Where The Sun Never Rises

The day was closing by and the final rays of light in the evening began to dance on the grass. The shadows grew longer and the nearby bushes that were shaken by the evening breeze created shapes of bears peeping from the darkness. It has been quite a time since the last worker had left the fields and the landscape seemed more like a painting. The breeze carried the smoke that was coming from the chimneys of the houses along with the warm odor of soup, silently announcing that the dinner was being prepared.

There was the village with a few dozen houses made of wood and hey. Beyond the village, stretched the farmlands where the villagers grew all their crops. A stream and an alley shaded with trees marked the boundary of the farmland while a meadow with thousands of wildflowers spread beyond the narrow alley. Someone who walked through the meadow could see a heavily grown barrier of trees and if he crossed the stretch of trees despite the strong darkness at dusk, he would have entered the brightest place he had ever been to.

Within a few hours after the daylight had gone, many of the villagers went to sleep except a very few windows that were still lit where a mother had been sewing her child's torn cloth or reattaching a button to her husband's shirt. There might have been a very rare case that someone was reading late at night with candlelight as it was hard to find a book that was saved twenty years ago. What were the chances of bringing books along when someone was running to save his own life?

The night was cold and the sky was scattered with thousands of stars while the moon looked a little strange that it seemed the hare has left its home. But who was there to care? All the youngers under twenty years of age had not seen before and the elders did not care to look up at the night sky unless there had been a dreamer or a wanderer looking up at the sky and lost in imagery worlds.

Amidst the so-called silence, if someone listened carefully, he might have heard gentle footsteps coming across the above-described thick wall of trees to the meadow and sometimes all the way to the farmlands passing the alley. If the listener was close enough, he might have even heard the subtle sound that came from the lone wanderer's neatly knitted lace at the edge of the skirt rubbing the grass. Needless to say, the mysterious wanderer is a 'she' and for proof, the silent listener might have seen a pretty silhouette of a young lady through the light of the candle she carried covering the flame as she feared to be seen by someone.

This figure appeared not quite often but frequent enough to call it a habit. She sat down either on a rock and waited silently looking at the sky or sometimes by the stream in the alley to listen to the sound of water rippling down the stream. Her silvery blonde strands of hair which had been gifted from her ancestors were dancing to the breeze while the candle lightened her snow-white cheeks, adding more contrast against her dark blue eyes. Anyone could tell she was happy enjoying the silence and beauty of the night although a ray of worry was hidden deep in her blue eyes.

She never stayed too long and walked back silently to the shadowy tree wall where she came from. There was a gate guarded by a man to pass through the wall of trees at the end of the small road laid through the meadow, but she preferred to enter through a different place where the bushes were less dense. On the other side, there was a house as observed in the darkness but surely larger than the cottages of the villagers. She silently walked to a window that was not locked and crept through smoothly to the extent that a cat would have lost to her.

Anyone could neither hear her walk on tiptoe and get onto the bed under her cozy sheets nor see her as she had already put out the candle. Not long after she curled under the sheets, the goddess of sleep patted her forehead as she was tired of the secret walk.

The first rays of light touched the grass awakening thousands of flowers of all colors in the meadow. Villagers could be seen hurrying out of the cottages to start their work for the new day. Children went to the morning session of the school held under a huge tree for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening. The teacher was one of the rare owners of a few books and he read to the children from those books. There was not much to learn, basically to write and read but that was more than enough as literacy did not help anyone much there, all that was needed was physical work.

The morning breeze shook the white blinds of a certain window, opened by a maid through which someone had crept very silently last night. But the subject of the action was still in deep sleep that she did not hear the birds chirping by her window to which she used to wake up. Then the sound of a maid came beyond the closed door "lady Aeliana! lady Aeliana! The teacher is looking for you".

Yes. As you heard, her name was Aeliana given by her good teacher on the day she was born twenty years ago. She was their only hope after the dreadful memory and as her name meant itself, she was indeed their only sun that lighted their land.

By the way, she suddenly woke up to the call and was shocked that she had overslept which she rarely did. "Tell him I'm coming" she answered quickly while jumping out of the bed and then hurried to get dressed.

She was dressed up by Kyeela until she was ten years old but later Aeliana preferred getting dressed by herself and did not want the help of her beloved maid whom she treated more like a close friend. Sometimes it was Kyeela who was there to give the motherly affection she missed since the day she was born. In other words, kind-hearted Kyeela was a second mother to Aeliana and was always there for her.

Aeliana got dressed hurriedly and started combing her hair in front of the mirror and, if only the mirror could speak, it would have said that 'you are the fairest of them all'. The comb was sliding through the silvery cascade of silk hair that touched her waist while the dark blue eyes sparked with pureness. The uncommon snow color complexion which she inherited from her mother complimented the fairylike look she already had. Altogether her rose lips, straight nose, and slender figure always resembled a painting of a goddess who accompanied the troops during the journey from heaven to earth.

The final step of getting dressed was to cover the face entirely with a veil that had a piece of net in the upper so that she could see through. It was a common rule for all the women in the house to cover their faces and no one could see their faces. In addition, all the women inside were prohibited from leaving the house unless on a special occasion. All these rules provided evidence that there lived a special lady who needed to be protected and she was Aeliana. That was the reason why she had to leave and enter secretly last night.

After getting ready, she left her room to find her beloved teacher, Theowon who was more like a father to her. His hair and long beard had already turned grey which was pitch black many years ago. His wide forehead showed his intelligence while the black eyes showed kindness and sincerity in his heart. He was the most senior advisor in the area who assisted with all the issues.

As she left her room, entered the passageway which led to the visiting room. It is a must to mention that the whole house was brightly lit and it gave the residents a warm and bright feeling. As for the interior of the visiting room, it was charmingly decorated with a great touch of elegance although did not seem to reach a high luxury standard. All the furniture was wooden with nice carvings and had cushions with colorful embroidered covers. The right-side wall was entirely covered with a full painting depicting the angels landing on the earth from heaven and one of them carrying a bright crystal in her hand. The ceiling was made with fine wood carvings and a large crystal chandelier that lighted up the whole place. The curtains were entirely white complimenting the colorful furniture and the paintings on the walls. Whoever had taken part in styling, had added a very bright vibe to the place. To the left side, there was the passageway to the library where Aeliana was heading in search of Theowon.

Inside the library, there were many racks filled with books that had strange symbols on the covers and they seemed thousands of years old. They were written in an old language that was used thousands of years ago and the only one alive who could read them was Theowon. On the proximal corner, there was a rack with a few new books which were rewritten by him recalling the original work as he could not bring any books with him twenty years ago. Theowon was sitting on the chair and leaning on the table reading an old book with the help of his lenses. There was a pile of a few books, a lamp with a very bright light, and an old map on the table. Aeliana entered the library through the half-closed door greeting him. "Good morning! Here I am" she said in a cheerful way giving him the prettiest smile but it was a shame that the veil did not allow him to see.

"Ah, finally you are here. I thought something very important had caught your attention like the last time" said he with a broad smile, looking at her above the lenses.

"Ah, not that again" she said while sitting on her usual chair by the table where she always sat during many hours spent learning from Theowon. "By the way why did you need to see me early in the morning? We didn't have any studies today" She asked.

"There is something that I want to discuss with you" said he putting the book aside and removing the lenses. "You are turning twenty-one in another nine months and it's the tradition of the Northern kingdom for the heiress to be crowned at twenty-one years of age. I am just the acting ruler until you get crowned."

She was enthusiastically looking into the map on the table and answered with eyes still fixed on it. "You know I never wanted to be the queen and I like living like this instead of being the ruler. You have always been the one who took care of everything and you can simply continue to do what you've been doing for twenty years"

He already expected this answer as every previous discussion on this topic had ended here and said "enough with the nonsense. I know this can be hardly called a kingdom but you are the rightful heiress and you must take the place which is rightfully yours".

She pretended not to hear and continued to follow the paths on the map that led to many wonderful places with her eyes knowing that she could follow the map only with her gaze. "Now you have completed learning all the things that are needed to be the queen. If Princess Phariana and Prince Thualin were here to see you, they would have been very proud" said he with a deep sigh.

She continued her gesture thinking that there is no other option than accepting the destiny which she was born into.

"The only grief I have is that there is no any suitor for you here. But as I always said, my instincts tell me that there is someone for you up there. He carries the blood of the royal family of the Northern kingdom, same as you" he said fixing his gaze far into the space as if he is seeing something that she could not see.

Here, she began to talk in a low tone, "oh please! I wish your instincts would never become real. It's enough for me to accept the throne alone".

He smiled with kindness knowing her desire for freedom and said "we should follow where destiny takes us. It's been written even before we were born and believe me you will be happy one day!"

That is when a maid came and knocked on the door saying that the breakfast was ready. They both stood up and walked to the dining room, one carrying a heavy heart with the thoughts of the burden from responsibilities and the other with a light heart with the happiness of completing his promise twenty years ago but both stepped together with the closeness of a father and a daughter.

Now the situation here is clear and the whole area described was a kingdom even though too small to be one while this residence was a palace although it was simpler in luxury to be one.