Kingdom of Arzialla by Marilyn Arias (story reading txt) 📕

Maybe I should cut my hair for tomorrow… I thought.

My shoulders have grown a bit more bulky thanks to all the training Orde made me take. My naturally gray-blue eyes had a bit of black in them, representing that I feel a bit over worked, tense, and inactive. Black can also mean to be excited or energetic but it’s obvious that I’m not feeling at the least bit restless. I sighed and then realized how I have dark circles under my eyes and how I have a five-o’-clock shadow. To be realistic, this was the first night that I was actually able to fully sleep for a long time. Orde would make me meet up with him after school at the fields and have me carry fifty-pound supplies and objects or teach me tricks, moves, and gestures with a sword. Or he’d ask me to go to his shop and help him do the makings of various weapons whenever a customer requests for one to be custom made or whenever Orde feels like making one. Even with that, it’s a lot of work.
Sometimes we’d both lose track of time in training that I’d come home like an hour or two late. Thankfully, there’d be some exceptions where I wouldn’t have to go to training at all, like when a teacher assigns too much homework one day or we take a trip to the cathedral on Sunday with Mila to pray. I look forward to going to the cathedral, not because I get a break (I asked for the training, I can’t really complain about it, no matter how stressful it is) but because I feel safe in the house of sanctuary. Gavrils are evil beings, obviously, so they can’t reach anybody that’s within a holy church.
I could feel the water touch the tips of my fingers and I decided the tub is full enough to start taking a bath. I unbuckled my pants and jumped in.

I felt more relaxed and awake after the bath. I slipped on my new leather boots that Mila got for my birthday and stuffed my pant legs underneath them. I glanced at myself in the mirror once more and decided to pull my hair up in a small ponytail before going to the dining room where I left Orde. He wasn’t there. I heard their voices in the living room, so I go there and I find them sitting on the sofas and chit chatting. Orde glanced at me and asked if I’m ready.
“Yup,” I replied.

We offered Mila to tag along but she insisted in staying to do chores and to plan out on what wear for the ball or whatnot.
Orde and I stopped at a shop and were immediately welcomed by a young girl. She seemed to be about my age and her long brown hair was braided. A flower was pinned on the side of her head and it matched with her hazel eyes. There was a hint of golden orange around the outer ring of her eyes. Sincere. Confused. Busy. Her freckles covered her rosy cheeks while her lips were pale from being chapped. I honestly thought she was cute.
“This way, Zel,” Orde told me. I followed him, but I really didn’t take my eyes off of her. And neither did she look away from me.
When she was away from sight, I ripped myself to reality and glanced at the clothes. I would keep my eyes out for her but she never reappeared from my sight again so after about ten minutes of being in the shop, I gave up and paid attention to what I should wear for tomorrow.
“That’s cotton. It’s much better if you’d look at silk, Zelimir,” Orde told me.
I went over to where the silk fabricated clothes were and realized how expensive they were.
“Orde,” I faced him. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes,” he replied. “I insist.”
I felt bad about having him buy me pricy clothes but then again he makes better money than what Mila and I make put together. Especially after joining the force.
“Here, try this on,” Orde told me as he handed me a black jerkin.

It came to a conclusion that I looked best in a plain white shirt and vest. Orde said since the Arziallan military is red, to go with a red vest to show my pride for the kingdom so I went with it. I already have satin black pants back at Mila’s and Orde thought my boots were good enough for the event so we actually didn’t spend as much as we thought we would. When we went to pay, the girl with chapped lips stood behind the counter. While she gave us our price and Orde paid, she kept glancing at me. I tried not to look like a creep so I avoided making eye contact with her but it was hard since I kept feeling her stares. I didn’t feel nervous but I couldn’t help but think how pretty she is.
“Have a good day,” she practically murmured.

Orde dropped me off and of course the kitten I found and managed to keep welcomed me home like always. I decided to name her Cally since I couldn’t think of any other name and all I could describe her was her calico orange, brown, gray and white blotches all over her body. She’s grown so much within the year; it’s hard to imagine that she used to fit in the palm of my hand.
Orde asked Mila if she’s found anything to wear before going home. She said she has the perfect dress for the evening and insisted on not worrying about it. When Mila and I were alone, I remembered how I wanted that haircut.
“Mila?” I said. “Have you ever cut hair?”

It turned out that she used to cut her husband’s hair all the time. She said that she’ll give me the same haircut that her husband loved. I’m not sure how it’ll look and I’m honestly nervous to see the results but I didn’t complain.
She took a chair and a table cloth and told me to sit down. I sat and she wrapped the table cloth around my neck before pulling the hair-tie out of my hair to get ready to cut. She took some scissors and started snipping.
My thoughts went deep into the girl’s face. I didn’t entirely feel excited about thinking of her but I couldn’t take my mind off of that face.
“What is love?” I all of a sudden asked without thinking.
I feel her pause for a second but said, “It’s something indescribable. It’s something only one can feel and only one can see.”
“How do you know when you’re in love, how about that?” I rephrased my question.
“When you look at one like no other,” she said. She seems to be enjoying this because she knows this is not the type of answers I was expecting. “Why?”
“Nothing,” I lied.
I could feel Cally rubbing up against my legs and her chest vibrating as she purrs. I would pat my lap to give her permission to sit on it but the table cloth would probably make it impossible for her to get on without pulling the sheet off of me.
Mila’s last line echoed in my head. Do I see that woman like no other? I wasn’t sure. Especially since I don’t really talk to a lot of girls…

I decided to just shut my mind and close my eyes and concentrated on the feel of her scissors slicing my hair. It felt relaxing. I love it when people touch my hair. I remember how my father would cut my hair every month or so because my hair would grow incredibly fast. He would cut it short but long enough for me to have bangs. My dad… I miss him…
“Don’t fall asleep now. Raise your head,” Mila said.
I noticed how I was slouching and immediately jolted my back straight and raised my chin up. Was I really drifting to slumber?

“Sorry,” I told her.
“Do you like having haircuts?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“I can tell,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“Your hair is thick without any split ends at all. It looks and feels very healthy.”
I gave out a small half smile.
“Has anybody ever told you that you have beautiful hair?” she said. And then she quickly added, “I know that’s not manly but I’m just saying.”
I chuckled. I did feel a bit embarrassed to be called “beautiful”…

“My hair has always given me easy compliments,” I told her.

“I bet. It’s rare to see platinum, golden blond hair like this,” she said.
“My sister had the same hair color,” I told her. “We supposedly came out to look much like our mother.”
“Supposedly?”
I realized that I haven’t really talked about my family all that much to her. I’ve only told her that my entire family died and that was it. “Yeah, my mother died from a terrible illness apparently a couple months after having me so I don’t remember her.”
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry,” she told me. “What illness was it? Do you know?”
“She apparently coughed up blood while her lungs would slowly fill up with phlegm. She couldn’t eat because then she’d throw up the food and more blood with that. Whenever she’d cry, blood would mix in her tears, along with in the phlegm that’d stuff her nose. At the end, she hallucinated and went mentally insane. Of course, the blood loss that she had was what killed her first than what her madness would’ve done,” I explained. My father has explained this to me numerous times. My sister has actually told me that she’s had a couple memories of watching my mother suffer…
“Oh my! What misery,” Mila gasped. “But wait, didn’t you say your father was a doctor? Couldn’t he cure her?”
“At first he thought it was simply pneumonia but the medicine he gave her didn’t work. She grew very weak and her body would just reject whatever she’d consume, including remedies and antidotes. My father just assumed whatever bacteria she caught has spread throughout her body, making it too late to cure.”
“How strange,” she muttered. She snipped a couple more locks of hair before taking a comb and combing my hair as she desired. “All done! Let me get a mirror.”
I grew anxious while she went out of the room and disappeared. She came back with a handheld mirror and my stomach twisted a little. I’m always willing to try new things but when it comes to my hair, I’m honestly picky…
She held out the mirror in front of my face, not entirely focusing it correctly at me. I took it from her hand and adjusted it. My hair was a bit shorter than how my father used to cut it but, I do have to admit, I liked it a lot.
I thanked Mila for the haircut and I went to wash up since, even though Mila used a table cloth to prevent hair particles from getting all over my clothes, they still managed to go into my shirt.
After taking a bath, I decided to walk over to the kitchen and grab a snack. I walked through the living room and when I entered the room with the magical door, I paused in front of the door. This door would reveal the answer to whether or not that was love at first sight, right?

I asked myself.
I stared at the door, hesitantly, before slowly grabbing the knob and turning it. I opened the door and cool