Side Story. The grief of a noble girl

My name is Mary. Mary White. I'm 12. I like to read books, play outside with other children my age, and listen to some interesting stories from my grandfather.

My parents and he get along very well. Also, I live in a very big house in a place called White Town.

I have many friends here. Also, this town has many great shops selling clothes, delicious desserts, and cool things like potions made with alchemy. There is never a dull day here.

My parents are rarely home on most days. They work very hard for this city and I see them mostly at dinner time.

That makes me feel a little lonely, but there are times when we do things together, like go on a picnic.

My father is strong and brave. His name is Richard. He has a very big and reliable back. He protected us since I was younger.

I always seemed to get into trouble easily and get stuck in bed from time to time due to illness. My eyes are blue like my father's.

My mother is very sweet and beautiful. Her name is Ellen.

She likes to teach me things about our world like the different species of animals, beasts, and monsters.

She also taught me to write and is currently teaching me etiquette. She says that nobles like us should always watch our manners.

Our hair has the same light brown color.

I love my parents very much.

A few days ago, my father said that we had to go to a nearby village for his work. He likes to improve the lives of people living in our territory. My mother told me we would be back very soon.

We arrived a few hours after traveling by carriage. As my father is a very important person in this region, they welcomed us with open arms and escorted us to the largest building that I could see.

There are not many children here, most of the people are adults. It's what Uncle Charles told me. Uncle Charles helps my parents with their work and likes to give me sweets.

'What a shame ... I hope I can find friends here ... ' (Mary)

I thought there weren't many cool things to do here, but I did find some interesting books on one of the shelves in the house.

Some spoke of monsters and others of famous places that can be found in the capital such as a Magic School and the headquarters of the Adventurers Guild in this kingdom.

'Wow ... Asking my father to hire a mage to teach me magic would be too expensive, but maybe he can buy me a magic affinity stone ... ' (Mary)

When I'm not reading, I also like to spend talking with our maids and butlers. They always have good stories to tell me, but sadly only two came with us this time. The rest stayed in White Town with my grandfather.

My first day here was really boring. Aside from reading, I walked the streets of the town, but there wasn't much to see.

There were no bakeries, clothing stores, or item stores. All I could see were a few rows of little wooden houses with a few trees here and there.

'Boring ... ' (Mary)

Other than that, I found a nice park and some stores that sold food, but they didn't look as good as the ones our butler prepared.

Smile! 'Our butler makes the best food.' (Mary)

The children I met that day did not want to play with me. The boys played with each other and the girls ignored me. At least that's what I thought.

The second day I met a cute little boy who said something interesting to me.

He said that the kids didn't play with me because they thought I was cute and were embarrassed.

I giggled and asked him if he thought the same too. His face turned red and he ran away.

Aw. 'How cute.' (Mary)

My face had a mischievous expression. Little boys are very easy to tease.

Later that day, I met a little girl who told me that the other girls ignored me because they heard that my parents were noble and thought that I was an arrogant person.

I asked her if I truly looked arrogant and she said "no". I patted her on the head and thanked her.

"Good girl! Good girl! This big sister is not arrogant." (Mary)

. . .

Today is the third day, I managed to make friends with some of the children in the village and we played a lot in the nearby park. It was really fun.

'I will tell my father to make this park even better!' (Mary)

It only had a swing set and a slide ... Compared to the ones in White Town, it's pretty simple.

Noon came and I had to go back to lunch. I was walking down the street while humming one of my favorite songs, the one that one of our butlers likes to play the most.

However, when I arrived in front of my house, it was covered in fire. I started to run away from the fire and saw that my house was not the only one in this situation.

'Huh? What happened?' (Mary)

I wasn't paying attention to my footing and tripped over something. It was a fierce-looking fire lizard.

My mother said they are dangerous monsters. She stood up on her hind legs to look more intimidating and showed me her fangs so I got scared and started crying.

'Scary! Scary! Scary! I don't want to die! Someone save me!' (Mary)

Suddenly, I saw something small running very fast towards the lizard.

Shortly after, I heard someone yell something at me. It was my father.

"Mary! Come here! Quickly!" (Richard)

I turned to the Fire Lizard and saw its fangs approach. She was trying to bite me and I felt my death approaching when the lizard was suddenly impaled on its side by something sharp.

'Huh? What is that? ... ' (Mary)

It was a horned rabbit. A small, weak beast with a very sharp horn. It was pretty cute, but a beast is still a beast.

I hurriedly ran to my father's side to seek his protection. He took me by the hands and asked me about my health.

"Mary, are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?" (Richard)

"No, I'm fine, father. Mr. Rabbit saved me." (Mary)

I smiled and turned to look at the horned rabbit. He fought fiercely against the Fire Lizard.

"Father, do you think Mr. Rabbit will win?" (Mary)

My father shook his head and said with a serious expression.

"Horned rabbits are too weak and it's hard to defeat a monster in the first place. They can use magic after all ... " (Richard)

Unlike what he said, Mr. Rabbit was clearly winning.

My father asked a nearby villager to lend him a weapon and held it in his right hand. It was an ax for cutting wood.

He let go of my hand and snuck up behind the fire lizard.

Mr. Rabbit was startled when my father approached them and was bitten.

Fortunately, my father managed to kill the lizard before Mr. Rabbit was crushed under her teeth.

Squeak! Grunt! Grunt! (Mr. Rabbit)

Uncle Charles tried to cover my eyes, but I knew that Mr. Rabbit would not be saved if I did not help him right now.

'I won't let him die!' (Mary)

I ran and hugged Mr. Rabbit. He was covered in bite marks and looked very shabby. His blood dyed my dress red, but I didn't care. I started begging my father to save Mr. Rabbit.

"Father, please save Mr. Rabbit!" (Mary)

"Get away from that beast. You know it's dangerous." (Richard)

I started to cry. It is the first time someone has risked his life to save me, even if he is not human.

"I beg you, Father! Mr. Rabbit saved my life, you know? I don't want him to die!" (Mary)

" ... " (Richard)

My father was silent for a few moments before asking nearby villagers to bring him a small, sturdy cage.

I smiled at him and started to wipe my tears away.

"Thank you, father!" (Mary)

He made a troubled smile as he said.

"Anything for my lovely girl ... " (Richard)

. . .

The house I lived in for the last two days burned down completely. My parents said they would stay at the village chief's house, while I, our maid and our butler would stay in a different house.

Humph. 'They could just have stayed with us ... ' (Mary)

I knew there aren't enough rooms here for them to stay, but I was still sulky about it.

Uncle Charles helped me carry Mr. Rabbit home and placed him in a corner of the living room.

Mr. Rabbit was still unconscious, but I didn't get bored while looking at him because he was small and very cute.

'He saved me with that small horn of his ... ' (Mary)

Time passed very fast. I ended up staring at him for a long time. Afterward, I ate dinner prepared by our butler, bathed with the help of our maid, and went to sleep in my comfortable bed.

After waking up the next morning, I felt like I had just had a very sweet dream. I got out of bed, said good morning to Mr. Rabbit who was still sleeping, and went to play with the children of the village.

I came home at noon and had lunch. And then ...

Smile! "Mr. Rabbit!" (Mary)

Mr. Rabbit finally woke up! I was very happy and began to thank him for saving me.

I know that most beasts cannot understand our words, but I was hoping my words would reach him somehow.

"I have made many friends here, Mr. Rabbit!" (Mary)

I also told him about my life in White Town and my last days in this place.

After a while, his expression began to stiffen as if he was bored. It can not be true?

My grandfather says he likes my stories very much. Mr. Rabbit should like them too.

In any case, I should change the topic of my conversation.

'Hmm? I should give it a name, right? "Mr. Rabbit" is good, but it's not really a name ...' (Mary)

I thought a lot about what I should call it and after a few moments, a name came to mind. It is perfect for him!

"From now on your name is Usagi!" (Mary)

I repeated his name a couple of times while pointing one of my fingers at his nose. Maybe he can remember it this way.

It is my first time having a pet, but I have heard from my mother that some people like to keep dangerous and exotic monsters as pets in big cities like the capital.

'I wonder if Usagi can become even stronger? ... ' (Mary)

Usagi seemed to like his new name. I even saw him smile and nod, but I thought I was just imagining things.

"I'm glad you like it! Always stay by my side, Usagi!" (Mary)

I smiled widely and wanted to tell him more about myself, but remembered that I promised my friends to go play with them again this afternoon.

. . .

Once I got back to my house, I was going to talk to Usagi more.

I approached him, but no matter how long I spoke to him, he didn't respond. He stood there with his eyes closed ...

"Usagi? ... Usagi?" (Mary)

I couldn't contain my emotions, so I opened his cage and hugged him.

His body was already cold ...

Sniff! "Usagi!" (Mary)

Tears began to flow from my eyes ... This couldn't be happening!

"Why? ... Is it because I'm a bad girl? ... Were you so hungry? ... Did someone do something to you?" (Mary)

Why? Why did you abandon me?

. . .

After telling my maid what happened, I couldn't stop crying. The time I spent with him was too short, but I already considered him one of my best friends.

I wanted to wake up at any moment and this would end up being just a dream or a bad joke. But that didn't happen ...

Finally, the grief I felt over Usagi's death became too great and I collapsed on the largest sofa in the living room.