Chapter 3: Big Sister
In my past life I had no siblings, I was raised as an only child and for that very reason I didn't know what to expect when I met Alda. She was two years older than me and unlike me did not have to deal with the pressure of being king.
I asked Gonzalo why Alda could not aspire to the throne and his answer left me more surprised than I would have expected: Alda is a natural daughter of the former king, only a legitimate son can inherit the titles.
However, my mother did not treat her badly, in fact she showed her the same affection as she did me and that again seemed strange to me. Especially in an almost medieval world like this.
“Brother, brother, let's go play in the yard, you've been studying all morning..." Alda was an energetic girl, with tousled black hair and blue eyes so deep they didn't seem real. She was wearing wool pants and a brown nightgown, strange clothes for a girl her age.
“Do you want to play? “I murmured without taking my eyes off the huge book Gonzalo made me read.
By the way, the letters of this world were very similar to Spanish, if not identical. When I opened a book for the first time I could understand it without any problems, although the writing was different.
First of all, they used the word "vosotros" a lot and they also used a lot of words in the past perfect tense. For example, "tuve, anduve, conuve, truxe, etc."
Similarly, the syntax seemed to remind me of medieval Spanish, with sentences such as the following: Los hidalgos son llegados al castillo, instead of los hidalgos han llegado al castillo.
And many other details that I was too lazy to explain. (Only applies to texts, not speech).
“Yes, since you healed, we haven't played a single game. You've been reading books like there's no tomorrow. “Alda puffed out her cheeks in a pout.
Well, a little break wouldn't be bad for me, besides, I wanted to see the castle once and for all.
During the first days of my reincarnation I took care of reading all the necessary information about this kingdom and its surroundings. I also researched its history, customs and other basic information, because I didn't want to seem like a fish out of water and even less being a future sovereign.
Due to my age mom was acting as regent and therefore, my decisions will not have real weight until I turn 16.
“Okay, you win. Let's go. “I closed the cumbersome book and without further delay I walked with my sister through the castle corridors.
The place was not very luxurious, the stone walls were decorated with extinguished torches and small paintings every so often. In them we saw religious portraits and also portraits of the ancient kings who lived in these walls.
Alda would walk around hopping and waving to all the servants she met on her way and they would return her greetings very animatedly. Apparently, my older sister was loved by the servants.
In my case, on the contrary, they bowed their heads in respect and even seemed nervous about my presence.
Was it impolite to look a nobleman in the eye, or did they only do it because of my social rank, in any case I did not like such treatment at all.
“Come on, come on, little brother, I want to play fetch! “
“I'm coming, I'm coming, don't run so fast.”
“But if I don't run fast you'll beat me, you know I hate to lose! “The little girl stuck her tongue out at me and then smiled again, totally unconcerned. Something normal for a 10 year old girl.
We walked through two more corridors with different enclosed rooms each. Then, we went down some stone stairs to the lower part of the castle and finally arrived at a natural courtyard, full of green grass and trees full of fruits.
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Ahead was a second large hallway leading to the main hall and just outside the place lay a huge parade ground, probably twice the size of this recreational garden.
“Your Highness, have a good day. “One of the guards greeted me with a polite bow; he wore a well-appointed coat of mail and a heraldic tabard above the armor, on it was a red lion carrying a bleeding sword in its jaws.
The heraldry of my family, therefore, the guard belonged to the men-at-arms loyal to the King.
“Likewise," I replied, with the utmost courtesy.
“Good job, Francisco! “Exclaimed Alda, as she greeted the lancer with a smile from ear to ear. “If you continue like this, perhaps she will speak well of you to Lulu, the florist.”
“I'm counting on you, miss. “The man's stiff expression relaxed, as did all the servants interacting with my sister.
Chale.
Am I going to have to put up with formal dealings for the rest of my life?
Ugh, the very idea of always keeping up appearances was rather annoying to me.
“We're already in the courtyard, do you really want to play tag? “
“Of course I do, brother, you'll see how fast I am when you can't catch me! “Alda took a few steps away from me and then crossed her arms arrogantly. “You bring them first!”
And after saying that, Alda ran 10 meters to the right until she hid behind a lemon tree.
“We'll see about that! “My squeaky voice still seemed strange to me, but I was slowly adjusting to the idea of having this tone for a few more years.
I ran in the direction of my sister with my hands out in front, however, Alda knew when to move and in less than the blink of an eye was already running the other way. I wanted to catch up to her as fast as I could, but these short legs were no help.
"Ah, damn. I hate being small."
I was used to my athletic, well-trained build from the past life; having to start forging myself again certainly made me feel a bit down. Apparently, this body wasn't quite used to the exercise and after a few minutes of running I found myself needing to stop.
“Y-You're fast," I whispered, "But you won't beat me!”
I needed to get used to my new legs soon and the best way to do that without arousing suspicion was to play with Alda. I ran back to the orange tree where she gladly slipped away again with a sprint.
And so we went for quite a while, I tried to catch her with all possible means, but it was useless, she didn't let herself be caught and even showed off her athletic skills by dropping to the ground and then getting up with a sprint.
Humility was definitely not among her qualities.
“Too slow, little brother, you'll never catch me!”
“I'll catch you, that's for sure. “I certainly didn't consider myself a sore loser, I really just wanted to improve my physical mastery of the body, but after an hour without any success I began to wish I could win this silly competition.
“Oh, they are lively today. “Our game was interrupted by Sora, my personal maid. I'm so glad to see you healthy, your highness, come, I have a nice lemonade for you to recharge your energies.
“Yes, lemonade, I'm dying of thirst. “Alda gulped her drink, then blushed. “Ah, yes, thank you, Sora, you're very kind.”
“I thank you, Sora. “I sat down on the grass in the courtyard and sipped the lemonade a little at a time, Sora smiled at us again and immediately settled down next to us.
“They are such polite children. “Sora's duties, besides cleaning my room and supervising the cooks, were to keep my sister and me company. Her confident and friendly attitude made me feel safe in this new world.
“Misbehaving is not worthy of a king. “I tried to impress her with an elegant grin; but the sweet maid only gave me a smile and then tousled my hair.
“You are right about that.”
“Bad girls don't have dessert," Alda murmured, as she finished licking her lips to savor the lemonade she drank so quickly.
“By the way, Miss Alda, how are your reading lessons going? “My adorable big sister's eyes widened, she didn't look very happy with that question and it certainly gave me an idea.
“All perfect, you'll see I'll master those letters in no time. I don't know how my brother suddenly became a master reader, it's not fair!”
“It's no big deal. You just have to concentrate and that's all, reading is really easy. “I'm sorry, my sister, but I already knew how to read for years.
In a way I felt guilty for this unfair progress; my reading skills were due to my higher education in the other world, while here the ability to read was a privilege and not an obligation.
“I was surprised too, did you always know how to read well, your highness?”
“Of course I did, Sora. “I didn't really know how the owner of this body got along with reading, so I'll pretend not to raise suspicions.
“That explains why you hated the basic lessons Gonzalo gave you, if you already knew everything then repeating the same thing over and over again must be frustrating. “
“Yes, something like that. “ Mega save, I sighed with relief as I managed to dodge a bullet.
“Okay, kids, I have to go to the kitchen to supervise tonight's dinner. I'll see you later. “Sora shook out her dress and finally left the garden at a slow pace.
Alda also stood up.
“I'll go clean up too, brother, I need to be clean for dinner and I really don't want to hear Lorenza scold me again. See you later!”
It was so quiet.
I stood looking at the blue sky from this well-kept pasture. At least the clouds and the sun were the same no matter the world.
Anyway, I also decided to go back to my quarters to finish my reading and, by the way, to investigate a little more about this society that, whether I want to or not, I will reign when I come of age.
I had already informed myself about how the economy worked and also about the social classes, now I needed to memorize the heraldry of all the noble houses.
Ugh.
What a slacker.
Memorizing images was not exactly my favorite activity.
Besides, I needed to make an important announcement during dinner....