III. The Impact of Her

I was stunned.

We remained silent for a moment as she continued to row. How was it possible that she used to live here? The stories said that this town burnt down ages ago. That would make her too old.

“How is that even possible?” I asked. “They said this was abandoned even before I was born.”

She chuckled. “People are still gullible when it comes to false information. Story-tellers will truly exaggerate the truth in order to make things even more dramatic. And in this case, that was done to make this place like it’s haunted,” she replied.

“But you said you were from an orphanage. How were you able to confirm that this is your birth place?” I asked.

“Once, I was tasked to scrub the library floor when I overhead some of the workers in the orphanage. They were talking about certain children in the home. Their conversation ranged from the eldest children and then, to the newest ones. I was one of them,” she explained. She continued, “They said that whoever brought me to the orphanage explained my origins. It was also explained to Grandpa Ben and he was kind enough to tell me the truth.”

She added, “According to the people who found me, I was the only survivor from the tragedy.”

Leaning closer to her, I said, “That’s impossible. They said the fires were too great, and the villagers were unable to leave their homes. According to the stories, the fire spread too quickly. There wasn’t much time for anyone to run for their lives.”

Laura sighed. “Those who found me said the fire happened after the day I was born. I was found under the floorboards of our house. They said my family died of suffocation and were burned. They figured my family accepted their untimely deaths. Therefore, they tucked me under the house, hoping that I would be saved,” she answered.

“I still don’t understand,” I shook my head as I sat upright. “They said the tragedy happened years ago, before I was even born. That would mean you are an Immortal if you survived that long.”

She shook her head, smiling. “A learned prince like you is susceptible to changes in history. That’s hilarious.”

My brows furrowed as I grew more confused.

“I’m certain that as a young monarch, you studied the history of your world and ours. I also heard that most scholars changed some details of our past, all for the sake of making a lasting impact,” Laura said. She continued, “This village isn’t that old. They just had to make a story that will make this place even more frightening in the minds of others.”

“Oh, I nodded. “I apologise about your family.”

“There’s no need for that, Robert. I don’t find it offensive,” she smiled. She continued, “It was heartbreaking when I was told the truth. Even if I don’t have my true family to return to, that will not hinder me in moving forward. Nothing should hinder a person’s growth. I have accepted the truth and I believe it will strengthen me as I move forward in life.”

Laura added, “I am grateful for my family’s sacrifice. They took the risk, just for me to have a chance to survive. I will use this life to honour them in the best way possible.”

“Is that why you’re here? In honour of their memory?” I asked.

“Honouring my family and the population that built this village is just one of reasons why I’m here,” she answered.

“One of the reasons?”

“You’ll see,” she winked as she rowed deeper into the swamp.

~*~*~*~

We went deeper into the Dashury swamp as minutes passed. Thankfully, the sun was still up in the sky, which made this place less eerie than what it already was. We had been surrounded by trees, both short and tall. There was nothing to see but the green water beneath the boat.

We finally came into a halt. Laura then put the oars down and opened the sack.

“What are you doing?” I asked as I moved closer, trying to see what was inside it. And the sack contained crumbs.

Without answering my question, she whistled a jolly tone to the entire swamp. She did it thrice but only silence answered her. I was about to repeat my question when wings fluttered from afar. In a matter of seconds, swans and ducks flocked towards our direction. Her smile was immediately greeted by the beautiful creatures. She then grabbed a handful from the sack and threw it in their direction.

The crumbs hadn’t landed on the water but they rushed to where it was put. It was a race. The fastest would get more than the others. Laura made two more throws to accommodate the rest.

She then turned to me. “Do you like to give it a try?” she asked as she offered the sack.

I nodded enthusiastically. I slowly moved closer to her, careful not to tip the boat over.

“Grab a handful and give it to them,” she instructed as I sat beside her. She grabbed more and fed the birds continuously.

With whatever was in my hand, I spread them into the air. As we continued, more birds joined in. Suddenly, a sense of warmth and comfort formed from within me. This was nothing extraordinary or special. But as we fed the beautiful birds, I was soothed. Amazed to see this many birds in one place as well.

“Try and do this method, instead,” she tapped my shoulder as she reached for more crumbs. This time, she raised her hand in the air and opened it. Smaller birds landed on her arm and slowly pecked on the feed. “It does take a while before they trust you,” she remarked, smiling as she gazed at the birds on her palm.

“Is this what you were talking about a while ago?” I asked as I gave out more crumbs. “You come here to feed them?”

She nodded as she threw away the remaining crumbs from her hand. The birds mindlessly followed. Laura explained, “I’m not sure why but whenever I do this, it calms my mind. Once I feel connected to nature, I am able to sort out my thoughts and my emotions. That is something I need because I tend to feel overwhelmed sometimes.”

“It is a joy to watch and very peaceful, too,” I nodded. “It does give you a different kind of joy.”

She looked at me, smirking. “Have you ever done this before?” she asked.

I cleared my throat as I turned the other way. I didn’t have the time to do something like this at the castle. My time was occupied by royal duties and responsibilities. As a child, I was always studying because that was what James wanted.

Also, nobody wanted to do these sorts of things with me. Everyone else was always occupied with something. And I was ashamed to admit it to anyone. It felt as if I missed so much during my childhood. Until now, I knew I missed a lot.

“Robert?” Laura gently turned me around to face her. “You’ve never tried this before, haven’t you?” she repeated, a little saddened.

I nodded as I looked down to my hands. “I have no one to do this with. And no time was available for something like this,” I said as I played with my fingers.

“Don’t you have birds in your realm?” she asked as she gave more crumbs to the birds. “I’ve been to your kingdom and it looked like the perfect place for birds to come and visit.”

“It’s not that. We used to have birds within the castle grounds. However, James had the servants drive them away because they could destroy Mother’s garden,” I explained. I continued, “And besides, doing it on my own won’t be any fun. Each individual in the castle is always doing something.”

“Oh. I’m very sorry if I was insensitive,” she lowered her head.

I smiled as I poked her cheek. “There is nothing to apologise for.” I lifted her face and turned her towards me, “You did nothing wrong.”

Her cheeks slowly turned red as she smiled. “In that case, take your time and enjoy this. We do have so many crumbs here,” she pulled a half-filled sack from under my seat. “We will be here for quite some time.”

I smiled at her enthusiasm. As we talked more and continued feeding the birds, I came to a sudden realisation. Almost everything that I had never done before, I experienced everything with Laura. As I reminded myself of those, satisfaction rose within me. I was absolutely grateful for each moment that we shared. The gods blessed me with someone to create memories with. I would be forever grateful for their gift.

Without a shadow of doubt, she was now one of the most important people in my life. And I would do anything and everything to shield her from any possible danger, both from her realm and mine.