The Lost Princess

Episode 3

Vestin didn't understand what had happened. It had been days since she went missing and no one searched for her, why was no one but him worried about her disappearance. She had disappeared like a leaf blown away in the breeze. No one would answer him honestly of her where abouts, not even her mother.

Sitting in his room he looked at the small necklace he made for her. It was a small carving of a heart with a small string of ribbon strung through. The yellow ribbon would look nice against her skin; it was also her favorite color. The heart took him some time to crave with the help of his father. He remembered how excited she was and the promise they made. The plan was to tell her of his feelings after giving her the necklace; now he felt like it was hopeless. He wondered where she had gone and why her mother did not seem to worry.

Fed up of being told all was well and she would be all right he raced to Loraz's house where he knew her mother would be resting. Loraz often told him that her mother was sick with an unknown illness and was put on bed rest repeatedly.

As he approched the house he could see the doctors had come to visit her. Upon reaching the steps he saw they did not look too thrilled with the results of their visit. He waited on the proch for them to leave then went inside the house slowly peeking from behind the door.

Walking down the hall as quiet as possible he looked over to the his left and saw that Loraz's bedroom was almost empty as he passed it.It looked as if a child had never step foot in the room. As he came to the door he saw a frail figure propped up on pillows staring out of the window at the sky. He wondered if that was Loraz's mother and why she looked so helpless. He had seen her two days ago, and she seemed absolutely healthy.

"Hello Vestin," She whispered. "What brings you here today?"

He paused as he tried to figure out how she knew it was him at her door and not someone else. He walked slowly into the room and stood nervously before her.

She turned to face him and waited for him to speak. Her eyes had dark circles around them and her face was sunk in. She looked as if the life were being drained out of her slowly. Her hands that rested gently at her side look more like twigs of some dead tree. Her hair lay loose upon her shoulders and seemed to have lost its shine.

"I just want to know where she is.Please, just let me know that she is okay and safe. I haven't seen her in days and no one, not even you, seems to be worried about her where abouts."

She sighed softly looking down at her hands briefly and looked at him with moist eyes.

"Vestin can you keep a secret?" She said as she smiled a miserable smile trying her best to not cry in front of him.

He stood quietly and nodded his head.

"If I am correct you are a whole two years older than my sweet daughter, are you not?"

"Yes, I am a man now, my father told me so."

"She spoke very highly of you when she was home. She'd tell me stories of the many 'adventures' you two had together. She did speak of her other friends, but you...she spoke of you the most."

She coughed a bit and he jumped forward to make sure she was alright. She held up her hand and took a deep breath.

"I've watched how you act when around my daughter. So caring and gentle, I had hoped that one day you would grow up to be the man to stay by her side and protect her. A silly wish now that I think of it; to want a young boy to take over the protection of a child such as my daughter." She spoke slowly as if she struggled for the words and the energy.

She looked over at the spot Loraz use to sit in and pictured her sitting there smiling back at her and giggling as she told one of her many stories.

"I will grow into a stronger man and take care of Loraz. I will." He declared.

Her eyes glistened with hope when she heard this. She thought maybe he could be by Loraz's side in her place.

"Vestin, I am dying. I don't have many days left to me. Listen I will tell you the fate of my daughter and then you can decide if you still wish to be by her side, but first you must understand her past...her story..."

"What do you mean her fate," He responded "What about her past? Is she okay?"

"She is safe from harm. She has been taken to a safe place... If all went well, she should have made it safely by now. She is not just any child you see..."

"What do you mean?"

"If I tell you her secret can I trust you to take it to your grave? I must make sure she has one true ally by her side; the dark days that follow will most likely steal away her light. She will be surrounded by the darkness of being alone in an unknown place. I cannot have her pure heart be turned into stone. If I tell you her secret you must promise to protect her smile and her heart...pureness such as hers is rare these days."

"I will do anything for Loraz. If she needs my help I will do whatever is asked of me."

She smiled and looked him in the eyes. Such a strong young man that stood before her if anyone could be by her daughter's side then it would be him. She looked him over; tall, handsome, and well built, he held determination in his grey eyes and love in his heart.

"Okay, i will first tell you about how i came to this village with my daugther...she was only a year old at the time so she has no memory of what took place...in the kingdom of Serenity there was an attack...not just some radom ordinary attack, but one of great stratigic ablity. That night i heard the screams outside the nursery, gaurds shoting to know the gender of the child and the name...but only i knew, the people that gaurded the door knew nothing, all the nurses that helped deliver the child were long gone, sent away by the king himself to protect the babe...we barely escaped alive that night. With the death of the king and his new wife in control i fled with her in my arms with the help of a few gaurds...we came upon this village and they welcomed us with open arms..."

"Are you saying that you and Loraz use to live in the castle?"

"Listen to me closely, in a few days I will be gone form here; my life belongs to the ancestors of death now. I want you to find my daughter one day in Mossca and tell her that she is not alone; that she will always have me with her. I have told her this once before already, but it is important that she hears these words again. You must always be by her side to remind her of this. Wait until you are of age to leave, of course; we don't want your family to worry. In that time you must become stronger because only the strong can stand and protect a princess."

"A princess...Loraz..."

"Yes. I'm sure you heard of the story...the lost princess of Serenity."

"Wait, you mean all this time..."

"Yes. I was entrusted to protect her with a few others. I cannot protect her any more than I have so I am giving this task to you. Can I trust you to do this? "

"Yes."

She smiled a bit relieved that he had agreed to her last request.

"Then with that, you can no longer be a boy."

"I told you I am a man..."

"Good, remember those words when you face Loraz again."

He stood there; fist clutched tightly as he looked down at the floor. All this time he had been in love with a princess. He had to get stronger so he could find her and stay by her side always. Her mother had given him this task and for both their sakes he would fulfill it.