Chapter 14: Tia the naive girl
Tia went down on her knees too like the girl. Was something dangerous coming and everyone was required to kneel? She had no ideas but Maggi always told her it was better to be on the side of caution than regret.
"Why are we kneeling, my friend?" Tia asked her.
"I am before royalty. I am required to kneel, your royal highness"
Tia blinked and point to herself
"I am royalty but do I need to kneel with you? My legs are not accustomed to it" Tia told her.
"No, Milady. You are not required to kneel before me"
"Thank goddess then, maybe you shouldn't knyee either. You are my first friend…may I be as bold as to inquire of your name, friend?"
"Mira…Mira Mansa, Milady. I am the blacksmith's daughter. May I ask my princess where she plans to go next?" Mira asked Tia.
"I don't know. Can I go with you?" Tia asked her.
"It wouldn't be to your deserving…my house, I mean but I can take you to your father. Walk with me, Milady. If we make it to my cottage, my papa may allow us a horse to get you home"
Tia and Mira walked in silence for a while before Mira started talking again.
"There was rumor that the king's daughter died alongside her mother in childbirth but many believed the child survived but out of grief her father hid her from the rest of the world"
"No, mama died because the dragons attacked our kingdom. She was brave and kind, everything I hope to be one day, Mira" Tia explained to her clueless new friend.
Mira blinked. Was the king hiding his daughter under a rock?
Soon, they were near her cottage and she was inviting the princess into her home.
Tia looked around the smallest house she had ever entered and she tried to in as much detail as she could.
The old wooden table and the chairs were placed strategically in every corner. The animal head on the wall that made her frown and a few scrolls on the table.
An older woman came out of the inner room. She was an average beautiful woman with a little scar on her forehead.
"Mira, I see you brought a friend"
"Mama, the gods have smiled upon us as my good friend here is king Cypher's daughter. She is Tiamat Cypher-Dumont, princess of the Midland"
Tia saw the woman give her a look and she smiled warmly at her.
"Please, sit down. And Mira, help me with something outside"
"Yes, mother"
The woman grabbed her daughter's hand and she was pulled outside.
"Mama, you are hurting my hand"
"Is something wrong with your head? Where did you find that delusional poor girl?"
Mira hardly had time to answer when they heard horses coming towards the Cottage.
"Get your father, hurry Mira!"
Mira took off towards her father's workshop. And soon a huge man with a fork bead came rushing towards his wife.
"What is going on? Why are they holding the king's symbol?" Mira's father asked no one in particular.
Everyone was quiet as the Knights on the horses approached.
One came down and approached them.
"We've come for the princess. Produce her at once!"
"What princess?" Mira Father asked.
Tia came out of the Cottage and suddenly she was surrounded by brave knights and she giggled like a child. They were just like the ones in her story book.
"Papa heard I ran away. Am I in trouble?" She asked the leader.
"Come with me, your royal highness" he grabbed her and lifted her on a horse. Then he dropped a bag of money on the ground.
"You never saw the princess. Do well to remember that, blacksmith or else…`` With that the knight rode off with Tia safely placed on the horse.
When Tia got to the real castle, her eyes widened in excitement. She has seen more people today than she has in her nineteen years of existence.
"Take me to Papa" she told the knight.
"The king is dining, my princess. We should wait"
"Oh good, I'm quite famished too. Maybe I will join Papa. Take me at once" Tia tried to sound brave like the princess in her story book.
The man led her to the royal dining hall and she pushed her way in without waiting to be announced. She saw her father and she ran to him to hug him.
King Cypher was both outraged and surprised. He turned to his knight.
"Why is she here?" He asked his knight.
"You asked for the princess to be returned to the castle, your majesty"
"I meant her castle, not mine!" The king snapped at him.
Tia frowned. Her father seemed angry at her appearance.
"Papa, are you not overjoyed to see me?"
"Of course, Tiamat but now, you must return to…"
Tia was distracted from what her father was saying when she saw that he wasn't alone in the dining hall. Two identical looking lads and a woman older than herself was there with him.
She frowned and stared at them.
"Who are they? And why are they dining with the king?" Tia asked and pointed at them.
Cypher cleared his throat and turned to face her.
"They are…"
The king was interrupted when another voice spoke.
"I am Linda Dumont, Queen of the Midlands and these are my sons Joseph and Joshua Dumont, princes of the Midland"
Tia laughed nervously at the joke. She looked at her father so he would laugh too but he didn't.
By the tooth of Thor, it was true.
"They…they are your family?" She asked her father.
Cypher's gesture for the whole room to be emptied except for the royal family.
"Joseph and Joshua, they are my brothers. I am overjoyed"
Tia went close to them and tried to hug them too but she was discarded by the likes of them.
"She really is an idiot, isn't she?" Joshua said out loud.
Tia blinked. What was it he called her?
"Linda, take them away" Cypher ordered.
It was slowly dawning on Tia but she needed to confirm it.
"Wait, I have a question. Joshua and Joseph, do they have their own castle for their safety?" Tia looked at her father.
"Can someone just tell her that she is cursed and she is not wanted here?" Joshua said out loud.
"Joshua!" His brother snapped at him.
"It's why father kept her hidden from everyone like an ulgy secret. When I am king, I will banish her!"
"Quiet boy! We leave for the highlands in an hour, I suggest you hasten and leave before I take a sword to your windpipe!" Cypher pointed to the door.
He watched his family leave and he turned back to his daughter. She was in tears.
"He is telling the truth, isn't he father? I am something you have to hide"
Tia turned around and she fled.