I never knew how fast time could pass till the festival came. There was soo much to do and I had soo many new people to meet. Not only that but I had to spend all my day together with Alex and Ryan, my two brothers. No matter where I would go, they would always be there. Thankfully I managed to get rid of them and hid in the garden. It was really beautiful here.
To the left I had soo many roses and to the right I had an entire flower field which was definitely something else to see at the back of the garden. Then there were these high trees which looked easy to climb. Of course I couldn't help myself and climb up hiding right there. I just had enough of all the people. Since I came into this world, I've been soo busy that I couldn't even relax at all.
I did like them all. They were all nice and all but I just wanted some time alone without Emi or anyone at all.
The other day I was together with Alex and he insisted that I would go with him to look at his swordsmanship lessons. He was really skilled. I was quite astonished over how the fight is in real life. The swords were sharp as well. If it would be me, I would probably be too scared to actually get this in my hand or get hit by it. It would hurt for sure.
Alex on the other hand might be small but he was definitely above the rank of the teacher. Something I did notice was that I could see some light around the sword. I tried asking Alex carefully about it so he wouldn't think I was crazy and it turned out to be something they called a mana sword. Well I didn't really get what it was all about but I knew that it should only be in one color and that one should be light blue. However I could see them in soo many different ones as well. The teacher had a light orange one and Alex himself had some bright red one. At first I thought it was just the color that was different but soon I realized something else.
As I watched them fight together, I noticed that the more power one put into the sword, the color would change. From my observation, I think red was somewhat of an aggressive color but in reality it meant just low power applied. Then the orange one was actually a bit more and at one point I saw a blue one which broke Alex's sword. That was the clue to all this. Blue meant that the power was at its max and the teacher just applied at that as a last resort back then as well.
It was clear that Alex was really good with the sword. However when I watched Ryan and Alex fight each other, I couldn't believe my eyes. My older brother was a zillion times better and it was really something else to watch them fight for sure. They were not only fast but used their ability as well.
One would say this was straight out of a movie and I would totally agree with that. This was definitely not normal but by now I did get used to the unusual. How could I not if I wanted to survive. I had to learn the ways around here as fast as possible after all. If I wanted to live and survive and change this damn book's content, then I needed to not only know my way around but also get a lot stronger.
The only good thing about me being here was that the actual book's content would play out in about 18 years. I remember that it was mentioned that Alex was around 18 years old. Then again there was also the fact that Ryan would die early on. Just a lot to worry about but for now, I could just try and get them to get stronger while encouraging them to go beyond their own limit. I didn't know if this was a good thing but I believed that it would definitely help them.
"Sigh"
"Princess!!!"
And there they are again...
I was just about to think what to do.
I need a plan to survive after all.
Why can't they leave me alone for now?
"PRINCESS!!"
The screams were getting louder and louder and I could tell that my maid Emi and the butler were looking for me. I on the other hand didn't have any plans to get out of my hiding spot. This was just the perfect place to hide and relax. Why should I give this up just to spend some more time to be together with more people. Didn't really make any sense at all.
I feel kinda sorry for them but I need some space.
I need to think about a strategy for the festival tomorrow.
What should I do...
What if I mess up?
What if he doesn't like me?
What if I am useless?
Shit!
I need to think positively!
Worry started to creep up on me but lucky for me, I knew how to get rid of it. There were soo many instances when I would worry too much. I remember when I was a bit younger, I would worry about the future all the time. At some point I would also think that all that I was doing was for nothing and that I didn't have any talents. I thought that school was worthless but a necessity. My grades were average or so I thought while my family was always there encouraging me telling me that no matter what I would get, as long as I would pass everything is alright. Well that was really reassuring but when I started to hear about other family members getting angry over their grades, I started to worry unnecessarily all the time. I would feel guilty coming back with a grade just so I would pass. I knew deep down that nothing would happen but the stories I heard couldn't stop my mind from coming up with all kinds of scenarios. Was this normal? Maybe but for me that was hell.
This time was no different. There were soo many things that could happen and the worst was me dying. I just wanted to live and survive or so I thought but this week I was staying here, I learned to really love the people around here. Emi was such a good person and the butler too. They were attentive and would always look at me and notice if something was wrong. They were really something else. I could tell that they were not doing this because they were ordered to do these things but because they wanted to do this.
Come to think of it, thanks to Emi I managed to make a sword with a handkerchief but I still didn't give it to my father. The sword was hard to do but I gave up on the shield since it seemed impossible for now. I would definitely try again later but for now, I was quite happy with what I got.
As I started to hear the people's screams getting closer and closer, I couldn't help but think about my father and took out the handkerchief looking at it.
I should give this to him sometime soon.
I am really thankful to him.
I know I am just something he picked up out of curiosity but still...
I am really thankful for everything.
I mean how else would I get all these delicious things.
More than anything right now, I was just glad that they picked me up. However sometimes it just feels too much for me. Everything was luxurious and it was hard to get used to it. Of course I made myself clear that I wanted some shortcuts and didn't need everything. It didn't have any effect on them. On the contrary, the moment I said that, I got even more the next day. At one point, I just gave up. I still remember the day after we got back from shopping, I went to my father telling him, this was too much and that I didn't need that much. Little did I know that the same day, I would get half my room filled with things and my father coming over looking proudly at himself. Sometimes it felt like a competition between my brothers and my father to gain my father but that might just be my imagination.
"VIVI?!"
Now I could even hear my brothers calling out to me but I preferred to stay up here.
"I am so sorry..."
That was something I let out as a whisper. Of course I didn't think anyone would respond to this but who knew that there was someone right below the tree who spotted me and came over. Well I didn't because I was way into my very own thoughts.
"Are you okay?"
When I heard that voice, I immediately looked down to see a man in a uniform close to the butlers standing and leaning against the tree."
"Don't mind me. I am just talking to myself."
"Thanks."
"I can understand if you need some space and time for yourself. So don't mind me. I won't tell them where you are."
"Why though?"
"Why what?"
Why would you do that for me?"
"Hmm... maybe because I saw a nice birdy up in the tree which was cute and looked as if she needed some rest."
Did he just call me birdy?
"I've never seen you around. Is this your first day?"
"Something like that."
"Something like that?"
"Is there someone quite curious about it? I don't mind tell you about it."
"You don't have too."
"Aww and here I thought the little bird would love to know who I was."
A bit overdramatic but it was quite fine as well. He seemed disappointed but I could tell that he was just playing it and instead having his fun right there. I didn't mind it at all. In fact this made me smile at this situation and be just happy. He was definitely fun, I could tell that much. So I decided to play along.
"Hmm, I don't know, maybe this birdy knows a bit already."
"Oh what a quite intelligent bird indeed."
"Pff-"
"So tell me what you know about me. This is the first time we have seen each other after all."
"Hmm... but what if I don't want to?"
"Aww that's not fair."
"Alright, alright. Soo you are definitely well built which makes me think that you know how to use the sword."
He gasped a bit but I knew from looking at the knights and maids at this place that everyone knew how to fight in one way or in another. He wouldn't have the emblem on his shoulder showing that he belonged to my fathers servants and not his brothers if he was not a capable man. I knew my father quite well and if this man was here that could only mean two things. First one, he is one of the new servants that are assigned to me. The butler told me earlier that I would get two people to be around so I wouldn't get bored and help out Emi. The other option was that he was a servant of my father directly. That meant that this man was definitely no ordinary man at all.
"You are capable and talented too. AND you are serving me."
"Oh but what if I said, I was serving your father instead?"
"Isn't a servant of my father also my servant?"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I like that answer and you are right. I am your new servant. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How did you know that I am talented and know how to use a sword?"
"Well... you have calluses on your hand and you seem quite agile. I don't think an ordinary person would have found me up here. They are still searching for me."
"Good job figuring me out. I am proud yet also terrified."
With that said, he started to over dramatically shiver and walk a bit away from the tree. This man was really fun to watch and entertaining. I could tell why my father send him over to be with me. I was quite the quiet child after all and maybe I didn't seem childish enough but who cared about that. My soul was not that of a child after all!
"As you know, I am Viviana Underwood."
"Pleasure to meet you. I am Damian Rogfield."
Once again he did another over dramatical pose to bow to me and that made for sure everyone focus on this man but I also had enough and decided to jump off the tree. It was high but not that dangerous for me. I don't know why I was so sure about that but I just was. Besides I felt a lot better being somewhere up than on the ground for another questionable reason.
"OOOP! Careful! Don't jump down like that again."
Of course this servant caught me and then decided to twirl me around for a bit before letting me down on the ground.
"Haha... I am fine. Don't worry, this much wouldn't hurt me."
"How do you know that? You can never be careful enough!"
"I don't know how, I just do."
Before we started waking to all the people searching for me, Damian sighed in defeat as there was definitely nothing he could say more than that. Besides, it was time to meet up with my father and finally give him the handkerchief I made. If not now then when else? There was after all a chance that I would get kicked out by tomorrow.
"Do you know where my father is?"
"Probably at his study but Delca knows for sure."
"Delca?"
"The head butler. Didn't he introduce himself to you? What a thoughtless move! Tho he wouldn't usually make such a mistake."
"Ah no. I just heard it once and didn't remember it."
"I see."