They say there is always the calm before the storm, so simply put, the calm will come first.
Around the dinner table, which was not full most of the time, the small family finally gathered after a while of the eldest being busy. Everyone was eating in complete silence.
A very good family, the head of which is the old man sitting at the head of the table, next to him is his remaining son, and at a distance sat a woman who is the wife of one of his deceased sons.
The rest of the table was occupied by two girls and two boys whose average age was eight years. The atmosphere was gloomy, as if they had lost someone dear to them, but the atmosphere was comfortably silent, which was the norm.
However, quiet had no meaning inside that girl's mind, the place was noisy and annoying to her. If she had not barely restrained herself, this silent atmosphere would have been a fire.
Thanks, of course, go to the boy next to her, who gently stroked her hand from time to time. She really should thank her cousin later, otherwise I would have exploded.
"Is it still difficult to get seeds?"
The silence was interrupted by the grandfather sitting at the head of the table.
His son answered, he glanced at his remaining son and went to cut the meat on his plate.
"Only the most important seeds. We could hardly buy vegetable seeds during the wars."
"The important thing is to get the rest of the seeds before the wars increase further."
It was just normal talk about work, but it wasn't for a teenage girl, and the woman's question was the fuse that lit her head even more.
". Will it increase more than? From now on, deposits are expensive with a bad indicator."
The girl's gaze wandered between her grandfather, her uncle, and her mother, searching for information that would support her objection.
Her uncle answered normally. "Yes, it will increase. We are not talking here about a normal war, but rather it is about to be global, and therefore the need for food and weapons will be great."
"Yes, we already have a hand that controls the metals for weapons, but the problem lies in the food, right?" The middle-aged man nodded as he lowered the fork from his mouth.
His chestnut hair was shining under the candlelight, giving him a youthful appearance. He stared at his plate, his emerald eyes wandering.
"Exactly, all we need is food to boost our trade in addition to mining, and until the war ends and things return to normal, we will focus on the metal trade only..." It was just talk about work for the adults in the family, and there was no need for the girl to intervene, and yet it was not her.
She tolerates silence about her thoughts.
"But does no one feel guilty at all for those lives that were lost? Why can't there be a reverse pole to help people?"
From the head of the table, he shot the old man a quick look and a quick sigh escaped his lips. He expected her annoying granddaughter to intervene. For a few seconds, the question lingered. In the atmosphere, the caring mother, as usual, took the initiative to give her daughter attention.
"For them, war is a great thing. All parties will benefit from it no matter what happens. Unfortunately, humans have killed most of their feelings since the time has passed and it is too late to regain them."
The woman wanted to put an end to the conversation about the war, so she ate her food silently so that her daughter would not ask another question.
As if muttering to herself, she said: "But isn't it the duty of the rich to protect helpless people? My grandfather can help the miserable."
However, her voice clearly reached her grandfather. The patriarch of the family let out another sigh and raised his gaze to meet hers, and as he expected, he found her staring at him expectantly, with a sparkle in her eyes. Her blue eyes are serious.
While her cousin gently rubbed her hand under the table as if to calm her down. "Breathe slowly, Penny. Please don't make me angry."
Her cousin knew very well how impulsive and impatient she was when she wanted to object, and he also knew her grandfather's reaction to what she said.
She exchanged a quick look with her cousin, and the blue eyes they shared crossed. He was silently telling her to be quiet and close the topic.
She let out a calm breath to control her nerves and raised an eyebrow at him. He knew then that she was being stubborn and trying to pinch her nose until their grandfather carried out her wish, so he let her do what she wanted and promised himself not to interfere. She deserved the next reprimand.
She moved her eyes to her calm grandfather as if asking politely through her gaze, and she was not surprised by his response.
"You are still too young to understand things."
As if she had prepared the response before, she released her tongue to reveal everything that was on her mind.
"Grandfather, I am no longer young and I see life as rosy. I am fully aware of the magnitude of the disaster, and I know that you can do a lot, but you prefer to remain in the shadows without helping people, and leaving me as well will benefit others!!."
"Help any innocent people, it's a war! Or whatever it is! And just because I have some money I can't stop it and interfere in the country's affairs! And then! Stop fooling around and say what you want frankly!!"
Penny felt it was the right moment to say his purpose out loud, as long as her grandfather understood Whatever she wants, she can divorce her for her age.
"Grandpa! I didn't tell you to get involved in the war! I just want you to give me a chance to study better before the war breaks out!"
Her grandfather's tone increased as soon as he heard the same thing. This was not the first time she had ruined his nerves just so he could agree to send her to a boarding school!
"No! I will not let you go to boarding school! Here you have all the requirements for a proper education..."
"Seriously!, at least—."
"No! Whatever you say. No!."
She pursed her mouth and her eyes burned with anger at her grandfather's refusal. As a last attempt, her cousin gently wiped her hand and said in his normal calm tone.
"Be quiet, my grandfather is right, he is just afraid of you becoming a stranger."
Penny turned to her cousin with clear disapproval and a disapproving look.
"Think about it a little and don't be hasty. We are all worried about you?"
"Sev! You don't understand me either.."
her grandfather said, interrupting the quarrel that would start between them as usual, but he wanted her to be silent and get out of his head.
"Lubna de Lier, it is better not to talk about this topic again."
His voice was enough to stop the conversation and change the topic, but again... he knew what his stubborn granddaughter would say.
".Do you tell me that every time I talk about a topic?!. Damn, I've had enough!"
He furrowed his brow lightly and gave her a serious, stern look to keep her quiet.
"When have you ever spoken about a topic that is appropriate for you?! You always stick your nose into matters that are bigger than us! You also search for something that only annoys us and exposes us to anxiety! I am here who has had enough of you."
He was well aware of the nature of his granddaughter who looked like him, stubborn, reckless, and quick to anger. So, without caring about table manners, she stood up impulsively and hit the table with her palm.
"You always blame me. I don't know why you can't stand a word! I just wish I could disappear from here so you could rest!"
She stamped her foot on the ground angrily and raised her hand as she cast one last look at her grandfather and her mother, who looked at her with a dissatisfied look while her uncle shook his head tiredly at her annoyance and continued eating his plate.
She couldn't bear to stay and let her anger bubble up any longer, so she hastily left the table, hitting the floor with rebellious steps, as if to annoy them even more.
When the sound of her feet faded, and she heard the violent sound of the door closing, her grandfather realized that she had been planning to object for a while. He scratched his forehead and let out a long sigh to calm his nerves.
"We must not talk about this topic in front of her."
From the youngest to the oldest, they shook their heads in dismay at what the stubborn granddaughter had done to the prisoners.
The eldest of them quickly went to the head of the table and grabbed the fork again to finish his meal.
He got used to his granddaughter's stubbornness and started finishing his food really calmly.
"But my grandfather..?" And this time, he was not prepared for his eldest grandson. He knew how quiet this boy was and when to reveal his thoughts. Pay attention.
"Didn't that war end a while ago?"
He took a minute to understand his eldest grandson's intention, if he knew about it, then why did he hide the matter from them? Even he knew about this from the beginning, but his other granddaughter did not leave room for explanation because she wanted a loophole to present her desire to him and insist.
The grandfather could hardly prevent an angry smile from appearing, and stared deeply into his grandson's eyes to read, How knowledgeable is this shrewd boy of the things around them?
"No, it's not over yet."
The grandfather waited for a reaction from his calmer grandson, and he actually found that his grandson knew more things.
The way he smiled was enough to explain the matter. Despite that, the boy said politely.
"But the news says that it ended a long time ago, because it was not originally war."
The rest of them paid their attention in surprise. When Saif spoke calmly now, he could have silenced Lubna a little while ago, but his grandfather was more aware of what his grandson meant.
"What is the source of this news?"
The boy was silent when his grandfather asked him until he found another side to the matter. .
"You can let her study outside, Grandpa."
His grandfather raised his eyebrows sarcastically, "I thought you were aware of that? You, in particular, know why I don't let her study outside the house! It's enough to disturb her in the manor!"
His grandfather looked at him with a final, scornful look, but he did not break eye contact. As if to say, Grandpa, you deserve to be pushed into a corner because you upset little Penny.
"I understand you completely, grandfather..."
The ghost of a satisfied smile hung on his grandfather's mouth as he held the fork.
"I'd better see you in my office after dinner tonight."
The grandfather shook his head helplessly from his other grandson, not waiting for an answer from him.
"I will."
But Saif was really polite.
*****
"They don't leave me any room to reach my goal! I'm tired of all this ignorance about myself! Why! Doesn't the damned life leave me a chance?!"
Penny was sitting on the edge of the closed window, staring at the green fields next to the palace while muttering obscenities from time to time.
She put her leg on the window and rested her shoulder on the glass. She looked truly miserable.
. "Damn_..."
She was interrupted this time by a knock on the door of the room. The tone of the knock was familiar, of course, especially for one person.
"Enter."
The door opened and her cousin came out with a gentle smile that did not fail to make her feel at ease as soon as she saw him.
"Rioting allowed?"
She automatically smiled at his light joke in response to his sincere smile, but her great anger did not dissipate so quickly.
"Not now, I'm in a bad mood."
Saif entered slowly and approached the bed, standing close to the window, a slight worry on his face stemming from his love for her.
"You didn't finish your dinner."
She pursed her lip like an exasperated child and turned her head to continue staring out the window.
"I no longer have an appetite. I really deserve it. I will learn not to wait for this old man for dinner again..."
"This is rare. Penny leaves food! Please someone tell me that the sun will rise tomorrow!"
She smiled at his dramatic way of mocking her, and continued her complaining.
"My dear grandfather has ruined my appetite, I will sleep with an empty stomach because of him!"
Looking at her childishly pursed mouth, Saif laughed and sat on the bed continuing to stare at her.
"It's okay. We can sneak into the kitchen at night. I also can't stand sleeping on an empty stomach."
And again he smiled back at her with his kind words to her. She has a really wonderful cousin.
She got down from the windowsill and sat next to him: "I don't have an appetite as long as he's there."
"Innocent lives are dying."
"Abstaining from food does not stop the killing or bring back the innocents."
He was silent for a moment, furrowing his brow with a sarcastic look.
"I would like to say that this war is not real, but you are just engaging in the drama. There is no need to use it as an incentive to leave you studying abroad."
"Wait! What?!"
Saif smiling contentedly and looked at him upset.
"From the beginning, it was just skirmishes between most countries.
No one died and there was no war, so your argument seemed weak."
"But...but didn't people take precautions before? Believe me, I thought the war had already broken out and I had to provide myself with a decent education before the situation got worse."
Her cousin tilted his head indifferently while his lips were decorated with a slight smile.
"Humans are like ants. When they see a battle about to take place, they quickly plunder and disappear."
Penny took a minute to think, how could her cousin, who was only a few years older than her, know about all these things? While she does not know anything about herself except her name.
"Serdar? Where did you get that information?"
She lowered the smile and stared into her eyes that were like his own. "I have my own sources."
Penny stood up, a frown between her brow.
"What sources are those? Serdar! You are very mysterious and hide a lot from me."
There was no room for her to doubt her cousin, the closest person to her in this house, but she was suspicious of him for a moment without wanting to.
Serdar gave her that comforting smile and took her hand again so she could sit down.
"You know I took over some tasks from my grandfather?"
"Yes, I know, but you know more things than my grandfather himself."
"Penny, we're rich."
She closed her mouth in incomprehension.
"..."
"Money can get anything, even information.
She asked in surprise after realizing it. "So? You spent money to get that information?"
He answered simply as if he was used to it. "Yes! That's how it goes."
She broke eye contact when a pressing thought came to her mind. She closed her mouth for a while, and Serdar was with her. Even the silence between them was understandable.
"Serdar... I would like to tell you something..."
Serdar met her hesitation to reveal her thoughts and encouraged her.
"It's okay, I am listening no matter what you say..."
Serdar patted her hand affectionately and she leaned on his shoulder, thinking whether he could Did he really let go of that hand if he knew the truth?
"Your kindness is really a problem. Your great conscience stands as a barrier to prevent you from continuing with logical actions."
She did not know why Serdar suddenly said that, but he seemed as wise as usual and wanted to advise her with everything he had so that she would not get into trouble.
"Has kindness become a problem for Saif?!"
She also wanted to share what he said, perhaps she would really benefit from his many wisdoms as if he had lived a thousand years.
"Kindness is not a problem, but the problem is those who take advantage of your kindness in a bad way, such as your conscience, for example, in addition to it being a source of pain when you want to achieve something in competition with someone."
He had a point...
Her kindness is indeed painful. Her feeling of guilt over things that have nothing to do with her is painful.
Despite that, she was not opposed to feeling guilty. As they say, she suffered to learn.
She is one of the few people who loves to help, loves justice, and does not believe in the value of money because it does not buy happiness.
But her point of view on life was different. She looked at things analytically, searching for a result. She was thinking seriously. A person did not think at all.
Saif expected that she was so immersed in her thoughts that she did not notice that black shadow that quickly passed through the balcony.
He said cheerfully as he stood out of sight of the balcony.
"Can we have a round of chess?"
She smiled at him sincerely and nodded hurriedly, erasing all previous thoughts and returning to her simple point of view.
*******
After playing several rounds without determining the winner, on the chess board, the black horse moved to knock down one of the soldiers, followed by the advance of the black king, attacking the white king, and thus the outcome of the last round was decided.
".I won!"
Saif raised his hand cheerfully and a rare wide smile appeared on his mouth. After five rounds, he finally won three to two.
"Okay! Next time I will win!"
Serdar was silent for a moment, staring at me deeply. I could read his eyes.
This scoundrel was challenging me! He is truly a strange person, even more so than me. He has the opposite temperament to me. He is often quiet, and I and Calm do not know each other.
He also has a mind older than his years. Sometimes I feel that my grandfather's mind is younger than his. Even though he has not yet reached eighteen years of age, his appearance is older than his years, in addition to his wise thinking.
"Maybe!"
"But I will definitely win, one day for you and one day against you."
He smiled comfortably and played with the Black King with his fingertips.
"Yes, you are right."
I said arrogantly and brushed my hair back from my shoulders.
"When did I make a mistake?!"
"Always."
"What! Stop lying!" He shrugged indifferently and narrowed his eyes as if to say, "Do you think I'm lying?"
"I admit that I am hasty, but I am not mistaken in many matters."
He asked sarcastically: "Really? What kind of stuff is that?"
"Wait, wasn't I right about the thief, the bully, wheat production, the garden, and the school."
"Most of them were half right!"
I impulsively grabbed my black hair and stood up. It really annoys me! "Saif, stop evasiveness and admit the truth!"
He said surprised, increasing my anger. ".What truth?"
I stood on the bed and grabbed his charcoal hair. I wanted to take out my anger on him since he continued to provoke me.
"The truth is that I was right in those incidents. Don't you remember the man with the step 'I discovered the trick!', or the lying charlatan you fired! Or any of those things!"
I tightened his hair as I said every word until I felt some of it being pulled, and Serdar, in pain, was silently trying to pull my hand away, but I did not give up and kept holding him until he despaired of letting go of his hair without getting a satisfactory answer.
" Well, well, Penny! In all matters!!"
I smiled contentedly and stopped pulling the dark hair.
"Now let me go, please!"
I let go of his hair, then gently combed it with my hands, putting it back as before. His hair was softer and darker than mine, and easy to tangle..
"You pulled my hair, stop pulling it, otherwise I will become bald."
I said jokingly at his complaining when I felt satisfied. Who got on his nerves.
"Well, I can't imagine you being bald. You'd be ugly then."
He stuck out his tongue and said arrogantly, imitating my previous behavior.
"Haha, you made me laugh. I will remain handsome even if all my hair falls out."
He ran his hand through his hair in a princely manner, as if to tease me. I laughed heartily at his sarcastic appearance and asked, does he really look like princes?
"Serdar, I will really love you even if you are bald. You will always be my dear brother."
His calm aura returned again and he said with a slight smile without looking into my eyes.
"Good then, I can check on myself."
"You can! You are safe in my heart, buddy!" He looked into my eyes for a moment and nodded.
As long as there was a sword in my heart, I would love him no matter what. This is what I always told him as a covenant between us because we shared the same blood. , I believe?
I move towards the door with the intention of opening it
"I'll go now. You should get some sleep."
I sat on the edge of the bed and objected. I didn't want to sleep at all and thought we would spend some time until we snuck out together.
"It's still early, Sev, I'll be sleeping in an hour or so anyway."
"Relax, good night."
"Where to?" He grabbed the doorknob and opened it, stepping outside.
"I'm going to my grandfather's office for a while. I'll finish some papers there and then go to sleep."
I hummed in response and waited for a moment for him to close the door and leave. Before closing the door, he said seriously, giving me his usual wisdom:
"We are the only ones who know our own feelings and know our details, so be accepting of yourself in all situations. Think about your own needs and desires to feel comfortable."
He did not give me a chance to speak and closed the door and left, leaving me lost in the clouds of thoughts.
I did not allow myself to get lost any longer in this multitude of thoughts, and without wasting a moment, I grabbed a notebook and pulled out the pen, filling it with ink.
The pen fell on top of the papers, writing down what was on my mind.
And let's not forget today's date.
[October 14th, 1899 Tomorrow will be my birthday, then I will be fourteenth.
The years of life pass, day after day, and we do not feel them until our stature is taller and our mind is more mature. Is ignorance a blessing or a curse?
Maybe it's a blessing because you don't know the things around you and so you stay inside your peaceful pink bubble.
Or perhaps a curse, because once the ignorance fades, your pink bubble will crack, revealing painful things.
Despite this, I find something curious within me. I like to be informed, and at the same time I want to explore more and more..
I know this is a crazy idea, but it will remain on paper and in my mind. I really wonder if I can rule this world one day and make it peaceful. ]
********
Inside the chief prisoner's office, whose furniture was a monotonous brown color, and like any velvet bed at this time, the place was decorated with antiques and numerous paintings that were lined up on the walls and placed on the desk.
"Don't lose hope, it's still too early to lose it!"
Villain de Lier sat behind his desk and crossed his fingers with a seriousness that belied the sad look in his eyes as he stared at his remaining son sitting in front of him.
Tears trickled down his eyelashes and his son lowered his head, resting it on his palm.
"I'm tired, father! I'm tired! There's nothing left for me! And now I can't find the simplest guide to reach her!!"
So-and-so understood the despair of his only living son, and how much he wanted to heal this pain from him and find the reason for his anxiety!
"We will find her, my son. We will find her..."
So-and-so muttered as if he was consoling himself before his son. He could not leave him in this state, but his son needed to be alone to control his thoughts and bear his sadness and the scars of his soul.
The remaining son stood up after wiping away the remaining tears and stared at his father with a blank look.
"I will try not to lose hope, I will continue searching no matter the obstacles! I will find it, Father... I will find it for sure."
His son turned and left the office while repeating
"I will find it"
like a sleeping lullaby to convince himself and plant more optimistic thoughts in his soul before his mind.
It was only moments before Serdar entered and stood in front of his grandfather with his usual stoicism, exchanging silent glances with his grandfather, until his grandfather spoke.
"You better sit down, son."
He sat quietly in front of him on the chair, his dark blue eyes waiting for what his grandfather would say.
"Listen to me carefully, I know that you are an intelligent young man and have a great mind."
He focused his sword on his grandfather's words and quickly decoded his speech.
If his grandfather started saying this, he would most likely advise him after threatening him.
"Yes, grandpa."
"So I have the responsibility of your deceased father, your father was carrying the mind itself, but you outperformed it with a young age, your mind is distinguished from your ancestors in all honesty. "
"Thank you, my grandfather, I can."
His grandfather launched a sigh as if he tried to bear this burden on his shoulders without revealing it.
"I would like to advise you in all honesty, I am satisfied with your responsibility and not be an intrusive, focus on benefiting yourself."
he formed a quiet feature and separating his lips trying to keep his sobriety tone.
"I did not intrude anything serious, I just care about the affairs of the family, all that matters to me is to be safe .. "
" Surdar, I am not a fool so that I do not realize what is going on around me. You are smart but you lack experience and knowledge, believe me until I fail in some Things."
His grandfather is not a fool so that he does not realize his many ways to collect information from all over and he does not deny that it is necessary to make a mistake to reach the right.
" I wanted to make a point for you, your search for information without benefit to us, we, as you see, areolated from the capital and the nobles. Therefore, you find any information that was without a personal goal, realizing well your desire to maintain our isolation, but we must be related to life around us.! "
His grandfather's tight eye is examining the body of his grandson's body, for what extent did this young man arrive?
"I know this and understand your point of view, and you also know that I want your interest, right?"
"Yes ... I understand that."
His grandfather held a stand and marched a few steps in his wide office, watching him Sev for a while before he followed him.
His grandfather approached and put his hand around the Sev shoulder and began to walk slowly toward the balcony on the ground floor.
"Your stature is long, my time, I am afraid that you will get longer in the future."
Smile Smie and remedy it quickly, his grandfather changed the subject with the intention of completing it later.
"Yes, my growth has not stopped yet, I think it will continue except that the origin of the twenty -fifth."
His grandfather made a light laugh and raised his shoulder as if he counted the size of the muscles under his grip.
"You will compete with me in length more than this? Oh my God! I am afraid that my grandson will be longer than me!"
"I don't think I will compete with you so much."
The two silences to his righteousness until he found Serdar himself standing in front of the garden, his grandfather escaped his shoulder, with all the monotony he put his hand behind his back and stood in a straight and steel back. She was really a solid stop describing the aura around him as a noble man.
His grandfather broke the silence with a serious tone that contradicted their previous joke.
"How are the mining conditions in the East Mountain?"
Saif quickly became serious and his mind activated to think only about work.
"We have made good progress."
His grandfather gave him a quick look to confirm his grandson's credibility.
"Were you ordered to enter the mountain?"
His grandson answered smoothly. "Yes, I thought there would be more resources."
His grandfather turned with a proud smile that carried more mysteries than it revealed.
"So, did you get the idea right? You probably thought about it for a long time!"
His grandson's eyes bore a strange coldness, but his grandfather was accustomed to this type of look when he struck an important point that his grandson was hiding.
". Yes."
Saif contented himself with his brief response, an idea came to him then. In Benny's opinion, he speaks very little, as if he finds it difficult to speak, he finds himself only liking the smallest words, and yet he thought that his cousin was so innocent? When will you realize that being talkative is a rare skill? His grandfather's question pulled him out of his little idea.
".Did you find the artifact?"
He was silent for a moment, then took two steps next to his grandfather. He hesitated to answer, in the end he was not sure of what he had reached.
"Yes, I think we found him."
A satisfied smile appeared on his grandfather's face, and Saif thought: Will he regret saying that later? untain?"