"Listen to me!" The prince shouted as he held on to the girl's wrist.
"You are the delicate rose, and I am the thorn. I promise you, I will destroy the one who tries to lay a single finger on you."
"What if- What if that person is you?"
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿...
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"Capture her!" A man cried with a firm voice.
The sound made her flinch. The girl gripped onto the chair's armrests tightly as she continued to scan her room. A loud thud was heard as she gasped and tilted her head to the side. The pair of her brown eyes fell on an antique book. She slowly got up and reached for the book. She picked it up and examined the old book for a while.
When Aera was a toddler, her grandmother used to tell her stories, which certainly had a bad ending. She often asked the old woman if all the stories of the Prince and princesses end with the death of one of them or even both of them. The old woman would just smile weakly and head to her room, having the book of fairytales in her arms, leaving the girl dumbfounded.
In the dark midnight, Aera and her grandmother were the only ones in their house as the little girl's mother and father were off to visit her sick uncle. A few steps could be heard. Aera shot open her eyes when she heard a slight knock on her door. It was no one, but her grandmother with the book of fairytales in her grasp.
"Grandma!" The little girl cheerfully jumped off the bed and made her grandmother sit on the bed. "Stories?" She said, pointing at the book as her grandmother nodded and opened a page. "My dear, I did not come here to narrate a story. But...If you are asking me to, I shall tell you one, don't you think the same?" the elderly woman spoke as she glanced at her granddaughter.
"A short story would work!" the girl cheerfully said. No wonder how was she active in the mid-night. "So, I shall begin."
"This was not kept here before, or was it?" she wondered.
She ignored it and kept the book on her bookshelf. She proudly examined her bookshelf. No book was related to education, just novels or some tales. The girl then glanced at Chip who was already in a deep slumber.
The girl checked the time, it was already 10 pm. She did her night routine and went to sleep.
The bedroom was full of snores, she was often a sound sleeper. Turning to the other side, she felt someone licking her sunkissed cheeks which caused her to wake up. "Chip why you!" she shouted in annoyance before covering her face with the pillow and facing another direction.
A moment of silence. Thinking that the little fluff ball was gone, she threw the pillow down her bed, and Chip jumped on her.
The girl was living a happy peaceful life, graduating high school at the age of 17 with a high score of 94%, and who would not be contented if you have a pet in your life?
She got up from the bed, got freshened up, and wore her tracksuit to go for a jog with Chip. She plugged in her earphones and played her favored playlist. She was jogging until her nose met with a scent of roses, which was coming from a park. She opened the old, rusty door and entered the place. Finding no one around in the park felt unreal.
She took out her smartphone to take a bunch of memorable pictures. "Exquisite..." she exclaimed. Unbuckling the collar of the little pup, she set her free for a while.
Chip was running around, playing in the grass and, it felt like he was amazed to be there. She smiled and recorded him playing. Suddenly her phone turned off. "I remember charging it yesterday," she spoke to herself. Trying to turn it on, it was not working.
Her lips left a sigh as she kept the smartphone back in her jacket's pocket. No one was there except them in the place so, she felt unburdened for Chip. She walked a little more distance, complimenting the roses of different colors and shapes. Some roses would be blooming. Meanwhile a few would stay small and new.
The girl was lost in her world, not aware of the surroundings she banged her foot on one hard surface and fell on a rock. Luckily, her hands held her weight and, she did not get hurt. "My foot!" she hissed. Aera sat on the soft grass as she examined her throbbing toe. She got up with the support of the rock, which probably felt like marble.
The black marble had some letters engraved on it.
╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗ Ein Geschenk für die Sieben Prinzen von Aekasa. Kaiser von Deutschland gratuliert zum ersten Jahr der sehnsüchtigen Freundschaft von Aekasa und Deutschland. ╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝
Before she could even figure out the text engraved a voice startled her.
"Miss, may I know the reason for you being here?"
A guard, dressed in an imperial ensemble thundered while gripping on his sword. "I thought this garden was open for civilians," she mumbled, clear enough for the guard to understand.
"This is closed. Please take your belongings and leave this place as soon as you can. I shall lead you the way to the exit," he loosened his grip on the sword and stepped aside. "Have you seen my puppy?" she questioned the guard and he nodded. "I tied him up with a rope to a tree," he said as he started walking and the girl slowly followed him out.
"There is the way in front, you may go." The guard spoke before respectfully bowing at her. She was weirded out. "Thanks—I guess." She stepped back and smiled nervously before the guard shut the door with a loud bang.
"I wish Chip, I wished you were really big and strong to carry me back home."
Chip tilted his head and the girl sighed in disappointment. "I still love you, don't worry." she mumbled before starting to walk back to her place.
Even though her foot was hurting, she managed to walk.
Her house was a few lanes away. She stopped at her track.
The man's voice resembled the one who yelled the words in her mind. Also, the attire of the man matched the one who took Haruki away.
The girl spotted her neighbor. "Mrs. Gwan! Can you drop Chip at my house? Please?" she requested her.
"Yes, yes sure. What is the matter?" The middle-aged woman held on the leash. Not answering the question, Aera bowed and ran.
"Kids are so impolite these days."
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Aera had a sharp memory, she knew where to go. She followed the whole path. Supermarket, food stalls, houses, children's playground but no sign of the garden. She remembered that the garden was in front of a plain plot covered with grass and plants.
The plot was in front of her, she turned around and...
Gasp!
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