by Ervin Agayan
“But Arsy, you offered her the wrong job; you should have found her a job in a stable,” Zens joked.
“It’s in the past, man. As for now, I’m not interested in anyone but Parelia. And I’m not joking about Dinarina,” repeated Arsy. “Meet her when you leave, or someone else will jump ahead of you.”
“Honestly, I have no intention of jumping into a new relationship any time soon.” Zens shook his head. “I haven't yet recovered from my last marriage.”
“I see. Then keep admiring Nihena,” smiled Arsy.
“That’s what I am doing.” Zens smiled back. “She looks like an angel, gifted with divine beauty, while in fact…I don’t even know what beast to compare her to. Maybe a snake?”
“A vampire!”
“Really! I’d rather say a snake-like vampire,” Zens laughed muffled.
Nihena looked so undisturbed and placid that no one could believe she had attacked Arsy just a few hours ago. However, when the young men started talking in a loud voice, her placidity vanished into thin air. Her expression became gloomy, her eyebrows moved to the bridge of her nose, and she cast a look at the guys that made them freeze from inside.
“My Parelia is completely different—she’s a real angel,” Arsy said with a blissful smile that touched his face every time he remembered her.
Zens nodded in approval but smirked at the back of his mind. “I’m indeed lucky not to fall in love with the princess. I pretty much escaped a tragedy!”
“Hey, I’m still wondering why you didn’t know who she actually was when you just met?” he asked his friend.
Arsy took a deep and heavy breath and started his story. “A while back, we went for a walk in our usual company. That day, Erania didn’t come alone. She took Parelia with her but didn’t tell us who she actually was. I’m not sure, but I suspect she had arranged it deliberately to trap Erathos. In a word, it’s quite a complicated story.”
“So Parelia and Erania were indeed friends, weren’t they?”
“They were back then but not now,” Arsy answered gloomily, but in a second, his expression brightened up, and the blissful smile touched his face again. “I liked Parelia at first glance. She was like the sun with her beaming smile and eyes sparkling energetically. A real sun! I will never forget our first meeting. At first, Erania introduced Parelia to Erathos, since she had heard a lot about him. They had a long conversation, after which Erania finally introduced me to her in the worst way possible, since we disliked each other. She warned Parelia to keep away from me, calling me a slime ball.” Arsy smirked. “However, Parelia turned her words into a joke, ‘Wow, I’ve always dreamed of meeting someone like that.’ I stood petrified and didn’t say a word, like a fool who had swallowed his tongue. I kept my eyes fixed on her, completely blunt. Her face seemed to be familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I could have met her.”
“You mean, you had met her before?” asked Zens.
“Yup, I had been attending some formal parties, organized by her, and saw her from afar. But then I didn’t recognize her in casual clothes and without jewelry. Besides, she had dyed her hair a different color. Erathos didn’t recognize her either, or rather, he couldn’t remember where he could have seen her.”
“And what trap were you referring to?” reminded Zens.
“Becoming the leader of the Agayan movement, Erathos had to win Parelia’s heart. During the promenade, she saw that Erathos and Erania were friends. Then Erania was supposed to tell Parelia that Erathos had broken her heart, leaving him with no chances of winning her favor. As soon as Erathos realized he was trapped, he was forced to renounce the leader’s title, and so we started to prepare the plan of revolution.”
“And after all those intrigues, Erathos and Erania are still together?”
“Yes, God damn Erania!” Arsy exclaimed spitefully, but immediately lowered his voice to a whisper. “I disliked her from our first meeting. She was the reason our revolution failed, and I lost my Parelia! I still can’t forgive them. They actually live in a kind of hell now, though it could be quite the opposite. Erathos, who always dreamed of and strived to be the king, stepped back at the last second. But if you think of it, the victory was virtually in our hands, and nothing could get in our way. Agastan was entirely at our feet, with only Siyeron left to be conquered. I burst out with fury at the mere thought of it.” Arsy took a deep breath and added in a quiet whisper, “Personally, I was not interested in power or wealth. Being with Parelia was all I wanted. I needed only her. But now she hates me, so I’m left with only one option and that is capturing her…”
“Kidnapping,” Zens ended the phrase in a whisper, “but you can hardly hide from the mercenaries!”
“I know,” Arsy confessed reluctantly. “Therefore, as long as we’re here, we need to find out how they detect a person’s location.”
“Well, I will refer to that subject with Nihena,” nodded Zens.
At that moment, Sensei Farin finally opened his eyes. The meditation was obviously nearing its completion.
“Get ready, Arsy,” Zens started up.
“I was ready a long time ago,” he announced resolutely. “You should also be ready to distract Nihena’s attention.”
Arsy's test was that he had to stand on his knees for two hours. Personally, Arsy didn’t consider it a tough challenge, but he was well aware of the fact that mercenaries were keen on guile and artifice. They had most probably thought of something special. Noticing Nihena nodding to him in the direction of the court, he realized he wasn’t mistaken. A small area in the center of the court was covered in fine gravel. As soon as Arsy looked at the tiny stones with sharp facets, he started sensing pain in his legs.
He was consoled by the flask in his side pocket that contained the painkiller, which was actually his only salvation. Arsy cast an unconfident glance at the sensei, who sat like a statue, then at Nihena, who stood in front of him, and finally at Zens, who walked up to the ring and nodded to him with confidence, meaning, he shouldn’t worry for he’d do everything as planned.
Arsy took a deep breath and was about to kneel on the gravel, when quite unexpectedly, Nihena raised her hand to stop him.
“Take off your clothes!” she commanded.
“What?” exclaimed Arsy.
“Are you deaf or what?” smirked Nihena and repeated with the same commanding tone. “Get undressed! You should be standing on the stones with bare knees. The cloakroom is over there.”
Arsy looked at the sensei in anticipation of support and discretion but was faced with a stonewall countenance. It didn’t take him long to realize there was no point in arguing. This goddamned beast either suspected something or was simply mocking him. Anyway, he lost his last hope of withstanding the trial.
Zens was watching with horror as his friend kneeled on the fine gravel with bare knees, clenching his teeth with pain. The gambler inside Zens placed a bet on three minutes.
In barely ten seconds, Arsy felt the first tingles in his knees. In another ten seconds, the painful sensations started crawling along his entire body. In a minute, the pain grew so strong that he wanted to wail. By some miracle, he resisted and didn’t make a single sound.
He always remembered Parelia in times of trouble. Her image invigorated him, helping him cope with any and all hardships. This time, he recalled their first conversation.
The Amazing Girl
Erathos had repeatedly asked him to keep away from that girl, but Arsy’s desire to see her was overwhelming. Since the day he first met Parelia on the ship, all his thoughts were only about her. He was attracted to her like a magnet, unable and unwilling to resist his desire to get close and speak to her.
Parelia was sitting on a log at the riverside, with her legs immersed ankle deep in the transparent water. The thoughtful expression of her beautiful eyes was fixed on the horizon. For a while, Arsy stood in the back, admiring her enchanting beauty. Finally, he walked to her quietly and interrupted the idyllic silence.
�
�Hi! Is this place vacant? Can I take a seat?”
“Hi!” Parelia smiled, seeing Arsy. “It is, but before taking a seat, make sure we are out of Erania’s sight.”
“We are; her attention is now entirely focused on Erik.” Arsy took a seat next to the girl.
“I’ve already lost count of her warnings to keep away from you!” The princess narrowed her lids, as though trying to discern his imperfections.
“And you are determined to do the exact opposite, like a little naughty girl.” Arsy smiled.
“I wonder if you are really so terribly bad. She doesn’t want me to exchange a single word with you.”
Erania’s warnings had a reverse effect on Parelia; instead of scaring her away from Arsy, they heightened her wild interest in his personality. Sitting here, she hoped Arsy would be the first to approach her and start a conversation. She had to wait a few hours, but Parelia was characterized by angelic patience. Finally, her expectations were rewarded, and the girl could hardly conceal her happiness.
“Believe it or not, Erik has also asked me not to bother you,” Arsy said, revealing the secret.
“He also told you Arpy is a bad girl and you’d better not mess with her. Am I right?” Parelia cracked a joke. She and Erania had tricked the guys, telling them her name was Arpy.
The girl looked at him angrily and pronounced with a dramatically disgruntled intonation, “So, you are actually not complying with his request.”
“I would if he provided any reasonable argument as to why I shouldn’t be interested in the most wonderful young lady in the world, who is ultimately, fabulously beautiful,” exclaimed Arsy.
“Oh, really?” Parelia smiled and added playfully, “In that case, I consider his request nothing but a crime.”
“A crime against love,” agreed Arsy with a gentle smile. “And then he’d be caught by the gods of love and burnt at the stake for standing on the road of the most beautiful love story ever.”
“I think you are cool,” laughed Parelia, but the next second she added seriously, “but I will have to disappoint you. That would be one of the saddest stories ever.”
“Why so?” The criminal kept smiling. “Their love will be so strong, they’ll easily overcome all difficulties.”
“You are mistaken,” Parelia said, shaking her head. “The girl’s heart has long been taken…”
Arsy frowned and looked at the surface of the river, touched by slight ripples due to the breeze. The air smelt like thunder.
“Do you want to know which story would really be the saddest?” asked Arsy. He continued, without waiting for an answer. “The guy does not surrender and keeps fighting for his love to the end. Finally, he lives up to the day when the girl reciprocates, but he…dies unexpectedly. By the way, this story is not very far from being true.”
“What do you mean?” Parelia looked at him suspiciously.
“I will die at a young age.”
“Are you sick?” Her beautiful eyes reflected horror.
“No, I’m not, but it’s what the prophecy suggests.” Arsy kept his eyes fixed on the water for a few seconds, and suddenly, he burst out laughing and looked at the girl cheerfully. “Anyways, I am far from believing in such fabrications.”
“That’s good!” She smiled back, and as it seemed to Arsy, she sighed with relief.
“Would you like me to predict your future?” he asked unexpectedly. He took her hand with care, turned the palm to himself, and started examining it like a scholar. In a few seconds, he exclaimed, “I knew it!”
“What do you see?” The princess’s eyes lit up with curiosity.
“Look! This line,” he dabbed his finger at her palm, “reflects your destiny, and this one is mine. I can see lots of challenges on the way. At first, these lines are separated from each other, like here, but then they come together into one and never part again,” Arsy said, completing his speech triumphantly.
The princess laughed wholeheartedly, but then she pretended to frown and looked at the interlocutor insidiously.
“But, how do you know it’s your line and not someone else’s? I can’t read your name on it. I’m sure it’s some other guy’s destiny. And those are not challenges, actually.” She smiled coquettishly. “They show I am leaving for a honeymoon with my sweetheart.”
“No way! It’s my line!” Arsy declared resolutely.
“Why are you so sure?”
“Because I never give others what belongs to me.” Arsy pronounced these words in a whisper, as if he was disclosing a top secret to her.
Parelia was obviously enjoying this conversation. She moved closer and whispered back playfully, “What if the girl you are aspiring to love appears to be the princess? What will you say in that case?”
Why doesn’t he recognize me? She kept replaying this question in her head. For a second, she even had a crazy idea to confess who she really was.
“I am too smart to fall in love with the princess,” Arsy declared smugly, his words making Parelia giggle loudly.
“But you know, the heart wants what it wants,” insisted the girl. “What if you do fall in love with her after all?”
“Then the prediction will come true, for I will commit suicide.” Arsy laughed.
“Seems like you gave up too easily,” frowned the princess. “What if she also falls in love with you?”
“Good joke. How can a princess fall in love with a layman, like me?” Arsy exclaimed in astonishment, silent about all his merits.
“But, have you ever seen her—Princess Parelia?” The girl literally pierced him with her persevering stare, as though asking him, “Why don’t you recognize me? We have even been talking!”
Arsy nodded silently. A few months ago, there was a funny incident involving the princess, among others. Understandably, he passed over this incident in silence and generally preferred not to share it with anyone.
“And what is your opinion of her?” Parelia pressed further.
“Well, I’ve seen her from a distance,” Arsy cut short.
“And why didn’t you go closer?” The girl didn’t give him a break. “Don’t tell me you were not curious to see what she looks like.” This question had plagued the princess ever since.
“Of course I was curious, but they would catch me as soon as I moved any closer to her.”
“Catch you?” asked Parelia.
“Well, let’s just say I was an uninvited guest at the reception,” Arsy said unconfidently, without going into details about his criminal nature.
“How come?” inquired Parelia.
“I made a fake invitation and made my way in,” Arsy announced proudly.
“Are you serious?” The princess couldn’t believe her ears.
“Absolutely! So, if you ever wish to attend an event, I can get you a ticket.”
“A fake one?” Parelia was still unwilling to believe his words, for she pictured Arsy as a completely different person.
“Yes, but artfully faked.” Arsy’s voice still reflected certain notes of pride. “Not a single guard ever suspected me!”
“And what were you doing at those parties?” asked Parelia, with expiring interest. Arsy’s image she had created in her head was gradually crashing down.
“The same as others: eating free food, hanging out with girls, having fun.”
“Stealing.” He completed the sequence in the back of his mind, but naturally passed it over in silence; she’d better not know that during one such evening, he and his cronies “earned” up to several thousand lesos.
“Without spending a single dime,” the princess finished his phrase.
“Not true!” Arsy resented her statement. “I spent a whopping ten lesos for faking an invitation.”
“It’s unbelievable!” murmured Parelia in a state of shock. The honest princess could never even assume that someone could make fake invitations.
“No, I’m serious. I suggest we go to some official party, so you can see with your own eyes!” the criminal sug
gested without any secret intention, not realizing he was making his suggestion to the organizer of such parties.
“Thank you very much for such a generous offer,” the princess pronounced, pursing her lips, “but Parelia always sends me an invitation. In fact, I am going to tell her about fake invitations next time I meet her!”
“Recently, I’ve hardly had time for high-society events,” Arsy said sadly, obviously missing those parties, “but, I should say, I used to make lots of money on fake invitations!”
“And I would hang out with charming representatives of secular elite,” he added at the back of his mind.
“And how did you do that?” Parelia frowned even more.
“Well, I was faking invitations not only for myself, but for others. For a good deal of money, of course.”
“You must be kidding!” Parelia opened her mouth with amazement.
“Absolutely not!” Arsy carelessly threw a stone into the water, without a single suspicion to whom he was telling these secrets. “It’s quite a lucrative business, I should say. On average, the tickets are sold at the price of three hundred lesos, but the invitations to closed events could be sold for two thousand lesos each.”
“And you were never caught?” Parelia started feeling dizzy with such a revelation. Who could ever assume that absolutely anyone could find a way to a formal party?
“Never!” Arsy declared proudly. “I’m telling you the forgery was done in the best quality. Besides, the guards knew me by sight and easily let me in.”
“I can’t believe it! Thanks to your abilities, any vagabond could find himself around grand people, doing everything he’d fancy.” The princess shivered at the mere thought of it.