The Wanderers Prologue - Part 1

The Wanderers Prologue - 1


Light pours into the room as I wake from my slumber. The alarm clock becomes a nuisance, as I reach for the snooze button to silence it. It reads 7:30. I let out a small yawn as I get out of bed to open the curtains. When they open, my room becomes much brighter. What's beyond my room is a beautiful, vast view of Limsleah, the capital city of the country Duonia, which is loosely named after the planet I reside on, Dyoa. After I take in the fresh view, I head towards the bathroom, wanting to take a shower. I gather my clothes and close the door behind me, locking it.
Once I open the door to my room, steam pours from the bathroom, but I think nothing of it. I lay all my clothes except for my shirt on the bed. The shirt that I wear is a white tank top with an intricate linear pattern at the collar. Next is my pants, which are black and white striped jeans, and the last thing are my shoes, which are knee high, black, high heeled boots. After my clothes are done, I head back to the bathroom to further dry and style my hair. My hair is long, reaching down almost to my knees. The front is shorter though. My bangs reach only barely above my chin, and the sides only reach my chest. Once it's dried, I think a simple ponytail will do, so I grab a ribbon and wrap my hair in an ordinary ponytail. The last thing I do is pick out jewelry, which isn't much. I just choose my diamond earrings, and my sapphire necklace.
I grab my purse and I head downstairs to the living room. I sit on the couch, take out my phone and dial my best friend, Drew's, number. After a few seconds of ringing, he answers the phone, "Hello?" he answers, "Oh, hello Drew! Are you busy right now?" I ask, "Not at all. Why? You want to hang out or something?" he anticipates my reasoning of calling him, as usual. He's very perceptive, "Actually yes! Meet me at the gates of the cherry blossom path okay?" "Sure, I'll be there," "'Kay, see you soon, bye." I hang up and I head out to leave. Once I'm outside, I look back at the place I live, Limsleah castle. I smile proudly, and I continue my way into the cherry blossom path. Yes, I live in a castle. That's because I'm crown princess of the country. Well, that's what they call me anyway. Duonia doesn't function like a monarchy. It functions more like a republic, but, for some reason, officials still use old terminology, and it often confuses people. The only thing that is close to Duonia being a monarchy is that it has a royal family. I'm one of two left in the royal family. My older sister, Brianna, left her heir to pursue a career in music. I'm supposed to take over office in a few days. Hopefully when that happens I'll be able to fix all the problems Duonia faces.
Enough about political garbage, the path that I'm walking is appropriately named the Cherry Blossom path. There are sakura trees everywhere. Thankfully, the path isn't very lengthy. Its only purpose is to separate the castle and the city. If I started walking to my right, I would eventually end up at the Reflection Lake, which is placed to where the castle is perfectly reflected from the water of the lake. As I reach the end of the path, I see the figure of a teenage male, and as I get closer, it's who I expected it to be. It's Drew. He notices me, as he faces towards me with a smile on his face. I approach him and I return the smile, "Hey you. You took a little longer than I had hoped," he chuckles and rubs the top of my head, "Ehe, sorry about that. Shall we head off?" "Let's" And with that, we head in to Limsleah.
It's still early in the morning, so the streets aren't crowded with cars, and there aren't many people walking the sidewalks. Nevertheless, Drew and I walk quickly but steadily, "So, what's been up with you? Has the council been pressuring you at all?" He asks me, "Well, they have been reminding me about the 'coronation', but that's about it. They haven't been pressuring me in to making huge political decisions. At least, not yet, thank god. Coronation practice in in two days, however." I say this with a deep sigh. The pressure of being appointed is setting in, which is exactly why I wanted to take Drew out on a friendly date, "Well, I'm glad that you're not too stressed by it. So, where would you like to go?" He asks. I don't know, but I'm thinking about the cafe that we usually hang out at. Just as I'm about to say something, I see someone very familiar. Apparently, she recognizes Drew and I too, as she starts jogging towards us. Now that she's closer, I now see that she's another one of my best friends, Eve. She stops in front of us with a grin on her face, "Hey guys! Where are you guys headed?" she asks us, looking eager to join, "We're headed to the usual cafe we hang out at. Would you like to join us, Eve?" I ask her, though her answer is pretty obvious, "Yes! I would love to come with you guys!" she says joyfully, "Looks like we have another to the group," Drew says happily, and I give a warm chuckle.
As time goes on, more cars start appearing on the road and more people appear on the streets. With this, we quicken our pace to our destination. Before we make it to our destination we are stopped by one of our teachers, who asks if we are doing our assignment. Even though I’m princess, I still go to regular public school, which I surprisingly appreciate. However, due to the circumstances, I’m now unable to complete the assignment, as my duties as head of state will be taking up a lot, if not all, of my time. I inform my teacher of this and we keep moving along. Eve asks me the question that Drew asked me before, whether or not I’m stressed by being appointed, and I give her the same response as I did with Drew. Before long, we make it to our destination, the Lavender Café. For a café, it actually sells a wide assortment of food and drink, ranging from simple and sweet breakfasts, to exotic and complex dinners. “Ahhh, it always feels nice to come here. Nice, smooth lavender.” Eve says as she stretches out. It always smells of soft lavender, which is probably how they named this café. A waitress, who actually knows us quite well, leads us to a window booth, and we take our seats. Eve and I sit opposite of each other near the window, while Drew sits right next to me. Our waitress takes our drink orders, mine is coffee, Eve’s is tea, while Drew’s is, surprisingly, just water. “So Lyela, do you know how your sister is doing?” This question takes me by surprise, as I haven’t heard from her in quite some time. My sister’s name is Brianna, and she is like, super sister. She’s the one who took care of me for my entire life, as our father disappeared off the face of the world, and our mom died when I was only two years old. She is basically my sister, and my mom. I have a very close relationship with her, but you could have guessed that. Like I said before, Brianna was heir to the office, but she didn’t want it, as she found her passion in music, and left Duonia to pursue a career in it. It’s been two years, and I haven’t heard from her since. I do get worried of course, but I put my full faith in her and her dreams. I do wish she would write back every now and then though, “Unfortunately, no. She hasn’t sent any word to me. That girl, I really don’t understand her sometimes” I say regretfully, “I feel you, Lyela. She’s definitely, unique, I’ll say that.” Drew says. I smile at him when he says this, because it’s true. No one can match her determination, her flamboyance, and most of all, her being ditzy all the time. Brianna is truly unique. “I do hope that one day she’ll return to us. I really do miss her.” I say softly while looking down at my hands. Drew pats me on the head, to which I turn my head to face him, “You shouldn’t worry too much about that, Lyela. I’m sure she’ll come around eventually. We just have to be patient for a little while longer.” Drew says in a very reassuring voice. He always has a way of making me feel better. I smile at him and nod, “Of course. Thank you, Drew.” I say in response and give him a quick hug. I turn around just in time to see Eve chuckle a little, to which I blush. She knows.
To take my mind off of my sister for a little while, our waitress comes back to take our orders for breakfast. Drew orders a simple strawberry, banana and blueberry smoothie, Eve orders a chocolate, banana filled crepe, with four strawberries, while I go all out and order French toast, with a small bacon and egg toqitoe. The waitress writes everything down happily, and gives us a sample of the banana bread that is being made here. It’s actually quite delicious for how simple it is. We tell her this, and she seems very happy. She walks off, and we continue talking. We talk about current events, such as how Eve’s entry to the art exhibit is going. Eve is an avid artist, and always tries to better herself by trying new styles and methods. “Ahhh, I just don’t know what to paint. I was thinking about Limsleah castle at dawn or dusk, but that gives a limited time frame.” She says, while she rests her head down on the table. Poor Eve. Oh well, such is the way of an artist. I’m sure Brianna would understand to. “Oh, Eve. You know I could send you a picture of Limsleah castle at dawn or dusk. It won’t be that hard!” I tell her, but she rebukes it, “I know, but I like being there in the moment! But alas, I just might have to give in to your idea Lyela. Woe is me.” Jeez, she can be so dramatic. Though, Drew and I know she’s only kidding. She only does this to make fun of people who actually act like that. After the talk of art is over, we get on the subject of Drew’s academics. Believe it or not, Drew is actually in the top percentage of his class. I say ‘his’ class and not ‘our’ class because he’s a year older than Eve and I are. He’s seventeen, Eve is sixteen, while my birthday is on the day of ‘coronation’. Anyways, Drew is very strong in mostly all of his subjects. His strongest subject is writing, and he actually wants to be an author when he gets older. One fun fact about him is that before Brianna left to pursue her career, he helped Brianna write lyrics to a song she was having trouble with, and man, that song was really something to behold. It was a duet. He says that his singing totally sucks, but I think it’s more of lack of confidence than anything else. I think he could be an amazing lyricist if wanted to be one. Maybe I can convince him. For being amazing in academics, he’s actually quite physical to. He doesn’t participate in sports, but he exercises daily and keeps himself in top form. Sometimes Eve and I join him on his routine. Thankfully, we both are in good enough shape to keep up with him. Otherwise, we would be left in the dust. He does eat very well most of the time, but when he falls off, it’s very bad. He will eat like a hog; a dirty, spoiled, fat hog. When we get to the subject and talk about it, he blushes slightly and laughs nervously.
Speaking of that, just as we finish talking about Drew’s rare ‘eating like a hog’ habit, the waitress comes back with our food. We happily thank her and tip her, and she is on her merry way. One thing that we all like to do as a group of friends is share our food with each other. I give Eve a small portion of my French toast and give Drew a bite of my Toqitoe, Eve gives Drew a portion of her crepe and gives me a strawberry, while Eve and I take a sip of Drew’s smoothie. As expected of this café, it’s delicious. We continue to eat leisurely while talking about current and upcoming events. Before long, we finished our food and are ready to leave. We call our waitress and she comes to take our finished plates and give us our separate checks. She then offers if we want any dessert to take home. Eve and Drew decline her offer, but I actually want some of the banana bread that she gave us, “Actually, do you have a loaf of that banana bread you gave each of us?” I ask, though I’m not too sure, since it was just a sample. She looks up in to the air wondering for a few seconds, “Hmm, I’m not too sure. I’ll check for you though!” She says gleefully. “Thank you very much.” I tell her in reply. With that, she hurries back to the kitchen to look for what I ordered, which, in turn, leaves us sitting at our table for a little while longer, “Wow Lyela, I didn’t realize you were such a pig to!” Drew blurts out suddenly. I jerk my head towards him and I blush. I give him a glare before replying, “Excuse you, but for your information, I was going to give some to the maids for their hard work at home! Presumptuous!” I thought I rebounded well, but he can see right through me, “Pffftt. Yeah, riiiiight. I know you better than that.” He’s right though, I was a little greedy. “Shut up, you.” I tell him flatly. While Drew smirks at me, Eve is just laughing her butt off, “Oh my god, you two are so funny.” Seriously, sometimes I hate these two so much, but I couldn’t help but join in their laughter.
Our waitress comes up with a clear plastic box, “Sorry about the wait! But it turns out that we had one more loaf left. Here you go!” She hands it to me, and I pay her for her extravagant service, “W-wait. The loaf doesn’t cost anything!” She says, and I smile at her, “I know. This is for you to keep. You are very good at what you do.” I tell her and she gives me a very warm smile. She bows, thanks me and heads off towards the front of the café. After she takes off, we begin on our way as well. I look at my phone and it reads 10:30. Just as we exit the café, we notice a crowd of people surrounding the Billboard TV, where the latest news is found. For some reason, it draws me to it and the same can be said to Drew and Eve. When I look, I get a little confused. It's just showing the advertisements it usually does. So I have to wonder; why is there so many people surrounding this place? Just as I am about to leave, I hear a voice coming from the Billboard, now having my full attention, "Aaaaalright! We are now back with the latest news! If you haven't heard already, then you must be living under a rock! The newly release single by Brianna Yugure is now an overnight success; it's a hit! If you don't know her, then you do now! And if you're interested, her full album is expected to drop in another month! Stay tuned for later on BTV News, where we will have an interview with the new rising star! Until next time, Ciao!" What? Did I hear what I thought I just heard? Brianna....her dream. She....she made it come true.  After a few seconds of standing there, of hearing all the people screaming for Brianna, and seeing Eve and Drew as shocked as I was, time stood still, and I thought of the moment when Brianna first left...

//Two years earlier//

"Well, Lyela, I'm off, wish me luck!" Brianna says quite excited, "W-wait, Brianna. Are you sure you want to go now? I mean, the council will wonder where you are and everything..." I say this to mask my true, selfish reasons for wanting her to stay. I'll miss her so much, "Oh, they're complete and utter pushovers. Don't worry about them. Just have faith in me!" She says and gives me a smile. I, however look at the ground that separates us. After a few seconds of silence, she takes notice of me, "What's the matter?" She asks in a worried voice, "It should be obvious...I'm not happy about you leaving. I'll miss you.." I say solemnly. I hear her make sigh, and I hear her ruffle her hair. She takes out something, and it turns out to be the tiara that the princess wears, "Here. I should have given you this sooner," she takes the tiara, and places it perfectly atop my head, where it rests above my bangs. She then gives me a hug. "Listen, I know it'll be lonely at the castle, but just think. I have a real chance to make my dream come true, and I want to take it! Besides, you'd make better decisions as head of state anyway. You're more focused, and you have a good head on you. I know you'll do great." I return her embrace, starting to feel more emotional than I thought I would, "So, I have to do what I have to do," she releases me, "And that means you'll have to be strong without me for a while. You can do that can't you?" She rubs my head, and I give her a slow nod, "Besides, you still have Drew and Eve, so you'll never be truly alone!" this makes me smile, "You're right Brianna." I tell her, and she smiles at me. If she wants to do her own thing and be with music, than I have no right to keep her confined to this place, "Go. Go and make beautiful music, Bri. If it doesn't work out, I'll always be here." After I tell her this, I give her a magenta rose, one that can go in her hair. She puts it on quickly, "How do I look?" she asks me, "Like you always do; fabulous." She laughs a little, and then looks at her watch and her eyes widen, "Uh-oh, I'm going to be late. I guess this is where I take my curtain call, sis!" she says gleefully, and I look at her warmly, and give her a quick hug. After we let go, she takes her bags and walks towards Limsleah, taking the Cherry Blossom path. Her figure is now barely visible in the shadows of the trees, when a wind blows, taking sakura petals with it, and obscuring her figure...

//present time//

"Lyela! We need to go if we are to catch that interview!" Drew's voice snaps me back to reality, "Yeah...that's right. Let's head back to the castle." I say. We then hurriedly make our way back to the castle.