Fake Princess
CHAPTER 22
My hands and arms felt fluttering, or vibrating, or throbbing, but nothing really happened. Every now and then, without any warning, I felt an overwhelming urge to do something. But I don't know what, and after a moment of discomfort, the feeling will disappear.
I didn't tell anyone. Other than Aunt Vania, there's nothing else I can tell you. So at night, when there's nothing else I need to think about, I'm secretly afraid I'm going crazy. What else can make me feel like there is a fire in my veins, a fire that wants to come out through my hands, mouth or eyes?
I'm not sure Aunt Vania would be happy to be told about my feelings. Receiving an unknown nephew & being handed over to you just like that may still be acceptable, but accepting an unknown & crazy nephew is a very different matter, she said, so I was so worried that it gave me a distraction from my suffering, and didn't bring it up.
However, the second distraction is somewhat different. Appeared as I walked down the dusty main road, grasping a basket of nettle shoots. Me and Aunt Vania went looking for nettles in the bushes that lined the roads that led south. This time I was the first one to fill the basket, and Aunt Vania let me go home to make the dipping liquid.
It was a sunny day, so hot that the hair that slipped off my braid stuck to the nape. My dress felt wet on my back, and my sleeves that were not covered by Aunt Vania's gloves were sore. While moving the basket position on the hip, I stopped to give way to a village boy who was herding some loose goats across the road and back to his stable.
Two girls my age Sella & Rena were standing in front of the house, their heads bowed close together. I tried to make myself shrink and invisible, as if I could fuse like a tiny crow, even though they were never rude to me, but there are always whispers every time I pass in front of them, and I hope they don't notice my presence. However, as it began to walk again, the tip of my boots stuck to a protruding rock on the road.
I tripped, nettle shoots splashing out of the basket as I fell on my knees. From across the street I heard a loud laugh.
“ I think this is yours,” the young man said with a smile.
“ Be careful,” I said as I reached out to take it from the young man's hand.
“ the nettle will make your hands itchy.”
“ Not that bad,” said the young man while dropping another into the basket. The young man didn't say anything more as long as we gathered the plants, but he smiled every time I glanced at him. Even compared to everyone I saw in the palace, I must admit this young man is very handsome.
Black hair framed her brilliant blue eyes, and I could see her white, flat teeth every time she smiled at me. I realized that the laughter from across the street had stopped.
After we found all the nettle shoots, he reached out to help me stand up. A faint rash had already appeared on his fingers & palms.