Chapter 15: Unfulfilled dreams
Isabel stepped up the porch and went to knock on the door of the house she came by. She took in a breath and released anxiously as she turned her head to the side to see if anyone was watching her. The door soon opened and the woman pulled her brows before asking;
"Who are you?"
Isabel raised her hand to her head and pulled back the scarf she used to disguise, revealing her face and she smiled.
"Granny," she called.
The frown on Granny's face disappeared and her eyes lit on seeing her. "Princess, what are you doing here all by yourself?" she asked and then quickly glanced around before motioning with her hand and she went back in and offered, "Come inside."
Isabel followed her inside and once Granny shut the door behind her, her body went cold immediately as she stayed in that spot, not moving but looking around and feeling hollow inside until Granny touched her.
"Isabel?"
Isabel took in a breath and turned to look at her with a smile. "My name sounds so much better when you call it," she said to her.
Granny returned the smile and said, "Come and have a seat."
Isabel nodded as she set her lips into a thin line and she watched as Granny took the lead before she followed her. The place was warm, almost alive, but Isabel knew it was not the moment she set her eyes on that painting that sat on the table next to the wall. Her countenance changed again and she slowed her feet. Even though her son was long gone, Isabel could still feel his presence in the house and it haunted her because she knew something and she was hiding it away. She wondered how much longer she would keep it to herself…how much longer she would keep betraying that one person whom she never deserves her love. Granny took her like a daughter and nothing could separate the love of the one you see as a mother which is the reason she always looks for ways to leave the palace.
She remembers the first day she met her. It was one of the days she had sneaked out to have fun outside the palace with Eve. Also, the same day Eve met Jomei…
Eve's face brightened up as she went from stalls to stalls and inhaled the wonderful scent in the air. For the first time in her life, she felt free, with no responsibility, but it was not too long that she started to feel reality crawl in.
"Princess Isabel," she muttered under her breath and left to look for her.
Isabel had made them split up, saying that they would meet later and return to the palace, but for some reason, Eve didn't think it would be a good idea. That reason came up after she had agreed and they went their way. It reminded Eve of the night she said the same to her sister.
As she continued to look for the Princess, the same time was when Jomei walked the same road with his hands behind him and he wore a full smile. A commotion soon broke out at a distance and he got distracted. It was that time he bumped into Eve who was also not watching where she was going.
"Ah!" Eve let out a small sharp cry as she landed on her butt and she raised her eyes to see the young gentleman who stood above her, looking confused. She lifted her hands from the ground and looked down at it before dusting them together. As she did, she saw a hand stretched towards her and she looked up again.
"Do you need help?" Jomei asked as he offered his hand to help her up.
Eve stared at the hand and then lowered her eyes to look at the shoe he was wearing and then at his attire. One thing that rang in her head was that the man offering his hand to help her was from a noble family and once she took his hand, he would want to ask her questions which she wanted to avoid at all cost. No one must know a maid had left the palace and also, that she had left together with the princess.
A scream was heard at the same distance where the commotion had broken out and Eve turned her head sharply to the direction.
"Princess," she said unconsciously which Jomei heard and she quickly helped herself up, ignoring the gentleman's hand. She made her way towards the scene and Jomei who stood there thinking for a second, followed after her immediately.
Isabel was caught up in the midst of three huge looking men who seem like a threat to her. Of course, they had seen her and saw her beauty, even though she was dressed in a simple cloth and they had tried to get her attention but she had completely ignored them. They had followed her and now she was being cornered.
She looked at them frightfully and thought of what to do. There was no one to help her around and she decided to scream if anyone would hear her and help her.
It was the same time an old woman passed that same place and she stopped to look at them. Isabel's eyes begged the woman for help and the woman looked at the three men who snickered and had lustful smiles.
"What do you three think you are doing?" she asked them and they looked at who had just spoken.
"Huh?" one of them asked and they looked at each other.
The old woman shook her head in pity and said, "Humans these days…I'm sure no one expected their life to turn out this way ten years ago, but then, here we all are and now we don't care about our actions. Three against a weak one," she clicked her teeth and continued, "how shameful. To even think that you will mess with the daughter of an old woman."
Guilt was soon to catch up with the three men and they lowered their heads in shame.
"We didn't know she was your daughter," one of them said.
"Then would you have messed with her if she was not?" the woman asked and they shook their heads. "After my son died while fighting to protect your lives, would you ruin my daughter's life too?"
The men gave a deep bow and said, "Forgive our actions."
"Go," the woman ordered them, "and live decent lives."
The men started to leave and Isabel heaved a sigh of relief almost immediately. Moving her eyes back to look at the old woman, she said, "Thank you for saving me."
The woman stared at her for few seconds and then spoke, "What are you doing out here with no guards, princess?"
Isabel blinked immediately and she looked around to be sure no one heard her. She was surprised that someone recognize her as she had disguised perfectly.
"But…how do you know?" she asked her.
It was that moment that Eve appeared and on seeing her, she went to her immediately.
"Princess, what happened to you?" Eve asked with a look of concern and it was then she knew she had slipped when she saw the old woman.
Eve cleared her throat and she heard the woman say, "Will you come to my house to have a little rest? It is not too far from here."
Meanwhile, Jomei hid himself at the corner, not making himself seen and he heard them talking. It was when they started to leave that he caught a glimpse of the princess and from that day, his heart has never left her.
Returning back to the present, Granny came out of the kitchen, holding a glass of water and she went towards Isabel who already sat on one of the chairs. Isabel took the glass from her and held it with both of her hands. She felt stiff as she sat there, staring at nothing in particular and wondering if or not she should tell Granny what was on her mind. Few seconds passed and Isabel finally found her voice.
"Granny, tell me about your son."
Of course, she had just blew up her chance of asking the real question, but then, she realized she really knows nothing about the son of the Granny and she has never said anything about him.
"Why do you want to know that?" Granny asked.
"Heh? Uh, I mean, you haven't said anything about him. I was thinking you need someone to share those memories with."
*
"My son…I named him after his father_ Mathian. I watched him grow up into a fine man and he wanted to take care of me, just like his father. He had his plans and I was in it. He said one day, he would take me out of here and we would live together in a quiet place outside of all these. He had big dreams, and I didn't care how small they looked. But maybe I really should have told him he didn't have to worry about me, that I was fine with everything. Maybe I shouldn't have sent him off to his death. He really made me proud, everyone who knew him always praised him. But then, one day when he returned, he was disturbed and wouldn't come out of his room. He spoke only few words to me and the last thing he said to me before he would eventually leave was, 'Once I return, we will make that dream come true'. I believed him and I let him go, and when he would eventually return, it was his body in a sack lying on my porch with a severed head which hung at the pole of the street, not to be taken down."
Isabel crumbled to the ground as Granny's words replayed in her head and her eyes burned with tears that would soon spill in less than a minute. She placed her hand on the wall for support, outside of the house as she made her way in. Night had fell and when she walked in, her household were all waiting for her with torches that burned brightly and a look of concern on their faces.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone