Forbidden Love

A Boy In The Hilltop

    "Errrr, almost there..." whispered a little girl to herself while trying to sneak out of the window, "And... YIPEEE IM OUT!" She exclaimed as she successfully got out and started climbing down the walls of the castle and ran to the woods. "I can finally find my friend butterfly again!" She said to herself while skipping peacefully in the forest.  After a few minutes, she reached an oak tree where a butterfly was resting. The little girl smiled happily, and was about to climb the tree, but the butterfly flew away. "Ehhh, where are you going? Come back!" She exclaimed, and chased the butterfly around the woods. She jumped little by little, trying to catch the butterfly, but it only avoided her. The little girl grunted and kept chasing the butterfly, until it reached the end of the forest where it flew upwards, and the girl couldn't find it anymore. "Aww, why won't it let me hold it, i thought we were friends." She said as she sat down on the grass and crossed her arms while pouting. "Hmmm, maybe i should just explore this place, i can probably find another new  butterfly to befriend." She thought, then she stood up and began walking around the hilltop. She saw many flocks of birds, a few boulders of rocks, and some trees and small shrubs. "Why are there no butterflies?" She said sadly as she continued walking.  Not so long after, the little girl got tired and sat down on a nearby log, and stared at the sky above her. It had the shade of dark pink with a few puffy clouds here and there and a vague shade of purple. 

"What are you doing here?"

The girl heard a voice behind her, and checked who it was. It was a young boy, maybe at least a year older than her or less.  He had dark blue hair and wore a teal coat and black pants.  He didn't seem very happy, he was wearing a frown on his face.  The little girl stared at him and smiled, "I'm looking for butterflies to befriend with." The boy sighed and approached her, "There are no butterflies here, only birds hovering around." He answered as he sat down beside the young girl. "Why not?" She said in a sad tone, "This place is very pretty, the butterflies would love to stay here!"  The boy let out a sarcastic huff and said, "This place has almost no trees and plants except grass, butterflies need flowers to live because the nectar in it is their food."  The little girl's eyes widened, "Wow, you're so smart!" She exclaimed, "Do you always study?"  "Well, somehow." Replied the boy, "I have to study hard so i can enter the Magic Knight Academy." The girl stared at the boy and asked, "Why do you wanna be a knight? If you become one, you can die early because you have to protect the royal family and the citizens with your life." The boy slowly turned his head towards the little girl, "I don't really know why, it's just my ambition." He replied.  The girl giggled and laughed out of blue, which made the boy raise a brow and cross his arms, "Why are you laughing? Are you making fun of me? Like how the others do?" Said the boy with a serious face. The girl shook her head, "No," she answered, and giggled again, "I just found it funny that we're so comfortable talking about each other's likes and dislikes when we don't even know each other's names." She laughed again, and the boy chuckled, "I didn't realize that actually." He said.  The girl smiled at him and sat closer to the boy, "My name is Anica, what's yours?" She asked politely. The boy became silent for a few seconds, but he soon answered her question and said, "I'm Ryker, Ryker Sanders." Anica smiled sweetly and began hopping, "YIPEE I HAVE A NEW FRIEND!" She exclaimed joyfully.  Ryker just smiled at her and she soon sat down beside Ryker again and sighed, "It really sucks to be in a royal family, it's very strict! It's my first time to have a real human friend you know!" She said in a happy tone.  Ryker's eyes widened, "You're from a royal family?!" He said in shock.  Anica nodded, and Ryker smiled brightly, "I never knew that I would meet a princess in a very bad day!" He said as he laughed. "Bad day? Why? What happened?" Asked Anica. Ryker looked at her with sad eyes, and soon hopped off the log and laid down on the grass and stared at the sky. Anica hopped off the log as well and sat down on the grass nearby Ryker. "Well, you see, me and older brother are both orphans, our parents died in a wolf attack two years ago.  I was just five that time, and my brother was nine, no one wanted to take care of us, so my brother just works for random people that need help from their businesses or work. We weren't as rich as other people, but we could manage. It was my ambition to be a knight, so I usually go to the nearby local library and just read books there like I'm in school.  My brother would give me a silver coin every day so I can enter the library, and I would gladly take it, he supported my dream to be a knight one day very much, and started saving money so i can enter Magic Knight Academy when i turn thirteen.  Just earlier this morning, I went back home from the library, where i found my brother, lying on the floor..." Ryker paused while holding back tears, "He was dead..." he continued, "There was a stab wound on his chest, and blood kept flowing out of it. I tried waking him up but he won't, the neighbours tried helping me but, he was already gone... if only I stayed home today, i could've done something to save him." Ryker started sobbing and drew his knees to his stomach and curled up like a ball.  Anica stayed quiet for the next few seconds, but she soon started patting Ryker's back, "The word 'if only' can't do anything, sometimes the truth is really painful, but we just have to accept it so we can avoid it to happen next time." She said in gentle and caring voice. Ryker wiped his tears away and sat up and looked at Anica, who had her arms open wide, offering him a hug. Ryker gladly accepted the offer and Anica hugged him while patting his back again gently.  After a few minutes, Ryker stopped sobbing and pulled away from Anica, and they both stood up from the grass. Anica looked up at the sky and pointed at it, "Look at the sky, it looks so beautiful, but its shades are sad." She said.  Ryker glanced at her and then to the sky, "What do you mean?" He asked her. Anica put her hand down, and said, "Well, if you look at it in nature's perspective, it is very beautiful, adding the birds dancing above there, but if you look at it in color's perspective, it's sad and gloomy. Look at the colors, it's both dark colors."  Ryker raised a brow, "Pink isn't a dark color." He said. "Correct, but its shade of pink is. Can you say dark pink is still a light color?" Anica said as she fixed her gaze back at Ryker, who was still staring at the sky.  "No." Answered Ryker while looking back at Anica.  Anica smiled and turned and started skipping, "Which means its sad just like you. Why do you think?" She said.  Ryker thought for a while, but soon shook his head saying, "I don't know." Anica looked back at him with a smile, "It's because of the bad people who keep doing evil things. The sky sees everything, and I'm sure it was upset when your brother died." She said, "That's why I think your decision to become a knight is great, because one day, you will be the one to save the ones who need help in protecting their loved ones, just like what happened to you. You can help them avoid what happened to you today. Don't worry, I'm your second supporter since your brother was the first!" Ryker smiled at Anica, and walked towards the end of the hilltop, "You made my day, Anica. Thank you." He said, "I promise you, one day I will become a knight, and I will serve under your empire and protect those who need protection. I'll meet you again soon, thank you and goodbye, Anica." Ryker turned and jumped off and used his magic power to make wings and he flew away back to his home, most likely.  Anica smiled and headed back to the castle since it was already evening.