...Everyone in the kingdom knows; Topsiders and Downsiders don't mix.
Or at least that's what my father always told me growing up. I never questioned it, and I also never gave it much thought as a child. It was the number one rule that topsiders never broke. As far as I could remember, we never got in contact with the people living downside. They'd been rumoured to be rogues charged with high treason and labelled as extremely dangerous. Or at least, again, that was what we were made to believe.
I had seen them once—the Downside people. It was during the yearly "Fish Rain." Everyone was always excited about the rain, including the Downsiders. My father and I made it a point to help the elderly collect their share of the rain since most of them were too old to do it themselves. During the hustle and bustle, I caught sight of something unusual. A child crawled out from the alley closest to us and swiftly snatched a few fish that were left lying on the floor. What bothered me wasn't where the child had come from or whose child it was. What bothered me was how pale and sickly its skin was. For a brief moment, the child looked at me with questioning eyes as if scanning me from head to toe. I said hi and stretched my hand towards it, assuring it I meant no harm, but it got scared, hurriedly picked up some more fish and ran back into the alley.
"Elise! You'll smell bad if you stand in the rain too long!" My father called out.
"I'll be right over, your majesty," I replied formally.
It was bad manners to reply to the king so casually as my mother had taught. I returned to where my father was tending to the elderly when I realised 'I didn't know I'd left father's side.'
"The excitement got to you, didn't it, Elise?"
"I am sorry, your majesty. It wasn't my intention to run off."
The king laughed, "Oh, nonsense! Everyone gets carried away in this miracle rain."
My father had been right about one thing—I had been carried away, but it wasn't because of the rain. I was too focused on that strange child that I completely forgot about what went on around me.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and I was about to miss it because I let myself get distracted. I looked up at the sky, the sun was at its highest, and the sky was clear. I saw all sorts of fish falling: from brightly-colored ones to the very dark ones. It was like a colour show. The palace chef made sure to select the finest ones as he grinned from ear to ear, describing each fish he picked up to my father, who stood there trying so hard to understand. I felt bad for him, he just wanted to enjoy the rain without Antonio's lectures.
"Oh, but your majesty! This one is highly nutritious. Just like the doctor-"
" 'Nio, there's a reason I made you my chef. It's for these situations!"
My father yelled at the chef. Antonio had served at the palace as an apprentice for the previous chef, and my father had grown so fond of him, so fond he called him 'Nio all the time because he was now more of a family member than a palace staff. I watched the duo squabble on with 'Nio tailing behind father and father trying so hard to get away from him. I let out a little laugh at the duo as father was now walking ahead of 'Nio in a very weird manner. The rain got heavier and the winds moved faster than before, scattering fish all over the place. One peculiar species happened to fall on my dress. It had a small body and a very lush tail that looked just like silk. I bent to pick it up, and I felt the fish's tail; it did feel like silk. Its colours were a gradient of green and blue, and its scales glistened in the rain. I turned around to look for Antonio and hand over the fish to him when I saw my mother already behind me.
Smack! Mother hit the back of my palm with her hand fan. Her face seemed to hold no expression at all as she looked at me. Smack! Whack! She hit me again.
"Your manners?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Forgive me, your ladyship." I curtsied.
"Elise darling, do be a dear and tell me the first three rules of a princess's etiquette"
I took a deep breath, I'd been prepared to answer mother's random questions. Or so I thought.
"Always give your courtesy with a smile, always stand straight with your chin up and uh..."
"And? Elise?"
"Your majesty!" Antonio called out to my mother.
"Nio, how excellent for you to have come. My ladies have had a great catch. See to it that they're taken care of."
"And you..." Mother said, facing me. Her face still held no expression, and it was hard to tell whether or not she was upset.
"Always give courtesy with a smile, stand straight and always be on your best behaviour."
I sighed. I was lucky Antonio distracted the queen when he did, or else there'd have been trouble.
"Wash your hands. It's bad manners to handle raw fish so carelessly. Where are your ladies-in-waiting?"
"Uhm, well, I had them help Father instead." I lied.
"Hmm." Mother looked at me with dissatisfaction before turning around to look for my father.
I breathed a breath of relief, then I looked around for my fish. I found it lying close to a street lamp. I must've thrown it when Mother came up behind me. I dusted it and walked off to find Antonio. I found him still helping Mother's ladies. I looked at the fish in my hand. It was a very small fish, but it was also very beautiful, and I knew if I wanted any information about this strange fish, the right person to ask would be none other than our chef.
"Nio, look what I found!" I yelled as I ran toward him.
"Oh dear! Oh dear!...Oh dear!!"
"I know, it's a very small one. But we could keep it till it gets big enough"
Antonio laughed when he heard me say we could keep the fish to grow bigger.
"Your highness, while this is a small catch, you've successfully acquired a very rare species of blue-fins. It is also very high in protein. Just what your father needs!"
I heaved another sigh of relief. Apparently, I had the best catch. I watched Antonio run off to father's side. I couldn't catch up with him in all his excitement. I wondered why he was so happy about such a small fish.
"What do you mean 'throw all my fish away'?" Father queried Nio.
"Your majesty, we'll have a feast with this rare, proteinous fish"
"Your majesty, we'll have a feast..." Father mocked Antonio.
"You need your proteins!"
"I need my stomach full!"
Smack! Smack! Whack!
"Your manners, gentlemen." Mother chipped.
I let out a little laugh at the trio. Mother sure knew how to handle them both, and I was glad no one was safe from Mother's hand fan. Not even our beloved king.
"And Elise..." She looked at me, her face still holding no expression whatsoever.
"Yes, Mother?" I answered, unable to maintain eye contact.
"You are not to set foot outside the palace for the rest of the week." She commanded.
"I saw you interacting with that thing from the alley." She continued before walking off with the others, who all had shock written on their faces.
"See me in my quarters." She added. And I instantly knew it meant trouble.