Anima

Chapter 3: Chocolate

Morning came sooner than she expected. Enyd was dress in a pastel pink dress with a pointed waist, along with long sleeves that contained white frills at the end, her skirt parted in the middle to reveal a paler pink underskirt, and sewn intricate golden details decorated the dress. Pink heels were worn by her feet to match her outfit, not that anyone could see the underneath her long skirts. Enyd had to admit she liked dressing pretty, maybe it was shallow, but it gave her the confidence she needed to interact with others. Grabbing a pair of short, non-dangling earrings, she put attached them to her ears and set off to wait downstairs for her mother.

As she waited, Enyd looked around to see if maybe her brother was near, but he wasn't, and the girl assumed he was either still asleep or had already gone to the Jung's. The younger Min knew Yoongi liked the company of Jung Hoseok, a boisterous gentleman, son of one of the most influential businessmen. Enyd liked him too, the times they had interacted together (which were few because Yoongi was really overprotective of her) he had been nice. Plus Hoseok had an unbelievably bright smile which was enormously contagious.

"You look ready to go," her mother snapped Enyd out of her thoughts. "Better hurry now, we need to go first to a store, there are somethings I want to bring along."

The young girl nodded and fulfilled her mother's request. They took a different carriage to the one Enyd had rode the previous day, it was dark brown instead of black. The insides were cushioned with velvet dark magenta cushions, and black curtains that were drawn today. Roads were a bit less covered with people returning to their normal schedule. Yesterday had been the last day of the mourning for the queen, which according to tradition lasted a week. Because of the lesser amount of bodies, the women arrived pretty fast to the desired food store.

Climbing out of the vehicle, Enyd beamed at the sight of sweet delicacies inside the store. Having a bit of a sweet tooth, her body always filled with happiness when candies or pastries filled her mouth with a sugary taste. She headed towards the section of hard candies, her eyes scanning each type to see what she could choose to take home. A shy boy approached her and pointed at some dark brown pieces of something.

"Those are called chocolate, milady. They just arrived to our store yesterday, these are from the new world," the sales boy said sweetly. "I had a small piece, courtesy of madam Yu, and they have a peculiar taste. The texture is hard at first, but after you eat it, it turns soft inside your mouth, it melts. As for the taste, it's a bit bitter at first but then the sweetness explodes. I'm sure you'll like it milady."

Enyd's curiosity was peaked, "Can I have a small taste perhaps, just very small."

The boy swoon immediately at the sound of the girl's voice. She was a real beauty, and her voice was just as sweet as the candy in the store. Carefully, he cut a tiny piece of chocolate and placed it in a piece of paper, extending it towards the girl. Enyd took the brown candy in her hands, and slowly placed it inside her mouth. Her eyes immediately lit up, the boy had been right. The warmth in her mouth melted the solid candy and bitterness turned into sugar, flooding her taste buds.

"This is magnificent!" she expressed gleefully. "Mother! Mother! We have to get this, I bed you. It is amazing!!"

Her mother smiled at her daughter warmly and gestured for her to get some. Enyd couldn't stop the radiant smile that was displayed on her face. The boy packed up the amount the maiden told him too, wrapping the candy inside some paper and placing it on a bag. The women collocated their products on the counter for the owner to charge, once paid they continued their journey towards the palace.

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"Mrs. Min!" a high pitched voice exclaimed when mother and daughter entered the room.

"Lady Park, what a pleasure to see you again" her mother greeted the small figure that approached them.

The duchess turned towards the younger girl and smiled sweetly, "Oh, and look at you. Young Enyd, you seem to have grown into a fine young lady."

Said girl bowed in a greeting manner, muttering a small 'hello' to the aristocrat. Lady Park was quite the character, a small woman with a great personality, sweet manner like her sister, Queen Yoora. Her hair was blonde and her eyes an electric blue, a small button nose situated in the middle of her face and soft plump pink lips always shaped into a polite smile. Her husband happened to be a duke, so she was positioned highly in society, and she was the mother of one child, whom she divulged be studying in another country.

Lady Park lead them through the place, arriving to a spacious room decorated with delicate sofas and chairs, all in light colors, and a small table fixed in the middle of the seats. There was a grand crystal window which gave a view towards a vast garden. Already on the table, an array of pastries were there along with a china teapot and three tea cups. Enyd took a seat on a single chair, while both older women sat on the sofa. Tea was served and the young lady remained silent, sipping quietly on her tea and munching the delicious pastries.

"Ah, you must be bored with mindless gossip my child, old women talk. Forgive me for not showing you sooner, let me call for someone..." Lady Park muttered the last part. She ringed a tiny bell and a servant immediately came. "Please guide Ms. Min here to the garden."

"Yes my lady, this way Ms. Min," the man extended his hand, gesturing for her to follow.

They descended, navigating the halls of the great palace. Enyd had to quicken her steps to match the servant's pace, so it gave her no time to appreciate the inside of the royal home. Finally both people made it to an exit, and before her lay a beautiful garden.

The landscape was immense. Large bushes created walls that shaped into a maze, flowers of every kind were there, and vines crawled along. The halls created between the wall of plants were wide, and intertwined within the bushed were red roses. Minute yellow flowers were scattered along the grass. The scent the garden gave was nice, like nature and home, and looking at the place you could see it was greatly taken care of by someone who loved it.

Enyd turned around to ask something to the man who had accompanied her, but there was no one. Confused, her head tilted. Had she been so immersed in the beauty of the place that she didn't notice him leaving? With an intake of breath and a shrug of shoulders the girl started to wander into the maze garden. Her eyes drinking the beauty of the magical looking place. Nature was something Enyd absolutely loved, she sometimes thought that maybe in her past life she had been born in the countryside. The wild had a calling for her, fresh air, the smell of grass, and rain, animals as well.

The girl started humming as she continued to stroll across the garden, the sweet melody drifting in the air. So concentrated in the view, Enyd failed to hear the soft crunching of grass behind her.

"What are you doinghere?"