In part five, Hyakinthos asked Alyssa to address the crowd. Will the people like her input? Read on to find out more. This is the version that was supposed to go up. The previous version was an accident. If you saw it, consider yourself lucky.
“I… I’m gonna do it?” Alyssa’s eyes widened. “Must I repeat myself, Princess Alyssa?” Hyakinthos said with his fingertips on her bare neck. Alyssa took a deep breath and puffed up her chest. “Leave it to me. I got this!” Hyakinthos smirked while staring at her. “I look forward to your performance, Princess.” Alyssa stood tall and waved her hands like the princesses she saw in fairytale movies. She twirled around while practicing. The layers of her dress spun around her like flower petals. “Just like Cinderella.” She paused and giggled. “Who is Cinderella?” Hyakinthos asked, leaning against his chair. “Ya don’t know her?” Alyssa cocked her head to the side. Hyakinthos silently smiled while shaking his head. “She’s a famous princess from the fairytale. I always wanted to be just like her.” Alyssa twirled again while giggling. “Don’t ya think this is cool, Tanya? We get to meet the folks in the town. I know they’re gonna love us.” Alyssa nodded.
“I do not think it’s going to go like that, Alyssa,” Tanya said after taking a long deep breath. Alyssa pouted. “Why? We’re princesses, right? It’s always like that in the fairytale.” Tanya sighed. “This is the reality. Life is not a fairytale.” “Watch me, Tanya. I’ll show you how a princess talks to the folks, the royal subjects ya know.” Tanya looked toward at a smiling Hyakinthos. “Why are you letting her do this?” Tanya pleaded. “Hyakin trusts me. It’ll be fine, right?” He leaned over and placed a finger to Alyssa’s lips. “In public, you must call me his Majesty or Crown Prince Hyakinthos. It annoys me. However, that will keep you both out of trouble.” Alyssa nodded. “I will speak with the people first. Then, I will call for you to speak.” Alyssa grinned. “Furthermore,” he turned to Tanya. “It will be a good experience for her.” He leaned in and whispered in Tanya’s ear. “She wanted to be a real princess after all.” Hyakinthos winked.
The townspeople flowed into the hall like a slow-moving river. They crowded the hallway. Hyakinthos stood to address them. He moved like a stiff doll. His face was almost emotionless except for a slight smile. He gave them a long slow bow from his waist. The townspeople applauded him. He waved his hand to stop them. Then, his face turned into a soft smile. However, his eyes looked only half-alive. His mouth barely moved as he gave his speech. Often, he would pause to look each person in the eye. With an open hand, he gestured to them, then to himself. Later, he pronounced Tanya and Alyssa’s names softly and deliberately. “Some of you can speak English, those of you who can feel free to do so. I want these princesses to get to know our kingdom.” He returned to his seat with a soft smile at the crowd. Laurus moved between Tanya and Alyssa. “There is English education in our schools. However, we solely use it for study.” He whispered.
Members of the crowd softly murmured among themselves with knitted brows.“Your Majesties,” an old man said slowly to pronounce the words correctly. He bowed deeply and spoke with a thick accent. “My land lies close to the border. What will farmers do in the coming years?” The crowd voiced their agreement with the sentiment. Hyakinthos nodded slowly. “First, nothing has been decided as of yet. However, if the need calls for it, the royal army will assist you in relocating to a different part of the kingdom.” Laurus translated for him. The townspeople slowly silently nodded. Tanya darted her eyes toward Hyakinthos. “Do you have any questions for our visitors?” “I do.” A tall, burly man walked up gently pushing others aside. “Why are you here in our kingdom? Do you not worry about your kingdoms? We do not need outsiders here during our meetings. This meeting is the only time we can talk with our future king. You are in the way.”
Hyakinthos took a deep breath with a furrowed brow. His voice was calm like driftwood floating down the river. He looked the man directly in the eyes as he addressed his concerns in their language. Laurus nodded slowly but didn’t translate it. A woman spoke up in very slow but steady English, “We do not need outsiders in our kingdom. Go home.” Hyakinthos stood and addressed her in their language. His words were succinct and cut like a knife. The woman glared her eyes. A teenage boy and girl tried to calm the crowd. “Why did you come to our kingdom, princesses?” Alyssa walked forward to answer the question. Hyakinthos held his hand up to hold her back. He smiled at the teens. “The royal family will disclose that when the time is right. For now, just know this is a peaceful gesture.” Hyakinthos took a deep breath and smiled. “So, please show them the best of our kingdom.” “Princess Alyssa, we need to go. Most of them are looking at us like they want to kill us,” Tanya whispered. Alyssa rolled her eyes at Tanya, “Ya just overreacting. They think we’re cool!” Alyssa smiled brightly. Tanya narrowed her eyes at Alyssa. An older strong looking man walked forward. “Are you here to conquer us?” His voice grew in anger. “Will you bring your armies?” He was almost shouting at this point. “If so, we need to protect ourselves from an invasion.” He raised his fist. “I respect your feelings, doctor. We should focus on collaboration instead of anger. This presentation can be a great opportunity for our kingdom.” Hyakinthos said. The tall, burly man grunted and stomped away. His eyes grew colder as he glared at Tanya and Alyssa as he disappeared into the crowd.
“Ya don’t have to worry ‘bout a thing with us! We like ya!” Alyssa said while waving at the man. Hyakinthos watched her with a smile. She was incredibly proud of herself. Tanya would have said something if Laurus hadn’t grabbed her arm to stop her. He looked her in the eyes and shook his head. Tanya looked at the ground and sighed. Hyakinthos spoke some words to the crowd and directed them to applaud. When some of them didn’t do so in response, his voice grew stern. He ended with a kind, “Please, show them the respect you would like them to show you.” He then spoke some words calmly. “Please listen closely to what she has to say. Her presentation will be enlightening for us all.” Tanya turned to him. She had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from saying something. “Please continue Princess Alyssa,” Hyakinthos said with a sly smile. Alyssa nodded quickly and took a big swallow.
“I’ll translate for you,” Laurus said. “Thank ya!” Alyssa smiled. “Laurus,” Hyakinthos said with a soft voice. “Be sure to translate her words to convey her exact meaning. Do not alter them, match her intonation completely.” Hyakinthos smiled sweetly. Laurus gave a painful smile back at him.
“Ya see, where we come from nobody looks like ya! I mean maybe the skin color, but not the ears. Nobody’s born with that.” She motioned to make the long shape of their ears. The townspeople listened to her intently as they shuffled among themselves. All eyes were on Alyssa, and she enjoyed every minute of it. “See, we only have stories of people like ya.” She said waving her hands dramatically. Every word came out like she was dramatically acting. She knew this was the best way to reach an audience. She took pauses between each sentence to let Laurus translate. “Like, you’re only in the fairytales and stuff. We call ya elves where we’re from.” Alyssa smiled smugly. A young woman walked in front of the group. “Do they truly still call us that?” Alyssa nodded confidently. “Yep, we sure do.” The townspeople mumbled among themselves. An older man hobbled forward. “How do they portray us in those tales from the fairies, princess?” Alyssa cocked her head and looked up in thought. “Depends on the story,” she shrugged. “How do they portray us in these tales from the fairies?” A little one asked. He looked like he was five years old. Alyssa bent down to his height. “We have good ones where the elves help people. They sometimes are protectors. Other times, they just live with the humans. They’re like real superheroes, ya know.” The crowd mumbled the phrase superhero around curiously. “A superhero is somebody really tough. They save folks from stuff. They’re cool. So, everybody looks up to them.” The townspeople smiled at this. They talked among themselves in their language with a few laughs. Another young one asked, “We are warm. Why do humans think we are cool? Are humans naturally hotter than us?” Alyssa paced back and forth figuring out how to answer this. “Cool is something that’s really good. Like getting presents or eating good food.” The little one smiled and nodded quickly. The mother bowed and promptly pulled her child away.
“So people mostly positively see us?” A young woman asked. Alyssa nodded. “Yep.” “If this is true, would we be able to integrate into their society freely?” Alyssa paused. “Well,” she paced quietly. The crowd murmured on her silence. “I think we could get used to ya existing with us.” The woman sighed. “Are you saying it would be difficult for us?” Alyssa bit her lip. “I can’t guarantee either way. You’d be a dream come true for some folks. Other folks might have different ideas.” The woman’s shoulders slumped as her hand went to her mouth. “Well, I can tell ya one good thing.” The woman looked up. “Me and her like ya. So, we’ll try to get more people to like ya too.” Tanya smiled genuinely. The crowd murmured and showed signs of comfort.
“Thank you for your input, Princess Alyssa. I am sure the people thank you for your sincerity.” Hyakinthos waved her to stand next to Tanya. “My dear people, I have time only a little time remaining today. Feel free to express your final concerns.” They all spoke in their language. During their questions, Hyakinthos spent more time nodding than anything. His answers were mostly very soft. Sometimes he would answer with a tiny paragraph. He kept his answers short. The people smiled and spoke firmly to him. There were a few times when the people pointed to Tanya and Alyssa. Sometimes they looked at them with smiles. Other times, the people looked at them with narrowed eyes and gritted teeth. Each time Alyssa would smile and give a dramatic wave. Tanya gave them reserved warm smiles. “My fellow citizens of this vast kingdom, we must end the day’s meeting. If you have further questions, I shall return next week.” He then said something in their language. He ended with a smile and wave. All the townspeople gave a deep bow as they left. The little ones waved at Alyssa directly.
Alyssa felt amazing. She couldn’t believe the folks loved every word she said. “I’m getting popular!” Alyssa proudly exclaimed. She then giggled to herself. Tanya worried there might be a backlash. “Excellent work, Princess Alyssa. Your speech enthralled the citizens. You gave them a thorough education. They know they can relate to you now.” Tanya relaxed after Hyakinthos said those words. “You did the right thing, Alyssa,” Tanya smiled with a thumbs up. Hyakinthos noticed her hand. “Why did you use this gesture?” He awkwardly made the thumbs up. “Well, in our culture it means agreement and a signal for something being good.” “Ah, I shall remember this gesture,” Hyakinthos said happily smiling with raised brows. “Well, it is the time for us to journey back to the castle,” Laurus said. Alyssa pouted. “Can we stay just a little bit longer? I wanna have fun outside the castle.” Tanya interjected, “It’s a lot safer there.” Alyssa didn’t notice Tanya’s words as Hyakinthos stood almost nose to nose to her. “There are many rooms and places in the castle you have never seen. Would you like me to teach you about each of them one by one?” He said while tracing her body with his eyes. “Ya know, I think we do need to go back to the castle.” Alyssa blushed and giggled. Tanya turned her head and rolled her eyes. “Now, now, Princess Tanya, are you getting jealous?” Hyakinthos asked after giving a sly smile. “If we weren’t in public, your royal majesty, I would have some special words for you.” Hyakinthos quickly turned to Tanya and held his lips dangerously close to hers. “Words of seduction, I expect.” She walked away from him quickly. “How is that ride to the castle coming along?” Tanya turned to Laurus. Hyakinthos dropped his head and smirked at Tanya. Alyssa folded her arms.
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