Meeting Nihena

by Ervin Agayan

  “Scared? Of course, I wasn’t scared.” Parelia laughed. “I am very courageous! It was just that I missed a dancing party, and on top of it, I smeared and tore my favorite dress and got out of the forest looking like a vagabond but with plenty of unforgettable impressions!”

  Parelia glowingly told him a couple of other funny stories about sunsets, every time describing them in detail.

  “I wonder if you really don’t see all this beauty…” Parelia showed surprise, stretching her hand towards the setting sun, as though trying to grab and hold it in the sky.

  “No big deal,” she heard in response. “True beauty is here, and it’s you. There is no other beauty than you in the world.”

  Parelia turned back again and stared at him with surprise. “Why are you lying? I’m sure you also like admiring sunsets,” she thought and suddenly remembered a story associated with Arsy.

  As we know, during ceremonial parties, Arsy evaded the princess in every way he could. Parelia, understandably, had noticed that, and she made all efforts to find out who he was and why he steered clear of her. One fine day, she decided to follow him and catch him flatfooted. She didn’t take her eyes off him the whole day, and once Arsy left the reception room, she followed him discreetly. To her surprise, he went to the balcony, where one could behold a magnificent view of the sunset. He stood there enchanted and watched the evening sun smoothly hide away behind the horizon, dying the sky in fantastic colors. At that moment, Parelia could hardly suppose that Arsy wasn’t admiring the sunset but was simply standing there, waiting until his cronies came and took the robbed pillage.

  Parelia decided not to disturb him. Besides, they could be noticed together with the background of a beautiful romantic sunset, which would give way to rumors. However, the princess had prepared a trap for him; she locked the balcony door and hid behind the glass door, leaving to the veranda. As soon as Arsy stepped back to the hall, she’d lock that door too, and Arsy would be trapped. However, Arsy stood at the balcony for quite a long time, which seemed an eternity to Parelia. She peeped out of her hiding place a couple times and looked at him curiously.

  Finally, Arsy went back to the reception room. A spiteful smile appeared on Parelia’s face when Arsy walked past her. While she slipped past him noiselessly and started locking the door to the balcony, Arsy reached the door. Finding the door locked, he muttered, disgruntled, “Who’s the idiot who locked the door?” Parelia barely contained her victorious laughter, silently creeping towards him from behind, like a cat to its prey.

  However, the triumph didn’t last for the princess. Suddenly, Arsy reached into his pocket and produced a key. Parelia couldn’t believe her eyes. How on earth could he have a key?

  Seeing her “prey” leaving through the door, the “cat” rushed after him, eventually forgetting precaution. Hearing some noise behind him, Arsy turned back and was horrified to see the princess literally flying at him. He scuttled behind the door as quick as a lightning and was already locking it when Parelia snatched at the door rim. In the course of a fierce battle, the feeble princess realized that she’d lost, but she was still unwilling to give in. Holding her hand out through the doorway, she tried to block Arsy’s way, but then the latter slammed the door with force. The pain in her jammed hand was so strong that Parelia was unable to contain herself and not scream. Arsy slightly opened the door, and the princess’s hand immediately disappeared in the hall. Without a moment of hesitation, Arsy slammed the door.

  Wrapping her healthy hand around the injured one, Parelia suddenly noticed the expensive ring that was supposed to be on her index finger was missing. The honest princess couldn’t even assume the ring could have not fallen in the course of the struggle but was impudently stolen from her finger by a crafty criminal, while her hand was trapped in the doorway.

  “Hey, you, Eteneromavrey, open the door right now!” Parelia ordered, but in response, she heard only wholehearted laughter.

  Translated from Lienese, “Eteneromavrey” means “someone, who loves watching sunsets.” There are about a hundred words in Lienese that are used to refer to people who love sunsets; however, there are some slight differences between them. This group of words is attributed to the family of “Etenero.” Here are some of the most wide-used ones: “Etenerolopu,” meaning the last sunset of this fancier; “Eteneromone”—when someone remembers his sweetheart watching the sunset; “Etenerolo”—when a life-changing decision is made during sunset, and many others.

  “Etenia” is another group of references for females, and “Eteniua” is for loving couples. For example, “Etenunamin” means a loving couple that doesn’t miss a single sunset, and “Etenialala” is a girl who intentionally watches the sunsets to attract the attention of young men.

  There’s no point studying these words, for Lienese has long been identified as a dead language, which is a pity, since this language was rightfully considered to be the language of love. Another curious fact about this language is there exists a word family “Eteunalu,” which was strictly prohibited. One could find himself in prison for pronouncing any word from this word family. I won’t explain their meaning for good reasons!

  Despite the fact that Lienese is identified as a dead language, many words penetrated from it into “the laws of decency” under the veil of “magic” words.

  Back to the word “Eteneromavrey”, it is literally translated as “someone who loves watching sunsets, spied on by a girl, who found him looking romantic.” If that girl refers to the guy as an “Eteneromavrey,” then according to the laws of decency, the young man must ask the girl on a date.

  So, this was the reason for Arsy’s laughter when he heard her call him so.

  There’s a popular joke, saying, “Pretend to be deaf when an ugly girl calls you an Eteneromavrey.” In the past, things were almost absurd; many young men chose to keep their eyes off the sunset, scared to fall “prey” to ugly girls. Therefore, certain “magic” words were added to the etiquette. For example, by pronouncing the word “Extromavrey,” a guy could quit any contact with the girl, though according to the laws of decency, that evening he was not supposed to communicate with other representatives of female gender either.

  “Extromavrilla”—the guy can hang out with the girl for about five minutes after which he’s free; the downside of the word is that one can’t acquaint himself with other girls for one hour. “Extromavrimi”—the guy can hang out with the girl for twenty minutes or so after which he’s free; this word has no downsides. “Extromavrillo”—one can buy his freedom with just one dance with the girl.

  There’s actually no point in telling you about this etiquette, for every region in Agastan has its own rules. Moreover, there’s hardly anyone in the world who knows all these rules by heart. Essentially, everyone carries crib notes with them. However, everyone knows the basic “magic” words, since it would be absolutely impossible to get to know new people with the prospect of getting driven away from the party at best and finding oneself in prison at worst. For example, in the capital city, if the girl pronounces the word “Extrogo” but the guy keeps talking to her, instead of letting her alone, the latter will be sentenced to seven days of imprisonment. In Siyeron, one is supposed to be banned from the city for such behavior. In Leheron, the punishment assumes lash whipping.

  Since every region has its set of rules, it is better to have crib notes for each of them. Once a ridiculous incident took place, which was even covered in the press: a guy mixed up the crib notes and instead of asking the girl for a dance, he proposed to her. The poor guy had to drain his wallet to pay his way out of trouble.

  “Open the door, I said!” Parelia was twitching the door handle with all her might, but her opponent was way too strong. “Idiot, I see you didn’t realize I am Princess Parelia!”

  “Oh my God, what are you saying?” She heard Arsy’s ironic voice.

  “What does it all mean? How can you slam the door in my face, knowing who I am?” Parelia was indignant.
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  “I’m most concerned with another thing,” the voice from the other side of the door proceeded as spitefully as before. “Why are you haunting me? Do you have any idea about privacy?”

  Arsy’s words took Parelia by surprise, and she mumbled through the door, “But I am the princess…”

  “That doesn’t change anything! Or do you think everyone must be enticed by you, kiss your feet, and clap one’s hands exultantly every time you crack a stupid joke? Yes, I know who you are! But for me, you are naught! Got it? A complete naught!” Arsy declared resolutely.

  “How… how dare you speak like that! Are you out of your mind?” Parelia was so shocked and insulted by his words that she was unable to think critically.

  “You didn’t answer my question. Why are you haunting me?”

  The response from behind the door didn’t come quickly. Parelia was still trying to swallow the offence of the cruel words addressed to her.

  “I didn’t want to disturb you.” Arsy finally heard her quiet voice, trembling with excitement. “I just wanted to get to know you better. There’s nothing bad about that, is there? I am not a monster to flee from, after all!”

  “What if I’m not interested in new acquaintances?”

  “Oh, come on. As if I don’t see that you get acquainted with girls with pleasure.” Parelia’s voice was even more offended. “What’s wrong with me? Why do you evade me with such fervor, as if I am a monster? Yes, I am the princess, but I am also a girl. And I want you to know that you deeply hurt my feelings with your attitude towards me.”

  “That’s it! You are the princess, and everything is allowed to you,” snapped Arsy, still pushing the door with his own weight. “That’s what irritates me most of all! And I have every right not to communicate with you. It’s not a crime. There’s not a single law that prescribes mandatory communication with the princess.”

  “However, according to all laws of decency, you shouldn’t speak and behave this way with a girl! It doesn’t matter whether she’s a princess or not,” Parelia snapped indignantly.

  “I don’t understand what you want!” Arsy exclaimed almost desperately. “You want to have my company? Great, you’ll have it! Let it be! According to the laws of decency, I should take you five minutes.”

  “Open the door!” Parelia said with a commanding intonation and added in a softer voice, “I don’t want to talk to you from behind the door. I prefer to look into the interlocutor’s eyes during a conversation.”

  “No way!” Arsy said confidently. “I won’t fall under your spell!”

  Satisfied laughter was heard from behind the door.

  “Now, I see why you chose not to look at me when we were talking in the yard.” The princess stumbled onto the idea.

  “Oh, so good you reminded me!” Arsy exclaimed triumphantly. “That’s right. We’ve indeed been talking! That means your pretensions are quite inappropriate.”

  “Do you really call it talking?” answered Parelia crossly. “I was speaking, while you mumbled only one phrase and ran away, without looking at me even once. I don’t even know your name!”

  Back then, Parelia managed to find Arsy in the yard, but he didn’t even look at her due to the fear of being noticed by the Agayans and facing trouble afterwards. Stories about Parelia’s admirers, which he had heard from Erathos, were scary enough to make him steer clear of her.

  “What do you need my name for if our paths will never cross again?” Arsy waved off.

  “You act like a child!” the princess exclaimed indignantly. “For your information, no one in the kingdom treats me as impolitely as you!”

  “I am well-aware of the love and respect you enjoy, but it’s a matter of principle for me!”

  At that moment, Parelia heard the squeaking in the keyhole. Arsy locked the door with a key.

  “What are you doing?” she asked indignantly.

  “I think you deserve punishment for your obtrusiveness. Now, you’ll think twice before infringing on someone’s private life. Good luck, Princess Parelia!”

  “You are crazy! This is the second time you’ve locked me in!” screamed the princess.

  “How come?”

  “I am aware of the fact that it was you who locked the door of the tower, so that I couldn’t get out.”

  “I didn’t do that,” Arsy muttered, somewhat unconfidently.

  “I didn’t tell anyone about that incident because I took pity on you. But I’ll have no mercy this time!” threatened Parelia.

  “Okay, it was me,” confessed Arsy. “Just like now, I punished you for haunting me! Who asked you to climb on the roof of the tower?”

  “That’s a funny story, isn’t it?” The princess laughed. “I wanted to trap you, but it ended up quite the contrary.”

  “I’m sorry, Princess,” Arsy snapped without a shade of regret in his voice, “but I’m very busy! Good luck!”

  With the same commanding intonation, Parelia started yelling at him again, demanding he open the door immediately, but there was no response from behind the door. Arsy deliberately left the key in the lock so the princess could not open the door from the inside.

  For a good hour, Parelia cried for help, until someone heard her screaming. The princess rushed out of the room in an enraged fury and immediately ordered the guards to turn the castle upside down to find and catch Arsy. It goes without saying that her orders got nowhere; Arsy had left the castle a long time ago.

  Since then, Parelia didn’t see Arsy during parties. That unpleasant incident was supposed to set the princess against him forever; however, the more she thought about it, the more she respected his disobedience. Imagine her exultation when she learned the “mysterious young man” was joining them for a walk; this time, he had no chance to escape her!

  Recalling all this, Parelia grinned. That day, Arsy categorically refused to meet her, but today, destiny brought them together again, and this time, Arsy’s eyes told her he cherished the dream to see how their acquaintance would grow into something greater.

  “Here’s another funny story.” A cunning smile glistened on the princess’s face again. “Some time ago, I was visiting Extrenia. They have a very tall tower, and I was sure I’d find a fantastic view from there, especially in the evening. One fine day, I climbed on top of the tower, without telling anybody, and I appeared to be right! There was a stunning view of the sea, and sunsets above water are always enchanting! The sun seemed to be drowning in the water, dying both the sky and the sea in fantastic colors. To cut it short, I was so deeply immersed in my reflections that I didn’t hear the tower door swing shut with the draft, and it could only be opened from inside!” The princess laughed out loud and continued through her laughter, “I found myself captive on the tower! No one heard my screaming, so I had to spend the night there. They found me in the morning. Thankfully, Elmunia suggested where they should look for me. The whole castle was thrown into panic because of me; they thought I had been kidnapped. They even sent riders to the mercenaries to start searching for me. Can you imagine that?”

  Telling her story, Parelia noticed Arsy swallow nervously, which wasn’t any surprise, for the princess knew very well the “draft” that slammed the door shut on the tower was actually Arsy.

  “That is incredible, but I remember the princess had found herself in the same kind of incident,” Arsy muttered thoughtfully.

  Parelia rose from her seat, turned to him, grabbed his shirt, and whispered, staring into his eyes, “Why did you shut the door?”

  “What are you talking about?” Arsy showed surprise.

  “Stop pretending! I know it was you who shut the door, and I, uh…the princess had to spend the entire night on the roof!” Parelia’s eyes glowed with rage.

  “How do you know that?” Arsy was extremely surprised.

  “Parelia told me what that villain looked like, and I realized it was you!” the princess quickly fabricated an explanation.

  “Fine! It was me.” Arsy saw no point in denying
it. “Calm down. You’ll tear my shirt. Why are you protecting her so ardently?”

  “Before asking questions, you’ll have to answer mine first. Don’t worry about the shirt. I’ll buy you a new one. So, why did you shut the door?”

  Arsy realized he could not wriggle his way out of this anymore. It would be best to tell the truth right now.

  He took another moment for reflection and finally answered after a sigh. “I had organized a serious bling tournament there and had invested a huge amount of money. I deliberately picked that isolated area of Agastan for the tournament, so Parelia wouldn’t stand in my way. But like ill luck would have it, she also went there! That was half the trouble, for it wasn’t the first time I was arranging betting games in her presence, but for some reason, she decided not to take part in the game, as she always did, but only watch it. Moreover, she was incessantly walking to and fro in the room, and people were afraid to come up to me to place bids. It was a flash in the pan! I realized, if I didn’t find a solution, I’d lose all my money! It was then and there that I had that foolish idea.” Judging by Arsy’s sincere expression, Parelia understood he was really sorry for what he did.

  The princess didn’t know whether to laugh or give way to anger. At last, she smiled and gave a wave of the hand. “Well, at least she didn’t freeze to death because of you. But you’ll still have to answer for it! I’ll think of an appropriate punishment for you later.”

  She sat back on the log. A deadly silence hung in the air, which Arsy hurried to interrupt with an unexpected confession.

  “Okay, I must confess: sometimes, I also watch the sunsets. Once, I was on a robbing errand and climbed on the roof. I had to wait for the darkness to fall, and sitting there, I was counting the minutes to the sunset.” Catching sight of the princess’s cross expression, Arsy immediately added, “Don’t look at me like that; I told you I’ll change for you. I’ll become a completely different person, who will only give you reasons for pride.”

  “Maybe you should start writing poems about me,” Parelia suggested coquettishly.