Phantasia: The Princess Knight

Chapter 9: Slowly Turning Color

After a hot shower and feeling a bit more revived, Alicia felt a lot better. She made her way to the mirror to finish up but paused when she saw her reflection. "I did not have time to really notice it before but my new body is very pretty. Golden blonde hair and blue eyes. So this is what I will look like from now on." A smile appeared on Alicia's face. "Alicia I will give you the life you always dreamed of since you gave me a second chance at life."

Alicia finished up in the bathroom and put on the plain white dress that she had picked out and headed to the main room. When she exited her bedroom the smell of food filled the air causing her stomach to rumble. It was only now that she remembered that she had yet to eat anything today. Alicia tiptoed to the kitchen to peek in as a bit of drool seeped out of the corner of her lips and slowly made its way to her chin.

Berlin saw the little girl peeking around the corner and smiled. "Just in time! Go sit at the table and I will bring it right out!"

Alicia quickly ran to the table and sat down. She watched as Berlin came walking out with many plates floating in the air around him. They were full of foods of different kinds. Alicia had no time to be surprised by the plates floating in the air as her eyes were completely glued to the food that was on them.

Berlin placed all the food on the table and looked at the greedy eyes and the drool that was streaming down her chin and chuckled. "Haha do not worry no one will take this away from you. Go ahead and eat to your heart's content. Just eat slowly so you do not get sick. You will need to eat a lot to help build up your muscles. Training will begin at first light tomorrow. So be prepared!"

"I will make sure to be awake and ready!" Alicia was really looking forward to this training. Knowing that she can become a knight in the future was something she could not wait to accomplish.

"Good! I will go over your daily schedule in the morning. For now, eat! You are nothing but skin and bones, how will you keep up with the schedule I set for you if you have no energy!?" Berlin wondered how this little girl survived up to this point. She was so skinny that it seemed that a slight wind could blow her over.

Alicia wasted no time at all, she cupped her hands and said a word of thanks before she started eating. It was only after a few minutes that she noticed Berlin was not eating. "Master Berlin, why are you not eating?"

"This food is all for you. I already ate earlier. You just eat up. I have some things to take care of." Berlin smiled and turned to leave the room.

Berlin went into his own bedroom and sat down at his desk. He pulled out a mirror looking object and placed it onto the desk. The reflection clouded over and soon another man appeared within the mirror. "Your Majesty! Did you run away again!?"

"Charles, it is not running away. I roam the country to see how our citizens are actually living out their lives. Anyway, I need you to check into something for me." Berlin's eyes turned cold when he remembered what Alicia had told him.

"What do you need me to do, your Majesty?" Charles could see something must have happened by the look on his Majesty's face.

"Investigate the Village Chief of Kiina Village. Also... " Berlin thought for a long moment.

"Yes, your Majesty?" Charles was confused. It looked like his Majesty was in deep thought all of a sudden.

"Add the name Alicia Alastine as my daughter in the royal family registry." Berlin had decided. That little girl needed a family. Since she did not have one he will give her one.

"Your Majesty!?" Charles was confused. A daughter? A new princess!? This is crazy news!

"Yes but keep it a secret for now. I am adopting her. She was roaming the woods alone trying to survive. She is a bright girl with a high aptitude for both sword and magic. She will be well known one day. I do not plan to bring her into the palace at this time. I will wait until her coming of age ceremony eight years from now. Until then I will give her time to grow on the outside." Berlin had been thinking this through since he first saw the girl...

He had first spotted the girl who was staggering through the woods. He could tell she was weak and malnourished. She piqued his interest so he watched as the little girl made a trap and killed a horned rabbit. he was surprised to see how well the girl timed all her actions. He was quite impressed by her resourcefulness. When she left the forest he did not think he would see her again.

It was the next day that he saw her again. She was being chased by a magma lion. He watched as the little girl used everything at her disposal to get away from a magma lion. He of course slowed the mgma lion down so she could escape into a crevice between two rocks. He did not want the little girl to die in front of him. He then waited until she was about to be eaten to see what she would do. But to his surprise, she turned her fear into courage and even retaliated against the magma lion all on her own without needing any assistance.

That was when he sent out Blake to finish off the magma lion. He was very impressed with her bravery and willingness to survive. He gave Blake many things to give to her so she would have a chance at survival. After Blake left he used his magic to guide the little girl to his hideaway. It was only then that he appeared and showed himself to the little girl. He was fully amazed by the little girl's tenacity. She was exactly what he was looking for in a disciple. She was young, brave and most importantly the unwillingness to give up.

"I will handle it right away your Majesty." Charles was amazed that his Majesty had found such a promising child out in the middle of nowhere. To be able to impress his Majesty to the point of even adopting the child was no easy task!

The mirror fogged up once again and the reflection of a young man in his late twenties to early thirties could be seen. The image slowly changed as the young man's features changed to that of an old man with a long white beard and hair.

All this while, Alicia had no idea her whole life had already been changed and her path was already fully planned out for her. She was currently engrossed with the task of eating everything on the table in front of her.

Life throws many stones but sometimes those stones can turn into gold. For Alicia, the last stone that was thrown at her was slowly turning color.