you?"
"Because your legs are too short," said Rion while combing the horse's mane in front of him.
Anwen looked at Rion's back with a sullen face, she felt offended. She then turned to the other horse who was munching, then approached the horse quietly.
"BROTHER!"
Anwen screamed hysterically as the horse she was riding suddenly stood up and galloped uncontrollably.
Rion, who was surprised to see that, immediately mounted his horse to chase his sister.
"ANWEN!"
"BROTHER, HELP ME!" Anwen started to cry while hugging her horse's neck.
"ANWEN! GIVE ME YOUR HANDS!" Rion said as he extended his hand to Anwen while his horse galloped next to Anwen's.
"I'm scared, Brother … sob ..." Anwen tightened her arms around the horse's neck, but that only made the horse run faster, and Rion had to increase his horse's speed to keep up.
"AAAAAAH!"
"ANWEN, GIVE ME YOUR HANDS!"
"I DON'T WANT TO! I'LL FALL …! Sob …"
"ANWEN, TRUST ME! I WILL CAPTURE YOU!"
"Huh?" Hearing those words, Anwen, who had previously closed her eyes, opened them to look at her brother. She looked at her brother's nail-piercing eyes and then saw the outstretched hand toward her.
The horse was still running fast. Slowly, Anwen began to release one hand from the horse's neck to grab her brother's hand, but just as her hand almost grabbed her brother's hand, Anwen was thrown far forward and hit a tree.
"ANWEEEN!!"
"B-brother …" Before losing consciousness, little Anwen heard the voice of her brother screaming hysterically, calling her name.
***
"Cough!"
"You're finally awake."
Anwen had just come to her senses and she saw a beautiful woman with golden hair and purple eyes sitting next to her.
"Mother … where is Brother?" asked Anwen in a weak tone.
"Aiden is in his room."
"I mean Rion."
"He's not your brother. Your brother is Aiden," the woman said in a cold tone.
"Rion is also my brother."
"He's not your brother, he's not good at taking care of you. He doesn't deserve to be called a big brother."
"Mom, stop it! It's not Rion's fault!"
"Stop defending him and get some rest."
***
The sound of night insects filled the silence of the night. Anwen couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about her older brother, Rion. She remembered the time Rion tried to save her and felt guilty.
Her mother must have scolded Rion for what had happened.
"I'm giving you nothing but trouble," she mumbled. She held her bandaged head, then got off the bed. She then walked slowly towards the door, planning to find her brother and apologize. But when she opened the door, she was surprised to find Rion sitting, leaning against the door, sleeping. Rion's left cheek was bruised. It must have been from Queen Helen's slap.
Anwen immediately bit her lower lip, trying not to cry. Her heart ached at the thought of Rion being blamed by Queen Helen, her mother, for her falling off the horse, especially when she thought about how Rion was always trying hard to get the love and affection from her mother, and trying to make Queen Helen consider him as her son. But the woman was always cold and never wanted to accept Rion as her son.
Anwen stepped closer and looked closely at the bruises on Rion's cheeks, then she saw the whole face of Rion who was fast asleep.
"Why are you sleeping here? Did you want to see me but Mom didn't let you in?" Tears started to flow and rolled down Anwen's cheeks. She was at fault, but Rion was the one who was blamed.
"I'm sorry, Brother … sob …" she sobbed softly, and because of that sob, Rion woke up.
Seeing Anwen crying in front of him, Rion was shocked.
"Anwen, you? What's wrong?" he asked in a worried tone, but Anwen didn't answer, the girl immediately hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry, Brother, sob … because my mother has slapped you … sob … sob … It must hurt … sob …" Anwen sobbed.
For a moment, Rion returned Anwen's hug and rubbed his sister's back before releasing her.
"I'm fine. Don't cry anymore," Rion said, wiping Anwen's tears.
"You're not mad at me, are you? You don't hate me, do you?" Anwen sobbed.