Upon the Flying Ship: Rewritten Records of the Illiterate Author

Chapter 2

A few days before...

Zelda sat on her bed. Four-poster, king-size, red-curtained bed. She was listing reasons to run away.

"ZELDA!" That was her father. Unlike her always-busy mother, he always had time to yell at her. "Your suitor, Lord Patrick, is here!"

There was a perfectly good reason! Her parents managed to pick the worst suitors, from Duchess Sneezlebeezle from the North West 'Leans to Lord Patrick from the West North West 'Leans to Bishop Canary from South East 'Leans. They were so focused on finding her a future husband or bride, she figured out that she could excuse herself from anywhere, at any time, using the phrase "I have to meet Lord or Lady so-and-so, she might propose!"

Of course, whenever her parents found out that she hadn't been doing whatever she told them she would be doing, they got mad. And, of course, that didn't stop them from falling for the same excuse all over again.

Yet, every time she disappointed her parents, an unexplainable gloom would settle in her bones. Like when they couldn't figure what her Mark meant, or when a suitor was caught trying to drown himself in the lake.

And Zelda knew what would hurt her parents the most. Refusing to continue the West 'Leans Legacy. And she really hated that legacy.

The legacy of hurting people to the point where they stopped resisting. Holding everybody in an iron grip.

A Great Kingdom where nobody fought (We're going to fix you one day, Northleans!).

A Great Kingdom where everybody worked (South 'Leans! Your crops will be multiplied greatly! Little farms eliminated! What do they even do?).

A Great Kingdom where the Gods were worshipped only as much as they were supposed to (No more money shall be spent on useless churches! One church is good enough per God).

Northleans Island wasn't even worthy to be mentioned, with absolutely nothing ever happening in those crystalline waters.

Running away from your problems? Maybe it was the only solution. At least she wouldn't be seeing her disappointed parents.

The only reason West hadn't yet taken over everybody was the DSS. Zelda thanked all her lucky stars for the DSS. It kept the countries working together like the stitches in the canvas of the continent.

Another good reason for running away was Zelda's younger brother. Even at 13, he was an obvious candidate for the throne; and a much better one than the elder child. Even his mark had more to do with the throne, unlike hers.

And, since her parents never paid too much attention to him, assuming that Zelda would stay the perfect princess, freedom, to him, was second nature. He wouldn't be trapped in the iron grip of her parents.

And, he actually wanted the throne. Zelda wasn't sure why.

Her maid walked in right as she was about to begin contemplating reasons to stay.

"Zelda." they had long since tossed away formalities.

"Isa. I'm running away." For all her life, Isa was a friend, a caretaker, and someone to share her troubles with. But now, Isa was a sign. A sign that came just as she was about to decide to stay. It meant that her choice was the right one. 

Her maid gaped at her. "Darling! How come?"

"You know me, I hate this place. Isa, help me. Please."

Isa thought about it for a couple seconds. She took a deep breath, her hands at her hips. Then she looked Zelda square in the eye. "What can I do?"