Welcome To The Lily Avenue Animalways!

At midnight, Kaira knocked on the Professor's bedroom door and asked her to discuss a problem that she's currently dealing with. Professor Heidi offered her some tea and asked her why she came to her in the middle of the night, hoping that everything was alright.

Kaira replied, "Actually, there is something I need to talk to you, it's about my mother; do you remember what she said about improving my communication skills? And the thing is, I don't know how to do so, though I'm willing to try my best."

Professor Heidi spoke, "Oh, so that's why you've come to me. From what I have observed, you can communicate with your family quite well."

Kaira spoke, "Yes, because they are blood-related. I'd like to talk to the palace staff, and since they're not family, I could learn a lot from that experience. Even though it might seem like a good idea, there is still one big problem. Whenever I look into someone's eyes, I think they assume things horrible things about me, like I am glaring at them."

Professor Heidi thought, "Her Highness wouldn't do such things, yet they match her appearance ideally."

Kaira added, "I don't like to scare people; it makes me sad! Once it has happened, I don't know what I'm supposed to say!" She cuddled herself in a corner sulking about the same.

Professor Heidi walked over to her, and spoke, "Yes, and when you're silent, they fear you more, thus creating a negative cycle. The best way to eliminate this problem is to confront it. Shall I coach you on speaking with the palace staff? After all, communication does require practice, Princess." Kaira gave an approving nod.

Heidi informed the other Princesses about Kaira's problem by visiting their rooms individually, and they all agreed to help out.

*THE NEXT DAY*

All the four Princesses, the imperial mentor and surprisingly Prince Adam, gathered at the reception hall.

Leonora spoke, "Good morning, Kaira; and to you, Professor. We have some bad news; we can't help you today because Adam says that he wants to go to the Lily Avenue Animalways establishment.

Professor Heidi asked, "You mean the establishment where the most significant number of animals are found in the Vermillion kingdom?"

Brunia answered, "Yes; he sincerely requested us with his unbelievably adorable eyes, and we couldn't find ourselves to turn him down!"

Kaira proposed, "Hey, I have an idea! Would it be alright with everyone if we all went together?"

Adam's eyes gleamed with joy, and he said, "Yes! Thank you, Kaira! You're so sweet!"

Licha responded, "Lovely! Shall we?"

Professor Heidi replied, "Yes, why not? Princess Kaira, the Animalways, will be the perfect place for you to practice your communication skills."

*AT THE ZOO*

Brunia initiated, "All of you wait here! I will get the carts! Since we are six people, one cart isn't sufficient for all of us. We have to split up and follow each other on the path as we proceed, capisce?"

Professor Heidi gave Brunia a sum of money, and she advanced to stand in a small queue for a counter that provides carts for a specific number of hours.

Brunia asked politely, "Excuse me, mister, can I please rent out two carts for six people?"

The guy at the stall turned around, and his eyes widened with surprise. He squealed with delight and recognition, "Oh my god! Brunia! It's you! It has been too long!"

Brunia smiled and replied, "Michael! It's terrific to see you too! I didn't know you work here!"

Michael responded, "Yeah, well... people like us aren't precisely offered prestigious jobs! You got lucky, though! And I have some news..."

Brunia asked in curiosity, "Tell me! Whenever you say this line, you always give me information that blows off my mind! What is it?"

Michael took a deep breath and said, "Chantel, Aubrey, Andrew, and I have four different jobs, so the four of us have purchased an apartment across the street and are splitting the rent. Also, Aubrey and I have... umm... you know?"

Brunia shrieked, "WHAT!? You guys bought an apartment without even telling me!? And Aubrey is your girlfriend!? Good, God! I thought that would never happen, considering that both of you are cowards and liked each other since we were 10! Anyways, good for you! I have to go now since all my sisters and the Mistress are waiting; where are the carts?"

Michael answered, "Okay! See you then! It was a pleasure to meet the Princess after so long! Your carts are on lane 3 and 4; have a good day, ma'am!" They both exchanged goodbyes, and Brunia departed with the two cart keys.

Brunia walked over to her group and said, "The carts are a few meters away, so we have to walk a little."

Professor Heidi proposed, "Alright, Princess Kaira, you lead the way!" As all of them left the area, Brunia observed that a familiar man was staring at her. She looked at him in recognition, and a sign of regret spread across her face. Before that man would advance towards her, Brunia walked away without saying anything.

While walking towards the carts, Professor Heidi said, "Princess Kaira, this is the perfect time to practice smiling." Kaira nodded with approval and tried to put on her best smile. When she did, everyone around her got scared and ran away!

Leonora shrieked, "Sister, please stop that!"

Brunia added, "You're technically smiling, but you're sending a different message." She the consoled Kaira by saying, "Forcing a smile isn't a wise strategy."

As they arrived at their carts, Kaira and Brunia were the drivers of each vehicle as they were the oldest, and the Professor's feet wouldn't reach the accelerator or the brakes. Each cart could hold only three people, so Kaira, Adam, and Licha placed themselves in one vehicle, whereas Brunia, Leonora, and Professor Heidi took their seats in another.

As they toured around the establishment, they stopped at an area where there were ostriches. Adam asked Kaira in curiosity, "What is that animal, Kaira?"

She replied, "An ostrich; it is one of the birds who have wings and yet cannot fly."

The ostrich moved over to Licha and started dancing. Licha asked in disgust, "Yeech!! What on earth is it doing?"

Professor Heidi answered, "A courtship dance. It seems that the animals also adore you, Princess Licha."

Brunia added, "By the way, it's a female."

Licha screamed with horror while running away, "No! I'm not interested! AHHH!!!"

They then sat on their carts and proceeded to the section where bears were found.

Leonora spoke, "I suppose that the bears are cuddly and cute like my teddy bears!"

But as they reached the area, it was found that the bears were wild, and they roared loudly enough to flinch both Leonora and make Adam cry. Kaira consoled her little brother by saying, "Adam, do not cry. We're at an animal sanctuary; it's fun. Come along now, let's go feed the animals in the other area."

Professor Heidi observed them and thought, "It's fascinating. Her communication skills are considerably high when it comes to her family." When they moved onto the plot where rabbits and marmots were found abundantly, Brunia and Professor Heidi were sitting on the cart and observing everyone.

Suddenly, Brunia noticed the same man who was staring at her earlier, as she saw him again, and without thinking straight, she pressed the accelerator and rode the vehicle at full speed, leaving her sisters and brother behind! Tears started to fill Brunia's eyes as she saw that man again! It turned out that the man was following her.

Professor Heidi yelled, "Princess, what is wrong with you?! You left your siblings behind! Stop the cart, at once!"

Brunia screamed, "This vehicle cannot stop!!"

The man shouted from behind, "ब्रूनीया!! गाड़ी रोको!!! मुझे तुमसे बात करनी है!!"

Professor Heidi comprehended what the man was screeching and asked Brunia in curiosity, "Princess, who is that guy?!"

Brunia yelled as a response with panic, pain, and tension within her, "इससे आपका कोई मतलब नहीं है!" Professor Heidi examined Brunia's face filled with a lot of pain; her eyes flashing red with tears and her cheeks flushing warm pink; she decided not to interrogate Brunia about the matter as it would only deteriorate the situation. She put the issue on hold for now, and she decided to make the inquiries later.

When they arrived at the entrance of the establishment, in front of the cart rental counter, with Michael being the witness of everything that transpired in that area, who also knew why was Brunia acting like that; Brunia took a sharp U-turn into the starting point of the path to where they previously ventured and eventually lost the man behind and found her way back to her siblings.

*AT THE PALACE CORRIDORS*

The Princesses and their younger brother returned to the palace safely. Now, Kaira had to accomplish her goal to talk to the palace staff. She made her way to the male attendants who had just completed cleaning up her room. According to Licha's advice, she must start the conversation with a safe topic like the weather and end it with a compliment for a good impression.

One of the manservants noticed Kaira assumingly glaring at him; nevertheless, he asked politely, "Oh! Hello there! Your Highness, may I assist you?"

Kaira said, "Weather; it is somewhat pleasant today, yes?"

The attendant replied, "Oh, yes!"

After that, there was a brief moment of awkward silence; Kaira then blurted out, "I like to cuddle soft fluffy creatures."

Licha thought, "Why did she jump straight to cuddling?!"

Kaira continued, "These towels that you're holding, they are soft and fluffy; I like them."

Brunia murmured, "Lord! Help us all! Why is she complimenting the linens!"

The attendant responded, "Ummm... Good day, Your Highness. Excuse us, please." And just like that, both the manservants exited from that awkward conversation.

After that, she gave up on trying to improve her skills and walked away into the palace gardens. She lay down on the green grass and closed her eyes, losing herself into a deeper world. Suddenly, when the manservant appeared and put a blanket on her, she woke up with a jolt.

The attendant shrieked in fear, "I swear I had no intention of waking you up, Your Highness! FORGIVE ME! Please excuse my being presumptuous; only the wind is very cold, so I've bought you some tea to warm you up if you please! I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY, YOUR HIGHNESS!!"

Kaira scoffed in despair, "There it goes again! I'm hopeless, I cannot do this!"

Professor Heidi appeared and said, "I believe that it's time for a lesson, my Princess. It would appear that you've given up, Your Highness. It's been merely a day since you enter down this path a few hours since you began this journey. You were able to perceive the complexity of Prince Adam's feelings in no time at all. You are blessed with a tender heart and a deep sensitivity to others, and you know how to communicate with your family just fine. However, you cannot converse with anyone else. Do you thank the palace staff for the everyday work they do for you?"

Kaira answered, "No, I'm afraid I would scare them."

Professor Heidi continued, "I imagined as much. Being feared has given you a complex; thus, you lack the courage to greet them. Princess Kaira. You must understand that no one will think ill of you for trying to be polite. For your own sake, won't you please try to greet and thank the people in your life? And if you're worried that doing that would scare them, you must know that everyone has a different personality. Some people won't like you, no matter how polite you are to them. It's not all bad, it still means that many people would like you quite a bit. This world is vast, Your Highness, do not deprive yourself for finding people who will understand and care for you. Princess Kaira, you will meet many other people as you grow, please forgive yourself as you develop your skills."

*IN KAIRA'S ROOM*

Kaira was thinking about what the Professor said when the manservant entered her room to change the bedsheets.

When Kaira merely looked at him, the attendant squawked in panic, "I'M SORRY!! I WILL FINISH IT AS FAST AS I CAN!!!"

Kaira thought, "He's scared again; talking might flinch him even more." She then recalled the Professor's advice of not giving up and greeting the people. Kaira rose from her seat, flinched, and sat down again.

The attendant observed her and asked, "Excuse me? What is it, Princess?"

Kaira finally gathered the courage and said, "Thank you so much, mister; for changing my sheets; and thank you for the tea you made; it made me extremely happy."

The attendant blushed and replied, "Oh no! It was my pleasure; I'm not worthy of your praise; thank you so much for the kind words, Your Highness. God bless you! Excuse me, please."

Kaira's eyes widened with astonishment, and she thought, "He didn't get scared at all? When I talked to him, he actually smiled at me!?"

Kaira sprinted out of her room to find the Professor. She barged in and said, "Guess what I said? I did exactly what you told me and thanked her for her kindness to me."

She found out that the Professor was trying to sleep but couldn't do so because Brunia, Leonora, and Licha were already busy nagging her.

Heidi replied, "Well done, Princess. You must be glad."

Leonora commented, "I'm so proud of you, sister!"

Licha responded, "Hey! With the tricks that I taught her, did you expect anything less?"

Brunia laughed and scoffed, "I doubt whether you were helpful! Hey Kaira, I thought you might want to hear this; Licha just got rejected by both of her boyfriends!"

Licha yelled, "Hey! How does that relate to what we are discussing!?" She then composed herself and continued, "Tell us what happened, Kaira! We're dying to know!"

When they were conversing all together, Professor Heidi thought, "Well done, Princess Kaira! Well done! That is quite a charming smile you have, indeed!"

*A FEW HOURS EARLIER; WHEN BRUNIA ESCAPED FROM THE MAN WHO WAS FOLLOWING HER*

The main reason why Brunia lost him was that he halted in front of Michael's counter to converse something confidential with him. He descended the vehicle and spoke, "Michael! I'm going to need a favor from you!"

Michael responded, "What is it that you desire, Your---. Umm... what do I call you?"

The man answered, "Just Kabir would be fine."

Michael asked, "Why were you chasing her? Didn't she make it clear that she didn't want to see you again?"

Kabir replied, "I cannot leave things incomplete like this, and besides, you know everything it's not my fault. Aren't we friends?"

Michael spoke, "Yes, we are. But you must understand that whatever happened influenced Brunia into giving that answer. She wasn't herself!"

Kabir said, "I know! That's why I want to talk things out and start over. Look, Michael, I ran away from Rathanlandia to make this happen, and I am not going to go back that easily! That's why I'm here to ask you to give me a place to stay."

Michael answered, "Kabir, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I think that this is going to take a long time, and the four of us barely make enough money to support ourselves. My point is, we would love to have you stay with us and hang out with you, just like the old times, but you need to find a job to support yourself."

Kabir replied, "Don't worry, I will find one soon enough."