Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 56

There were holes and tears all over, leaving much of her body exposed to the elements. She was wearing a rugged jacket over her dress. It smelled a little and was full of stains. At least it helped her stay protected, even if it was only for a little. Her pants had seen better times as well. Wear and tear had turned what were once small tears into medium-sized gaping holes.

However, at least she had shoes to protect her feet. Although they were worn out, a size too big, and the outer sole of the left shoe had long been lost, they were still usable. She wore a small scarf around her neck. It was wrapped around her face to just below her large bright brown eyes.

The scarf was worn out but still holding together. Her head was covered by a red beanie, which may be old and worn out, but it was still relatively good and clean. Her white hair was unkept. Lara was a beige coloured fox, so her white hair stood out from her skin.

‘I see that she is still covering her neck,’ Astoria thought, subtly glancing at Lara’s bruised neck.

“How are you today? How is your grandmother?” she asked Lara, who tilted her head up and smiled at her.

“I am okay. She is not well as usual,” Lara expressed.

The little fox’s body drooped in sadness at the thought of her sick grandmother. Her tiny hands held the basket tightly, her knuckles whitening in the process.

“I see. Any luck with selling your flowers? I see you have pink roses today,” Astoria spoke gently, stooping down to the little fox’s level, not caring about damaging or dirtying her elegant dress.

Lara shook her head and stared at the ground. “I only sold one.”

Astoria put her hands on the little fox’s shoulders and gently patted them. “How about I buy all of them from you?”

The beige coloured fox stared at the princess with wide eyes.

“R-really?” she asked the princess, shock evident in her tiny voice.

Astoria nodded and smiled. “Remember I promised you that I would buy your flowers at the festival? Well, here I am. A promise is a promise.”

Prince Yashiro did not say anything the whole time and just watched Astoria and Lara’s cute interaction. A smile made its way to his lips, and he crossed his arms.

“How much are you selling each rose for?” Astoria asked, standing up.

“Each rose is GZ20, princess Nexi,” Lara softly replied.

Astoria counted how many roses were in the tiny basket and found that there were nineteen roses left.

“So,” she said, taking the basket from Lara, “I am going to give you GZ380 for all these rose flowers.”

She stood next to the fox prince and gently nudged his side. She ushered him to pay Lara. Prince Yashiro understood and took out his wallet. He grabbed GZ500 and gave it to the little fox. Astoria stared at him wide-eyed.

“I am sorry, prince Yashiro,” he heard Lara say, “but I am afraid I do not have any change.”

He smiled at her and crouched down. He put his hand on her shoulder.

“You do not have to give me any change. You keep all that money, all right?”

Lara widened her eyes. “W-what? N-no, I cannot p-possibly…”

“It’s okay, little fox,” Astoria reassured her, “You keep it all.”

Lara stared at the GZ500 note that was in her tiny hands, and tears began to well up. Prince Yashiro was thrown off guard as tears started to run down the little fox’s cheek. Astoria immediately crouched down too. She hugged the little fox.

“There, there,” she cooed, comforting the little fox.

“It’s j-just t-that,” she heard the little fox say in between her crying, “my granny’s o-oral issue i-is getting w-worse a-and there i-is no o-one t-to help us.”

Astoria rubbed the little fox’s back while hugging her. Lara hugged back tightly, her tiny body shaking with each sob.

“It’s okay,” Astoria cooed, “I will help you, so take prince Yashiro and me to your grandmother.”

She felt Lara nod her head ‘okay.’ They stayed in that position for a few minutes, Astoria gently rubbing Lara’s back and the little fox softly sobbing. Creatures that walked past them wondered what was happening and why a child was crying.

When Lara had stopped crying, prince Yashiro took out a clean handkerchief from his jacket pocket and gave it to her. She accepted it with shaking hands and blew her nose. Her body was still trembling from her crying, but now she was a bit calm.

Astoria told the fox prince to hold the basket of rose flowers. He nodded and took the basket in his hand. She stood up and stared at Lara, who was tightly holding her hands together and sniffing softly.

“By the way, how old are you, Lara?” she asked the little fox.

“I-I’m five years old,” Lara replied.

Lara was relatively tiny for a five-year-old. Anyone who would see her would probably think she was a three-year-old. Although she was five, Astoria noticed that she was pretty smart and mature for her age because of her grandmother’s health issue.

‘This is sad to see,’ she thought, ‘This little child has to become mature at such a young age. That does not make any sense.’

Astoria crouched down and spread her hands out. Lara stared at her, confused.

“Let’s go to your house,” Astoria said, “I’ll carry you in my arms. You must be tired from standing all day.”

Lara’s eyes widened. “N-no, I’ll just dirty your beautiful clothes.”

The little fox looked at her own clothes and felt ashamed. There was no way she would let the princess carry her when her own clothes looked ugly and dirty. She would just dirty princess Nexi’s expensive clothes, which she did not want to do.

“Don’t worry about my clothes, Lara,” Astoria insisted, “Now, come here, little one.”

Lara hesitated for a moment but then slowly approached her and got into her embrace. Astoria smiled and carried Lara, standing up and staring at Yashiro. The little fox had placed her tiny head on her shoulder.

“We should buy them something to eat,” Astoria suggested to the fox prince and stared down at Lara, who was in her arms.

“Yeah, let’s go find something,” Prince Yashiro agreed.

They later found a stall that was selling rice and meat. The stall’s owner was also making stir fry, so the prince bought those. The owner gave the prince his order and bowed at him. He also bought some soft food for Lara’s grandmother at another food stall. Prince Yashiro and Astoria followed Lara’s directions, finally reaching her house. They both scanned the place.

From the outside, the house looked lovely and traditional. It had been built with tan stones and had poplar wooden decorations. Small, squared windows let in plenty of light and had been added to the house in a primarily symmetric way.

Lara’s house was equipped with an old-fashioned kitchen and two bathrooms. It also had a snug living room, three bedrooms, a cozy dining room, and a roomy storage room. The building was shaped like a short U. The two extensions were linked by a stylish garden.

The second floor was bigger than the first, creating several overhanging parts on one side of the house. This floor followed the same style as the floor below. The roof was low and triangular and was covered with seagrass. Two small chimneys sat on either side of the house.

Many smaller windows let plenty of light to the rooms below the roof. The house itself was surrounded by a gorgeous small garden, including various trees, bushes, flowers, and a small pond. The garden was a fresh field of grass enclosed by a variety of hedges and bushes.

A single ornamental piece of a kitsune God stood in the center. It was slightly weathered and discolored, which only added to its beauty. Some flower beds were pretty much overgrown, taken over by the other, bigger plants.

The hedges and bushes reached 1.5m/5ft high but did not usually grow this tall. A stone path twisted around the small garden, directing visitors around naturally. Plants and vines competed for the best and the most land in the small garden, each keen to claim it all.

It seemed like the ornamental piece was what started the creation of this entire garden in the first place. The flower beds made sure they were paid attention to as well. The hedges and bushes were nothing to sneeze at, but everything looked small compared to the ornamental piece.

“Do you live alone with your Grandma in this big house?” she asked Lara.

“No,” Lara shook her head, “My uncle lives with us. This house belongs to him.”

“So your uncle owns such a house but makes you sell flowers? That does not make sense because anyone can clearly tell that the man is wealthy,” Prince Yashiro stated, eyeing the house and garden.