On this day, the countryside outside Vienna is ushering in one of the most vital days of the year.
Early in the morning, a scent of earthy fragrance echoed among the trees with the gentle breeze. The fresh air was like a medicine, refreshing and nourishing the lungs. It rained last night, and the cool rain drove away the summer heat.
The sultry heat of the day brought a refreshing feeling to this morning. The air was filled with the fresh fragrance of grass, and the sky after the rain was as clear and blue as a gem.
The sun is rising slowly on the distant mountain peaks, and the golden morning rays burn the small part of the sky to yellow, sending ordinary yet brilliant blessings to the earth.
Just when the sun was rising, Kristel, who was lying on the small bed, slowly opened her sleepy eyes.
This child, who was not yet 8 years old, was as sleepy as almost all her peers. However, this luxurious happiness did not come to her. Her blurred vision slowly focused, and then she saw a woman in a maid outfit in front of the bed.
figure.
"Miss, you're awake. Breakfast is already prepared. Please get up."
Although her tone was very respectful, Crystal knew that this was actually an order.
Crystal immediately closed her eyes in disgust, and then clutched the quilt tightly to express her dissatisfaction and protest.
However, the maid immediately stepped forward, ignored her struggle, forcibly tore her hands away from the quilt, and then took Crystal out of bed.
Then, she took off Crystal's pajamas and put on a beautiful dress for her.
To be fair, this maid is not ugly, but her cold and serious expression and her always harsh attitude towards Crystal made her dislike her very much, and she would deliberately provoke her from time to time.
Anger at the other person.
Crystal was still a child, and she didn't know how to evaluate a person's quality. She could only judge based on a child's instinct, so she hated the manager who always told her to do this and that but didn't allow her to play.
.
However, every time she protested and resisted, she was defeated as easily as today. This was the case in the past and is still the case today.
In this way, Crystal started her new day by sulking.
After changing into her dress, Crystal washed up under the care of the maid, and then combed her hair.
In the mirror, this child has a slender figure, skin as white as snow, blue eyes as clear as lake water, and long silver hair, making him look like an elf who has traveled to the human world.
It's a pity that Kristel doesn't know whether she is beautiful or not, because she has no peers to compare with.
Next, she finished her breakfast, which meant that the busiest time of her day was coming.
At only 7 years old, she has been assigned a lot of homework a few years ago, and as she gets older, she has more and more homework.
She has to learn German, French and Latin, as well as vocal music and dance, and has even begun to take history classes. Such a heavy workload makes her schedule full, leaving almost no room to breathe. Of course, Kristel doesn't either.
She doesn't know how her peers live, so she can't make comparisons.
Kristel has been living this kind of life since she could remember, spending every day in this kind of study. It was not until evening that she was able to rest and have a little time to play.
Even during this play time, she could only move in an extremely limited space. The maids in the manor were monitoring her every move and strictly limited the range of her running. Once she approached the fence outside the manor,
They would forcibly drag her away and bring her back.
Therefore, in her mind, these fences were the boundaries that separated the world she was in from the other world. They were insurmountable, and even touching them would bring disaster.
Now it's time for grammar class.
Christel hated grammar class the most, because the teacher's bearded face was uglier than the maid's, and because of his old age, his lifeless voice, and the respectful manner in which he deliberately kept a distance made her irritated.
Listel felt deeply bored, but no matter how boring she was, she could only listen obediently and brace herself to deal with the teacher's questions, because if her answer dissatisfied the teacher, the maid would punish her.
Two hours later, Kristel managed to survive the grammar class.
Next is the vocal lesson, and she will have a short break.
For entertainment, Crystal picked up an unfinished fairy tale book on the shelf and read it from the bookmark position.
Since she started to read, Crystal has read many fairy tale books, and now she is reading the story of Sleeping Beauty.
She envied the princess who was awakened by the prince, not because of the love she did not understand, but because the prince took the princess away from the castle tightly surrounded by thorns, so that she could live freely outside.
Sometimes she wonders, is it possible that she is also a princess, so that is why she is treated like this?
However, even she would find this idea very ridiculous.
Time passed quietly, and Kristel's rest time was about to end. The maid slowly walked into the room.
"The time is coming, miss." she urged Crystal calmly.
Crystal, who was interrupted from reading, glared at the other party angrily, but reluctantly put down the fairy tale book.
"You are as annoying as a witch." She angrily scolded the maid in a coquettish voice.
"Then you are as cute as a princess." The maid did not get angry at the child, but calmly put the book away and put the bookmark. "Okay, miss, let's go over and don't keep the teacher waiting."
"Then can I really become a princess?" Crystal asked in a low voice, as if she had not yet completely emerged from the atmosphere of the fairy tale book.
The maid's expression suddenly became very strange, it seemed like a bitter smile, but also like pity.
Crystal couldn't understand such a complicated and wonderful look. She just stood there blankly, looking at the maid in confusion. She didn't know if she had made a mistake again and angered this terrible adult.
However, the maid did not scold her harshly, but gently leaned down, put her hands under Crystal's armpits, and gently picked her up.
Then, Crystal was shocked to find that the distance between her face and the maid's face was getting closer and closer. It wasn't until the two people could look at each other face to face that the maid's hand stopped.
"Yes, Miss is the cutest princess." Then, the maid said to Crystal in a serious tone with unquestionable certainty. "And she will always be."
The sudden compliment made Crystal fall into surprise. However, her surprise did not last long, and the maid's face instantly returned to its usual seriousness.
"However, because of this, the young lady should be more strict with herself and work hard to learn the proper knowledge and etiquette, so that she can be worthy of the honor of a princess."
Crystal couldn't understand the glory the other party was talking about, but she knew that it meant that her life would continue to be strictly controlled by the maid. She only had a little time to play freely every day, and even this kind of play would be supervised by the maid.
.
The child's heart was suddenly filled with anger.
"If I really become a princess, I will definitely let the guards capture you and take you away!" She pouted angrily, and then looked around subconsciously, as if some guards would really appear.
Instead of frightening the maid, her threats made her laugh.
"Maybe that day will come. I'll wait quietly, miss."
After saying that, she gently put Kristel down.
And just when the two people were about to leave the room, a horse neighed outside the window.
Crystal's originally angry expression was immediately replaced by ecstasy. She quickly rushed to the window, then stood on tiptoes and looked downstairs.
In Crystal's memory, the sound in the manor could only mean that her mother was here.
Sure enough, under her gaze, a noble lady walked out of the carriage. She was wearing a simple skirt and a wide-brimmed hat on her head. Her specific face could not be seen clearly, only her hair was exposed under the hat.
bun.
But for Crystal, this was enough.
"Mom!" she shouted loudly from the window, then rushed out of the room and walked down the stairs.
Of course the maid made no move to stop the girl, she just followed her quietly and looked at her back with pity.
Soon, Crystal rushed downstairs and hugged her mother tightly.
"Mother!"
"Kelly..." The lady was also very excited. She leaned down and hugged her daughter tightly.
"Mom, I miss you so much..." Kristel closed her eyes with joy, and then kept rubbing herself in her mother's arms to feel her mother's breath, and her mother also touched her tenderly.
Face and back, enjoying the tender time between mother and daughter.
Ever since she could remember, Crystal's mother had only come to visit her once a month, and each time she was in a hurry and only stayed for a day or two at most.
But this not only did not wear away the relationship between mother and daughter, but it made Kristel even closer to her mother. Every time her mother came over, it was her happiest time. She would stay with her mother whenever she had the chance to show her love.
She talked about everything she had encountered recently.
After hugging for a while, the lady finally put down her daughter, and then she looked at Kristel carefully.
"My daughter, you are getting more and more beautiful."
Being praised by her mother, Crystal was so happy that she almost narrowed her eyes with laughter.
However, my mother quickly changed the subject, "But looks are not enough. You must also have the necessary intelligence. How have you been in class lately?"
Before she could answer, the maid behind her quietly spoke.
"Miss's academic performance is very good. The teachers praise her for being smart. However, sometimes she gets tired of learning and resists learning. We have to use strong methods to supervise her. Other than that, everything is very good, Your Majesty...
lady."
"She is indeed our daughter...she is so smart." After hearing the first half of the sentence, the lady laughed happily, and then she excused her daughter, "After all, she is still a child, and it is normal to be playful. I am the same as her.
When I was older, I was more tired of studying than she was."
The maid did not refute Madam's words, but just lowered her head.
After a moment, she sighed in a low voice. "Miss, she still lacks playmates, so she is very lonely sometimes."
After hearing what the other party said, the lady's expression suddenly showed a hint of sadness.
"You've done a great job so far, thank you..."
Then, she patted Christel's head gently. "Kelly, you must be obedient and don't make things difficult for the people who take care of you, okay?"
Crystal could only nod obediently.
"Okay, you go back to class. Mom will stay with you tonight." The lady nodded.
The maid immediately stepped forward, and Crystal followed obediently, and the two of them walked back to the mansion.
Although she was reluctant to leave, Kristel knew that this was what her mother wanted her to do, so she must do her best.
In the following vocal music and dance classes, she was full of motivation to study and played and danced according to the teacher's instructions meticulously, because she knew that her mother was waiting for her in the room.
Time passed quickly. Crystal finished her heavy schoolwork during the day and came to the restaurant. After the mother and daughter had dinner together, they went to their mother's bedroom together.
When her mother stayed overnight, Crystal didn't have to sleep in her own bedroom. Instead, she stayed in her mother's room to sleep with her. This was her happiest time. Every time she tried hard to fight against sleepiness, she had to stay up.
I didn't want to go to bed until early in the morning, not wanting to waste this rare time.
"...One day, the prince in the city held a ball and invited all the girls in the city to attend, but the stepmother and two sisters did not allow Cinderella to attend, and kept asking Cinderella to do things. Cinderella also wanted to attend the prince very much.
But her clothes were so dirty, how could she attend the prince's ball, so Cinderella cried sadly.
At this moment, a fairy appeared and helped her transform into a set of beautiful new clothes. She also turned a mouse into a groom and a pumpkin into a carriage. After Cinderella thanked the fairy, she ran to the palace excitedly.
The fairy reminded her before she set off that she could not stay until midnight. After twelve o'clock, the magic would be automatically lifted. Cinderella happily agreed..."
Beside the bed, the mother read the fairy tale of Cinderella to her daughter in a gentle tone.
Crystal listened to her mother's voice quietly.
"Mom, does that fairy have a name?" she asked.
"Her name is Cinderella." Mother replied calmly.
"Does it really exist?" she asked again.
"Of course it exists." The mother's eyes flashed, as if she recalled something, "Even your mother was called that before..."
Crystal looked at her mother in shock, as if she wanted to find a magic wand from her body.
"Oh, don't look at it. I don't have a wand and I can't do magic..." My mother smiled bitterly, "After all, it was just a joke."
Although her mother was smiling, Kristel instinctively felt a trace of sadness in it, but she blinked and did not dare to speak for a while.
Mother and daughter sat side by side on the bed, letting time pass slowly.
I don't know how long it took for my mother to finally speak.
"Kelly, I have good news for you."
"What's the good news?" Crystal asked.
"Not long after, you should be able to see your father."
"Father..." Crystal said the word stiffly, and it took her a few seconds to understand the meaning of the word in her mind.
This word was so unfamiliar in her life. Although she knew it existed, it had never been mentioned to her, and no one had ever told her that she could see her father.
"Is...is it dad?" she asked tremblingly.
"Yes, he is your father." There were some tears in the mother's eyes, and she nodded heavily.
"Dad..." Kristel repeated the word again, as if chewing it.
Logically speaking, she should be extremely excited, but at this moment she just felt confused.
"Dad, what kind of person are you?" she asked in a low voice.
"Your father is an excellent man, a man who can make your mother fall in love, and a hero..." the mother replied with tears in her eyes.
"Then why didn't he come to see me?" Crystal asked again.
Although she was just asking a normal question, her mother frowned and managed to hold back the pain in her heart.
She touched her daughter's cheek, and then sighed, "Sorry, he has too many things to do... and there are too many obstacles in front of him. He has always wanted to see you, but he never had time.
."
Crystal blinked her eyes, she didn't quite understand what her mother meant.
"Don't be anxious, my child. Just wait patiently for a while. You will be with your father soon." The mother continued to caress her cheek, and then continued in a trembling voice, "I am very happy that our daughter is so outstanding.
Beautiful, and I can have a clear conscience for being able to hand over such an excellent and beautiful you to him."
"Will you go to dad's with me too?" Crystal asked.
Mother's brows furrowed even more, and she finally shook her head gently.
"I'm sorry, I can't do it right now." As if she couldn't bear to leave her daughter, she suddenly hugged Kristel again, and continued with a tearful tone.
"Kelly, you are the greatest pride in my life and the witness of my best memories...Kelly, I'm sorry that I let you live such a life, please forgive me...I love you."
Crystal gently reached out her hand and wiped the tears from her mother's eyes.
"I love you too, Mom. I won't go, I want to stay here with you."
"No, no! Don't say stupid things, child." The mother interrupted her, and then tried to calm herself down, "You must have a status that is commensurate with you, Keli, this is not suitable for you."
Because of her mother's rare harshness, Crystal didn't dare to speak.
Seeing her daughter's fearful look, the mother relented again.
"Wait patiently, my daughter, we will be reunited." She hugged her daughter tightly again.
In her mother's warm embrace, Crystal closed her eyes.
In her young mind, she still didn't understand what "waiting patiently" meant, but she knew that this was her mother's request.
So she must do it.
"Okay, Mom."
Mother and daughter hugged each other like this, and after a long time, Crystal raised her head from her mother's arms.
At this time, the little face looked up at the stars in the sky outside the window.
What would a father you have never met look like?
Will he love me?
Crystal couldn't find the answer, but that was all she had to get, for herself and her mother.