Melinda

Well… We haven't reached the protagonist yet! But here we will clarify any of your doubts and tell the story of the best and bravest warrior in the kingdom of Castella!

Her wavy brown hair, dark eyes, and straight nose told everyone that she was of commoner origin. Because she started working at an early age, at the age of 20 she was the king's most trusted royal maid and servant.

Moli was the nickname of Melinda the maid who served Arthur IV, the little prince of Castella.

One of her gifts was her incredible battle instincts and stamina. Many wondered why instead of joining the royal knights, she chose to spend the whole day running and being pranked by the little prince. The truth was, although it was a stressful job, she was proud to take care of what she believed to be the next king of her lands.

She knew that Arthur only made pranks because he was feeling alone and pressured. Over the years, Moli had been all the time besides the boy and knew him like an open book. Her life was now dedicated to the boy, her warrior's days had stayed behind.

In front of others, Prince tried to look like a strong and noble boy, but he always ended up doing what his heart told him to do.

Often after being reprehended, he would run away somewhere. And when no one was looking, he would burst into tears.

At study time, he pretended to understand the lessons and write the works, but all the teachers knew that he had not even memorized the alphabet properly.

Moli confronted Arthur, but also stood by him when he needed his help. In the mornings, while he was undergoing strict training, she shouted encouragement and brought him treats. She also started to help him with his studies, and in the afternoon, scarifying a little of her time to play with him.

In the end, Moli was not the only one he listened to and obeyed, but the only one he truly smiled at.

Days were going well until on a hot summer day when Arthur who was still sleepy in the morning, was severely repressed by the royal guard for being distracted during training. That same day, the teachers decided to increase the productivity of his studies by doubling the studying hours.

He held on, stood firm, and tried to make up for his mistakes by helping the cooks to make dinner. For pure distraction, he ended up exchanging salt for sugar while preparing the soup that would be served for dinner. The cooks, thinking that this was one more of his games, had a fit of fury and went to complain to the King.

Moli didn't expect this to become such a big thing. Around the time that Arthur's study period would have ended, Moli found him in the kitchen. This time it was the servants who played a trick on him. Before she could do anything to change the situation, that was obviously going in a disastrous direction, the little prince ran from her without looking back. 

The servants were still laughing at little Arthur's reaction.

“How can anyone openly laugh at a child's suffering, knowing he is responsible for everything?” Moli reflected herself. There are people and people, she knew that. But they always managed to surprise her.

Her eyes dart towards Prince, but he was already out of sight.

Then she turned to the cooks. She crossed her arms and positioned herself in front of his eyes, waiting for an excuse convincing enough not to report to the King.

Many servants knew Moli's temperament, some did not.

The cook who replied mockingly was one of the latter.

— You really don't believe the King will make him his successor, do you? It's just a brat from somewhere with no lineage, we will probably have a popular election, don't you think? — Asked one of the cooks.

Moli's eyes widened, her mouth was open for a few seconds before her face was completely scarlet, and a line appeared between her eyebrows.

She started screaming at the servants.

— Is that a reason? Do you doubt the king's choice? Remember that we all have an influence on the creation of the future king! If he becomes a bad king, part of the blame will be yours! He is only a child and one of the braves, I can tell. And bloodline? Do I have all my conquests, lineage? What matters is what you do. Not what your ancestors did! — Her penetrating voice made the cook shrank in shame.

Coming from Kreg's territory, Moli had seen many atrocities resulting from a lack of compassion and selfishness. The servants' expressions reminded her of things she preferred to forget.

Moli took a deep breath and continued her speech in a calmer tone.— Ha … seriously. What were you thinking? Sorry for the exaltation, but you know how sentimental your highness is, it will affect him for days. It's better that I go after him. Go back to work. — When Moli finished, she didn't even look back at the servants. She simply headed in the direction the prince left. She passed through the corridors until she reached the open courtyard. Still not finding the prince. Soon one of the guards appeared in Moli's sight, he was exhausted and trying to catch his breath. She rushed in his direction.

— Where's the prince? — Demanded Moli with a loud voice.

The soldier says:

— Prince … He … ran away … I tried … he's too fast.

— No notice was sent to the royal court, was it? — Moli appealed to the soldier.

The guard looked deep into her black eyes and replied in withdrawal.

— I'm sorry, ma'am. I didn't, but I am only the first witness. He dodged all the soldiers on guard, from here to the north wall … I fear he entered the forest.

Moli looked at the sky, waiting for a miracle. Nothing.

A little while later, the shouted news spread to all the soldiers. The whole castle panicked.

The royal court ordered a mandatory emergency conference since the King was out of the castle on duty.

She was forced to sit quietly in the pavilion while her little protégé had entered the most dangerous forest on the whole island of Kreg.

The first to be blamed were the teachers for putting too much pressure on the boy. They passed the blame on to the guards who had reprimanded him. The guards in their defense stated it was the cooks who decided to go and complain to the king about something so small.

Moli silently exploded with rage when she found herself in such a situation. Adults blamed each other like children. It was too ridiculous for her to remain silent.

 Slowly, she gets up in the chaos and walks over to the royal court table. The elders did not notice her until she started to speak.

— With your advisors' permission. — Moli spoke in her rich voice, typical of when she was angry but expressionless. The entire pavilion's attention turned to Moli.— As responsible for all the servants of the castle, I will use this position granted to me by the king to dissolve this meeting and start setting up search groups in the forest. — Silence reigned in the pavilion until a silent figure has so far spoken.

—I'm sorry Melinda, but your position is not greater than ours. — The elders' leader and the king's advisor replied coldly. An old man in a black robe who looked to be over a hundred years old, with a beard that reached his waist to make up for the lack of hair on his head. At least that's how Moli saw it.

—  Not on your excellency, but on the servants who are pressed here, I have an authority that even you should not challenge. — The advisor did not dare to answer. With a simple hand gesture, the councilors withdrew and control of the castle was in Moli's hands.

Moli leaves the elders behind with all the castle's servants.

—The royal guards must each lead a group of ten guards. At least twenty men must continue to guard the gates. A messenger must be sent to the capital to seek a healer in case the prince or the guard gets hurt. The rest of the servants must organize supplies for the search groups and then return to their duties. —Her orders were simple and clear, efficient and quick, and now Moli led all 400 castle inhabitants.

— Madame the first group has already been immobilized, the cooks should arrive at any time with the supplies.— Said the same guard that Moli had found that morning. His blue eyes shone with admiration.

His long dark blond hair escaped his helmet and fell on his shoulders.

—Ask for extra equipment for one more soldier, a female version. We will go together. —The Soldier hesitated for a moment, frozen by the thought. Until finally answer firmly.

—Sure. — Moli smiled as she watched the soldier's back disappear into the crowd. He was someone she was looking forward to working with.

The sun was starting to set when Moli and the first search party left the castle. They had to retrace the same route that the prince would have taken. The problem was, if it had been him, he probably would have used the trees to cross the forest with a panoramic view of everything and without leaving any footprints. Something that armed guards and carrying backpacks of supply could not reproduce. The only way was to try to cover as much area as possible.

The first group covered the entire area close to the wall, it took 3 hours of searching in vain. The next groups would go deeper and deeper into the forest. Moli only rested long enough to recharge her food and water supplies before joining the next search party.

— Madame, I don't think it's a good idea. Please, the people in the castle need you too. You've done everything you could. — The blue-eyed knight gently tried to alert her. Moli knew that everyone was concerned about her physical and mental state. But she responded in a calm tone as always.

— Exactly because I still haven't done everything I could, that I will continue. Don't worry, I already had your job before I became a chief maid. — The soldier looked at her once more in disbelief.

After the sun went down, the castle panicked again at the possibility that the heir to the throne might have died.

Moli left with the last search party of the day.

— The forest is very dark, madame, it is advisable that we return to the castle. — Commented one of the soldiers, he was tired and feared the noises of the forest.

— With the fall of the night comes the wolves and worse things, if we don't find the prince today we will look only for his body tomorrow. — This cold and calculated answer could settle any doubts. To further challenge Moli's willpower, it started to rain. The soldiers were quiet, but they all cogitated the same thing, giving up. Even Moli was considering the idea. If she got sick, she would not be able to keep looking for him the next day. But as they approached the heart of the forest, Moli's trained ears heard a familiar sound, a cry of sadness and loneliness, something she heard every day. Dropping her heavy backpack, she ran toward the noise.

Although confused, the guards followed her and when they reached a clearing with a large dead tree in the middle, they saw the pale blond boy holding a visibly poisonous half-eaten mushroom.

The guards panicked, already thinking about how to break the news to the king.

Moli just took the boy in her arms and started running back to the castle.

She ran for two kilometers unceasingly, carrying her protégé in her arms, every second counted. As soon as she saw the entrance to the castle, she cried out.

— Call the healer, the heir has been poisoned! — The sight of the boy in Moli's arms brought new hope to the servants, who acted immediately. Soon the old white-clad figure that Moli recognized as the royal healer was running towards her. Without a word, he took the boy from her arms and laid him on the floor to begin to examine him.

When she was sure that the boy would receive the necessary treatment, Moli passed out on the floor from tiredness and stress.

She woke up in the middle of the night in her room. Anxiety and fear still dominated her, and she was already on her feet when she came across a nurse at her bedroom door.

— He's well madam, no side effects. — The nurse said with wet eyes and a big smile. Still not believing, Moli ignored the maid and ran to Arthur's room. When she opened the door, she found only the doctor in a chair and the boy lying on the bed. She approached to examine his face. He slept peacefully, without any scratches, and the color had already returned to his skin.

— Thank you for all your services, the kingdom is forever grateful. — Moli thanked now sitting on the bed and finally calmer.

— You're welcome. An extraordinary boy, showing no signs of being poisoned, probably passed out from fever. At least that's what it looks like. — declared the doctor, already packing her suitcase to leave Moli and Arthur alone. Moli was still looking at the little heir in surprise.

Before she could ponder whether she was crazy or whether the mushroom she had seen was not really poisonous, a guard respectfully knocks on the open door.

— Please come in. — Moli replied.

— I swear that this message will make you sleep comfortably tonight. — Said the royal guard of the blue eyes, and he continued — I bring news of Camelot. A new Royal Merchant is arriving at the castle with his son. Five years older than your highness, well-behaved, and kind.

Moli looked at the guard with a much more light expression and said with a snort.

— I know it seems strange, but I feel that a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Having another child in the castle will be good for Arthur. — Before the guard could answer, Moli closed her eyes relaxed and fell asleep beside the little prince.

The guard returned the smile and covered her with a blanket. Before leaving the room, he says:

— I would do anything for this little boy.

The next day, Moli insisted that Arthur apologize to each servant involved in the scare and mischief and that they also apologize for the misunderstanding.

Despite the odds, the following days were exactly as she had imagined, the little prince was so in love with the new boy that she spent all of her free hours beside him. For convenience, Moli was assigned to look after the boy as well.

Even though she now had a double job, those were the happiest days of her life.