Jenna, Brother Lothario, and I went to my playroom together. I take three dolls from the cabinet and distribute one to each of us. Their dolls are dressed as commoners, whereas mine is dressed as a hunter. Madam Ethel's boutique also provided the dolls' outfits. They have their own miniature wardrobe, which is kept in the playroom.
"Sit here, Brother." I tap the spot next to me. We're all seated on the floor, encircling the large dollhouse village that the Queen gave me for my third birthday. "You'll play the father, Jenna will play the mother, and I'll play your daughter," I say. "Once we start playing, no one is allowed to break character, okay?"
Brother Lothario nods his head while Jenna verbally says yes. I smile. Time for me to shine. I exaggeratingly took a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds before puffing the air out. I begin the roleplay by swaying my doll from side to side.
"I'm home!"
Jenna plays along as soon as the game starts. "Welcome home, darling." Her doll hugs mine. "Thank goodness, you've arrived."
"Thank you, Mother. How about you, Father? Won't you welcome your beautiful, smart daughter home?"
"Uh… w-welcome home." Brother Lothario says as he shyly picks up his doll and moves it up and down. It's clear that he never played house before. Jenna and I stifle our giggles as the redness makes its way to Brother's nape and ears.
"Come, come. You set the table while I prepare the food," Jenna says.
"Sure, mother." I sit my doll on a chair in the living room of the dollhouse. I move the doll's hand to its forehead and swipes the imaginary seat from it. "You don't know what I've gone through today, mother. I was hunting in the woods for our food, but I encountered a wolf. Look how torn and dirty my clothes are." I show the two dolls my doll's thorn and muddy clothes.
"Don't worry, darling. After we pay off our debts this month, Mother will make you pretty clothes. I'll make sure that you'll have the most beautiful dress in the village." Jenna taps my doll with hers. "In fact, I made you one already, although shabby," she says, pulling one of the commoner outfits from the mini wardrobe. "Here."
"Really? Thank you, mother."
I pick up a toy wolf and hand it to Brother Lothario. "Here, father. This is the wolf that attacked me. Although the rabbits that I was planning to catch escaped, I managed to bring back this wolf. Aren't I amazing?"
"Of course… darling," Brother stutters, addressing me in the same way Jenna does; it's clear he's uncomfortable and hasn't caught up to us yet, but he doesn't want to ruin the game, so he continues to play along.
"But you should take better care of yourself," Jenna says as she moves her doll around the outdoor kitchen. She lets out a sigh. "Mother regrets being a burden. I only know how to cook and sew. Your father lost one of his legs years ago when he was gored by a boar, and your brother is away. You're the only one this inept mother can rely on."
Jenna, who is now accustomed to playing with me, quickly creates a family history for the dolls. I give her a proud smile, which she reciprocates with an even bigger one.
A knock from the door interrupts us; Ash opens the door and walks into the room without waiting for anyone to let him in. He jolts and briefly stops walking when he sees my brother inside, but he doesn't pause for long, continuing on towards us and setting the tray of food he's carrying on the ground before sitting comfortably beside me.
"It's okay, mother," I continued the roleplay. "Helping mother and father sets my heart at ease."
"What's his role?" Brother breaks character, nodding in Ash's direction who now has a doll on his hand. "Is he supposed to be my son?"
Jenna giggles, and without breaking her character, she responds, "No, husband," causing Brother to blush. "Our son is away attending to some lord far away. A boar attacked you on your legs, not on the upper part of your body," she says, implying that because the attack was on his legs, he should not suffer a brain injury that causes him to forget about his own son.
"He's my boyfriend, Gray," I tell Brother Lothario.
"Nice to finally meet you, Gray."
"Shkrish," Brother shuts Jenna up, three vertical lines forming in between his brows. She frowns at him with her nose scrunched up, but he doesn't pay her no mind. "Boyfriend? What exactly is it?"[1]
"Lover. Paramore. Someone you love romantically," I answer nonchalantly.
"Yes," Ash agrees, his doll remaining motionless.
Brother finally places his doll on his lap and turns to face me, his brows knit. "Both of you are boyfriends?"
"No, Brother," I say. I clarify, "He's my boyfriend, and I'm his girlfriend," as I place my doll on the side.
"You're addressing me as Brother now, so our playtime is over… but why do you still refer to him as your boyfriend if our playtime is over? Nevermind that." He stands up and dusts himself off. "I suddenly remember that I have something to report to Father, I better get going now."
"Aww… it's okay. We can play with just the three of us," I say.
"No! No."
"Why not, Brother? It's only getting to the good part, there's already a backstory and everything. I plan for Ash and I to go on a journey together."
"Together? Just the two of you? Oh, no young lady." He waves his index finger at me. He is annoyed. "Why are you referring to him as Ash? I thought he's Gray?"
"But Ash is Gray"
"No. Ash is not Gray. He cannot be Gray."
"Just —" Brother clears his throat and points at Ash, "You, come with me."
"Why? My playtime isn't over. It's not fun if there's only the two of us left. If you take him, who's gonna be Gray?"
"Jenna can be Gray. I'll even be Gray if you want. But not him. Never him," Brother's voice is full of authority and final.
"But I want Ash to be Gray," I insist.
"That is why he needs to come with me. He needs to be there when I tell Father about… the chickenpox."
"But we're already done with the chickenpox— Brother!" I shout as he pulls Ash up to his feet and out of the room.
I hear a giggle and I look over at Jenna as her laughs become louder and louder. She slaps the floor hard multiple times with her palms as she whizzes hysterically.
"What's wrong with you?"
Jenna wipes the tears forming in her eyes while controlling her giggles. "Nothing, Saridayang. It's just that I find you adorable, all of us do."
I roll my eyes at her and slap her hands away from my cheeks as she pinches them. When I tell her I want to bake cookies, she smiles and rushes to tidy up the place while I wait for her on the couch.
"Should we make strawberry-flavored cookies?"
"Yeah, Ash loves strawberries."
"We should make a lot then." She offers her hand to me and I gladly take it.
Namayana Palace is divided into three residences, one of which is the main residence and the other two are side residences. Mother lives in the main residence, which has four floors, whereas I live in the eastern residence, which is much smaller and only has two floors. All personnel live in the basement; I've been there, they have all the basic necessities and aren't cramped or damp, it's not a shabby place, it's actually decent. Sir Jigis, two knights, and all of my personal attendants except Nanny and Jenna, live on the first floor for convenience. Nanny and Jenna live with me on the second floor. There's a small garden in front of my palace and a large open field behind it where we played Butterfly the other day. Ash lives on the western side; I haven't been there because Ash is always the one who comes to my place, but the layout of the building is the same as mine.
We descend the stairs to go to the kitchen on the ground floor.
"Why doesn't he like chocolates? Chocolate is better than strawberry. A whole lot better."
"Because Ash is allergic to chocolates."
We descend the stairs to the ground floor kitchen. "How come he doesn't like chocolate?Chocolate is better than strawberry. Much, much better.
"Because Ash is allergic to chocolates."
"I know, but why? I pity him; he has no idea what he's missing."
"Then you can just eat more chocolate for the two of you."
I look up at her and stop walking. "That doesn't work that way!"
We arrive into the kitchen and see them chopping up meat and vegetables. "Ah, Saridayang! Here to bake cookies again?" With a big smile on his lips, the Head Chef asks as soon as he sees us walk in.
"Yes. I'm gonna bake cookies. Strawberry for Ash and chocolate for me."
He pats the sides of his apron to dry his hands. "Well then, come in," he says as he leads Jenna and me to my own station in the kitchen, away from the throngs of cooks.
Nobles, especially royals, don't usually go near the kitchens but I enjoy baking pastries with everyone. In my previous life, I was never successful at cooking a meal or making a dessert, but I'm trying to change that now since I have experts to guide and teach me. At first, they were reluctant, but quickly relented when I told them I would only be watching while they baked. However, as the days passed, I gradually began to assist them, and it soon became normal for me to bake cookies with everyone.
Three cooks came to assist us. We talk about random things while playing around as we bake cookies. Everything that happened in the playroom earlier only sank in on me when we're almost done baking the cookies. "Brother doesn't like me calling Ash my boyfriend!" I shout, catching everyone's attention.
Jenna, the only one who knew what had happened, burst out laughing. She tells everyone what happened in the playroom in between laughs, and by the end of the story, they are either busting their heads off or stifling their laughter.
Once everyone calmed down, I asked Jenna, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you're just too cute, Saridayang. You were so clueless," Jenna says, as she controls her laughs.
Celia, one of the cooks I am close with, takes a sip from the ladle she's holding. She smacks her lips to get a better taste of the soup she's making before putting the ladle in the sink and stirring the soup with a new ladle. "Jenna is right, Saridayang. You are adorable. The moment I heard about Danamuda questioning Prince Ash's role, I immediately thought that our Prince was jealous."
"Jealous? He's not jealous, that would be incest— why did he say that he'd be Gray?! That's incest!"
Another cook, whom I am unfamiliar with, agrees with Celia. "Indeed. No matter how royals begin maturing at a young age, Saridayang is still a child. Children are adorable when they're young. To old people like us, everything a child does is adorable."
"Hadidi," Parvo says without looking. He is the most handsome and strongest kitchen personnel in my residence. He slams the dough on the counter twice and kneads it. He looks at me and says, ""I suggest you halt all plays and other activities involving a romantic relationship with Prince Ash… or any other male."
"I feel bad for our Saridayang. I mean no disrespect, but I think our Princess will die unwed. The King and all her brothers are super protective of you, they may turn away all your suitors in the future," Sassa says as she whips the cream calmly without losing her focus.
I scrunch my nose and sigh. "But I got him in trouble. Will Ash be alright?" I ask Jenna, going back to the topic at hand.
"Of course, he will be. Why wouldn't he be?"
"Because I have a delulu father and a batshit crazy brother?" I ask sarcastically, thankfully, none of them understands me.
"Do not worry, Saridayang. He won't get in trouble for as simple as that. Besides, you may have forgotten about it because he doesn't act the way he's supposed to and we don't treat him as such, but Ash is a prince. He's a child of royalty, just like you. No one can touch Ash just because they want to," Jenna reminds me.
Yeah, Ash is friendly and they treat him as family. I forgot that he's also a prince because of his friendly demeanor.
Jenna gives me a full piping bag and takes the empty one from my hand. I set it down and let the others continue baking.
"But Brother said that he's gonna report to Father. He's probably gonna report what happened earlier. What if Father does something to Ash? Father is overprotective of me. He doesn't even like it when my brothers come here to play with me."
"That won't happen. His Majesty cherishes you, he won't let you feel sad. I am sure he won't do anything to Ash because he is important to you and His Majesty knows that you'll get sad if Ash gets hurt."
"Do not overthink, Saridayang," Sasa chimes in. "Let's just focus on baking the cookies for now so that you can give Ash unburnt beautiful cookies when he returns."
However, Ash did not return for another week. When he returned, he appeared haggard, with visible dark circles beneath his eyes. He had clearly lost weight, and it was obvious he had been unable to care for himself for the entire week because pimples and blackheads had appeared on his once flawless face. He was so exhausted that he didn't even greet anyone when he returned. He went straight to his residence and slumped his body on the bed and didn't even change his clothes or remove his shoes. He even forgot to close the door of his room due to exhaustion and slept for two-and-a-half days straight. Thankfully, after much rest, his physical condition gradually returned to normal.
—
[1] Shkrish = short term for the word shkrishi.