Once upon a time, there was a strange princess named Mia Llirs. She was strikingly beautiful to those who took the time to look at her carefully. At times, Mia could seem raw and wild, but deep down she was just a little angel looking for true love. She did not conform to the standards and that could bother some people.
However, Mia was lucky. Firstly, she was a princess, and as such she was respected. Moreover, her people were open to differences and considered foreigners as unusual beings. But, it didn't matter, because Mia was indifferent to the opinions of others.
She lived her life by her own rules.
Mia had two older brothers, Ary and Bill, who loved her very much. But they didn't always understand his visceral need to train “like a man”. How Mia lived her life was a personal matter. The princess resided in a large castle, located in the heart of a kingdom bordered by forests and rivers. It was the perfect place to live. The royal family was not threatened by anyone and enjoyed great respect from the people. It was a real dream.
Unfortunately, this dream came to an end when the peaceful kingdom found itself on the brink of a great war. The cannons rang out in the night, and the guards, along with the king, rushed to Mia's room after being searched for her brothers and her mother, the queen.
“Father!” exclaimed the young princess. “What is going on? Father!”
But he didn't answer her. The king grabbed Mia by the hand, surrounded by agitated guards, but it was already too late. The castle was overrun.
“Take my daughter,” he ordered a young guard. “Take her to her brothers. They live! Go ahead!”
“Father! No, Father! Dad!”
Mia screamed and cried breathlessly as the guard carried her away from the war. Despite her father's order, the guard never managed to lead her to her brothers. A cannon exploded near them, and Mia saw the inert guard beside her. She curled up, waiting a few minutes, then remembered what her parents had taught her. She knew how to survive, just as she knew her brothers would also resist the attack. She feeds on the desire to find them one day. Getting up, she fled without looking back.
The strange princess knew the castle's secret passages, the ones she often used with Ary and Bill to get to the river and play there. She ran towards one of these hidden corridors. Although she was aware that the king and queen knew of the existence of these passages, as well as the escapades of their children, they left them with this illusion of freedom. Because when you are the heir to a kingdom, freedom no longer exists. Today, Mia was no longer sure she wanted this freedom.
Mia managed to escape the castle and found herself at the edge of the nearest forest, where she watched as her world was shattered. A mad rage invaded her, but she knew she could do nothing against these monsters that invaded her kingdom. She could only do one thing: survive to try to find her brothers. She promised herself she would get there, whether it was in a day, a month, or ten years. She would see them again. Mia turned and walked towards the river, the place where she had spent her best moments. By following the stream to its source, maybe she could find a village or a house, it didn't matter, as long as she found help.
The night cloaked her, and despite the distance she had already traveled, Mia could still hear the distant echoes of the cannons. She walked, without stopping, until the noise of the war faded. Mia was just a child. She was scared but felt compelled to act like an adult. Her mother, the queen, had often told her that a child immersed so early in the world of adults should behave like one. And that's what she would do, despite the pain of feeling estranged from her family.
She was awakened by the soft light of dawn. The day before, before going to sleep, she had made a spear to protect herself. Bill had shown her how. Mia got up, drank some water from the river, and ate some berries found nearby. Her sole concern was never to lose sight of the river. Gradually, the tumult of the river turned into a thin trickle of water lost in the middle of the dense forest. Mia had never gone this far. She never left her sweet kingdom, never alone, and never so far away.
Mia walked for a few more hours until she lost sight of the stream. It was over, and she hadn't even seen a single village. Deciding then to gain height, she headed for the nearest hill, about a three-hour walk. She stuffed herself with berries and set off in that direction, determined to find a village, a house, or any sign of human presence.
Three hours passed. She was exhausted, thirsty, and hungry. Mia had reached the top of the hill, but she saw nothing but the flames consuming her kingdom. An immense sadness came over her. She was alone, always alone. She stood motionless as the sun disappeared over the horizon. Mia began to dream while contemplating the stars. She had never seen them so beautiful and clear. She would have preferred to be up there rather than here, among the Humans. She saw herself with her brothers, lying in the courtyard of the castle, watching the sky for hours. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She couldn't stop thinking about them. Did they survive? Had her mother managed to leave the kingdom in her turn? And her father… had he managed to escape or had he fallen into the hands of the enemies? How dare they attack her people? They had never done anything wrong, they had remained themselves, discreet and valiant. They would never attack a neighboring kingdom for no reason! Those who had committed this act were only monsters.
But Mia was only a child, and the political affairs of the kingdom were foreign to her. The only thing she saw was Humans preying on her beloved people.
Mia was now away from home, and she missed her family terribly. Her parents had taught her to survive, but not to live alone. She was no longer cold, no longer hungry, nothing animated her. She curled up in a fetal position, closed her eyes, and wished she was home, in her mom's arms.
When she opened her eyes, the sun was rising, she saw a young girl lying in front of her. She had big green eyes, long brown hair, and her voice sounded so sweet.
“Hi you, my name is Rose. You are Princess Mia, aren't you? How beautiful you are,” she told her with a smile.
And Mia smiled back.
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