[ The Villa District in Painesville]

  A long time ago in a villa area on a sunny afternoon; the vernal sun shined through the canopy and spread its warmth. The sun radiated on the ground leaving a large number of spots, so that the ground from afar looked like a layer of shiny silver, showing the summer's full unique beauty.

　　Under the shade of a tree, a little girl in a new dress was busy all the time. She takes her mother's newly bought building blocks and starts to build her own works under the shade of the tree. She fantasizes that she is a beautiful princess.

　　"Why don't you want a sandwich?"

　　A young voice from behind her attracted her attention.

　　He was about eight years old. There were many holes and patches on his clothes. Although his clothes looked dirty, his cheeks were kept clean.

　　The boy looked at her building blocks with yearning in his eyes. He grasped the railing with his tender hands, and his slight figure allowed him to lean out of the gap of the railing.

　　"I like the castle. I don't like the pickle on the sandwich.

　　"But the sandwich was delicious!"

　　The boy looked at the brick castle with disdain on his face, which made the girl angry.

　　"Who are you?"

　　"I, I live nearby."

　　"Nearby? You're a stranger. My mother told me not to talk to strangers."

　　The girl examined the boy's strange face. Shaking her head, she turned around and continued to play with her building blocks.

　　"I really live around here! I'm just hungry and out looking for food."

　　"Food? Are you a pigeon?"

　　The girl looked at the boy with interest. Intrigued by the boy's words, she threw away her building blocks, pulled up her skirt some and began to scamper toward the garden railing.

　　"No, I am not a pigeon! But people around here call me a raccoon, and I don't know why, but I think I'm pretty fast.

　　"Why are you...?"

　　Delighted to see her approaching, the boy reached out to her and said, "My name is Strade Walker. How about you?"

　　"Blare... A-actually, I can't tell you my name! After all, we are strangers... "

　　"Yes, but acquaintances change as time goes on between strangers. You tell me your name when we become acquaintances."

　　"All right, but you will call me Your Royal Highness!"

　　"Good! Your Highness!"

　　The boy smiles particularly bright, he learned about the British Royal Knights from television and kneeled on one knee to kiss her hand salute. The elegant manner matches the funny appearance and makes the girl extremely happy.

　　He spent a happy afternoon with her until the girl went to bed. She was still thinking about the stray's big smile, the jokes he told her, the life he would go through, and the "friend" she would miss.

　　The next few days, the boy also often appeared to meet her, but he and his time to meet often changed, he was not allowed to meet her in certain situations, was not allowed to tell others that she and "raccoon" met, he told the girl. He is very special here, he can only be a secret friend.

　　At first, the girl thought it was a special game designed by the boy, but she did not pay attention to it and still strictly followed the rules. The two often passed messages through origami planes and determined the time to meet each other.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

　　As time went on, the hot summer receded and the cool autumn came.

　　They became good friends. The girl often brought the boy his favorite sandwich. The boy often brought the girl things she had never seen before, such as a cicada pupa, snail shell, leaves, butterfly wings, etc.

　　One day, the girl finally could not contain her excitement. She invited the boy to her home and invited him to have dinner with her.

But the boy refused, he said the girl's parents will never like him, they will drive him away, and may not even allow the girl to meet him again.

　　"Why? Are you keeping something from me?"

　　The girl's eyes are full of confusion, her eyes are very angry and unwilling, her parents almost won't refuse her request, she doesn't understand why she couldn't invite the boy to play in her own home. Why her parents will hate the boy, even though the boy is not a stranger, but is her own good friend.

　　"You don't understand, that's grown-up manners! They have always used their power to deprive us children of our rights, and evil adults have always looked at us through their eyes, as horrible as my parents."

　　"Why do you think your parents are scary?"

　　"Because they often scold me for nothing and accuse me of being a damn accident! In fact, I don't know why I was a freaking accident, and then I got kicked out of my house by an uncle I didn't even know."

　　His hands clasped the railing tightly. He lowered his head and stopped talking. He stared at his shabby clothes and sighed deeply.

　　Although the girl did not understand the secular truth contained in the boy's words, what he said made the girl give up the idea of inviting the boy home as a guest. She also realized that the boy's situation was not as good as her own.

　　So, then, every time the girl and boy meet, she will give the boy a gift, trying to provide her own help. She gave the boy her old toys, a storybook for him to read, and even gave the boy a small skirt to wear...

　　The boy was very grateful for the girl's gifts, he vowed that he would protect the girl, as the Princess' Royal Knight forever, willing to give his life in a crisis to protect her.

　　This oath from the boy's heart let the girl always bear in mind, she is willing to guard her knight sincerely.

　　Happy time is always fleeting, cool autumn receded, the cold winter.

　　One day, the boy did not appear in front of her as scheduled but was brought to his home by a security guard in the villa area. The security guard looked at her and her parents with a serious expression, holding the struggling boy in one hand and carrying a plastic bag full of things on the other hand.

　　The girl was called downstairs by her parents to the living room. At first sight, she saw the distressed boy, who was like a beaten stray dog, crouching in the corner of the wall, burying his head in his knees and shaking.

　　"Strade!"

　　The girl tried to call out to him, but he just looked up at her in fear, then said nothing, cowering in the corner and not responding.

　　"Sir, we found your daughter's belongings in the raccoon's lair. I advise your daughter to stay away from these tramps. They're no good people."

　　The security guard handed the plastic bag to her parents, who dumped the contents on the floor. The contents were all the presents she had given the boy: toys, storybooks, small skirts and even a moldy, air-dried sandwich in the pocket of her tattered clothes.

　　"He's not a thief! He is my knight... "

　　But before the girl could finish defending the boy, her parents slapped her hard and drove her away, accusing her repeatedly.

　　However, the girl's crying did not stop the anger of the adults, she was scared to cry, she knew that she had encountered an unprecedented crisis. There is no way to resolve the crisis.

　　So the princess looked for help at her knight.

　　"Get out of here, boy! We never want to see you again!"

　　Her parents slammed a wad of banknotes into the boy's face. The boy, who had been panicking, stopped shaking.

　　From then on, the girl never saw the boy, in her impression, the boy only left her a "Please don't cry" letter. The past good memories are replaced by the knight's letter.

　　Later, the girl grew up gradually, and this memory is also remembered by the girl, deeply buried in the heart, always reminding herself that she must be strong. She cannot be deceived by shallow poor people again.

　　And the growing princess, her name is Blair Palermo...