The Princess of Aramanda

Frodangram

"I take a lot of pride in being myself. I'm comfortable with who I am."
~ James McAvoy

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People , pushed and shoved passed me as they walked from one stall to another. The little marketplace of Frodangram was overcrowded today because tradesmen from the other states of Aramanda had paid a visit to our little village.

The women closely inspected the jewels with their naked eyes and tested it's durability. While the men , glared at them behind their backs for they were taking too long at just one stall. If you ask me it was a very comical scene for the onlookers and I couldn't help but grin at them.

The children, right next to the jewellery stall, were seated on the ground laughing at the puppet's mimicry of their parents having a fight. They seemed to enjoy themselves at the trade fair which was held once a year.

I sighed , last year , was not a good year for the crops and the market price was so high that people barely bought anything and only feasted on the cultivated foodgrains they had. Very few people came to buy food last year. Dad ,luckily,  not only had food on his local stall but also had herbs and sanitation products like dusting cloths etc which helped us survive the year.

Since we didn't have enough money as savings , my mother refused to buy anything from the trade fair even though my my dad insisted that she did. Mum , refused to even go near the trade fair in fear that she might buy something which is why she sent me to the well to collect water.

It was midday , and I knew that they would be there, I did throw a tantrum when mum asked me to draw water from the well but she gave me stern look which said 'You better go draw water from the well or else ......'

"Esther !" Dan said waving his hands to catch my attention , which broke my chain of thoughts. The tall boy with jet black hair grinned back at me as I walked towards him. He was once much shorter than me, but now he's shot up and is taller than I am now.

He was a popular topic amongst the girls of Frodangram , and he did have a lot of admirers of whom he wasn't aware of as far as I know. I personally felt that it was good that he didn't know , otherwise it would inflate his already inflated ego.

"Hey !" I said , with a small smile.

"You gonna buy something from the fair ?" He asked , carefully laying the carpet on the floor along with a few others.

"No." I shook my head as I explained to him about the marketing sales. He was a patient listener and flashed me a sad smile , as though he was sympathetic of my situation.

"I'll see if I can get something for you." He offered , tying up the carpets in a bundle so that his father could stack them in the wagon.

"There's no need for that. I only need you to pray for me to Amen so that I can avoid them." I said trying to lighten him up. He seemed pretty worried because of the marketing sales that I had spoken of.

"I sure will." He said in amusement,  as he continued to stack the rest of the carpets.

"I best be off and get over with it." I said with a smirk.

"Sure. And do come back wearing the latest frilled dress." He smirked at me waving as goodbye.

"Daniel Hilton, don't you dare remind me of my childhood." I shot back at him as I sprinted off.

The one thing that I hated about my childhood were the frilled dresses that almost chocked me to death. I was extremely comfortable,  wearing worn out trousers and shirt but my mother refused to see her only daughter dressed up as a man. She always wanted to dress her 'little doll' in frilled dresses.

I refused to wear such dresses since I was nine and only wore trousers and linen shirts. They seemed more comfortable as compared to the corsets and the frilled frocks which were too difficult to handle.

The society, highly resented my form of clothing , especially,  the elders who gave me frequent looks dislike and disgust. As time passed people got used to it but once in a while , I did hear them saying something on the lines of 'Who will marry her ?' , 'Back in our days things went this bad. Women were so much poised.' Etc.

I wondred why people were so obsessed with weddings and finding the perfect match. Why did they tell women to be submissive?  Why not men ? How are we any different from them ?

I soon found myself facing the old well of Frodangram , braking my chain of thoughts. The well was one of the oldest in the country and was used till date.

It's round wall was covered with ivy and green algae giving it a typical look of an ancient well. The little red shed over the well was worn out too and looked as though it might fall any second.

I quickly took hold of the bucket, tied to the rope attached to the pulley and threw the bucket in the well and caught onto the other end of the  rope.

Slowly and carefully , I pulled up the heavy bucket of water with all the strength I had in me. As I pulled the bucket , I looked about for any trace of their presence but today surprisingly they weren't here.

I pulled the bucket towards me and untied the rope. I sighed in relief when I saw that neither of them of were there and started to make my way from the village corner back home.

"Well well. Look who it is girls !"