I thought I'd find Isolde in the park, near the central lake. But there was no sign of her. Not her silhouette, not her voice, not even a clue.
I started searching the surrounding area. Nothing. The emptiness began to weigh heavier than the silence.
My heart was pounding violently, as if it were trying to break free from my chest. My throat tightened, and an uncomfortable, almost painful pressure started to build behind my eyes. Tears wanted to spill, not from sadness, but from a primal worry.
I ran. I tore through the kingdom's streets at full speed, dodging people, ignoring the exhaustion, shouting her name with no response. Every second without seeing her was a rope tightening around my neck.
And then…
"Hey, idiot! What did you say about my brother?!"
"Isolde, I think you should calm down."
"WHAT?!"
I recognized her immediately. Her voice, sharp and furious, rose from the other side of an alley. It sounded distant, but alive.
I breathed for the first time in minutes. If I'd taken any longer, I might've passed out from the anxiety.
I rushed into the alley without thinking about the danger. The sun was still shining; fear didn't have time to take hold.
And then I saw her.
}Isolde, as unmistakably herself as ever, completely unhinged. Screaming death threats with a fury that only ignites when something she cherishes is touched.
"Come here, you piece of shit! I'll kill you for insulting my brother!"
Alicia, apparently resigned to her role as the voice of reason, was holding her back with both hands. Isolde thrashed like a wild animal, trying to lunge at three kids laughing a short distance away. They were mocking her.
Something in me sparked. An instinctive flare. Without thinking, I scooped up a handful of snow from the ground and packed it into a tight ball.
"Leave my sister alone!" I shouted, and threw.
The snowball hit one of the boys square in the face. He fell to the ground, stunned, as if he'd never imagined someone like me would dare step in.
This wasn't the kind of scene I expected to end up in today.
"What the hell?" the boy growled from the ground, his face covered in snow. "What was that for, idiot?"
"Because you're messing with my sister," I said firmly. "And I won't let you."
"What? We didn't even say anything to her!"
Liar. I saw that smirk. That hidden mockery in your eyes.
"Lucy?" Isolde looked at me, confused, her voice softening for a moment.
"Why are you messing with her?"
"What? She's the one who started it! Why are you blaming us?"
I paused. That made sense. Isolde isn't exactly the diplomatic type. She could've provoked them.
But… even so. I couldn't side with them.
"Whatever. You were mocking her. That's enough."
I was about to continue, but then Alicia stepped in:
"It's true. Isolde started it… though she didn't mean any harm."
She was still holding Isolde back. She knew that if she let go, those three kids would be on the ground in seconds.
Whatever they said or did, it set her off. Big time.
So… are they partly to blame?
It didn't matter.
My job wasn't to judge. It was to be there. For her.
"Come here, you pieces of green raccoon poop!"
I froze for a second.
What kind of insult was that? Poop… from a raccoon? And green?
I wasn't entirely sure what argument had sparked this, but in that moment, my role wasn't to understand—it was to back her up. She wouldn't get this worked up without a reason. Though, of course… there was always the chance she did overreact.
Who provoked her? What exactly did they say?
I didn't know. And that made me uneasy.
The other two boys helped the one I'd hit with my snowball and decided to leave. No words. Just awkward glances and a somewhat hurried retreat.
Curious.
"Scared, huh?!" Isolde wasn't about to let them go without one last roar. That's just how she's always been.
But the boys ignored her and walked off without looking back. I picked up another snowball, hesitated… and let it drop. Admitting a mistake, even something as simple as throwing snow, is a necessary exercise in humility.
I sighed and turned to Isolde. She was still upset, but… it didn't seem to be about them anymore. Was it about me?
I approached, nervous.
"Why were you guys fighting?"
Alicia answered first:
"Those guys were talking trash about you. Isolde snapped. At least I managed to stop her before she beat their faces in."
"Oh…" I lowered my voice, uneasy.
"And you… why'd you throw a snowball at that kid?"
"Instinct," I admitted plainly. "I thought they were messing with Isolde… but I see now it wasn't exactly like that. Issy, you shouldn't react like that. They were just words."
"Shut up," she snapped, her tone sharp. "If you'd been here, you would've heard the kind of things they said about you."
"If you'd been here."
It wasn't just a phrase. It was an accusation. Short. Precise. Effective.
It hit me harder than I expected. She was right, after all. I left and let her fend for herself. It didn't matter that I hadn't meant any harm. I did it.
But… why were they insulting me in the first place? I'd never even interacted with those kids. No one outside of Isolde and Alicia, really.
Assholes
"Sorry. It was my fault for leaving you alone. I shouldn't have gone off with Uncle Reginald."
Isolde pouted and looked away.
The sun was starting to set with an odd quickness. A long shadow crept over the cobblestones.
"We'd better head back. Something about the light feels off."
"Hmph! Fine."
"Thanks for looking after her while I was gone," I said to Alicia.
"No problem. But please, don't leave her in my care again. She's too…"
"Stubborn?"
"Hey! How dare you call me that?!"
"Ow!" Isolde gave me a playful smack on the head, more symbolic than painful.
Alicia smiled and raised a hand in farewell.
"See you tomorrow."
"Yeah."
I took Isolde's hand. Despite her annoyance, she didn't pull away. We walked home in silence.