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She looked at the empty paper in front of her, tapping with her pen onto it, still unsure what to write... or if she wanted to write at all. When she heard the teakettle whistling, she stood up and went to the kitchen to prepare her tea.
"Asuna? Are you here?" a male voice came from outside the opened window.
The girl took a sip from her hot drink and looked towards the source of the question who was now standing there, tired from today's work at the harbor, resting his arms on the windowsill. The man's glance wandered around the room.
"Brother, what are you looking at?" she asked and turned to the table where she sat only minutes ago, the empty sheet staring back at her, almost mocking her for her indecisiveness.
"You don't know what to write, huh? Just spread all the charms you have and he'll fall for you." he commented and chuckled.
It merely earned him a annoyed groan from her. "Would you please stop shipping me with the prince? This isn't some kind of romance story!" the girl snapped at him and sighed, "I really regret saying that I think he's cute in some way."
Her brother just kept grinning as she returned to the table after finishing her tea and picked up her pen again. The newspaper next to it was opened at the page with the advertisements, one of them stating that the kingdom's crown prince was seeking for a partner. So every girl within a certain age range who's interested - not only in the prince but also in working at the royal palace - was welcomed to apply for a job there.
"I wonder why they're still looking for someone. Is the prince that picky or does he want to have a whole harem around? Well, if the rumors are true, then it's the second one." Asuna dropped her pen again and groaned leaning back on her chair. "I don't even know if I should do this at all. But better opportunities aren't available any time soon."
She closed her eyes and remembered how she went through the whole town of Undine yesterday to find work. But sadly, she wasn't successful, the only offers she found were less than serious, some might have been even not quite legal. Then she groaned and stood up again.
"I need some fresh air."
The young woman went out the door and walked around in the front yard. She saw her brother also standing outside with folded arms and a concerned expression on his face, his glance directed at the building next to their house. Well, what was left of it anyway. Merely some parts of stone walls, rubble, and half of a roof reminded them of the house which once stood there. Asuna stepped silently to his side, her face turned from thoughtful to a frown.
"I still can't believe it..." he mumbled in a sad tone. His sister nodded and leaned against his left side and he immediately put his arm around her shoulders.
The two had that horrible image still pretty clear on their minds, convinced that they won't forget it for a long time. The family of four, them with their parents, standing in the rain in front of this demolished house, their father holding their crying mother, the son doing his best to comfort his younger sister.
While they were away visiting friends on this evening some days ago, a thunderstorm raged and the building was hit by lightning. The ensuing rain helped to extinguish the fire but it was too late, one half burned down, the other half wasn't usable anymore. So the family had to watch helplessly how their well-going restaurant, in which they put a lot of work into, was destroyed. Luckily, at least their home next to it was unharmed.
"Asuna, sorry for teasing you earlier."
"It's okay, I know you didn't mean any harm." she replied with a knowing smile.
"I'm not the one to decide but... I really recommend that you apply for the job at the palace." her brother said and faced her, "I want this place to be rebuilt as soon as possible, so we need any money we can get."
"Yeah, I agree with you. We will all work hard and one day, this restaurant will reopen and it will be better than ever before!" she declared with a determined grin and turned towards their house, "And now if you excuse me, I have a letter to write."
A few days later, at the royal palace in the kingdom's capital Regalia...
Prince Kirito sat on a sofa in his room while reading a book. He shot a quick glance out of the window and frowned. How much he wished to be up on the rooftop terrace instead but sadly it was too cold and rainy today. After a sigh, he returned his attention back to the book. Then he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," he answered and put the book aside on a small table.
One man entered, holding some sheets of paper in his hands. "Sorry to disturb you, my prince."
"What is it, Drewbert?"
"There's something I need to show you." the guard said and presented him a letter.
But instead of taking it, the prince just groaned and leaned back on the sofa annoyed. "Don't tell me it's another one of these job applications." The young man made actual air quotes at the last two words.
"Y-yes, my prince." he confirmed.
"Just tell me the desired occupation. And don't you dare saying princess, please." He sat straight up again and shot a serious glance at his guard.
"Kitchen staff."
"Well, they always need people there, don't they? Then send her an acceptance."
"With all due respect, Prince Kirito, but don't you want to learn anything about her? Or look at her picture? Not even know her name?" Drewbert asked a bit shocked, "After all, it's not a mere application for a j-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know that, don't remind me." He leaned back again and exhaled a long sigh. "I'm just sick and tired of reading these. I forgot how many I've already got, I stopped counting... and still, there's no one I could picture as my future wife. They're friends at best and gold diggers at worst. Not to mention the one who stole me my first kiss." he rambled on and picked up his book again to continue reading.
"Well, if you insist. I'll let prepare the acceptance letter then, my prince." the guard said and bowed.
But when he looked up again, he noticed something, something familiar. He took a quick look at the picture attached to the letter and then back at the cover of the book the young man was engrossed in. A smirk graced his face and he almost let out a chuckle.
"Is there something else?" Prince Kirito asked with a slightly annoyed expression and raised eyebrow.
"N-no, nothing. It's just..." Drewbert replied and tried to come up with something to change the topic, "uhm... later we will have a training session when the rain stops. So feel free to join us, if you want."
"Maybe, I'll think about it. You're dismissed now."
The guard bowed again and left the room with the smirk reappearing on his face.
After a while, Kirito finished the chapter, bookmarked the page, closed the book, and admired its cover.
This tale was one of his favorites since his childhood and from time to time he reread it. He knew some others didn't like it, but he didn't care about their opinions. There was just something intriguing about this book and he loved it very much.
It was about a woman whose loved one got trapped in a different world and her desire to rescue him was so strong that the goddess of that realm granted her a wish: the heroine was able to enter this world in the form of said goddess to save her love.
The appearance of this story's protagonist adorned the book cover. She had bright amber eyes, very long chestnut colored hair, reaching almost down to her ankles, and was wearing a white dress. And most importantly, she was described as a strong and kind woman who really cared about those she loved. He had to admit - but only to himself - that he kinda had a little crush on this character. Also that he envied the love the two main characters had.
When the prince was done with admiring this picture, he put the book onto the table next to him and let out a longing sigh.
"Too bad such people and loves only exist in fiction." he mumbled and then stood up to walk to one of his huge windows, looking outside with a downcast face and waiting for the rain to stop.
A week later, in the town of Undine...
It was early in the morning and Asuna was standing with a vest, a short sleeved shirt underneath, and a - in retrospect too short - skirt and holding a bag in her right hand in front of her family's house. Next to her was her mother, holding her other hand, too tight for comfort.
"Mother, everything will be alright." the younger woman said and tried to get out of the grip but was not really successful.
"But you will be away for who knows how long. And in a city where you don't know anyone. I'm just worried." she stated and tightened her grip even more. Now it actually hurt.
"But honey, our daughter isn't a little girl anymore," her father chimed in as he came out of the house along with her brother, each of them carrying another bag, "also if you break her hand like that she won't be able to work anymore." He must have noticed Asuna's slightly pained face.
After a short time, they heard the sound of horses and soon the carriage pulled by them came in sight. It was pretty big and looked really impressive with all that gold on the otherwise dark wood. Unmistakably one from the royal family themselves. The vehicle stopped before the family and the coachman greeted them.
"Good morning. Am I here at the Yuuki residence?" he asked and checked something on a piece of paper he was holding.
Asuna nodded and took a step forward, finally let go of her mother's tight grip.
"So you must be Miss Asuna Yuuki, I presume?" She nodded again. "Very well then..." He got up from his seat, opened the door of the carriage, and put the baggage into it.
She turned around, facing her family with a nervous yet determined expression. "It's time to go, I guess."
"Please take care of you, my daughter." her father said with a sad but also confident voice. He was proud of her and just knew that she could handle this.
"If you don't like it there, come back home, okay, sweetie? Your wellbeing is more important than any money." her mother begged her. No matter how old Asuna was, she will always be worried about her.
"And if the prince gets too intrusive, just use some of the self defense techniques I showed you." her brother added with a smirk. She really hoped she wouldn't have to do that, but nonetheless was glad that she knew how to protect herself if necessary.
"I'll miss you all so much," Asuna told them and the family shared a hug, "I'll work as hard as I can and come back home to you... I promise..." As much as she tried, one tear still escaped her eyes.
The four people let go of each other and the young woman walked towards the carriage, looked and waved at her family one last time, and got into the vehicle. After the coachman closed the door, he sat down on the front seat and they began moving.
Asuna wiped away the leftovers of her small tears. Now was not the time to cry about the people she left behind, after all what she was doing was for their sake. She had to concentrate now on what lied ahead of her... and that might be more than she expected...