Chapter 3: The Lonely Girl

In the small village of Kardia, above the farm where Laguna lives in, also lives a collection of other villagers. Many of them come from the Kingdom of Norad, while others escape the clutches of the Sech Empire. However, there is one family of nobles who also lives in the small village of Kardia. This well known family of rich nobles are known as the De Sainte-Coquilles.

The family members of the De Sainte-Coquilles are the richest in all of Norad, and quite possibly the entire world. Everyone in the family lives in large mansions and villas located in small villages, mainly for peace, quiet, and protection. Because of their large wealth, the De Sainte-Coquille family lives in peaceful bliss.

However, there is just one exception in the entire family. In the village of Kardia is a large manor that houses two members of the De Sainte-Coquille family. A large, and rather proud, middle aged man named Jasper. And his only daughter Bianca.

Jasper works hard in his family business every day to secure the financial status of himself and his family. Like most members of the family, Jasper has an enormous appetite. So large, that everyone can agree that he is just as wide as he is tall. His mouth is so large, that he can frighten small children while eating. But even with his rather obese appearance, he is kind, warm hearted, and accepts everyone, commoner or noble alike.

On the other hand, his daughter is the complete opposite of him. Unlike her father, Bianca is a slender and beautiful young lady. Her appetite may be small, but she enjoys only the most fanciest and expensive foods her family has to offer. She resembles more like her mother with long blue curly hair, which she ties up into a double ponytail, and leaves two strings of hair hanging beneath them. A small red ribbon rests just over her bangs to give a cute youthful look. Her slender face with full cheekbones gives her a very feminine charm to her profile. She also has large aquamarine eyes, but they are typically halfway closed because of her constant bored look.

Bianca is the perfect example of “Money cannot buy happiness”. Because she never works and lives in a small village with very little to do, Bianca is constantly bored with hardly anything to entertain her other than to watch the walls. Her only friend is the household maid Tabatha who also lives at the manor.

Like many days spent, Bianca is sitting in her elegantly decorated chair, like a princess sitting on a throne. Her cheek is resting on her hand as she looks around the expensive manor. To most people, the many expensive decorations of the manor would keep them entertained for hours. Large expensive pottery from around the world, art and paintings hanging on the wall, the marble floor with beautiful patterns, the crystal chandelier that hangs over their heads, the pillars with artistic patterns. However, Bianca has become rather bored after looking at them year after year.

She sometimes goes off to the public square for a change of scenery, but there is little to see there as well. Time after time, she wishes to go out to the city. She believes that the city holds many things that can keep her busy or entertained. Something different to do on a daily basis. Even meet many interesting people who can keep her company.

But as much as she wishes to move to the city, her father Jasper enjoys the benefits of the country life. Sometimes, Bianca has mentioned her desire to leave the village to her father, but Jasper keeps talking her out of the idea. It has worked for many years, but Bianca is getting older. Jasper often worries that he may not be able to keep his daughter in Kardia for much longer.

As Bianca sits in her chair nearly bored to death, Tabatha the maid approaches her with a message. “Excuse me Miss Bianca. But a guest has arrived at the Manor.”

Bianca lets out a bored sigh and asks, “Who is it this time?”

“I believe it's a noble from the main city of Norad. His name is Archduke Ferdinand from the Rosenfield family. He wishes to speak to you.” answered Tabatha as she wipes her hands against her apron.

Bianca sighs again and says, “Very well. Please escort him here.”

Tabatha bows gracefully, and heads over to the entrance of the manor. After a few minutes, a young and handsome man enters the room where Bianca sits awaiting her guest. The young man wears a pure white tuxedo with a cape to show off his noble ranks. His hair is as blond as the morning sun, and as aqua as the ocean in the horizon. A perfect image of male beauty, like a prince charming from a fairy tale. But even this does not strike Bianca's interest. All he is to her is another handsome man that she often meets.

Sitting up like a perfect lady, Bianca asks, “Hello there. I am Bianca De Sainte-Coquille. My maid has informed me that you wish to speak to me. What is it that you need from me?”

The young man puts on his best smile, and kneels before Bianca holding up a white rose for her. He then looks up and says, “Lady Bianca from the De Sainte-Coquille family. I have journeyed far from my home because I have fallen madly in love with you, and I wish to ask your hand in marriage!”

Bianca sighs and whispers under her breath, “Another marriage proposal. . . Figures.” She then strokes her smooth long hair before asking, “So tell me, what are you offering for my family? Are you even worthy of my hand?”

The gentleman then places the rose in his own lips, and says, “You get what you see. I am the most handsome man in all of Norad, so that alone will honor your family. It is true that your family outranks mine, but I assure you that by us joining in holy matrimony, we will make your family even more prosperous than ever before!” He then pulls out a small box out of his pocket, and opens it to reveal a variety of glistening jewels, then says, “I have also brought a gift for you. Only the most beautiful gems I could ever find just for you. I know that the beauty of these gems will never even come close to your own, but they will have to do. So what do you say? The most beautiful girl and the most handsomest man in the world? It's almost like a match made in heaven!”

Bianca stands up, and takes a few steps towards the archduke. For a moment, he starts to feel excited. As soon as Bianca accepts his jewels, they will be engaged. But his confidence dies as soon as he sees Bianca frown angrily in front of his eyes. Before he realizes it, Bianca slaps the box full of jewels off of his hands, scattering emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, and rubies all over the floor.

Bianca's angry eye twitch leaves Ferdinand speechless. He had spoken in the most respectable tone, and used the most romantic words he knows. He cannot understand why Bianca has become so upset all of the sudden. “How dare you come into my home with your big ego and pride problems. And the best you can offer is a bunch of colored glass? The doorstops in my home is more expensive than your pitiful excuse for a gift! You're even more boring than the last guy who came asking for my hand!”

The young noble tried to say something or apologize, but Bianca refuses to hear it. All she does is point towards the direction of the exit of the mansion, and demanded that he left the manor. Without making a fuss, the archduke leaves, never to return again. Bianca then lets out a stressful sigh, and returns to her seat. After a few minutes, Tabatha then enters the room to check on Bianca.

“So, you got rid of another one Miss Bianca?” asked Tabatha.

Bianca nods and answers, “Yeah. . . I'm getting pretty bored of doing this. I mean it was funny the first time around, but then it gets old quickly.”

She then rests her cheek on her hand again while saying, “Honestly, why are men so boring these days. They just come in, and brag about how they look, and offer me something I already have too much of. Money, gold, gems, flowers, food, sweets, jewelry, what's the point? I can already buy anything I want, why give me more of what I already have?”

“So then, what type of man are you looking for?” asked Tabatha.

Bianca clasps her hands together, and blushes as she imagines the perfect man in her head. “What I would like is a knight in white shining armor! He would go out and slay a dragon in my name. After being months away on a journey, he would come back, and enlighten me with his stories of the battles he endured. He would have many scars in his well toned muscular body, and he would talk to me for hours about each and every wound he has endured! He would be brave, and would rush into battle. I would wait at the balcony for his return. I would worry for his safety, and sometimes cry because I would imagine the worst would happen to him. But then he would come back riding his white stallion, and apologize for making me worry so much. I would be angry for a little bit, but his stories would make me feel better all over again.”

Tabatha nods with a smile and says, “That sounds like quite a vivid dream. I'm sure if you wait long enough, someone with those qualities may stumble at your door.” She then hears Jasper call her from a distance. So she bows at Bianca and says, “Please excuse me, but your father is calling me. Maybe we'll talk later later I am done with dinner.”

And so, Tabatha leaves to fulfill her duties as a maid for the manor. Meanwhile, Bianca once again rests her cheek on her hand, and sit like a porcelain doll. Tabatha is her only friend, and she talks to her whenever she can get the chance. But because Jasper eats about seven times a day, Tabatha is almost always busy either cleaning or cooking. So she sits and waits, tomorrow is another day.

The next day, Laguna decides to walk around and introduce himself to the townspeople of Kardia. The town is designed quite uniquely with only four roads. Each road has a number of buildings on it. The road closest to the farm holds the common businesses, like the general Store where Rosetta lives, the clinic, a blacksmith shop, and an inn. The road further north has other businesses, mostly carpentry and farms. There is also a bath house, but it's only open at night. And to the east is a church where people say their prayers during Holidays. And the furthest road is where the mayor lives, as well as the manor where Bianca lives. The fourth road connects all the other roads at the center, and eventually ends at the square.

One by one, Laguna visits each shop meeting all the people who live in Kardia. Some are friendlier than others, but everyone welcomes their new neighbor. The last building he visits is the Mayor's house, where Mayor Godwin, and his daughter Felicity lives. Afterwards, he leaves, and is ready to head south back to the farm. But on his way back, he notices the De Sainte-Coquille Manor. From the outside, it doesn't look like a home, but something like a small castle.

Laguna notices the manor clean as a whistle, and he can notice someone walking around inside. Seeing that people live there, he decides to go inside, and introduce himself. The gate is open, and the front door is unlocked, so he lets himself inside.

Laguna gasps as he sees the interior of the house. The main room is bigger than his own house, and looks like a ballroom for formal dances. Each side of the room has a circular staircase that leads to the upper floor. Everything is decorated with fancy statues, paintings, and pillars. The handles to the doors, and even the railing to the stairs seem to be lined with solid gold. Anything he can point out must be worth more than anything Laguna can ever own.

Laguna walks around aimlessly through the main room of the house looking at everything like if it was priceless. He was so distracted of a particular painting, that he failed to hear the footsteps of a young girl gently walking down the stairs. Bianca was on her way out of the manor to get some fresh air from the square when she noticed Laguna staring at the painting in the main room. She stops halfway down the steps to take a good look at the stranger.

Bianca knows everyone who lives in Kardia. But this stranger is completely new to her. She begins to ask herself, “Who is that man?” “What is he doing here?” Judging by Laguna's clothes, Bianca can clearly tell that he is not a noble. However, they are not clothes that a commoner would wear either.

Curiosity strikes her, so she quietly walks towards him. “Excuse me! But who are you?” asked Bianca when she got about five feet from Laguna.

Laguna turns around and finds Bianca standing behind him. Based on her fancy dress decorated with red, violet, maroon, and pink colors, he can tell that she must live there. Bianca also wears a pink petticoat, and white gloves that sleeve all the way past her elbows. Some gold is decorated into her dress and accessories show off how wealthy her family is.

“Well, aren't you going to say something?” asked Bianca snapping Laguna out of his trance.

“I'm sorry. The door was open, and-” Laguna was suddenly cut off when Bianca covered her nose with her hands.

“Ew! You certainly smell like a commoner!” she said suddenly. Laguna sweats nervously, he was working on the fields before he started touring the village. The others didn't mind the smell of dirt, mainly because they knew that he works as a farmer. Bianca then continues, “I get it now, you must be another servant that my daddy hired.”

“Actually I-” Before Laguna had a chance to interject, Bianca walks over to a nearby table and grabs a rag that Tabatha left behind.

She then throws it to Laguna and says, “Fine, Tabatha needs the help anyway. Go ahead and dust the place. I'll be supervising you for today, so don't slack off. If you miss even a single spot, I'll have my daddy fire you, is that understood?”

“But I-”

“Now!!” yelled Bianca cutting Laguna off yet again. Rather than argue, Laguna nods, and begins dusting the mansion. Bianca then takes a seat and watches him. For the next hour, Bianca continues to order him around, asking him to clean certain sculptures, and pointing out many mistakes.

During the time that Bianca had control over Laguna, she was enjoying herself. She doesn't order Tabatha around considering that they are friends, and she is too busy caring for the house anyway. So having someone who does what she says makes her feel important. This gets cut off rather short when Tabatha comes out of the kitchen with some tea.

Tabatha rests the tea on the table Bianca was sitting next to, and says, “I figured you might be thirsty, so I made you some herbal tea. I hope you enjoy it.”

“Thanks Tabatha, I do feel a bit thirsty.” After taking a sip, Bianca points at Laguna who is still working and says, “By the way, who's the new guy? I like him. He works hard, doesn't complain, and he does exactly what I tell him. Definitely worth keeping around. He smells like dirt, but a bath could fix that.”

Curious to know who she's talking about, Tabatha looks towards the direction she's pointing at. After taking a good look at Laguna, she says, “That's unusual. I didn't hire any new personnel, and your father never mention any new people either.”

Shocked to see that he was not someone hired by Tabatha or her father, Bianca rests her cup of tea on the table, and walks towards Laguna who is cleaning a portrait frame. She then lets out a fake cough to get Laguna's attention, then asks, “Excuse me, but who are you? My maid has informed me that we have not hired anyone new.”

He then turns around and says, “My name is Laguna. I'm a farmer at the Mist Farm.”

“Mist Farm? You mean the dirty run down excuse of land south of the village?” asked Bianca. “Well, what are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to say hi to everyone. I just moved here about a week ago.” answered Laguna.

Bianca then snatches the rag away from Laguna, then says, “Well, my name is Bianca. My maid is named Tabatha, and my daddy is named Jasper. Now that we've been introduced, get out! This is not a museum you know.”

“Sorry, I'm going.” said Laguna defensively. He then marches out of the manor, and heads back to the farm. Bianca then sits back down and finishes her tea. Tabatha says nothing about the stranger, and goes back to the kitchen to make lunch.

After a few minutes, the house becomes quiet once again. Bianca takes the final sip of her tea, and sighs sadly. Having Laguna around made things interesting. She almost feels bad for throwing him out so suddenly. It's not like her to be so mean to commoners, but the sudden shock of seeing a new person in the village made her say things she did not mean to.