Chapter 11: World Apart

Berth fixed her eyes on the dress she was knitting; everything must be perfect. The edges and the flower patterns must have a beautiful sync. She was going to be attending a royal ball for the first time ever; everything had to be perfect.

Who knows, she could be made the third queen, and her life will suddenly become a bed of roses.

Berth was in a world of imaginations; she imagined herself dancing under the night sky with the king of Decreash, and then he would kiss her and make her the new queen. They would rule Decreash together and live happily ever after like those princesses in the fairy tales, the ones her sister always told her stories about.

Everyone was aware of the incoming royal ball the king will be throwing.

Berth so badly wanted to attend the royal ball; never in her life had she ever lifted a broom or even done any chores, but after hearing of the royal ball, all of a sudden she wanted to make her own dress!

Micah was surprised at the sight she met when she walked into the room with a basket in her hand.

She shook her head slightly and sighed heavily; her sister was probably in one of her fairytale dreams. That could be the only reason she was smiling like a fool while sewing a dress.

Just then Berth screamed…. "Ahh!

She shrieked as she suddenly jolted back into reality; her thumb had been pierced with the needle she was using to sew her dress, and now the little wound was oozing out blood.

"Berth! Micah quickly dropped the basket she was holding and ran to where her sister was; taking hold of her hand, she gazed at her injury and puffed out a sharp breath.

"How many times will I warn you to desist from things you are not capable of doing? Micah said, then quickly ran into the kitchen, then came back with some leaves in her hands. She squeezed the leaves, and the fluid dropped on Berth's wound; in a split second the injury stopped bleeding.

"I just wanted to make a beautiful dress that I would wear to the ball; is that so bad? Berth purred as she dragged her hand away from her sister's grip.

She gazed at the injury and saw that the bleeding had stopped. She was glad she had a sister that was good at herbal medicine. She didn't utter a word of gratitude after Micah helped her.

"The royal ball is meant for royal families only, Berth. Why do you waste your time building castles in the air? Micah said and walked up to the basket she dropped and picked it up.

Berth stared at her sister in disdain.

"Am I building castles in the air? Berth scoffed.

"I did expect such words from you; after all, you are not tired of living in misery and abject poverty! The thatched roof, which always leaked water when it rained, or the blazing cold they had to endure when the season came—you are not tired of all this at all!

"Father did his best to give us a good life, Berth…" Micah was cut short.

"His best is not enough! Berth snapped and then focused her gaze on the dress she was sewing.

"I am fed up with this kind of lifestyle. I deserve more. I should be in those fancy kingdoms eating and sleeping my time away, not farming or lifting up heavy stuff." Berth rolled her eyes.

She was pretty, she had the curves; all she needed was a prince to take her far away from this filthy place she called home.

"And so what if the royal ball is meant for only royal families? I can sneak in; no one will find out." She said, and Micah shook her head from side to side pitifully.

"Come on, we have to be on our way to the farm; it will rain soon." Micah said, casting a glare at the sky, the weather was getting paler by the minute.

Berth scowled when she heard her sister's words. She didn't want to go to the farm and get all that filth and dirt on her precious body. She had spent hours in the bathroom scrubbing her skin after yesterday's journey to the farm.

She gazed at the broken mirror in her room, her pretty face reflecting on it. She was born to be royalty; she knew it, and she cursed her maker for bringing her into this wretched family.

"I am not coming with you today; I will stay back and finish making my dress." She said, not casting a glare at Micah.

"Is this your excuse for trying to get out of work? You can complete the dress when we are back." Micah said, crossing her hand against her chest.

"It's embarrassing, Micah; I spent hours scrubbing my skin. If I go to the farm with you, after hours of work I will start looking unkempt, my hair will have debris of leaves from trees, and my clothes...they aren't clothes, they are rags!

The truth was that she was tired of the embarrassing scene of accompanying Micah to the farm every day. Her mates were wearing fancy clothes and were being charmed with sweet words by noblemen in the village, so why was she snubbed and always came back from the farm looking unkempt and dirty?

The thought of it all sent cold chills running down her spine; her sister was so different.

Micah gazed at her sister, then sighed.

"Are these your reasons for avoiding coming to the farm?

"Don't ask me silly questions; I said I am not coming, and that is final! She lashed out at Micah and turned away to continue sewing her dress.

Micah knew how stubborn her sister could be; she didn't have an ounce of respect and would do whatever she pleased. It was no use standing here and wasting her time trying to convince her; she turned around to leave, but just then something clicked in her head.

"Berth, I heard that a prince will be passing by on his royal carriage today; don't you want to see….. Micah didn't know when the lie slipped out of her mouth; she knew things like this intrigued Berth.

Before she could finish talking, Berth dashed out of the room like the wind, heading outside.

"What are you waiting for? Come quickly! She said, Not looking back.

Micah smiled wearily and trudged after her; her small lies would be exposed later, but for now she couldn't help but stare at her sister in awareness.

They both got on their wooden cart as Micah used the reins on the donkey's neck to control the donkey pushing the cart forward. They couldn't afford a horse, so they had to make do with a donkey; this was another embarrassing sight for Berth.

"One day I am going to become a queen, and you will bow before my feet, sister." Berth, she said, tucking a string of hair behind her ears.

Micah knew her sister was talking nonsense.

"Is that so? Micah hummed, her eyes focused on the path in front of her; they were getting nearer to the farm.

"You may think I am speaking gibberish, but just wait till I get married to a handsome prince. Then I would put Ria and her friends in their place! She said, clenching her fist, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Ria is just a little girl; don't take what she says to heart, Berth." Micah said, smiling faintly.

"That little girl used to make me cry almost every day by embarrassing me in front of the whole village by telling me I am a poor church rat! Berth wanted to explode.

"I know we are poor, but rubbing it in my face like that and going round to announce it is just stupid, and that's exactly what Ria is; she is stupid!

"Berth! Don't say such harsh words." Micah cautioned.

"I would pray that the ground would just open and swallow me up, but my prayers are never answered." Berth fumed.

They finally arrived at the farm; Micah stopped the cart and climbed down. Berth climbed down from the cart, but she simply made her way to a nearby tree and sat under it. Taking out the dress she had brought along, she started sewing it.

Micah sighed and made her way inside the farm. She pushed a small wooden door open. The door was there to keep intruders out; not that it helped, but it was better than nothing.

She glanced at the sight of ripe fruits and smiled, tears almost dropping from her eyes; they won't go to sleep without dinner today after all. She got to work and started harvesting the ripe fruits and vegetables, and soon all the baskets she had come with were full to the brim with the things she harvested.

She was elated and languidly filled up the cart with the basket of fruits and veggies. It took hours, and without any help from Berth it was more difficult, but she pushed on and toiled under the blazing sun.

Soon she was done; she pushed the last basket of fruits into the cart and sighed heavily, sucking in a heavy breath.

She reached out for the bottle of water she had kept in the cart, but her hand landed on an empty space. She snapped her head towards the direction her sister was seated under a tree and saw the bottle of water she was searching for beside her, but it was empty!

Micah felt frustrated; she was really thirsty. Just then she remembered there was a small stream just a short distance ahead of her father's farm.

She immediately made her way there; immediately after she left, a royal carriage made its way towards her father's farm. Berth saw the royal carriage, and her eyes glistened with excitement.

"This must be the prince Micah was talking about." She quickly rose to her feet, dusting the invisible dirt on her dress, straightened up, licked her lips, and wore a cocky smile.

The royal carriage immediately came to a halt in front of her father's farm, and she immediately made her way towards it. She was sure it was a royal carriage because it had the royal sigil of Decreash imprinted on it.

The royal flag was of two swords crossed together, forming an X-shape. The carriage opened, and three hefty men climbed down from it.

They saw Berth and gazed at her profoundly.

"Is this your farm? One of the guards questioned. Berth mistook them for princes and showed her courtesy by bowing slightly."

"Yes, it is my father's farm," she answered, changing her accent. "

"We would like to use this piece of land for the royal construction site; we would have to make use of your father's farm." The guards said, but Micah was too excited by the fact she was talking to a royal prince that she didn't understand the meaning of their words.

"Of course! It is my pleasure to be at your service; do whatever you like." She said, and they handed her a paper to sign; she signed it using a feather pen that was given to her by another guard.

Just as she had finished signing it, Micah came along; she had just returned from the stream and was no longer thirsty. When she saw Berth with some guards from a distance away, she shrieked in fear.

"What are royal guards doing in the village? Could it be that a prince really came by? These questions ran through her head as she quickly made her way to where they stood.

She saw the guards holding up a paper in their hand containing Berth's signature.

"Quickly get the implement from the carriage and bring down this farm." A guard said, and Micah became alarmed.

"Who gave you the orders to do this? She screamed boldly when she got to where they stood, and Berth scowled inwardly; her sister lacked manners, she thought, and Micah was going to chase her prince charming away.

"It was an order from his royal majesty, King Ragaleon Clegane." The guards chorused and got to work; they started breaking down the wooden door leading to the farm. Tears were streaming down Micah's face.

"You can't do this; this is private property. I will sue you." She threatened them, but one of the guards passed her the papers Berth had just signed.

"It is no longer private property; it now belongs to us." He said that and then got back to work.

Micah skimmed through the papers, and her eyes bulged out in shock; she glared at Berth with anger.

"Berth, what have you done?!