Chapter 4: Want to be free

Lambana - a race of small winged creatures also called Ada or Engkantada and in English it is called Pixie, Small Fairy or Tooth Fairy.

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The day ended without her father knowing she had left her room. 

She has returned to her hiding place, the moments she had enjoyed earlier are now gone.

The princess lay down on the bed and looked at the ceiling. She could not sleep thinking about what had happened when she got out. From the moment that she tickled as she stepped on the grass, when she saw Arayan and when she met new friends, after she recalled those memories, drowsiness visited her.

A few days have passed since she got out, she stayed in her room of those days while drawing her new acquaintances, she had no one else with her except Edmondo who always brought her food while Arayan was not able to go to her even for a few minutes. 

"Edmondo…" the princess calls Arayan's father in a low tone, she wasn't sure if it would allow her to go out again. On the days when Edmondo was in her room she was waiting for the right time to say it.

"What is it, Your Highness?" 

Edmondo just brought food to her room and was supposed to leave after it was given to her, but the princess took the chance to get out.

"Please, Edmondo. Allow me to leave my room again," she pleaded.

"But Your Highness, the king will be mad when he sees you outside. He is in the palace right now," Edmondo replied.

"I'll take care of it, I'll let him know myself." Luna insisted.

"That's what I can't allow. Don't be stubborn, Your Highness." Edmondo was about to leave but he stopped when the princess spoke again.

"You can't do this to me. What right do you have to disobey a princess's order? Why are you preventing me from getting out of my room? Are you in a high position to lead me in what I should do?" Luna asked seriously.

Edmondo was stunned, "Your Highness-" He would have spoken to protest to the princess but when he saw her evil stare he suddenly bowed down.

"Am I good at acting? Do I look like a real princess because of those words?" Luna asked while smiling.

"Your Highness, you are a real princess but I only obey the king's orders," Edmondo said calmly.

"What?" Luna asked, annoyed.

"Nothing, Your Highness," he replied quickly.

"I'm just kidding, Edmondo. I'll take care of my father. If the king blames someone because of my stubbornness, it should be me…not you," Luna said. She walked out of her room, Edmondo could have done nothing but to follow her.

"But Your Highness, you don't know your true ability yet. What if someone discovers you and attacks us immediately so you can be captured?" Edmondo asked worriedly.

Luna stopped walking to face him. "How can I discover my hidden ability if you just lock me in a room while doing nothing?" 

Edmondo bowed again and nodded in agreement with the princess.

They arrived at the king's room and it's surprised to see his daughter come out of her room, "What are you doing here? Edmondo? Why did you let her out?" 

Luna bowed to pay her respects, Edmondo as well.

“Your Majesty, I’m here to say that I’m ready to learn what I have to learn to discover my strength,” Luna said, "It's not Edmondo's fault, let's just say that I'm just too stubborn to understand that I have to stay at the top of the tower," she added.

"You don't know what you're saying Luna. Go back to your room now," the king replied. He didn't care about what Luna said, all he listened to was what he wanted.

"Let's go, Your Highness. I'll take you to your room," Edmondo said.

"But Your Majesty, how can I know my strength if I just stay there sitting and only do painting? I can't handle it anymore, I can no longer be alone."

"Don't be stubborn, Luna. Go back to your room, that's the king's order!" her father shouted.

Luna was shocked by her father's reaction but she was not shaken.

"I can't follow you anymore. I'm tired of hiding, I'm tired of just staying in my cage!" she shouted back.

"Cage?" Gualtiero asked incredulously.

Luna nodded bravely, "You're locking me up."

"I'm only doing this to make you better! To protect you, Luna!"

"I lived to save all, Your Majesty. That's why even If I die, I will accept it. Please don't take my freedom from me. I stayed in that cage for too long, I don't want to come back."

"Your Highness, you are losing respect," Edmondo said softly.

"All right, do whatever you want. Have fun, forget that you are a princess who knows nothing and must be protected."

Those words from King Gualtiero stabbed Luna in the heart.

"Did I hear it right? You say I knew nothing?" The princess asked tearfully.

"You still can't handle yourself Luna but you're already bragging. I'll let you do what you want, but when something happens to you don't blame me for not protecting you and warning you of what you want to do!"

"Your Majesty, I will prove that you don't know me enough. I'm not the princess who knows nothing and should be protected, I can handle myself. I will prove that to you," Luna replied angrily. She turned back and went out of her father's room.

"The way she spoke was as if she had already proven something," Gualtiero said to Edmondo, who took a deep breath and held his head because of that argument.

"Didn’t you notice that she inherited her temperament?" Edmondo asked.

( "I don't have to marry a prince to protect me, I can protect myself," Lila insisted before throwing a dagger that sank into the wall.

"Why are you so stubborn?" calm question of the former king of Prostatévo before Gualtiero.

"This is how you raised me," Lila replied before leaving in front of her father. ) 

"She didn't want to marry you then because she believes that a woman is also capable of moving on her own without the help of others," Edmondo told King Gualtiero who was now looking at the photo of the late Queen Lila.

"But no one can deny your beautiful features, so I won't be surprised if she agrees to marry you somehow," Edmondo added.

King Gualtiero smiled as he touched Queen Lila's face.

"Our daughter is stubborn, just like you were when she was your age."

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Luna was running at the same time as her tears were falling, even though she didn't know where she was going she was still running away. Her feet carried her to the back of the palace where no one was.

She sat on the grass weeping and looked up at the sky.

"Why do I have to be a princess? Why didn't I just become ordinary? Why am I having such a hard time?" she asked, crying.

"You are destined to be a princess so do what Bathala has set for you." 

She turned back to look from whom the voice she heard came. She saw a small flying creature. She wasn't surprised, she just stared at it.

It is a Lambana.

She held out her hand, that's why it stood in her palm. It has purple wings as well as its little dress while its hair is colored blue, it is a very beautiful creature. It flew closer to her and wiped away her tears.

She smiled because of that.

"What are you doing here, Your Highness?" 

The Lambana suddenly hid inside Luna's hair when a male voice spoke. Luna looked at him.

"The king is looking for you," Arayan said seriously. 

Luna adjusted her seat and ignored him.

"You shouldn't have answered the king like that. He is your father."

"I'm just expressing my thoughts. I just want to convey that I'm not happy with my life, why is it so hard for you to understand?"

"We're just protecting you, Your Highness," Arayan replied calmly.

"I don't need someone to protect me, I need to be happy and be free. Is that hard to give?" the princess asked tearfully. The little creature came out of hiding, she hugged the princess' cheek to sympathize.

"You'd rather be happy than take care of your life? Is that so?" Arayan asked disgustedly.

"Yeah, that's right. I'd probably rather just die than feel so sad because of the gradual departure of the people who used to make me happy." Luna gave a bitter smile. "It was as if I was being killed by extreme pain."

"Your Highness, you're not alone. If you're sad, I feel more miserable when I see you like that," Arayan replied calmly.

Luna shook her head, "Don't make fun of me, Arayan. You don't even care about me."

"You are mistaken-"

"Yeah, maybe I made a mistake. I made a mistake that I imprinted in my mind that you would stay by my side, that you wouldn't leave me. I really made a mistake." She could no longer stop sobbing.

"I didn't leave you, Luna." Arayan's jaw tightened.

"Are you out of your mind? You haven’t shown up to me in weeks, you don't talk to me either. What do you call it, Arayan?" 

Arayan couldn't answer, he didn't want to say anything unpleasant. He didn’t want to slip that he had feelings for the princess.

"You have nothing to say because it's true. You left me alone! All of you!" 

Luna ran into the palace and went up to her room. She locked herself there crying.

The Lambana came out of her hair and she felt sorry for the princess.

"You can also overcome all the sadness you feel, Your Highness. Don't be discouraged."

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"I heard everything you talked about and that's when I realized that the princess has feelings for you," Maia said to Arayan.

"She was just sad because she thought she was alone and we left her, that's all," Arayan replied.

"Why don't you believe what I'm saying? I'm also a woman, I know every move and feel of a woman who loves someone."

"As long as I'm not sure if we feel the same way, I will not take a risk."

"What kind of man would do that?" Maia asked, causing Arayan to look at her with wondering eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"You look like a coward in that situation, you must be the first to admit to the princess. What if the princess can't admit that she likes you too? Will you hide your true feelings for the rest of your life?" Maia asked incredulously, "Take a risk, if the princess doesn't like you accept it. When you both feel the same way, fight for your love," she added.

"How do you manage to be firm whenever we talk about how I feel for the princess?" Arayan asked.

A smile drew on Maia's lips, "I can't force you if your heart isn't beating for me. Why should I stop you? I know you're only happy with her."