CRUEL KING

Goodbyes

Chapter 4: Goodbyes

Head down, Dalia dragged her feet behind Anisha, who was still thinking about the incident that had just occurred.

It was really strange. So strange, in fact, that she preferred to believe her eyes had been fooled.

She didn't know how else to explain it?

Lori was a boy who certainly lived in the city, but he told her, his parents were modest shopkeepers.

So what would he be doing in a carriage bearing the princely coat of arms, surrounded by the personal guard of the island's rulers?

_ It was him, his sister assured her, breaking her silence. I'm completely sure of that.

_ Dali, we don't know...

_ Give me a break! You saw him in that car, just as I did. And the craziest thing is that Lori was called a prince by that i***t guard.

While sweeping her gaze around as if what she'd just said would put them in great danger, Anisha stopped and faced her sister.

_We don't know anything for sure, she whispered, making big eyes at her to dissuade her from continuing on the subject. You seem to forget that we haven't had time to get a good look, so stop talking nonsense.

_ Think what you like, but I know Lori's face very well and I'd bet my life it was him.

_ Keep talking that loud and you'll end up with your head rolling off your feet. Come on, we've still got a lot to do...

With their errands done, the two sisters left town, completely unsettled by the events they'd experienced there.

Despite the unpleasantness, Ani could see that Dali was happy.

Several times, she caught her crowing and smiling to herself.

In her childlike mind, she really imagined that Lori was a prince from who knows where, visiting Albatra Palace.

Anisha had tried to talk her down, but to no avail.

She herself was not convinced of what she was saying, so how could she hope to convince her sister.

In retrospect, the man she'd seen in the carriage, dressed as a nobleman, was indeed her friend. She could not be more sure.

Those blond curls, those big blue eyes, that straight nose and those finely drawn lips, everything matched. Even the little mole on the corner of her right cheekbone was there.

"It doesn't matter if it's him, she finally said to herself with a sigh. It had been a long time since Lori had looked for her, so it didn't matter."

_ Dali? She said to her sister, who was singing happily on the way home.

_ What's the matter?

_ Please don't talk about our meeting in front of Father.

The girl looked at Anisha, arching an eyebrow.

_ Why not? He has a right to know that his future son-in-law is none other than a prince.

_ Are you sure you don't want to stop with this idiotic story?

_ You're the stupid one! Not to mention blind. That boy was Lori, and there's nothing you could say to make me believe otherwise.

_ And even if it were true?! exclaimed Anisha, exasperated by her childish daydreams. Do you really think a prince would marry a girl in my condition?

_ And why not? If he loves you and you love him, there's no law against it.

_ You're really too naive, the young girl softened when she saw that her sister didn't understand the situation at all.

A girl like her with a prince? We've seen it all.

That evening, Anisha was much more concerned about her father's condition than her meeting with Lori.

When he called his sister to his bedside and asked for Rio, she knew it was time to say goodbye.

So that she wouldn't have to leave the house at a time like this, Ani asked Kassandre, her neighbor, to go to her father's friend's house and tell him to come over.

The ground had lost all firmness under Ani's feet as she climbed the creaky old steps to her parents' bedroom.

Her whole body threatened to collapse, but she had to stay strong.

For her father, so that he would go away more serene, for her sister who would have to rely on her from now on, and above all for herself.

Because if she let herself go now, there was no way she'd be able to get back on track after this...

That night, their world, as she and her sister knew it, came to an end.

Neither their tears nor their weeping had the power to hold back the man who had been a father, mother and advisor in their lives.

He had taught them so many things, how to swim for fish, how to become people of integrity and courage...

Only thing he hadn't taught them : how to live without him.

Without his love...

Anisha and Dali stayed by their father's side for hours.

Talking to him as if he were still alive.

Apologizing for all the times they'd played tricks on him, reminiscing about their happiest moments with him and, above all, reassuring him about what was to come in future.

Dalia even promised to do everything in her power to ensure that his sister and Lori would end up together, as he wished.

Anisha said nothing, even though she found the promise completely insane. she didn't blame her sister for this promesse.

If Lori really was a prince, it was best to forget him, and quickly.

They could never be friends again, and as for becoming lovers, there was no point in dreaming.