깨진 사이클
2장
━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━
소피아와 나
Sophia and Me
"Where are you going?" I asked Sophia, who was walking away from the imperial palace grounds with a mischievous smile on her face. "Town" she answered with a giggle, not elaborating further on her sudden departure or her intent. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, my curiosity piqued by her secretive response. What did she plan on doing in town? Was she really going there all on her own? Is she leaving me here all alone? The possibilities filled me with a strange sense of unease, and yet, a little bit of excitement.
Arriving in town with Sophia was a whole new experience for me, as I was accustomed to the quiet surroundings of the imperial palace. The town was bustling with life, filled with people shopping, eating, and having fun. Upon noticing the stars in my eyes, Sophia simply smiled. "You hungry?" She asked, and I nodded, as I had yet to have a proper meal since I essentially decided to not eat lunch. With her question, my stomach began to grow more famished and I wondered if Sophia had a plan to get a meal for the two of us.
Hand in hand, the two of us walked through the bustling fruit market, stopping at a certain stall. Sophia picked up two apples and thoroughly inspected them with a smile on her face. As the lady selling the fruits inquired about the payment, Sophia merely replied with a simple and quick, "No." and then we swiftly began running again. As the townspeople gawked at the bizarre pair in front of them, I couldn't help but wonder where we would go next in this strange and nerve wrecking adventure where we are now criminals.
"Wasn't that just stealing?" I yelped, shouting over the noise of the crowd and the chasing lady's son. Sophia merely shook her head and told me to keep quiet with a devilish smile on her face. "Shhh! The inflation rate is too high, I'm doing the economy a favor" while her logic was questionable I was more focused ruining as we darted between the crowd, the shouting of the enraged boy close behind us. I couldn't help but think about whether or not we had made the right decision to steal some food, as the chase continued with no plan or path of escape.
"I don't think you know how it works!" I retorted angrily, trying to keep up with Sophia's running pace. "Stealing badly affects the economy!" I stated, attempting to educate Sophia on the effects of stealing. "You're just basically reducing the profit of that seller and all the other people that you've stolen goods from! Which leads to shrinkage" I explained, my words going in one ear and out the other. Sophia just laughed, seemingly unaware of the serious consequences of our actions. "I don't understand even half of what you're saying!" she responded carelessly. "Profit is a central driver of economic activity in a market economy! If there's not profit there's no economic growth!"the
We quickly changed directions multiple times, eventually losing the angry boy. Sophia turned to me with a smile on her face and gave me an apple, encouraging me to eat it. As I looked back at her, a sorrowful look remained on my face. "You stole these apples, I can't eat it." I said, hoping to make her understand the severity of her actions. Instead, she simply stared at me with disappointment, as if I was being wasteful. "Stealing is bad, Sophia" I added, hoping that she will see the gravity of her mistake.
With a deep sigh, Sophia looked back at me and brushed aside my concerns. "Listen Amara, the best things are the free ones, and besides" she smirked, "it's only two apples, they could always grow some more." I stared back at Sophia, who was already taking a bite out of her stolen apple. "But you stole these apples, they weren't free." I protested, feeling frustrated that she wasn't taking accountability for her actions. However, Sophia remained unfazed, seeming to be fine with what she had done.
All of a sudden, we heard the sounds of multiple footsteps approaching the alleyway we were hiding in. Sophia peeked outside and so did I. "Imperial guards." Sophia whispered.
We both stayed put as we tried to listen to the guards' conversation, however, Sophia also whispered to me, pointing out that it was odd that the guards were still looking for us when they already confirmed that nothing was stolen. "Let's run" she told me, with a sense of urgency, as she slowly began to make way out of the alleyway we were hiding in.
'Sophia and running' I thought with Sophia running by my side, I was reminded of how easily the world could change in a flash. As we ran, we found a seemingly abandoned house, which seemed a fitting place to seek shelter for the night. Once inside, Sophia and I spent the night telling each other stories about our lives, although Sophia was the only one sharing. It was a peaceful, but slightly chilly night, yet I couldn't have asked for a better partner-in-crime.
As the night drew we settled and stayed quiet for a minute before Sophia asked "Are you perhaps a noble lady Amara?" Sophia questioned me, as we lay in the abandoned house, she wondered if I was a noble lady, in which I couldn't help but give a small hum in response. "Since it would make sense." she added, "you were inside the palace and possibly the friend of the princess and I just took you with me and everyone is freaking out." She continued, her curiosity clear. With no response but her gaze I added slyly, "I'll tell you who I am if you tell me who you are."
"Well my real name is Sophia," Sophia spoke, standing up and lightly brushing the dust off her 'dress', despite her appearance barely having changed. "I'm not sure why you think otherwise," she continued, "But if you insist." she added, with a sly grin, not giving me a moment to speak, or perhaps even giving away her own true name. As I stood up as well.
"I am lady Sophia Alked Paget from the Ducul house, Paget." she spoke with so much elegance that I couldn't help but feel mesmerized. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance," she said, with a soft smile, before slightly curtsying. "Now if you believe otherwise, that's alright," she added, still keeping the air of sophistication despite being in an abandoned house. I couldn't help but be in disbelief that I couldn't recognize her as I stared at her in awe, before attempting to regain my composure.
As I regained my own composure, I curtseyed as well. "The pleasure is all mine." I said in a formal tone that was completely different from the one I had used previously, my expression showing no trace of emotion but a lovely smile. "For I am Amarantha Rose De Alger Obelia," I continued, my name now dripping with royalty. Yet, it felt strange to be so formal around her.
We looked at each other for quite some time before erupting in laughter, Sophia falling to the ground as our laughs echoed through the abandoned house. "So I basically kidnapped the princess!" she laughed, "by simply running away from a few guards whilst those well-trained assassins couldn't even lay a finger on you!" She continued in her giggle fit, rolling on the floor and holding her stomach in laughter. Her laughter was contagious as just as I had calmed down I was laughing again making a comment on her. "Your house Paget, renowned for their riches, yet their lady is stealing some mere apples!" She laughed with me while she wondered out loud. "How are we still not kidnapped yet!" We laughed before quieting down before we laughed again.
As the laughter eventually subsided and we lay on the floor, we were now face-to-face with each other. "Is it not weird that we five-year-olds speak more maturely than our age?" Sophia softly giggled, as she asked the question. "We matured quicker than the other children," I mentioned, "is my guess, but there is nothing wrong with the way we speak since all the children I have encountered, spoke in the same manner." I say. "But what's really weird is that we, with no hesitation, gave each other our real names," I stated, as a quick silence followed, which was interrupted by a burst of laughter.
We both laughed and giggled, enjoying our newfound company, despite the strange circumstances that led us to meet. We both felt a sense of comfort and relaxation in each other's company. Yet, I couldn't help but feel curious and question why I was having such a blast with a complete stranger that I had just met.
We continued on telling about our lives and our ups and downs this time I told my story as well and it was the first of days in a year I truly smiled and laughed and felt myself again, Sophia had brought me back.
Throughout our conversations, Sophia and I shared stories about our lives, both the ups and downs that we had encountered. This time, I too shared stories of my life where it was still bright. Sophia had truly brought joy back into my life, and as we continued talking, I realized that I had never truly felt so happy and myself again. I was glad that I had met Sophia, for she was the friend that I had always dreamt of having, and one that I would treasure for the rest of my life.
━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━
Authors note:
◈I totally forgot about the Royal Jeweled eyes but I'll fix it later
◈I'm losing the will to freaking google things, like I am this close to says random things that don't even exist
◈I hope you liked this chapter
◈Felt weird when I made it but a chapter is a chapter
◈I'm sure you've noticed from the songs I picked for the characters, I'm a Lana girly, but I also like Taylor Swift so you and the other readers will be seeing some of their lyrics in this fanfic(soon)
That's it, thank you for reading
-Tdencw signing off