Her feet were so tired from walking, that the sandals she was wearing with mid-heels, which she was not used to, caused sores on her feet. She stretched out her legs after she took off the sandals and put them aside.
Annie talked to herself: "What am I doing now?" Am I waiting for someone to come or will I continue walking until I get back?"
She took a five-minute break. After that, she walked in her cotton socks, her hand swinging the sandals. The soles of her feet even turned black from the dirt.
Annie nagged, "Why is the fog settled now? ...This is not its time!"
Suddenly, she heard the sound of rustling leaves in the bushes.
Assuming it was solely a result of the wind, she disregarded it without giving it much consideration. Then the sound returned, but this time it was closer and clearer. Annie froze in place, terrified.
Annie's voice trembled, and in a tone full of regret, she said, "Why did I involve myself in this? ...Now a wild beast will come out and devour me."
She squeezed her eyes and buried her face between her palms, trying to suppress the fear that was building up inside her. Then she opened her eyes and looked through between her fingers, waiting for the scene that she had drawn in her imagination to end. But nothing happened, so she looked in front of her again.
Standing in front of her was a tall, handsome young man whose coal-black hair swayed with the wind, and his blue eyes sparkled like lapis lazuli. He looked surprised at first glance but soon showed an attractive smile, and she couldn't help but stare into it.
The young man tilted his head so that his face became close to Annie's, who remained covered with her face, and gently said, "No doubt you are horrified by my sudden exit... I apologise."
She quickly lowered her hands, uncovering her face, and took a few steps back, but the roots of a tree that were protruding up from the ground caused her to stumble. The young man grabbed her wrist until she regained her balance and stood straight.
Annie avoided looking into his eyes in an atmosphere full of embarrassment and said, "Thank you, sir."
But the young man bent down on one knee, took off Annie's sock, and examined her swollen foot.
Annie spoke in a surprised tone: "What are you doing, sir?" This is dirty. Don't do this."
The young man, minimising her reaction to the situation, replied:
"These are just foot sores. When I was on the battlefield, I used to treat ten times worse than this condition," he continued, examining the back of her foot, "It would be bad to walk on it."
He got up and wrapped her in his cloak after noticing that she had been trembling. Then he spoke, wondering: "What is Miss doing here in the middle of the Royal Forest?" By the way, I didn't ask you your name; I'm Henrik. What About You?"
Holding tightly to the hem of her blue dress, Annie replied, "My name is Annie. I got lost on my way to meet the King."
Henrik looked intently at her and said, "I don't mean to belittle you... But not anyone can meet the King, miss, and then he approached her a little and said, in a tone full of doubt: "Who are you?... I've never seen you before!"
"What am I going to say now? It's hard to believe the story I'm going to tell him. And at the same time, I'm not in a position to lie to him"
Remaining silent and hesitant about her answer, Henrik gently continued his words: "Miss... I'm one of the King's advisers; I'm going to the Palace anyway; you can tell me about your problem; maybe I can help you."
Annie replied bluntly: "The main problem is that I don't know what I'm doing here. I was at home and now..."
She did not finish her speech until Henrik interrupted her, putting his hand on his forehead, surprised by her vague words: "Wait a minute, miss!" Do you mean you met Felix?"
Annie eagerly replied, "Do you know Felix—I mean, Sir Felix?"
Henrik replied, "Yes, he is my friend. He told me about a girl the temple was after, so he sent a letter to the king to ask for help. I didn't know the details; I was in a hurry. But I didn't expect that I would meet this girl here," and then he added, "Wait a minute, are you a runaway from the Pearl Palace?"
Annie changed the subject and said, "The fog has cleared... You can take me to the King."
Henrik muttered after sighing resignedly at the situation: "I don't believe it!
Henrik whistled without warning, and Annie flinched and said, "Why did you...?", Not finishing her speech, she froze at the sound of a noise.
"What is this thing coming towards us?"
Annie was stunned to see a white horse coming out of the bushes as he began to walk towards Henrik, caressing him with his head as if it were greeting him. He began to gently pat his neck and back, saying, "Good horse!" "Well done, Aztec."
Annie repeated the horse's name in wonder: "Aztec!"
He walked towards her and continued his conversation while carrying her and putting her on the back of the horse: "Yes, Aztec is its name," he smiled, and then added, "I apologise for my behaviour... But your heels will hurt more if you walk on your feet, although there is not much left to get to the other end of the forest exit where the palace is."
Annie said in a voice close to a whisper, "Thank you!"
Henrik replied, smiling, "No need to thank me... Anyway, if you want, you can tell me the details of your story until we get there."
He kept walking, holding the horse's bridle all the way, and listening attentively to what happened to Annie, while she remained sitting comfortably on the back until the Aztecs arrived.
Henrik received a warm welcome from the royal guards, and through their conversations, it became clear to Annie that he was on an inspection tour around the kingdom, and no doubt he arrived from his trip today.
He grabbed my waist and gently lowered me, but he only put me on the ground for a few seconds to adjust my position and then held me between his arms. I was not used to such actions, wondering at the same time: Is it true that ladies are treated like princesses in a high society like this?
《We entered the palace like this, and while I buried my face in the palms of my hands out of embarrassment, everyone was watching the maids, the servants, and even the guards. But Henrik kept holding his chuckle, which made me even more annoyed, as if he were enjoying it. I noticed that we took a different corridor from the one I had taken with the head of the guard last time.》
Annie wondered, "This is not the way of the throne room, isn't it?"
Henrik answered intuitively, "Will you meet the king in this case?"
After looking at herself, she replied, "Yes, you are right."
"Looking at myself, I am in a catastrophic state. Some leaves are stuck to my messy hair; the dress is stained with dirt, not to mention its edges are wet with mud, and the maids will kill me if they see my condition after tiring for half a day in my preparation"
Henrik: "By the way, Don't worry about the maids and Madame Flora at the Pearl Palace; I told one of the guards to let them know you're with me."
Annie said in a grateful tone, "I'm unable to thank you for helping me."
Henrik: "I haven't done anything yet... Thank me until you meet the King."
《He took me to a large room with many shelves containing coloured glass bottles. 》
The smell of herbs was flying around the place. "Is this a medicine store?" Everyone is wearing a uniform, and they are all working so hard that they don't notice us coming.
《 We entered through a door that was at the far end of the room, leading to a small office, no doubt the archive, where they record medicines.》
《He put me on the edge of the bed; that was there, and then he got a tray with tools for disinfecting wounds. I didn't understand what he was going to do until he rolled up his sleeves, grabbed my feet, and started treating them. I remained silent in the face of his kindness. I could only thank him and look around the room.》
Henrik: "Tell me if it hurts you."
Annie:" No... At all. You don't hurt me."
《The atmosphere was calm between us. I thought about a topic to exchange opinions on and remove the tense atmosphere between us, but nothing came to mind. I would look intrusive if I asked him.》
Henrik lifted his head and cast upon her a smile that held a hint of brokenness, accompanied by sorrowful glances.
Henrik: "Do you know? If my sister were alive, she would be your age now."
I felt the impact of his words on my heart. I wanted to ease his grief, but I could only hug him, pat him on the back, and tell him that his sister was in a better place and that she would not be happy to see him sulking like that.
After they parted from their embrace, he gently brushed her hair and poked her little nose, then said with a bright face and grateful eyes, "Thank you for comforting me... You are a nice, sweet girl."