Summer 14

Senita pressed her eyelids together, trying to swallow her tears. But the tears, determined to escape, threatened to spill over.

She was just so sad. Miserable. Ashamed. This happened because the Prince wasn’t by her side. No, perhaps this happened because she had been by the Prince’s side. Still, it was a relief that the Prince hadn’t seen her like this.

“Are you crying?”

A bewildered voice came from above her bowed head. Then, the boy leaned over and tried to look at Senita’s face. Disliking that, Senita shook her head and averted her gaze.

“Lorenzo! What are you doing? Get over here immediately!”

“Just a minute, Dad! This little one is hurt!”

Lorenzo shouted at his father, who was trimming the branches of a tree in the backyard.

“I’ll take her to her room!”

“What? You little rascal!”

The man’s voice grew louder. However, there were no words telling him not to do so. Lorenzo grinned and extended his hand toward Senita.

“Come on, I’ll take you to your room. Where’s your room?”

At his gentle voice, Senita cautiously peeked out from behind her hand.

“N-No, it’s alright.”

“Don’t be silly. You have no idea how pale you look. You look like you’re about to collapse.”

Come here, the boy said, taking Senita’s hand and holding it firmly.

Despite offering to take her back, the boy didn’t actually know where the top floor of the left wing was, where Senita’s room was located. He smiled brightly and said that he lived in the gardener’s wooden house in the forest, so he didn’t know. Even so, Lorenzo didn’t let go of her hand all the way to the top floor.

“What’s your name?”

“Senita. Senita Findel.”

“Are you a maid here?”

“Yes.”

“A little girl like you?”

Little? He wasn’t that big himself!

Senita retorted indignantly.

“You’re… you’re still a child too.”

She even dropped the honorifics. Lorenzo didn’t seem to mind.

“Still, I’m much bigger than you.”

“Even if I’m small, I can work.”

“Who said you couldn’t?”

Lorenzo chuckled and met Senita’s eyes.

“I’m Lorenzo, and my dad is a gardener here, so I help him with odd jobs.”

“Lorenzo.”

“Yep, Lorenzo.”

By the time they had finished exchanging names, they had arrived in front of Senita’s room. When she pointed to her room, Lorenzo stared intently at her face and said,

“You’re not crying anymore.”

His eyes, the color of a summer forest, carefully examined Senita. Feeling a little embarrassed, Senita bowed her head and thanked him. Lorenzo grinned again.

“Forget it. Go change your clothes and have something warm to drink. You’ll catch a cold.”

His casual words were strangely comforting. Perhaps it was because he offered warmth on a day when she felt like no one would be there for her. It was a small act of kindness, but it was enough to warm her waterlogged heart.

Senita smiled back at the kind boy. She was glad she could smile again so quickly.

***

“A cold?”

Iskandar narrowed his eyes and asked again after hearing the news from the attendant who had gone to fetch Senita. The attendant knew there was only one reason he would ask again. He was displeased with the report.

Though he was afraid of further displeasing him, he had no choice. He had seen the feverish child with his own eyes.

“Yes, I saw her, and she has a high fever.”

“She caught a cold in this weather?”

“I apologize.”

“There’s no need for you to apologize.”

Iskandar, his face impassive, ordered him to bring the steward. It was clear that he wasn’t simply going to say, ‘Oh, the toy is sick today’.

Gaspar arrived looking as if he were about to die. He seemed terrified of being summoned. Iskandar merely nodded curtly at his respectful greeting and immediately got to the point.

“I heard Senita Findel is sick.”

As expected, this was why he had been called. Gaspar clenched his clasped hands, his suspicions confirmed.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“What happened yesterday?”

“Well, she’s always been a frail child, so…”

“She caught a cold because she’s frail?”

“It seems so. She was fine yesterday, but they say she woke up with a fever this morning.”

Gaspar forced a smile.

It seemed that the young maids had bullied Senita. Isabella had given him a rough outline of what had happened. Isabella said that when she looked away for a moment, Senita ended up looking like a drowned rat. She scolded the others who had been working with Senita. But Senita simply changed her clothes and calmly went back to work, so Isabella left it at that.

However, he couldn’t tell the Prince that Senita had caught a cold because of that. If he was reprimanded for his poor management of the servants, he would have no excuse. He didn’t want to be ridiculed for being unable to look after a girl favored by the Prince.

He should have just let her rest yesterday! Gaspar clenched his teeth in regret. How dare they cause him such humiliation! When he returned, he would severely punish the servants who dared to lay their hands on the prince’s favorite.

“Is that so?”

Fortunately or unfortunately, the prince replied in a flat tone. His cold, unreadable expression was the same as always.

“Give her medicine and something warm to eat. Make sure she rests and is well cared for.”

“Yes, I will.”

He felt relieved by the sensible order. He had been afraid of a reprimand, but it seemed he wouldn’t be punished.

This was strange. For that Prince to give such an unusual order…it seemed he had grown fond of the child during his stay. Considering he was still looking after her after playing with her for so many days, it seemed he hadn’t grown tired of her yet. Well, she was a very pretty child, so that was understandable.

In that case, of course, he had to do as he was told. Gaspar, mentally planning how to care for Senita, waited for the dismissal.

“…No.”

However, the Prince’s next words startled Gaspar because they retracted his previous statement.

“I’ll go myself.”

He rose from his seat.

He didn’t even tell Gaspar to prepare and wait until he was ready to leave. The Prince was going to see the young maid right then!

This can’t be! Gaspar called upon God inwardly. The only thing he could do now was pray that the child, who had become a plaything because of her beauty, wouldn’t disappoint the young prince and that she would still look pretty even when sick. That was all he could do.

And he would soon find out whether God would answer his prayer.

***

Closing her eyes, red lights swirled in the darkness behind her eyelids. Dizzy, she opened her eyes again, but her vision was blurry. She was hot and cold at the same time. She kept sweating and coughing and couldn’t move a muscle.

With a wet towel on her forehead, Senita groaned. The towel had long since become lukewarm, but no one was there to replace it. Nora had gone off to do her work. The other servants were also too busy to care for the sick young maid. Everyone had their assigned roles, so it was only natural.

There was nothing to be upset or sad about. Even at Aunt Jimena’s house, she always had to endure her illnesses alone. She had to suffer and recover alone.

Still, Aunt Nora was concerned for her and cared for her whenever she could. That alone filled Senita’s heart.

However, Iskandar …

She felt guilty for not being able to respond to the prince’s summons today. If she could have moved even a little, she would have gotten up immediately, but her limbs wouldn’t obey her.

Was he angry? No, probably not. He’d just think, ‘So this is how today turned out’, and continue with his day. Still, I’m relieved. I’m really relieved that he didn’t abandon me and came to find me again.

Her eyes grew hot with an emotion close to gratitude. As her fever rose, her vision blurred again. She was dizzy. Senita was pulled into a dreamless sleep once again. It was a safe world where no one bullied or hated her.

Senita slept for a long time and woke up briefly. While she was awake, no one was around her, and while she slept from exhaustion, she saw and heard nothing.

She didn’t know that a boy had quietly placed a handful of luscious wild berries, picked from the forest, by her bedside.