#.20
Despite only packing clothes, shoes, and essential items while leaving behind furniture and minor belongings, the travel bags piled up like a tower.
“Ah, no! I must take this!”
When my eldest unnie removed the stacking block toy from the bag, I quickly grabbed it and put it back inside.
“You can always buy a new one there.”
“But they won’t have the red flag set for the tower, will they? And this is my favorite!”
“Lily, do you realize this is the third toy you’ve called your favorite?”
“I can’t help it. I love all my siblings equally!”
My hamster bag was bursting with toys that my sisters had tried to stop me from packing.
When my eldest unnie tried to take some toys out of the bag, I hugged my hamster bag tightly against my chest.
“I need these guys! And they told me they need me too! We’re mega best friends!”
I puffed up my cheeks and locked eyes with my eldest unnie to make my point clear.
Eventually, she shook her head in defeat. Victory was mine—hee-hee.
“Aren’t you going to pack Cookie and Jelly?”
“I’ll carry them myself.”
“Tomorrow, your sisters will be very busy, so they won’t have time to take care of your dolls. You’ll have to look after Cookie and Jelly yourself, alright?”
“Okay! I’ll take responsibility for my little siblings!”
I grabbed Cookie and Jelly by their ears with both hands and made a promise.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
My second unnie went to check and called out my name.
“Lily! Antonio’s here!”
“Antonio?”
I dropped my hamster bag and sprinted to the front door.
There stood Antonio, his eyes swollen from crying.
It had been so long since I’d seen him that I couldn’t help but hug him tightly.
The moment he saw me, he burst into tears again.
“Antonio, why are you crying? Did you eat cake with beans in it?”
“Lilliana… hic… You’re going far away… sniff!”
“Yeah, I’m leaving soon.”
“Then I won’t see you anymore.”
“Well, yeah. But you can’t always do what you want in life.”
“Still, still… I don’t want to be apart from you, Lilliana. Waaah!”
Antonio’s sobbing broke my heart.
I didn’t want to part with him either, but I was holding back my tears.
I clenched my eyes to stop myself from crying, then held Antonio’s hand tightly and looked at my second unnie.
“Unnie, I’m going to play with Antonio in the garden for a bit.”
I took Antonio to our secret spot under the lemon tree, where we had always played as kids.
To comfort him, I took out a candy I’d been saving for myself and popped it into his mouth.
“Don’t cry, Antonio. Even if we’re apart, we’ll be friends forever.”
“But… I want to play with you every day.”
“I want to play with you every day too.”
“Hic! Sniff! Even if you go away, we’ll still be friends, right?”
“Of course! We’re mega best friends! I’ll write to you for sure!”
Antonio held out his pinky.
I quickly hooked my pinky with his.
We stamped it with our thumbs and made a wish to the lemon tree fairy.
“Lemon tree fairy, please make our friendship last forever!”
“Lilliana, you promised, right? Even if we’re apart, we’re mega best friends. Got it?”
“Got it, got it. Tell Francesca, Martina, and Vicky that I’ll miss them a lot, okay?”
“Okay, I’ll tell them for sure!”
“And Antonio, you have to write to me too.”
“I will! Every single day!”
“Great.”
We promised to stay in touch and remain friends even after I left for the Empire.
Under the lemon tree, we played with grass blades for a long time until Antonio’s nanny came to take him home.
Before we parted, we pinky-swore again.
Watching Antonio walk away made my nose sting.
“Unnnieee!”
When I returned home and saw the chaotic living room, the reality of saying goodbye to my friends hit me.
I sniffled and burrowed into my eldest sister’s arms as she checked our final luggage.
She held me without saying a word, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.
When I woke up, it was the morning of our departure for the Empire.
“What is this? I wanted to spend my last night sleeping with my sisters, but my plan got ruined!”
Even at six years old, I couldn’t beat sleep—it was a disgrace to my six-year-old self.
I hugged Jelly and Cookie tightly, slung my hamster bag over my shoulder, and got ready.
Sometime during the night, all our moving boxes had been transferred to the ship.
Clatter, clatter.
Soon, the sound of carriage wheels signaled Marius and Leopold’s arrival.
Dressed in full uniforms, the two of them looked incredibly dashing, exuding the authority befitting an emperor and the commander of the knights.
‘Wow. People look like people again.’
Marius, who always seemed trivial with his daily laughter, suddenly felt like a true male protagonist when he appeared with a serious face and a group of attendants following him.
“Hi, mister!”
“Hello, kiddo! Did you sleep well?”
“I’m not a sleepyhead!”
“I never said you were a sleepyhead. Are you feeling guilty because you actually are?”
“No! I’m not guilty; you’re just saying weird things!”
“It’s not ‘mister,’ it’s ‘His Majesty the Emperor.’ Show some respect.”
Max, the attendant secretary, scolded me. But Marius stopped him.
“It’s fine. She’s still young.”
“But Sir Edgar—”
“Edgar is royalty, and this child is a Trovancha descendant.”
Drawing a firm line with Max, Marius then picked me up with a cheerful “Gotcha!” Meanwhile, Leopold had already entered through the gate and was carrying the extra luggage my second unnie had packed.
“Did you say goodbye to your friends?”
“Yeah, I said goodbye to Antonio, but it was really sad.”
“That must’ve been tough. Did you cry a lot?”
“I cried a little, but it’s okay. We’re mega best friends, so we’ll always be friends even if we’re apart.”
“Can’t you make me a best friend too?”
“No way.”
When I turned my head sharply, Marius poked my cheek with one hand. I shook my head to avoid his hand, but he chuckled and even pinched my cheek lightly.
At that moment, my eldest sister came out of the house, ready to leave. Unlike my lively second unnie, she was dressed neatly and formally in a suit adorned with Trovantza’s traditional patterns.
“Let’s go.”
“I don’t see Emilia. Are you leaving without saying goodbye to her?”
“…We don’t have a choice.”
“You’re cold.”
“One day, we’ll come to understand each other.”
With a somewhat cold tone, my eldest sister wrapped up the situation and boarded the carriage first. Soon after, Marius carried me inside, and the carriage door closed.
“What about second unnie and Mr. Leo?”
“They’ll take a separate carriage.”
“Oh, I see.”
The carriage soon started moving. I clung to the window, taking in the rapidly passing landscapes of Trovantza: the blue, rolling sea and its horizon in the distance, the lemon and olive trees lining the roads, the beautiful white-brick houses, and roofs adorned with intricate traditional patterns.
This was the land I loved, my homeland. When would I return?
At six years old, would I grow up and forget this lovely scenery? The thought made my heart race.
“Goodbye, Trovancha.”
I kept gazing out the window until we arrived at the port.
***
The ship from the Empire was enormous and grand. The imperial emblem of a lion hunting a snake was emblazoned on its massive sails, and knights lined up at the port in formation as escorts.
“Unnie, look at that! Those are real swords. Aren’t those men amazing?”
As I whispered to my unnie, unable to take my eyes off the knights, one of them cleared his throat and flared his nostrils, likely hearing my voice.
Politicians from Trovancha stood near the ship, smiling and greeting my eldest sister when they saw her.
While she exchanged pleasantries, holding my hand, I looked around the dock.
‘I miss my little unnie….’
I hadn’t expected to part with her like this, without even saying goodbye.
Didn’t she miss me at all?
I hadn’t thought she’d ignore me like this, even if she was mad at our sisters. Ugh.
After finishing her conversation, my eldest sister picked me up and boarded the ship.
We were assigned the same cabin, and my second sister’s room was right next to ours. All the rooms were spacious and luxurious.
“Lily, are you hungry?”
“Hmm, maybe a little.”
“Lunch will be ready soon, so hang on a bit, okay?”
“Okay, got it. Can I go look around the ship?”
“Don’t wander far, and don’t go anywhere without permission.”
“Okay.”
I laid Cookie and Jelly on the bed with my hamster bag, tucked them in with a blanket, and left the room.
Even after the ship set sail, the crew bustled about.
Looking out at the shrinking port from the deck, I felt strange.
If I had known, I would’ve brought Cookie with me.
“Kiddo, are you sad about leaving home?”
“Yeah, I really like home. Huh? Little unnie?”
When I turned, my little unnie was standing beside me, looking at the port.
When had she boarded the ship?
“Little unnie!”
I lunged at her, grabbing her waist and clinging tightly.
I missed you, Little unnir. Sniffle.
“Emilia?”
My eldest sister, who had appeared out of nowhere, looked shocked to see my little unnie.
My second unnie, trailing behind, couldn’t hide her surprise either.
“How did you…?”
“I got special permission to board. I’m going to the Empire too.”
My little unnie ruffled my hair and added triumphantly, “I got a job there as the Mage Tower Master’s assistant.”
From that moment, I knew our household dynamics were doomed from the very first day aboard the ship.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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