The Girl, The Knight, and The Sleeping Princess

The Old Story

There was silent inside the house, only the sound of the fireplace. Troya took a bite of the fish that had just been grilled. Even though it didn't use any spices other than a pinch of salt, the fish was delicious. The flesh was so soft and sweet. Liam did the same with Troya, enjoying his dinner this time. Meanwhile, Mayang, who really likes to cook, was more interested in watching the person worked, started from the fire, cleaned the fish, stab them with a wooden stick that was sharpened at the end, gave a little salt and burned it on the fire. 

The man gave Mayang the ripe fish and forced her to eat it. Mayang never ate dinner, because according to her it would accumulate fat in her stomach and fat doesn't fit for models. And so far, neither of her friends had bothered Mayang to eat. But not with that person. 

He furrowed his brows and glared at Mayang. Finally, because she was horrified, Mayang accepted the food and sat beside Liam who was sitting far from the fireplace and began to enjoy her dinner. Troya and Liam chuckled at the scene where Mayang was being scolded by that person. 

Before the sun set, they were cleaning themselves in the river they passed. After that, they got clean clothes from the person who had helped them. Troya and Mayang received a long dress with lace on the neck and cuffs. The clothes were thick enough to withstand the cold tonight. Meanwhile, Liam got a brown trouser and a bone-white long-sleeved top. Under his clothes, Liam was wearing warm clothes. 

Meanwhile, the brown bear was in one corner of the house enjoying the raw fish he had hunted himself. While the three of them cleaned up, it turned out that the man was catching fish. Of course the brown bear caught him with unmatched finesse. It looked like it was ripping into the air and suddenly the fish were thrown to the side of the river. And the person just needed to collect them by the river and put them in a big plastic bucket. That person was wearing a knight outfit with his armor, now taking it off and wearing the same clothes as Liam's but somehow it looks more luxurious when worn by him. 

For a couple of time, Troya took a glance at him. She still couldn't believe what she was seeing at this moment. His physique is very similar to Kai, even his voice is the same. Indeed, the skin is different. Kai's skin is tanned because the boy loves outdoor activities. The man's skin was white and paler. But the resemblance were to much.

After finishing her dinner, Troya decided to come over and sat beside the man. She smiled faintly as the man turned to her. 

"Thanks, the dinner was really good," said Troya. 

"You're welcome," he replied briefly and then he fell silent again. 

"I am Troya," said her again stretching out her hand. 

The man smiled at her, "Yes, you've said it about a dozen times since this afternoon." 

Troya pulled her hand back nervously, "Then ..., what's your name?" Again the man just smiled, made her more frustrated. 

"Surprisingly you already know my name." The answer was still with the same smile. 

Troya would not believe that answer until it came out of that person's mouth. "How do you spell your name?"  

"Kei. Ei. Wai!" he replied briefly. 

Troya furrowed her brows, "Not Kei. Ei. Ai?" 

"No, Kei. Ei. Why!" 

“Then the pronunciation isn't Kai. But it's more like English pronunciation when mentioning the letter K," said Troya. 

"Hmm ... it's like that. So you can call me Kay." He smiled. 

Troya almost cried out with joy because her plan was successful. It was true that their names were similar. Just a little different. “Kay what? Kay Yahto, Kay Prince?" 

"Kay Paxton, a knight, at your service."  

"You are a knight?" asked Troya, Liam and Mayang together. 

Knight Kay nodded slowly, not expecting that the reaction of the three people in front of him would be this exciting. Then there was silence in the room. They had their own thoughts. Troya was busy thinking about how this might happen in a world completely foreign. There are two people who share the same face and name. Either she should feel grateful or terrified. 

"Then knight, may we ask?" Liam asked after knowing that the one he was going to talk to was a Prince, he changed his tone a little. 

"Yes, you may." The answer is short. 

"Thank you. So, where are we now?" asked Liam. 

Meanwhile, Mayang still hasn't finished her dinner yet, it took a while to eat her meal, especially since she became interested in listening to the conversation. The brown bear, who was sitting not far from Mayang's current position, approached the girl and rubbed her head against Mayang's arm. The girl screamed softly in shock, “What? You want this fish? Just take it!" said Mayang handing out the fish and cleaning her hands with a handkerchief. At least she had a reason not to finish her dinner because the bear snatched it from her.

Kay smiled at Liam, but the smile only lasted a few seconds, because after that his face became serious again. The three of them were amazed to see it. Even though what Liam asked was a very simple question, but why was the knight so gloomy like that. 

"Earlier, sorry once again if the three of you had to be greeted unfriendly like this by Misha," said Kay, mentioning the name of the brown bear. 

At first, the three of them thought that the bear was a female from its name. But it turned out to be a male. Because Misha itself means bear. The three of them nodded and said "no problem" in unison, then fell silent again. 

The prince continued his story. "This is the territory of the Paralia kingdom, this kingdom is right on the edge of the sea, as you saw this afternoon at the end of the cliff," he said, starting to tell his story, giving a momentary pause looking at Troya, which this afternoon was right on the edge of the cliff. "Most of the Paralia people are fisherman. But Paralia also has mountains, the plantation products are also very advanced. The fertile land made the Paralia kingdom always overflowing with abundant vegetables and fruits. The Paralia people could sell fish and plantation products at high prices to other kingdoms. To the kingdom of Diamantia for example, whose land is more arid, but the mining output is extraordinary and has a very strong royal army. The two kingdoms have been doing very well for hundreds of years." 

Troya, Liam and Mayang were fascinated by the story. Sounded like this kingdom was a great kingdom. But why the Prince looked so sad. 

"Therefore, the two kingdoms agreed to marry off their sons and daughters, so that cooperation would continue. But somehow, for decades, the two kingdoms could never unite their sons and daughters, because if Queen Diamantia gave birth to a prince, Queen Paralia would also give birth to a prince. Or vice versa. Continue like that. Until finally seventeen years ago. The Diamantia Kingdom already had two princes, while the Paralia kingdom had no successors. And finally what expected came. Queen Paralia was pregnant and gave birth to a daughter. The hopes of the two kingdoms were granted. The engagement party was held even before the princess understood the meaning of love."

 Up to this moment, Troya, Liam and Mayang have listened to the knight's story in awe. But suddenly, the knight's face looked sad, he stopped his story, as if he was thinking about something. There was silence in this room, only the crunch of wood in the fireplace could be heard.[]