[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: ARCADE INSTRUMENTAL VERSION ~ DUNCAN LAURENCE]
Oriana was carried to the waiting carriage where her family now got ready to leave. She didn't know what happened, as she was absent during the entire event, but her father looked very angry. The girl trembled, thinking it was because of her, but her sister didn't even notice her presence.
When the royal family arrived at the palace, the King entered his room angrily and was chased after by his wife and first daughter. Nobody paid attention to Oriana or even asked her what happened, neither did they notice the red band on the girl's leg.
"Princess Oriana, let me draw a bath for you. Would you like to eat something?" A maid asked, looking at the girl with pity. If she wasn't familiar with everyone from the royal family, she wouldn't have been able to call the little girl in front of her a princess. She would have passed as a maid.
Oriana nodded, "Yes, thank you." She said, walking inside the palace. That was when she heard her parents arguing.
"Why would she talk to you like that! Even if Orion is small compared to Morado, Almaria is becoming wild!" Oriana heard her mother's voice.
The girl inched closer when she heard the kingdom Morado, it was the same kingdom the young master had mentioned.
"Shut up Saline, you shouldn't have provoked her. We are trying to see if her son would marry Sophie and you ruined it!" The man sighed tiredly.
Oriana watched her parents pace back and forth, wondering what it was that got them so worked up that they didn't scold her.
"There's only one way," Oriana heard her father speak, "Almaria is a dangerous woman, we should strike before she does." King Curtis said.
"What are you doing there?" Princess Sophie asked, getting her parents' attention.
Curtis and his wife stepped out to see their youngest daughter standing close to their door.
"What is the problem?" Saline asked her eldest daughter.
Sophie started, "I found the troublemaker eavesdropping on you and Father." The girl said with a tone of disdain.
"I wasn't eavesdropping," Oriana defended herself. Not like she even understood what her parents were talking about.
The King looked at his daughter for a brief moment, without saying a word, he walked out. The man barely spoke a word to his last child, and even if he did, it was always short.
"Who is there, take Oriana to her room. I am not in the mood for her right now." Queen Saline rubbed her forehead tiredly, not taking a good look at her daughter to see that she was injured.
A maid stepped in, carrying Oriana into her room to wash off. That was when she noticed a burn close to the girl's upper leg.
"My Princess, what happened to you?" The maid asked worriedly. It was almost an abomination for a princess to have even a small cut on her body. It was said to be a bad omen.
Oriana looked down at her leg, where the wound was now festering obviously going to leave a big scar. "It was hot buns," the girl replied innocently.
"Oh my," the maid covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm going to clean it up, but make sure nobody ever gets to see this part of your body. Okay?" The worried maid asked.
Oriana nodded her head in agreement, even though she couldn't quite understand why the maid was panicking over a mere wound.
After having her bath and her wound covered, Oriana decided to go visit her grandmother.
"Nana," the girl hugged the older woman the moment she entered the room, resting her head on the woman's bosom.
"If it's not my Little pup," Oriana's grandmother said, happy that one person still thought of her in a palace where everyone was waiting for her to finally bite the dust.
Oriana sat up, "Nana, I went out of the palace today, and I met someone." She informed excitedly.
Her grandmother coughed, "Did you now? Tell me about it."
"His name is young master, he said I was unladylike because I fell and got up on my own. And I told him, it was a lesson you taught me." Oriana narrated to her grandmother. "Also I had a burn on my leg, I was trying to take a hot bun and it fell, look at it." The girl raised her dress to show her grandmother.
The older woman struggled to keep her head up when she saw the burn would eventually become a scar she sighed. Oriana was quite a special child, with a heart of innocence but the woman was scared of what her life would be like being surrounded by her family who only cared about the crown and nothing else.
"You had quite an adventure today, Little pup. You made a new friend and also got a medal of bravery," she said, pointing at the girl's wound.
Oriana furrowed her brow, "You mean this is a medal of bravery? But the aunt servant that helped clean me up said I should never show it to anyone, she looked afraid of it."
The Queen mother chuckled. "It's only the weak-hearted that would fear it, and I tell you. That servant is weak in heart, one day this medal of bravery would turn into a scar, and guess what?"
"What?" Oriana asked excitedly, she always loved to listen to her grandmother.
"Little pup, scars leave beautiful traces," her grandmother said with a smile that caused the corners of her eyes to crinkle.
Oriana touched her leg gently and muttered the words to herself, "Scars leave beautiful traces." She nodded. "That means I'm beautiful!" She exclaimed.
"The most beautiful," the older woman couldn't help but agree. And she wished she would live longer to see this child grow, but her body only got weaker with each passing second.
Oriana basked in the compliment her grandmother gave her, when she remembered something.
"Nana, do you know about a prince named Icarus?"
The Queen mother was surprised to hear the name from the girl, as she was still young and everyone in the palace knew that Oriana didn't listen to her governess or pay attention in class.
"Where did you hear the name?"
Oriana pouted, "I told you I met a friend, Nana."
"Oh, oh, his name is Icarus?" The woman asked, feeling a slight headache rising. As much as she loved spending time with her granddaughter, that didn't mean the girl wasn't a handful.
Oriana shook her head, "No! My friend's name is Young master, he told me about a prince named Icarus. He said if I continue to pursue freedom then I'll drown like the prince Icarus." The girl narrated.
Even the Queen mother was stunned by the words she heard, "Your friend must be quite sharp-witted," and she wondered who it was who said this to her granddaughter and what brought about the conversation.
"Are you saying he is right, Nana? But you said I can live freely that way I want because I'm special." Oriana whined.
Her grandmother struggled, and she finally sat up to face the little girl, "Oriana, you won't drown if you chase your freedom. Icarus drowned because he became proud and went close to the sun knowing his wings were made of wax. But not you, my little pup, if you continue to keep your innocence here and remain humble," the woman said, touching the girl's chest.
"You will never be Icarus. But listen, my little one, everyone has to go through a storm sooner or later, but no one has ever been lost to the storm, just lost in it. Remember that."
Though young, Oriana was happy to hear that she wouldn't have to drown while seeking her freedom.
"Thank you, Nana," she hugged the woman tightly before wishing her goodnight with a peck on the cheek. "See you tomorrow, Nana."
The Queen mother smiled, "See you tomorrow, my little pup."