"I don't know what the future will bring. It became unpredictable the moment you stepped into my life. The past we lived wasn't ours, the future ahead is not existing - all we have left is the present. And you, you are my present"
In the 23rd centu...
"Have you heard the news?" The tea vendor at the marketplace sing-sang in a joyful tone as he was counting the bushels of tea herbs in my basket in the back of his shop with me. The air was warm from the steam of tea cauldrons juxtaposing the cold early autumn breeze which rung the small bells placed at the large windows from which customers buzzed into the already crowded small shop at the road next to the marketplace. "A royal delegacy is coming to town for the census. There is a rumor going around from Charles Ville that the Prince has been spotted with the delegacy." he paused with a small sigh "My girls are so exited. They are only seven but for them he is their Prince Charming" I just hummed in agreement deflecting the joyful conversation he tried to have. "Sure, that is definitely exiting." I added absent minded. My aching body kept my mind busy as it had been growling angrily the whole week and the fostering cut in my foot screamed in anguish with every movement. My right shoe, a simple brown leather boot I had been wearing for the last 2 years had given up on life as I had run the sole down which had left my foot exposed to a shard of glass. Having to pay for the repairs and the new soles was not cheap for me and getting a few drops of antiseptic was a far cry from cheap either. Leaving me with a whole months of earnings drained and having to sell most of my tea herbs to get by. Their scent added to the already almost overwhelming sweet scent of the man's tea which reminded me of orchards blooming in spring shed relieving some of my nausea. "How I wish my girls would be chosen for a life at the palace" the seller said hopeful and began his sing sang again. "Every young girl in town in hopes and dreams. What a joyful time indeed." I rolled my eyes. "Pff. I guess that's why everyone seems to be so happy this week and the market even more packed with people it was almost impossible to get through the masses. Clamour everywhere." The shopkeeper smiled and nodded. "Every ten years the palace goes around the country not only to count the people but to bring girls to the palace. To prevent inbreeding perhaps." The shopkeeper smirked at his snide remark and continued. "You see only the most beautiful of the country are chosen. Fifty, maybe one hundred. I am just glad ten years ago they weren't able to chose my wife." He joked once again gesturing to the slender women filling the cups of awaiting customers with the steamy hot liquid. Her long raven hair neatly kept in an elegant braid that reached below her hips. Her dresses had always astonished me, wearing a long robe that glistened like cherry blossoms in spring when light hit the sleeves that were almost touching the ground with a thick ribbon in a deep burgundy tone that tied it at the waist. She looked so elegant her in her movements of pouring tea as if she was dancing. "I can give you five Dollars for the bunch." The vendor said as he had made 3 piles of bushels from the sage, chamomile and rose hip. "Business is booming these days and with the delegation I bet you will have enough customers to sell this to. Let's make ten Dollars." I said trying to haggle my way up, knowing 10 Dollars was way too much, usually I would settle for 5 and just take the money but winter was coming and so far my savings were drying up rather quickly with the unexpected expenses. "Let's say eight because today is such a happy day." The vendor said with a smile, already fumbling for his wallet. "eight it is." I said holding up my hands which were soon filled with 8 silvery coins. "Pleasure doing business with you" I said packing up my small basket. "Likewise. " the man said and waved me goodbye as I turned to push myself out of the busy shed onto the bustling street, clutching my now a bit heavier small purse close to my heart. The smile of my successful business venture not leaving my face letting me forget my pain momentarily. I went through the market to find some cheap vegetables. People around me happily boasting why their daughters will be chosen. "She has the bluest eyes" one women exclaimed "My granddaughter the most perfect smile" another chimed "But mine the most exquisite dance" a man joined in. "For a two year old maybe" the first women mocked him which resulted in another shouting match between them. It made me chuckle in bitterness. Their prim and proper daughters would be primed to be more perfect than the next, whoever had the displeasure of selecting them would have a hard time for sure. Depending on what informations they needed of me I couldn't even go to the census count. Also as much as I wished for an easier life being chosen was not in the cards for me. Instead of daydreaming away like the rest of the market goers seemed to do I went up to get myself a 3 pounds of potatoes, cabbage some salt and a hot pepper as well as some beans. Preparing dried or fermented food was a must for the winter and the earlier I got to it the better. Life went on - With or without the prince coming to town. My basket felt very heavy after putting in the produce, but I wasn't done yet. Making my way home with just a Dollar less in my pocket I dragged myself through the street. My foot burning and my leg feeling shaky as I heaved my heavy sole of the street a step at the time my yet to be filled stomach did not like to be out of the center of attention wrenching my gut even more. I knew I needed food as soon as possible otherwise I would collapse in the next coming hours. The closer I came to the village which was approximately a 30 minutes walk from the marketplace the further it felt away with exhaustion mauling my body. The sunny day faded as the sun sank closer to the horizon colouring the sky in flames shining a dim light on the surrounding houses and cobblestone streets. The further I came the smaller the houses became, the color faded from the walls and not even the dim glow of dusk could illuminate their bleakness. People were getting louder the deeper the sun faded, their words becoming shouted slurs outside the softly yellow lit pubs this part of town had to offer. Their light fell of the patrons outside smoking and threatening fights with each other. I tried to avoid them by taking a longer way back, but today my feet couldn't bare to walk more than was necessary. I tried to walk faster, making my steps look more clumsy than they already were. "Need a hand?" came a deep voice behind me. "No thank you." I said not daring to turn around and taking up a faster pace. Anxiety filled me more. There was a certain anxiety that I could never shake off when strangers approached me, but certainly more dreadful were the gazes of the drunk patrons outside the pub I was not more than 10 steps away. "Hey there pretty. Wanna keep us company?" one leered."ps-ps-ps-ps" another one called me as I was a cat . I kept my head down, not trying to get any more attention. "Oh, she seems to be a shy one." a third one yelled drunkenly with his voice coming closer. My heart began to race as I felt a shadow loom across my body. "Common guys, she obviously does not want to join you." The deep voice of the stranger who offered me to help before was a lot closer to my ears and when I looked up he stood next to me shielding me from the crowd of drunks. "Say's who? Her?" the man who was about to come towards me said "A royal guard who will get you into far more trouble than just getting kicked in the ass" the stranger next to me replied. A royal guard? In these parts of town? The attention now turned away from me and as the drunk retreated hastily, only mumbling "Spoilsport", with the crowd now laughing at him. I just stepped onwards thanking the guard. "Hey, wait." The guard called out. My speed increased to its maximum with was akin to moving probably just a bit faster than walking leisurely so it was not hard for the guard to keep up. "I am sorry I have caused you any trouble, but I have to be on my way home." I said curtly being reminded of my hunger and pain by my shaking body. I closed my eyes for a brief second, stepping onto an uneven part of cobblestone, not only hissing sharply in pain but tripping as a result. I felt the man's hands stabilising my shoulders before I could fall, letting out a surprised huff. "Please, I can see that you are unwell. Let me help you." He took the basket from my arm and crouched to get the few potatoes that had escaped it during my almost fall. "Are you injured?" he asked. "Just my foot being cut. It takes a bit to heal." I answered shortly mustering the man next to me. The distant light from the pub illuminating his uniform, a night blue jacket with various silver buttons, a red and white sash and matching blue trousers and black sturdy leather shoes on his right hip he had a holster with a gun. His blonde hair was cleanly gelled to the back of his head. He was sporting a friendly smile on his clean shaven face. "Let me walk you home then." he offered his arm for support. I thanked him again and reluctantly placed my arm around his. My body instantly felt relieved as some of the weight from my steps was taken off me. "How come you are in these parts of town?" I asked after a short time of silence between us. "I was just wandering about in the city and I guess kinda ended up here. When I saw you not being able to take a proper step I couldn't just ignore it." He answered sounding earnest and I nodded focusing on taking a step around a puddle of unidentifiable liquid in front of me. "I guess this is your first time in the city?" He hummed in agreement to my question. "My first time being anywhere outside the palace basically?" He offered a slightly unsure answer. "How come? Don't you just work there?" I politely smiled at him in confusion. "I was raised there actually and I really had to beg to be on this trip." he offered an explanation with a smirk on his face and slight chuckle. "But then you must have been to the other states and cities, have you not?" I thought out loud, my eyes now straightly focused on the dark road ahead of us. "Well, if you call the trips from town halls to hotels outside, then yes." Royal guards apparently had no time off work as well. "And yet you have the unfortunate luck to spend your first time off work outside the palace with me, in the worst part of town." I chuckled at the irony. "On the contrary, how delightful to have met you, especially in the worst part of town." He countered with a light jesting demeanour. "We are almost there, so you will be free in a few. You don't have to get me all the way back. The village is really not the best part of town." In my peripheral I saw him shake his head. "I could not do that, my lady." He said with a smile and I sighed, "Your loss." and shrugged my shoulders my mouth forming a contempt smile, slowly getting comfortable with the guard. As we continued, the rough cobblestone road ended and faded into the dried dirt road I knew as way to my home. When the sound houses of the city lay behind us the dim lit village emerged from the dirt path and its surrounding green fields filling the air with a fresh smell which was only amplified by the forrest surrounding the eastern side of Drummer's state. The guard eyed the small huts in which we people in the village live in cautiously as if they could harm him. The huts were barley kept together by the brittle wood, some bigger stones and brown sun bleached clay. They kept us from barley freezing to death in the cold of night the straw or scrap metal roofs protecting us from harsher weather conditions. Seeing his alertness to his surroundings made me chuckle, as it reminded me of myself when I had first had a good look around. "How come you live in this part of town?" He said warily his eyes still scanning his surroundings. "I am an orphan. This community is the only one that wanted me. Thanks to them I am not dead." I explained with a slight smile, waving to the older kids running home as they greeted me fleetingly rushing by, catching their puzzled glances towards the guard. Someone not dressed in rags and dirt was a rare sight indeed. "Leah, what a nice name." he noted. "Thank you,..." I said indirectly asking for his with a slight smile on my face. His face was lit up more from the light inside the huts coming through their small windows, sparkling in his light blue eyes. "Eric." he said introducing himself. "Nice meeting you then, Eric." I flashed him a smile. "I stopped in front of my small hut. The stone house itself was one of the better build ones, with the rusty scrap metal just sturdy enough to keep out the weather. I opened the firm felt curtain of indistinctive color that acted as my door and gestured inside. "Want to have a drink as a thank you for bringing me home?" I offered. "Don't feel like you have to..." Eric started to say but I shook my head and interrupted him. "I'd be delighted." I said with a warm smile and he nodded before entering slightly crouched into my hut and I followed, hastily making my way to the camping lamp on my kitchen table before lighting some candles around the house so we could see some more. "I'm glad the ceiling is a bit higher than the entrance." he joked looking around my small one room house. "It's not much." I say while taking the basket from his arm and placing it on my small kitchen table. I turned around to the cabinets in the kitchen. "What would you like to drink? Tea? Coffee? booze?" Turning around once again I saw him look at a picture that was hung up on the wall next to my bed which was depicting Malis and me at around 16. "Tea?" Eric offered with an unsure smile towards me. "This is definitely not your comfort zone." I said with a smile, pouring some water from a big plastic bottle into a kettle. "You know if you feel uncomfortable you don't have to stay, right?" I continued and he cleared his throat. "Yeah, this is definitely not usual for me, but I like it. It's fun to get to know a stranger like this." He offered me a smile which I matched. "Likewise. Unfortunately for you I only have some rose hip left for our tea. I hope you don't mind." He shook his head as he responded "Don't worry, rose hip is one of my favourites actually." I turned on the gas stove, lighting it with a match and placing the kettle with water on top. "You are way to polite." I called him out in with a small laugh. "No, it's true. I swear." I threw him a questioning look across my shoulder and he just smiled cheekily at me. "Would have guessed black tea from the looks of you." I raised my voice a bit over the glistering hissing of the flames. "Well, black tea is also my favourite." I heard him reply. The sound of water starting to form little bubbles emerged from the kettle as I told him that he couldn't have more than one favourite tea. "Says who?" he argued. "The definition of favourite. - Preferred above all others." I argued back. "I was never one who chose easily. So if I like it, its my favourite." Eric simply stated and I shook my head with a smile as I tossed the crushed berries as well as some rose hip petals into the kettle, turned off the stove and waited until steam filled the air with the sweetly sour taste of the tea. "Who is that lady in that picture?" His voice rung and I smiled warmly as I poured the fresh tea into two mugs. "You could call her my grandma. She was a wonderful Lady. Thought me everything in this place and raised me here." Eric sat down on the second chair at my kitchen table. "Surly a wonderful Lady, I am sorry for your loss." He said offering me a sad smile. "Thank you. Been on my own for a while now." I answered shortly, placing a steaming mug in front of him. "Careful, it's still very hot." He nodded, placing his hands on the mug and shortly deciding against it. "How's life for you? The palace must be an interesting place."I asked him, sitting down across from him. Eric looked down at the bee which was printed on the mug. "Well it's definitely grand. A lot of pictures that follow you with their eyes, more creepy art, gold everywhere, weird statues and beautiful gardens. There is a fresh smell of flowers the whole year around. You can also see over the whole city of Angeles from the palace. The city lights at night sparkle like stars. They got horses too and I think I got lost in the labyrinth more than once." He said as if listing the thoughts running through his head. "Must be nice to work in such a beautiful place." I responded and Eric just nodded quickly before trying to blow his tea a bit colder. "What do you do for work?" He asked me. I tell him about my baby sitting work and the gathering trips in the forrest. "And that is enough?" He asked bewildered. I just shrugged with my shoulders. "Life is though, but there is no work anyone respectable can give me." he pondered in his thoughts for a while, as I take my first sip, the hot water warming up my exhausted body the slightly bitter taste of rose hip easing my stomach. I open up a drawer with a small box with tree bark scrapings inside. "What's that?" he asked me. "Just some snack." I try to deflect. "What kind of snack?" he asked again offering me a smile. "Don't judge, but I couldn't help myself. I just needed something in my stomach. It's tree bark." I answer avoiding his eyes. "I didn't know you could eat tree bark." The guard said curiously rather than being thrown off by it, placing his chin onto of this fist as he studied the bark scraping in my hand. "Not every tree bark" I answer, after swallowing. "I don't know which you can eat and which you can't, but there are pine trees in the forrest which have a bark which is edible inside." He studied me more as I took another bite. "Does it taste good?" Eric then asked laying his head to the side. "You can try if you want" I offer him the snack box "It tastes like chips, but more chewy and like tree" I joke. "So not like chips at all." He replies with a smirk, grabbing a small piece. "If you convince yourself that it tastes like chips, then it will taste more like it." I say with a big smile. "Survival method 101: just tell yourself it's like chips" he joked, before putting the small piece in his mouth. Instantly his face contorted and it was like being able to see every thought in his head while he tasted the chewy consistency which left a small tingle on your tongue, while it disintegrated into smaller pieces drying up you mouth as if you were licking on a tree bark itself without getting pieces of wood stuck on your tongue. "How can you eat this?" he exclaimed after swallowing diligently and I burst into laughter. "You didn't think of chips enough." I exclaim between laughter before I take another piece of bark into my mouth. "Clearly, since this is the furthest away from chips I have ever felt. And you are sure this is safe?" He exclaimed with a laugh trying to sip on his tea to ease the dryness of his mouth. "one hundred precent. I survived an entire winter because of it." I told him. For some reason just talking with him didn't feel like being judged, being pitied or like I have to hold back. Just joking around with him made me feel like I have known him for years. "Do you even have tastebuds anymore? Because I cannot even feel any taste because my mouth dried up." I rolled my eyes as he smirked at me. "Give it two minutes. You will feel the tea just fine." I assumed him. "How do you do this?" Eric asked me after drinking a bigger sip of his tea. "Live?" I ask with a smile. "No, not put sugar in you tea." he said distorting his face in a grimace. "It's so bitter. Not what I remember rose hip tea like. But also living, yes." he made me laugh again. "How much sugar do you put in your tea that this tastes bitter to you?" I ask him between laughter. "three cubes?" Eric said slightly flushed. "Then don't get mad at your doctor what you get diabetes later on." I tell him taking another sip of the sweet sour tea. "Also if this is all you have to survive with you make ends meet." He took a small sip not complaining about the taste. "I guess I am just too spoiled." he said more talking to himself. "There is nothing wrong with enjoying the spoils that life gives you." I say my mind wondering to the palace in Spain for a short time. "But if needed, you gotta pull through I guess." Eric followed up my statement as if he read my mind. I nodded as I clutched my tea and looked into his bright blue eyes and matched his smile. Not knowing when I had laughed so much for the last time in a day, I didn't want this night to end. But eventually the tea was empty and the night was almost turning into day as we bid our goodbyes. "I will find you tomorrow, okay?" he offered. "When?" I ask. "Let's say around five p.m. Can we meet here?" He asked me back with a smile. "Sure. I'd be glad" I replied with a smile. "Then see you tomorrow, Leah." Eric said while our gaze locked "See you tomorrow, Eric." And with one last cheeky boyish smile he was gone, just until certain blonde hair and sparkly blue eyes reappeared in my dreams offering me the same smile once again.
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Hey, our first other Main Character, Eric! The prince in disguise ...
I wanted to change a lot compared to my other (german) book and to make it into a stand alone story. This is no longer a fanfiction, even if it is inspired by the Selection - one of my favourite books when I was a young and naive 13 year old and started writing a book on here. I feel like I have never done the characters justice and I want to make this as amazing and better than my first book.
Write your feedback in the comments and don't forget to vote or share in your reading lists. I would really appreciate it :)
XO STARGAZRR
Song quote : Panic!At The Disco, Nine in the Afternoon
