The Rose That Blooms In North
Chapter 3: L’imprice et Quatre Dragons

"When we're in a public place, you can't call me 'Your Majesty' or 'Princess' or 'Anastasia'. We never know who is listening to our conversation. So just call me Anna."

Not a single person in the Palace, not even the King and Queen, had ever mentioned the Princess by such a nickname. Anastasia is the most familiar designation and only the King and Queen speak her name as such. And Leon never called it by name.

"Leon?" call Anna while looking back because somehow the request made her speechless on the spot. They were walking towards the market, back down the forest. But this time, Anna no longer needed help from Leon to walk.

It was Leon who seemed to need help.

"It was very disrespectful—“

"I asked you to." Cut Anna right away, "and if you don't want to, you're the same as me." His hands were folded in front of his chest. Even though she did not wear a magnificent dress and crown in her hair, she was still a princess.

Leon sighed, it was useless to argue because he knew he would definitely lose. "Alright, Which Mul—I mean, Anna."

Anna smiled with satisfaction.

Arriving at the Market, they met with buyers who often chatted with Leon. A group of housewives who shop for groceries for everyday. They seemed to smile kindly when they saw Leon coming with Anna. Then exchanged lyrics and elbowed each other as the two got closer.

Anna seemed confused by the behavior on the mother. But he showed his friendly smile as well and greeted all of them. The people of Schiereiland are famous for their hospitality, so Anna was not surprised to get friendly behavior from people she did not know. She just needs to blend in and behave normally so as not to be suspected and recognized as the missing Princess Schiereiland.

"God, it's so nice to finally meet you. I've been wanting to see you for a long time." A buyer whose age may be the same as his mother, Queen Isabella.

The people of Schiereiland are notoriously friendly, but this attitude of Mother is like someone who already knows her. Or at least have heard of it.

Anna tried to remember if she recognized the woman. Is it possible that he has distant relatives that he does not remember who live in the village and not from among the nobility. But she did not recognize the woman at all as hard as Anna tried to remember her. So he just nodded politely and smiled at her. Don't really know what to say.

Leon clasped his hands tightly as if hinting at him to remain calm. Leon always knew when Anna was uncomfortable.

The other buyer, who was even older than the first one, told him, "Your husband told me everything. I heard you got sick from bad weather lately. But now the weather's getting better, so I think you're back to health."

"My husband?" Anna looked at Leon with a face full of question marks.

Leon avoided Anna's gaze. His face was blushing somehow. His grasp was loosened like he was about to take it off and go deep into hiding. But Anna still held it.

Anna finally remembered Leon's story about some women who called him a good husband. Anna held back her laughter before correcting her attitude and tried to deepen her role as the 'Just healed wife'.

To be more convincing, she wrapped her hands around Leon's arms and brought his body closer to him. His smile was like the smile of a wife who felt very lucky. "My husband has been very kind to take care of me during my illness. He went to the market, cooked for me, even cleaned and tidied up our little house." Said Anna with a smile towards Leon who now looked completely embarrassed. Anna took her hand off Leon and now patted him on the shoulder. "My dear, thank you very much huh" he added in a spoiled tone.

Those words managed to make Leon's face flushed in embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry for a second. I have something to buy somewhere else." Leon lowered his head and then hurriedly left Anna for the gun sale.

"alright. Don't go too far, my dear." she laughed contentedly inwardly.

After Leon left, Anna continued to shop for vegetables and side dishes while chatting with fellow shoppers. As a Royal Princess, she had never chatted with a woman of her own age other than at the party held at the Palace. But he had often chatted with the Palace maids and servants who were much older than him. So he was more used to chatting with people older than him.

It felt like a long time ago Anna did not feel a warm feeling when chatting with others. So he did not feel awkward, instead felt comfortable when lingering shopping for vegetables and side dishes with other buyers. From them too, Anna managed to gather information about what had happened outside the forest of her hiding place all along.

"By the way," Anna finally said after recalling there was something she had to do. "I needed to sell the inheritance from my mother because we ran out of a lot of money during my illness. Do the ladies all know where the right place is?"

***

"Your Majesty—“

"Ssttt..." Anna glared at Leon and glanced around him. I was worried if anyone heard it. He also let down his tone, "I told you, just call me Anna if we're in a public place. Bring all these. I'm so troubled to be carrying all this groceries while you go somewhere to have fun yourself." Anna scowled and continued to nag while she handed the two bags full of her groceries to Leon.

They had already met back at the place they had promised before after Anna had finished shopping. The market is not as crowded as yesterday, but still it is not an easy thing to meet in a public place. They continued their journey to find a way out of the market to the forest where their little log cabin was.

"Ouch!" Anna was suffocating when someone nudged her. This market was not very crowded, but two people were running around and he did not see them.

"Sorry."

"Your Majesty, are you okay? Should I chase that guy? I'll teach him a lesson." Leon asked as he rubbed Anna's shoulder that was nudged earlier. The other hand clenched tightly while holding the grocery bag as if it was about to throw everything at the person earlier.

"no need. Don't make a fuss. Don't make people see us." Anna said as she looked annoyedly at the person who had run far earlier. And Leon nodded in agreement. If only they were not in hiding, that person would have already been battered. Leon did not tolerate anyone who dared to hurt the Princess.

“Oh, correct. I bought you this.” Leon took something from his shopping bag and handed it to Anna. It was a double-edged dagger with a handle made of bronze and engraved with four dragons. “It looks like they robbed this thing from the Nordhalbinsel people when viewed from the symbol of four dragons on the handle.”

Anna received the dagger. It was much lighter than a sword, but as deadly as being thrust into one's heart. The double-edged knife looked still very sharp and glittered in the sun like it had just been sharpened yesterday. Anna's eyes flashed wide in amazement as she watched the knife.

“Wah... You found a really good item in the market this simple. It may not belong to ordinary people. This may be the collection of one of the nobles Nordhalbinsel.” Anna now sheathed the knife and searched for symbols that might have been inscribed or engraved by the previous owner. But all he could find was the symbol of four dragons on the handle of the knife. Anna then hung her knife on her waist belt. “Thank you very much, Leon. It's very good.” Anna said with a smile. “But... why?”

“You cannot carry your sword in a public place because people will suspect a woman holding a sword let alone a rose carving that is usually only found on items belonging to members of the royal family Schiereiland. So I think it's okay if you bring a small knife just in case something happens to you and I'm not near you.” Obviously Leon.

Anna hadn't thought about that before. He didn't bring his sword anywhere. Even today he had not thought about carrying his sword at all. But they are being overrun by Nordhalbinsel. The Nordhalbinsel warriors could come at any time and attack them. Without her sword, Anna could not fight them. He always thought that as long as he was with Leon, he would always be safe even when he was unarmed. Leon will protect her no matter what.

But that's not what he wanted to ask the truth.

“I mean..why did you buy me a dagger when with that money you could buy enough food for both of us. I thought you didn't have enough money to buy food.”

Leon shrugged his shoulders lightly. “I sell Lion Emblem.” He answered in a quieter voice, like he was worried that someone else would hear him.

Anna stopped her steps.

This time it was Leon who looked back with a puzzled look. "Anna?"

“You're crazy! It's a state treasure given by the King that is only given to the heroes of the country. It's your symbol of victory. That's your identity as the Lion of Schiereiland. The Lion Emblem is precious to you. Why are you selling it?” Anna scolded him nonstop, scolding him. More to feel sorry that Leon sold his precious objects for his sake. The Lion Emblem was indeed made of pure gold and it would have been very expensive if it was sold, but it was of such high value and should not be sold. No one should be able to afford it because it is likened to a crown for the King. It was a sign that the owner had once saved the kingdom.

Maybe the market just gave Leon a few pieces of money as payment because it didn't really understand what it was. Maybe they just bought it just because it glittered.

“For now, your safety is more important than that symbol.” Leon replied calmly as if he had not just sold part of his identity. The most precious treasure and the highest honor of the King. It was as if it was nothing to him, whereas Anna knew Leon was very proud of having the Lion Emblem. But when Leon looked back at her, Anna didn't see the slightest regret. He smiled calmly. “And you need to keep your voice volume even more, Anna. We are still in a public place.” he added.

They were still on their way back to the log cabin despite having already exited the market area. Around them there were still many people who had also just left the market to return to their respective homes. So they must be more vigilant if there are people around who recognize the two of them or there are spies from Nordhalbinsel in the market.

"By the way, why are you shopping so much. Where'd you get the money to buy all this?" Leon asked then while lifting up two parcels full of items that Anna had bought at the Market.

Anna turned to Leon, then resumed her path. "We need all this, Leon. It is better to buy a lot of groceries at once for daily purposes than to have to commute to the market every day. I need to focus on my training. We will also need a lot of supplies for the journey to Nordhalbinsel. Renting a horse carriage also requires a large fee. We can't walk—“

"Wait..." Leon said after realizing something. "Your necklace. Where's that necklace? Don't tell—“

"I sold. Right."." Right." Cut Anna right before Leon says it. She smiled broadly without any burden, "For the time being, filling our stomachs is more important for survival than my symbol of identity as the Royal Princess of Schiereiland."

Leon just silently watched Anna who now looked different from yesterday.

Last night Leon woke up in the middle of the night to hear a small cry. Being on the battlefield since childhood makes his ears trained to be sensitive to small noises. Leon who realized that Anna was not in her bed went out and found Anna crying near the river where they used to take water. Anna held onto the red rose necklace as she continued to cry without saying anything. At that time Leon was eager to calm her down and stop her crying, but he knew that was not what the Princess needed. Leon who has known Anna for 20 years knows that Anna needs time to be alone in such moments. So that night Leon just watched her from afar until Anna left the rose necklace just like that on the ground and went back to the log cabin to sleep as if nothing had ever happened.

Although she had returned to talking and eating as usual, Anna was still feeling sad. Anyone would definitely feel the same if his entire life was forcibly snatched from his hands.

But unlike yesterday, today the look on Anna's face showed a strong determination. The fragile Princess of the Kingdom now looks stronger with a new purpose in hand. And maybe that goal will put the Princess' life at risk. But Leon will be ready to protect her from anything as long as it means the Princess is back to having a spirit of life.

"So what's our lunch?" Ask Leon.

***

After lunch in the form of sandwiches that Anna had bought this morning at the market and made sure the two were well-powered, Anna and Leon prepared for another sword duel in the middle of the forest. Anna's unanimous determination to immediately defeat Leon today emanated from the glare of her eyes as she held tightly to her sword.

"Are you ready, Your Majesty?" Ask Leon, make sure.

"I should have asked, Leon. You seem uncomfortable. You want to give up now?"

Anna smiled with satisfaction at the look on Leon's face trying to hold something back while holding his sword. Plan succeeded.

But Anna knew Leon wasn't okay. He's far from 'fine'. Because Anna is the cause.

The sword duel begins. Anna recalled all the sword techniques she had learned from Leon. His movements were much more fluid than yesterday. He felt confident about his victory today.

"You sure you're okay, Leon?" Anna made sure while swinging her sword towards Leon's sword. Not to Leon. He wants to beat Leon, not hurt him let alone kill him. The target was to make the sword slip out of Leon's hand. Although not easy, but he managed to make Leon slightly staggered backwards with his movements. Leon seemed to lose his balance for a moment. And it had a smile on Anna's face.

Leon tried to fend off Anna's sword while grimacing. His mind was a little distracted. He's not focused. He thought back to whatever he ate today that made his stomach heartburn and feel very heavy. But from what he remembered, that day he only ate the second-hand side dish last night that he had burnt back this morning and the sandwich Anna had given him this afternoon. Nothing is strange.

Anna smiled as she saw Leon slightly unfocused and having trouble with his movements.

"You look very happy today, Your Majesty." He grimaces.

"It's a bright day." Anna replied briefly, while continuing to attack Leon with her sword. The sword in Leon's hand almost came off but Leon immediately took back his sword with the other hand. Defeating a swordsman who has started learning to sword since the age of six is not an easy matter. "That was a near miss" Anna said.

Leon laughed when he realized what he had eaten. "The roots." Her speech. "What did you put in the bread, Your Majesty?" leon said while holding his stomach. Cold sweat started flooding into his body. Whatever he ate that day, made him want to immediately go as far away from the place as possible and take out his entire entrails.

Anna's smile grew wider knowing Leon had realized something was wrong.

"Calm down, Leon. I can't possibly poison you. I didn't put anything in it. It's just plain bread." Anna attacked Leon once again. Stepping sure at him while swinging his sword with one hand while Leon retreated, overwhelmed by the consecutive attacks he had been taught. "With full cheese and whole milk." Anna slashed once. And with that last move, Leon's sword slammed out of his grip. Bounced far up. Anna immediately jumped up high and caught the sword, drawing the two swords in her hands towards Leon. A triumphant smile was painted on his face. "Intolerance to lactose. It was your condition that helped me win this duel."

***

With Anna's success in winning the sword duel, Leon finally gives up and is willing to teach Anna everything she has to learn in order to pass the Crown Prince Xavier's personal bodyguard selection audition. That night they planned a training schedule and supplies to be brought for their trip to Nordhalbinsel.

"Your Majesty, do you know why the Nordhalbinsel royal symbol is four dragons?" Leon asked, as Anna was writing down the items she had to buy at the market tomorrow before they left tomorrow night.

"I'm sure I've learned about this in history books before, but I forgot. Is it because they believe that dragons still live in this world?" Anna asked, half paying attention. He snorted half laughing sarcastically. "That's ridiculous. When they believe such a myth?"

Leon frowned, "Then do you know that about a thousand years ago Nordhalbinsel and Schiereiland were one great empire?"

Anna stopped writing on her book, she looked at him sharply. "Of course I know that story. You're testing my science on the history of four countries?" Anna felt challenged. He put down the notebooks and pens he bought from the market. His hand was raised into the air, bending his thumb, forming four. "The Orient Empire in the East," he bent one finger at a time as each of the royal names he mentioned, "The Kingdom of Westeria in the West, the Kingdom of Nordhalbinsel in the North and the Kingdom of Schiereiland in the South."

Leon nodded in agreement.

Anna continued, "But there used to be only one great empire, the Schiereiland Empire. After the death of Grand Queen Zhenra, Orient and Westeria began to appear, parts of Schiereiland that chose to secede. Then Zuidlijk ascended the throne as King. It was then that a split began with the betrayal of his own brother, Prince Nordlijk. Most of the people who supported Prince Nordlijk's betrayal of King Zuidlijk broke away from Schiereiland and formed the Kingdom of Nordhalbinsel led by Nordlijk the Traitor. And that's the history of the four countries."

Leon sighed, shook his head and looked at him in concern. "You read the wrong history book. That's a lie."

"What?" Anna frowned not understanding. "Whatchu mean? That book was taught by the historians in the Palace."

Leon realizes that not everyone understands his own history, especially the members of the royal family. Or at the very least, perhaps that was what Anna learned from her teacher at the Palace. As hostilities between the two countries have been going on for hundreds of years, their histories have been distorted by their views and beliefs. Unlike the members of the royal family, Leon, who had fought many wars and had associates from other countries, knew a different version of the four countries' history. A more original version of the history is written in the Palace of Schiereiland.

"Nordlijk did not betray. No betrayal has occurred, Your Honor." He said with patience. "It's all just a matter of whose point of view this history is told."

"Then how is this history told from another point of view?"

"Are you sure you're ready to hear the truth of that history?"

Anna folded both hands in front of her chest, chin raised, "Tell me."

"All right..." Leon cleared his throat and arranged his sitting position to be more comfortable as if he was going to tell a very long story.

Anna begins to forget the grocery list she is about to write and directs her entire focus on the history of her elder Leon will tell her. Although Anna believes the history she learned is not history that is wrong, but she is always interested in other people's views on that history. There is always another side to a story.

The night is getting late and the sky is getting darker. Only the sound of wood slowly being burned by the bonfires they made outside the hut, and the sounds of the night insects around the forest, were heard, also the voice of Leon tells the true history of their kingdom.

"A long time ago, there was a great empire led by a tyrant and bloodthirsty Emperor." Leon began, "The people live with misery. Wars between regions often occur that result in bloodshed everywhere. Everyone suffers, but they can do nothing. Until finally, with sincere prayers from the only Princess of the kingdom, who came to be known as the Great Zhenra or the Great Queen of Zhera, the, four dragons descended from the sky and helped Zhenra to end his father's rule."

"Wait a minute." Anna stopped Leon's story. "Dragon? You mean that big monster that can fly and blow fire out of its mouth? The ones in the fairy tales? Are you sure, Leon? I've never heard of this version before."

Leon took a long breath. "Your Majesty... I fought in the East and practiced sword in the West. I even know some of the former Schiereiland soldiers who now live in Nordhalbinsel. This is the version they all know. A few years ago, King before King Edward, your grandfather, ordered to burn the entire history book and recreate the new history book. The history you know is not the real one."

"No way." Anna gasped at hearing it. He felt he had been lied to all his life. He then asked Leon to continue his story.

"After the tyrant Emperor's rule ended, many regions broke away due to many factors, mainly because they wanted a revolution and because they had differences in beliefs and political views. Grand Queen Zhenra allowed them and even supported them for the sake of creating peace among them all. Eventually formed the Orient Empire in the East and the Kingdom of Westeria in the West. She became the first female Emperor to lead the Empire, which she later referred to as Schiereiland. He had two sons, Crown Prince Zuidlijk and Prince Nordlijk, who became King Schiereiland and King Nordhalbinsel respectively."

Anna was still trying to digest all that new information. It all sounds like a fairy tale to him. But Leon says that's exactly what the original history is.

"Then what about the four dragons?" ask Anna after realizing that the story does not end just like that.

Leon fell silent, thinking for a moment, recalling what he knew about the four dragons. "I don't know for sure, Your Majesty. But clearly, the people of Nordhalbinsel believe that King Nordlijk has the power of dragons and therefore they adore King Nordlijk very much. I think we can find out more once we get to Nordhalbinsel later."

***

That day when Leon sold his Lion Emblem and bought Anna a dagger, two men wearing masks and a black hood walked through the Market to the gun shop.

“Quickly go Elias! We have to quickly buy back the knife before anyone else buys it.” Say one of them higher than the other. The young man wore a ring with a ruby on his right hand. His emerald-colored eyes seemed busy trying to find a gun shop in the crowded market.

They walked very fast, almost even running in the crowd of the market. Several times the emerald-eyed young man almost nudged the passersby in the Market. He was in a hurry and there was no time to stop. So as much as possible he tried to avoid people.

But no matter how big his attempt to run without bumping into anyone in a place as crowded as Market, in the end he accidentally nudged a red-haired girl and made her stagger almost to fall. Though he did not intend to speak a single word to the people in the Market for fear that someone would recognize him from his accent, but the girl looked very frail and her instincts said that she should apologize.

"Sorry." He said, without turning his head, and continued to run.

In the north, he'll never act that harsh. And he immediately felt guilty. He should have stopped and made sure the girl was okay. He should have apologized properly. But if he did all that, he would probably attract the attention of those around him and he would be recognized. Even if he covered his face, they could still see the unusual color of his eyes and the manner of speech that was very typical of the northerners.

Suddenly he felt a strong pull to turn around, return, and apologize to the girl. Maybe because he was taught to always be kind and polite to women. If the people of the South are known for their hospitality, the people of the North are known for their politeness.

“Your Majesty, wait a moment. Looks like the store we're looking for is right over there.” A young man named Elias.

Those words immediately made the emerald-eyed young man undo his intention to return and apologize. There is something very urgent at the moment.

“Why not tell me from earlier! Come fast!” the emerald-eyed young man further sped his way to the gun shop. “This is all your fault, Elias. If only yesterday you brought money, we wouldn't have to sell state property like that. Especially if it is only 100 gold? Even if this entire land was sold, its value would not be greater than that blade!”

“Hamba is very sinful, Your Majesty. Please just kill me.” The man named Elias said with a tone full of drama.

“I told you not to call me that in public. You want these Schiereiland people to know that the Crown Prince of the kingdom who has colonized them is wandering around a slum market like this?”

"You can kill them if you want."

The emerald-eyed young man tried to ignore the sarcastic tone of his colleague's sentence because they had already reached the weapon seller's shop looking for.

“Oh, you two masked men who came yesterday. You guys came again today apparently. Do you guys need anything?” ask the seller with a friendly smile.

“We are looking for a dagger with the symbol of four dragons that we sold yesterday. We will buy it at a price four times from yesterday.” Elias answered not one bit to remove the accent of speech that is very typical of northerners. It deliberately scared the gun seller.

“Oh. Too bad, the knife was sold this morning, sir." The seller immediately changed his style of speech to be more formal once he heard Elias speak. "Is there anything else you want? We have—“

The young man with emerald eyes pulled the collar of the gun seller with anger. "Say," he said, half growling, “Who bought the knife?”

“Sa-I don't really remember, Sir. B-but he bought it with this.”

The gun seller showed the Lion Emblem. It was no bigger than the Seller's grasp. But everyone at Schiereiland knew that it had a very high value. Besides being made of pure gold and made by the best metal craftsmen in all of Schiereiland, the emblem was of great value because it was a sign of the King's honor for the country's hero.

“Xavier, this is the Lion Emblem!" Elias was suffocated. His pupils widened when he saw the glittering thing in the hand of the Seller. "Only three people in Schiereiland have this thing. Two of them are said to have died, and the only one alive is General Leon, the Lion of Schiereiland you're looking for!”

***