The princess tale

So how should I begin? Well, let's just write the basics for now.

It happened in the sixth week of the war. Castela was at its peak, victory seemed to be in their hands, we conquered a new city every day. That meant, of course, that the other side was being slaughtered.

In one of these attacks, we found a deplorable village, there were no soldiers.

Merchants and rich people had all been evacuated, leaving the poor people behind to die.

An hour before the attack, as a pious act, we sounded the trumpets.

The people ran away without thinking twice.

When we, the King's army arrived, everything was empty and silent.

The few belongings were still in the houses, the doors open and the animals trapped.

We to march through the streets with no lives.

It was war.

Suddenly, a high-pitched scream cut through the air.

We stopped, and in sync, turned towards the sound.

Soon the noise followed in a low tone, a sad lonely cry.

It was a child.

We were filled with grief, all we could do was anxiously look at our King, looking for an order to deal with the uncomfortable situation.

The King simply without saying a word, walked towards crying.

We followed steady paces behind.

The crying came from a house that was abandoned in a rush. The King alone enters the house leaving the troops waiting outside.

The house was poor and had only room. Bent over, the King carefully examined the darkroom. A pile of potatoes in one corner, straw beds in the other, nothing of much importance. The King's gaze simply wandered without interest. Even, he was wondering about what he was looking for.

In one of the beds was a little girl, malnourished, bruised, and undressed, probably no more than a year old. Next to the straw, there was also a note engraved on the wood. Poorly written and almost scribbled, he said.

* Soldier or thief, please take care of her, Harika, and she will be better anywhere other than Kreg. *

The message was not clear, nor did it have any specific intentions. The child had simply been abandoned. Naked and hungry, alone and cold at night. For parents who simply were unable to give them the love that every child deserves.

Luckily for the girl, the message had been objective enough for our majesty to act on the situation. He took the cloth that covered the large scabbard attached to his waist and held it with one hand, while using the free one, he loosened Claymore from the belt and drew it. Causing the blade to sparkle over the girl's head and for a moment. Finally, in a quick, clean-cut, he jerked his sword toward the ground, cutting the red fabric in two.

The girl did not react, she had fallen asleep shortly after the king entered the house as if she knew she was safe in her presence.

He sheathed his sword again and gently lifted the baby that fit in the palm of his hand while wrapping it with the two slices of cloth.

He snuggles the girl in his big arms and gets up, heading towards the exit, being careful not to wake her.

As he leaves the house, he receives the anxious look of all we turn to the small figure nestled in his arms.

Like a father who loves to brag about his daughter, he sits with her in his arms so that everyone can see her.

The deputy commander approached while he still has his gaze fixed on the calm girl and inquired as he bowed in respect.

— With your permission, what is the child's situation?

— Abandoned, left to the wolves. — replied the King in a dry tone.

— And what does your majesty intend to do about it? If I may, we have many married soldiers who would gladly accept her. — The soldier continued after getting up.

The King looked at the sky thoughtfully, as if he expected the answer to fall from it.

After a while, he smiled and looked back at his soldiers, cleared his throat, and prepared his statement.

— Dear soldiers, I have come to a conclusion. — he pauses while analyzing the reaction of well-trained, static soldiers.

— Misfortune fell on this girl, but fate decided to give her a second chance.

Slowly, the soldiers look up as if asking, is this serious?

— As you know our kingdom does not have a queen, so there is no way to continue the royal line. There is only one way to get an heiress princess. And today we fall on the grace of God. Her name is Harika. I will take her in my arms and hope that she will become a great woman.

I present to you the new Princess of Castela: Harika!

The instant the King spoke his last words, all we knelt to show respect for the new princess.

The little one slowly opened her eyes, still sleepy, as she yawned.

She watched the scene in front of her for a few moments, we still bent over, waiting for new orders.

In that phantom zone, inhabited only by fear, the little girl laughed gracefully. A laugh that only a baby could have. In that cold climate, the hearts of all soldiers warmed. The girl slowly stopped laughing while falling asleep on the King's chest.

The King snuggled her into his arms again and walked slowly towards us, as far as we are concerned, we were all anxious and hoping to be assigned to what comes next.

The King silently walks through the crowd of bent soldiers until reaching almost the last soldier, he stops in front of me.

I reluctantly raise my head.

I still don't believe that such an ordinary soldier as me, had been chosen. All the king does is nod and pass the delicate girl into my arms.

I receive it as if he were carrying the most precious asset in the entire kingdom, which was not quite a lie. I slowly get up and goes to my horse. I was the soldier chosen to escort the newly appointed princess to the kingdom and officially speak about the King's appointment, this was almost the same as becoming her godfather.

I would accompany her for the rest of her life, whether as a butler, bodyguard, or simply a counselor for difficult times.

With one last glance at the battlefield behind me, he heads towards the capital.

I was riding only half an hour when he realized that his mission would not be as easy as he had thought.

It was still dark, and I had not left the main road that connected the small towns of Kreg when the princess scandalously woke up.

Worried that the girl's cry would delay wild animals that inhabited the fields, I hastily sought a way to silence the child. But my conscience weighed and made me meticulous when handling my princess.

I changed the surrounding clothes. I gave her half of all his water through a damp cloth.

I massaged her thoroughly to make sure there was nothing wrong.

And there was nothing wrong, she was in no pain and had all her basic needs met.

Still, she continued to cry.

I slowly bent down towards the floor and laid the baby on the floor there, contemplating her pretty face wondering why she was still crying.

I was already in the mood to cry with the princess when I had an idea.

I remembered a folk song that his mother used to sing to him to stop crying.

I snuggle her back in his arms and get up slowly and sings a lullaby song.

"When the sun rises and sunlight the sea touches.

Little flower blooms, it's time to wake up.

Little fireflies accompany me in this song.

Let the little sprouts rise from the earth, let the eggs crack to see the dawn.

May the forests expand and the birds sing!

And the world around us learns how to dance.

Be born, grow, learn, and explore this wonderful world.

When your heart is filled and your path has found,

Eat, drink, sing and dance,

Let the warm sunlight,

darken your skin

and warm your soul.

And when the sun starts, the horizon lines once again cross, this song is coming to an end.

Snuggle up in its tree branches little birds, it is time to return to the land of little fireflies.

Make sure the puppies will wake up warm and put them to bed.

But don't forget to leave your marks in the sand, so that you can rest in peace."

With a slow and fluid rhythm, the words took on a low intonation through the cold and dark veil of the night together with the princess's laments.

It was like the little evening breeze little by little Harika's bad mood would take over and the wind would spread the soldier's song everywhere.

At some point in the song, Harika stopped crying and fell asleep.

And the end. I had to work on that report. Will it become a theater person? It would be quite possible.

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Did you like the story and want more? So look at my other two books. In The Knights of the Princess she is the main character, but if you want to know more about her origins, see The Heirs of Thea.

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