Chapter 44 Another Bedtime Story
Eager to hear his new bedtime story, I quickly get under the duvet and put my head down onto the pillow. With the duvet tucked under my chin, I stare up at Dante, waiting for him to begin the bedtime story. I wonder what he will come up with tonight. The first story he told me was the princess and the knight, and the second one was a story he found online about a damn frog that kept hopping around the forest to search for his missing daughter. Until this day, I don't know why he chose that one, but interestingly enough, I actually fell asleep to the story. I guess I really got bored, and my brain just decided to make me sleep.
"Are you ready?" Dante asks.
"Yes," I say.
"Once upon a time, there was a fairy kingdom in the forest called the Moonfall Eden. Just like the name, the fairies did most of their activities at nighttime while the moon was shining down on them. One day, they were attacked by another kingdom called the Silvershadow. It was daytime, so most of the fairies were still asleep, oblivious to the danger that was overcasting them. The fairies died one by one in the cruellest way. The knights of the Silvershadow killed them by beheading the fairies with their sharp swords.
"Fortunately, the princess of the kingdom was awake at that time, and it saved her from being killed by the Silvershadow knights. Despite her attempt to escape the knights, she ended up getting caught by the prince, who led the invasion of the Moonfall Eden Kingdom. The prince didn't kill her, but her fate was worse than death itself. The prince cut her wings and turned her into a slave, making her do all kinds of chores and things for him in his castle. The king insisted on getting the princess killed, but the prince always refused his father's order.
"After months of being a slave to the prince, the princess planned to escape the castle and go back to her kingdom in the hope that some of the fairies were still alive and well. Unfortunately, without her wings, she can't fly away from the Silvershadow Kingdom. Because of that, she's forced to escape on foot.
"That night, the Silvershadow Kingdom was holding a big party to celebrate their success in claiming more territory by killing the fairies from another kingdom. Despite her fear, the princess was hopeful that she could escape and return to her kingdom and help her people to live a new life in another place where they could live peacefully.
"While the prince of Silvershadow attended the party, the princess had prepared everything for her escape: some food that she had hidden from her daily meal, and a knife. She put all of them in a makeshift bag she made from unused clothes. She skillfully unlocked the door of her room, and because of her luck, there were no guards around to prevent her from escaping. Over the past few months, she had been memorising the layout of the castle, so it was easy for her to know where the exits were.
"After so long, she finally got to one of the exits, away from the crowd who are celebrating the kingdom's victory. One of the guards caught her trying to escape, and all she could do was run as fast as she could. She ran through the dense and dark forest. The forest that surrounded the Silvershadow Kingdom was full of thorny plants, causing the princess to get injured as she escaped the cruel kingdom. After a while, she stopped running. Fatigued from the long-distance travel, she decided to rest behind a fallen tree log. Thankfully, the area was free of thorns, so she could rest peacefully.
"Days passed her by, and with her limited knowledge of the dark forest of the Silvershadow Kingdom, all she could do was to walk straight ahead and hope she would find a way out of the forest. As the sun rose, the princess finally left the dark forest and stepped into the green forest. Determined to come back home, she kept walking and walking. Despite the pain caused by the wounds on her legs, arms, face, and body, she pushed herself to keep walking and walking.
"After hours of walking through the green forest, she found a pond nearby. From the look of it, which was the crystal blue water, the pond was a healing pond. Without wasting any more time, she took her chance and entered the pond. She bathed in the pond, watching her wounds fade away as the pond healed her. She was hoping her wings could grow back, but to her disappointment, they didn't. Dejected, after the long bath, the princess continued her journey towards her kingdom.
"A week has passed, and she finally arrived at her kingdom. To her surprise, the place was already in ruin, and no one was in sight. She searched through the houses and castles, but she found no one. With a frown, the princess went back to her castle, and just like any other place within the kingdom, the castle was also destroyed. Oddly enough, her bedroom was still intact, but most of her stuff already gone missing.
"Not knowing where else to go, the princess stayed in isolation in her old bedroom of the castle ruin. While she went out to pick some fruits and flowers, someone pulled her away, and just in time, two knights of the Silvershadow kingdom passed her by. She was hidden behind a bush, so the knights didn't notice her. After the knights disappeared, the person who pulled her into the bush let go of her. She turned around, and she smiled widely when she saw the king standing in front of her. After that, the king took her to his new haven, where all the fairies left from the Moonfall kingdom stayed. The end," Dante says.
"Oh wow. Is that really your own story? If that's so, you've improved a lot. When you retire from being a mafioso, you should definitely write bedtime stories," I say.
It's interesting that someone who can look scary and cruel has the ability to tell a bedtime story from scratch. I don't think Dante wrote down the story before. He definitely made it from scratch earlier and just improvised the story, which is even better because he didn't outline the story before telling it to me. Damn. What else can this man do? I want him to surprise me in the future.
"I can't believe you're awake through all that," Dante says.
"Well, the story was interesting, so I stayed awake to listen to it until the end," I say.
"That defeats the purpose of a bedtime story, so no. That means my story is bad," Dante says, covering his face with his hands. I roll my eyes at his reaction.
"Oh, come on. Give yourself some credit. It's actually amazing. If you don't want it to be a bedtime story, you could turn it into a short story instead," I say. He stares down at me. I don't know how long he's been staring at me, but I see his facial expression slowly change from gloomy to proud.
"You know what? You're right. I'll consider it," Dante says.
"Great!" I say.
A big yawn leaves my mouth, and I quickly cover my mouth until the yawn dissipates. After a few seconds, I look up at Dante again, smiling at him with my heavy eyes. In any second from now, I bet I will fall asleep. I can't keep myself awake any longer.
"Well, I guess your bedtime story actually works. I'm sleepy now, so I'm going to sleep now," I say.
"Alright. Good night, princess," Dante says.
"Good night, my knight in shining armour," I say. Dante only chuckles at the new pet name I give him. Before I can say anything else, the world turns dark, and I'm in the void of darkness once again.