The Sorcerer and Storm Maker

Braiba stayed with Anja until she was sure he was fast asleep after that she left only to see the princess in the living room walking back and forth out of worry for Anja.

“Is he okay?” asked the princess with genuine concern in her voice as she spoke.

“Yes, he'll live, Anja is strong and doesn’t go down so easily” said Braiba.

The princess smiled upon hearing what Braiba said before sighing out of relief and happiness that Anja would be all right.

“What happened and how did he end up like that, covered in blood and with so many wounds?” asked Braiba, wondering how her brother ended up in the bloodied and beaten state he was in.

The princess then sighed, knowing she would have to tell Braiba every that happened while she and Anja were in the forest.

“I and Anja were making our way back to the house when all of a sudden a beast came out of nowhere and grabbed me and carried me away. Anja chased after the beast and managed to save me from it but the beast attacked him leaving him in the wounded and bloody state he was in when I brought him. Anja used every single ounce of strength he had to protect me and in doing so he ended up hurt” said the princess with tears falling down from her eyes, feeling guilty that Anja got hurt while trying to save her.

“Hey” said Braiba as she consoled her with a hug.

“It’s not your fault, the beast that attacked you came out of nowhere and Anja’s heart would never allow a pure soul to get hurt in anyway even if it was the daughter of the king of Buganbal” said Braiba.

Braiba then pulled away from the hug and then noticed how the princess’s clothes were torn and stained with blood.

“Your clothes” said Braiba causing the princess to look at her clothes to see the terrible state they were in.

“Oh, I didn’t even notice them” said the princess feeling a little embarrassed by the clothes.

“Don’t worry about it, come with me” said Braiba before she took the princess to her room.

Once there Braiba gave the princess some of her clothes to wear.

“Thank you but I can’t…” the princess sentence was cut short by Braiba saying, “of course you can, think of it as a gift from me to you and it is rude to refuse a gift”.

The princess just smiled upon hearing what Braiba before accepting the clothes, taking off the torn, and blood stain ones she wore and put on the clothes Braiba gave to her.

After putting on the clothes the princess stomach began to rumble out of hunger as she hadn’t eaten anything since she woke up.

“Sorry about that” said the princess feeling a bit embarrassed because of the way her stomach behaved.

Braiba burst in to laughter upon hearing the princess’s apology.

“Don’t be, I’ve seen worse hunger pains. If it was my brother in your shoes the ground would have been shaking and the sky echoing with thunder and lightning” said Braiba while she continued to laugh which caused the princess to giggle.

“Come on, I’ll make something for you to eat” said Braiba.

Braiba then went to the kitchen to prepare some food.

The princess was a bit shocked to see her cook as she thought that since she was a sorceress he could just use her magic to make a feast appear out of thin air.

“Braiba couldn’t you just use your magic instead of cooking” asked the princess.

“I could but I prefer to cook without magic. My mother taught me how to cook when I was younger, she didn’t relay magic to cook either, she always said that magic ruins the taste and flavor of a meal” said Braiba with a slight smile on her face followed by a small tear falling down from her eye.

Braiba then began to think of all the times she and her mother would cook together and became lost in her memories so much so that she accidentally cut her hand while she used the knife to cut vegetable.

“Are you okay” asked the princess upon seeing the cut on Braiba’s arm.

“I’m fine, it’s just a small cut” said Braiba before she used her magic to heal herself.

“See, all better” said Braiba before grabbing hold of the knife to continue to chop the vegetables.

“Why don’t I help you” the princess suggested worrying that Braiba would hurt herself again while she cooked.

“No, I can manage on my own” said Braiba.

“Please, you and your family have done so much for me let me repay your kindness by helping you cook” asked the princess, begging Braiba to let her cook.

Braiba looked at the princess and saw the eagerness in her eyes to help her.

The young sorceress just sighed for saying fine, “fine, you can help”.

Braiba then gave the princess the knife.

“You can start by helping me cut the vegetables” said Braiba.

The princess just nodded her head before going to the kitchen table with a knife on hand and then began to chop the vegetable.

While the princess chopped the vegetables Braiba set the set the stove and brought out all the spices they would need to cook.

The two young women worked together soon they were done and breakfast was served.

They wanted to call Anja so he could eat with them but Braiba thought it would be best to let him rest and not to wake him up.

The princess and Braiba then sat together on the dining table to enjoy the meal they made together.

“It’s delicious” said the princess after taking a bite from the food they made.

“I’m surprised that you like it” said Braiba.

“Why? It’s delicious, why wouldn’t I like it” said the princess.

“It’s just, you’re a princess and you’re used to eating food from the best you land has to offer. I’m just shocked that you can enjoy a simple meal like this” said Braiba.

The princess just smiled upon hearing what Braiba said.

“Yes indeed, it is true that as a princess I’ve eaten food made from the best cooks in the land, some sweet, some sour and some salty but none of them comes close to a dish as simple as this. Its simplicity is what I love most about this dish” said the princess.

“Why?” asked Braiba.

“I don’t know, maybe after years of eating meals meant for royals it is nice to eat a simple meal that isn’t filled with odd tasting spices, unknown meat and strange odors” said the princess.

Braiba couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing what the princess said about the food she ate while still in the palace.

After the few brief moments of laughter shared between the princess and Braiba ended the princess’s face turned sad.

“Are you okay?” asked Braiba upon seeing the sadness in her eyes.

“It’s nothing” said the princess, not wanting to tell Braiba about what was upsetting her.

“The look on your face tells a different story” said Braiba.

“It’s just that I envy the simple things in life like the birds that sing high up in nests high up on the tree tops, the smell of the baker bringing out a fresh bash of his finely baked breads even the sight of children playing along the streets of my kingdom. My life as a princess was complicated, I had to go everywhere a small army of guards for my protection, my friends, if I could even all them friends were made up of the children of high ranking officials in the kingdom whose parents hoped to improve their status by having their children befriend me, I had no true friends who loved me for who I am not the crown I was destined to wear. My life as a princess was exhausting and overly complicated but at least I had my father who loved and adored me with all his heart. Him and his love for me was simple enough for me to adore and cherish but now I neither have my father or his love and my life is more overly complicated than it once was” said the princess.

Braiba took a deep breath upon hearing what the princess said.

“I don’t know what it must have been like to be a princess but I know what it feels like to have a complicated life. I’m the daughter of a sorceress and a storm maker, my brother is a storm maker while I’m a sorceress, we live in this house inside forest far from everybody, my life isn’t the simplest life to live” said Braiba causing the princess to smile a little.

“My life wasn’t simple but I still loved and appreciated it. I had a mother, a father and Anja who was just not my brother, he was my best friend. Now my parents are gone and Anja hates me” said Braiba with a deep sigh.

“Anja doesn’t hate you, he’s just upset” said the princess.

“Yeah, with me, he blames me for our parent’s deaths” said Braiba.

Braiba then bowed her head down before saying, “maybe he is right, maybe if I hadn’t forced us to leave Buganbal and had stayed and fought alongside our parents they would still be alive”.

Tears then began to fall down from Braiba’s eyes the moment she stopped speaking.

The princess could see the pain and guilt in Braiba’s eyes; she was blaming herself for her parent’s deaths, burdening her heart with the guilt over something that wasn’t her fault.

The princess then held on to Braiba’s arm and said, “Your parent’s deaths is not your fault, you are just a child like I and your brother. If you had stayed and fought alongside your parents, you along with Anja would be dead. You made the right decision to leave”.

“Thank you” said Braiba before she began to wipe away her tears.

“Don’t mention it and don’t worry about your brother, he is just hurt, the anger he shows towards you is due to his pain. He doesn’t hate you Braiba, he just needs time to heal” said the princess.

“I think we all do” said Braiba with a deep sigh.

A while later Braiba went to Anja’s room to see how Anja was doing.

As she opened the door and entered the room she saw Anja standing next to an open window.

“Anja, you awake” said Braiba with a warm smile on her face, happy and relieved that Anja was up and alright.

“What do you want Braiba” said Anja coldly.

Braiba’s smile faded away upon hearing the way Anja spoke to her, the sound of his voice was so cold that I seemed like he was not talking his sister as he spoke but a total stranger.

“I…I just wanted to tell you breakfast is ready…” Braiba’s sentence was cut short by Anja saying, “I’m not hungry”.

“But you haven’t eaten anything all day” said Braiba.

“I said I’m not HUNGRY!!!!!” said Anja with thunderous voice and the wind blowing violently as he spoke.

“Alright then, just let me know anytime you are hungry” said Braiba with her bowed down and a sad look on her face.

Braiba then left the room.

As Braiba left Anja took a deep breath before shedding a tear.

The princess saw the sad look on Braiba’s face as she left Anja’s room.

“What’s wrong is Anja okay?” asked the princess.

“He’s fine, he’s actually up. He just isn’t hungry” said Braiba with a weak smile as she tried to hold back the tears in her eyes.

“Are you okay Braiba” asked the princess, sensing that something was troubling Braiba.

“I’m fine, I just need a moment alone” said Braiba before rushing away from the princess to avoid more questions from her.

The princess wanted to chase after her but she thought it would be best to leave her be, understanding that at the moment Braiba needed to be alone.

The princess then turned her attention to Anja’s room.

It was clear that Anja refusal to eat was not because he wasn’t hungry; it was because he was in pain and he was lashing out at anybody that tried to get close to him, sadly, Braiba was the one receiving the full brunt of his anger and pain.

The princess knew she had to get Anja to eat something soon especially since he was severely wounded by a beast while trying to save her and even though Braiba healed him with her magic he still needed to eat to regain his lost strength.

She then thought of an idea to make Anja swallow his pride and eat something.

The princess rushed in to the kitchen and dished some food in to a plate for Anja and then placed it on a tray before taking it into his room.

Anja heard his room door slowly open.

He then turned around and saw princess Tari entering his room with a tray of food.

“What are you doing in my room?” said Anja.

“Nothing, I just thought that you would be hungry” said the princess with a smile on her face as she offered the food to him.

Anja just looks at the food for a few brief moments before saying, “I’m not hungry”.

The princess expecting the Anja to reject the food like he did said, “Alright then”.

She then placed the food on a table next to his bed.

“What are you doing? I said I’m not hungry” said Anja upon seeing the princess place the food on the table.

“I know you aren’t but I’m just keeping the food here in case you change your mind and decide you want something to eat” said the princess.

“I won’t” said Anja coldly while glaring at the princess.

The princess just smiled at him unfazed by his glare.

“Alright then, I’m tired and have to leave to get some rest” said the princess.

“But…” Anja could not even complete before the princess left closing the door behind her as she did.

Anja just sighed the moment the princess left.

He then looked at the food the princess left behind.

His stomach began to roar like a lion out of hunger.

Anja placed his hand on his roaring belly, feeling his stomach crying out of something to eat.

Anja tried to resist and fight his hunger but he was no match for the pain that his hunger brought him and so he submitted to his hunger and went to food on the table before eating the entire thing.

Anja was now satisfied and free from his roaring belly went to the door, wanting to return the plate to the kitchen without anyone seeing him but Anja was shocked to see the princess standing in front of him after opening the door.

Anja quickly hid the plate upon seeing her, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of her knowing he actually ate the food she brought for him.

“What are you doing back here, I thought you were resting” said Anja.

“I didn’t really feel like resting anymore. What about you, why are you leaving your room?” asked the princess with a devilish looking smile on her face as she knew why Anja was leaving his room she just wanted to see if she could get him to admit it.

“I…” Anja could think of anything.

The princes just sighed before bring out her hand.

“Just give me the plate Anja, I’ll take it to the kitchen” said the princess.

Anja was left speechless as he did not know what to say to her and so he didn’t say anything or even try to fight with her, he just brought out the plate and gave it to her.

“How was it” asked the princess with smile on her face, making Anja feel like she was mocking him.

“It tasted like sand” said Anja not wanting admit to her that he actually enjoyed the meal.

“Hmm, you must really like sand because you eat the entire thing” said the princess with another smile that felt like a slap to Anja’s face.

“No, I just don’t like wasting food” said Anja.

“Alright then” said the princess, smiling once again before leaving with the plate.

Anja had no words to describe how angry he felt because of the princess.

He could sense that she knew what she was doing was enraging him and still continued doing it, it was like she felt some strange sense for of pleasure from seeing Anja angry and that only made him even more mad with anger.

The princess as she walked away turned around to look at Anja, seeing the anger on his face and then smiled.

In her mind Anja seemed more charming while he was angry.

Braiba was in her room seated on her bed with the compass her mother left her and Anja in her hands staring at it with tears falling down from.

She thought about Anja and how he was treating her, he spoke with her with his thunderous voice filled with nothing but anger and rage.

It broke her heart in to a million pieces to hear her brother which loved and adored with all her heart speak to her that way.

Braiba continued to cry and cry until she heard a small knock on the door.

Braiba then quickly wiped away her tears upon hearing the knock.

“Come in” said Braiba, trying her best to sound strong even though she felt broken inside.

The princess slowly opened the door and saw Braiba sitting on her bed.

“Are you okay?” asked the princess.

“I’m fine, just a little tired. How is Anja doing?” asked Braiba.

“He’s fine, I managed to convince him to eat something even though he is as stubborn as a bull” said the princess.

Braiba smiled slightly upon hearing what the princess said, happy that Anja eat something.

The princess then saw Braiba’s eyes that were worn out and tired due to the fact that she had been crying so much.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” asked the princess, sensing something was wrong after seeing Braiba’s eyes.

“I’m fine princess, I’m just tired” said Braiba.

“First of all don’t call princess, I no longer have a kingdom and second of all you are definitely not fine, just look at the mirror and see those tired worn out eyes of yours. It’s obvious to even the biggest of idiots that you’ve been crying” said the princess.

Braiba upon hearing what the princess and seeing the look of concern in her eyes could hold back her tears.

“I’m tired; I just want this all end. I would give anything to find out that all of this was just a bad dream and I will wake up soon to see my parent’s faces once again. I can’t stand the fact that my brother is angry with me and blames me for my parent’s deaths. I exhausted and drained of every single ounce of strength I have, I don’t think have anything left in me” said Braiba with her watery eyes.

The princess then walked up to Braiba and pulled her in to a tight hug.

“It’s okay, I’m in pain to and I also wish that this was all a dream but sadly it isn’t. I’ve lost my father and my kingdom so I understand the pain loss brings, it’s far greater than any other form of pain because you have to go on living knowing you lost something dear to you and may never get it back but being here with you and Anja has lessen that pain. I won’t lie to you and say the pain go away but with time maybe we can learn to live with it” said the princess.

Braiba and the princess then pulled away from the hug.

Braiba wiped away her tears and looked at the princess who gave her a loving smile.

The princess was right; even though all them were in pain and had lost something precious to them they would be alright as long as they were together.

Braiba also knew that Anja was still upset with her but at least he was alright and no matter how angry he may be at her they were still family, tied together by and love they share as brother and sister, Braiba knew that deep down Anja didn’t hate her and still loved her even though he was upset with her.

Braiba only hoped with time her caring and loving brother would go back to his old self.