The Missing Enchantress (English Version)

Chapter 2

The sun shine abundantly streamed into my face, so I had to slowly open my eyes. I squinted and found the blue skies behind the gigantic window where the light came from. The song of the birds was a wonderful melody in my ears.

“Where am I this time?”

I wondered my eyes around me and found myself in a… room? And was sitting atop of a ridiculously large bed. What a spacious and luxurious room this is! I wonder who could be the owner? I got out of the bed and sashayed barefoot towards the seemingly gigantic window. When I have seen what’s outside, I couldn’t help myself but marvel the scenery with awe.

“Their garden is… So wide!” I also saw an enormous gate up far ahead of the garden.

“So, you are already awake Kiera.”

I turned around almost automatically when I suddenly hear someone who started talking.

“W… who are you? How… did you… know my name?”

I heard him chuckled suddenly. What’s so funny?

“My apologies, it wasn’t meant that way… I mean I am not laughing at you.”

Woah! He can read minds? That’s amazing!

“Thanks for the compliment!” He smiled at the same time.

He really does read minds… that’s a bit creepy though! And here he goes laughing subtly again.

“What are you doing! Don’t you know that’s being disrespectful, it’s my privacy!” I protested. Not that I came here knowing my privacy could be intruded this way.

He giggled. “My apologies again… okay, I won’t be reading your mind anymore.”

“You know English?” I asked in wonder as he understood me.

“Of course! We know almost all the languages that exist in this world.” He highly said.

“Okay.” I replied with a sarcastic tone.

He was just only staring at me and here I am doing the same as well. I was waiting for him to start talking again but I couldn’t handle this awkward situation so I quickly broke the silence.

“Wait a minute! We are getting off the track from my question earlier, you were subtly evading the question… how did you know my name?”

“Only because you said it,” he retorted.

“Did I? when?”

“That time when you passed out in the road.”

I just made an agreeing sound when he said that. Wait, did I really say my name? Yeah realization struck me, I did really say it. My own mouth sold me out. And right there I caught him again smiling in ridicule.

“Hey! You’re reading my mind again!” I nagged him.

He obviously kind of forced himself to straighten up his face. “Oh, sorry about that, it’s just… you’re just too open… I mean your guard is off.”

“Just quit reading my mind!”

“Even if I don’t read your mind intentionally, I can still hear it. You keep talking loudly to your inner self,” he scratched the back of his head.

I clicked my tongue. “and how about you? Who are you?”

“Me? My name is…” he paused for a moment.

“What?”

“Sigurd. I am Sigurd,” he beamed.

“Sigurd?” I asked confirming his name.

He just nodded, a sign of agreement.

“okay Sigurd, what am I doing here?”

He raised an eyebrow to my question, clearly in disbelief to the question. What raising an eyebrow? This guy is Gay! And here he goes again showing signs that he heard my thoughts as he shook his head side to side.

“I told you, don’t listen to it! Block my thoughts so you wouldn’t hear it.”

“Okay… okay!” he said, laughing.

You are not handsome nor charming, nothing! I thought. Well no reactions, seems like he’s not hearing me anymore.

“You didn’t hear my thoughts?” I asked in confirmation.

“Yes, nothing,” he said.

“Good! Just keep it up… back to the question, why am I here?”

He gave a confused look at me. “You don’t know?”

“That’s why I am asking you right? Would I ask you if I already know?”

“How rude,” he protested.

“Yeah, whatever.”

He could only shake his head to my rudeness towards him. I laughed in my thoughts. Well, I like him because he doesn’t seem to get annoyed at me.

“Let’s go and have breakfast,” he invited.

“Breakfast? Why breakfast?” I asked, confused in his invitation. When I think of it, I arrived here at noon so why breakfast?

“You were out for three days,” he announced.

“Wait… WHAT? Three days? For real?!”

He only nodded in response.

So, I didn’t come back home? Well, of course Kiera how the hell would you be talking to that weird person if you came home. Do you really think he’s normal?

“Let’s just eat breakfast first before anything else. Who knows, you’ll pass out again.”

“Just later okay, I want to know – “

“Let’s eat first Kiera,” he butted in, more like in commanding in tone.

I could only nod and agree with him. I remembered I am only in barefoot so I looked for my boots and put it on before we came out of the room together.

When we come out of the room. My breath ceased, as I witnessed what’s outside the room I stayed. It is ridiculously or should I say ridiculously spacious or wide place. It was more like a mall than a grand mansion because of its sheer space. I just followed him until we went down the stairs. I could feel the feeling of a princess when I think of living here. It’s like a castle or a palace.

But wait, they’re not even true right? So why am I thinking about that ridiculous thought. So, erase Kiera, erase… erase… erase the idea.

As we strolled around this unnecessarily huge house, I couldn’t really help myself to feel amazed in its set up. It’s like a home for the royal bloods. I didn’t notice immediately we arrived now at their kitchen. Okay not a kitchen but a dining hall, with as usual unnecessarily wide space with an unnecessarily long table. The table is so long that it seems like it could cater hundreds of people eating here.

Sigurd sat at the middle and I followed beside him. The maids in the hall, prepared the foods we are going to eat. They served a seemingly Italian cuisine with water and wine. I was speechless again. Remember, this is only a breakfast but at this level?

As we eat, I noticed his discomfort evident in his unsettled movements and quirks. He’s like doubting if he should stand up or talk to me.

“Are you okay Sigurd?” I asked, darting sideward glances to him.

He was surprised. “what? Yes… of… course I’m fine,” he gave me an awkward smile.

Obviously, he wasn’t. Well, if you give him a closer look, he has a decent fashion of clothing. And there’s a sword rested beside him. Seems like it’s his sword. But wait…

“Are you the owner of this mansion?” I asked.

He showed a little doubt before he answered my question. “Uhm, yeah… this is mine.”

In high doubt I shot him a question. “What do you do for a living?”

“Your highness, Prince Sigurd, I would humbly suggest that you would start having your food before it gets too cold.” A maid stated in the most respectful way she could do.

“P… r… prince? You are a prince?!” I exclaimed, shooting up from my seat.

He was also surprised to my reaction and just scratched the back of his head. No this is not true, this is ridiculous! Before I even know it, I was already running away from them. All because of disbelief.

“This is not true.”

I just went and kept on running aimlessly, without having the thoughts of slowing down in order for me to get out of this place. But the problem was, this place is so huge that I got lost in the middle of nowhere. Too many possible routes and doors. I just wonder how they wouldn’t be lost every day while living here.

I was still a bit lucky as I met a man, probably on sixties, gray hair and beard and wore a very formal suit. He moves in a very prim and proper manner. He bowed at me with his right palm placed on his chest, maybe as a sign of courtesy, so I just mimicked him and bowed as well. I don’t really know what am I doing, I am not versed in all this courtesy and formalities.

“Greetings milady Kiera… I would just like to ask, what our prince’s dear guest is doing out here?” his head still slightly bowed down and eyes fixated on the floor rather than to mine.

“Uhm… it’s just… the thing is… I just got lost out here. May I ask to where the exit or the main entrance of this place might be?”

“If that’s so… if you don’t mind, let me escort you into the main door milady.”

I just nodded and he gestured into the direction where we are headed. I just followed him through the turns and all. While we were strolling around the mansion, I was just fixated on the different paintings and seemingly very expensive vases and figurines. All I can say is everything is awesome!

“We’re here milady Kiera.”

“Yes?” I fixed my gaze into him and he went back to his bowed stance just like earlier again, and in front of me was the main door.

“Th… thanks… uh… sir.”

He now stood properly straight and humbly looked at me. “Please refrain from calling me ‘sir’ milady. As you see, I am also a servant inside this manor. The butler of the Arcas Royal Family.”

I just nodded to him. “May I ask what is your name?”

He was a bit surprised when I asked his name, but recollected himself immediately. “My name is Romulos, milady.”

“Thank you very much Mr. Romulos,” I beamed at him.

Even if it’s obvious in his reactions that he wasn’t expecting that thank you from me, he smiled also and nodded.

“It was my pleasure, milady Kiera.”

I opened the… again… a huge door. Everything in this manor is huge. I then went out, and what met me was this very… very wide garden. The garden I saw when I was up in that room was pretty cute compared to when I am really standing here.

I started marching towards that another enormous thing, their main gate, which is a bit far away. Thank goodness, the heels in boots weren’t that too long or this walk will be a hell really. When I felt like I travelled a bit far now, I thought about looking back in the mansion and see how does it really look like in the outside point of view.

And there, I almost passed out again when I realized, that guy or gay Sigurd wasn’t really kidding about him being a prince. His house wasn’t a mansion but a palace or castle.

I could only click my tongue. So, does this imply that they really exist? No, I still refuse to believe it so. This is just a dream, a very long dream I wanted to wake so badly. Everything here is not real. I continued walking towards the gate, upset about this ridiculous situation.

“So, you’ll just gonna walk out from here, Kiera, without even properly saying thanks to the ones who helped you?”

I almost automatically ceased walking when I heard someone talk behind me and turn to look who was it. And that was a very wrong move… I bumped into something or into a post when I turned. I started caressing my forehead trying to mediate the pain caused by the impact.

Why is there a post here? Or how did it suddenly appear behind me? As I focused more on what’s that thing in my front, I found out that it was not a post or something like that but a body, I followed it and looked up and witnessed another God sent handsome faced being.

“Do you even know, that’s being disrespectful Kiera.”

My eyebrows just crossed when I heard that remark. Alright! You win.

“Please tell him or them, that I thank them so much for helping me.”

The guy clicked his tongue. “That’s not the right way of showing a sincere appreciation Kiera.”

“What? What’s wrong with you?! And who are you by the way?” I protested.

“The name is Theron,” he replied.

I just turned my back on him. Who does he think he is? Very bossy on someone he doesn’t know. I should just leave immediately. At the time, I was about to step forward, he suddenly grabbed my arms making me turn again to him.

“You get mad when you were the one who was disrespected, yet here you are being disrespectful.”

I could only grit my teeth and balled my fists. I hate this guy! I shrugged off his hands from grabbing my arms and started marching back towards the castle. I entered the castle again, very furious and upset.

I saw Mr. Romulos again at the moment I entered and started approaching him.

“Um, Mr. Romulos, can I bother you for a minute?” I asked with a shy smile.

He turned and look at me, holding a what seemed to be a newspaper. So, he was reading, that’s why he didn’t noticed me immediately.

“You are not a bother milady, what is it you need?”

“Its… its just… can you lead me to where Sigurd, I mean prince Sigurd is?”

He just beamed at me, and gestured the way we are heading this time. I just followed him again, it seems like I cannot ever familiarize all this maze-like castle. We went up on stairs and went turning left and right in the hallway which eventually leads to a… guess what… another huge door.

He just knocked three times and stated his intentions.

“Pardon my disturbance your highness, but Lady Kiera would like to see you.”

“Let her in,” someone from the inside replied briefly.

Mr. Romulos opened the door for me and gestured to let me in now. After I got in, he slowly closed the door, which created a creaky sound first before the clapping sound of the closed door. As I looked around, the room was filled with tons of books and a wooden desk near a window where Sigurd was seating, reading some books.

I started walking slowly towards where Sigurd is. When I reached the reasonable distance where we could properly hear each other in a talk, I took in a deep breath.

“I would like to apologize about my rude and insensitive actions earlier, Prince Sigurd.”

“Oh, it was nothing… maybe you were just really surprised earlier on Miss Kiera,” he completely shrugs it off, as opposed to what or how royals normally do.

“I would also like to thank you for the meal earlier.”

“You’re welcome here Miss Kiera,” he beamed.

“And… will you just call me Kiera, rather than adding ‘Miss’ on it, your highness. I feel weird or awkward about that,” I said.

“Okay, then you can just call me Sigurd alone,” he retorted.

“eh? But – “

He just smiled at me like saying ‘it’s alright calling me that way’, and I couldn’t help it but smile back to him as well.

“I really would like to go home now Sigurd,” I said.

“You are home already.”

WHAT?