A week have passed from the time when I’m saved from the shipwreck. I’m waking up when the skies still dark, the stars still visible in the darker part of the skies, sun just starting to showed itself to the world, light brighter for every second passed, when I’ve reached the beach where the nun saved me before.
I’m able to meet the nun when I’m taking a walk in the beach yesterday evening because I have nothing better to do. I asked her if she knew the nun that saved me before, with the sands. She answered with a nod and its turn out she is the one who saved me.
I said my thanks, asking if there’s something I could do to repay her kindness, and she shakes her head and smiled, saying that it was unnecessary because its what a sisters supposed to do. Helping people, with the movement of her hand—surprising me a little.
We walked in the beach and having a small conversation. She seemed like a nice women, telling me her reason to became a nun is because her parents want her to learn how to became a proper lady, and being a nun is something that will keep her purity until the time of her marriage, they said. We talked a little more, me being a Prince doesn’t seemed to bother her a tiny bit.
When the skies getting darker, I escorted her to the church where she’s undergoing her training not far from the beach, and I walked back to the palace, having dinner and my mother’s nightly nagging, and goes to sleep. Or tried to.
Tossing and turning in my soft bed, trying to finding the better position to get comfortable and be able to sleep. Counting sheep’s doesn’t worked, neither the warm milk I drink every nights or the boring books I read. Usually, I’ll be changing position on the bed for a few hours before I’m tired and finally drifted to a dreamless sleep and waking up before the sun have the chance to rise, where I begin to taking a walk in the beach without any guards with me. Not like that its unusual.
Today too, is the same. I’m just walking mindlessly, feeling the sands on my feet, barefoot. The air still feels chilly on my thinned clothed body, but its give me a pleasant feeling, somehow. She the sun finally begin to showed it self from the mountain in the east, and I watched it with a small smile on my lips. Appreciating the natures beauty.
It doesn’t last long though, because I heard some sort of wailing and pained sounds from the middle of the beach where a few big rock resides, exactly where I’ve been found unconscious before.
I’ve immediately running to it, thinking that it was some injured animal, maybe a baby whale or the like. My imagination shattered when I saw a man curling on the sands between the rocks, almost passing out from his pain. Somehow he’s sparking with the lights that reflecting from the things I assume was fractions of glass, until I’ve come closer and realize that it was scales. Hundreds of beautiful light blue scales surround him, reflecting the light of the sun with a colorful patterns, something that I’ve never seen before.
But they are not important right now. The golden haired man that getting wet from the seawater looked so miserable. He wear a simple white clothes and pants that sticking on his body from the water and sweat. There’s no smell of alcohol coming from him, so he’s not drunk. He makes a weird sounds that I heard before, making me more worried. The man complexion is so pale. His body shaking so badly from his pain. I tried to raise his body, but he doesn’t seems to be able to move with this condition.
I put one of his arm in my shoulders, using my hands to grip his arms and using the other to balance his body and trying to picking him up, although I’m tripped and falling down with him because he’s heavier than I though. His eyes almost fluttered shut when I reached him before, but when I tried to make him stand for the second time, he seemed to focusing his light blue irises eyes to me. He opened his mouth, trying to talk, but no voice coming out, and he mouthed something that I read as a name before he falling unconscious completely.
Kevin. My name. But I’m not that sure.
I half dragged him to the palace, sweating and having a difficulties to breath, before one of the guards spotted us, and I guided them to take him to my room and to get Hagen to take a look at the stranger.
Hagen arrived shortly afterwards, face with a questioning looks and I told him about the man I found on the beach and his conditions before he passed out. Hagen nodded, and told me to drink a glass of water to calm myself, and changing my clothes that getting dirtied when we fallen before and waiting for him to finished his examination.
I don’t have the time to feel relaxed though, because the news of me taking in a stranger have reached my parents ears that have just waking up and getting ready to breakfast.
They called me to the their room a few minutes after I changed my clothes and asked—scolded—me about the stranger and my carelessly and stupidity. I listened silently, and when they done, I told them that he was in pain and looked about to die, even though I’m usually just keep silent. There's something about the man that get me feeling attached to him, and want to keep him close to but of course that answer won't do me any good.
We argue for a while until my brother, Kennet, that just walking in and have heard our conversation told them that if the man tried to do something suspicious, they can just chase him out of the kingdom, or exterminate him. We still don’t know who’s that man or where he’s from, maybe he’s from a faraway kingdom and having a shipwreck and stranded like I did.
Our parents seemed to considering that fact and finally agreeing to let him healed at least and decide what to do with him afterwards.
I mouthed "thank you" to him when our parents doesn’t looking and he nodded in acknowledgment, smiling at me, which I returned.
We then go to the dining hall to get our breakfast, and then coming together to my room to taking a look at the now conscious stranger that sitting in the bed with his back at the bed board.
He looked so serious when Hagen said something to him, and his eyes darted up to meet mine when we walked in. He looked so much better than when I first saw him, although he’s still pale and looked tired. His eyes though, is something that I can’t looked away, a beautiful light blue irises eyes that changed from the serious look to a kind of happy, almost exited eyes that shone brightly, like a little boy at the candy stores.
He smiled widely at me and I smiled warmly at him, which made his checks flushed red and he looked down to his hand that had been playing with my white blanket that covering his body to his waist. I make a questioning look, wondering if he’s feeling unwell again.
We sit on the couch on my room that have been moved close to the bed, while Hagen and the stranger staying on they place because the stranger still feeling unwell.
Hagen told us that he’s fine now, and whatever have got him to be in pain before have gone, somehow, which I thanked about. The problem is, he still weak and he can’t talk, can’t write or understand sign language, but he can understand what we’ve saying, which is good. They tried to ask him several questions, which he answered with a nod or a shake of his head.
From what we gathered afterwards, he doesn’t know where he lives, how he’s in pain on the beach or even his name. He got nothing with him except for his clothes and a bag of some rare precious stones and pearls inside, which gained a surprised look from mother and father. The stranger noticed that too, and he gestures to Hagen to give it to me.
Why me, I don’t know, but of course I would have declined if mother hasn’t accept it on my behalf. She loves to collect the stones, but some of it is hard to get, and expensive. I saw her eyes filled with greed when she held the bag. Kennet looking away with disgust, father pretend he didn’t see it, and I could only sigh.
She’s saying that he can staying as long as he like until he healed, and other things that he doesn’t seemed to listen. Father will comply with her wish, however, so I guess its fine. They will prepare his clothes and a room for him, so I can get my own room back, and he’s nodded.
I though I saw him rolled his eyes after they leave and I chucked at that, which he noticed and I earned a grin from him.
The only ones that staying is Hagen, checking his condition and all, and I walking close to the bed side, looking at him and he looking at me.
I ask Hagen to ask him if its okay if I get to know him more, and the stranger watching us with confusion, eyebrow raised higher than the other one. Hagen told him what I want and he nodded slowly, still staring at me with confused expression. I get that look so often I can’t even blame them.
I smiled when he’s nodded, and raising my hand to Hagen, making some small moves, and he’s translating my hand gestures to the stranger. I watch his eyes widened, with wonder or shocked expression, I don’t know.
“Since you don’t know your name, Prince Kevin ask if its okay if he called you Sven. What do you think?”
He still staring wide eyes at me, but nodded. I smiled more brightly at him, and I saw his face flushed red again, and my hand quickly making a few moves that I’ve used to do since I small, urging Hagen to translate it to him, and raising my hand in front of him, asking for a handshake.
“Thank you Sven. My name is Kevin, the second Prince of this small kingdom, and I’m mute. I wonder if we can be friends?”