Lisara stopped at the entrance.
"…This is a birthday celebration?"
"Yeah."
She stared around the room.
"No banquet hall? No musicians? No servants lined up at the entrance?"
I looked at her.
"Mei just turned seventeen, not crowned as queen."
She frowned.
"My birthday celebrations were far more elaborate."
"Of course they were, Your Highness."
"Don't call me that here!"
Before she could complain any further—
"FINALLY, You're here!"
Mei rushed toward us.
She was wearing a glamourous dress for the party, she appeared just like Cinderella, and judging by the smile on her face, she had apparently been waiting near the door for quite some time.
"You're late, Ishida."
"Sorry. Something came up."
Her eyes narrowed.
"What kind of something?"
"Long story."
We both looked at Lisara.
She was staring with a winced expression.
Mei frowned a little, but thankfully didn't press further.
Then Noah appeared from behind her, already holding a plate of snacks.
"Yo."
I stared at him.
"The party just started. How are you already eating?"
"Preparation."
"For what?"
"More eating."
"…Right."
The evening passed surprisingly quickly.
There weren't many people—just a few relatives, some family friends, Noah, Lisara, and me—but the house was lively enough to make up for it.
Lisara spent most of the time investigating every birthday tradition as though she were studying some bizarre foreign ritual.
When everyone suddenly began singing, she looked genuinely alarmed.
"Why is everyone chanting at her?"
"It's the birthday song."
"And why is there fire on the food?"
"They're candles."
"Why?"
"You blow them out."
"Why?"
"well.. that's a great question even I don't know about that"
She gave me a smug look.
"So, you don't go to temples and pray to the gods? "
"No, those traditions are long gone. Now we just pray in front of the cake"
Later, when Mei cut the cake, Lisara watched closely.
Lisara took the slice she was given without saying anything, and one bite later,
"Wow.. that's sweet and quite good."
"Well you say that for about everything ."
"That is because this era has unexpectedly competent desserts."
At some point, Noah dragged everyone into a few ridiculous party games, most of which Lisara took far too seriously.
She nearly started an argument after losing one of them.
"I demand another round."
"You lost fair and square," Noah said.
"It's your fault for failing to explain the rules properly."
"I explained them three times."
"Because they were poorly explained three times."
Even Mei's mother laughed at that.
Eventually the noise became too much for me. And I stepped into the balcony to get some fresh air , a drink in my hand . It was a clear moonlit night. Lost in thought, I almost didn't
notice Mei standing behind me.
"HAAH! That was tiring", she let a sigh of relief
"Really? I guess it was for you"
She moved to the side and leaned against the railing.
"Time really flies huh!"
She looked up at the moon took a sip from her cup,
"I still remember the first day of my high school."
"I was annoyed by the crowd. All those faces, some laughing, some sad, some confused, yet no one was there for me."
"But among all those, the face, my eye stuck to one person. Dragging his friend, who was glued to his waist, while smacking his face with a book"
"That moment made me laugh."
Some memories came rushing to me, and a smile cracked on my face.
She laughed softly, then continued.
"After that day my eyes kept looking for that boy. In the hallways, the cafeteria, the garden..."
"All I could think of, was that face"
"And whenever I saw it my heart would flutter and my stomach would have butterflies"
"Then, a year later, I ended up in the same class with him."
She lowered her gaze toward the cup in her hands.
"It was fate that brought us together, I gathered my courage and talked to him for the first time, and we gradually became friends."
"I've never seen such a free soul. Always laughing, always acting carefree, never fights for himself but whenever his friends were in danger he was the first come, no fear could bring him to his knees."
"No matter how scared you were, you never showed it."
She smiled again.
"And somehow, despite all that, he always managed to stay in the background. Like some side character trying not to get noticed."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the cup
"Always running from the main stage"
"It didn't take long to realize..."
She paused.
"…I had fallen in love with him."
A chill crawled down my spine. My hands started to shake, and I lost my calm composure.
"But I never had the courage to tell him how I feel."
"Then, all of a sudden, he became really close to another girl."
"…And I got scared."
"…Scared that I might lose him before I ever got the chance to say anything."
My heartbeat grew heavier.
"That's why I set my mind that I will tell him about my feelings on my seventeenth birthday."
My body started shaking more intensely and anxiety took control of me.
Gathering what little composure I had left , I asked .
"So... did you tell him."
...
"Not yet."
She turned toward me
"But I'm about to now!"
My heart started beating like crazy, and either for anxiety or the heat the sweat kept flowing.
"Ishida I...."
BRRRT — BRRRT—
Mei's voice got covered by the phone, ringing inside the right pocket of my pants.
"Ahh! Sorry sorry"
I pulled it from my pocket and checked the number,
"It's from my dad. Sorry but I have to take it."
"Oh…"
Mei forced a small smile.
"Oh sure! Please don't mind me."
I answered the call and turned back towards the sliding glass door, a faint yellow glow from the room spilled through the curatins.
"Hello, what's the news."
"yeah,..."
"yeah..."
"umhmm..."
"ok got it. I'll contact you soon"
I ended the call and slipped the phone back into my pocket.
When I turned around, Mei was still standing exactly where I had left her.
"I am really sorry, it was from my dad."
" Something came up, and I have to go immediately"
The look in her eyes dulled, the slightly blushing cheeks lost it's color. The excitement in her body died down.
"But, I have something to say"
I ignored her and pushed my way through,
"We can talk in the school tomo..."
"…NOO!"
I stopped.
Her eyes were fixed on me.
"You've been acting strange ever since that girl appeared."
"Mei—"
"You disappear without explaining anything. You lie to us. You keep lookingg like you're carrying something you can't tell anyone."
Her voice began to tremble, and teardrops glistened in the moonlight.
I turned toward the door.
"I can't tell you."
I was about to leave when I felt a sudden pull on my left sleeve. I turned around just to see her eyes full of tears shimmering under the blue moon.
"WHY NOT?!"
"What are you hiding!?"
"And who that girl really is?"
"I am your friend, you can tell me!"
"SO PLEASE!"
"PLEASE! Tell me"
" What are you dealing with all by yourself?! "
I clenched my jaw.
I couldn't tell her.
I wasn't supposed to tell anyone.
"Mei, let go."
"No!"
Something snapped in me and I pulled her hand away and turned back,
I pulled her hand away and turned back,
"It's none of your business"
And walked towards the room but Noah came through the door and stopped my way.
" You're not running away this time. "
"What? Noah when did you get there?"
"That's not what she asked?"
"Answer her question"
"I can't", I averted my eyes, staring fixedly at the ground.
"Why can't you?"
"look at her face"
"She gathered all her courage just to confess her feelings"
"But you are ghosting her for a girl whom you met just yesterday"
"you can't stay silent now"
"Say what's going on"
His voice hardened.
"SAY IT!"
I was pulled back to the wall. I turned to my back; Mei was there looking at me with tears in her eyes.
I couldn't remain silent any longer.
And for the first time, I told them everything that had happened since the day I found Lisara by the lake.
... .... ...
After I completed the explanation, Noah was the first one to talk.
" Dude… just how much have you been hiding from us? "
"There's more to that story that I haven't told her" I stopped Noah.
Before I could speak, Mei Spoke.
"The king was dethroned after loosing a war…. not long after his daughter disapperaed. "
I stared at her.
"You know this story too Mei!!, Am I seriously the last person hearing about all this?! ", Noah looked at both of us
"Oh, this is not ewe should be concerned about now,"
"We should hurry and find Lisara"
"But why?", Iasked
"Maybe my mother's maiden name will help."
"It's MISAKI NAKASHIMA"
I froze in place after hearing this. But there was still something that was bugging me, so I asked Mei,
" But she has no idea who Lisara really is"
"yeah, but There is a room, where the history of Nakashima's kept hidden"
"I found it when I was a kid, and from there, I learned about the history of my fam...."
My expression changed immediately.
"No, it can't be!", I stopped Mei,
"If she learns about her past.... then...."
" We need to find her, immediately"
As I turned toward the sliding door, a shadow suddenly came through the curtains and crashed into me.
"Whoa—!"
I stumbled backward and caught the railing before losing my balance.
Then I realized someone was holding onto me.
It was Lisara, putting her face on my chest she clung to me so tightly that I could barely breathe. I felt my shirt slowly getting wet,
Then I heard it,
A broken muffled sob.
"Lisara…?"
"Hey, what happened? Are you crying?"
She didn't answer.
I had never seen her this down before. She seemed broken, to the point that all her arrogance, pride and the stubborn confidence vanished.
"Lisara, talk to me."
Still nothing.
Slowly her strength seemed to leave her as I struggled to escape her grip and she shlowly sank to the floor pulling her knees close and hiding her face.
Mei crouched beside her and tried to comfort her, and Noah used his idiotic ways to calm her down, but nothing seemed to have any effect on her.
She curled into herself on the ground, weeping silently behind her knees.
I kept asking what happened, but no answer was coming from her, just the sound of weeping.
Only quiet sobbing came from behind her knees.
Then I heard footsteps.
Mrs. Nakashima stepped onto the balcony.
The moment I saw her face, something felt wrong.
Her hands were clenched tightly, and gloom filled her face.
I stood up.
"What happened?"
She remained silent.
My voice rose.
"What did you tell her?"
"Ishida!" Mei quickly stepped between us.
Mei came forward guarding her mother,
"Why are you interrogating her!"
"How are you so sure that she is the reason Lisara is like this"
"Just look at her face, it will tell you that she have something to do with this"
"BUT Th....."
Mrs. Missaki gently placed her hand on Mei's shoulder and moved her aside,
"He's right"
Mei stared at her
She lowered her head and came forward,
"I am the reason she is in this state,"
The balcony fell silent.
"Mother!...."
"Yes Mei, it's true"
"But I have an explanation. Just hear me out for a second"
I calmed down and realized that I judged her too early without hearing her part of the story,
"I'm sorry for yelling out."
She shook her head.
"No. I understand."
"You were worried about her."
Her expression tightened
Noah asked from behind me,
"So, what actually happened? And why is she crying so much?"
Mrs. Missaki looked toward her.
"Yeah, about that..."
Mrs. Misaki started telling us what happened after I stepped out to the balcony.
She had been showing Lisara around the house when they entered an old room where generations of Nakashima family records and heirlooms were kept.
Almost immediately, Lisara's attention fell on a portrait hanging against the wall.
A man dressed in royal attire.
Mrs. Nakashima noticed her staring.
"You know him?", Mrs. Misaki asked with a gentle smile.
Hearing that Lisara stuttered a little,
"Huh!... n-no, I am just curious about who he is."
"He was King Ryu Nakashima," Mrs. Nakashima replied. "One of our ancestors."
"Ancestor?",
Lisara looked back at the portrait, and thought in her mind and said,
"He looks just like my father"
"Oh really?!"
Lisara turned towards her with an anxious face,
"Can you tell me about him?"
"Sure!"
She opened an old wooden crate and pulled out a thick, worn family album. She carefully flipped through the aged pages before stopping at one.
"Look, there he is"
She showed her a worn-out page with a photo of the king and two other familiar faces. One was a beautiful queen, and the other was a child equally beautiful with a joyous smile on her face.
One glance, and Lisara's heart knew the truth: it was her mother, holding her younger self.
Mrs. Misaki was about to narrate more but suddenly….
"Lisara!!"
Mei suddenly burst into a shout.
We turned towards her only to find that Lisara was gone, and Mei following her disappeared into the thin yellow light. Only Mei's voice could be heard from the room,
"Where are you going?... wait...",
We ran inside.
By the time we reached the hallway, Lisara was already bolting toward the front gate without any sign of stopping.
"Lisara!" I shouted.
She didn't even look back.
Then, just as she reached the gate, a man dressed in black stepped directly into her path.
Lisara crashed into him.
He caught her by the wrist before she could fall.
We stopped for a moment, caught offguard.
"Huff!... Huff!... th...thank you sir... for stopping her", Noah went forward
The stranger smiled.
"It was a pleasure. So, my lady, where were you rushing to?"
Something about him made my stomach drop.
That's when I took a good look at his face. It was the same guy who chased us in the afternoon. Before I knew it, I was moving towards her,
"Lisara, get away from him"
Everyone looked towards me in confusion.
The man's smile vanished.
And in a swift motion he took out a gun and pressed it on her head.
Everyone froze.
"Don't move."
I stopped immediately.
With an evil laugh he said," Finally... Finally, I got hold on her"
"Now, I will become the richest person in all of Japan"
I clenched my fists.
"What do you want with her?"
He laughed.
"You really have no idea how much this girl is worth, do you?"
I took a step forward.
The barrel pressed harder against her head.
"One more step and..."
I stopped.
"Good boy."
He began backing through the gate, dragging Lisara with him.
"Let her go!"
"Sorry kid, but I need her more than you do"
The rear door opened and another man with a black attire came rushing and grabbed Lisara's legs.
A car was already waiting outside.
The moment they reached it, they shoved Lisara inside,
"See you later folks"
They climbed in after that.
I ran.
"LISARA!"
The engine roared.
I reached the road just as the car pulled away.
"No!"
I sprinted after it, but within seconds the distance between us became impossible to close.
"LISARA!"
Slowly they vanished into the darkness.
I stopped in the middle of the road, struggling to catch my breath.
Behind me, Mei, Noah, and Mrs. Nakashima came running through the gate.
But I barely noticed them.
I just stood there, staring at the empty road.
Lisara was gone,
And for the first time since all of this began…
I had absolutely no idea what to do.